At times I allude to the fact that I can (physically) be all over the place in a week but not really give any idea of what that looks like. It is not unusual for me to go from a meeting in the morning with someone at Panera, to lunch at a great salad place with another person to an afternoon meeting at Starbucks with someone else just to round off the day. My entire week does not look like that as I spend a significant amount of time on the phone, but I can have a day or two to be like that once or twice a month for sure. As crazy as that sounds, it makes for great people watching and a few great stories peppered in between.

There is a really cozy café type store that I tend to frequent a lot because it has some really good soup. The only drawback of this place is that it is a little too cozy: the seating is very close. When I meet with someone, I have zero idea of what we’re going to talk about or how it’s going to go down and it does not matter if it is the first time I’m ever going to meet with them or the thirtieth. I do not dictate the conversation, whoever I am with does. Trust me when I say there are never any awkward moments and we never run out of things to talk about but I have learned in my old age that your everyday conversation reveals more about you than any “philosophy” that I may come with trying to sound educated. If I shut up, you reveal. It works well.

However, there are times when I may ask a question or poke a stick in something that it is a loaded bee hive and you burst forth like the Hoover Dam. It is never my intention but I don’t apologize for it happening either. Clearly we needed to go there and it always ends up being worth the tissues. With that being said, I never think about the people sitting around us and I never wonder if they are paying attention to us because normally, they are not. But on this particular day, there was a woman, we’ll call her Rosy, who was very much interested in the conversation I was having with a client.

“Excuse me.”
“Yes?” I said in a very warm and inviting manner (big mistake because she took me up on it).
“What do you do for a living?”

I sat there for a solid two minutes thinking…what *do* I do for a living? What in Heaven’s name would you call this? At this time I am sitting across from someone who is looking for an entire box of Kleenex, never mind just one, and I have a woman who looks like Blanche from the Golden Girls shaking me down for info. So I kind of did a soft shoe because I have no idea where she is going with this.

“I’m… an athletic coach and nutritionist… I guess. Although… I am not actively coaching right now and I do not do nutrition…in the traditional sense.” I need you to know that that sentence came out of my mouth like I just got caught nude in a car parked on Lover’s Hill or something. What was my gig? You would have thought that I had 2 kilos in my bag with me and she was the Feds. Ridiculous.

“Oh. Good to know. I knew it was something like that. I am a counselor myself and I could just tell that you were in that line of work.” She sat there smiling at me…awkwardly…for a while…anybody?

She was sitting across from an older gentleman who I think was her husband. She was decked out in the latest Lulu outfit and looked quite fit for an older woman. She was definitely in her mid sixties, I would say, and either just came from the gym or was about to head there. She went on to explain that she counseled women with eating disorders and thought what I did (I said more after I stopped feeling like I was Sharon Stone from Basic Instinct) was really interesting. Our conversation, which by the way was intermittent because in between all of this I was still sitting across from someone (!!), started out light but then it took a crazy turn and I sat there thinking to myself, “Should I ask my client to move over?”

She launched into how she loved the place but the soup had way too much sodium in it (it does not, it is all made that day on location so it is not laden with MSG or other preservatives) and how she needed to avoid sodium because it was so bad for but it was okay because she had already worked out for the day so she had sweat and a little bit of sodium would be okay but that she didn’t want to put on any weight and you know how bad sodium is and…DEEP BREATH…

Who has ever seen my blank stare? Yeah…in full effect at this point. This begs the question now, ‘Who is the client? Her? Or the people she counsels? And what does that session look like?’

Did I say anything? What?? Are you smokin’ crack?

No one is harder to counsel than other health and fitness professionals. We are on the front lines doing personal work in spite of our own personal failures. We have to look like we have it all together even though we do not…not even a little bit. The thought of opening up to someone who is your peer and saying that you need help—or better yet, even admitting you need help is pure heresy. Do not even think about it in this industry. If you want a good idea of what I am talking about, go to a personal trainer’s conference and watch everyone jockeying for position that they know more than the guy next to him. It is like crabs in a bucket each pulling the other one down to get on top (I am only referring to the participants). The saddest thing about that, though, is that every trainer needs a trainer. You cannot be good at giving advice if you suck at taking it. I have two very strong women who speak into my life weekly and I will never give them up. One of them gives me the hairy eyeball while the other gives me the silent treatment. I love it and I love them. If you help people in any capacity, make sure you are being helped yourself because you need a place to dump all of that angst. It is hard to work through everyone else’s stuff all week long and not unload some of that somewhere. Ask me, no really, pleeeaaase ask me how I know? OY!!

Tomorrow, via email, I will wrap this up so be sure to check for it. Not sure what’s coming next but I have two cooking in my brain now. Just need some titles…haha!! Woop woop!!

Previous Series Post

When you were younger life was carefree and summers were never long enough.  You spent all your time at the beach or as you got older, with your girlfriends at the beach.  Conversation never lacked with them and although from time to time someone would have an attitude with someone else, for the most part you all got along great.  As you’ve aged, though, things have changed.  Some jealousies have cropped up, new girls have come into the mix and there’s this weird underlying tension that, at times, makes you uneasy.  You long for the “old days” when life was so simple and you didn’t notice how critical and self centered some of your girlfriend’s have become and now here you sit on the deck with them all, on a gorgeous summer night, wondering why you don’t measure up and how come this doesn’t feel so good anymore.

