Training for Tuesday - Double Up

After our six-hour Google Hangout, Google Hangout, Google Hangout, gosh-this-is-annoying-let's-just-switch-to-FaceTime date, I couldn't dare let Alyssa down by skipping Training for Tuesday. I know I may have sabotaged her week by keeping her up until 3am Saturday night, or by sending her a box of Twinkies from Amazon because... well, because wine. I just won't let her down by not linking up for this special day. 

If you need a reminder, Training for Tuesday is a very friendly fitness link-up hosted by two ladies who do fitness their own way. They try new things, they push their boundaries, they explore their limits and they try to understand more about themselves through the magnificent things their bodies allow them to do. They even try to understand some of the physical feats their bodies don't allow them to do... yet.

This month I'm back to talk more ClassPass. I know that I'm leading you in with something that sounds redundant, but I promise that it's not. Portland now has 120 studios with new locations added each week. My playground keeps getting larger and my eyes keep getting wider. When I started the studio count was in the 70's, but now there's truly hundreds of classes I can take each day.

Just pictured below are four awesome unique studios that give me experiences each week that range from fun in the aerial silks, vibey flows with super-chill playful yogis, a way to embrace my inner drum-goddess while squatting for an hour and then a place where I can escape into my "physical therapy" appointment with a foam roll and some other props that make my muscles melt.

I've always heard that the way to stay engaged with your training routine is to keep your body guessing. That's exactly what I get to do with ClassPass. I've taken 56 classes so far and haven't found a single workout that has become "boring" to me or that hasn't challenged me physically, mentally or emotionally. Even the Yin and Restorative Yoga classes, the type that invite you to stay in a stretching and meditative pose for a few minutes, cause me to find ways to quiet my mind and to get in touch with my soul.

This week I'm in it to win it.

My goal is to take two classes per day - Daily Doubles - for the entire week just to show you how much wonderful variety there is between the hard stuff, the fun stuff and the easy relaxing stuff. There's even 'gym time' if I want to get a little crazy with some free weights and avoid the class scene. Daily-Doubles will be an easy way to get me closer to the 100-club with only 44 classes to go!

If you're in the Portland area and you have ClassPass, please let's work out together! If you're in the Portland area and you don't have ClassPass, please ask me about it! If you live in any of these cities, go check your city's scene and tell me what class(es) sound awesome to you. 

Go check out Alyssa and Tracy to see what awesome fit chicks are talking about today. 

700 Miles

This weekend my car travelled 700 miles.

Two round trips. 

There alone, blasting loud dance music and singing at the top of my lungs. Back with company, music less loud, hands intertwined and doing everything to keep eyes on the open road. There with company as a passenger and nothing but eyes off the road. Back alone. Alone.

Two tanks of gas, two drivers, one latte, too many snacks. So many slug bugs, a few sad tears, so many happy tears. One snoozing passenger, one bio-break. 

In between all of that driving, there was no driving. 

Three trips to the grocery store across the street because once I didn't have butter and once there was a request for ice cream that we never ate. Two walks to the local coffee shop. One walk to the golf course with three irons and one putter. Two pints at the local watering hole followed up by six samples of the brews we didn't try.  One bet lost, two steaks grilled, six half-birthday gifts opened. Three rounds of supervised handstand practice, two naps, one water spill.

One thousand laughs and three thousand calories (per day). Ha, maybe more than that when you count the Honey BBQ Frito Twists on the walk back from the bar. 

However, I can't count the "what-if's", the "how-can's", the "what-about's". The "in a few weeks", "in a few months", "in a few years". The "When you", "When I", "When we". The "take these", the "leave that".

Sorry, this got serious. Here's one last number, my 400th Instagram Photo.

Half Birthday Weekend!

Just because I haven't had to wear a coat in the Northwest for the past 30 days doesn't mean that I should have packed it away in the closet. Apparently April sun brings May showers, who possibly could have guessed? That's right, Oregonians could have guessed! We are used to this unpredictable Spring weather because once we hit late June we can be certain we will have the most perfect climate for months on end. If you'd like to visit, July through September is the perfect time!

Amanda is off and away on her Honeymoon, but that doesn't mean I'm planning to skip Friday Favorites. She took the time to schedule a post and gave us the chance to link up!

My absolute favorite thing this week is that Saturday, May 16th is my Half Birthday! Yes, I celebrate it and love it and strongly encourage you to do the same. Tell me yours! That and I start Monday off with a brand new work computer, which means that I have no work obligations to think of.

