Sometimes a song can change your life.

I have a deep and sometimes compulsive connection with music.

What songs changed your life? Which songs (or albums) do you listen to and automatically cry, or smile a huge happy smile, or which ones take you to a place of total bliss happiness, or take you down a road deep into your memories? Which ones kill your soul and make you regret? Which ones make you want to die?

Because that's what music does to me.

A quick, huge THANK YOU to the best singer/songwriter/musicians I know of, and ANY of whose albums I cannot live without and am completely obsessed with:





I want to know yours, and for those of you who like discovering/exploring new music, here are some of my favorites (Specific songs first, then Albums below):

Songs that wrench my heart, fill my soul, break my spirit, give me hope, and stop time:
I'm Nowhere and You're Everything - Chris Thile
How to Grow a Woman from the Ground - Chris Thile
Between the Lines - Sara Barielles
Can't Stop Thinking About You - Martin Sexton
Something's Missing - John Mayer
Stop this Train - John Mayer
Comfortable - John Mayer
Split Screen Sadness - John Mayer
In Your Atmosphere - John Mayer
Hurricane - Mindy Smith
Where I Stood - Missy Higgins
Wrong Girl - Missy Higgins
Can't Complain - Nickel Creek
Matter of Minutes - Shawn Colvin
(For these songs on iTunes, click HERE.) :)

Songs that I love deeply:
On Ice - Chris Thile
Welcome You - Mestizo
The Special Two - Missy Higgins
Love on the Rocks - Sara Barielles
Spit on a Stranger - Nickel Creek
This Side - Nickel Creek
Green and Grey - Nickel Creek
Beauty and the Mess - Nickel Creek
When in Rome - Nickel Creek
Heart in a Cage - Chris Thile
Dont' Drink the Water - DMB
Too Much - DMB
So Much to Say - DMB
Crush - DMB
Another Kind of Green - John Mayer
If You're not the One - Daniel Bedingfield
I Will Follow You Into the Dark - Death Cab for Cutie
Cannonball - Damien Rice
Colors - Amos Lee
Wake up Alone - Amy Winehouse
Days go By - Dirty Vegas
Winter - Tori Amos
Pretty Good Year - Tori Amos
(Click HERE to get these songs on iTunes.) :) The only one you can't get on iTunes is Welcome You by Mestizo. For that one you need to visit their website at www.mestizorocks.com.



Artists that shaped me / I grew up with:
Tori Amos
Fiona Apple
Dave Matthews Band
Neil Diamond
Stevie Ray Vaughan


Also, the best road trip albums:
Yourself or Someone Like You by Matchbox 20
Horrorscope by Eve 6
Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette
Blue Sky Invention by Blue Sky Invention


"The four right chords can make me cry, when I'm with you I feel like I could die and that would be alright, alright."


"..You can see I'm not mine anymore. Didn't take much to drive me crazy, 'guess I wasn't that sane before."


~Jenn

Cereal Guilt.

Yeah, I ate two bowls of cereal for dinner tonight, and I actually feel guilty about it. I've hit the point where I have lost a bit of weight, and now kinda look sorta good, and my boyfriend is like, "Oooh, BABY!" And I feel like I should be able to eat cheesecake and donuts and pizza.

I almost ordered pizza for dinner. Now, I don't like pepperoni pizza or anything like that... I'm a huge fan of light sauce, light cheese, heavy veggie pizza with thin crust. The kind that's only around 150 to 180 calories for one slice. But I still didn't order it. I had some hot and sour soup for dinner, then about an hour and a half later ate two bowls of cereal. It wasn't Trix or anything, it was basically Special K. But, still. This is what happens when I don't have any salad left in my house. I need to go to the grocery store tomorrow.

At least I didn't dig into the cookie dough I have in the fridge. (I'm making Dan cookies as a surprise tomorrow!)

SO! No real news to pass on. No weight change in the past few days. I had a pre-wedding photo gig on a boat tonight, and I can just tell you guys, I'm SUPER sick of this rainy weather. Now, I love the rain. But NOT when I'm working. Not being able to take photos outside, in what I do for a living (social event photography) - it sucks!!!!! I got a few of the folks to go out onto the deck of the boat tonight, but it was really drizzling, with the wind from the movement of the boat, I couldn't keep anyone out there long, let alone keep myself out there (equipment + wearing glasses)... but I do love this shot:



But by the time I could get the Bride and Groom out, the wind was really blowing and the light was virtually gone. I love this picture, it's so funny because it shows exactly how the night was outside:




((sigh.))

