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!!

Paris de quatre jours: Day Four in Paris!

Well I woke up feeling.....yeah you guessed it, tired as usual, however my hubby got up with me and decided to cook me the most delicious breakfast! We have a mish-mash of food currently at our flat but he managed to scrounge up a GREAT meal! I thought it was so sweet I took a picture of it:))

I was off to work with a great breakfast in my belly and FINALLY I got to use my curling iron! Woo hoo! Haha it sounds so stupid but you take little things like that for granted when you have use of them every day.  Ryan managed to run around yesterday and find a power converter so now we can actually plug in our things here in our flat. Anyhow, we knocked out workouts 10,11, and 12 and we had planned on filming 4 workouts yesterday but my left knee really started to bother me. I know it's not injured, I can tell it's just my IT band flaring up from overuse. The thing is, the workouts I have been filming are beginner level for now which is why we are cramming so many into a day, but even though they are easy they are 45 minutes each! All the activity, lack of sleep and rest kinda flared it up a bit and it was starting to ache. I iced it with a bag of peas I found in the refrigerator downstairs in the office kitchen but since I was really dragging and my knee was bothering me anyway, Oliver (pronounced Olivieeeee;) the director said it would be ok if we didn't film the 4th workout and we filmed technical movement segments instead. What are technical movement segments?

Well I was wondering the same thing, lol. Coach Club has each coach explain certain technical movements to the viewers in a way that breaks it down into basic steps. The funny thing about it is that they do it in a kitchy way:) First they film you explaining what body parts the movement works. Then they film you speaking YOURSELF through the movement like I would say, "Ok Chelsea we're going to do forward lunges are you ready? Ok feet shoulder width apart....etc" you get the idea right? Well then they play back the audio that you already recorded speaking to YOURSELF into the studio and you demonstrate it for your twin, it's hilarious! I had a TON of fun being a complete goofball with my digital twin while demonstrating the moves. I hope you guys can check them out some day:)

It was a nice break to be able to film the technical movement segments. My translator Akil left today and I will get my other translator Alex back for tomorrow.....working again tomorrow on Saturday! After work I walked over to this nice food market that is near the Coach Club office and picked up a few more groceries as we didn't have enough at the flat. I finally walked in around 9pm and could hardly keep my eyes open long enough to edit my workouts. I STILL haven't unpacked my bag yet!!!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's adventures!!

Revior!!! 

PARIS TROISIÈME JOUR: Day Three

Ok so now we're all caught up here.

I woke up today feeling the best I've felt in over a week. Oh the wonders of sleep!! After giving up on the idea of making an adapter work for my curling iron in my dressing room for fear of blowing it out, I realized too late that I didn't have time to curl my hair in our flat before I needed to head out. I would just have to settle for the flat iron that they had provided for me and try to figure it out. I swear I feel like a prepubescent girl trying to navigate the scary waters of the womanly world when I use a flat iron...I'm an idiot. Whatever....I'll make it work, either that or they will just have to accept that they have bozo the clown's sister as a host lol!

Well we knocked out workouts 6, 7,8 and 9 today without too much of a hitch but I was pretty tired by the end of the day I gotta say. The jet lag is still wearing on me and I have edits to do and spreadsheets to fill out each day after battering myself with hours of working out. I did manage to snap a quick cell phone picture though on set today so you guys can take a look at it:) The guy above is one of the three camera men...really funny dude!

Anyhow, not too much else new today. Finally caught up on some emails. Ryan and I are currently surviving on the stale complimentary candy that the owner of the flat left as a decoration but other than that things are good! Speaking of good....I'm going to bed now so I can get some sleep before doing it all again tomorrow!

Until then...

REVOIR!!

PARIS La Troisième Partie: Day Two Workout Whirlwind

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!  SERIOUSLY?!!

I didn't want to drag my sorry ass out of bed but I lugged my body out of bed and somehow managed to get ready.

I took my little commute on the metro feeling very Parisian (with the exception of the fact that I couldn't read any text around me or understand anything said around me....just that one little thing though :). Arriving at the studio, we wasted no time and started filming right after I got into my first workout outfit.

