Out of shape

You know all that bragging I did a while back about exercising regularly and feelin' so good? Turns out I haven't been exercising the past few weeks. I used a coupon to a local Bikram Yoga to do 20 days for $20. Super deal. I went four days the first week, but only 1 the second week. I was going to go today, but our car is still at the mechanic's. The workout is good, and obviously you sweat a lot (105* and 50% humidity) but I was just not getting the strength training that my body so desperately needs.

So, yesterday Beverly and I made a batch of sugar cookies and after dinner I told Travis, "I feel like I need to eat a bunch of cookies." He replied, "Go for a walk!" He was actually rather insistent. I yielded and took my goodnight leave of Beverly (it was 7:30) and got my running clothes on. That's not what Travis had in mind, but if I'm going to exercise, I'm going to exercise.

I cranked up my music and headed for a loop through the neighborhood next to me. It's a secret route that says "not a through street" at either end. Rich people. ha. What's great is that it is slightly windy so that I never saw a straight road in front of me. There were a lot of hills and the side streets were really steep, so I used them for lunges and side winding. By the time I got down to the other end of the street to head back around to home my hips were burnin'. Well, it had been raining all day yesterday and I found that it's really hard to stretch your glutes when you don't want to sit down. I managed some meager stretches at a fence and headed up the steep incline to home. I even went all out during "Let's Get Loud" for about 100 feet. That's saying a lot on this hill. Be proud of me.

When I arrived home I mapped it out and it was just over 2 miles, but it felt a lot longer. Probably those hills. I was poo-ooped! I took a minute for a set of pushups (I was burnin' after 3! What a wimp I've become!) But I'm back to real exercise. Hallelujah.

Just Shoot Me!

So it turns out that the vain fantasy of becoming a model isn't so fantastical after all. At 5'10" and a size 12, I'm a plus size model. Don't you love the bazaar standards of the fashion world?

I've done shoots from time to time over the past 8 years or so, but I'm finally at a time when I could really do something with it. The best part is that my Darling hubby is fully supportive (who doesn't want their wife to get all vamped up for pictures?).

Last weekend I did a beauty shoot and this past Friday night I had a test-shoot with a clothing company. They both came out really well and I'm very excited about where this may be leading. I've made some excellent connections and have a good start on a portfolio now. If the test-shoot doesn't pan out into the regular work that it has been discussed at being, then I may get signed with a local agency. I'll be going to two open calls this week. Wish me luck!

Back In The Game...

The girls are finally over their Cold & Flu Season. After two and a half months of back to back to back colds (and the occasional puke!) the snot-wells have dried up! Hoorah!

I'm trying to pack my schedule as neatly as possible, but I've had to cut two hours of dance class in exchange for three hours of acting, and I've added voice lessons. So weekly, I am dancing 2 hours, acting class 3 hours, voice lessons 1 hour, and the gym 4-5 hours. After the acting class is done I'll add back the two hours of dance there. Hopefully a lot of things will change soon because I'll get a gig. :)

Oh, I took Monkey and Toad to JCPenney for pictures today. They were so adorable. I'll have them up eventually.

Have I Told You...

that my waist is only 33" right now? I know. I'm a PUNK.

I'm Back!

Again! The girls had back to back to back illnesses for over two weeks. They both had a fever at one point and Toad kept one going for over a week. Through it all, though, they were happy and energetic. It was just a bunch of yucky bugs invading the house. There is still the occasional nose to wipe, but that may just be allergies. Monkey seems sensative to so many things that I would be suprised if she doesn't also have seasonal allergies.

I started going back to the gym again, as well as dance class. It feels great to be moving again. I know that I have about 20 pounds (like 6 inches around my waist. Unbelievable, eh?) to lose to get where I really want to be. I hate, hate, hate reducing how much I eat. I'd rather work out more.

I'm working on memorizing a couple of songs for auditions. I still haven't been satisfied with the teacher search. It took too long for me to realize that my first teacher wasn't getting me anywhere. He sure upped my confidence while I was there! However, that doesn't make me sing better. I had one lesson with a great lady in Seattle, but it takes half an hour to get to her home...in good traffic. I'm trying to find a good teacher on the Eastside.

Last Thursday in Jazz I recorded the routine we're learning and I've been practicing at home. I almost have it memorized. I need to work on the end and then polish it at full speed. Next month (er,...week) I will add Tap to my dance classes. That seems like kind of an essential for musicals...I'm no "dancer", but I do like to dance, I can learn with a lot of work, and I don't look akward after I've worked hard enough.

Now to the kitchen...

Some random thoughts...

Darling is gone on a trip for work right now. He is down in sunny Las Vegas until Friday. I was contemplating running off with him and dropping the girls with my mother, but I decided against it. We're saving money for our trip to Portugal in the fall. Last night he emailed me a picture of his rental car and his room at the Venitian. Holy Smokes! I told him that he wouldn't want to come back to our cruddy little home after luxuriating in his 800 square feet of clean coziness. He also spent and extra $10 and upgraded his Mustang to a convertable. Poor guy. It's only in the 70's there all week! Oh, well. At least we're having sunshine here again. Sometimes we even make it to the park in the early afternoon while it's warm enough.

I recently moved the furniture in our bedroom and it really opened the room up. It looks so good. I feel like the room is twice as big now. It also helps that I finally got a duvet for that comfortor I bought. It's a beautiful golden cream color brocade. We found it at Target and it looks great against the ivory bed that we have. The orange tone to it sets off the blue walls and pillows.

I'm trying to get caught up on housework. I made a batch of Chicken & Apple Empanadas for Darling to grab for his lunches, and I have a couple batches to make yet with some leftover steaks. The Chicken ones are divine, and I am really looking forward to the steak. That recipe calls for raisens and green olives, among other things. Yum.

Every week I find a new pile of "stuff" to get rid of. I just need to find a great twin bed and trundle for Monkey and then I can pass along her toddler bed. Once Darling finishes the other bedroom I will move both of the girls in there, but I also want room for guests. A twin and a trundle would be great, then I can have the girls sleep in the "office" while we have company.

Double Vision

Monkey is good at getting sidetracked. It's normal for her age. But when she drifts off while we're talking to her, "Hey! Look at this little piggy! Oink, oink, oink! It's the piggy!", we refer to her as Distraction Central.

I was talking to Monkey this morning -- and telling her how great swimming lessons were going to be -- while putting in my contacts. I put one in and then the other. My right eye felt bad! Usually if one feels weird, it's my left eye. I use "daily disposables" so I know that they were clean. I just could not get my vision to clear!

Suddenly I realized that it wasn't my swimming lesson today, but Monkey's. I ran to check the schedule on the computer and called the YMCA to verify. Yup! Time to get Monkey into her swimsuit. First I checked my left eye. I wasn't seeing well out of that one. It was gone! I looked all over the countertop and the floor. Argh!

We wrestled verbally over swimming class (which she suddenly didn't want to do because she wasn't mentally prepared for it at this point) while I headed to my room for another contact. I tore open the package and quickly got the contact into my left eye. There! Now I can see.

I whisked the kids into their proper attire and headed to the car. While driving to the Y my right eye was still blurry and uncomfortable. "Could I have...No. That would be ridiculous."

I dropped Toad into childcare and Monkey and I ran through the locker room and stripped her down. I stopped at the mirror and took out the contact in my right eye. Whoa... make that contacts. Yup. Distraction Central.