Womens Fashion By Joanne Louise

lol…… I know im blonde but am i turning into Dr dolittle or something…..

For the past few weeks at work we’ve had foxes, rabbits and all sorts of creatures coming to visit…

This morning my nanny rings and asks me what shopping i need (she always gets me odds and ends on a thursday and goes to my house to see Sandra) so i order salad and a chicken for tea as imgoing my fitness test at 6… sounds ok, the normal thing to order right…

Well i pulled into work and guess what sits there on the steps….. lol

A chicken !! hehehe

Hes so friendly but doesnt want to go home….. (and keeps pecking my nails) i thought it was the husband that got henpecked ..hehe

Weve fed it broad beans and ran up the road to buy it corn and now hes following me about everywhere ! bless it even tried to get in the toilet with me (you hear about 2 birds in loos together what they get up to)mmmmmmm

I went outside with a cuppa and the silly thing tries to sit on my lap… what is going on here, am i running a farm…….. lol

The postman came with the mail and instead of a wiggle today, in behind him walks the chicken into my office.. he obviously wants a job badly..lol

Anyway ive asked the chickens permission to use the photos and hes happy, so will now take over the modelling job for me, its definately skinnier than me and says it can do the job standing on one leg….lol (see photo)

It makes me think about all this diet lark, see how scrawny a bird can look if she doesnt look after herself properly….hehe

Anyway please let me introduce Vinny.. our new j-lou model and Jos new best friend ..

Theres no way i can go home tonight now and eat chicken salad…………

update…
We went back out for our lunch but he had gone, left us to just our lonely selves… ive got no friends you know….

So upset as i was, i just thought id try calling him (not that i expected a chicken to answer to the name Vinny)

But he did !!! (no … hes a blonde too jokes here …..please)

And he comes running round the corner head proudly in the air………..and has brought his friend !! see he didnt do a runner, he likes me and just went to tell his friend about the friendly blonde thats stupid enough to sit there and feed him her dinner !

So after we fed them all our lunch, they are happily snuggled up on the steps and have gone to sleep…

Ahhh…

Im just praying my fox doesnt turn up for tea now..lol

Last night was the long awaited salsa dancing lessons.. yes
For anyone who knows me knows i love to dance, either pole dancing, disco,ballroom anything goes, especially if ive had a vodka, I grew up loving music and its the biggest part of my life along with my kids..

Estelle (That lovely girl who answers the j-lou phone to you all) dragged me out early so we also went along to an egyptian dance class (belly dancing) before the salsa class, it was brilliant.
I havent got much in the hip department so its a little harder to try and wiggle it..lol but i had a good go and it must done some good as i ache everywhere today, but in a good way !

I woke up feeling like a bottle of pop today so intent to make the office a fantastic place to be in, ive made the postman jump did a little wiggle for him (or he wouldnt give me the mail) and started the day with a huge smile..

Theres something so sexy about salsa, the way the body uses the beat to move it just oozes sex appeal, the older i get the more the itch got worse so i had to get in that class, its timless you can dance at any age and this classic i think is the best thing since sliced bread..

if you havent watched the Bailamos video, get into the music section here in our blog and see if it makes your feet and body start to wiggle, i cant sit still when im listening to music and what better way to get and stay fit…its also something you do with your partner, if you havent got one, get along to a class youll get one who will already have something in common and enjoy meeting new people..

Im going to start posting every week what happens in the class and try to pass on some helpful hints as i learn, ill also pop some photos in to show you how we are doing..

You dont need a partner most classes like ours ask you to move round the room dancing with everyone, so its a great way to socialise and interact with people naturally…

Dancing goes back through the ages, theres something everyone will enjoy, and it lifts the spirit at the same time..

Theres no excuses for you saying you cant dance and have two left feet, theres bound to be someone there with two right ones to help out, my fellas used that excuse for years and ive dragged him into the class..lol

Mind you there was a stunning latino looking women there last night who was beautiful, even i couldnt stop looking at her and my fellas face when she partnered him was a picture…

So i bet he’ll be there early next week….lol

We need more men to come forward and try this, you wont be the only guy there but its so much better if the man leads and not a woman trying to be the guy, so if youre reading this and think..mmmm  i wouldnt mind trying, why not come along and try..

We feel just as awkward to walk in a class, but swallow your pride and give it a go, once youve been to one class it does wonders for your confidence, i would now feel comfortable enough to go by myself happily….

