Mami Swagger: Picture This

I will turn 37 at the end of the month.  Excuse me? How the hell did this happen?  And can I just say that I still feel like I'm in college? Because I do.  And I look it too. Well. Kinda.

In the last month my body has decided to remind me that I am over 35.  I have developed this "I could be pregnant but I'm totally not" bump.  I don't like it. You know what I also don't like? I don't like bending down for something while sitting on the toilet (I have a toddler, don't ask!) and feeling my belly on my thighs. It's an odd feeling and one which I certainly did not feel in college.

This past week I started trying to get my life organized.  After laughing for a half hour once I said that out loud to myself, I decided to get some things in order:

1. Set office hours (um, this is a work in progress)
2. Go to sleep at a reasonable time (for me that was BY midnight)
3. Work out (eh...)
4. Eat right (coffee counts as part of eating, right?)

So, I've been doing not horrible on the first 2.  I was doing okay with #4.  But #3? Not so much.  So guess what? I had to up the ante.

I want to do a little photo shoot for my birthday.  I have this dream of my slick body wrapped in black and with some cool lighting on my tattoo.  My hair flowing to one side (though I can't figure out if I want it to be curly or straight).  This pic will appear all over Pinterest and businesses will contact me to see if they can buy oversized prints of it to adorn their waiting areas. But, um, I have some work to do.

I already reached out to my boy Zach over at Dynasty Photography (if you go to the link, you'll notice my fine pregnant azz on there. I'm not gonna lie, ya'll, I felt like the finest woman on earth when I was waddling).  I figure if I tell him I want to do this, he'll ask me about it after I weasel out and then I'll have to do it.

This is my motivation to wake up early and see what Jillian Michael's is going to do for me (though I'm currently working with less than 30 days).  And maybe to check out some of the on demand yoga I've skipped on the guide.  Before you leave hate mail, please know I have different goals than most people.

I want to be able to sprint without running out of breath (and without peeing myself but, that's a different blog). I want to gain my dancer's thighs back so that I can, well, go back to dance.  I want to be able to lift my luggage into the overhead compartment without help (because I almost dropped my bag on an old lady's head on my way to BlissDom as my arms turned to jelly. I wish I was making this up).

Oh, and I want to not feel like I may be pregnant or drinking a 6-pack a day. I put up a nice front since holding my tummy in is second nature thanks to my dancing most of my life.  But my mami swagger seeps out of me when I turn in front of the mirror and look at this sideways view. It reminds me of my mami.  Now she had a great body and was in good shape prior to getting sick but, she had acquired the Buddha belly after her hysterectomy.  And she was in her late 40's when that happened.

This month is about Spring cleaning and renewal.  And part of that for me is not only physically but spiritually and mentally as well.  All these things will guarantee that I will feel better and that I will perform better.

Not just as I launch my social media management and freelance writing career but as I try to be the best mami I can be.  And we all know (though we don't always stick to this) that we have to take care of ourselves first so that we can take care of others.

The airlines have it right: secure your air mask on first prior to helping others.  So that's what I'm going to do. And I will start with a picture.

When was the last time you got in front of the camera for a "just for me" photo shoot?