A 21-year-old female for president?! Whaa?!

My mom recently sent me this email and I thought it was great so I wanted to share:

WRITTEN BY A 21 YEAR OLD FEMALE ! 

Wow, this girl has a great plan! Love the last thing she would do the best.

This was written by a 21 yr old female who gets it. It's her future she's worried about and this is how she feels about the social welfare big government state that she's being forced to live in! These solutions are just common sense in her opinion.

This was in the Waco Tribune Herald, Waco , TX , Nov 18, 2011

PUT ME IN CHARGE . . .

Put me in charge of food stamps. I'd get rid of Lone Star cards; no cash for Ding Don gs or Ho Ho's, just money for 50-pound bags of rice and beans, blocks of cheese and all the powdered milk you can haul away. If you want steak and frozen pizza, then get a job.
Put me in charge of Medicaid. The first thing I'd do is to get women Norplant birth control implants or tubal legations. Then, we'll test recipients for drugs, alcohol, and nicotine. If you want to reproduce or use drugs, alcohol, or smoke, then get a job.
Put me in charge of government housing. Ever live in a military barracks? You will maintain our property in a clean and good state of repair. Your home" will be subject to inspections anytime and possessions will be inventoried. If you want a plasma TV or Xbox 360, then get a job and your own place.
In addition, you will either present a check stub from a job each week or you will report to a "government" job. It may be cleaning the roadways of trash, painting and repairing public housing, whatever we find for you. We will sell your 22 inch rims and low profile tires and your blasting stereo and speakers and put that money toward the "common good.."
Before you write that I've violated someone's rights, realize that all of the above is voluntary. If you want our money, accept our rules. Before you say that this would be "demeaning" and ruin their "self esteem," consider that it wasn't that long ago that taking someone else's money for doing absolutely nothing was demeaning and lowered self esteem.
If we are expected to pay for other people's mistakes we should at least attempt to make them learn from their bad choices. The current system rewards them for continuing to make bad choices.

And While you are on Gov't subsistence, you no longer can VOTE! Yes, that is correct. For you to vote would be a conflict of interest. You will voluntarily remove yourself from voting while you are receiving a Gov't welfare check.
If you want to vote,then get a job.

Now, if you have the guts - PASS IT ON...

Paris...that's a wrap folks!

Ok so my goal was to write for every day that I was there....so I kinda fizzled out on the last six days I was there...oops.

Well just wanted to put a re-cap on the end of my trip there. Well THANK GOD that the crew decided to push up the photo shoot and the teaser reel filming days because otherwise I don't think I would have been able to push through with my hip-flexor injury. As it was, I got some awesome pain killers from my "Frenchie" doctor and with those combined with the two days of rest, I was back to business.

We filmed the remainder of the intermediate level workouts to make sure those were in the bag and to also take it easy on my hip-flexor my first day back. I was actually surprised at how great it felt! Well it was just one day of filming and then it was onto my two days off in Paris, Christmas Eve and Christmas!!!

The next day, Christmas eve, my mom, step dad Dan, Ryan and I all set off to try and soak up as much as possible in Paris!

First off we set out to buy all the fixings for Christmas dinner that we planned on making the next day. We seriously got enough food and wine for an ARMY! After that we headed out....first stop the LOUVRE!

So there we were at the helm of the Mona Lisa and, "What was that you say? The Louvre closes in 15 minutes?! You can't even buy a ticket if you wanted to?! Nooo!!!!" POO....no seriously poo....there was poo all over Ryan's shoes from the metro ride over to the Louvre and not only did his shoes stink but so did that situation. I was sooo bummed that we missed it but I tried to swallowed my disappointment as we headed off to see Notre Dame. Here are a few pics from the day:

A street performance band that was playing in the metro for tips. They were awesome!

Notre Dame! It was a cold day but at least there was a Christmas tree!!

A small wooden replica of the Cathedral

After Notre Dame we headed off to see Sacre Coer, another amazing cathedral in Paris. I didn't get any pictures of that church for some reason but it was, in my opinion, much more spectacular than Notre Dame. We intended to go to the Christmas eve service, but we were all so tired by the time we got there that we only stayed for a few minutes. Afterward we headed off to get some grub and along the way we saw the Eiffel tower in lights! Check out the quick video below:

little did I know that this was going to be the last time I'd see a clear view of the Eiffel Tower.

We walked past the tower and headed to a restaurant that Ryan had been trying to check out for a few days. We got all the way there and saw it was closed so we headed into a place right next door that turned out to be AMAZING!!

Enjoying wine and awesome food together!

