Meet our 4 lovebugs up for adoption this Saturday on NBC Morning News Segment......

It's that day again, Saturday morning on NBC where you get to see our lovebugs that are up for adoption at the NYC animal Shelter. This segment is about love, love,love! Let me introduce to you 4 of our lovebugs that are ready to be adopted; they are all waiting patiently at the Manhattan Shelter. We have 2 doggies, Senor Chalupa & Hammy. Our 2 lovely felines Leroy & Athena; read more about them below and see how easily one can fall in love with these bundles of joys...see you then! 6am!

xoxo,nency

www.nycacc.org

Meet Senor Chalupa A#901213

He came to us as stray from the Bronx . He is a little shy and nervous, and I think it is just because he wants his “quite time”. He is a sweet 4 year old with good looks… and dare I say looks younger! Come and meet him at the Manhattan shelter, he is waiting for his new parents!

Meet Hammy  A#879491

Hammy is a sweet boy who hasn’t had much luck in the family department. Twice surrendered, he needs a forever an final home! His previous owners spoke highly of him: He is fully housebroken, loves children, good with other dogs!! Isn’t it time we show this pup that forever love does exist!!

He is at the Manhattan shelter waiting for you

Leroy (A# 900828) 

I LOVE LEROY!!! He is my one-eyed wonder cat J Here is the bio I wrote for him…A Staff Member Writes...Leroy is a 6 year old neutered male who was left in the lobby of the shelter on 6/17. His left eye is missing, but that doesn't make him any less of a cat. In fact, it adds character! Leroy is a charming chap who loves attention from his humans. He comes right to the front of his kennel for petting and purrs as soon as you touch him. He is a great cat that deserves a warm, safe place to call home. Come to the Manhattan Shelter and take Leroy home today!!

Athena (A# 901293) 

Little Athena is a 3 month old tiger and white girl. She was found as a stray on the Lower East Side . Athena always has something to say – she’ll talk your ear off if you’ll listen. This sweet little girl loves attention from her humans and a good cuddle. As with all kittens, she is full of energy and loves to play almost as she loves to talk. This kitty would make the perfect addition to just about any home.

Let me introduce you to Pluto and Jinx..Our pet celebrities up for adoption this Saturday on the NBC morning segment

Welcome all,

And it is that day again.. Saturday morning on NBC with the NYC animal shelter featuring our wonderful pet celebrities up for adoption! This Saturday we have Pluto and Jinx. They are both bundles of personality and ready to find their forever home. Get a glimpse of these four legged star celebrities this Saturday on NBC morning segment on channel 4. See you there!

xoxo,nency

Meet "Pluto" A#900427

This fuzzy 3 year grey Lhasa Apso came to us as a stray all the way from Queens NY. Now he finds himself at the shelter. I can't help but think of the planet Pluto, which as some of you may know, has a satellite named "Charon". This satellite sort of lets us know all the transits of Pluto, where it has been and where it's going.

I believe that our doggie friend "Pluto" must have lost his own satellite, and found himself at the Manhattan Shelter.  Would you adopt him, and give him a happier destination? He awaits you at the Manhattan shelter.

Meet Jinx (A# 900436)

Hi. I’m Jinx. I’m a 2 year old boy with shiny black fur and big yellow eyes. I was found as a stray in the Bronx , but I had a home at one point since I’m already neutered and declawed in the front. When you enter the cat room, you’ll know who I am – I’m the one waving through the kennel door. You don’t see me? Ok – I’ll wave faster. Still don’t see me? Ok – I’ll tap you. YAY! You see me!!! Now that I have your attention – pet me, pet me, pet me!!! You want to hold me too? Great! Now I can really turn on the charm. I’ll lean into your hand for a good massage, purr like crazy and even put my nose up again and again for kisses. (I LOVE kisses!!!) Needless to say, I’m outgoing and active, so if you’re looking for the shy retiring type, please consider one of my many other cat friends that are in need of a home. I want to be the center of attention and in the middle of everything. I should do great in home with kids or other cats that are declawed like me. Swing by the Manhattan Shelter and take me home today!!!

Believing in Goals and Dreams a la Dara Torres style! 2012...

