so long 2011

At some point I will write about Christmas.

I'll write about the stress of Christmas shopping with a 2 year old.

I'll write about how you can't buy anyone a present while he's around because he'll tell them what it is.

I'll write about the fun we had with our families.

I'll write about Jack's darling fondness for Santa Clause.

I'll say the Christmas season seemed much shorter than it did when I was a kid.

I'll tell you I got exactly what I wanted for Christmas.

And that I wrote a new song with my new 25 key midi controller this morning.

I'll say I've switched from Splenda to Stevia and how I don't like it but I'm trying to.

I will tell you about how the Tracy Anderson Method with ankle weights hurts my ass and my soul.

I'll say I'm ready to get a rebounder. 

(that's a mini trampoline that Tracy recommends.)

I'll say Jack is going to spend New Year's Eve with my mama and she got hats and sparkling grape juice for them and it's cute.

I'll add we still have no plans for NYE and I have not one thing to wear.

And that when Jack sees a gingerbread man, he calls him "The Muffin Man."

And...

I have money to start recording.

All new stuff.

Super happy.

♥ jp

oh. 

And someday maybe I'll tell you about the week I had the stomach flu, Jack had strep throat, and Husband had a minor surgery that left him with lots of stitches.  

Yes, it's Friday and we've survived!

And we're all better.

Thanks.

velvet.

I love dressing Jack for fall weather.

He's been saying "I love you...  sooo much, mommy."

I love that too.

I've been TAMing hardcore everyday and eating healthy this past week so TGISunday.  Diet and exercise do not exist today.  Sundays are for being lazy, eating pizza, and watching movies.  

I went to Salon Zen to get shellac on my nails but made a last minute decision change and went with an OPI pink shade with the gold shattered on top.  Ashley, a friend of mine and an owner of Zen, did a great job!  I loved it...  until I messed it up by touching nail polish remover the next day by accident.  (damn.  i KNEW i should have gone with shellac.)  Sigh...  Well, it was lovely for 24 hours and Salon Zen is always a pleasure to be at.  I recommend Moreen for hair and Ashley for nails.  

I got tons of compliments on the pink and gold combo.

After demolishing my pretty paint job, I started over at home.  I used a peachy/pink/coral from Ulta and layered Sephora's copper glitter polish on top.  Not quite the same but I do love sparkle.

Quick question.  I'm thinking of going back dark, dark (but not black) brunette.  Any thoughts?  Still wanting to go shorter...  thoughts?  

How annoying can I be.

How adorable is this picture?

Jack loves his new kitties.

Hope you had a fun weekend.

Let's not talk about the OU game.

Let's plan something fun for this week.

♥ jp

breathless in the daylight.

I received an email this morning about fitness and motivation for an app someone is working on.  I wish there were a specific recipe for fitness motivation.  One cup of peanut butter + maple syrup + snickers bar + chocolate ice cream.  Or something like that.  Anything from Rusty's, Victoria's, or Tarahumara's.  For real though, my motivation comes and goes.  Some weeks, I'm so into it and at least one week a month (go figure) I'm not wanting to move my ass anywhere but into a pizza parlor. 

This is what works for me:

My style Pinterest board-  looking at clothes and girls who look good in those clothes make me want to workout and be on good diet behavior.  I say "diet" but really, it's just avoiding some of the treats I let myself have.  Example:  Yes, I'll have one martini instead of 4 beers.  

Check out the tagged photos on Tracy Anderson's facebook page.  Tons of before, during, and afters and it's pretty damn motivating.  

I remind myself that I feel great, sleep better, and have lower stress levels when I'm being good. 

Making a new workout playlist!

Have something to look forward to-  this is my ultimate motivator.  I look forward to playing shows and going out on the weekend and date nights with Husband.  

Sundays.  I eat something bad and delicious on Sundays.  Free days are important to me.

If nothing works and I just can't get into dance cardio, I just don't do it.  I don't beat myself up over it, I just pick up where I left off the next day.  No big deal.  Some days I just don't have the time.

Any tips you'd like to share with me?

I'm drinking my first diet coke since Sunday.  SUNDAY, i said.  Wait, i did try a diet coke and cherry whipped vodka the other night.  It was a little tiny drink though.  Yes, it was good but a little sweet for me.  Like a melted cherry coke snowcone.  Total college girl drink.