So, I thought I'd share some recent photos of me doin' my photo thang:

My Fongsphere makes me look SOoooo pro:


A pretty clear illustration of my relationship with groomsmen:



I'm a Bridal gown and veil watcher/protector:


I'm a "show-em-how-it's-done" kinda girl:


I'm a "kissing when they clink their glasses" rule explainer:


I'm a straight-up-dork:


I'm hard-core dedicated to getting the shot:



Nothing else to report y'all. I'm looking forward to the next eleven days. No photo shoots or weddings until the 12th! Maybe I can actually, I don't know... clean my house or go to the gym.

~J

Man in uniform.

Yeah, boy! I had my first Groom in uniform today!

Come check out the photos HERE! :)

Here he is (Marine Sergeant):


And the adorable bride!!!

Hey you, Obese chick!

Get outta here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today I hit 190.4 which is a milestone in one and almost two ways. The big celebration today, for my 5'7" frame, I'm no longer obese. I'm now, simply, "overweight." (((cheers)))!

* Underweight = <18.5
* Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
* Overweight = 25-29.9
* Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater



To calculate your BMI, go here. Or, I think there might even be a calculator on the right side column of my blog.

SO, my next BMI goal will clearly be 24.9 so I can become "normal." That means I need to get down to 159 pounds. From 190.4 to 159 is a loss of another 31.4 pounds (wow!) ... Yep, I've still got a lot of work to do.

But, nonetheless, I get one of these bad boys from Scale Junkie (Have I told you how I love you so, Scale Junkie??!!)




And, though I still see those pesky .4 pounds... I'm gonna jump the gun and say I get this one too for going from 225 down to 190:




Whoodiefreakinhooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


...Also, have I mentioned that I love you guys? You're the best, seriously. You keep me accountable, motivated and feeling like I'm not alone on this weight loss journey thing.

<3

Jenn

A Pudgy Gut is the New Hot.

...Only if you're a guy, though. Sorry ladies. We got royally screwed on this deal.

The NY Times published an article a few weeks ago that I've been meaning to blog on. Well, today's the day.

“I sort of think the six-pack abs obsession got so prissy it stopped being masculine,” is how Aaron Hicklin, the editor of Out, explains the emergence of the Ralph Kramden. What once seemed young and hot, for gay and straight men alike, now seems passé. Like manscaping, spray-on tans and other metrosexual affectations, having a belly one can bounce quarters off suggests that you may have too much time on your hands.

“It’s not cool to be seen spending so much time fussing around about your body,” Mr. Hicklin said.

And so guys can happily and guiltlessly go to seed.

Okay, WHAT????

Guys now get a free pass to have a gut because it's "prissy" to be in shape all of a sudden? They can't be serious. I'm about to punch someone. My friends and I were talking about this at my birthday party, and I went off into a string of expletives, I was so annoyed. I kept saying, "I swear I'm blogging about this bullshit tomorrow!!!" ...And of course my guy friends all started sticking their bellies out and saying "I'm the hottest guy on earth." Buttholes.

Though there's a backbone of truth in this, I won't get into the male super stars who are fat, bald, unattractive (by conventional terms) etc,etc. I still think this article is just insane. They go on to say:

Women have almost never gotten a pass on the need to maintain their bodies, while men always have, said Robert Morea, a personal fitness trainer.

Oh, really?

Wow. That's news. Seriously, do you even need to say that? This article isn't titled, "Newsflash: Women, it's okay to have muffin tops. In fact, it's the new sexy thing!" or "Muffin tops are the new runway accessory!"

I think women are going to be forever held to impossible standards. Will there ever be an end in sight?

Whitney rocks my world.

And I'm not talkin' about Ms. Houston. I'm talking about this gorgeous girl, and the boudoir shoot we did today!

Click HERE for more photos!