Hello Everyone,

So today I wanted to blog about inspiring people, particularly women that inspire. For me one of the women that I most admire and see as a role model for myself is the Olympic medalist Dara Torres. Even though there are many reasons  one can clearly see why she would be someone to be inspired by; for me the main reason is simply because she believes in goals and dreams. I think this is important as your goals and dreams are the things that make you happy,fulfilled, and a complete person. It's exciting to hear that she is making a come back for the 2012 Olympic games as it shows that she is not only an ageless woman but also in complete tune with who she is and following her hearts desire. Even though I myself have never been or trained  to go to the Olympics, I can only imagine the time and dedication it takes to make it through the preliminaries and on the US team. With that mentioned, to do this kind of things you really have to have your heart and mind connected to get you there. For me that alone holds much value.

In one of her inspirational speeches she spoke about her experiences in training for the Olympics and how she met two kinds of people - basically those that are believers and those that aren't and she talked about how important it is to surround yourself with those that are. The reason being so is that not only is it healthier but it is also more counter productive as you get to experience life with more depth and meaning. Always surround yourself with those that uplift and inspire as technically speaking anything is possible. Goals and dreams may entail a lot of time, dedication, and work but if it's something that you feel passionate about one should never give up. The journey may not be the easiest path but it is definatly the path worth going through as that's where you learn and have the most growth - all which lead to making you a person that understands the value of appreciating the "opportunity". And one last thing that Dara mentioned that I thought held much truth is recognizing all those that helped along the way. No one achieves their goals and dreams alone - everyone matters. From the trainers to the MTA subway drivers that make sure the subway runs smoothly so you can get to your desired destination.  Below is a link of the  Dara Torres speech I mentioned earlier - hope you enjoy and get inspired!

xoxo, nency

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfpFSqJry5k

After looking at those abs, how can one not be inspired and know that hard work does pay off!

The New Dress and the art of sewing...

 The New Dress  By Arthur John Elsley

And todays theme is sewing and dresses...  Sewing because I finally finished all my alterations for nationals and really excited and relieved that all is good to go. I was inspired to write about sewing because it is a hobbie that has been with me ever since I can remember and has greatly been in the majority if not most of my life. I first learned how to sew by sitting next to my mothers sewing table and watching her create pretty dresses for my two older sisters. For every kind of celebration, my mother always sewed dresses for her 3 daughters. Being that I am the youngest, it took a while for me to get to wear the fancy dresses but I remember watching her sew and thinking it was the most captivating thing to watch. I loved to watch her create what in my mind were the most beautiful dresses I had ever seen. I think it was there that my looove for dresses all began. By watching my mom sew and by also watching one of our favorite spanish shows... the evening gown segment of the Miss. Venezuela Universe Pageant. For those of you that have never seen the Miss. Venezuela evening gown segment, I had to link a video because regardless if you are a fashion person of not, when watching this particular part of the show one has to give kudos to those designing the gowns as one can clearly see the art of sewing that went into creating each individual piece.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5O53pVNw2c&feature=related

Clothing itself is quite interesting as even though many think "it's just clothes", in reality there is a lot more depth to them. Clothing is a reflection of not only the particular time period, but also a creative canvas of what is occurring within that time period. Particularly speaking of the dress though, there is something about a"dress" that really is like no other piece of clothing. In my opinion, I think the reason being is simply because there is a lot of power in a dress. The right dress can really make a woman feel like a priceless Picasso and in doing so can be visually a beautiful piece of art. I find that to be so exciting and pretty neat how clothing can do that. It is no wonder that we continuously see the dress being celebrated in many ways, from childrens' movies where the princess is always wearing a dress to Dancing With The Stars where the dress plays a huge role in creating the mood of the dance itself. In fine art dresses also played a large part in a artists canvas. One of my favorite paintings are of Arthur John Elsley, The New Dress. It is one of my favorite because there is so much tangible things that I can relate to and love the significance of the paintings story as well. One of course is the dress itself and the girl being so excited to "show" her dress to her friends which happen to be dogs. I find the painting endearing and genuine as she and the dogs share the moment of "the new dress." And it is with that thought that I leave you to think about all the life celebrations in which "the dress" played a large part in creating that specific special moment. Hmmm...