Things sailed along pretty smoothly after making a few changes to the workouts and we knocked out workouts 2 and 3 before lunch. Akil, my interpreter was kind enough to offer to show me around for lunch. Being a vegan, I was eager to pick his brain on good eats in Paris since I'm pretty much a vegetarian these days (only by digestional choice since my stomach is so sensitive:) He showed me a great little restaurant where most of the crew eats for lunch every day and then walked me over to a phenomenal little market where they had all sorts of great food including SOY MILK!! I can drink regular milk but only for a bit....then things start to go south if you know what I'm saying...so I was very happy to find some soy milk.

We returned to the studio, ate lunch and knocked out workouts 3 and 4...whew! Four workouts in the can and I was off to home. Getting home around 8pm Ryan managed to drag his super sick body out the door with me to go grab some dinner. We weren't too ambitious and settled on the nearest place around the corner from our flat, a little pizza place called Villa Murat. We each ordered a small pizza and sleepily ingested it enjoying the comfort of each other's company for the first quiet moment we had had in what seemed like weeks. We returned to the apartment and again I collapsed into bed before 10pm, ready to wake up for another early day.

D'etre poursuivi...to be continued! (p.s. totally stole this from Google translator:)


Revioir!!

PARIS La Deuxieme Partie: First Day Workout Whirlwind!!!

After arriving in Paris I felt haggard, stressed, tired and weary. I hardly slept at all on the 7.5 hour flight due to the fact that I was rushing to finish the last few workouts on the plane ride over....nothing like leaving things to the last minute right? Well I would have been able to finish them sooner had I not been completely consumed with my sister's wedding and all of the responsibilities that went along with that. Not that I minded but it put me back a few days.

We promptly grabbed a cab after arriving and began the long, grey and rainy ride in the Paris traffic. After collapsing on my bag in the back seat for a nap during the ride,  I was jolted awake to find we were at our flat. Literally within minutes of dragging our barrage of bags into the lobby of the apartment complex my coordinator came through the door. I felt so embarrassed! I must have looked like a homeless vagabond! I hadn't showered in almost 2 days, was coated in a layer of slimy face grime from the plane ride and had swollen bags under my puffy eyes from crying so much the night before. I must have looked like a pure dream, I just know it!;)

Without having a chance to change or unpack my bags I was whisked off to the Coach Club office where I was introduced to everyone in the office in my ABSOLUTE BEST state....sigh, nothing like making a great first impression, yay! lol:) I  was taken downstairs and got acquainted with my dressing/locker room. 

Since I missed Monday (which was supposed to be a day for me to get things sorted and rest up from  my trip) there was no time to waste and I began getting ready to film my first workout. Luckily there was a make up artist there to save me...and an interpreter to help me understand what the heck was going on:)

The FLOOD:

I hopped into the shower and must have been in such a delirium I didn't close the shower door all the way. I stepped out of the shower to find the lake I had created from leaving the shower door open a crack. OOPS! "No problem," I thought, "I'll just sop it up with a few towels and no one will ever know. After all, this is my own dressing room so I  can clean up before they get in here!" Right as I was finishing up drying up the last couple spots I heard an exclamation out in the lobby/kitchen area outside of my dressing room. "Oh no!! I thought, haha:) I opened the door and found I had managed to flood that area too...so much for saving myself from further embarrassment! Messing up/missing my flight CHECK, arriving looking like a homeless person with almost no sleep CHECK, flooding the dressing room and common area kitchen lobby....sigh CHECK.

Moving on...after being thrown into hair and makeup magic, I was starting to resemble a normal person again but I was running on pure fumes for sure. We got into the studio and I was given a quick run down of how the schedule would flow. We were aiming to film 3 of the first workouts by the end of the day....you heard me right....3!

Well I did it.....I got through the first workout. I have to admit I felt pretty darn good about my first workout! I'm pretty hard on myself usually but I have to say it was nearly flawless! I always seem to perform well under tons of pressure and on no fuel haha:) Only one PROBLEM:  I was sweating like a fat lady running a marathon in the deep south on a hot summer's day lol! 

