I'm Getting Back TODAY. I Swear It.

Since I decided to take a break financially from training this month, I'm finding it really hard to get back into the swing of things. Knowing Shawn is at the gym waiting on me makes it much easier to get up there! Hubs said today he is dragging me up there to work out and I'm so glad. I know once I get there I'll be in my element again and all fired up. It's not hard to see why I need the break though. I've been training for these past two competitions for what seems like forever! After my injury last year I wasn't able to compete so I just kept plugging through to this year. For those of you that don't know...here's how I got my start.

January of 2005 I tried putting on a pair of jeans that WOULD NOT go on. I had been fit all my life but had managed to let myself put on alot of weight for about 3 years straight. I couldn't take it and went into the gym to sign up. They weighed, measured, etc. I was 145lbs with 33% bodyfat. Guh...ross. I couldn't believe it. How did that happen??? I became a maniac and within three months had dropped 20lbs of pure fat. I then began the building process to start putting muscle back on. The end of that first year was when people started talking to me about competing. I thought that was pretty funny at the time because I just wanted Monica Brant's body. I didn't plan on using it for anything. But it was my perseverence and diligence to my diet and my workout that made them suggest it. They knew if I could stick with what I was doing I had the discipline to compete. Now that you know that you will understand my horror at the idea of falling off track. I will never again be that fat girl. Never. So today's the day!! Hubs will get me back in the gym and my love for it will take over. Now I just have to do something about those cookies sitting on the counter. Hmmmm.

On another front, one of my best friends moved to Colorado this week and MuscleMomma's in France for the next 2 weeks. I feel like an orphan. So. Very. Lonely. Hubs gets his feelings hurt when I say that but he doesn't understand what I mean. He wouldn't have the patience to talk to me about the stupid, silly things we talk about. We just do goofy things like intentionally call each other 12 times in a row until the other threatens to kick our arse. He would never put up with that. Hmpfh. Thing 1 and Thing 2 are turning into quite the little pranksters lately though, so this summer could be really fun. I love that they have a sense of humor. They're 8 and a half now so their jokes are actually beginning to make sense! OK enough babbling. Time to decide what I'm going to go lift today. OoooohRahhh!!

Not To Be Forgotten

I can't believe that I didn't even blog about my best friend Karen, aka MuscleMomma, placing 1st in Masters Bodybuilding!! She is so great and I'm so blessed to have her as a friend in life AND backstage. She helps me out so much I don't know what I'd do without her. I guess I'll have to find out in September for the NPC Heart of Texas because she won't be competing in that one. I'm really bummed but she's really going to be tied up with her daughter's drill team stuff now that her daughter is a lieutenant. She'll be there to root me on but it's not quite the same. I have a pic of her but blogger is being a pain and won't load it for me for some reason.

Well, I'm enjoying my week of Dos Equis and lime, pizza, etc. but it's back to the grindstone on Monday. I was going to get back on track the other day but I'm dragging it out until the weekend!! I talked to Shawn today to let him know I was on for September so I have my instructions. I'm going to work on my own until July to help myself recover a bit financially from these past two shows. He wants me to up my calories and to hit shoulders really hard. I have to say I really miss being at the gym. We're still members at Lifetime, too, so I took the boys to the outdoor pool today. I felt like I needed to run in and pound out a few sets!! Maybe I'll go ahead and go in some this weekend. Karen's leaving on Monday and will be in France for two weeks, so I'll be on my own unless hubby can make it in with me. Those are some of my best workouts sometimes though because I can really concentrate and squeeze. I'll just be sure to load up my new Pink CD before I go. That CD is awesome if you haven't heard it yet!

The Results Are In....


So here are the standings. I placed 7th out of 14 in the Masters Figure category. I placed 8th out of 11 in the Open Class. I should be pleased since this was only my second competition. I think I WAS until I saw Kami's pics. Here pics are great...it's her subject that has an issue. So here's my take on why I didn't place higher.

Look at this and tell me what's wrong with these 2 pics (I'm in the middle for those of you that haven't seen me before :-)):

AM I SLOUCHING???? WTF?! Dammit I was so pissed when I saw this pic. In the bottom pic, the girl on the left placed 5th and the girl on the right placed 2nd in Masters. There's me...miss 7th place....SLOUCHING. Damn. I talked to Sheliahe, my posing coach, and she concurred that I was slouching on stage but didn't want to tell me that night after I got done. I was just crushed when I saw this. I think it may have really hurt me in my placing. We're not even going to discuss the hairdo....or the lack thereof.

