HOT HULA fitness® certified

I remember hearing about this new craze, HOT HULA fitness® and I was excited about it because my friends had taken a class out in SLC and told me how fun it was. I had forgotten about it and continued to gain lbs and be a fat pig. I realized though that I needed to do something 'cause I didn't feel good about myself, especially from gaining so much weight from being pregnant and not working out after my pregnancy. I needed to join a gym, so I did with Planet Fitness, and it was the best $10/month I spent.

I was going to the gym maybe 3-4 times a week working on the treadmill and elliptical. Between doing that and taking Visalus, I had dropped 20 lbs from February to September. The only thing is I HATED going to the gym. I dreaded it. I would have to talk myself into going. It was terrible.

In August, my aunty had posted her sister's schedule for HHF and I decided to go check it out. Oh my goodness!  I was sweating GALORE and my legs were burning. A fire was lit. I wanted to attend as many classes as I could, but unfortunately the only classes were in SLC area and up north. I couldn't justify driving to SLC multiple times a week to attend classes when I knew gas prices were so high. So whenever I could, I would attend. I'd ask my husband if he needed to do anything in SLC, and if he did, then I'd get to go :)

 I remember after my first class, the instructors told me that Anna-Rita (the creator of HH) was coming the end of September to certify people. I was considering it until she told me that it's a full day, like 7 hours. I told my husband, heeeeeck no. I'm not about to spend a full day certifying when we're supposed to be moving to Cali the next day. So I forgot about it, but kept getting this feeling that I should get certified and I even had a weird dream that I needed something to fall back on, just in case. So I registered but didn't pay yet 'cause I was still unsure. The week before certification I finally went ahead and paid for it.

The day finally came to certify. I was soooo nervous! I was kind of scared to meet Anna-Rita since everyone said that she works you and you need to take pain reliever after. Oh dear, but Anna-Rita was freaking hilarious! I loved her from the moment I met her. She started speaking in Samoan to me and I was like, oh, I'm Tongan/Fijian so the rest of the day she kept saying "Bula" to me. haha. Anyways, they weren't joking when they said she works you. I was sore 3 days after. It was surprising too that she auditions on the spot. By the end of the day though I was so tired I just wanted to get it over with. I'm glad that I got certified though 'cause it was such a good experience and now I love working out. No more treadmills, no more ellipticals, no more dreading going to the gym. I'm in love with HHF and all that it does for my body.

I'm now an instructor in Twentynine Palms, CA at Luckie Park (racquetball courts). I teach every Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday at 6pm. I also teach my RS sisters at our chapel on Thursday at 730pm.

Here's more info on HHF for those of you who may be interested.

HOT HULA fitness® is a fun, new and exciting dance workout. It provides a “total body workout” in 6o minutes. HOT HULA fitness ® isolates your larger muscle groups, increasing strength and definition to your core with specific emphasis on the abs, glutes, quads and arms. Inspired by the dances of the Pacific Islands,HOT HULA fitness® incorporates easy to perform dance movements set to the sounds of traditional Polynesian drum beats fused with funky Reggae music, resulting in a modern, hip fitness workout. All ages and fitness levels will enjoy HOT HULA fitness®.

anna-rita.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjFSkDpjnwM&feature=player_embedded

Fam Pics 2012

I always love the work my SIL Martha Kristi does and so I was extremely grateful that she did our pictures. I wanted to kill 2 birds with 1 stone and get Leone's 1st b'day pictures (Carnival theme) and our family photos done at the same time. We seriously took these in 20 minutes and I think Kristi did an amazing job.

 

I saw the CUTEST family photo of my friend Sarah's sister's family and they all wore plaid jackets. I was inspired to do plaid, but unfortunately I did everything last minute and so we didn't match. haha. Oh well, I thought it still looked alright. My arm looks extremely huge in this, but I promise it's the shirt :)

 

 

 

 

 

Leone's 1st Birthday Party

It's like 2 months after the fact, but here are some pictures from my son Leone's Carnival Theme Party. I had been getting ideas from Pinterest for months before and tried my best to put my vision into it. We had a bouncy house provided by my brother Ma'afu's boyfriend Shaun's family, and I'm so grateful to them for coming through with that. It was pretty much the only thing that the kids were wanting to play in even though I had games (it wasn't quite as organized as I would have liked), but we had games. I asked my friend to do the signs and I had already decided what games I wanted before we actually had it, so when she brought her signs, it didn't match any of the games, ha! I was so stressed trying to put on his b'day and worrying about moving to Cali the following weekend. I knew what I was getting myself into though.

