Description

... dance, fitness, food, health, life...

Monday, January 30, 2012

Five after 5

Happy Monday!!

Welcome to the newest regular feature here at Better late than never! Every Monday I will feature a randomly-selected list of five things, topics, questions, photos, thoughts... anything that suits my fancy at the moment! The "after 5" part simply means it will all go down after 5pm.

This week's Five after 5: My Man

Ladies and gents, it is my pleasure to introduce Boyfriend...







Isn't he delish?? He's all kinds of smart, funny and talented, too... I'll have to convince him to allow me to feature one of his caricature drawings on le blog someday so you can see his mad talent. I'm a lucky girl. Love him.

xoxo
J

Friday, January 6, 2012

Don't think just _______ (insert goal here)

The biggest priority in mapping out my New Year Goals was to make sure they're manageable, realistic and not going to be some distant memory come February 1. I tend to dream big but I also suffer from analysis paralysis. If I get overwhelmed, I tend to freeze up and jump ship. Not this time. Baby steps.

Jessi's Goals to Get It Done in 2012

Dance
A couple things here... One, continue to reclaim my desire and passion to dance (see previous posts for background info on this one). I have a feeling that this will be expedited by simply by getting myself into a studio and/or class. Two, return to my roots. Once upon a time I was swingin', hip hoppin', African dancin', Capoeira-in'... My roots are calling me back.

Health/Fitness
My fitness is obviously intertwined with my dancing, so that's a given. Other little health things to make priority: remember to take my daily vitamins and supplements; up my daily fruit and veggie intake; be more creative with my meals-on-the-go and snacks, for both variety and nutrition. Allow myself ME-time sans guilt.

Work
Write more... and get paid for it. I've decided this is the year I will finally begin freelance writing. My blog is included in this. This week I've approached my blog like a job, adding it to to-do lists, brainstorming future post ideas and making it a priority. It's amazing what a difference it's already made.

** Those of you who earn $$ from your blog, do you mind shooting me a quick email with tips, suggestions, resources, anything that might help me get started, as I'm clueless... Thanks!! mamalonglegs78 at gmail dot com.

Begin my freelance choreography career here in li'l Fort Collins, CO... because every big name or star starts somewhere. And not that I intend or hope to be a star, I just want to earn a living doing what I love.

Community
I wasn't sure how else to categorize this one, but it runs the gamut: writing and sending thank-you notes, birthday cards, just because notes, via good old fashioned snail mail; actually picking up the phone and calling someone, instead of copping out via social media; weeding out pseudo-friends to make time for the real ones.

Finances
This one is BIG and the most important. This is the year I begin to knock out my debt with ninja fury. This daunting task will take me beyond 2012, but I have to begin. My finances are a hot mess and they have kept me bound and hopeless for too long. Oh yes, it is going to be so very hard and full of sacrifice and the word "NO", but so very worth it.

* * * * *

There you have it. So let's do this together, y'all. Let's encourage and support each other in our respective goals, giving each other some tough love when necessary. Because any lasting, significant change is never easy or convenient. As I say, DON'T THINK JUST DANCE. Substitute "dance" with whatever it is you are striving for. Believe me, it works. When I'm in an audition or about to go onstage and my nerves are threatening to make it all unravel, I say this to myself. When I stop [over]thinking and just DO it, the results are pretty spectacular.

DO IT!

xoxo
J

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

2012, the first days...

Happy New Year!!

Like many, I love the spirit of the new year, the feeling of a clean slate promising new beginnings, new opportunities, renewed goals...

Of course, several goals and challenges for myself are swirling around my head, yet to be put down on paper. That makes them more official, of course. I don't like to call them "resolutions". With the bad rap resolutions get, "goals" seem more organic and open to revision later in the year, yes? Silly semantics, I know, but it works for me, so go with what works, right?

But before I get to that, let's see what my first few days of 2012 involved...

Day 1
My first ever live Bronco game!! I know, I know... I'm well aware of our shortcomings this year - and why, HOW did we make it to the playoffs, just to be massacred by the Steelers next Sunday?? Oy... But I stick by my boys because I am a TRUE fan, none of this mamby-pamby, wishy-washy, I'm-going-to-bail-and-pick-a-team-that's-winning-this-season BS that some people I know have done. Two words on that: lame. sauce.

Anywho, some pics...

Us true Bronco fans still call it what it should be called, Mile High Stadium



Sorry for the sun glare - but look how close we were! Eighteen rows up!


At least the sunset was pretty... prettier than how our offense played (summer training camp, eh boys??)

Day 2
Boyfriend's birthday celebration! Can you believe that he's never had a birthday party?!? Yes, true story. Apparently birthdays are not important in his family from what he tells me. Case in point: he spoke with his mother and sister via Oovoo yesterday and they didn't remember it was his birthday until he reminded them. Total sacrilege in my world, omg. So I took it upon myself to throw him his first ever birthday party, which I made a surprise party, of course. He had no clue and was 100% surprised. I win!

I only snapped a few pics as I was running around playing hostess...

A simple but delish spread


He looks as if he's deciding if my funfetti cupcakes are safe to eat, lol!

Day 3
Today has just been back to business, with working, returning to teaching my beloved cardio kickboxing classes and a li'l blogging. The latter takes care of one of my goals: giving my little corner of the blogosphere some serious TLC. My 2011 blogging record isn't the most stellar. Let's see how 2012 goes.

Any exciting adventures for your first days of 2012?

xoxo
J