I think obsessively…about how no matter how much I work out, I never have legs like X have.  Her legs are perfect.  Honestly, if I had my way, I lace a bottle of Nair with something and give her something jacked up to worry about for a change.  Sigh.  And why Z just keeps shooting out jabs all night long about how *she* doesn’t have to work out that much anymore and how *she* solved all her issues with this great trainer and how *perfect* her body is now and why don’t *I* go and see him, too, since I’m working out so hard.  I would have punched her in the mouth if it wasn’t for the fact the she’s married to a lawyer.

With eyes wide open I see…a woman beyond great legs in X.  She’s spent more time asking about me and my life than anyone else here.  Yes, I’m jealous and I have to get over that.  She has great legs and I want them.  She also just spent 10 minutes frothing over my hair.  Granted, hers does look like she had a horrible run in with a Vitamix on the high setting, clearly I need to get over myself and help her out.  I never thought to help her because I can’t get past her legs.  What is my gig?  And for the love of all that is holy, poor Z.  Seriously.  Man, I would kill for her body and I would love not to work out so hard but if that’s the only thing she can talk about all night—I’d rather remove my excess body fat with a Flowbee and a butter knife in a back room of a seedy bar than be that obsessed.  More than anything, I don’t know if anyone else notices the way I do—but Z is one unhappy camper.

Here comes the wine and the chatter goes from casual, catch-up kind of chatter to slower, more personal talking amongst you all.  You realize the group is beginning to splinter off into smaller conversations on the deck and you’re not sure which one you want to join.  X and Y are chatting about their kids.  Cute convo but you don’t have any and you’re not sure you want to go there all night.  Z, A and B are talking about Z’s marvelous adventures with her new star trainer and all that that entails.  You’re ready to go MMA on her if you have another glass of wine.  Time to slow the pace there.  C and D are chatting about nothing in particular, yet, but both of them intimidate you.  You’re not sure which one is has it more together but it doesn’t matter because either one makes you feel like an amateur at life.  You decide to hop in with them and the squirming, primping and excuse making by you starts almost immediately.

I think obsessively…how fat I feel.  How dumb I look.  How much I haven’t done with my life.  How much I struggle to keep my body looking the way it does and they don’t.  They’re not asses like Z is, which is nice, but they still don’t have to work hard to look great.  It would take me hours to find an outfit like C’s.  I’d never be able to put something together like that.  Why do I look like I just raided a halfway house’s linen closet and D looks like the model out of the fall catalogue of Ann Taylor Loft?  UGH!!

With eyes wide open I see…something I have never seen before.  Either we have never talked alone like this or the wine makes people share things they never would have before (who guessed the wine?).  Here are two women I truly admire and have a serious girl crush on talking about struggles that they have that I would 1) never imagine and 2) do not ever struggle with.  The fears and paranoia these two ladies have is mind boggling.  Now truth be told, they’re both 2 glasses in with no signs of slowing down and I can’t imagine what they’ll be sharing in an hour or so.  I feel bad.  I have spent a long time being jealous and insecure over their lives when I’m now sitting here thinking I would do anything not to be where they are right now (and not in a judgey sort of way, more like in a “I’m-sorry-I-didn’t-realize-you-were-human-because-I’ve-been-so-obsessed” sort of way.)

The night ends with you becoming closer with two people who you can learn a lot from and share with.  They can give you a better sense of fashion since your idea of dressing up is taking a shower and wearing deodorant and you can show them how to live life since you do that pretty well without even trying.  Both of them are in love with you because you spent half the night talking them off of a ledge and helping them see the faultiness of their logic without making them feel like jerks.  It’s a rare talent but you clearly possess it.  Now if you can just stomach Z for more than 10 minutes, you may be able to find something good in her, too…

The summary of all four posts is next.   Hang tight, it’s time for some rules, guidelines and empathy…  Woop woop!

Previous Series Post Next Post in Series

I need to interrupt the current series on The Pill.  Normally, when I get on a topic I am like a dog with a bone and I want to finish it but this has cropped up so much in the last week, it is worthy of a post.

We need to chat about…food.  Not just the edibleness of food, but what food represents and how personal it is in our lives.  If you really want to know the power of food, take a mixed crowd of women of all ages and bring out two trays.  On one tray is a healthy appetizer that is very good for you but maybe a 7 on the scale of 1 to 10 in flavor.  On the other tray is a not-so-good-for-you appetizer but is an 11 on the scale of 1 to 10 in flavor.  The event is a high visibility event, there are at least 50 women in the room and everybody there knows at least 2 people.

Some background for you:

The room is full of different sizes of women but not inclusive of all sizes.

Also, all types of women (athletic, moms, single, married, childless—you name it) are represented.

There is no music or anything that serves as a distraction.

The average age in the room is 36 with the age span going from 28 to 46.

There’s at least a few races represented in the room.

It’s an event for an organization-type-thing which means that there’s politics and there’s a pecking order.

The appetizers are the only food served at this event.

The trays were being brought around but everyone knew what the choices were without having to see the trays.

This is fully fictitious but I want to make it as real to you as possible.