I had made the first workout WAYYYY to hard. After seeing me force my way through it with toothpicks holding my eyelids up and a crazed smile on my face (and that's not too far of an exaggeration haha) the directors pulled me aside and softly suggested "Chelsea why don't you go and take a shower and we'll go over a few notes ok?" I knew some changes were on the way. 

We went over the workouts and they gave me a few notes to make some small changes and told me, "We realize you're giving it your all but we also realize you are very tired. Why don't you go home and we'll start filming tomorrow?" I nearly jumped out of my ragged body I was so elated!! Even though I was happy to finally be there and see all of my hard work come to fruition all I could think about was shutting my eyes for a few moments....or days:)

I was escorted back to my flat where I had left my bewildered husband. The production assistant Myriam went with me to show me my metro route I would be taking for the next 2.5 weeks. I fumbled around people in the subway finding it odd that I was suddenly speaking broken English in a Parisian accent haha:)

After getting back, I had to head out to get some bare essentials: scraps of food and some cold medicine for my husband who was getting pathetically more sick from one moment to the next...poor thing. Not speaking a lick of French other than "Merci," "Bonjour" and "Croissant"  I found the nearest pharmacy and coughed, sniffled and raised my shoulders in a questioning manner like "yo...help me out here lady...I'm pretty good at charades so let's just do this thing." She threw something at me that looked like drugs and mumbled a bunch of stuff in French...and I'm thinking "God help me I hope I don't kill my husband!" lol!

I came back, flopped into bed setting my alarm for 6am the next morning right before my eyelids slammed shut like iron doors.

For more craziness read on!

Revior!!

PARIS Une Part: Flight Complications!

Okay guys I'm going to TRY (try being the key word here lol) to write a post every day that I am here in Paris!

That being said...I'm not off to a very good start ha! This is my third day here so far but I have been SO buried, busy and tired that I have barely been able to muster up enough energy to function!

Where to begin....let's start at the ugly beginning before we arrived...

Well to make a LONG story short (which I'm never good at doing but I'll make my best attempt anyway) when I went to check on tickets for Paris, I needed to buy a ticket leaving from the east coast and returning to the west coast (an open jaw ticket). Well the open jaw ticket was REALLY expensive so I called the airlines to see if it were possible to buy a round trip ticket from LA with a layover on the east coast before heading to Paris, and to ONLY catch the second leg of the trip from the east coast to Paris. Well whoever the hell I spoke with at Continental said that it would be no problem at all and that all I needed to do was to check in on-line before hand.

I was over on the east coast in Massachusetts for my sister's wedding (which was a whirlwind in itself!) and also trying to finish up writing my last workouts. Ryan and I arrived at the airport harried and exhausted from the previous week's festivities (driving for 3 days straight to Maryland and back to visit friends and then dealing with wedding mayhem and responsibilities) tired but ON TIME. We get to the ticket counter and they tell us our TICKET HAS BEEN CANCELLED!!! What?!?! I seriously couldn't handle it...I burst out into a heap wallowing in a puddle of tears for the next 4 hours while Ryan had to hold it together trying to get things straightened out with the airlines. I will spare you the details but we ended up having to BUY 2 NEW TICKETS all together.....SERIOUSLY?!

We booked a hotel, and after a few hundred more tears, slept for a few winks and were off in the morning on a new flight to Paris!!

Read on  if you'd like to hear about my first two days:))

Revoir!!

3rd Quarter Recap 2010

Whew! Okay folks we're gettin' there:) Just think! We can do it all over when we get to 2011!! lol:)

I began July by volunteering at the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) summer sports camp. I put on a one day hurdle clinic and had a great time spending my time coaching the kids and sharing time with them in the Lord's word.

I had a few gigs here and there, nothing too interesting but early July I got to shoot with a great photographer friend of my Ray Gutierrez.