I'm so grateful that Leone made it through his first year of life safely. My mom was freaking out 'cause I did Leone's party 4 days before his actual birthday and I guess in the Tongan culture, that's a big no-no. They think it's going to jinx the baby. I'm not gonna lie, I was kind of worried 'cause I too am superstitious. I know, I know, but when you have a mother who is constantly reading into everything because of how she was brought up, it tends to be passed down to their offspring. I'm going to try my best not to do that to my children.

Another thing that happened the night of Leone's party was that we ran out of food! I couldn't believe it! I was so embarassed! Luckily there was a grocery store and little ceasar's up the street so the hubby got more food. Someone else went to get food without our knowledge. One thing that no one knows about my brother Heinrich is how sweet he is. He comes off as mean 'cause he does kinda look scary, but like a good big brother, he went to the store without telling anyone and bought more food. I seriously wanted to cry because of his kindness. He's always helping us out and I'm truly grateful for him and his wife Kristi.

The happy birthday boy

 

My cute nieces. I taught them a hula and they had never danced before, but they did so well!

 

The prize table that the kids kept stealing from (mostly my nephews). hehehe. We bought most of our prizes from WalMart and the dollar store.

 

Here was our "photo booth" that my wonderful friend Sarah Levao helped me with. We bought some props from the dollar store and here's my cutie cousin.

 

The happy birthday boy with his elmo cake. We got this from WalMart for $30. I was kinda pissed off 'cause it was supposed to come with a smash cake they include for a 1st b'day and when my cousin went to pick it up they said they weren't told to make the smash cake. Pretty soon I goin' smash them. Oh what?

 

Our good friend John Fanene and his cute enormous son Rock who's only 6 weeks older than Leone, but looks like he's 2 years older than Leone.

 

 

I love these letters my SIL did. It was supposed to go on Leone's high chair but because we were running late on eeeeeverything I didn't get a chance to display it.

 

 

All done. Super long day of partying and opening gifts.

 

Thanks to everyone for coming to his b'day and for all his gifts and to those who came and helped with the decorations and food. We love you guys!!!!!

 





Halloween 2012 Larsen Style

This year's Halloween was super last minute. I had been looking online for costumes for our son, Leone, but nothing stood out. We had gone to thrift stores and other stores, but to no avail. Two days before we went to the dollar store and found some armor and a helmet and wanted to dress Leone as a knight. We were pretty excited about our decision, then the day of we changed our mind. Ha. Even our costumes were figured out the day before, but not Leone's. We decided we wanted to be a zombie wedding couple (because Aaron wanted us to be scary, not cute). I would've preferred to do a cute family costume but was surprised at how well our costumes turned out.

Here's our costume

 

 

I got the dress for $3 from the thrift store and the head piece/veil was from a yard sale we went to a couple years ago for some yard decor aaron did for Halloween. All of Aaron's clothes were his and the wig was $3 from the thrift store. The makeup we got half off 2 days before Halloween from Rite Aid. I know right? Who would've thunk, the day before Halloween things would go on sale already.

For Leone's costume I literally said the hour before let's just make him a baby bum/hobo whatever you want to call it. So we put him in clothes he already had and we used my SIL's beenie and just drew on his beard. I thought he looked so adorable. We got the idea from Pinterest, so I'm not trying to take credit for it.

 

 

This is part of the trunk or treat at our church that my SIL's decorated.

 

 

The Fly and The Burglar? Perhaps?

 

I'm not sure if next year will be planned or will be on the fly again. Whatever we do, I'm sure it'll turn out fine :)

Torticollis Graduate!