Here are some observations for you:

• There was a ton of chatter in the room before the trays came out.
• About 30% of the women were not talking with anyone, though.
• There was noticeably less chatter in the room once the trays came out.  It wasn’t silence, but it was a loud hush.
• Three women hopped on the yummy appetizer right away and were very loud and funny about it.  Jokes were flying as they were eating.  They made at least 2 self conscious remarks but kept on eating.  They looked around the whole time without looking like they were looking around and 1 of them went back for a second one.
• An even bigger group of women, say about 8 or so, attacked the healthy appetizer.  They said nothing about it. They kept talking about whatever had their attention in the first place but never mentioned the food once.
• The majority of the women abstained from either choice…until…the “captivating women” chose what they wanted.  Then the other women in the room slowly made choices to eat.
• As soon as the trays came out, at least 70% of the room began to fidget with their clothing.  Pulling down skirts, flattening out their shirts on the bellies, buttoning jackets—if you could adjust it, then it was adjusted.
• At least half of the room suddenly learned how to scope a whole room out without moving their heads.  Their eyes developed some kind of Xray/360 degree vision where they could see through the back of their head to see who was eating what and how much.  It was eerie.  Felt like a bad M. Night Shyamalan movie.
• Those that ate more than one appetizer all had a remark.  Either about what they were wearing, how they were on a diet, how they hadn’t eaten all day.  Basically, qualifiers.
• Some stared at some women in pure, noticeable disdain for either their choice of appetizer or for the quantity they ate.
• A few women went around offering their friends an appetizer—the yummy one—while they themselves chose the healthy one afterwards.
• Those that were alone chose the yummy appetizer 2 to 1 to those who were engaged in conversation.
• By the end of the serving of the food, 80% of the room had one of each appetizer although it was varied as to who had which one first.  Thirteen percent had only the healthy appetizer with the other 7% having just the yummy appetizer.  No one could abstain from eating all night long.
• Over the course of the evening, at least 2 separate groups broke off and headed to the bathroom to talk about who chose what and why!!

On Friday I will finish this in my audio post.  I will tell you where I am going with this and why.  But just know:  food IS…  Do you recognize yourself in there anywhere or someone close to you?  I’d love to know below.  Back to the series tomorrow.  Woop woop!

No, that’s not me.  My hair is not that long. Plus I am not a fan of strings on a bikini.

You’ve surely noticed that Miss Jodi has posted for me the last few weeks. (Isn’t she awesome!) I was away with my fam on vacation in Costa Rica. It is a beautiful country with great folk and we had a wonderful time. My favorite part is that I learned (kind of) to do a cool new thing, surfing. It’s weird because I didn’t even know that I was interested in surfing. I knew that we were in a place that has great conditions for surfing almost all the time, but I’m an indoor girl. I am so not an ocean person; I even have to keep water out of one of my ears. How much more not the surfing type could I possibly be?

More than that, I have been thinking about how at 42, a prissy stay at home mom shouldn’t be able to do something so physically unfamiliar, you know? At my age and knowing me, I should be too intimidated to even try, let alone make enough progress to want to keep trying. The energized confidence in my physical ability to realistically work towards something new and really different, I think is a very happy result of being committed to being super fit. Like all of you reading this, I train hard, recover well, and eat like a champion (most of the time). While I don’t have a specific sport, I train like an athlete (and if you’re a client, so do you). Jodi throws a crazy variety of things at us resulting in being strong, agile, flexible, fit, as well as feeling/looking pretty good in a bikini AND confident enough about all of that to try surfing. I just love feeling sure about my body in ways that go beyond just how it looks. Very cool.

So about surfing …

Anyway, in the beginning stage, there really isn’t too much to do but get up on the board, which isn’t easy, but it’s not exactly strenuous. You’re lying face down, paddling a little with your arms to get in front of the wave, the instructor shoves you off and then you push up into a downward dog sort of position, and spring onto your feet. Once you’re up, balance and body awareness are important so in general, there is some exertion, but not a lot. Staying alive in the ocean is what is tiring. It being in the water and all, there is a learning curve with how to deal with the ocean, which is no joke. The instructors tell you not to put the board between you and the incoming waves, but of course, that’s easier said than done for a while until you figure out what he’s talking about. After the first lesson, my legs were pretty beat up and bruised because I wasn’t handing the board right when walking it back out into the water. Once I finally get out there, lay on the board, get shoved off and try to get on my feet, of course I get thrown off most of the time. I came away with scrapes and scratches on both of my knees, my butt and the tops of a few toes from being knocked around. Another time, the instructor and I were walking out to the deeper water and a wave came and knocked us both off our feet. Well, he lost hold of the board and the leash (the cord that is attached to the board at one end and my back foot on the other) cut across and down my quad hard, leaving a big hideous purple bruise. Then yesterday, after getting thrown off the board, when coming up from under water, I got smacked across the bridge of my nose leaving, yep, a bruise. Fortunately my nose didn’t bleed or swell, and there is no cut, so once the bruise goes away, I should be fine. Needless to say, in a bikini, my physique may be where I look ok, but I’m black and blue and that is never pretty. Oh well.

My melasma reared its ugly head again on my vacation.  Pardon the pun. (That was for you, Heather.

Next, surfing is an only in the daytime, and only outside sport – so you’re in the sun constantly. You guys know how I feel about the sun exposure and skin health. A little sunshine is good for you; a lot increases your risk of problems and in time will destroy your looks. I’m diligent with sunscreen use and hang out in the shade whenever possible, but especially being near the equator. While out there learning to surf, I was coated head to toe with sunscreen, but even then I took on more sun and tan on my face and body than I wanted to. In fact, the melasma on my forehead came back – grrrr – and my kids keep asking me what that brown swatch on my forehead is. I also learned a lesson about sunscreen during my adventures: they are not all created equally. We have sunblocks and screens with chemical blockers that rub in invisibly that performed as promised – they stayed waterproof and provided high spf when reapplied as directed. We also had sunscreen that act as a physical block with zinc oxide, the kind that coat on white and rub in kind of purplish that kept us protected beautifully, as well. But I had one kind – Aveeno Baby Continuous Protection spf 55 – that utterly failed me, which I used yesterday. While out there in the water, waiting around with tummy down on the board, rear-end up, my butt, lower back and back of my legs got totally burned (I had on a long rash-guard shirt so my back, shoulders and arms were protected). I’m kind of mad about it too. This was a new bottle of sunscreen that was supposed to protect me from uva/uvb, be waterproof and have high spf. I will never use Aveeno sun protection products again.