xoxo,nency

A Tour of Pure Power Bootcamp in NYC; a gym like you've never seen before

Hello Again,
So many of you have been asking me regarding my bootcamp gym and it seems no matter how much I try to explain somehow visualizing a "bootcamp" in the middle of New York City is quite difficult to envision so I figured the best next thing to do was write about it and show some pics. I also had a couple of questions on what the "INTENSITY" wall was... Well as you can see in this first picture above. Every obstacle has a dedicated name on it- the Intensity wall is a wall which you climb over. There are hurdles, belly robbers, rock climbing wall (which by the way is slanted on one side),the adult version of the monkey bars, and one of my favorites is the climbing slide which is pictured below. 
Besides that if you carefully look at what is under the slide you will see stack of tires (yes, tires) with those we do squats, endless laps, squat thrusts, and one of the all time favorite is holding the tire over your head for usually 60 seconds -if not more! And those lovely sandbags, yes we run with those bad boys. Yup, just like the real army bootcamp but in NYC :) 
Classes start at 5:30 am and every class is a platoon (I'm in the 5:30 one) They are taught by former real Marines so there's no mercy here! When they say 100 push ups, they really do mean 100 pushups. The part of the gym that is not pictured is where we do weights, the daily mountain runner, and the stretching. Yes, my friends this is my bootcamp NYC style, soon to be in California too! Fun, fun, fun at 5:30 am :) I'm also linking a Youtube video so you can get a better idea of all the work that is done here, and you'll also get to meet the owner as well...take a peek!
cheers, nency

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2mZ4-jx4gA

Pure Power Bootcamp NYC , 38 East 32nd Street 3rd Floor NYC, NY 10016 

Tel: 212-414-1886

Pure Power Bootcamp Jericho, 50 South Service Road  Jericho, NY 11753

Tel: 516-338-1112

The "Sparkle" of my life :) also known as "Sunshine face" for her static morning hair duo

 Little Miss. Sparkles

Hello, and welcome back...
Today I am inspired to write about someone who I think anyone that knows me really well knows about and that is the one and only famous Little Miss. Sparkles (which is my beloved little shadow, aka my dog) I wanted to write about her today because I've continued my reading of the book, The Bond by the president of the Humane Society, Wayne Pacelle and I am currently on the 4th chapter where he is talking about how powerful the the human/animal bond is and it's origin of how it all came about. Anyhow, with that mentioned I couldn't help but think of how I came about to meet Little Miss. Sparkles and how lucky I am to have her in my life and be able to experience taking care of the munchkin and seeing all her amusing entertaining personality. So with out further jibber jabber here is the story 

So growing up, there was always some kind of pet in the household. It wasn't until the end of my college years that I spent 3 years without an animal in my life and within those years I can honestly say I felt somewhat "bare" not having a pet. It just seemed weird. Anyhow, I was close to graduating and had been thinking of what I was going to do for myself for having survived and  finished art school. I thought of many things but the one thing that kept tugging at my dress was having a dog. I knew it most likely would be a small dog as I figured  I would be living in apartments for a while and the smaller ones were perhaps more reasonable. And so my heart was set on getting a dog for graduation. I know what many of you are thinking..  How are you going to pay for all the vet bills/other bills that come along with getting a pet. Well technically like many college students,yes I was broke but I specifically remembered looking at the statement of my student loan and seeing that I had plenty left over to take care of a dog for at least 2 years. And so there it was I was going to get a dog for graduation and her name would be Little (for the height) Miss (I was hoping for a girl) Sparkles (because I knew she was going to be the little burst of  sunshine). And  the next step was just in finding her...
When I first met her at a rescue, she was tiny - a mere 1 1/2 pds at 4 months and I remember all I saw were these tiny little beety black eyes. As I picked her up she was a bit on the stinky winky side but remember thinking, wow I'm responsible for this little life- it was then that I Nency Escamilla, of all the Escamilla's became a single doggie mommy.  I only wanted what would make her happy and promised her that no matter what, I would always do my very best to make sure she has the best doggie life ever. No matter what happens I would never leave her behind nor would she ever see the inside of an animal shelter. I remember saying that to her and holding her and thinking, my life just completely changed. But it was a good change; a change that is inevitable as I do believe in the saying,  "the only constant is change" - as it is how we evolve and grow. This growth felt good. I knew I was just about to embark on not only a new phase in my life (especially having just inherited this bundle of responsibility) but I also knew that where ever I would go there would be a little more "sparkle" that would make things that much more endearing. 

xoxo,nency

Yes that is a oil painting of the little one courtesy of my friend from art school -24x24 poster size! :)

A Place that changed my life and lifted me up - Pure Power Bootcamp NYC

www.purepowerbootcamp.com

Hello Everyone!