Jack is back at school this week.  He's been a very sweet chicken the past couple of days.  Still waking up in the middle of the night and insisting on getting in bed with us.  Any tips on how to stop this would be greatly appreciated.  

♥

jp

classically trained.

So now my mom thinks I only drink coconut water and that I never eat anything.  I recieved a concerned phone call.  Trust me, Mom, I eat.  I just ate a bunch of pretzels.  And before that, I had some animal crackers.  And before that, I had a couple bites of Jack's grilled cheese.  And before that, I had cereal.  This afternoon I made macaroni and cheese for dinner-  it's ready to go in the oven.  Real mac'n'cheese with cheddar, mozzerella, gouda, cream, milk, flour, butter, and salt.  I plan on making fried okra, green beans, and biscuits in a little bit.  And chicken for the boys.  I ate pizza last night.  And popcorn, of course.  I don't feel dieter's guilt when I eat something f'n delicious.  I thought we already went over this?  I eat very healthy-  lots of fresh veggies and fruit, yogurt, green tea, water, and wine.  Lots of spinach and arugula with tomatoes, craisins, and olive oil lately.  So there.  I'm not starving myself nor do I look like I'm starving myself.  Silly.

This kid isn't starving either.  He's got a lunchable stuffed in his mouth in this photo.  He's been extra sweet this week, our special mommy/baby week together.  We've played a lot of guitar and are learning piano together.  I don't think we're actually learning anything yet but we like to pretend.  Don't judge us, we're lazy sometimes.

I look so mean in this picture!  I'm so tough!  Not really.  It's habit.  I have this really annoying birth defect known as dimples and it makes me look like a little girl.  I don't mind it so much now but I used to be really self conscious about it when I was younger.  You will never see me sing (i sound like a 6 year old) and smile at the same time.  Little girl overload.  

Took Jack to visit my Grams.  He ate most of her Hershey's Kisses and showed her how to color in his coloring book.  He was very serious about it.  Jack walks around like he owns that nursing home.

Just found out I'm getting a massage tomorrow afternoon.  I can't wait!!!!!!!!  TAM never stops making you sore.  Last night I made myself a dirty vodka martini to deal with the pain in my ass, shoulders, and ribs.  And then I On Demanded The Notebook for $1.  I say On Demanded is a verb so don't look at me like that.  Laugh all you want but you know it's a good movie.  

I'm going to read the new Elle Decor mag now.  I lead a very exciting life.  If you want to bring a bottle of wine over to my house, I won't complain.

♥  jp

my ass. it hurts.

Hey guys.  So, I'm not working out today but here's what I've been doing all week.  It's fun, you should try it.  If you don't have the money to buy metamorphosis or you just want to see if you even like TAM, search for Tracy Anderson on youtube and tons of little workouts pop up.  I do these webisodes (in addition to 30 mins of dance cardio) when I want to change up my workout.  These aren't very hard but they are a  good, quick little workout for you.  Your ass will hurt so bad right after, you'll have trouble walking to the kitchen to eat cookies.  Well, that's what happened to me.

Tracy's Arms Webisode

 

Tracy's Abs Webisode

Gosh, I sure am sick of veggie protein soup everyday.  Over it!  I've been drinking lots of green tea, Zico coconut water, Zico CHOCOLATE coconut water, and raspberry melon G2 gatorade.  Chocolate coconut water is surprisingly delicious.  Man, I want a big ass Diet Coke though.

Tracy's Butt and Thighs Webisode

Have fun!
♥ jp

Tracy Anderson Madness

TAM=  Tracy Anderson Method

TRACY ANDERSON is a tiny, blonde fitness goddess.  She is very interactive with her clients and keeps her fans up to date through her website.  She puts out little webisodes, shares interviews and tips, and is just a badass in general.  There are several DVDs to choose from in her online store and she has a book called Tracy Anderson's 30 Day Method that can be purchased online or in most bookstores.  My story goes like this.

I'm not a tiny or a giant person, I'm 5 feet 7 inches tall and I have broad shoulders, a broad rib cage, long monkey arms and long legs.  I had a baby.  I gained almost 30 pounds.  Lost most of it easily after the baby was born but had zero tone and endurance after 11 months of sitting on my ass, eating bread and pasta.  I did P90X and liked it alright but I build muscle very quickly and I didn't like the bulk it gave me.  I did some Jillian Michaels stuff but we didn't get along very well.  Pilates next, which I loved but I get bored with easily.  I've done stability ball workouts, videos that use the big rubber band things, and yoga.  I have the attention span of a 3 year old so I like to change it up frequently.

