Day 10

So I am not 1/3 of the way there...a good place to stop and look at what I have accomplished and what I have neglected!!  I have been pretty steady with my eating, workouts, and practicing, but I must get going on the others.  I think the acts of kindness need to be addressed - I have done little things, holding doors, elevators, smiling at the old man barely-making-it-but-still-trucking-along.  Those are all things I am more consciously doing, but I need to give my time more substantially to make it count.  Today was a bit of a sleepy day.  It rained all afternoon.

DAILY VOCAL PRACTICE SESSION #9

     30 minutes vocal warm up as per lesson.  This is all I did today - yes not much but since I am singing every day and I have choir twice this week I want to pace myself.

HEALTH CONSCIOUS MEAL #10

      For lunch I had 100g of chicken (with a bit of Cholula sauce) and 150g of broccoli (plain)

...DAILY INSPIRATION...

DAY 9

Choir is back in session...after a week in Cambodia and a week off for CNY it's good to be back in the structured environment of choir.  Our Choir Master is good and keeps it real when we suck BUT always tells us how to fix it and expects that once it's fixed it will stay that way.  I admire that kind of discipline.  Lets me know the standard I should ALWAYS hold myself to.  I also took this picture today.  I am quite happy with how I have come along.  I have always been in "appropriate" form for the role, but I want to push myself to exceed expectations and look my best.  I am eating healthy, I am doing a reasonable amount of working out, and I have more energy than I've had in a while (like 2 years).  I also like to keep myself in check with how I look.  I want to look polished and I strive to give my best effort in all areas (performance, make-up/skin, physical form).

DAILY VOCAL PRACTICE SESSIONS #8

     30 minutes warm up as per vocal lesson

     60 minutes choir rehearsal to review Fidelio

HEALTH CONSCIOUS MEAL #9

     So I was like starvin Marvin after work so I went to Subway and had a wrap.  Yes I think this is healthy...not sure the exact calorie count so I estimated about 580 (that's what was in Daily Burn Tracker) and even at that rate I was still within my range of calories per day.  I didn't want to go into choir feeling hungry.  I can hurt myself trying to get up to those higher notes if not properly supported.  

BODY CONDITIONING / FITNESS SESSIONS #7

     50 minutes of P90X Yoga X...yes this is a 90 minute track, BUT I did have choir and it is now 12:30 and I think I need to go to bed :p I burned 200 calories and I am sweating up a storm...kept the air off!!

...DAILY INSPIRATION...

Day 8

I am finding that I am taking this more seriously than probably anything I ever have in my life.  I know that this is it for me.  These next 10 months are going to be the platform off of which I dive into the next step in my life and I don't want to just be ready...I want to blow everyone away.  I want to sound great, look great, and feel great!  It was a co-worker's birthday today and a lot of people went.  I am not only on a tight budget (thank you Cambodia and savings account), but I simply did not want to put myself into a situation where I was eating things outside my diet, drinking, and not completing my tasks for the evening.  Just want to give myself a fighting chance.

DAILY VOCAL PRACTICE SESSIONS #7

     30 minutes warm up as per voice lesson

     60 minutes repertoire - Quando men vo, Als, Luise sie briefe ihres ungetreuen, Apres un reve (I may actually record this one it's so beautiful), La Wally, Fidelio Chorus

HEALTH CONSCIOUS MEALS #8

      For morning snack I ate 100g of sweet potatoes that had been steamed, mixed with a bit of milk and pumpkin pie spices.  It's a lot of Vitamin A but still within acceptable range so I have read.  I don't follow and one school of thought on dieting but look for things that are common in many diets and try to stick to those.  Sweet potatoes are on the diet plan my friend gave me, the Eat Right for Your Blood Type Diet (type AB), and the Primal Diet (so I have heard).  Plus they taste great and are simple to prepare.  