So, I've been somewhat stalled in my weight loss since I came home. (TOM). Dan and I ordered Chinese food yesterday. Ugh. I didn't go crazy, but I had some veggie and shrimp with rice noodles, and it was amazing. I'm about to have some leftover Hot and Sour Soup. :)

Back on the train tomorrow. I think I just really need to get back to working out!

~Jenn

Cake Fight!!!!!! Wait, did someone say "cake"?

Yeah, that's the one thing about shooting weddings. They feed me, and offer me cake. I always turn the cake down though, and make sure to have lotsa veggies. :)

I had a really fun wedding today. Check out the photos HERE. :)~






I also wanted to answer a question I got!

MB asked: What shoes do you wear when you're shooting all day? When I do weddings my feet are screaming by the end of the night.

Well, I usually wear black rubber Sketchers during warmer weather, and black flat rubber boots when I'm shooting in rain/snow/sleet, etc. I've found that a comfy pair of shoes is crucial! I'm thinking of switching to fleece lined crocs. I've heard they are seriously comfortable! :)~




Also, Skinny Sweet Pea has lovingly given me the "One Sweet Blog" award. Thank you!!!!!!!!!! :)



So in the spirit of the One Lovely Blog Award I must:

1. Acknowledge the giver
2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs I love:


1. Confessions of a + Sized Girl
2. Losing Waist
3. Scale Junkie
4. You're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat
5. Jack Sh*t, Gettin' Fit
6. Hold the Mayo, Extra Cheese
7. In Pursuit of my Inner Pinup
8. The Long Hard Road out of Hell
9. Fat Bridesmaid
10. Miz Fit
11. Zumewalk
12. Smoke Yourself Thin
13. Kristen's Crazy World
14. Bitch Cakes
15. The Chub Fight

Blue Shoes

I had a gorgeous bride today with blue heels - and all her bridesmaids wore these great pink heels. It was so much fun!

I have another wedding tomorrow for about 10 hours, and then I'll have a day off. I'll come back and post soon! :)~

Check out the wedding photos HERE! :)

Fuck You, Peta.

Well, I just had to say it.

Have you guys seen their latest brilliant idea?




First of all, this ad is total crap. I gain weight when I eat vegetarian because it means: Bread, sugar, pasta, potatoes. I lost 55 pounds on a low carb diet with lotsa lotsa meat involved. Now of course you can be a slim veg-head. My brother is a good example. I'm just saying, this ad is a lie and it's a huge insult, and it's CRAP.

Why can't they go back to making us all feel like crap about ourselves through conventional means like this:



...instead of blatantly putting out a huge sign to condemn the beached whale fatties of this country? Of course it's because we can't stop shoving hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken wings and pork chops into our faces that we're fat. Yup.

I always wonder what they expect from something like this. Someone to say, "Thank you PETA!!! Thank you for making me realize the error of my ways. I'll stop eating meat now just because your billboard with a fat woman in a polka dot bathing suit had opened my eyes." Seriously? I can't imagine anything coming from an ad like this except: 1. Pissing off a lot of fat people. 2. Pissing off a lot of women. 3. Giving moronic fraternity brothers and bitchy Rodeo Drive soccer moms a good self centered, brainless laugh.

That's about all I can say about this right now.

You should check out a few improvements on the banner here and here.

Oh, and Fashionista did a great post about it here as did Kate Harding over at Shapely Prose here.


On another note, 192 as a weigh in today. Woo-hoo! 2 more pounds and I'll be down 35 pounds and out of the obese range. I'm very, very close. ((Then I won't be a huge beached whale drowning in my own blubber anymore. I'll only be a seal with a moderate amount of blubber. Right, PETA?))

~J

Burrito Bobble Heads, Baseball and Boudoir.

So, first of all I need to seriously thank ALL of you guys. Your super lovely sweet comments on my no-makeup-mugshot were absolutely amazing and you really boosted my ego about 32094039 points.

Secondly, I still am waiting on friends to send me photos from my birthday trip, so I'm gonna have to hold out on posting about the trip until I get those.

Thirdly, did you know that Chipotle is doing a video contest for a new burrito idea? My good friend Jon made this video. You should watch it and vote for them! :)~ Awesome Chipotle Awesomeness with a cool song, seriously! Watch it now. ;)

Last, check out the shoot I did today with April!