Here's a few more favorite things from my week:

:: Blogging is so stupid that I'm having a Skype date with these ladies tonight (!!! and !!!)
:: Hip Openers and Foam Rolling classes make me go ahhhhhh.
:: ClassPass Portland is out of its mind with new studios. More information next week!
:: More water intake makes Jessi a happier Jessi.
:: This about all the fruits and vegetables (mostly meats!) you will meet along your journey.
:: I have a surprise Half Birthday weekend visitor, can you guess who?

Enjoy your weekend!

Whack-A-Mole

To follow up on the nice words I said about my mom yesterday, this post is an ode to a dear friend I had to say goodbye to this week. Saying goodbye is hard, especially when something has been with you for your entire life. 

This dear friend has been with me through everything. Seen my worst, my very worst. Literally. My. Worst. It knew my secrets, my fears, my loves and more than maybe I even knew.

Okay, sorry to lead you on with this confession. This "friend" was actually a huge unsightly mole that I have hated, despised, stressed about and thought about most every day of my adult life. It was removed Monday at a routine annual skin check with my new Dermatologist. However, I really really hope that one or several of you aren't reading this paragraph and you comment something sympathetically about me saying goodbye to a friend. That would be what I call a great success. Ending this paragraph with one more sentence so that my wish isn't revealed to those who skim, mwahaha evil laugh. 

Hold out your pinky. Pretend that a mole the size of your pinky finger nail-to-tip, yes including the entire width of your finger, really the WHOLE thing, was somewhere on your body. Only your parents, doctors and most but not all lovers have seen this mole. Unavoidable, and you really have no idea if it's been named before or not. Chances are yes.

I never named it. 

I've gone from avoiding showing doctors, asking doctors for opinions, scheduling surgery and chickening out to finally asking a sweet woman who I just met remove this mole. In ten minutes she drew on it, numbed it, removed it, burned it and bandaged the remaining wound. Oh, and she was the sweetest woman to say "nice you meet you" on her way out of the office, hopefully not to dinner plans that I'd made her queasy over with my unannounced request.

For the next few weeks it will be covered with an eclectic collection of Angry Bird band-aids (Alissa at Graceless Lady, I am pretty sure these were meant for you and I was the worst and never sent them. Check your gmail for "bandaid" if you don't recall) and will be closely taken care because now I don't have to ever feel embarrassed about it ever again. 

It looks so good that I wish I could share my transformation with the world. But I won't. 

I will share that I celebrated "whack-a-mole" with a dinner of chips + salsa + guacamole.

At least I'm funny, right?

Are you confessing with Melissa today?

One for Mom

This weekend we celebrated mom.

The wonderful woman who has moved mountains for her family. An amazing human that has never put herself first in the 27 (and a half) years that I've known her. The beautiful lady who gave me my looks along with my confidence in who I am as a woman.

What I learned this weekend? We don't celebrate her often enough. 

Let me tell you about Angie.

Mom is electric. She's the kind of woman who can enter a room and make friends with everyone in it. In fact, she does that often. It doesn't matter who you are, she grabs your attention and she will keep it because she's so multi-dimensional that there's no turning away. 

Mom is giving. Not only has she given her everything to her family, she's given all of herself to her community, to her friends and to perfect strangers. I've never met someone as selflessly generous as she is. This woman slaves over the holidays to become a Secret Santa for 3-4 families and 8-12 children each year, rounding up her elves and filling entire rooms in her home with toys, clothes, donations and magic. She also volunteers in the community that she used to live in, including raising money, cleaning the streets, making things better and making things happen. 

Mom is strong. She's emotionally strong. I've seen her endure anything and everything that has come her way. She's received more lemons than anyone I know and always somehow learns how to make better and fresher lemonade than before. Even lemons that I've thrown at her because there have been a few. She's physically strong. She is a badass. She flips more tires and squats deeper and rows harder than people half her age. She made the decision to change her health story and I'm so proud of her. She's a hero and an inspiration (click here, then "Angie"). 

Plus SuperMom taught me how to flex!

What I'm saying is that she's the greatest.

She's resilient, she's humble, she's funny, she's cool and she's the greatest example of a mother I could ever hope for. 

If you want to learn more about Angie she blogs here, but may need some encouragement to do more than Chewy.com reviews even though nobody will ever complain about more photos of the golden sisters. Right?

We love you mama girl! 

#ThanksObama

They're calling it, "Obama Jam". 