At Leone's 6 month appointment, his pediatrician noticed that Leone's head tilted to the side. I had seen baby do it before in a picture, but Aaron and I thought he was just being cute. We were referred to the Orem Pediatric Rehabilitation and the therapist told us that Leone definitely had torticollis.

Torticollis is a condition that happens to babies when they exit the womb and their neck may get caught in a position that tightens the muscle in their neck that causes that slight tilt. We were told that if we don't take it seriously and do his stretches that he could eventually have scoliosis (curvature of the spine) which would eliminate him from being able to play contact sports. Of course we wanted to do whatever needed to be done to help our son get better.

We started going to his therapy every week, then two weeks, then three weeks, and today was our final visit, yay!!!  It's amazing seeing how much Leone has grown in the past 3 months, let alone the past 3 weeks. Our last visit (3 weeks ago), he couldn't crawl on his hands and knees (he was scooting on his stomach). He couldn't roll over. He couldn't pull himself to a standing position. Now he's doing all three of those things plus traveling along the furniture. It's a freaking pain now that he's more mobile, but I'm so so so grateful that he's developing and that he no longer has torticollis.

Moms, if you do have a baby who has a slight tilt where he/she favors one side more than the other, ask your pediatrician about it 'cause it's better to be safe than sorry!

Leone's faces

Don't mind my annoying voice and faces I make, but Leone is hilarious at 9 months old. I love my little feti.

Stares Galore!

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Liwd-AjsLpU

^^ This link above is from ABC's What Would You Do program. As we watched this, we weren't surprised at all because when Aaron and I go out, we usually get stares. At first we thought we were being paranoid, then we thought it was the height difference (hehehe), then we realized people were making it obvious that they didn't approve. I say, middle finger to you all! hahaha! Guess what, black doesn't need to go with black, or white with white or what have you. To that old woman in Brigham City, you should be ashamed of yourself. How dare you refer to the young man as THAT as if he weren't human. If anyone else feels like that old lady, you need to slap yourself right now!

Aaron's "Inventions"

I came home from running errands to find my baby like this

He was actually asleep, but I woke him up and he was totally content. Aaron said he kept crying and nothing was helping so he figured since Leone likes to stand, he'd make something for Leone to stand in without him falling. Yes, Aaron is some kind of amazing.

Here's another thing he made because he didn't want to buy the floor gym from the store

Creative or ghetto?

Texting with Aaron

My SIL Leisa lent us her jumper for Leone to use, so I put him in it and this was the picture I took and sent to Aaron



P: Nevermind using his legs

A: Haha it takes more work to hold his legs up.

P: It's hilarious

A: He's tryin to be a rebel

P: Gets it from his dad

A: There's a difference between rebel and gangsta

P: You're neither. Anyhoots my mom's patient went to the ER so I'm gonna have to pick her up when she gets back

A: Pick up ur mom or the patient?

P: blah blah blah

Texting this morning:

P: I smell ur scent on ur pillow and I'm missing you like crazy

A: What scent? Like poop?

P: Way to kill the mood.

Tithing brings blessings.

Why are Mormons asked to donate 10% of their income to their Church? (Mormon.org)

Gordon B. Hinckley, prior President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said: “Our major source of revenue is the ancient law of the tithe. Our people are expected to pay 10 percent of their income to move forward the work of the Church. The remarkable and wonderful thing is that they do it. Tithing is not so much a matter of dollars as it is a matter of faith. It becomes a privilege and an opportunity, not a burden. Our people believe in the word of God as set forth in the book of Malachi, that the Lord will open the windows of heaven and pour down blessings that there will not be room enough to receive them (Malachi 3:8-10). Moving and touching is the testimony of Latter-day Saints throughout the world concerning this the Lord’s law for the financing of His work.”

We were running pretty low with our funds and still trying to help out family yet Aaron and I both decided that even though we didn't have much, we still  needed to pay our tithing. Best decision ever! Like they say in the church, the Lord doesn't need our money, He needs our faith. My faith was definitely tested and the Lord came through. I don't know how it makes sense, (looking at our bank acct), but it does!

Unusually Proportional

According to the growth chart, Leone is 59% for weight

54% for head circumference

51% for length.