One thing many people may or may not know about modeling is that it is an artistic expression. Chuckle and say what you will but I have been living in this industry making my living in it almost full-time for nearly 7 years. I continue to do it because I'm passionate about it. There are people who look great in person and look like crap in a picture or visa versa...I tend to think I'm on the flip side haha, I look better in pictures than I do in person, but I don't feel bad about it. In fact, I'm proud of that in a weird way! I have the artistic ability to emote and become someone else in front of the camera...I come alive, it's like I'm in a different world. I know it may sound cheesy but it's the truth. I get a great sense of joy from the artistic expression of modeling.

Why am I telling you all this? It's because I mentioned Ray Gutierrez. There are your every day, let's-make-some-money-and-pump-out-the-shots photo shoots and then there are those photo shoots where you and the photographer are perfectly in sync. Step for step, click by click....timing, positioning, lighting, expression...I wish I could explain it better but there's a chemistry there that is exhilarating when you have a great shoot with a photographer. It's like when musicians gel in perfect harmony and rhythm or athletes play so well together they seem to be doing a dance on the playing field reading each other's cues like the slightest changing direction of a summer's breeze. It's magic....I love shooting with certain photographers for this very reason, and in all the shots I've had...there are only a handful of photographers I can say this about. I love shooting with Ray. He's easy going, artistic, funny and easy to be around. Here are some of the shots we got from that shoot.

In late July I traveled up to San Fran for a convention with my girlfriend Laurie! We had a great time at the show and got to spend some much needed girl time together:)

Early August Ryan and I went up to Telluride, CO for my friend Jamie's wedding!! We had a great time mountain biking and partying with our friends!

Shortly thereafter we went on a trip to the Philippines!! There is so much to say about the Philippines that I am going to do a separate entry.

After the Philippines I came back and did an infomercial for the "Perfect Sit Up" from the makers of the "Perfect Push Up". It was awesome and I got to work with some top-level fitness models. I'm still waiting for the official video but you can catch some glances of me in this YouTube video:)

I shot another commercial for a product called "The Truth About Abs", one for LA Boxing, as well as one for a car dealership in Florida....all of which I have yet to see haha. I left for Dallas Texas in the middle of September for the long stretch known as Texas State Fair. The largest state fair in the nation and the longest job I have each year....26 days straight working the fatty fair of Texas:) I love it, I really do. The big Texas personalities, the crazy characters that come through our booth EVERY DAY, the inability to find any food that isn't fried within a 5 mile radius....what's not to love? And while I do dearly miss my husband and my animal babies back at home, I get to spend some quality time with my auto show teammates having fun dancing it up at Red River Dance hall in Dallas:)

 We do it UP fo Halloween Yo! lol:) Fred with the iPad costume (eye pad lol)

Dancin' it up at Red River!!

Well I will do a separate entry for the Philippines but that about does it for Q3 2010!

2nd Quarter Recap 2010

Okay so 2nd quarter was definitely a bit more laid back than the first part of the year. It started out with a trip to Vegas right after the New York Auto show...not skipping a beat for the NAB Convention.

After a few days there I came home to enjoy my birthday present from my hubby which was a package of salsa lessons for the two of us at Bailamos!:)

  

I wish I could post a picture but I don't have any lol, we had a great time though and we both learned a lot...especially at how bad we really were haha!

Whenever I can, I volunteer at high schools down in Orange County for several FCA programs (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) with a dear friend of mine Brad Stanfield. He spearheads the FCA programs in Orange County and has me share my testimony with the kids in hopes of inspiring others to go for what they want in life despite hardship and/or challenges. I was a scholarship track athlete in college and I tell them where I came from and what I had to go though to get there. I hope that my testimony speaks to them and pray that the Lord can use me to speak His love into their lives in a way that they they can understand. If you want to see the entire blog entry that my dear friend Brad Stanfield writes, you can check it out at:

North OC FCA Blog

If you feel moved to donate

Or you can just see the video below where I share my testimony to a group of athletes at Orange Lutheran High School:

I sometimes wonder if the kids even realize how much they inspire me....I can only hope to do the same for them!