I am, however, pleased with the pic of my back pose. You have absolutely NO IDEA how hard Sheliahe had to work with me to get this one right!!! I practiced for hours every night until I finally got it figured out. Here it is:

Here's a few more pics:

This is a post all it's own...but you can see how the new "girls" have already moved south. I will bitch about that another time. So, all in all, it was a good show for me but has just made me want to work harder. I won't be happy until I place, so I've now decided to do the NPC Heart of Texas here in September. I won't have time to really put on much muscle but should be able to maintain with no problems. I've had my two days of pizza, beer, and yummy stuff and now it's back to the basics. Had roasted turkey and green beans tonite. Woop. Will continue to take the week off from the gym especially since I'm so slammed with work. I'll start hitting it next week. I'm not going to train with Shawn for a bit though to try to recover financially from these past two shows. Plus, he's competing in that one and it's hard for him to train someone for a show and also do it himself. He likes to give his clients 110% and he can't do that for himself when he's training others. I've already given Sheliahe a heads up that I need to work on my posture and posing!!

One last thing, I have started commenting on your wonderful comments!! I always think of what I'd like to say back but never get around to posting it :-) . I love all my blogger friends and I think of you all the time even when I can't get to the computer. Thanks for being there for me!!

Quick Update

Sorry to leave you hangin' after the show. My husband and I run a sports company and our summer camps began yesterday with a vengance. With over 1,000 kids and multiple new coaches I have had my hands full since I finished the Lone Star!!

I didn't place in my height class. I'm not upset about it because the girls that did were awesome. Several were on their way to nationals and were doing a practice run so I didn't really stand a chance against them considering they were half my age and had been competing for years. So I'm okay with that!! I called up in the top five in both rounds of the masters but ended up not placing. I'm totally bummed about that. The girl that placed fifth was from my gym and everyone was sure I would place higher. Even the people I knew that came to the night show were suprised and asked why we thought she placed fifth. So I'm anxiously waiting for the NPC to post the results and the scoresheets so I can see where I ended up. I think there were between 12 to 14 in the class, so if I placed 6th I'll be pretty happy about that.

So give me a few days to get our camps situated and I'll post the pics. I have to admit I looked much better on stage than at my first show last month. I was really happy with the pics I got. So stay tuned :-)

7 Things You Don't Know About Me

1. I moved out on my own when I was 16 years old

2. I'm terrified of not being able to breath (drowning, strangling, etc.)

3. I was married for a short time once before my current husband

4. I like boy stuff more than girl stuff. I'd rather go to a boxing match than a dance recital any day of the week. I guess God knew what he was doing when he gave me two boys!

5. My father was never faithful to my mother. When she finally left she 30 years old, had never had a job, and had 3. He made ALOT of money but still took everything. He made her fight for every penny of child support she was ever due. He re-married one of his women 6 weeks later who tried relentlessly to ruin his relationship with his kids. I didn't speak to him for 8 years. Even now, he reminds me at every turn that his women are more important than me. Before all that I was Daddy's Little Girl. I have never recovered.

6. I've never lost anyone I'm super close with. My grandparents are still alive except my one Grandfather. He was very quiet so I never really felt close to him. I'm so terrified of the day when I have to truly face loss and I just pray it's not in my immediate family.

7. It's a given I hate spiders. I also hate all small, furry, fast things like gerbils, hamsters, ferrets, etc. They totally geek me out!

Countdown to Pancakes!!

In four more days I can relax with my family for the summer. I don't think I'll know what to do with myself when I don't have to eat every hour and show up for fittings and posing sessions. I'm really terrified of not having a date to work towards. Shawn wants me to pick a fall competition so I don't let myself go to pieces this summer. That's probably a really good idea.

I'm ready to go....my backstage bag is packed, my spray tan appointment is made, I get my hair highlighted today and my toes painted tomorrow!! I can't begin to tell you how much less stressful this one is for me. I was so FREAKED before that last one! Work has been incredibly difficult for us the past few weeks, so I'm glad I haven't been so stressed I can't cope with work stress. I've actually been able to concentrate and get things done. Last time I just shut down the week of the show. I figure as long as I don't fall apart at home and at work my husband won't start taking any issues with me competing. So far, he's really loving it. I know alot of people who's spouses aren't so supportive. It's understandable though because it's really a "self indulgent sport" as my trainer puts it. It takes alot of your time and focus away from your family if you let it. So I've been very conscious of that this time around. I make sure I cook for everyone even when I'M SICK OF COOKING a gazillion meals a day. I keep the laundry and the house up and keep my stress to myself. I save it for the gym! Doing another one back to back is alot easier, also, since you just have to maintain. I almost feel guilty for not killing myself in the gym right up til the end. Shawn saw us yesterday and said we're way ahead of where we were before the last competition. So, here's hoping I place higher. This show has a TON of figure girls so it will be harder to place in the top five. That's all I'm doing this time, so I guess that's another reason for my lack of stress. It was really hard for me to do BB and Figure in my first competition. I'm looking forward to just enjoying this one and having fun!

