Paris Ballet Sketches

Paris, je t'aime!

I love the Ballet, and these sketches of Parisian ballerinas.

They are the work of the American artist Rufus Dryer (b. 1880 in Rochester, New York). In 1901 Dryer studied in New York City with the artist Robert Henri, and in 1908, went with him to paint in Europe.

Dryer settled in Paris in 1910. He had his studio there for twenty years. He studied at the Academie Julian, and exhibited at the Salon d'Automne and Salon des Independents. These sketches must date from that time.

The three sketches above seem to show the influence of Degas' sculpture "La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze" (Little Dancer of Fourteen Years) of 1881.

Rufus Dryer returned to his native Upstate New York in 1930. He and his sister, Leora (also a gifted artist) maintained a studio at their home Highacres, in Geneva, NY. When he passed away in 1937, the Geneva Historical Society was gifted with a monumental Aubusson carpet which had once hung in his Paris studio, an impressive collection of his paintings, and a death mask of the artist. I first encountered this artist, and his work, when I visited the Museum as a young graduate student. I was looking for a subject for a final project, and I became fascinated by the story of Rufus Dryer. It was thrilling years later to unearth these sketches in a little antiques shop in New York State.

Here is a bouquet from me to three of my favourite Ballet kindred spirits, who appear regularly in the blogsphere: Catherine from A Thousand Clapping Hands and Boxes and other Structures , and Anita from Castles Crowns and Cottages, and of course, Ballet News .

Reverence,
Marjorie

My Fresh Start: Food!

So, last week I was on a cruise and this week I am at a conference. Not the most healthy food friendly events! I have however been making pretty good food choices. Supplemented with my share of sweets and a few adult beverages but hey - cruise, conference=mini vacation!







I am however all stocked up and ready to jump start my full speed ahead healthy eating plan. I found some time to stop by Walmart between my cruise and my conference to pick up some items to help me get on track.

Because I want to jumpstart this thing, I’m going to try out Slim-Fast. In many ways it is similar to when I was eating clean - 2 shakes and one meal so I’m familiar with the model and know I can stick to it. However trying to start that type of plan during a conference? I’m not there yet. I will say that I tried the Vanilla, Strawberry, Cappocinno and milk chocolate flavors before the conference and although they don’t taste like an ice cream shake, they are palatable and I’ll be able to stick with the 3-2-1 plan for at least 2 weeks.






It is pretty simple, 3 snacks (veggies, fruit or a Slim Fast snack bar), 2 shakes and 1 meal of 500 calories. I did it on Monday and I have to say that it forced me to eat more. Yup, I’ve fallen back into the bad habit of not eating enough during the day (horrible for the metabolism) and even with drinking two meals, I’m still eating more than usual with snacks.

I’m sure this will help get my metabolism back and gear so I’m looking forward to seeing what the results will be. I admit I’ve been lazy about cooking too so I also picked up some Lean Cuisine. I never tried it before but I tell you, I really liked the fish dish. And, I didn’t use up my 500 calories so.....

I had dessert Smart Ones cookie sundae. Yup. And it was good! LOL Now am I always going to have convenience food and drink shakes? No. But sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do to the ball rolling. And I’ll give this a couple of weeks and then I’ll return to my normal method of cooking and eating enough. This will just get me over the initial hump!

 

I’ll be using Walmart’s meal and exercise tracker to keep me on point. It is free so I say try it out, what do you have to lose?


Disclosure: I am a member of the Walmart Moms program. Walmart has provided me with compensation to share my journey to healthier living with you as part of the Fresh Start Challenge n and provided me with the food. Participation is voluntary and as usual, all opinions are my own.






Disclosure

White Elephant Exchange

I’m a social person. So when my friends ask me to participate in things, I usually do. Well, my friend Margaret from Nanny Goats in Panties (if you don’t read her you must, she is HYSTERICAL) had the brilliant idea to have a friends do a white elephant gift exchange. Not familiar with white elephant gifts? Well, white elephants are those gifts that you kinda wish you never received.


I thought it’d be fun to participate and was sent a gift by Karen. Karen had the brilliant idea to send me a screaming monkey. What is a screaming monkey? Glad you asked! It is kinda like a slingshot but when you shoot it the darn thing screams! A high pitched scream that is darn near eardrum shattering!