The next day we cooked pretty much all day. Ryan was up bright and early posting up in the kitchen....my amazing chef:)

We enjoyed Christmas dinner together and my old college buddy Lisa and her husband Erich (who happened to be in Paris on a vacation of their own) came over and joined us! It was an awesome, quiet and relaxing day:) 

The next two days were a whirlwind. My mom and Dan came to the studio the next morning to check out a filming. We started the day with the final episode....the MOTHER LOAD workout number 30!!! It nearly killed me lol!! I was so tired after that and I still had THREE more 45 minute episodes to film! They wanted me to do episode 30 when I was fresh and to make sure they got it in the can. The next day was the FINAL DAY of filming and thank God I only had three episodes left. It wasn't too bad actually and I was so hopped up on adrenaline from excitement of finishing that I wasn't even that tired! Here are some shots of my last day:

Raj and Robinson...two of the camera crew guys!

 

 One of my final boards and my view from in front of the camera.

The studio!!

 Hallelujah!! My LAST BOARD!!! And my beloved camera girl Lucy (left) and my view from in front of the camera (right).

Lucy hookin' me up with the mic and then me being a dork (big surprise:)

The technical board where I show what body parts you are engaging with certain moves. 

Charlie...the boom camera....poor Charly had issues. 

The CREW!!!

A beloved goodbye to my every day lunch:)

On our final night in Paris we decided to go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower....great decision to wait until the last night....it was TOTALLY FOGGY!! LOL:) You couldn't see a thing from the top but it was a fun time anyhow. 

A tribute to the Statue of Liberty in Paris

You can see how foggy it was....but beautiful nonetheless!!

REVIOR PARIS!! UNTIL NEXT TIME:)

Medicine, a doctor, and strawberry shortcake undies?!

Today, was....interesting lol:) I babied my leg last night trying to rest it as much as possible in hopes of healing it for today but I awoke with it still bothering me pretty bad. Luckily when I arrived at the office they informed me that they had decided to move the marketing photo shoot up to today as well as the teaser reel and promo shoot so there wouldn't be any working out...WOO HOO!!

The only bad part about that means that I'll be going non-stop with workouts for the rest of my working days until I leave but at least now I have the best chance of my leg fully healing before things get crazy again. So half-way through the day I passively mentioned to Akil that I would really love for my leg to be massaged because I found a GIANT muscle knot above my hip-flexor, which I'm sure is contributing to the pain. Next thing I know, he comes back into the room with he director Oliver and says to me "Ok get ready we're going to the doctor." What?! Doctor? Ok well I didn't ask to see a doctor but alright lol:) So we hop into the car with Terry the CEO and traipse 1/2 way across France (it seemed) to his doctor's office. Apparently this guy is one of the best orthopedic doctors in all of France.

Well we get there and after waiting in a room that looked like the presidential oval office for a while, we were hurried into the doctor's office where Akil explained my injury to the doctor. He escorted me into his exam room and told me to take off my jeans for a proper exam. What?! Dude, all I have on underneath is my strawberry shortcake thong! LMAO!! "I hope the French are as liberal-minded as they say they are and this old man doesn't think I'm a total freak" is all I'm thinking as I slip off my jeans and wait on the butcher paper waiting to be wrapped up like a deli sandwich. Well he comes in, and flails my legs around in every which direction stretching, flipping me on my stomach, my side and my back snap, crackle, popping me all the way down from the neck to my lower spine and hips. He barely said two words the entire time (not that I would have understood anything anyway) and after flipping me around and splaying me open like an opponent in an ancient Greek wrestling match, he promptly left the room. "Uhhh...." I called out to Akil who was waiting patiently in the other room through the open door, "dude he didn't even look at my hip or massage my leg! Can you ask him if he can look at this muscle knot or my hip flexor?!" As I hear them exchanging words in the adjoining office, I sat and waited pant-less for what seemed to be forever...with my butcher-papered butt getting cold. I wouldn't be surprised if the doctor was saying something to the effect of "Do American's think it's acceptable to show up for a chiropractic leg examination in nothing but a thong?!" haha:)  Finally Alkil yelled out "ok put your pants back on!!" lol:)

The doctor wrote me up a prescription of some pretty effective pain killers so that was one great thing that came out of the whole visit but other than that I felt bad....I felt like I had wasted everyone's time and while I appreciated all of the effort, I felt bad that the whole thing was unnecessarily blown out of proportion.

Upon returning to the office we got some lunch and shot the rest of the teaser and promo footage that will be used on the website to promote my workout series. I took some of the prescriptions and have HIGH hopes for tomorrow as they really did the job with killing the pain!!:) Wish me luck for tomorrow guys!!!