BODY CONDITIONING / FITNESS SESSIONS #6

     60 minutes P90X Legs and Back (did a ton of pull ups using a chair...one day I won't need the chair - can you imagine?!?!?! But today, I was glad it was there.

   15 minutes P90X Ab Ripper - I love this track! Still is a challenge, but definitely getting easier and easier (meaning only that I look less ridiculous doing it LOL)

hmmm...seems like I need to get a move on with my acts of kindness...

...DAILY INSPIRATION...

A quote from one of my favorite teachers Dr. D (for music theory)

"It's easy, once you understand how to do it."

Day 7

Ran into Cassidy on my way home and she mentioned how much more she is able to fit into her day now that she is doing this challenge...I COMPLETELY agree!  Mind you, I don't really go out much or spend a lot of time just hanging out.  Almost all of my time is dedicated to completing these tasks and working.  Now I could just spend 1 hour practicing, but today when I woke up I practiced keyboard skills for about 45 minutes and I used the rehearsal space at work for another 2 hours singing.  That's a huge difference in practice time and I know it will pay off.  I have been about 80% sticking to my diet.  A couple things have come up that I decided it was more important to have fun and be in the moment than be too strict on myself.  All of this added effort is quite tiring, but no matter WHAT - you finish what you start. 

DAILY VOCAL PRACTICE SESSIONS #6

     45 minutes keyboard skills - practiced and recorded "The Donkey" nursery rhyme

     30 minutes warm-up as per voice lesson

     90 minutes repertoire.  My coach scolded me for not learning more new pieces so this week I have three new pieces that I am working on.  "Apres un reve", "Als Luise die briefe ihres ungetreun", "Casta Diva".  Also did "Quando men vo" - still working on that B. and of course the choir pieces "Fidelio" and "Carmina Burana".

HEALTH CONSCIOUS MEALS #7

     I really had intended on making the cultured vegetables and kefir this week, but that I actually did not find the time for.  Since it will be my first time making them I don't want to have to rush so I will try on my next days off to get it done.  I know I need to vary my diet a bit so I think maybe I will find a juice recipe tomorrow to try.  I did buy turkey bacon, so I will try that tomorrow morning as well.

     But of course I had my green shake this morning...I actually look forward to it, it's quite filling without being heavy.  

BODY CONDITIONING / FITNESS SESSIONS #5

     90 minute P90X YogaX track with a/c turned off...a bit of Bikram.  Burned 350 calories.

...DAILY INSPIRATION...

Day 6

I had a super productive day!!  Not only did I get a lot done but I had a great time at work - everyone was in a good mood and so polite.   That really made my day go even better.  I ended with dinner over a friend's house!  Nothing like a home-cooked meal!

DAILY VOCAL PRACTICE SESSIONS #5

     30 minutes vocal warm-up

     60 minutes repertoire including Fidelio (chorus), Quando men vo, and Als Luise die briefe ihres ungetreuen (I hear it's Mozart's birthday so why not)
     30 minutes French language review

HEALTH CONSCIOUS MEALS #6

     Rotisserie chicken, with green beans and Cholula sauce (yep still waiting on the red hot!)

 Yes I still weigh everything so I know exactly what I am consuming.  

BODY CONDITIONING / FITNESS SESSIONS #4

     45 minutes leg workout at gym

I completed all of these things after I finished work and before dinner.  Time management is so important.  One of the concepts in yoga that the fantastic Tony Horton talks about on P90X is that you are fighting for millimeters.  Same thing in any practice.  When I go over language, I may only discover or understand 1 small new thing or when I vocalize I may only improve in the smallest way.  Sometimes I get frustrated because I don't feel like I am improving, you just have to do it anyway no matter what. 

...DAILY INSPIRATION...

