Our Engagement Photos

I've been ridiculously excited about getting our engagement photos done because our photographer is so amazing.  His name is Dave Jackson, and he's an Editorial Portrait photographer.  You know... the kinds of images you see in magazines.  That's his talent.

With that, I bring you guys our engagement photos.  All four of them.  And they're PERFECT.  He truly makes me feel like a celebrity when I look at these photos.  Worth. Every. Penny.

Check out his website:  http://www.davidejackson.com/

Storms and Such...

Hey all.

#1)  I hope Fitbloggin' was amazing.  I couldn't go for a few different reasons, but maybe next year.

#2)  I've been super busy with lots of photography related things, including lots of storm chasing.  If you're interested, check out the blog at http://faceofastorm.blogspot.com/ - I recount every trip, and at this point have nabbed 4 tornadoes for the season so far.

#3)  Wedding planning is going well, we had our engagement photos done a few days ago and I'll definitely share them when I get them!

In fitness / health news, I'm back down to around 168-170-ish.  I weighed in a few days ago, and haven't since.  I'm sort of in a limbo mode and not actively trying to lose.  I went low carb for a week or so to drop a few extra pounds of water weight before our engagement session.  Other than that, not really trying for anything.

My latest thing is that I want to get a bike.  I've actually wanted one for a few years but never buy one.  I'm determined to get one, I feel like I'd ride it all the time!

I'll check back in later. :)

~J

More Tornadoes and some other stuff.

Well, first thing's first.  Thank you guys so much for entering the giveaway!  And now for the random winner:

So!  DEB!  Send me an e-mail at jennybeanjcb@msn.com with your shipping info and we'll get you hooked up with your very own Quantum Scale!  Thanks to everyone for entering.

Now, I'd like to ask you guys a quick favor. :)  I don't know if you remember when I did this photo shoot for my close, good friends and their band... MESTIZO!

Well, they're poor.  (Duh, they're musicians.)  They are also in this contest for free studio time.  So, they need lots of votes to win some free studio time from Marquee Magazine.  If you would pop over by clicking THIS LINK, and voting for Mestizo, it takes two seconds, you do NOT have to register or give any info.  That'd be amazing, y'all.

In other news, since I should probably throw something in here about weight / health / fitness / etc... I weighed in this morning with the Quantum scale at -3.4.  Apparently I'm up .6 pounds.  I've been totally lax, I go back and forth, I suck.  I also just saw this photo of myself, and I'm not too happy about my apparent ARM GIRTH. 

I need to remember I have around 1 month until Engagement Photos take place, and the wedding is 128 days away.  Holy crap, I'm not eating anymore.  Well, okay, that's extreme.  I'm going to really have to buckle down.

And yes, that was me at a Chaser Convergence (fancy ass way of saying "a bunch of nerdy weather freaks and photographers standing in a parking lot waiting for storms to fire) on my most recent storm chase.  Skip & I had our most close encounter (EVER) to a tornado.  Here are a few of my favorite photos... and you can click HERE to view the full chase log on my photography blog, complete with lots of photos and info - and links to some amazing video of how close we got. :)

Tornadoes, sexy ladies, and a GIVEAWAY!

Heyo mayo!

Welp, I'm here to explainify my absence over the last couple of weeks.  Well, I can't really justify HOW LONG HOLY CRAP I've been gone, but I have had a few things keeping me busy.  Boudoir marathons, photo shoots, storm chasing.  Love, love.

AND!

You guys know I've been getting more into storm chasing recently.  Well, we had a big day over the weekend, and you can read my blog post over at the photography blog about the huge tornado intercept in Mapleton.  This bad boy was rated an EF3.  Massive damage to the town :( and definitely one for the record books.  Especially considering it was in Iowa.  In APRIL.

 

 

I'll be trying to do a LOT more storm chasing over the season as I've found an amazing couple of chasers to go out with, particularly Skip Talbot of Convective Addiction.  Just know I'm in good hands - he's been chasing a long time, he's a moderator for a prominent severe weather forum, and overall a really nice person whom I trust very much. :)

Also, I've launched a new website for the Boudoir branch of my business - 

Boudoir Milwaukee (A JBe Production, of course) - you should go LIKE it on Facebook and check out the site.  Any feedback is more than welcome!

So.  In other news, I've gotten a groovy scale I've wanted to try for a while.  It's the Quantum Scale!

I've been using it for a little over a week now.  The first registered result showed "-4".  Meaning, the scale in its pretty pinkness told me I was down four pounds from my post bingeathon period weight.  That's to be expected.  Yet, I find myself in my own brain, trying to remember what my last weight was, and trying to subtract.  I've forced myself to NOT use the other scale I have... (you know, the number one,) and just focus on the overall progress.

The neat thing is that it's an OVERALL loss scale, so it's not showing you your individual loss per week (or per day) - it's showing your total loss from when you started using the scale.  I think it's a pretty fantastic idea, so we're constantly seeing our TOTAL progress, and not focusing on the "crap, I only lost .2 pounds this week?!"  As long as we can make our focus the overall journey of our loss, and see the totality of our achievements as they go along... I think the Quantum Scale could truly be a powerful tool in weight loss, but also in maintaining the integrity of our self esteem.