Click HERE for more photos!





Adios for now! :)
~Jenn

Wakey, Wakey, Me no Makey.

So, as I've been on vacation, I was really behind all of you on taking Fat Bridesmaid's no-makeup-photo challenge.

Well, I swore to myself that I'd do it and participate, and dammit, even though I'm late, I'm gonna do it.

I really like this idea because it reminds me of a GREAT blog post my friend Beth did about a photo she saw of herself and about self-love. Here's a little excerpt:

I may sometimes feel envious of the women with slim figures and perfect skin, but you know which women I am the most jealous of? The ones who seem a little eccentric, who wear clothes that make them feel good even if they aren’t the latest style, who don’t wear make-up and just leave their hair be, who dance like nobody’s watching - the women who are comfortable in their skin. I want it, and I’m going to get it.

For more, you should go over to her blog and read it.


And without further ado, here's my photo:





I'll post again later with some more fun photos from my vacation! :~)

LOSING weight on vacation?

It's definitely a new thing for me. But it means saying "no" to my Mom's pasta, even though she made it and hoped I'd have some.

It means eating dinner before going to a Birthday party last night, and just drinking a TON of water so I wouldnt' snack on all the amazing looking goodies there.

I'm down to 193.6 as of this morning! FLIBBERDEEJIBBIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Guys, that marks over 30 pounds since December, and 20 of those pounds since July 8th!!! YEAH!!

And I get one of these bad boys, which I love getting SO much... (thank you Scale Junkie!)





On another note... it's my 27th birthday, and I'm very much looking forward to spending the day with friends and family, and having a fun evening with everyone tonight. Plus, I might go see Sinbad at Comedy Works (he's one of my very favorite live comedians!)

Have a FABULOUS weekend, everyone!

~Jenn

Grapes and Boobs.

Hey all!

I thought I'd share some photos to let y'all know what I've been up to in Grand Junction! I'm visiting my awesome Aunt and Uncle, and my Cousin and his wife! :)~

The whole crew:


Me, my Aunt and Kiesha:


Me with my Aunt and Uncle:


Sugar free popsicles are my favorite!


But they do funny things to my BRAIN!.....


Auntie, Me, Travis and Rach:


We're a couple-a goofballs:




I'm a wild and crazy gal...




So yeah, I don't have anything really important to say but share some photos with y'all.

I'll be back to check in soon! :)~

28 Bug Bites.

At least.

I'm covered in bug bites. I have no idea where I was around a ton of mosquitos or red ants or biting microscopic midgets, but I'm covered in miserable, itchy bites. It's worse than when I went camping, you guys. I don't know how this happened.

I'm going to have to go get a giant bottle of clear nail polish. (the "venom" in mosquito bites itches because it interacts with oxygen, so if you seal off the bite with clear nail polish, it won't itch anymore.)

On a side note, I'm down to 196.4 today. That means I've lost roughly 3 pounds over the last 10 days. That feels like a small loss to me, though 10 days is one week plus 3 days. So.. I don't know. I guess I'm just getting used to the faster weight loss and if it slows down I start to freak out. :/~

Oh! And being down to 196.4 means that I only have 5.4 pounds left to lose until I'm no longer OBESE, but am only "OVERWEIGHT." (I'm 5'7")

I'm heading to Grand Junction in a few hours to see my Aunt and Uncle until Friday. They do have internet access, but I'm not sure how much I'll be blogging. It's a very "back to nature" type of retreat for me, so you might not hear from me for a few days unless something happens and I NEED to tell you all. My Uncle is a crazy good cook though, so that might happen. He's told me he will be working up a great low fat fish dish for me, so I hope he does that and does NOT make his famous crepes or anything else like that.

Ciao!

~Jenn

Top Ten Things That Don't Cause Arthritis.

Sometimes I like to go to msn.com and click on the "health and fitness" section just to see what's new out there in the health and fitness world. Lots of times I'll find articles about how to perfect your sunless tan or how to do better dead lifts, but today I found an article that caught my eye.

This article had a ton of promise, but wound up sorely disappointing.

It was entitled "Top Ten Things That Don't Cause Arthritis."