Until tomorrow....

REVIOR!!

Paris....HIP-FLEXOR HELL!!

Ok well not much to post about today except for my STUPID HIP-FLEXOR is hurt!! Wahh!:(( Yeah I am not really sure what happened but I'm pretty sure it's just an over-use injury because I went to sleep without any pain and woke up with it bothering me. I told my team about it right away when I got to the studio this morning so we decided to shoot some teaser and promo footage instead ....THANK GOD!!  After lunch we were going to forge ahead and try to film workout #19 but the crane camera was still broken and the technicians had arrived to try and work on it. After about 2 hours it was apparent that it was not going to be a quick fix so they sent me home....what? I get to go home when the sun is still up?!:))

I rushed home to be greeted by my mom and stepdad who arrived in Paris today! They are staying at a hotel nearby and will be kind of off doing their own thing while Ryan and I grind away at our jobs for the remainder of the week, but at least we'll all get to spend Christmas together which is really nice:))

Since today was the first day that I arrived home before 8pm (except for Sunday when everything was closed) my FIRST order of business after greeting my mom and stepdad was to find a massage spa!!! I have been wanting a massage so bad and haven't been able to get to a place before it closes since I get off so late so I was determined to make today the day! Ryan had inadvertently scouted out a Thai massage place while walking around a few days ago so I went there and YIPEE!!! I finally got my massage!:)) It was MUCH needed but I'm really nervous about this dang hip-flexor.

For those who don't know, the hip-flexor is a very small muscle that connects your hip to your upper quadricep and it's pretty integral to anything involving lifting your leg or core/abdomen work so it's a HUGE hindrance right now and I'm scared it's not going to heal up in time....only time will tell. I'm loading up on ibuprofen and icing the heck out of it. Send a prayer my way!

Until tomorrow....

REVIOR!!

Paris de sept jours: Day Seven in Paris!!

Another day in the grinder! Lol, all joking aside, I am loving what I’m doing but it is tiring NO DOUBT!! Ryan woke up early with me to head on down to Coach Club to check out one of my workouts! There was a freeze this morning so one of the camera guys was very late and we ended up waiting around for about an hour before we got started but it was nice to have Ryan come and check out what I've been up to.

I was feeling pretty cruddy this morning but trying to hang in there and stay positiveJ We shot the first one (workout #16) and it went pretty well! Just after we did the run through for the second workout of the day right before we went to film it the boom/crane camera went out. Well let me clarify: the camera itself was working but the tilt function on it stopped working, they think the motor went caput on it. So we had to shift some things around in order to accommodate the rest of the day.

We got through workout #17 and I was feeling TIRED and stuffy through lunch. I have this little trick where if you’re suuuper stuffed up you literally sniff up hot water through your nose. It’s super uncomfortable and it makes you cough and it feels terrible but it really loosens everything up and allows you to breathe. I didn’t really care that I was so stuffed up but it was making me sound really nasally on camera lol! So I had to set aside about 10 minutes after lunch to get all raunchy with the water up the nose trick reapply my makeup and get back to it but ….BINGO! It did the trick! I also FINALLY got my hands on some cold medicine during lunch with Akil my interpreter.

BAM! Done with workout three and then we did 10 technical segments. Walking home in the rain I realized I forgot to mention something very interesting about Parisians. Despite the fact that the majority of what they eat is either soaked in butter and fat, bleached white pasta and bread or super fatty meats and cheeses, they are all for the most part very thin. They also walk INCREDIBLY fast!! I noticed it right when I got off of the plane in fact. Ryan and I were walking up this really steep ramp at the airport just after exiting the plane and there was this super old couple in front of us that were just HOOFIN’ it up the ramp! I felt like a fat lazy cow! I mean these old folks weren’t joking around! And that’s how most Parisians are….walking at lightning speed everywhere they go….always in a super hurry. Combine that with the fact that they all smoke like chimneys and it’s no wonder they’re so darn skinny! Ha!

Well we were supposed to be filming some teaser footage tomorrow along with interviews and some technical movements, so I was really looking forward to a physically relaxing day but now because the crane camera is broken we have to film three more workouts tomorrow….boo!! Oh well, hey we’ll be more than 2/3^rd  of the way done by tomorrow!!! I keep joking that this is going to be my most fit Christmas everJ  Speaking of Christmas, I finally attached a pic of our little Christmas tree that the owner of our flat set up for us. On either side are our Christmas stockings that I insisted we bring from home since I am such a Christmas fiend I HAD to have something to remind me of home!:)

Anyhow, I am really looking forward to getting some quality sleep here so I’m heading off to bed now. Until tomorrow….