I can say I've felt pretty good in my own body the last week, but I will really have to pay attention to the progress I make over the next few weeks / months.  I've always been a very numbers driven person, but I also have been sort of stalled over the past month so maybe this is the new way to go.

On THAT note, I also have a giveaway for you guys!  You can have one of your VERY OWN Quantum Scales, courtesy of Quantum Scales! :)~

To enter, you can do one of a few things:

1.  Like Ex Hot Girl on Facebook.

2.  Like JBe Photography on Facebook.

3.  Like Boudoir Milwaukee on Facebook.  (Yes, I'm whoring myself out.  Yup.)

4.  Tweet this blog post on Twitter, tag @exhotgirl.

***No matter which one(s) you do above, make sure you COMMENT on this post and let me know which ones you did!***

The contest will END Monday, 4/18/2011, so hurry on up and get those entries in. :)

~Jenn

Denver? Nebraska? Yeah...

Just a quickie update!

I'm in York, Nebraska right now.  I was in Denver yesterday morning.  I'll be back in Denver tomorrow.  That's right... I'm squeezin' in a little March storm chasing!

You all know my good friend Tony Laubach - well, when he's not busy kicking ass on Storm Chasers, sometimes I can bribe him to take me chasing because we've been friends for something ridiculous like 10 years.

One of the first (or the first?) chase I did with him years ago:

So, I'll keep you posted with any purty pictures I get of structure, and hopefully a tornado. :)  This is the Tornado threat Convective Outlook.  I know 10% doesn't actually SOUND like it's a good chance, but it actually is.  We were sitting on 2% yesterday and wanting to stab someone for our bad luck.  Today looks MUCH better.

In the mean-time, I'm also looking at restructuring my eating plan to be more similar to that of Beth over at The BETH Approach.  I know I don't react well to sugar & starch... or is it that I'm actually lactose allergic/intolerant?  Or do I have issues with soy?  I know I have hormonal problems because of my acne.  So... I am considering cutting out soy, then dairy (and staying off of sugar?) -- It's all overwhelming and there has been a big bunch of friends on Facebook giving me advice.  I just feel like I shouldn't eat ANYTHING now, and it's freaking me out.

Thoughts?

~J

To answer your questions...

A quick note...

I'm getting a lot of e-mails from some of you guys who are wondering where Julia's blog went.  I'll go ahead and clarify here for those of you who missed it:  She's taking a break, perhaps indefinitely.

No, I don't know why.
Yes, we know each other in real life, but I haven't seen her in a while.
She's doing what she needs to do, for her.
If anything changes, it'll be up to her to tell you guys if she wants to.
I am glad you all love her as much as as I do.

So, I hope you understand when I ask you all not to e-mail and ask me about her.  I miss her as much as, if not more, than you all do.

~Jenn

No more chips and dips and crap foods...

Soooo, last night I pretty much had it with myself.  I said to Dan, "Honey, no more sugar for me.  And, no more chips and dips and crap foods."  He said, "Okay."  :)  

Yesterday I probably ate around ... Oh, goodness.  No idea how many calories in sugar.  Over the last week I probably ate 1/2 a pan of brownies, 1/2 cup or more of peanut M&M's, half a sleeve of thin mints... I've just been pounding down sugar.  Tons of it.  Plus, super high sodium foods.  We went to Olive Garden yesterday for dinner - did soup & salad, I had 2 breadsticks, two bowls of salad (I LOVE their salad,) and a bowl of minestrone and the chili type soup.  Oh, and two margaritas.  (500 calories alone right there.)  -- I've been going out and drinking 2-4 pint glasses of cider each time, too.  Oh, yeah.  Cider is about 290 calories a serving.  

Pasta I had when I met up with a friend for lunch:

Yep.  Complete with coffee and a cannoli:

Me, with a champagne as big as my head.  I had three or four of these as Dan and I played Clue and The Game of Life on the Xbox 360.  I love the drinkies, but I'm giving up for a while.  Liquid calories are SO not worth it, you guys.  Seriously.  For the reals.

No wonder I'm gaining weight.  I'm done with it, you guys.  I don't want to creep my way back up!  ...I'm already creeping up.  I need to go back down now.  My  body feels sore and swollen and uncomfortable, and I SQUEEZED into my skinny jeans last night - it wasn't good, or pretty.

The Damage:

Current measurements:

Weight: 173.6 (EEK!) +12 lbs

Chest: 38 (+1")

Waist: 31.5 (+2.5")

Hips: 40.5 (+1.5")

I was looking at my measurements / weight chart from last summer, and apparently I actually got down to 157.6.  Now, that sounds awesome right about now.  These were my numbers, and are now my new mini-goal:

Weight Mini (re)-Goal:  157.6

Bust:  37"

Waist:  28"

Hips:  37.5"

I'm also super motivated and inspired by my good friend Beth over at the BETH approach.  She and I had at one point been almost identical in our weight loss / journey / sizes / pounds dropped.  The difference?  She's stayed true to a lifestyle change, while I've caved in to emotional eating.  :(  BOO!  She recently hit a low of 152 pounds, and I'm so proud of her, and super, super jealous.  So, it was the last straw for me last night.

No more bad foods.  Moving around more.  Getting back on track.  Again.

~J