The funny thing is my monkey didn’t scream when I used it as a slingshot - and Karen warned me that it was loud! But I flung it hither and tither and no sound. If you don’t know, I am the mother of a 3.5 year old. He saw the monkey and immediately had a new plaything. Although he didn’t get the idea that it was a slingshot, he took the monkey and threw it on the ground. It immediately made wild monkey sounds! Monkey screeching!


My mother and I looked at him in awe because we’d tried to get the thing to work several times to no avail. And once my son had it down, of course he laughed hysterically and wanted to throw the monkey all around. To our chagrin!


I know this was a gifting exchange and I had plans to film a video of my son playing with the monkey. But wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles the monkey has disappeared! We haven’t seen it since the first couple of days my son played with it. I would love to say that I’m disappointed but seriously? The monkey screeching was nerve wracking and I’m very happy that I no longer have to hear that sound.


I’m sure that my son will locate the monkey at the most inopportune time but for now I’m reveling in the peace and quiet that I have now that the monkey is nowhere to be found. And I promise, I did not hid it, I truly do not know where my son put the thing!


You can check out the rest of the white elephant exchange by visiting Nanny Goats In Panties, I’m sure you will get lots of laughs!

Fit Me!

Me wearing Maybelline Fit Me line

Health and fitness is my beat but ya’ know one of the bonuses of losing weight and feeling good is also presenting my best face at all times. Please don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been one to make sure my “face” was put together, even at my heaviest I believed that my face should look good. Although I don’t always talk about it, I wear make-up daily and part of being healthy and feeling good is looking good. So, I’ll be sharing more of my beauty tips with you this year!

I’m going to start with foundation. When you wear the right foundation you help protect your skin from the elements, you provide a nice palate for the rest of the make-up you choose to wear and you enhance your natural beauty by evening out your skin tone. I generally spend the most money on my foundation because I have sensitive skin and don’t want to skimp when it comes to putting that first layer on.

I generally will spend between $35-45 on my foundation it lasts so I justify the cost but I’d love to have less expensive options that will complement my adult acne prone skin without causing breakouts. I’m happy to say that the new Maybelline Fit Me! line actually is fitting the bill! At only $6.99 for the foundation I admit I was skeptical. But I’ve been wearing the foundation for a couple of weeks, with no unusual breakouts and I’ve been complemented on my makeup more times than I can count!

Here is a video of me applying the foundation, it is available in 18 different shades in 100, 200, 300 range. I am in the 300 range and wear 350 Caramel. I like the line because once I found my shade I was guided to the concealer, powder, and blushes that paired with my shade.  It is so lightweight and gives my skin a flawless finish!

I really love the Fit Me! line by Maybelline and it is currently available at Walmart. I recently saw a commercial for it so I’m assuming it will be available at other retailers soon. My one constructive criticism about the line is that they need to expand it! For African-American women with darker skin tones there are currently no colors available. I really hope that the line is successful and expands so that more African American women can use it.


Disclosure: I am a Walmart mom and am given the opportunity to try different beauty products and write about my experience. I am compensated for my time (travel to store, making video, writing post, etc.) but as usual, all of my opinions are 100% my own.

Fitness Tips from Valerie Waters Celebrity Trainer

Valerie Waters is a celebrity trainer and has been a personal trainer for almost 20 years. Her speciality is getting actors ready for the Red Carpet and she focuses primarily on women. She has worked with stars like celebrity mom Jennifer Garner, and helped her get back into shape and “Red Carpet Ready” after the birth of her children. Valerie describes the “Red Carpet Ready” look as lean and toned but not in your face buff.

I participated in a conference call with Valerie and want to share some of her fitness tips with you:





 Make a goal and start immediately. Develop a strategy - start immediately folks, if you miss a day just pick up where you left off and keep it going!


Get a consistent plan, get the exercise in. “You’re one workout away from a good mood!”




You aren’t going to love every workout. Personally, I don't love every workout. Some workouts I am more enthusiastic about than others but inevitably when I complete a workout I feel better!


Have breakfast within hour of getting up:


She suggests- Veggie egg white omelet spinach. Pack the vegetables in it will help you to stay full without extra carbs.