Now, I expected this to be an awesome article, full of funny things, but it wasn't. It just WASN'T. No, it sure as hell wasn't. Instead, it had real and medically based things like:

Cracking knuckles: Although you can injure a joint by overenthusiastic knuckle cracking, there is rather convincing evidence that regular knuckle cracking has little effect on joint health.

Okay, well I kind of DID think that cracking your knuckles could lead to arthritis, and I'm glad to know this little tidbit. Maybe this wasn't the best example. But I'm telling you, I expected the list to look like this instead:

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches: Although there has
been some speculation that obsessive eaters of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches might actually be setting themselves up for arthritis due to constant and repeated lid opening, knife dipping, and condiment smearing, there is actually no proof that eating copious amounts of PB&J's will actually cause arthritis.

I am pretty sure we could come up with a much more bomb list. We're writers. We're funny. Help me out here, folks. I'm gonna post a much, much better list of things that don't cause arthritis once I've got nine more.

Ready, set, comment.

~J

Super YAY!

So, as many of you know by now, I'm a photographer!

I was on the A-List in Denver, and now have been put on the A-List in Milwaukee since I moved here. It's that time of year again to vote for the best photographer in the city!

I'd love it if you enjoy my photography, if you would take a brief moment to vote for me! :)~

Vote Here:

http://wisn.cityvoter.com/jbe-photography/biz/85463


Thanks so much you guys, and you ROCK my world!!!

Kelly Clarkson is human.

Wait. What?

Yeah, Kelly Clarkson is a human, normal woman in a maddened, image-driven, body obsessed industry. It's a huge shock. So why is this ground breaking news???

Kelly Clarkson looks curiously thin on the cover of "Self Magazine"!



"We're shocked! It's a "positive body image" issue! She shouldn't be airbrushed on the cover!"

Self magazine admits it did airbrush the singer, but no more than they do every other cover model. The editor-in-chief argued, "Our picture shows her confidence and beauty."

Um, this happens every freaking day. Women's magazines are constantly telling us to be "empowered" and at the same time, "lose 10 pounds in two weeks!" and check out the "top ten ways to drive your man wild in bed!" and airbrushing the crap out of all the models so we all feel like crap about ourselves and want to buy all the products and magazines and other shit we're supposed to consume (except for food, unless it's diet food of course) to make ourselves into this impossible ideal of what we are SUPPOSED to look like, even though the CELEBRITIES don't even look like that.

Okay, three cheers for the longest run-on sentence EVER. I just had to get that out.

Oh, and also... the photo shows her "confidence and beauty"?? So, women are only confident and beautiful if they're thin as you photoshop them to be? Ass-hats!!!! She's confident and beautiful all the time, and you people are pieces of shit.

It reminds me of what they did to Kate Winslet. Remember this beauty of a photoshop botch job?



She was FURIOUS. Kate's always been one of those fabulous celebrities who has been proud of her curvier body and the fact that GQ shrunk her down to a size 2 was unacceptable. Why do photo editors think they have the right to change someone's entire body?? It's garbage, crap and totally ridiculous.

It pisses me off.

Carry on.

~J :)

Birthdays are bad for your butt.

My birthday is August 15th, and I've already been wished a happy birthday by several restaurants. Oi Vey!

Red Robin
Dairy Queen
On the Border
Noodles and Company

They all have sent me coupons for free food!




The lowest calorie items I can find for these places are:

Natural Burger @ Red Robin: 570 calories, 979g sodium (just for the burger, no fries!)
Small Hawaiian Blizzard @ Dairy Queen: 440 calories
Small Bangkok Curry @ Noodles and Company: 250 calories (less than I thought!)
Chicken Enchilada w/ beans and rice @ On the Border: 610 calories


My parents asked me where I'd like to go for my birthday celebration. I told them I would love to go to Sweet Tomatoes. If you don't have one in your state (There isn't one in Milwaukee, which sucks)- you should definitely go to one if you ever get the opportunity to. It's the most awesome salad bar place, ever. I remember a place called "Healthy Habits" that used to be in Colorado. It was SO good, and then it got shut down for some reason. I have lots of fun family memories there, so it's kind of a bummer. But, Sweet Tomatoes is a close second and a great alternative.

