Perfectly Imperfect and Ok With That!

What scares me the most in life?  Failure I'm sure. I'm so hesitant on so many things in life because the "what ifs" drive me bananas. What if I lose my job? What if my husband loses his job? What if we get in over our heads? What if we need to move? What if I'm not doing it right? On and On and On.... So going into Dec and 2014 as a whole, I'm shuttin it down. Living a life without limits seems impossible to me but I see so many people DOING IT because Im surrounded by people who have no fear or atleast put on that persona. See it then believe it then BE IT! Defining now, for me, what a Shut Down is. Its effort and energy towards what you want to do in life and really going for no. ********************************************************************************* So, my top (5) Ways to Approach a Shut Down: (1) Surround yourself with positivity - Good not necessarity numerous friends (2) Find a book or audiobook that interests you and read it for 10...

I will not be gloomy..I’ll be real. So I think of all the things I take for granted…Waking up with a roof, the love of a family, snotty nosed kisses (ugh), doggy slobber, all of it. Its amazing and its MINE! Well I think this weekend with the passing of Kidd Kraddick, I got this knot in my stomach. Not because I have celebrity-itis – “OMG, passing of a famous person, give me the gory details!” NO. Because it was so sudden and yes, he’s was on the radio but a part of my daily life. Just like doggy slobber. And poop clean up.And driving my mom car to do a million errands. Good morning/good night kisses to the hubs. All of it. And I just assume I’ll always have those things, good bad and indifferent to confirm and ensure that I’m here. Well, no its not true. You never know when something that’s part of your daily life – the roof you sleep under, the pets you love, the kids you adore and grow up with, will leave or change. So my goal now – and always – to be thankful. I sometimes get cau...

I love love love my friends and family!  Why? They've been through so much with me. Why is this important? Because they've seen the good, the bad, the ugly and in between.  I think back even 10 years (yikes!) when I as 20 and trying to figure out what in the heck i was doing w/my life and I remember fighting to keep relationships, fighting to keep people attached to me. Basically being fake.Yup. I was a total faker. So I think I didnt reach my potential b/c I was too busy trying to "look" the part. Causes marital problems, relationship problems, just mo' problems! Because when the fake falls away, you're left with you. If you never liked you to begin with, then WOAH! its a revalation alright! All that energy you spend being "the mold" is a time suck. Screw that. So anyway, i feel like maybe the last 5 years or so I've find me. What.A.Relief. Maybe talking about health and fitness all the times got on some people's nerves and they defriend...

So compound movements. The only compounds I ever thought about were the ones in Science Class - NaCl - salt I believe.. H2O etc (yep self professed nerd). Anyway I started training with less time more movement... Whadda know! Compound movements! And my muscles are showing!! So like using the periodic table these movements create a stronger product. You are getting more work, less time and trust this mama has not slot of time!! Heck I'm typing this at 6 am about to head to work!  So.. Turnitup Tuesday! Get the most out of a short workout by making the most of your time! Xoxoxo Jess

So hand foot mouth disease. Yuck! Jessalyn had it and this mess is worse than chicken pox if you ask me! It's EVERYWHERE!! FYI: you can get it to. Apparently I had no immunity bc I didn't have it as a kid so I got it too. Blah. Blisters, grossness, fever, awful. Well day 8 of approximately 10 and I'm finally feeling better but ill tell you this: I became humbled. So easy to say, I can't workout, guess ill eat bad. Don't do it. There are hundreds of excuses a day to just eat awful and say tomorrow you'll eat better but guess what? Tomorrow never comes soon enough! Alright rehab almost over! Jess

Change ups! It's good for everyone! I pretty much am a cardio junkie but my body type craves a good weight lifting session. I did Body Pump Sunday and woke up in non hurting but amazingly good (yes good) pain! Didn't know those 12689654 muscles were there :) So simple blog today- change it up. Hit a plateau?!? Eating is part one, change up the routine is two! Night!!

Yeah I don’t know how to do that but today I did! I had lunch with a friend and I just have to say, its sooo nice when y ou see people you don’t get to see enough of and you see how they change! Maybe even how you’ve changed! Then I started to think – that’s kinda like what happens in life I think – we get so busy, we sometimes don’t slow down enough to see what’s going on w/those around us. Smartphones not only made us stupid (sorry, its true) but also made us disconnected. Kiddo is doing something but whups! Im updating a status/posting a pic/banking on demand/checking work email..etc. Slowing down. Not so easy to do b/c now we are always available. Back in my day – haha – when I started college, cell phones were still just catching on. I had one, FLIP PHONE!! whats up?!?! And barely used it. forgot to bring it w/my half the time. Now?!?! I’d turn my car around halfway to work b/c I need it! What if someone calls from J’s school? What if I sub at the gym, I need my play list. Th...