There is just no way to not take on sun exposure and damage when you’re out there. Everyone here (not so much the tourists) is very, very tan. Most of them are young and it looks gorgeous, but I’m old enough to know that things change as time passes. The sexy tan on a 25 year old makes her blue eyes really stand out now, but at age 45, not so much. I’ve seen a few older women year-round ex-pats that look weathered and leathery. Keep up the surfer girl, sun goddess lifestyle for years on end and it will show. Looking older than you are is the least of the effects of an in-the-sun-all-the-time way of life. I’m just saying. Please protect your skin. Wear clothing that covers you up (your body is still smoking hot even if it’s not on full display), smear on zinc oxide even though it gives a smurfish hue, wear a hat (always cute), and find sunglasses that protect from uva and uvb rays. Be willing to give up a little bit of style to take care of your skin while enjoying the sunshine. Then find some shade and get under it!

All in all, I’m so glad I tried surfing. I had no expectations of being able to–even a little. I’m so glad that I had the strength and energy to hang out in the ocean for hours at a time. I’m glad I had the chance and the guts to take it. Pretty cool.

And now, after two weeks of being brutalized by the sun and surf, I’ll be so glad to sleep in my own bed, hug my dog, get a pedicure, a deep condition and fresh color on my hair, laser on the melasma, and be in a climate that is conducive to wearing make up again. It’s still me after all!

Seanna is wrapping up her R & R this week so I thought re-posting her thoughts on balance from MP4 might be especially relevant this week.  Enjoy!–Jodi

I know someone who has struggled his whole life with psoriasis. This someone went to the dermatologist (again) for help treating a mean outbreak of the itchy, red spots. I was sharing with Jodi and she mentioned that this person is more than likely, due to the inflammatory nature of psoriasis and his typical, albeit fancy, western diet, chronically heavy in omega 6 and deficient in omega 3, ie. his omega 3-6 ratio is way out of balance, and that daily doses of omega-3 will in time help keep the psoriasis under control. (I’m giving my dog omega-3 every other day for a similar reason.)

This got me thinking about equilibrium in all areas of life. When things are out of whack, man do we know it. I’m convinced that our minds and bodies want to exist in a peaceful stability. For me, the keys to staying in balance are enough physical activity, clean eating, lots of sleep and a peaceful day-to-day outlook.

Physical

Take training for example. The MP4 call last week was about recovery. Heather does this and Amy likes that, and then there’s me. I was the “control” group because I always feel pretty good. Recovery for me isn’t so much of a thought out thing, but obviously I do recover because for the most part I always feel pretty great. I feel like this is due to me not pushing myself as hard as they do in the training ring because I know myself. I exert myself as much as I need to for my purposes (health and physique maintenance), and that’s all. Mostly because I don’t want to do more, I don’t need to do more, but also, who has time? In other words, I know my personal limits and myself. I’m meeting my needs and so feel good physically most of the time. When I up the ante and take on more (for a specific purpose and stated time frame), I feel it, and so have to plan around this so that the rest of my life isn’t sacrificed to the increased physical demands from a new goal.

Nutrition

A very big piece to being able to stay well, recovered, and in balance is a great diet. We’ve all talked about this to death but it bears repeating, you won’t feel or look your best, let alone be able to really get it done for your sport if you eat like crap, not enough, too much, etc. You’ve also got to know what you need. What sits well in your tummy, what doesn’t? What weighs you down or makes you feel alive? Knowing yourself and what you thrive on is important with eating too. I’ve walked this clean eating walk for a long time (at MP4 we all have) and could probably plan meals in my sleep. I know what I need and what I can get away with adding in or leaving out. But clean eating, with a few treats sprinkled in as life offers, is key to my steady state of being recovered and feeling great.

This is a classic!

Sleep

Oh man, I love to sleep! I love when I can go to bed early, like by an hour, even if I’m not tired, because I’ll fall right to sleep. Can I just add that after sleeping a solid 9 hrs or so, your skin glows and your eyes sparkle. Well, mine do, but then I thrive on lots of sleep. You may not need as much and glow and sparkle with 7 hrs. Like eating, sleep is one of the areas that I’ll have to plan to tweak due to increased activity demands. I can’t increase my activity output and not also compensate with a bit more sleep. When that’s impossible, the sleep I do get must be quality. I’m not a frequent nap taker, but occasionally my body will force one out of me. That’s my rather obvious clue that I’m getting out of balance.

If you’re like me you may have thought she was blowing her nose in her hand, but she’s not.  She’s crying.  Hope that helps you out in your travels today.

Emotional

I won’t get into this too much, except to say that emotional balance is precious to me. All of us that have lived through a season of emotional upheaval know what I’m talking about. I’m convinced that emotional and physical health go hand in hand, one greatly enhancing the other. For me and mine, a peaceful existence is a priority.

So the take home message from today’s post is this … stay in balance – know yourself and give your body and mind what it needs – activity, nourishment, rest, peace.

What are some of the ways you keep your life in balance? What activities specifically address this for you? Thanks ya’ll. Have a great day!