Pancakes with REAL syrup Saturday morning. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

THIS is Why I Like Summer

Ahhhhh, 9am and I'm just getting out of bed. Thing 1 and Thing 2 are still sleeping. Summer is awesome. The boys marched in from school yesterday announcing they are now officially 3rd graders. That's just imossible for me to wrap my head around. Seems like they were just born a few years ago and now they're both turning into little men!

Today's our last heavy workout until the competition next weekend. We do two light workouts Monday and Tuesday and then I'M on summer break!! Woooohoooo!! Can't wait to lay around the pool! I'm not the slightest bit freaked or nervous about this next show for some reason. I told MuscleMomma that I'm worried I'm not preparing enough. I guess I feel guilty for not being nervous, not having to do much cardio, etc. She said she wasn't ever nervous after she got the first one out of the way and that I have nothing to worry about. You know how our brains work though....I look in the mirror and am convinced I've lost muscle, I'm fatter, I don't have as many cuts in my legs, blah, blah. MuscleMomma assures me I look great and that once I get the tan back on I'll see the cuts I'm imagining have disappeared. I hate being mental, Gah.

I want to tell all you girls out there fighting to do what we're doing...thanks. It's so awesome to have so much support. Sometimes its depressing training with someone that has been competing for so long. She always looks great and makes it look effortless. Don't get me wrong, MuscleMomma is the most loving and supporting person you'd ever meet. I could never have made it thru the Shredder without her. I know it's not effortless for her either, she works really, really hard. I guess it's envy?? I wonder if I'll ever look as good as her. Again, I hate being mental.

WHAT Are you DOING Back There???

So we ran into one of Mike's oldest buddies from home and found out he lives in this area and is a Chiropractor. I needed to go in for an adjustment anyway, so I made an appointment and saw him yesterday. My Rhomboid on the right side in my back gets all tweaked up and pulls my spine and my shoulder out of whack, so I have to go have it beat down occassionally. He shares his practice with one of their other buddies that's a Rehab and pain management Doc. I got my adjustment, which was heaven by the way, and then rehab Doc comes in and gives me an injection in the rhomboids. OUCH. It wasn't actually an injection so much as like some kind of acupuncture because it's the needle going into the muscle or something that forces it to relax. I dunno. Anyway, it hurt like hell the rest of the day but it's starting to feel better now. Said I should see the full effects of it in about a week. I think I much prefer the electrode treatment that my prior chiropractor used to do on it but he says this is 10 times stronger and lasts longer. I guess we'll see. It also hurts 10 times more so if it doesn't work in an AMAZING way, I don't know if I'll have that done ever again.

Can I just say I love my metabolism??? It's revved up so hard right now, I can get away with a tiny cheat here and there and I'm only 2 weeks out!! Don't misunderstand me....I'm eating clean ALL the time. But I DID sneak a thumb print cookie at this bakery the other day after lunch. It was VERY tiny and I was on my way for a chest/back workout with Shawn so I wasn't really worried about it. I confessed to MuscleMomma later and I thought she would punch me!! My weight is actually down almost 3 lbs from the day I did the shredder. I really don't want to lose anymore, so I'm going to call Shawn today and see what he wants to change. My metabolism freaks him out when it speeds up like that. He said he's never seen anyone's take off so fast and he's been training for 20 years. I asked him if that meant I could have another cookie. You can imagine the look he got on his face after that!

Only 4 more days of school next week and Thing 1 and Thing 2 get out of school. That means they'll be home every day the week of the next show on June 2nd. Could be a dangerous week for them. I am a very grumpy girl without much water. They get to come to the morning pre-judge though and they're SO excited!!

Ok...It's Fixed...Gah

I went and fixed my post before last so you could see the pic of me and my sis comparing tans. She is NOT wearing white hose, haha! Sorry, sis. I do have to say she didn't look this white in person, so it's just the angle or the standing next to someone that looks like a Hershey bar that made her look whiter.

For my regular friends....not lurkers that I never talk to...I have a link up on Yahoo of my photo shoot that Ms DallasK did if you want to see them. I don't want to put the link on my blog because I don't want random people seeing them. If you want the link, let me know and I'll email it to you. If someone can enlighten me as to how to email someone directly from a blog without posting the email address on here that would be great, too. Sorry. I'm blogger challenged still.