Oatmeal - add protein powder and top with raisins/banana






Workout first thing in the morning. The Psychological effect of working out in the morning are carried around with you for the rest of the day. You will feel virtuous.






Stretch before and after exercising. Stretch with movement. This warms up muscles more dynamically.






40 or older? Be sure to Strength Train! Once you hit 40 your muscles start to atrophy so it is important to keep them healthy but utilizing strength training (from personal experience I can tell you this is true. I stopped strength training and my muscle tone has decreases significantly! I’m taking this tip to heart!)






Valerie believes we can all be “Red Carpet Ready” and she has partnered with California Raisins to encourage us all to have our own “Red Carpet Moment” by sharing a time when we felt our best! Share that moment on facebook and you can win a trip to Hollywood the contest is open until March 15th, check out their Facebook Page.

I also look forward to meeting Valerie in person this Thursday at Blissdom where I am a Fitness Tribe leader! Are you going? Be sure to find me!

Disclosure: I recieved a California Raisins giftbag for participating in the webinar but as usual all opinions are my own.

Aqua Vitae - Monterey Bay

Visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium for a glimpse of what lies beneath.

Mysterious,

Ethereal,

and Gossamer

Sea Sprites perform

a Hypnotic Ballet.

Teeming with Life,

Grace,

and Endurance,

...They dance and swim against a backdrop, as ornate as a 19th century Victorian fish bowl.

Meanwhile life on the top of the Bay goes on...

Still Riding the Waves,

Marjorie

The Wave - My Fresh Start week 3

Hmm, how much do I weigh? To be honest with you I have no idea. What I can say is that my pants are fitting a bit too tight for my liking and I am determined to remedy this situation. I’ve been keeping up with Zumba and it is AMAZING! I also added the Michael Jackson Experience for the Wii to my repertoire, please don’t let anyone tell you that dancing is not exercise because it truly is! Last Friday I had an MJ dance party and I was dancing so hard that my Mom was breathing heavy! Gotta love Thriller! 

I like to mix things up and dancing is providing me with the ability to be consistent with my exercise but I’m ready to bring the intensity up a notch. Last week, in addition to Zumba for the Wii I picked up The Firm’s Wave. I have been a fan of The Firm for a long time. They have been around forever and I used one of their step aerobic tapes to get in shape five years ago before my wedding. In 30 days I was tight, toned and lost a considerable amount of weight.

So, it I was naturally curious when I saw the Wave. What is it? Well, I think it can best be described as similar to a step but on a curved surface that can be used multiple ways. Just take a look at the picture. You can step on the wave but it can also be turned over and used to balance while exercising.

It is tough! All of the moves work the core but when doing the balancing moves you can truly feel it.

The Wave comes with a diet and fitness guide that gives you a workout schedule and a diet to follow. It also promises that you will see visible results in as few as 10 workouts. I’ve only tried it once so I can’t report on that but I can say that based on what I felt, I can believe it! In addition to the Wave, in the box you receive a mat to keep the Wave in place, and 3 DVDs. I like that each DVD has different instructors for variety and there are express workouts for when you are short on time or want to combine workouts. 

The DVDs also have individuals working out on different levels, the beginners use no weights and modify moves and the advanced folks go all out with weights and intensity. This is appealing because once I familiarize myself with all of the movements and am comfortable I know I can challenge myself by adding weights and intensity to my workouts.  Here I am trying to do some push-ups with the Wave, certainly challenging and it is obvious to me that not strength training for awhile has affected my muscles, because I struggled! 

Although I am unable to talk about the long term results from using The Wave, I can say that so far I am impressed and am happy to add it to my arsenal of fitness equipment!

Disclosure: I am a member of the Walmart Moms program. Walmart has provided me with compensation to share my journey to healthier living with you as part of the Fresh Start Challenge n and provided me with fitness products.  Participation is voluntary and as usual, all opinions are my own.

Zumba Fitness for the Wii - My Fresh Start Week 2

This is week two of my Fresh Start. A new year, new me and all that jazz. Well, as I admitted yesterday, my eating habits have been less than exemplar and the exercising did not commence until yesterday. But I have to say I am truly ecstatic about my procurement of Zumba Fitness for the Wii thanks to the good folks at Walmart. They are supporting my fitness journey and I knew if I wanted to get off my butt I needed to add some new fitness equipment to my arsenal!