I have so many thoughts that go through my head as I age. The first thought is: ‘Holy crap, I still have thoughts going through my head as I age!’ Haha! I am truly grateful for that. If you have ever had a conversation with me you appreciate that statement. At times, talking to me is like brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand: doable but awkward and certainly not elegant.

My second thought is my innermost foreboding which is aging ungracefully. I see it everywhere I go nowadays. A woman bent over while walking to the store; an old man who shuffles rapidly instead of walking with a real stride. Occasionally I meet a woman who I thinks looks “good” (meaning skin quality) til I find out she’s 10 years younger than I thought (thank goodness I didn’t guess her age) and that’s not cool. I am not noticing her to judge her; I am noticing her to convict me.

I am aging…daily. And every day that I live I feel the toll of the environment. The sun, the pollutants, the stress, my poor choices in food, the days I skip working out and so on are beginning to shape the second half of my life and I am realizing I have control as to how this is going to down. Since you are reading this from us it is obvious that you eat clean in some way shape or form and probably have a sort of self righteous way of looking at this like, “That’s why I eat right and go to the gym.” Yes, it is. But it doesn’t stop there, I wish it did. There are so many other things that keep your butt lifted, your face from sagging, the crows feet off of your eyes and your body cancer free. No, we don’t want you to be paranoid and psycho about how you live so instead we got together as a unit, formed Jodiojo & Co and took on the task of talking to you about everything that you need in your arsenal to live the clean life beautifully.

Let’s talk about what’s wrong with this picture.  Besides the skin?  The frosty shadow and lipstick on someone that age.  It ages you even more.  Thanks, Magda, for volunteering to show us what not to do.

“I Don’t Get It”
If you haven’t figured us out, yet, you will soon enough. As all of the sites come together and we begin to reveal what we have up our sleeve, ‘who’ we are will become very clear to you. We are a group of women dedicated to living the clean life with a heavy slant on beauty. Why? Because every single one of us not only want to finish the race, but finish the race well. I cannot imagine one of our current clients saying to me, “I don’t care what I look like, I just want to lose 5 pounds.” No, it’s more like, “How do I tighten this? And why does this pucker like this? And I have spots showing up now, where is that from?” And so on. Yes, we sound vain and shallow, but we’re not . That’s the other side of us that you have seen crop up: your principles. In our email series, we have tapped into the voice that drives you with messages like ‘why are you doing this?’. ‘What’s in your heart that you cannot keep this going? What does that say about you?’ No, we’re not psychologists and do not pretend to be so, but we are survivors of living this clean life for the wrong reasons first and now the right reasons second. You must know because if you do not, this culture can take you down a dark road of deprivation and endless cardio that you will find very hard to recover from.

“Who Are You?”
Heather—the doctor of the house—will be here to look at you inside and out. From your bones to your muscles to your hormones, she’s in your business. Sure you look good now, but you have 10 packet/day Equal-Splenda habit that’s about to catch up to you. She’ll let you know what that is doing to you long term and how to fix it. Not by guessing, but by real lab work with real follow up. Keep your eyes peeled for this.

Amy—the guinea pig—lives out all of our madness. She’s taken on more of our projects than any good natured person should. She’s been in building seasons, power seasons, timed sets seasons…oy! Man, we have yanked her chain. She’s helped us work out the kinks in all of our programming—bless her heart. And on top of all that, she’s an accomplished heavy duty lawyer and yogi. She’s here to tell you what it really looks like in your week when you actually have to put this in motion.

Seanna—the perfect blend of brains and beauty—is here to show you how to present your gorgeous self to the world properly. Your makeup, skin care, food choices and more are critical to this process. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen a great body on a woman who has a drawn, gaunt face, dark circles under her eyes, too much make up on to hide the damaging effects of dieting and so on. Learn from the expert how to keep this from happening because this is what it is all about.

Nicole—the counselor—is here to keep you balanced. Stressing over the five pounds you have gained? Look good but miserable? Missing the big picture in life? What good is the body if it is attached to a nervous wreck? But haven’t we all been there at least once? For heaven’s sake, some of us have been there so long we think it’s normal. What would you do without a goal to stress over? Listen to this woman, she has the life down pat. Not because she’s a know it all, but because she’s hashed it out herself and grown into a very wise woman. We have lunch together and bang out our future endeavors and I end up having to pay her for a great therapy session at the end. Definitely worth the time.

Me—Jodi—the warning—is here to tell you what NOT to do. I am the expert in what doesn’t work. So when I have a conversation on the phone with you and you tell me that you want to do “such and such”, I can say, “Umm…I’ve done that. And it didn’t end well, let me tell you.” I am the voice of “Christmas Please Don’t.” If it is at all possible, I have done it: aspartame whore, cardio psycho, too-low-cal-for-too-long, overtraining, overuse and so on. I use the experience of my youthful dieting days mixed with my gift of tremendous volume (I have dieted more women in my career than you have probably had workout sessions in your life) to help you along in your endeavors. I have not seen it all but I am pretty close and you, as unique as you are, are not the only one who is doing whatever you are currently doing. So I speak to you, your habits, your thoughts, your fears and your desires to keep you from doing the jack-assery that I did when I had those habits, thoughts, fears and desires.

