Taking it off

Last month boudoir

As it turns out I am a boudoir photographer.  I love to photograph babies, weddings and commercial works however these days my clients are loving the beauty shots. This client drove all the way from Golden! We got some great images so I'll have to post them up on my blog and website right away. Stay tuned. 

Julie Chiasson/ Sidorak

www.QuantumImagesInc.com

Viva Las Vegas

After being married for 7 years with 3 kids, a wobbly tummy and sagging breasts, I often wonder if I am still attractive to the opposite sex. I always think of myself as that pert and confident 21 year old but I’m actually a “slightly above average attractive woman in her mid thirties who could do with loosing some weight”. I know this because my friend recently told me so.

With the same friend, I set off to Las Vegas to celebrate her sister’s birthday. Having successfully infiltrated her sister’s group, I found myself at the stagette party of some-one else I had never met and knew nothing about. For both celebrations I was in a ridiculous outfit showing more skin than was really suitable and wearing painful shoes. However it was not without reward.

I met a Mexican who stared at my chest and had the hands of an octopus, maybe he thought my polite phrase of “so when did you arrive in Las Vegas?” in fact meant “I’m ticklish, please try me”. Then an English bloke who I couldn’t understand (and I’m English) repeatedly shouted the word “Southport” in my ear. He may have been saying “Old Trout” but I am confident it wasn’t an insult. Then later my bottom was pinched by a bald fat man in his 50’s who kept pretending to lasso me. Finally I was chatted up by a man wearing sunglasses in a very dark nightclub who kept licking his lips. Looking back I should have checked for fangs.

I had lots of fun on the weekend and on reflection I can say that yes I can still attract men but they tend to be weird. So being with some-one normal who loves me with all my wobbling, sagging and numerous other flaws is nothing to complain about.

Feasting on the Word

I'm still looking for sponsors for my walk on the 5th of July - can you help? Just click the badge below and you'll go right to my page:

Countdown To Race Day (5 km)

Thanks so much! Both I and the kids benefiting from your donations greatly appreciate your generosity!

So I've completed my first week of "The Lord's Table" and here are my results (note, I didn't lose 7.5 pounds in a week. I didn't weigh myself before I started, so I simply picked up where I left off in the last round of weight loss. I would guess I've lost about 3 lbs. in total this past week):








This is an amazing course for any of you who are struggling with the weight loss yo-yo and with getting rid of those stubborn pounds that wont' budge. Not only does it deal with food, but it also deals with your mentality, your heart, your focus, and your sin (yeah, sorry, overeating needs to be called what it is: the sin of gluttony. Doesn't sound so nice when it's put like that, does it?)

The course encourages "feasting", but the feasting it encourages is feasting on the word of God. Here's an excerpt from the course materials last week:

Read more here: www.PraiseWalker.com

Pushing the Limits

So, coming up to race day (next Saturday) I'm challenging myself to reach a personal best speed. So far, my personal best is 35 minutes and 21 seconds for a 5k. It would be cool to get it down to 30 minutes, but that would be a 6 minute kilometer and today's pace was 7.22. I have a ways to go!

I've been using Podrunner's free walking mixes to set the pace. They give me an hour of music that's a mix of house, progressive house, breakbeat, funk, tech house, pop remixes, downtempo, and spoken-word poetry.

Read more here: www.PraiseWalker.com

You are what you eat

Once in a while I get "domestic" and decide it's time to make bread. Not in a breadmaker, mind you. The good ol' fashioned way, by hand. It's a very soothing exercise for me. My mom gave me the basics of her secret recipe and a few tips. Years of watching her in the kitchen kneading the dough have added to my understanding of how it should look and feel. That first piece cut from the crusty end of a warm loaf, slathered with butter, is nearly worth killing for! Then there's the smell... the aroma of freshly baked bread is unmistakeable.

As I was kneading my latest batch and admiring the elasticity of the dough, I stopped to marvel at the striking resemblance between what was in the bowl and my derriere. I guess it's true - you are what you eat!!

Losing the Weight

I've been overweight the whole of my adult life. Never hugely obese, but always struggling with that extra 30-40 pounds that need to come off! Even at the height of marathon training, walking 70+ kilometers a week didn't change that fact.

I've done the yo-yo thing, the "change your lifestyle" thing, and even created something that worked quite well for the PraiseWalker system, but each time, I fall off the bandwagon and gain all the weight back.

I was chatting with a friend this week, and she told me about a program that we are now trying together. It seems pretty cool as it uses weight-loss as a form of meditation - kinda like the "PraiseWalker" idea for dieting. Cooool.

Find out more here: www.PraiseWalker.com