It's the traffic jam of 2015 that has the city crippled with fear. Worse than a snow storm, the arrival of POTUS in Portland has locked down the city. "Stay inside", "work from home", "don't rely on maps, or public transit. Not even your barista".

Everyone is going to feel the hit and I'm having no issues with it.

It's all worked out pretty sweetly for me because he's scheduled to speak at the place that I work and that means if you weren't one of the lucky 2,000 employees and Portland Elite to get a ticket, you are advised to stay at home.

A free work-from-home day with a cloudless 80-degree forecast and a Friday as the cherry on top.

So today, I'm saying a huge #ThanksObama for making it feel like a three-day weekend.

So if you're sitting at your desk and not working from home - thanks to Obama - here's some of my favorite finds this week on the Internet.

Alyssa, I capitalized Internet thanks to you!

:: This article on the Dad Bod. It doesn't go both ways.
:: This wonderfully choreographed "IDFWU" video. One of these girls is 11 years old.
:: Chia Pudding. So much chia pudding.
:: These grain-free Cinco-de-Mayo recipes, because I don't need a holiday to love Mexican.
:: Here's how Yoga helps to reverse the damage of your desk job.
:: Follow these Fit Instagram accounts for some awestriking inspiration. 

Have a lovely Mother's Day Weekend!

Are you linking up with Amanda?

Hair and More

This weekend I skipped a Derby party so that I could get my hair cut. 

This is not a post about my avoidance of social gatherings, but rather my blatant avoidance of things that I should do, but don't. Social gathering avoidance is a different topic altogether and shouldn't be taken so lightly. Really it comes down to the ever important debate of pants or no pants. No pants will always win. 

So this haircut, it wasn't just any haircut. It was a last-minute holy-grail same day hair cut. This was a haircut and hair coloring that hadn't been done for 33 weeks according to the last instagram "new hair!" selfie. One I'd avoided scheduling because history shows that the minute I schedule any appointment for my hair I become emotionally obsessive about everything that's wrong about it. For the 2-4 weeks I have to wait post-schedule, there's nothing that can ever go right with my style, it takes too long to dry, it's too light, too dry, too something.

Oh, and way too many split ends to get distracted by. There's always another.

This made me think about other errands and "things" I'm currently putting off because I'm lazy or something.

:: Fold the socks that have been occupying my pool table for longer than I care to admit.

:: Actually donate the clothes I long ago sorted into the "donate" piles.

:: Restore clothes with holes and missing buttons that prevent me from wearing them.

:: Pick up my undergraduate degree paperwork from college (Graduated in 2009).

:: Update my resume and cover letter.

:: Find, organize and use outstanding gift cards. Free money.

:: Understand how my DSLR remote works (and use it). Currently wasted money.

:: Om at Home more often (thanks, Alyssa)

Oh yeah, here's my hair since this is the only after-salon shot I was able to get before getting sweaty. Sweaty was either from a workout or a crazy sunny day in Portland, you decide!

Pardon the obvious snapchat AND the obvious car-selfie.

Are you confessing today with Melissa?

Jessi Does the Mission

Yes, my last post I revealed that I kissed a boy - multiple times - during my twenty-day blogging disappearance. 

I'm not trying to keep the sweet, sappy and juicy details from you, really. 

I can tell you the part where we were drunk in love outside of Fenway Park and strangers were shouting everything from "Get a room!" to "Say yes!" to "Say no!". In fact, we were sober. And I happened to get sick that evening and almost hurled my cookies on the T, but he was my ride or die and suggested we stop for chicken strips, water and a place to hurl. It was his best call yet. Or the cool part where he showed me that he could do a headstand for way more than 15 seconds and I lost my biggest bet of the century.

But why was the kiss what got 99.8% of your attention? Really, didn't you see that I got called up on stage to co-teach drum class? Or that I read more books in 20 days than I've read in the last three years combined. Not only that but then I bought more? Or cookies? Or chia seeds?

Or most importantly that I hung out with MacKensie for a whole entire weekend? I hadn't seen her since she came to visit me in August last year with miss Ziggy.

Actually, if you do nothing else today you should go read this and see how great the weekend in San Francisco was.

One word: Cold.
Two words: Napkin blankets.
Three words: She's so adorable. (she'll say creepy)

My travels are over for the short term, no jet-setting currently in my schedule and maybe that will mean more outdoor adventures, more Portland loving and quality sister snuggling like I got to do this weekend!

Really, go read about "Jessi does the Mission (impossible)"

Happy Cinco de Mayo!