My last thought is that it is all about the love. If you get nothing else here, you will certainly get love. No flashy stuff. No big names. No fanfare. Just love. And lots of it. We are some bleeding hearts over on this end of the computer. Kas, too, she just does it in her matter of fact lawyery way. But it’s definitely there because it needs to be if you are going to live this life. Stress ages you, girl! No stress! So we have provided this safe haven for you to come and be loved into the beautiful woman we know that you are…

Seanna is taking a little time for some R & R so I hijacked her day. I will be here tomorrow, too, although I may not have anything to talk about. Hahaha! Just kidding. Let us know what matters to you beauty-wise below. We want to know.

Well sort of…

See I am up to my eyeballs in “renovations”.  No, not the kind of renovations that had Heather running around like a chicken with her head cut off last November/December… Site renovations. 

First, our homepage is changing:

because it needs to reflect all of our product lines.  That’s been a fun thing to work on because Jodiojo is quite eclectic and we’ve had some good laughs in the process of having this designed. 

The overarching concept of our company is very simple:  clean eating done beautifully.  Why are we focusing on that?  Because you wouldn’t do all that you are doing to look like a weathered hag at the end.  Yes, I said hag.  But if you just “eat clean” and pound away at cardio for the next 2 years, you will find out why it is important to be intentional about balance, beauty and body all at the same time.

Next, we have to redo MP4.  It’s an awesome site but it doesn’t reflect what we do so sending you there right now doesn’t make sense.  There is so much coming to that site that I need a nap just to get enough energy to explain it all to you.   The first thing we are remodeling, though, is the services page.  We have a few hot programs on the way that are highly effective and incredibly affordable.  If you plan on running anything this year and you are fanatical about your body and how much work you have put into it, keep checking for the updates to this site.  I’ll let you know when they go live, but they will be here soon so get ready.  Here is the proposed layout of the services page, and this is in the early stages so I know this is going to change some but it’s enough for you to get the idea…

The initital design phase takes the longest time and then the rest is easy so I am super excited that they will be going live soon!  Also, all of our products are on their way, too.  We have workouts and plans that are designed to keep your gym time fun and the focus on your bum while giving you a solid, well researched nutrition plan to get you to your goal.  Ok…so not just your bum–the rest of you, too.  But tell me that isn’t worth at least a mention.  Here is a snapshot of our new glossary that is on the way:

And last but not least…Trans4mation Station.  Our flagship product line.  Hands down the most requested service of Jodiojo & Co. and growing at a rapid pace right now.  This site is in the wee early stages of development so i don’t have a screen shot, yet.  But do know that there is only a custom option available now but a scaled down version of all that grandiosity is on the way soon.

So there you have it.  Why I am stumped this week for stuff to yap about with you.  As soon as I can see the bottom of my desk again, I will have something more for you.  Or maybe, just maybe…this is what you wanted to know in the first place. 

Looking forward to meeting you all through comments, emails and just plain old working with you.  Until next week…woop woop!!:o)

Seeing as Jodi picked the pics for this blog and added the captions, I had no idea she would use me for the lead photo.  Trust me…I’ll get her back somehow. hehe

Being the aesthetics chick here at MP4, I have thoroughly enjoyed myself during the make up mini series.  What a kick it has been rambling about make up!  Seriously, you’d think I was talking about my children!  I truly hope you’ve learned something that proves helpful.  Thanks for the push, Jodi!

So, I was thinking about the next post in the series, and I do believe that it’s finished.  I’ve done the big brain dump.  You now know all I know of make up, all that I’ve used, have an opinion of, a recommendation or at the least, something to say.

Today’s post will be a wrap up for anyone who hasn’t read all the others.  And if you haven’t, really, I don’t blame you.  I know I went on and on.  Seriously, I look back and could swear the posts are regenerating.  Plus a wrap up is a way to drive home my very best advice.

And you truly want advice from me, I’m gorgeous.  Ok, I wrote that (Jodi) but don’t tell Seanna.  Shhhh.  She’s stunning, lives the clean life and loves like a pooh bear!

First!  Love is what makes you beautiful.  Love boldly with a wide open heart, be at peace, and you will always be your most attractive, with or without make up.

Second, any rules or guidelines are all subject to YOUR approval.  Reject anything you don’t love or doesn’t work on you.  Period.  You must FEEL beautiful too.

This is the obligatory “beautiful” pic I am adding in to make up for the fact I (Jodi) had two of Seanna in here and she’s going to kill me.;)  Indulge me, please:  Ooooo, ahhhh, it’s gorgeous.

Ok, it’s time for the nitty gritty of getting ready to “face” (haha, get it!?) the world.  Below are my top ten dos and don’ts of make up:

• Do your eyebrows!  Whatever you need, do it.  Have them shaped and maintain em.  Use powder or pencil make up to darken your brows or fill in any thin spots.  Please don’t over tweeze.
• Curl you lashes and wear mascara.
• Use concealer under and around the eye area to brighten up your pretty face.  Gently pat a touch of concealer a tad lighter than your facial skin only where you need it to cover darkness.
• For the very best application, use a make up brush, preferably the proper brush for the job.
• If you use foundation, make sure it is a perfect match for your skin color and is the right formulation for your skin type.  Once it’s applied, blend, blend, and blend again.  Hard lines and streaks are not beautiful.
• Don’t rely on foundation as the exclusive source of your facial sunscreen.
• Apply blush in a flattering, natural color on the apples of your cheeks and cheekbones.  Save the crazy brights for dramatic nighttime looks.
• Use bronzer lightly on your cheeks, temples, chin, bridge of nose, and forehead (where your would tan from the sun) to warm up your facial skin and bring a “tan” to a summer time make up look.
• Eyeliner is your friend, whether it’s a pencil, gel, liquid or powder.  Line at least your top lash line to make your eyes pop.
• Colored eyeliner is an easy way to add subtle color.  Use a powder shadow and liner brush to line the eye (all the way around, upper only, lower only, part of lower and upper, whatever works for your eyes).  Apply dark mascara and voila, gorgeous!
• Beware shimmer and frosty eye shadow.  Sadly, it makes mature eyes look more wrinkled.
• Use a shadow primer for eye make up that will love you long time.  It’s especially good for oily lids.
• Neutral, natural lips with a touch of color and shine is always classic and pretty.