Love Jo xxx

Today im starting with a few things that hopefully if you have a go will help you feel a little more flexible, you can be stuck on a computer (like i am most of the time) and still find something to do whilst you work, this week i decided that it doesnt do you any good if you have any kind of office job which involves a lot of time sitting and typing, so if you have a sense of fun and can ignore all those strange looks you are going to get try this little excercise…

Take away the chair and get that table higher(or use yellow pages phonebook to prop up the screen)  the screen on the computer needs to be higher, stand with both feet shoulder width apart and squat.. i know it sounds amusing and most of the guys in the office will now be paying too much attention, but ignore them and think of that swimsuit, dont you want to look and feel good?  … well a little bit of trying will get you that look you want.. this excercise works the butt, the top thighs and calf muscles, try it for a few mins at first, in very short bursts then raise and take a few breaths and a break, after time you will find you can hold it longer without your legs shaking (which makes the typing more neater too) thank god for spell check at this stage…lol

After persevering and getting yourself up to about 20 reps at a  time ( holding for approx 20 seconds each) you will notice the diference in your strength and be able to see a good start, ive been doing this at home and getting laughed at by everyone, but i dont care, its working .. so its a good reason …

Peeling potatoes, washing up, try standing over the sink with the same stance, but this time holding in your stomach muscles in , in short deep spurts too,keeping your back straight and legs bent, breath in, tense the stomach then release (making sure you exhale as you release).. the tummy is one of our areas that we never like ( i dont either) i suffer from coeliac decease which means i cannot eat gluten or anything that contains it (which is mostly everything with wheat flour,cerial or barley in) it makes the tummy swell badly when i eat, even salad, ive tried over the years to find something that would stop this bloating as it was really getting me down, but the only way ive found to help is to build up the stomach muscles so they support the tummy by holding it inside the muscles, they are all there, we all have them underneath, its just that when we dont use them they lay dorment, so the more you learn to pull in that tummy and hold, the better and flatter the tummy will look and feel.. ill warn you, it hurts to start with and you constantly run around thinking how on earth do people hold them in, the answer is the more you do, the easier it gets, its every model or actresses must do and they all swear like i do if you keep doing it everytime you remember ….all those remebers start to add together and you’ll find you are doing it without thinking, as your stomach is becoming stronger..

If you’ve had kids it tends to hit on this area worst, the stomach stretches to give b&b and cocoon the baby, so those muscles get hit the worst and it really is an area that we try to hide rather than try to help…..

My sisters like me all have had kids, all our skins stretched differently some got stretch marks some didnt, but our stomach muscles are all the same and believe me you can do this anywhere on the bus at home at work, just a little exercise what makes a big difference ..sit up straight … pull in … and watch the results…

Swimming is also an excellent way to get everything toned slowly, please remember though it feels easier to exercise in water as you have no weight mass there, so take it slowly, theres nothing worse than having a burst and overdoing it , only to ache for days on end, so remember to start small and gradually increase a little at a time..

Right thats a little start for now,  on things we can all do at home or somewhere where you wouldnt think you could exercise, you dont have to join a gymm !

Anyone who has any medical conditions should always consult their doctor first and make sure they take it little by little…

Wellbeing…..

Its something we all need, weve had a slog of endless work or trying to juggle everything and mentally/physically youre not feeling so good, how do we make ourselves feel better inside?

this one can be anything that we find stimulating, music, mother nature, friends, its about what ever makes us feel happy inside. For me it was riding and little things like walking up the beach, watching the sunset or stars, drinking my morning cuppa watching the birds sing while catching their worms, im never without my music either on a radio or in my head in my thoughts, but ive always loved to sing (even though i am tone deaf lol)for some people its spending money or shopping, its different for us all.. have a good think, are there things you would like to try and never have? i started attending a chant group with my closest friend, i didnt know at first what it entailed as i didnt really know what chant was, but sitting round with a group of the most wonderful people singing made me feel totally wonderful inside, they didnt care that i couldnt sing, they were happy for me to just sing along with them. Spiritually it started  to make something inside me wake up, i felt like i had come home and i went through the week so peacefully because of it..

Day to day life nowadays consists of so much juggling, stress and hard work we all have to switch it off sometimes and switch on a little of ourself time…

Clothes are just what we cover ourselves in, if you work at feeling good inside first , and that outside starts shining through , it will make you more confident to try new shapes, colours and experiment with new styles, how do you know it doesnt suit you if you havent ever tried it…..

How we see ourselves is not how others see us, wellbeing inside shines radiently through everytime, so lets start with putting more good stuff in, even if its five mins a day, by the end of the month we should all be glowing……

love jo xxx

Now xmas is out of the way its time to start with our make ourselves feel better plan..

Today i am asking you to write down 3 areas of yourself what you think are your best assets, it doesnt have to be anything to do with your shape or figure, beauty is inside ..

If you have a bubbly personality, feel you have elegance, can sing, dance, ride anything along this line, its this way we can get ourselves feeling in better shape..

For me i started kickboxing around 4 years ago, i went along to help out a friend who didnt have the confidence to go by herself, so i went along expecting nothing, but because there was two of us together it made the class fun.. I was also in a violent relationship years back and wanted to be able to defend myself better.

