Good morning, folks!  Hope everyone had a wonderful week and you aren’t too sick of me after all my Valentine’s Day posts.

I know this particular post has been a long-awaited entry, so I’m sorry to keep you guys my gym ladies waiting!

As you’ve probably figured out by now, my dear friend Jen is moving to Calgary next week.  So not only is she moving out of the country to Canada, but she’s moving to West Coast Canada!  AHHHH.  So far away!  🙁

Jen and I became friends because we took many of the same classes at the Y where I teach, she started going to CBC around the same time I started going, and she eventually became a fellow Y instructor as well.  We read all the same blogs, have the same appreciation for awkward moments, and are just on the same page!  I probably see Jen more during the week than I see my own roommates, given the amount of time we spend in the gym.  That being said, a LOT of my fitness adventures (and just recently non-fitness activities too) in the past year have included Jen!

So of course when Jen announced her big news a couple of months ago, I was super sad but immediately thought it would be the perfect excuse to host a going away party and invite all the gym ladies that I’ve grown closer to over the past year!  Of course, everyone was really into the idea!

Sidenote:  Other people thought it was weird I was having a party for people I workout with.  I told them they were stupid and these people are more fun than the couch and potato chips.  🙂

We came up with a phenomenal “healthy living” themed potluck menu that consisted of:

• Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Quinoa Salad
• Citrus Infused Strawberries
• Lemon Garlic White Bean Dip + Mini Pitas + Veggies
• Carrot Ginger Soup
• Tomato Basil Skewers
• Cookie Dough Dip with Animal Crackers
• Mini Tacos
• Raspberry Crisp
• And lots and lots of wine, punch, and champagne

I’ll be posting some of these recipes in separate posts over the next few weeks!  But for now, some of the food pictures:

We also had American themed decorations of course, in honor of Jen’s last week in the country.

And a Canadian flag too!

Other fun pictures:

The night eventually lead to some dancing, aka Kickboxing routines, at Common Ground.  We definitely busted out “Give Me Everything” and “On the Floor” and had a crowd encircling us and asking who we were.  One girl even said, “There’s a line dance to this song?!”  Hilarious!

We had such a good time!

For the full album of pictures, click over to my Facebook album!

Jen, we’re really going to miss you!  We already do.  🙁

Question of the day:  Have you ever had a good friend move really far away?