So yesterday was an experience! I did NOT blog about it b/c im sure it would have been filled with wordy dirts;) Every expletive that I could muster really. So customer service is definitely NOT at its best!! The story… I went to get my hair done and while typically I don’t go during the week b/c im always all over the world, I did. I took the day off work b/c it does take about 4 hrs (crazy I know I know) and I always end up rushing to pick up the kiddo from day care if I take a half day. I don’t want to pay for daycare on weekends that my husband works (most of them) so this was the best option. Anyway, that being said I made it for super duper early – 9 am!! First, I got a call THE MORNING OF AT 815AM to change the time to 11am – nope. Not gonna happen. I had to teach class at 530 and 730 yesterday night. The hair place, w/GOOD traffic is 40ish mins away. Well I live in DFW..that translates to 60-75 mins if you go through the airport, which I do and have any traffic. So she...

Old draft The Ultimate Reset was ultimately awesome!! I am happy about my results – 15 lbs, 8 inches lost in the 21 days but more importantly?!?! I gained so much knowledge about myself. Recap – I was not starving. At any point. There was so much food and you are able to eat snacks which I only did one day. Top lessons learned: 1- Snacking after work when I get home is just an excuse. 2- Eating tons of meat was not ok for my digestive system 3- I don’t need soda or coffee to be ready in the morning for the day 4- EVERYONE’S BODY NEEDS A BREAK! 5- I was not drinking near enough water That’s my top 5. It was definitely a huge wake up call to me to take care of my body. I am not perfect. Post reset, I tried a soda, my beloved Diet Coke. And one sip…JUST ONE! And I poured it out. It actually didn’t taste good and I didn’t get that hit of sugary (aspertamey) carbonation that I usually did which made me chug the thing. That was amazing to me!! I love that I don’t...

So yeah I'm still in the middle of my path but I'm shocked how frustrated I see people get when success isn't instant. Well.. Welcome to life. It's messy!  True story: I fail alot. Forgot some choreography the first time I taught, failed a few tests in school, really had to try to pull above a C several times. But I got my  Masters.. Two of them! I failed my way into graduate degrees! Who'd of thunk ;)  Rarely do I have this crazy cool opportunity come my way that is easy, laid out clearly and smooth like buttah! You have.to.work. However, I think if you have the end vs the crazy current crap in mind, you'll be fine :)  Can you enjoy the mess? Then you'll have success friends!!! 

How grateful are you for the things in your life? I am the first to criticize myself, what I’ve done and I never thought about the sacrifices of others. Maybe x/y/z aren’t perfect but thank God that I had people with me every step of the way to pick up my slack, love me anyway, and just be there or my craziness! Then there’s gratefulness for the things we take or granted..your health, your life, your ability to enjoy what you enjoy in life. Its not always easy or promised. Why this blog entry...ok, so today at lunch I went up to the store and this mom was with some teenagers I assume were hers. She was buying them fountain drinks and like chips or something. I think the total was like $4. She started to pay with quarters and the kids, looking mortified, like simultaneously backed up and went towards the entrance. Its like “Hey you’re embaarrasing me – I’ll wait in the car”. While I maybe did this, I don’t think so. Who cares? When I have quarters, I self check out and I’ll glare a...

So here I am... Crazy weekend behind, crazier week ahead, and I'm on the go go go. Getting ready for life changing fun time at Beachbody Summit and also missing my fam for like 4 days :( pretty awful.  Anyway, later tonight... I'm.. Posting recipes!! I think pork may be my protein this week.. Ya never know with me. Ooh!! Quinoa this week too. It's red and fabulous! Speaking of going, off to take the kids to their mom's house! Shooooommm! I'm out! 

So I posted an updated status/weight loss journey pic – thanks for the feedback and awesome responses!! Its just for my own accountability so I thought maybe I’ll let you know how I got here! very..very slowly. They say there are bumps in the road? Well Im from the country so I recognized the bumps as pot holes and unfinished/untreated rocky roads anyway. I hit every bit of an obstacle as I possibly could. What I didn’t do? Fall down and wait for help. What I did do? cry some..tried to crawl out but fell down again, so crawled again and eventually, scraped up and all, found a new way out of whatever it was. Self diagnosed yo yo dieter/fad tester here. I tried it, ingested it, blah. No grapefruit and boiled eggs for me. no more pills,  No 525 cals a day. That’s crazy right? Well if it sounds crazy to you, good – youre on a good path (hopefully) if it doesn’t sound crazy but enticing,  DON’T GO THERE! It will never work! Im happy to say more than 4 yrs now, I’ve been tr...