You dont have to do anything like kickboxing if its not something you dont fancy, but i can tell you its great fun and gets you feeling so fit its untrue, i was 2 away from my black belt and trained 3 nights a week, but because i got so high up the grades they wanted to put me at a sports village in front of hundreds of people and fight in a tournament, i didnt join to do competitions i just wanted to get fit and stay in shape, not be put on parade.. but i still practise my stetches and can do the kicks and moves just as well as i did then, once you learn its like riding a bike it stays with you. 

Many of the celebs have been turning to this, Chrsitina, Pink, Beyonce, Jlo but Nell Mc’andrew is one who inspires me, she is so fit and has done alot of good stuff to get ladies aware of the sport, once you learn its also great for confidence and self defence too.. lol

A couple of years ago i went to a club with a girlfriend of mine and didnt realise she had gone home with a guy leaving me in there on my own, i spent over an hour walking round looking for her before i got the text message to say she was home and safe, i didnt feel quite as good, i was stuck in a club i didnt want to be in and being groped by just about every bloke i walked past.. at the finish the bouncers called me a taxi and i waited just inside the door for it to come, after five mins or so this guy started to really harrass me and kept trying to pull me out of the club doors, he was very drunk but also very strong and my instincts just kicked in, i saw my taxi pull up and he was pulling me back badly so the  next thing i realised was the guy was on the floor out cold ! lol i had hit him once as i was so scared , i am tiny, but it was then i realised that it wasnt just my fitness kickboxing was helping..

Today i also horseride, i started about 5 months ago as i took my daughter but sat there week after week wanting to get on that horse , so eventually i joined up and have never loved anything as much, its a sense of freedom to feel the horse run and feel that wind in your hair, im also jumping and want to learn to showjump, i didnt know how much this pulls in your bum, but soon foun out for weeks as i was walking like john wayne until my butt got stronger..

Theres something for every lady, swimming squash, pilates, yoga, but i would suggest you ask a friend to come with you to start so you both push each other to go each week, if you feel that you are letting someone down, you are more likely to keep going..

Tomorrow i will go through some gentle excercises you can do in the comfort of your own home, so you can help yourself feel a little more better, peeling potatoes, even working on a computer ..where theres a will theres a way to excercise..

Love Jo xxx

Right its the new year ladies, all these resolutions we make, how many do we actually stick to? we all know the answer to that one.. well i want to work with you all as a team so we all help each other look and feel our best this year… come on girls we can do this..

Ive had a year of nothing but work, ive been working hours that are inhuman, trying to run this business and progress the website whilst being a good partner to my fella and bring up our 12 year old boy and 10 year old Triplets  !! yes you did just read that right…. I know what it feels like to be tired out feeling low, and not liking what i see staring back in that mirror at me….

If you are build large youll want to be small, for us ladies that are small, i wanted to be curvy so i know its rare we ever totally like ourselves, we are the first ones who look in the mirror and see only our bad points……… Its time we started to look at the good ones, lets see if this year we really can build our confidence and hit spring with a huge smile..

For any of you ladies out there who are sitting there saying i havent got the energy, there is an answer.. i know this and have found that the more we do the more we want to, it works the same with doing less.. lol

As mums we are trying to hold down jobs bring up families and still keep the house clean, many men seem to see this as the womans role, but i guarantee if you start to feel better about yourselves it will show through with your manner and confidence and your partners would be more than happy to help out more, especially if it means they gets a new happier you, it does wonders for a sex life too !

Where do we start ? daily im going to post (in jos personal blog) see side ->

A day to day guide of little things that will make a big difference..

I can help with fashion tips, what suits shapes sizes and what colours suit what skin shades, and if we work together having fun along the way by spring we will all be feeling so much better (ready for spring) health, diets, excercise, from kickboxing to horseriding, theres something that works for us all ….

Dont wait til it gets here then start sighing as you dont want to be seen in a swimsuit, preparation is the key to everything and 16 weeks can make a huge difference to how you feel and look..

Ive done all types of excercise and know what works, but ive always found that the basics work best, starting with healthy eating..

Ive always believed that shock treatments work better than any of these fad diets, my sister is a large curvy lady and has been on every diet known to man, everytime she puts back the weight and gets disheartened, so dont pay to be told you need to loose weight, well work through it together without costing anything except a cuppa while reading our daily blog..

I always believe that its not the shape size or hair colour, you can have the curviest lady who just seems to bubble with fun, its all about confidence and knowing what your best features are and using them to feel good…..

I hope you will work with me, i want to be the best shape as i can be when i hit my birthday in may (its my 40th) so lets make 2008 the year to feel great….

I would love it if you ladies will share your day to day thoughts and experiences, we can swap tips and patt each other on our cyber backs, and i guarantee you by spring when everything is bursting with life we will be too..

Love Joanne xxx