I bought the TAM book first.  It comes with a meal plan, recipes and a DVD that includes 3 mat workouts and 2 dance cardio sequences.  The music sucks but I just mute it and make playlists on my ipod.  I lost a lot of weight the month I did the 30 day method.  It's pretty hard but worth it.

Tracy came out with the Metamorphosis series which is the holy grail of 90 day workout plans.  You choose which body type you are so it's not like a cookie cutter type series.  There are 4 DVDs with multiple sequences to follow.  Yes, it's hard.  Yes, some days you feel miserable.  Yes, you will see really fast results if you stick to it.  Yes, the dance cardio gets much easier with time.  Yes, you still feel ridiculous when someone walks in and catch you doing dance cardio.

Sometimes I follow the meal plan (thanks, Tracy, for not forgetting vegetarians!)  Sometimes I only do the workout 5 days a week instead of 6.  I don't always follow the program exactly like she urges you to but I'm only human and sometimes it's hard making time to do all of this crap.  Maybe if I had a nanny, a chef and a serene studio on my property like Gwyneth Paltrow, I could keep myself in check a little better.

Ok.  The meal plan pretty much sucks but if you follow it, you will be tiny like Tracy.  If you don't, you'll look more like me.  I don't own a juicer nor do I plan on owning one anytime soon so I replace the weird kale juice with Naked brand juice you can find at the grocery store.  Some of that stuff is high in calories so be careful which one you get.  I like Blue Machine.  If I don't have time to prepare gazpacho or sweet potato and corn pudding-  I eat a Kashi Go Lean roll or eat a little Special K protein cereal with unsweetened almond milk.  Most days I'm down to half of a Diet Coke and I drink hot or cold green tea-  I like Bigelow Green Tea with Mint.  You aren't supposed to use splenda or honey but I'm a rebel so I sometimes do.  Yes, I live on the edge.  I eat a lot of salad and veggie protein soup during the week for lunch.  I like egg whites or protein cereal for breakfast.

Am I at my ideal weight?  Nah.  I don't really care though because I have really great legs.  I do, it's genetic so thank you, mom and grandma.  As I get older, I'm much more comfortable with myself.  I like my body to feel strong, i like to have excellent posture, and I just like the stress relief exercise provides.  It's good for your mind and energy level.  Oh, AND Tracy lets your drink a little wine.  Just don't get drunk and eat Taco Bell at 2am.  It's easy to do- I KNOW.  I also know if you do happen to do that, always remember you are allowed to enjoy life any time you want.  Taco Bell in moderation.

One more thing.  I went to a Barre3 class in OKC last Monday and loved it.  Ballet, pilates, and yoga inpired barre work.  My hamstrings died as did every muscle in my arms but I didn't even realize how much it worked until I felt it the next day.  And the day after that.  I wanted to go again this week but I've been busy so next Monday it is.  You should definitely try it out if you live around the area.  The studio is cool too.  Duh, it's in Classen Curve so it's all fancy pants.

The end for now.  If you have any questions I didn't answer, don't hesitate to contact me or leave a comment.  These are the songs I'm working out to this week.  I change it up usually every 4 or 5 days.  I listen to a weird mix of artists.  I like to sing along and yes, pop songs are really easy to dance to.  I like to keep it fun.

My TAM Mat playlist:
East Harlem- Beirut
Summertime- Penny Hill
Daydreaming- Dark Dark Dark
Wild Palms- Sun Airway
Boy You Loved to Watch Me Cry- Madeline
Rachel-  Sleigh Bells
Cape Dory-  Tennis
Swimmers- Broken Social Scene
Infinity Guitars- Sleigh Bells

My TAM Cardio playlist:
Kids-  Sleigh Bells
Baby Say Goodbye- Wavves
3- Britney
Empire State of Mind- Jay-Z & Alicia Keys
Floating Vibes- Surfer Blood
I Follow Rivers-  Lykke Li
Last Friday Night- Katy Perry
Relator- Pete Yorn & Scarlett
Crazy for You-  Best Coast
My Prerogative- Britney
How I Met You- Jenn Grant


If you live around here, let's work out together!  If you're into that sort of thing.  I'm not doing dance cardio unless you do it to.

xo ♥ Jaguar Paw