REVIOR!!

PARIS de six jours: Day Six in Paris!!!

Well day six! COUGH, COUGH....yeah I just....ACHOO!!! Yeah as I was saying today we...SNIFFLE, SNIFFLE...LOL, as you can see I'm sicker than a freggin' dog...BOO!!!

It SUCKS because I wasn't feeling too horrible yesterday but it hit me pretty hard today. I woke up with a really low-grade fever. I finally caught whatever Ryan has been battling and he hogged up all the medicine that I brought just in case...he got better and now I'm sick and don't have anything...thanks for that! lol:) I feel bad, I know I sound so bitter but it just sucks being sick:((

I feel like it's been a total blur since I got here. I FINALLY got a chance to unpack my things and organize the apartment today so I finally feel settled. Today was actually my first day off (one of three). I actually didn't know I was going to get this day off I only thought I had Christmas and Christmas eve so today was a surprise! Ryan and I went to the Arc de Triumph and went walking around down the Champs-Élysées (the upscale shopping district) which was pretty boring actually because I'm such a cheap-skate and I didn't want to buy anything lol! We got tired pretty quickly so we came back, took a nap, got up and ate and now after doing some work we are about to head off to bed again. So pathetic! Sucks so bad to be feeling so crappy when you are in such a magnificent city half-way across the world and there are so many things to see and things to do but all I want to do is lie in bed:(( How many opportunities in your life do you get to be in Paris?! Not many, and I feel like I'm totally squandering my time here. I can't help it though, I mean, after all I'm here for work first, pleasure second so I have to take care of my body as best as I can and make sure I can keep pushing through the shoots. 

Sorry for the Debbie Downer post but I guess that's the dirty truth of things. Hopefully I'll get some quality rest and feel better tomorrow. Until then...

REVOIR!!

Paris de cinq jours: Day Five in Paris!!!

So today is Saturday!! Wait, don't get too excited, it may be the weekend for everyone else but not for me boo!! haha:) The alarm woke me around 7am and I rolled out of bed surprised to see Ryan wide-eyed and bushy-tailed clanking away with food in the kitchen. "What the hell are you doing up?" I asked, befuddled why on earth someone would for-go precious sleep (a high commodity in my life right now lol). "I'm coming with you today remember?" DUH....man my brain is fried lately. I totally forgot!Not to mention that I woke up feeling like total s*%$! I think I finally got a version of what Ryan has been battling over the past few days despite my best efforts to avoid it by ingesting an elephant's dose of vitamin C and airborne/emergen-C type effervescent stuff every day...booo:(

So Ryan again, magically whipped up an AMAZING breakfast for me...what a sweetheart he makes my heart melt:))) Again with the limited ingredients we have he made us french toast with a almond butter, butter and honey drizzle for the syrup with creme fresh and raspberries on top!!! It was SOOOO GOOD!!! I got ready and we headed out for Coach Club.

We managed to catch a really pretty sunrise on our walk over, which I have not seen since I've been here. The days are so short here I walk to work in the morning before the sun rises and I walk home well after the sun has set. The only part of the day I get to see is if I leave the office during lunch for a few moments. I must admit I was dreaming of a white Christmas in Paris and was fully expecting it to be freezing cold and snowy! It isn't that at all in fact, it's about the same temperature as LA (a tiny bit colder) and just rainy and grey:( Waah! I wanted a white Christmas!! Haha ok well even if I don't get that this year the little old man who owns our flat did leave us a really cute little white Christmas tree with lights and ornaments on it!! I almost died when I came in and saw it in the flat....this man has NO IDEA how much I love Christmas:)) That reminds me I have to take some pictures of our place and post them!

So Ryan came and watched my first workout. It went alright but I was honestly so tired it was not even close to my best so I was kinda bummed he watched that one, but oh well. He got to meet my main contact Aurelie who is the marketing manager over there. He also got to meet Oliver and Alex as well as the camera crew.

After he left we knocked out two more workouts (man the 2nd one of the day felt GOOD!) and then filmed some more technical movement segments. So hopefully (FINGERS CROSSED) I'm through with filming 4 workouts a day for a while. I'm OFFICIALLY half way through all of my episodes!! I think I'm going to try to get a massage tomorrow...my body is HURTING!!!!! Although, I will say that my knee felt better today thank goodness:)

Ok well tomorrow is my FIRST day off!! And one of only three I may add so Ryan and I are going to try to make the best of it and hop around Paris to see a few things.

Until tomorrow!!


REVIOR!!