Today I wanted to blog about a place that I would like everyone to know about for many reasons but perhaps the most profound and meaningful reason is simply on how this place was positively life altering. It is called Pure Power Boot Camp and it is located in NYC (and soon in California too!) I wanted to write about PPBC because it is a place that has not only changed  my life for the better but can honestly say it has "lifted me up." I came to PPBC last year when I was at my largest I had ever been - that being a size 10 in the brink of pushing a size 12. For someone of my height, that's really,really not good as you see I'm only 5'0" and the normal max size I  should ever be is no bigger then a size 4; which is average - not really at my best but not completely overweight, just ok.

Anyhow, I remember when I first started to look at gyms, I was looking for a place where I would get results as I knew loosing the weight was not only going to take time but also a lot of work. Besides work, at that point of my life I kinda, sorta had fallen off the horse so to speak (I don't want to bore you with the details but lets just say that back then, I was at the lowest point I had ever been in my life - essentially I was at the bottom of rock bottom) and because of my weight gain I had not only become painfully shy but also incredibly insecure as I had never really been at such a big size before. I didn't feel good about myself and it literally hurt to see myself in the mirror and it had began to affect every part of my life - emotionally, mentally, psychologically and the hardest was definitely socially. I was in an extremely fragile state and knew the one thing I had to do that would help me was to get back to the size I had always been and that was 0/2 or at least a size where I would be somewhat comfortable with myself. With this mentioned, this place also had to be encouraging and "safe" to be at.

The first day I came to visit PPBC and took my "mini" tour from the receptionist, the moment I walked in, I knew the only way I would fail is if I didn't show up. With that seen, I signed up for my first Tour of Duty which began March 14th 2010 at 5:30 am. That day, my first day was definitely extremely humbling as it was then that I realized how bad it was. I was the girl that literally could not do 1 single sit up; I could not run, I could not do 1 single push up. I was so embarrassed of the little strength I had, I really didn't want to come back but knew I had to just at least try and finish. I somehow was able to do so and slowly noticed that not only was I starting to loose inches, I was also gaining strength and little by little things were getting better. I was starting to feel good about myself and my clothes started  to feel loose. After the Tour of Duty I signed up for 6 months and knew if I just kept coming, maybe in those 6 months things would even get better and I would improve even more. Within those 6 months not only did all of that occur but something else occurred that I really hadn't even thought of. That being, I started to dream again; and in doing so started to think about all my goals and the things that I thought would be quite exciting to go after and accomplish. Because technically speaking, if I could go over that "INTENSITY" wall and all the other 3 walls, and carry a tire while I run, and do all those endless squat thrusts, then there really wasn't anything that I couldn't do. I just had to keep trying and keep coming. And so that's what I did, I kept coming and kept trying...and before I knew it 6 months turned to 1 year.

I'm excited and happy to say that marking that 1 year, I have reached my goal of being my normal size of 0/2. I can honestly say I would not be where I am today if it weren't for PPBC and the trainers. It is a place that not only changed me for the better but "lifted me up" and in doing so showed me that anything is possible; any goal and dream you have is possible...even if your goal and dream is to one day be Ms. United States :) And that's just the mental part, now imagine what it'll do for your abs! 

xoxo,nency

Pure Power Bootcamp NYC , 38 East 32nd Street 3rd Floor NYC, NY 10016 

Tel: 212-414-1886

Pure Power Bootcamp Jericho, 50 South Service Road  Jericho, NY 11753

Tel: 516-338-1112

                              

Spending time and talking to the troops about PPBC at Brooklyn's 144th Memorial Day Parade 2011