That was more than ten, I know.  Sorry ladies.

And that’s all!  Yay!

You don’t have to break the bank to make an impact.

The very best way to apply make up, in general, is with a brush.

Like every other cosmetic, there are hundreds of bushes to choose from hundreds of manufacturers.  Most department store and drug store lines carry brushes.  You only need a few to achieve a perfectly lovely face, but may choose to have lots, especially if you’re into elaborate make up application.

Which brush to purchase and in what size comes down to, what else?  Preference.  I started out with one old small, wedge shaped eye shadow brush, and was quite happy.  I used the sponge tip applicators that came with eye shadows as well as the little blush brush with good results.  But I spent a lot of time (that I will never get back by the way) in front of the mirror practicing and perfecting.  I really did not know that my “tools” were lacking in any way.

Then I met Jodi, and well, the rest is shameful history.  Several hundred dollars later and I am now the proud owner of an excessive number of truly fabulous brushes.  My collection is up there with a professional make up artist.  And mine is puny compared to Jodi’s!  I like having a lot of brushes to choose from because I do something different with my eyes, foundation or highlighter almost every day.  With lots of brushes to select, the right brush is always clean, ready and available.

When deciding how to begin, a rule of thumb is to try to match the brush size with the size of and the area you’re working with.  If it’s too large, it will take forever.  For instance, a small blush brush is inappropriate for applying foundation.  Likewise, a brush that’s too large will deliver sloppy, imprecise results.  Picture the same small blush brush for applying eyeliner; it just doesn’t work.

Most brushes are labeled as to what it is designed to be used for, so let that be your guide.

If you’re wondering if this really matters, it does.  Why diet as hard as we do and not show it off the right way? 

Eye shadow brushes:

Use the basic, flat or slightly rounded edged eye shadow brush on the lid, crease, and brow bone.  A shadow brush with a wedge shape or a brush with a pencil eraser shape is for the crease and bombshell wedge.

Eye Liner brushes:

Lots of variety here.  Liner brush bristles look like miniature shadow brushes.  The bristles are short and fine, round pencil eraser style, wedge shaped, as well as the classic tiny paintbrush; they’re all useful.  Use the tiniest brush for a tiny line; a larger brush gives a thicker line of liner.  A terrific liner brush is a smudge brush; dense and short, yet soft.  Use this to smudge out liner with a matching shadow.  My new favorite liner brush is a smudger called Instant Smoke.  It’s as wide as the upper lash line.  It’s placed there and you wiggle softly without lifting the brush off the lash line to smudge out the liner.  Very quick and cool!

Brow brushes:

Brow brushes are usually small and wedge shaped with bristles that are a bit stiffer than eyeliner brushes.  A small wedge shaped eyeliner brush works for brow color application too.

The leaner you are, the harder it is to apply foundation.  You need one of these stipplers.

Foundation brushes:

Stippling brushes, the crazy looking brush that has short black bristles with longer white bristles extending out of them, do a great job of evenly distributing liquid foundation.  A regular foundation brush (bristles are flat and shaped like a paddle) is a good all purpose brush to have.  It’s nice for liquid and cream or mousse foundation application (as well as any other are or use you stumble upon).  Mineral powder foundation goes on with a kabuki brush, which are dense, stiffish bristled brushes.  These are kind of funny; I find them a little rough and not a wonderful experience, but the brushes I’ve tried that are softer don’t delivery the product worth a darn, so I just grimace through the prickly brush.  If you know of a soft mineral foundation brush, please let me know!

Concealer brushes:

Like foundation, I use my fingers for concealer application.  A concealer brush is a very miniature flat, paddle shaped foundation brush.  Lots of times the bristles are stiffer, yet still very soft, but no bigger than an eye liner brush.  Use a concealer brush and apply a little concealer into the little hollow that tends to look dark next to your eye at the very top of your nose to brighten up the whole eye.

Powder brushes:

Big and fluffy, totally old school.  The powder brush is as classic as the powder puff.  Powder brushes are also appropriate for applying shimmer of glitter to your neck, shoulders, chest, and arms, as well as powder to the face.

Blush brushes:

Blush brush bristles are fluffy and soft like a powder brush, but smaller.  Blush brushes are terrific for applying bronzer too.  A softly wedged blush brush is nice for a little contour.  I also like to use my paddle shaped foundation brush to apply highlighter on my cheekbones.  In a pinch, stippling brushes are nice for blush application too.

Lip brushes:

You’ll notice that lip brushes look a lot like a concealer brush.  I only every used one to dig out the last of a favorite discontinued lipstick.  Lip brushes come retractable and/or capped, which is very nice if you’re taking it to go for touch ups later.

If I’m ever in the middle of talking to you and I whip this brush out and start using it slowly and methodically…I’ve stopped listening to you and I’m in my own world now.  Just sayin’.

Blending brushes:

I mentioned Nars Botan brush as my favorite brush of mine that I use for blending foundation.  I like it too for if I apply too much cheek color or highlighter.