Day 5

Um...yeah.  Today the only goal I met was to have a green shake in the morning.  No practice, no workout, and several unhealthy things to eat.  But guess what? I am ok with that.  I had a great day in the park with some friends I have met here (that are from New Zealand), I phoned my family to hear there was a passing recently, I went to a DR appt  for them to tell me AGAIN I need to change how I eat, and I had a meeting at work that turned into a slight dramatic mess.  I am physically and emotionally drained, but will pick right back up tomorrow after a good night's sleep!!!

HEALTH CONSCIOUS MEALS


     Meal #5 - good old standard of morning green smoothie! 

...DAILY INSPIRATION...

Day 4

It is so much easier to actually do the things you know you need to do when you have a purpose in mind...what are the most important things to you?  How do you want to live your life?  What kind of person do you want to be?  Specific goals are a necessity especially when doing something like this challenge for instance.  Whatever doesn't fall in line with my goal of, let's say, working out 6x per week I avoid.  So maybe I go to bed early and not watch a movie I just downloaded.  Maybe I skip or leave early from a party so I don't drink.  These ARE NOT...and I repeat ARE NOT sacrifices if they meet your greater goal.

DAILY VOCAL PRACTICE SESSIONS #4

     Because I had a voice lesson, I didn't go full out with repertoire, but I did practice keyboard skills.  I am using Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course and I am on G position and # sign.  I also scanned more music into my iPad and reviewed some new material since Ms. Natasha is adamant that I broaden my rep stat!!!

VOICE LESSONS WITH A PROFESSIONAL VOCAL COACH #1

     60 minute lesson with Natalia Kumkova - This woman is amazing!  She believes in me and pushes me to become my best.  My voice has I don't even know quadrupled or more since going to her.  I forgot to take a pic with her, but here she is at her concert from a few months ago...she is in the middle

HEALTH CONSCIOUS MEAL #4

     Meal #4 - the best thing I have done for myself to make sticking to my diet easier is purchasing rotisserie chicken from the supermarket.  Cold Storage is a more Western store here and has a great deli section. I also bought a scale to make sure that I know exactly what I am consuming.  I really can't eyeball it at this point because usually my eyes are bigger than my diet LOL

If you know me at all you KNOW that I LOVE Frank's Red Hot and it is impossible to find here, but my Mom and my bestie are sending me some so that will be a big help.  No sugar and no carbs so great for this diet!

BODY CONDITIONING / FITNESS SESSIONS #3

     60 minutes Yoga X - 214 calories

     15 minutes Ab Ripper X - 40 calories...WHAT??? That seems so little.  My monitor did stop working for a few minutes but still!!!  Ah well, at work people still think I am a man because of my abs so I'll take it!  Yep I pretty much love P90X...I am taking it a bit easy on the workouts so that I can pace myself, but don't get me wrong they are not easy by any means; just less weights for now.

...DAILY INSPIRATION...

I have found great inspiration from this man, Dr. Wayne Dyer.  If you haven't heard of him or haven't read any of his books, do yourself a favor and get to know his work.  Doesn't matter what religion you are or even if you think you've got it all figured out, it doesn't hurt to surround yourself with positivity!!! A couple years ago while I was in Macau I was in the bookstore looking for something to read.  This book was facing with the cover out instead of the spine out so I bought it.  It is fantastic!

Day 3

One of my goals is to use each moment I have wisely.  To live consciously - if I am studying, then that's great; if I am relaxing, that's great too.  I just want to eliminate the useless things that I do. Like zoning out on hours of TV shows or sleeping during (all) my breaks at work (which I have done).  

DAILY VOCAL PRACTICE SESSIONS #3

     60 minutes piano skills C, G7, F chords.  Used GarageBand to practice recording.

     30 minutes vocalizing using warm-up from voice lesson

     30 minutes study repertiore - Fidelio (have voice lesson tomorrow so I don't want to be too overextended).  Actually I probably did more because I study on the MRT on my way to work.

HEALTH CONSCIOUS MEALS #3

     Yesterday I talked about drinking water - there is one more ingredient that I add to water and  it's called Stardust by The Wholefood Farmacy.  Basically it's like drinking a saline IV - helps keep you properly hydrated and balances the pH in your body.