So, I'm sorry to all you high fat, super yummy restaurants and dessert places. I'm gonna keep my belly in check by NOT taking part in free blizzards, brownie desserts, noodle dishes and burgers.

Not-so-regrettably,

Jenn

P.S. If you haven't already, go check out the photos from the wedding I shot last night! It was a fun one.

P.S.S. I am running on 2.5 hours of laying in bed, not quite sleeping. Gotta love 6am flights. Yucky! Welp, gettin' on the plane in a few minutes. I'll update soon!

A Rainy Wedding

I never thought I'd see the day when I'd go into Target to buy 16 umbrellas and a pair of galloshes. It was worth it. :)

Come check it out, yo!

Fat people are experts on healthy eating.

Before I get into my huge blog post, I'm gonna share a better photo of my hair!





Dan came home last night and said, "Hey Rogue!" I had no idea what he meant so I just kinda smiled. Then his friend Mark came over and Dan said to him, "Doesn't she look like Rogue?" Mark said, "Yeah!" Then I realized he meant this chick from X-Men:



Or the cooler, comic book version:





So! Anyway.

What I really wanted to blog about today is healthy eating, and how we all freakin' know how to do it. I'll start with a little bit of a back story:

Considering the fact that I used to be fairly thin, was in a variety of weight and gym classes in high school, and have been through the gain and loss of the same damn 50 pounds a few times, I definitely know a LOT about weight loss and health. I know how to eat to lose weight and how to work out to keep your body its best. How to avoid injury in the gym, and what kinds of exercises to do if you have a bad back, pain in your knees, etc. I know the benefits of different types of diets, how to eat if your skin is dry and the differences between various kinds of carbohydrates, fats and sugars. It's pretty ridiculous.


SO. It is hilarious because, though I'm a fat girl, I get phone calls from my brother, friends and my parents with questions on all these kinds of things all the time. I give good advice, I know that. I hear back from people "that really worked!" or, "I can't believe it was so simple" (ha!) -- and it has always kind of perplexed me. You know the old saying, "Don't trust a fat doctor or a skinny chef"? Well, I'm sure as shit no doctor, but I also would be remiss to take health or fitness advice from someone fatter than me.

And I know a LOT of you guys know what I'm talking about and can relate.

We know how to count calories, we know how to work out in our optimum heart rate range. We know how to stretch and run and flex and bend. We know how to grill, sautee, bake, chop, and master those healthy recipes. We've munched on rice cakes covered in fat free cottage cheese (my personal favorite) or low fat string cheese, or salad after salad, and what the fuck, we're still fat!

So my question is... WHY is that???

Granted, I'm losing weight now, but ... if I know so freakin much about weight loss, eating, exercise and all that... I should be a personal trainer and be super hot and in shape. But I'm not. The only thing I can really figure is that it has to be one of the following:

1. Laziness
2. Doing things half assed (see number 1)
3. ??????

A lot of anti fat hate folks would go on to add in number 3 and 4 spots "genes" or "something else not my fault here" but I can't bring myself to do it. I've been thinner before and I can do it again.


So I'm curious to know y'all's comments on this subject. 'Cause I know you have big ripply brains and will share your thoughts with me.

~J

Hair and Hoopdeedoo.

Well, I feel like a craptastic blogger pants because I haven't been blogging much in the way of weight loss stuff lately. I've been SO busy! In fact I should be editing a crapload of photos right now but I'm doing this instead. ;)

So, I got my hair done today! This photo was taken in my kitchen, under a crappy light, and doesn't get across the pure awesomeness that is the red color I got. My hair dresser is brilliant. I'll try to post a better photo later!



Though, dontcha hate it when you get your hair dyed a darker color and you get these spots on your forehead/neck?




I weighed in at 198 today. So, I've lost something like .8 pounds in the last few days. I hate it when things slow down but I think I might be getting back into the 2-3 pounds loss per week thing soon. I hope!

Well, nothing else really to report, guys. I've got a wedding tomorrow and then I'm getting on a plane Saturday at 7am and heading to Denver for 10 days! I'll have access to internet for part of the trip, so I should be able to do an update at least once or twice! :)

~Jenn