Brushes bristles are either synthetic or natural animal hair.  Synthetic bristled brushes hold up as well as natural hair bristles and can and are just as soft and elegant to the touch.

Try out the brush on your own skin to see if you like the way it feels.  Also, give the bristles a little tug, pulling away from the handle end.  If there is any give at all, it’s not a well-constructed brush.  They may be a bargain but probably will not hold up over time.  That being said, all brushes, regardless of the price release a few hairs, especially in the beginning.  It’s just one of those mildly annoying facts of life.

Girl, don’t be nasty.  Wash your brushes.  Do you know what could be living in those things?  EEK!

Care and keeping of your brushes:

If you are the only person using your brushes and don’t change colors all that much, wash your brushes each month.  Use a mild shampoo, brush cleanser of soap (like Ivory) concentrating on the bristles.  Rinse, rinse and rinse again in cool water.  Avoid saturating the point where the bristles are attached to the handle to avoid loosening the glue.  Press the water out of the bristles with a clean towel.  Arrange the bristles back into shape and let them air dry.  A good time to wash make up brushes is at night before bed; they will be dry and ready by morning.

So that’s it for brushes.  This whole series I’ve been amazed at how long these posts have been!  Geez, you’d think I was interested in this stuff or something.

And as always, I’d love to help with any questions and learn all about your favorites.

Make sure you know what you’re doing before you try and slap on that orange. OY!

Lip Color

With the make up mini-series winding down, we come to lip color.  Weirdly it’s one of the very last topics.  If you’re like me, you began your relationship with make up at lip color, or at least lip “gloss”, which back then for me meant clear and goopy mint flavored roll-on lip gloss or a jumbo-sized Dr. Pepper flavored lip balm, the latter of which hung on it’s own cord proudly around my neck.  I thought I was so cool!

It’s also weird that lip color is towards the end of the list because it’s easily what I own the most of.  You too?  There are just so many gorgeous colors I end up not being able to choose and buy them all.  It’s a good thing because I go through it like crazy.

With all that being true, it’s interesting that it’s the element of make up that I have on the least.  I choose the perfect color, put it on, love it and within 30 minutes, I’ve wiped it off.  I have an aversion to lip gloss or lip stick on a coffee mug or glass (I’m not sure what that’s about) and I don’t want to ingest it so I wipe it off before I eat.  I have three in my handbag and two or three in my car, and lots in my make up kit, and hundreds in my make up drawer, but I put it on, and then … take it off.  I never do that with foundation or eyebrow color, but it’s exactly what happens with lip color.  Go figure.

I started out wanting to say something about lip gloss and flavors but then I just got distracted by the candy bar.  Sorry about that.  Will have to come back to this when I get over the candy bar.

Lipstick, Lip Gloss or Both?

Lipstick is available in millions of colors and several formulas (matte, sheer, creamy, etc.) and in stick or pencil form.  Lip gloss also comes in millions of colors and a variety of delivery methods.  Before I stopped working to stay at home with my children I was a lipstick girl.  I’m not sure what changed, (besides my whole life) but I don’t remember glosses being all that awesome back then.  They’re better now and easy easy to wear alone or with lipstick; I almost wear glosses now exclusively.  They don’t last near as long as lipstick, but that’s just perfect for me (see above).

Lip Liner

Lip liners usually come in a pencil form.  When I was into lipstick, I was a lip liner girl too.  I liked mine to match closely to whatever lipstick I was wearing.  In fact, when I purchased a lip stick, I usually bought the matching liner.  Although lip liner is not necessary, I still like liner with lipstick as it gives it all a little more polish, especially with a creamy or sheer formula, which liner helps keep from smearing.  Coloring in the lips all the way with the pencil helps any lip stick color last a little longer.  Try liner with just a gloss for a change too.  If you’re going to use lip liner, resist the temptation to line way outside of your natural lip line or create a different shape.  Although it should make them look bigger or better, sadly it doesn’t.

Choosing a Color

Like eye make up color, some shades are better on faces with this or that color skin or hair, but like eye make up colors, it comes down to preference.  In general though, there are some tried and true guidelines that are worth trying out to see if they fit.

The color of your lips when gently bitten or the color of your healthy gums is probably your best, most flattering lip color.  Look for colors in this general family for an easy go-to color.

The older you are, the better you look in paler, natural and more subtle colors.  The smaller your lips are, the better they look in lighter, paler and subtler colors too.  Brights work well on small lip and mature faces, but in general, avoid dark colors.

Pale nude colors look very pretty with a touch of shine.  I’m not a fan of matte nudes.

Beware very pale.  Nude is one thing, white is another entirely.  I’m all for a pale, nude lip, especially with a strong eye, but there are some lipsticks that look like concealer.  Be careful!

Think about the rest of your make up when choosing lip color and attempt to coordinate a touch (not match) your blush and lip color.  For example, if you’re wearing peachy colored blush, choose a coral, peach, orange, beige, tan, or nude color for your lips – not hot pink or rose.

Subtle lips look gorgeous with a strong, heavily made up eye.  For example, dark smoky eyes and nude lips let the focus be on gorgeous eyes.  A strongly colored mouth works well with eyes that are less made up.  For example, the classic red lips are perfect with eyes lined simply in black liner and mascara, letting all attention be in the mouth.

Ok, that’s all for lip color.  Got anything to add?  A favorite (I could never whittle it down to a few favorites so I didn’t mention any brands, sorry)?

Next week, brushes.  Yay!