...And It's Back to the Drawing Board

So I had a child about 11 weeks ago now.

...isn't she precious.

And we know that lovely baby weight that we embraced while pregnant is not looking so cute now that the egg has hatched.

I went from this..to this

(pay no attention to my boyfriends mess in the background...we'll just say it was "laundry day")

Well...at least I have boobs now.  I must say.. I kinda dig having all these hips.  To be completely honest however this isn't the worst.  I was pretty rough looking right out of the hospital.  All the drugs they gave me to have my C-Section did not do my body good..nor did the C-Section itself.  The image above is a vast improvement from the original me post op.

I went from 137 to 195 and am now at 163. I dropped the first 25 easily without any effort really (Hooray for breastfeeding!) In the past I have been this weight before but still in better shape than I am now.  So you know what that means!!!  Oh yes.  It's time to make dates with Retro Fitness, Tony Horton, Pauline Nordin and all the free workout videos I can find on Youtube!!  The physical aspect of getting in shape is never the problem for me...it's the nutrition that gets me. This girl likes to eat! But I am determined and ready to go in an all out effort to get back to this...

Basia Bulat!

                                                            I am obsessed with this song.

Aco Anyone?

Hhhmmm.. Stop. Take a listen. Let it sink in. ..... good isn't it. I'm in love. Aco everybody, everybody Aco.

This Japanese born song bird has been around since about 95 and is pretty popular in her native country. She's put out several albums including Kittenish Love and Absolute Ego, but isn't very well known here in the states. I happened to come across her when checking out DJ Krush's "Tragicomic". She's the little one in the red ridiculous dress laying down the vocals. After hearing her on that and severely digging her contribution to the song I decided to see what else she was capable of. A good move on my part.
Although I can't understand anything she's singing about on her Japanese songs (she's done some songs in English including a cover of "Creep" by Radiohead) her sound is pretty intense. It grabs something in you and makes you listen. Well it did for me. I don't know if it's her voice or the melody in the background played over the beat, but I can not get enough of "Shinsei Romanticist" off of her Material album. Such a good "sex" song. Not what you'd normally think of when challenged to check out Japanese music/JPop. Her early songs are pretty urban with a R&B sound. She even put out an album called Lady Soul in the late 90's, and once upon a time could be seen sporting a Lauren Hill type hair do.

Her music style has changed since and is now more New Age/Electronica but still good all the same. It does take a minute to warm up to, but if you like good music it's worth a shot. I wish she had more exposure here in the states, but for now until I get back to Chinatown my only source for Aco's music is clips from her website and Youtube.

http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Music/Info/ACO/