In May, I filmed a commercial for a company called Notefax. I worked with a company called Global Media Marketing and little did I know that this commercial would lead to a whole bunch of other work! I have come to love the little family over at Global Media and enjoy working with them each and every shoot:)

Also in May I went to San Francisco to spend some time with my beloved girlfriends from college to celebrate a dual bachelorette party! We had a blast to say the least:)

 

Work-wise things were pretty quiet. Not to say I didn't have work but nothing too big:) I did nab a magazine spread in an up-and-coming magazine in Hollywood toward the end of June. The spread is below.

 

That's all for the 2nd quarter of 2010 folks!

1st Quarter Recap 2010

Well 2010 had a very busy first quarter. In my role as an auto show product specialist, I was asked to be on a dance/entertainment team we had called the Stomp Squad! It was a really fun team that performed in front of crowds with a style similar to the show Stomp. Using drum sticks, trash can lids and the sound of our rythmic stomping we put on a pretty good show (if you ask me;) and had a lot of fun doing it! Check out this YouTube video that someone posted!

 A few photos of the Stomp Squad from our season

 

 

So that performance took me to San Diego, Detroit, Chicago, Dallas, D.C. and New York! It really kept us busy and was a fun crowd gatherer.  While I was in D.C. I was lucky enough to meet up with my aunt and uncle who live out in Virginia as well as my friend Jamie Lasher! I was also there for the largest snow storm in over 50 years (or something close to that:)!

Dinner with Jamie and her fiance (now husband) Alex

My aunt Nancy and Uncle Andy at the D.C. Auto Show and a picture of me in the crazy snow!

 

Through all of this craziness I also started coaching at Burbank high school as the sprints and hurdles coach. The head coach was nice enough to work with my crazy travel schedule and ran my workouts for me while I was on the road. I never realized how much I would love coaching but I enjoyed it more than you can imagine! I missed my little high school athletes when I was on the road and poured my heart and soul into every minute I had with them when I was home. Here is a pic of our crazy huge team...I am the tiny speck on the left towards the bottom:)

 

My kids enjoying an ice bath after a long hard practice

The Chicago Auto show overlaps Valentine's day every year but my sweetie of a husband didn't let distance get in the way of making my day! He ordered me a fabulous dinner to my room with chocolate covered strawberries and all...and ordered me adult onesie pajamas with the footies!! I have been secretly wanting a pair of these since I grew out of my last winnie the pooh pair when I was 6 lol!

While in Detroit I booked a photo shoot with an incredibly talented photographer The Hit Factory. She was amazing to work with and these are a few of the photos that came out of that shoot.

 

I also booked a photo shoot with a very talented photographer while I was in Atlanta. Here is a peek at some of the shots we got!

I always try to book gogo gigs wherever I go. This year I managed to dance in San Diego at the New Years EventVibe bash, at Sound Bar in Chicago, Lizard Lounge in Dallas, and Velour in NYC!!

Startin' off the year right with the NYE bash in San Diego! 

 

Me and Leo at Lizard Lounge in Dallas, TX

 

 Chicago at Sound Bar (right and bottom) just me! (left) me and my fellow dancin' buddy

 

My auto show crew came out to support me!

 Kickin' it in NYC. My crew was awesome enough to come out and support me again! Love you guys!!! The bar even put out a flyer announcing me as a special guest dancer!

I managed to book a few gigs in between auto show, gogo, and coaching track. These are the only ones I have photo proof of:) I danced at a Vegas performance for the Superbowl, did a shoot for Marc Allison Jeans (www.MarcAllisonJeans.com) and LA Boxing and worked the WOC (World of Concrete ) convention for a client that I have worked for the past two years. Just tryin' to pack it all in!

Some shots from my Marc Allison shoot:

  (left) Me and My friend Janica before our superbowl performance (right )WOC convention

 

The LA Boxing commercial talent crew!

 

Well this just about rounds it out the first quarter of 2010! I'll catch up on 2nd quarter of 2010 tomorrow. Until then...ciao!

My road family that I spend a ton of my time with in the 1st quarter of each year for auto show