     Healthy Meal #3 - I always start my morning off with a green smoothie.  Here is the recipe which I got out of a fitness magazine for women:

½ cup Yoghurt

1 grapefruit or orange (I also look at the eat right for your blood type diet and grapefruit is better for me)

½ cup rice milk or water

1 scoop protein powder

1 frozen banana

½ lemon

1 tbsp spirulina

OPTIONAL - any other powders (Fructiphi and Beautiphi by Wholefood Farmacy)

I make sure that my powders don't have any added sugar and are either low or no carb.  The yoghurt should be sugar free as well.  This drink has about 500 calories and is a healthy way to start your day.  

BeautiPhi is an Orange Farina that is designed to support the endocrine, exocrine and reproductive system - the places where skin comes from. The delicious combination of whole food nutrition in BeautiPhi will be an eye-opening experience as you see your skin's tone, texture and smooth complexion rise from within to expose the true beauty of your skin.

FructiPhi is a wonderful source of sought after nutritional components such as Anthocyanins, Proanthecyadins, Tannins Quercitin, Lignins, and Pectins. This productive fruitful nectar is also very pleasing to the palette.  FructiPhi is an Indigo Farina designed to support your body's respiratory system which delivers life giving oxygen from the lungs to the blood supply. 

I like the products on this website, when I don't have them (like when I was on vacation) I actually missed them and looked forward to having them again...your body knows what it likes so I listen!

The Wholefood Farmacy

BODY CONDITIONING / FITNESS SESSIONS #2

     90 minutes P90X YogaX - Being that it's my Friday, I wanted something mellow and relaxing!  P90X is no joke, it's tough.  I took breaks and I did easier versions of a few things, but I finished it and I feel great! 

...DAILY INSPIRATION...

Day 2

DAILY VOCAL PRACTICE SESSIONS #2

     60 minutes piano skills C, G7, F chords, 3/4 time sig (What Can I Share, When the Saints Go Marching In - hey we all started somewhere I just happened to start a little after you did LOL)

     30 minutes warm-up 

     30 minutes repertoire - Fidelio (Chorus) and Carmina Burana (Chorus) - The Fidelio concert is coming up February 18th so I am trying to make sure that I am using this week that we have off for CNY to memorize as much as possible.  
     30 minutes German Language practice - I have learning tools for German, Italian and French.  My purpose is to get better with basic vocab and grammar, but more importantly with pronunciation.  Who knows I may have a IPA class in the future LOL

HEALTH CONSCIOUS MEALS #2

     The MOST important thing you can do for your health is to make sure you are properly hydrated.  Eight 300ml glasses is ideal per day.  Every day I buy a 1500ml bottle of water to take to work with me.  That, of course, is 5 glasses.  Being that I work outside and I usually have a couple forms of physical activity per day, I probably need to increase my water intake, but I goal at about 8.  

I add into my water two products.  Today I will talk about NCD and below is from the website www.waiora.com/products/pro_ncd.php :

Zeolites are natural volcanic minerals with an unique, complex crystalline structure. It's honeycomb framework of cavities and channels (like cages) works at the cellular level trapping, heavy metals and toxins. In fact, because it is one of the few negatively charged minerals in nature, zeolites act as magnets drawing toxins to it, capturing them in its cage and removing them from the body.

Key Benefits

• Supports a healthy immune system.*
• Helps remove heavy metals, toxins and other substances from the body.*
• Helps balance pH levels in the body.*
• 100 percent natural and non-toxic.*
• Safe for long-term use.*

I like the idea that it helps balance the pH levels...disease cannot survive in an alkaline system.

Today I ate 1392 calories!

...DAILY INSPIRATION...

Day 1

Here we go!!!


