I Made The Cut!

What a beautiful day! This is by far my favorite time of the year, when the seasons are fluctuating between cold and hot - "layer season" is probably the best way to describe it. Perfect day for a football game.

As part of my preparation for "mid-life-ism" I challenged myself to be photographed at Busy Boy's football game today. One of the players father does an excellent job at capturing the boys in action-straight Sports Illustrated style. Well, since I'm not actually playing football, getting photographed was not going to be easy.

My plan was to casually float around at games end when snack was being handed out. Casually float in a photogenic way. Hmmm, how does one do that exactly? And there was no guarantee that I would even make the cut, well, I made it!

There I was, watching the game with my binoculars. Not a bad photo. But my quest continues. As for the game, our team won! Undefeated thus far 3-0! Go Bulldogs Go!!!

GO BUSY BOY GO! (#5)

Preparing for my "Fabulicious Fourties"

Ok, so I'm turning 41 in October. I'm a year late with freaking out about it but I'm beginning to see (and feel) sure signs of aging. Like when my back went out this summer after riding a roller coaster. I was so stiff, I couldn't turn my head. Since then, I've been having back issues on and off. That's never happened before. And what's with the night sweats? Does Nike make moisture wicking sheets?

Also, since I work from home, my wardrobe leave much to be desired. I'm working with practically nothing. T-shirts, jeans and sweats are great for working in front of a computer monitor all day in the comfort of your home. But I feel like such a slump when I venture beyond our residence. My eyes look tired and worn, I just feel blah most times. I'm sure most of this is in my head. I'd like to think most of this is in my head. I want to rebuild myself starting with a healthier body and building a better wardrobe.

I dislike taking photos because I don't like the way I look in them. I'd like to work on that as well. I found some tips on taking better photos, here they are:

1. Slim the hands. While this may seem like a small detail, making the hands look smaller can have a real impact. Angle your hands so that the edges of them, not the palms or backs show. This will add to the overall feel of “thinner”.
2. Wear dark clothes. Dark clothes have a tendency to make us look thinner
3. Watch your head position. Make sure you don’t pull your head back for the photo. This makes the chin skin squish out. This makes even thin people look terrible. You can put the head out just a tad if you like, which stretches out the skin a little without looking strange.
4. Get up high. Have the person taking the photo elevate their position just a little bit by standing on a chair. You will need to look up slightly, and in doing so will be stretching out the extra chin a bit, making it disappear behind the real chin. If done right, you usually can’t even tell it was taken from up high in the final photo. Whatever you do, don’t take any photos from down low!
5. Take Note. Check how celebrities pose on the red carpet. Practice in your mirror so next time someone brings out the camera, you're ready to go!

Here are some samples of the advice in action (compliments of Busy Boy):



Alrighty, now the first photo with the "X" is the "what not to do". It was shot from below, my full hands were showing and I held my face inward creating a second chin that I do not have. I do look mighty wide. In the second photo I twisted my body, stuck out my chin, slimmed my hands and the photo was taken from an elevated position, oh, and I changed into all black, I do see a difference. Finally, my handsome photographer, Busy Boy-always picture perfect!

Busy Boy has a football game every Saturday. One of the dads takes these FABULOUS photos of the boys during the game. Sometimes after the game he'll get some shots of them huddling and parents will be scattered about - I usually avoid those shots because they are posted on their family blog and I can never predict what I'll be looking like. So I'm gonna challenge myself this Saturday and try to get in a shot-wonder if I'll make the cut!

30 Day Challenge

This morning I received an challenge from a good friend to join her in a 30 day goal. Her goal is to work out for a minimum of one hour a day for the next 30 days. Am I scared, uh....yeah! If there is anything I dislike more it's exercise. I always have good intentions of working out, but I need to be realistic about the goal I select, but at the same time, I don't want to short myself by setting my goals low.

I will be celebrating my 41st birthday next month. What better way to enter my "fabulicious fourties" than with a healthy jump start. I don't have weight issues, but I do have to watch what I eat to maintain my softness. The fact that I have to lift my stomach to see my c-section scar will give you an idea of how much softness I'm working with.

So, with all that in mind, I'm suddenly inspired to begin a goal. My goal is as follows:

• Meal track for 30 days
• Exercise 1 hour a day 4 days a week

OK, it's out there! And I've started a blog to keep me honest! Who knows, maybe I'll go above and beyond the number of days I'll exercise.

All reading this blog - join us for the challenge! What can you commit to in the next 30 days!