Yeaaaaah, not as big as other poly babies, but that's ok :)

Can't wait for him to start eating solids but kinda nervous 'cause I know they can get constipated the first few days. We've dealt with him having constipation before & it makes me sooooo sad :( He's being a champ right now after having his shots, but I fear he'll be sore and crying the next few days. Other than that, our baby's growing well! We love our chubby boy!

Conversations with my mom.

This is my mom, Mikaela. I love her to death, but she's an interesting woman.

Growing up, my mom always corrected my grammar, and I always thought her English was impeccable...until now. She also told me not to let anyone call me Pasi, it had to be Pasimata. All of you who know her now, know what I'm talking about. Her voice echoes through everyone's heads PASIMATA, PASIMATA, PASIMATA.

On our wedding day while I was getting ready, she came to my hotel room and looked at my dress and said, "You're wearing that? It's not white, you're a weird girl. Pasimata, you're a weird girl." When I got out the temple she kept making comments that my dress was too form fitting and not white.

When Leone was born, he came 2 1/2 weeks early on a Monday and my baby shower put on by my cousins was scheduled to be that Saturday. I walked in with my newborn and my mom kept telling me I needed to lose weight. Yes, FIVE days after giving birth she said I needed to lose weight. Never mind that I just gave birth and all my swelling hadn't gone down yet, but that's Mela for you :)

Today with my mom didn't bring on any criticism, instead it brought on Fob-ism. She came over after work and was looking through all our pictures. She came across a picture of Aaron's great grandmother, Fono Salave'a. She kept saying, wooooow, she died at 39, I wonder what happened. She showed me the picture and said, "She doesn't look 39." I told her that I was pretty sure she wasn't 39 when she died. I read the back of the picture and I said, "Mom, she was born in 1900 and died in 1961, so she was 61." Looking confused, she said, "No, she's 39." For 5 minutes I kept trying to explain to her that she's not doing her math correctly. Then she finally caught on. I was pretty amazed!

While we were taking her home she saw the sign for the Lindon exit and proceeded to tell us that she went to Lindon to get a couple horses...for those of you who know Tongans or are Tongan, know where I'm going with this. She said that while they were getting the horse, the family asked if they'd take good care of the horse and my mom said, yes, of course. She turned to her husband and said in Tongan, take care of them in my stomach. OH DEAR!

Best of friends.

Ever since we were little, Ma'afu & I have always been the best of friends. Even though he was 5 years older than me and even though in the Tongan culture brothers aren't allowed to hang out with their sisters, we were still close. I remember everytime we'd visit my grandparents in Laie, as a child, I'd always want to be around Ma'afu 'cause I thought he was the most hilarious person ever. Those of you who know him, know what I'm talking about.

Moving to California was an easy decision at first. I wanted to be someplace new, away from private schools that my mom was forcing me to attend. I didn't realize though how much I'd miss my cousins. When we moved to Fallbrook, I threw the biggest tantrum (I was 12, don't judge). I was overly dramatic and thought I wouldn't survive. Then, I received the most exciting news! My cousins/brothers from Laie would be moving in with us! Hallelujah! The funny thing is, even though it was against the culture to be around my brothers, my dad would always let me tag along with Ma'afu wherever.

Now that we're older, we still are close. We've had our ups & downs, but I still love my brother. We've started a tradition a few years ago to celebrate our bdays by doing lunch/dinner since we're only 2 days apart. Let me rephrase that: We're 5 years & two days apart for those of you who think we're the same age 'cause I know we've been mistaken for being the same age, eh! haha! jk ma'afu, you just look really young. I pray that we'll have many more bday lunches/dinners together! CHEERS!

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Our little man is 3 1/2 months old. It's so much fun watching him grow & develop. I actually saw a video on FB of some friends (Sharlene & Tonga Tukumoeatu) playing with their cute son. Tonga would make a sound and his son would mimic what he was doing. I thought it was so adorable that I tried to do the same with Leone. For weeks I kept trying to get him to copy me and for weeks I could see his little mind going to work trying to figure out how to do it. Finally, two days ago, he did it! Now that's all he ever does when he talks and plays with us.