I love Zumba! Basically, Zumba is dancing to Latin and International music like calypso, salsa, merengue, bellydancing and African influences. The beat keeps you moving and honestly, it doesn’t feel like exercise at all. Zumba classes are held all over the country, the first time I did Zumba I participated in a 2 hour marathon fundraiser for Haiti. I haven't been able to find a class close to me so Zumba for the Wii is a lifesaver. At this point in my journey I need a bit of a jump start and dancing is exercise that I can do all day long!



Last night I tried out Zumba Fitness for the Wii and I danced for 40 minutes. Not only did I dance for 40 minutes or so but I also burned a whopping 435 calories! Here is a video of my experience, I didn’t have anyone to record me doing the dance moves but I do give you a bird’s eye view of the game and my son dancing too!

At the start of the game you set up your own profile and choose the difficulty level - beginner, intermediate or difficult. I started on medium and took off running. There are tutorials for the dance moves but I didn’t bother with them because I pick up steps quickly and I wanted to get on with the exercising before I lost my motivation! I used Dance Party but there are classes too which I haven’t tried. Everyone starts on beginner level - I am assuming this refers to the difficulty of the routines because my intensity was on intermediate. I only had beginner level 1 and 2 available and I did both for a total 40 minute workout. You start with a 3 minute warm-up and then progress and dance to about 4 more songs. To play you simply wear the included belt that holds the Wii controller and you start to dance. When you get the dance moves correct the instructor turns green. 

You earn points for the time that the instructor is green and move up to different stages. Honestly, that wasn’t important to me because I knew I was moving my body and the Wii controller can be finicky. I used my own heart rate monitor to keep track of my calorie burn which was important to me. If you don’t have one you can pick up an inexpensive one for under $30 at Walmart.  I find this to be more helpful for me than gaining points or worrying about being green. I just have fun and know I’m burning crazy calories.



The music is amazing and I love the bellydance cool down at the end of each 20 minute session. It is my hope that as I unlock new dances that the workouts are longer but honestly I didn’t mind warming up and cooling down. According to the box there are 30 different workouts that get progressively more difficult and the final level is with Bento the creator of Zumba. I am going to have a good time trying to get to the final level! II highly recommend Zumba Fitness for the Wii, it is also available for XBOX 360  and XBOX KINECT.



If you are not a fan of traditional fitness workouts, Zumba is made just for you! I am honestly not ready to hit it hard with calestetic like exercises so Zumba is perfect as I get myself back into workout mode!

Disclosure: I am a member of the Walmart Moms program. Walmart has provided me with compensation to share my journey to healthier living with you as part of the Fresh Start Challenge. Participation is voluntary and as usual, all opinions are my own.

The Power of One - Weekly weigh in

Well, I’ve been pretty ambivalent about this challenge and weighing in. Well, I’ve been weighing in but not posting on my blog. Last week I did admit to weighing 161 pounds and this week I am a grand 160.2 pounds. I lost almost a full pound but I certainly cannot attribute it to any work on my part. This week I’ve been eating junk food a plenty. Not to make excuses but the past couple of months have been very difficult for me.

My fall back stress reliever has always been emotional eating and with snowmaggedon I just gave myself license to go crazy. Junk food abounds here but luckily my stockpiles are almost depleted. So, admittedly, I am not at the place where I am changing my eating habits. However, I can do something about moving my body. Especially since I AM RUNNING a HALF-MARATHON next month!

So, since I did shovel the driveway yesterday (great exercise) I decided today to brave the treacherous roads and get some new fitness products from Walmart.  I picked up Zumba for the Wii and The Firm’s Wave system. I’ll give a full review of Zumba tomorrow but I’ll tell you in 40 minutes I burned 435 calories and that is not too shabby!

I also must say that I feel so much better now that I’ve exercised. I have more energy and I am almost compelled not to eat any junk! Like anything else, I am taking my journey one day at a time. I have the power to overcome my emotional stresses, continue taking my medication and truly take care of me. At the end of the day I remember that life is a marathon and not a sprint and my level of health and fitness will vacillate. The key is to keep myself from spiraling down so deep that I gain too much weight!

