Christmas Eve Class

Here's a couple videos from our class this past Monday. We have a few students who like to coordinate their outfits and join us on stage. Here they are with their "Christmas outfit", heels and all. Do not try this at your Zumba class! 

 *Video taped by two different individuals catching different angles. Enjoy!

 

 Aside from teaching Zumba, this guy also sings. Here's Liu Vakapuna (one of our instructors) singing Chris Brown's "This Christmas".

 

*

(Back - L to R:  Billie, Betsy, Sinai, Silia, Ame, Beti, Dana, Lila.  Front - L to R:  Souna, Sela, Twig, Satomi, Maki, Nicole.  Missing:  Liu)

 

From our EMZ family to yours

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Caralee Lambard Hand

Let me introduce you to Caralee Lambard Hand.  She's one of our faithful members at EMZ.  She's been attending over a year now.  She also plays a key in keeping our class going by opening the doors each morning.  Thank you Caralee!

Here's Caralee's story in her own words:
I heard about EMZ several months before I actually started attending. My son was going to seminary in the stake center where we meet now. We'd drive past the building behind the Hook and Ladder every morning, and we wondered why there were so many cars there at that hour of the day. We went to a Stake Youth Council Meeting, and Mahina was there and telling everyone about EMZ. I thought about going, but didn't because of the seminary schedule. When school was over for the year, I ran out of excuses not to go. School was over, it was free, and just up the street from my house, so I started going. I had a pair of pants that was way too small for me. I couldn't even make the button and button hole meet, because my stomach was so big. After a week or two, I could put on the pants and button them, but it was still tight. A few months later, I could fasten them completely. My goal is to put them on and wear them comfortably. I can wear them, but it is still kind of snug. I have lost about 20 pounds, but some of it has come back. I am hoping to break the plateau I have been on, and to lose some more. I do not want to go back to where I was a year and a half ago. I recently hit my 50th birthday. In my family, that is a scary decade, because of the health problems several family members have had. We've had run ins with heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. I hope that by doing zumba on a regular basis, I will be able to avoid those things.

 

 

April 2007

July 2011

 

November 2012

 

Class Schedule & Upcoming Events

 

December 21 (Friday) - Aside from it being the "end of the world", we are having a Bake Sale to help raise funds for the instructors going to the Zumba Conference in Los Angeles, February 2013.  We have half of the team going & each individual has paid their own registration ($329).  The funds raised will help cover transportation, gas, hotel & food during the 3-day conference.  We will be posting the items we will have for sale along with prices. 

December 25 & 26 (Tuesday & Wednesday) - Merry Christmas!   NO CLASS.

December 28 (Friday) - Holiday Party.  It will be like our other parties during/after class.  Potluck style.  Please see Nane Vea, Heamoni Fili'moeatu or Lupi Misinale for more info.

January 1 (Tuesday) - Happy New Year 2013.  NO CLASS.

Where are they?

As many of you already know, our class is a FREE class we offer Monday through Friday.  It's strictly volunteer.  To keep some kind of consistency and not overwhelm the class with new instructors each day or week, we set the limit at 15. Depending on our various schedules, once in a great while you will call all 15.  However as we know with life itself, things don't always go as planned.  We have steady group that shows up each day.  That group notices when one, two or more are not present for a good while.  It raises concerns.

If we could have our preference as instructors, we would be there every morning, but due to other circumstances, that's not always the case.  Some concerned class members have asked where's so & so...and so forth.  So here goes:

Betsy joined the nunnery.

 Souna was asked by PSY to go on tour with him.

Silia secretly started her own FREE Zumba class called E-EMZ which starts at 5:25.  And supposedly she does "CHOCO-LATTE waayyyyyyyy better".

Twig has morning sickness - next Octo-mom.

Billie is filming for Magic Mike 2.

Anger management classes and community service has been keeping Sela busy.  She happened to run into a class member that didn't like her routines while seeing the Christmas lights.  Let's just say we are lucky Beti wasn't with her.  She has been 86-ed from Temple Square.

 

Liu moved to Colorado City with his six new wives.

Hope you get our humor?  Hahahahaha!  On a serious note, many of the instructors have been busy with training for a new job, getting kids off to school or busy with other things.  *Note:  the only instructor pregnant is Silia.  

We appreciate everyone's concern and know that no one has left the group.  Between all of us, we guarantee someone will be there to teach each morning.

Nothing but LOVE for you all!!!

Penina Matagi Roberts

Our class is no ordinary Zumba class.  A few things that sets us apart from other classes -- the time slot & the number of attendees so early in morning.  For many, it's what works...granted, it's super early.  Even though it's super early, on average we get about 50-60 attendees a day...on a super good day 200 - happened only once.  We are truly grateful for all who attend, because without a class, we wouldn't have anyone to teach.

 

We will be doin a few spotlights here and there on our class members.  This will give them a chance to share their success stories, tips & a little bit about themselves with the rest of us.  It also will put a name to the familiar face each morning. 

 

Our spotlight for today:

Penina Matagi Roberts

 

 

I met Penina years ago & the crazy thing is, I ended up being neighbors with her brother.  If you ever get a chance to chat with this girl/lady, she is so funny!  I asked Penina to share in her own words any tips she may have and here's what she had to say:

 

Exercise...eat in MODERATION....ANY exercise is good, be it walking, jogging, crawling or Zumba!!  I started off doing 5-8 classes a week of Zumba and now that I have shed some poundage and can breathe it makes it easier to switch up the workouts by playing volleybal or basketball or doing home workouts one of my favs is Jillian's 30 day shred or punching it out on a punching bag. Eating in moderation and having portion control.  I am a junk food junkie and I LOVE sweets and candy so this is super hard for me...so I basically still eat what I want I just eat a WHOLE lot less...and I try to substitute veggies and fruits for snacks instead of snickers and Reese's..Lol..all in all I have to remember to never never never never never ever quit!  And not to get frustrated with progress, cause slow progress is better tha no progress and to trust the process.

 

A bit curious on how much she lost, I was nervy enough to ask...and leave it to her to respond like this:

I was a large marge of 220 and now weigh 180 and have gone down 4 pant sizes...

 

Wow!!!  Congrats Penina!!!  So dang proud of ya!  I asked her how did she hear about our class and when did she start attending?  Her good friend Catherine Yee-Wall told her about EMZ.  Thank you Catherine!!!

I finally gave in (and I am not a morning person, so this is big for me to be up going @530am, especially to workout!! Lol) and went with her and was hooked from day one...I started attending EMZ on a regular basis mid March of this year...I remember cause my first EMZ partay experience was the St. Patrick party...

Thank you Penina for sharing your story with us!!! Love ya girl!!!

Stay tuned as we will be sharing more from our class.  And if you are a class member and would like to share your story & pictures with us, please email us at:  theemzcrew@gmail.com

 

~Sinai~

 

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving has come and gone...or has it?  Although it's celebrated once a year...make it a goal to celebrate it daily!

Just a reminder:

Our service project (see post below) is just days away.  If you signed up to help with the items for our dinner, please bring it by tomorrow.

We truly appreciate the donations (food & money) & I'm sure the individuals who will benefit from this will too.

Leaving you with a video from Thanksgiving morning.  Great turnout & we had fun with the 3 'indians' on stage.  Love it!!!