Just for Nothing! Feeling happy today. Feeling like that’s how some days should be. When you feel this way? Just pay it forward! There is so much lack of happy in the world. Wars or sorta wars or “shush we’re kinda maybe in a war”type of things going on…shootings,roadrage mother nature, all these awful things and people get so jaded, sad and then it seems, defiant and angry. I challenge you, get mad at getting mad and just DON’T be. Find a reason to laugh. Pulling in the fitness – endorphins are BOSS!! Yep, I used that word right, don’t google it. They make me feel so much better when Im at my worst. Bad day? I got to Body Combat or Turbo Kick and then? You better move outta my way Mr. Mean Man who wants to tailgate me in a construction zone. Oh you better just enjoy this random smile Im sending you!! Ha! I get my best laughs? At myself. Sometimes, I put on two different shoes, sometimes, I talk to my dog like she’s actually preparing a response, sometimes, I just am really funn...

**Probably going in the Ebook with more info but anyway, blog for the day!!** “The Higher the Tree the Monkey Climbs, the More You See of His Butt” – or whatever colorful word you use :) I first heard a professor use this in ROTC in college and took in one way. Now a whole 10 yrs or so later, I really think I get it. Not the way you think I might..stay with me. I think that deep down inside, instinctively we all know this. The more you do, the more successful you are, the more people see you. Yay exposure right? No. No yay. Tons of fear is the usual reaction. We all, at some level want to be loved, appreciated and NOT judged. Maslow’s hierchy of needs right? What’s smack dab in the middle? Social needs. We NEED this before we even need to self actualize and reach our potential! Crazy right? Well find someone who doesn’t “need” anyone. Pushes everyone away. 10 out of 10? They aren’t at their full potential. We need that push back to do better. Or to learn character and when to p...

Its Not Quite the Same…. So I posted something on my page about cartoons and kids today. Not trying to diss the kiddos choices..wait, yes I am. Cartoons today are LAMMMMMEEE SAUCE. I decided to call this the Patrick Effect. You know from Spongebob? Ok so kids watch this mindless stuff, learn nothing, and laugh and laugh. At what do you ask? Crabby patties? Wedgies? Silliness? Yes. Yes all of these things. My step monster card was earned a few years ago when I observed my step kids watching this show and I tried..really tried, to just see what they saw…5 or so euphamisms and inappropriate yelling (the angry neighbor? ) later, I turned it off. I mean, how did we get here? Can TV be positive? ABSO-FLIPPIN- LUTELY! While I cook my 21 mo old watched Team Umizoomi and you best believe when this Milli girl starts counting, she’s counting. Yes, my kid counts. I go over the numbers with her, as does my hubby but the tv reinforces it. The good stuff that is. Anway, so tv, not suppos...

June is here and ready to go! So excited because things are smoothly moving along! This is a month full of amazing! Why? Well just because. Ok now usually honestly, Im pretty up beat but I great really fired up when I can be around MORE like minded people. In a few short week s- 16 days really but who’s counting?;) – I’ll be in Las Vegas with other Beachbody people, wanting to make a positive and amazing change in lives. This is my dream in life – to help people. So I am LITERALLY living the dream. So getting to do stuff towards your dream, even if its your business, makes you happy. Did I connect that well enough? Anywho, day job: it’s a day job. I am finally comfortable with the people I work with, the content of my work and guess what? Don’t change who you are – a few ladies hearing me making my shakes every day now want to try it out. I didn’t market or chase them down – they just see me doing what I do – being me. Guess they want some of that Shakeology Swag? I dunno;) Yes I ...

Whatever it takes. That’s that it takes.   Sometimes you fail, sometimes you nail it from the start. However for the most part, for most of us, its kinda fly by the seat of your pants, push get pushed down, and make a choice. Get up or stay down.   So many times, I’ve been told to sit there and take it because..well, that’s how it goes right? No. Pretty much. No. that’s not at all how I choose to let it go.   That’s how it was designed? I don’t think so. If so? Im changing it. Im making a change.   Intro to part 1 – Design it or Let it Be Your Devil  

So it gets away from you sometimes but its still yours so how do you get on track? Accountability. If you wont hold yourself to some standard, then what are you doing? Running. I like it. However I dont stick to a plan and I fail goals I set. Accountability? I paid the mula snd signed up for a half. Ambitious? Yes. But Im running on the rain and snow these days:-) Life is so crazy some times and we end up feeling like we're at it alone. No way baby! Surroubd yourself with a circle of awesome:-) Dont have one? Join mine! Free invite to the positive partay: www.jessicajenkins.net New stuff- I have a fabulous husband who supports me and all my endeavors. I finally even opened a biz account! Woot! The kiddo- better than anyone told me it could be. Shes amazing and showing me everyday that all things are possible. Lbs lost- 74 and counting since delivery day. No i didnt gain 80 when preggers - 37 lbs thank you very much so we are making a lean mean baby mama  machine ;) Um thats ...