How is your journey going?

Snowmaggedon!

Unless you live under a rock you are well aware of the havoc that the snow has caused on the Eastern seaboard. Here in Atlanta we were blanketed by 6 inches or so of the white stuff and although that may not seem like a lot we just are not equipped for the stuff.

The news was covering the impending storm (forecasted for Sunday night) on Friday and I quipped that they were blowing things out of proportion on facebook. I took an obligatory trip to the grocery store for essentials- bread, milk and a few other items before bunkering in for the night. The snow began at about 6:00pm and I went to sleep peacefully for the night.




On Friday I awoke to a winter wonderland. One that I had no intention of playing in because I was still I the throes of a cold/bronchitis. Since my mom is visiting I was able to rest most of the day in preparation for my trip to Washington, DC on Tuesday.

Well, the trip to DC? Never happened! All of the flights on my airline were cancelled which impacted today's flights. My flight was cancelled and I couldn't get on another, never mind the fact that the storm is moving Nrth and expected to hit D.C. tonight.

So, saddened I rested some more today and after my nap I hor up ready to tackle my driveway. The snow had melted and turned to sleet so I knew if I didn't shovel tonight I'd never get up my driveway. The temperature is dropping tonight and by tomorrow I'd probably be able to ice-skate on my driveway if I didn't take action.




So I donned my wellies and shoveled the slush. I burned some serious calories out there today! One of my neighbors gave me a little bit of sand but I decided to venture out for a few co fort foods and kitty litter for the driveway.

The grocery store was jam packed, the bread aisle was bare but I managed to pick up what I needed. I'm finally back home, relaxed and thankful. Thankful for food to eat, heat, my home and the strength to shovel my driveway. As inconvenienced as I may be I am grateful for these things and don't take them for granted.

Snowmaggedon 2011 a time to reflect and be thankful!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

SNOW!

All right, I need to explain this for our readers who live a little farther up north. See, LBR is in Texas. In Texas, we don't do snow. We get maybe one measurable snowfall in a year and we're thrilled. (Last year was weird. We got three!) So today, the snow was falling! In some areas it was just a dusting, but up where I live, we had nearly 5 inches! Naturally, LBR dogs had to investigate this strange happening.

LBR alum Cubby didn't really care for this strange white stuff. (His lab sister Dakota had a blast, though!)


LBR foster Josi looks appropriately sad about this strange event. It's okay, I hear she got to spend most of the day cozing up inside.


LBR alums Busta and Prada had a lot of fun playing in all this crazy stuff!


LBR alums Cowboy and Jackson kicked it up in their backyard. And guess what? Cowboy just got adopted today, so this was his first official day in his furever home!


LBR alum Spanky got put to work! His mom and brother went sledding, and he had to make sure they got down the hill okay. Phew, that's a lot of responsibility!


My sister, LBR alum Cinderella, decided that the snow was TONS of fun and tried to get me to play in it.


Um, no. I want to go in now, please.


See, this is why I like LBR foster Molly. She's a very sensible girl. Got enough room in front of that fire for me?

Pet Fair

Pet fairs sure smell like a lot of fun. I don't go to them, because Mom says that everyone there would fall so in love with me that it wouldn't be fair to the dogs still looking for furever homes. But I get lots and lots of smell mail when Mom gets home! Let's see who she met this time...

Hey, it's Dog of the Day Sassafras! Sassy is always in such a cheerful mood. She's going to make a great pet for some lucky family soon, I just know it.


I don't know why Shortstop looks so sad. He practically had families fighting over him! I don't think he'll be around long enough for another pet fair. You go, Shortstop!


Aww, Miss Gilly has such a pretty smile. I hear she was loving the attention from the little humans too!


Raina was sad when the little humans left. They were giving her soooo much loving, and she soaked it all in.


It almost looks like Midori has a halo, doesn't it? Don't believe it -- or that innocent little smile either! She's ALL boxer!


Royse is such a BIG boy, with a big ol' heart to match! He was loving all the attention he got.


Aren't Denver's ears just the cutest? The rest of him's pretty cute too!