There were many things that I had been wanting to do, knew I should be doing, but wasn't doing.  We do the things we absolutely MUST do.  I knew that time was passing quickly by and I needed to change my thought process on how I was viewing those things.  No matter what, everyday, there are things that I MUST do (not want to or will do after I watch this episode of whatever).  This blog idea came along at the perfect time to coincide with this change.  


DAILY VOCAL PRACTICE REPORT #1


     30 minutes keyboard skills C and G7 chords (Merrily We Roll Along, Largo)
     30 minutes warm up for scales and technique
     1 hour song practice
Repertoire worked - Casta Diva, Quando men vo, Alleluja, Ach ich fuhls, Se tu m'ami, Where e'er you walk, Fidelio (Chorus), Carmina Burana (Chorus)


HEALTHY MEAL #1


I started the morning off with my green shake.  I warn you I pretty much eat the same thing everyday but I will talk more and more about each thing I eat and what I use to determine my diet.  I based my diet off of a plan that a friend had given me.  I had to modify this a bit, but below you can see for yourself:

These amounts are half of what a man would consume.  This diet is to be done for 6-weeks, which I did and here are the before and after shots:

I was really happy with the results - I did get leaner, but I still have a ways to go before I am at my ideal size and % body fat.


BODY SCULPTING / FITNESS SESSION #1


45 minutes P90X Cardio X.  This was my first time doing this so I was pretty bad...I only burned about 200 calories. 

...DAILY INSPIRATION...

The Rules

First I would like to thank Cassidy Anderson for inspiring me to do this! And also I have completely stolen from her what I am about to post so the credit is hers for the research :) In her version there is a dance section...ok that's just not happening for me really I'd rather go to a Muay Thai class so I've increased the conditioning and fitness section by 5 sessions.

THE RULES

Being an opera singer is the most demanding genre of vocal performance.  The voice takes years to develop along with mastery of discipline and focus.  I know that as an artist I need to step up what I have been doing to take advantage of my potential and prepare myself for whatever may be coming next...Cassidy borrowed the requirements from Broadway Dance Center's "Full Voice Challenge" and has tailored them accordingly.  There is no more "park and bark" in opera and if I want to even think about playing with the big dogs, now's the time to get serious. 

THE 30 DAY VOICE CHALLENGE REQUIREMENTS

30 x DAILY VOCAL PRACTICE SESSIONS

        Min. 30mins per day of singing practice. You must write a brief 'Daily Practice Report' outlining what your practice session consisted of.

4 x VOICE LESSONS WITH A PROFESSIONAL VOCAL COACH

        Min. 60mins per session. Sessions must be documented with a 'sign-off' photo or video featuring you and your vocal coach.

2 x LIVE VOCAL PERFORMANCES

        YOU perform LIVE!!! You are to perform at least one song in front of a live audience on two separate occasions. Performances must be documented by photo or video.

1 x LIVE PERFORMANCE VIEWING 

        Go out and see a live professional performance that INSPIRES you and post a photo of your ticket stub or program.

1 x LIVE INDUSTRY AUDITION

        Prepare for and attend a professional 'industry' audition (eg. Theatre Show, Theme Park, Live Band, etc.)

1 x DEMO RECORDING / YOUTUBE COVER

        Learn a new song, master it, and film yourself performing it and post it to YouTube.

30 x HEALTH CONSCIOUS MEALS

        Fuel that hard working body!!! Take snap shots of some of your healthy food choices & post them.

25 x BODY CONDITIONING / FITNESS SESSIONS

        Min. 45 mins. Types of sessions can include but are not limited to; Personal Training, Workout DVDs, Zumba, Gym Group Classes (Step, Pump, Spin, BodyCombat, etc.), Yoga, Pilates, etc.

5 x CHARITABLE DEEDS OR ACTS OF KINDNESS

        Pay it forward! Find 5 ways to give back to society and make someone's day. Document these acts via photo or video and post it on your blog.

Beginning now... Wish me luck...