Dear Blog,

Dear Blog,

I am sorry that I have neglected you. I guess I haven't had much to say now that prep is over. I'm back to building, and I think things are going well. My self-prescribed week off from the gym seemed like an eternity, but when I went back I was pleased to see that my strength did not decrease too terribly much during my lengthy diet. Phew!

Blog, I will try to keep you in my life and update you more often. I hope these show pics are enough for you to forgive me.





Oh, and blog, I wanted to post one more pic from the show, but apparently Mr. Photobucket thinks it is pornographic, and it has been removed from my account. Sorry.

Love,

Genie

(MAN OH MAN! AM I A DORK OR WHAT?! LMAO!)

A couple proofs

Hey folks! I got a couple proofs from the photographers at my show! My back pose looks off, like I hadn't quite hit it yet. I hope that wasn't my actual pose! LOL!





As you can see, I am completely bloated in the tummy area. (Thank you TOM!) Also, my candy pump did not work... I just seemed to smooth right over. After a steak and baked tater w/ butter and sour cream, and a nap, I looked like this (taken by my phone! lol):



I will have more pics once I receive the CDs from the photographers. I can't wait to see them. I'm already looking forward to my next prep.

My plan is to go back to bulking! I'm eating leisurely at the moment, but I mapped out my nutrition earlier in the week, and now I am working out my training kinks. I can't wait to get back into the gym!!

Also, for you ladies who have prepped yourselves for shows, did you start at 12 weeks out or 16? Just thinking ahead.

Have a great day! and the weekend is so close I can smell it! hehe

I am still alive!

I suck at updating!!

Where do I begin? My first figure competition was a BLAST! The bodies there were amazing. I was out of my league, but I think that really added to the experience. Holy motivation batman!! I ended up placing tenth out of a monstrous class, so I am quite pleased. I was probably the softest (or one of) body there. However, I still consider this a huge success!! My camera actually broke during prejudging, and the pics I have are blurry. I should be hearing from the promoters shortly with the photographers information. I'll keep you posted!

Thanks for following me along on this journey!! I feel like the end was very anti-climactic, but it's all good. I enjoyed myself and got a lot out of the experience. I couldn't have asked for me! :)

Time to build some glutes and hammies! :)

Almost there!!

Comp day is approaching WAY too quickly. Yesterday I wanted to quit. Seriously. I have been bloated from the salt and water load... I'm talking so bloated that I was in PAIN... doubled over pain, rest my head on the bench between sets pain, sleep curled up in a ball... I ain't even joking. But, I feel better today. My body has grown accustomed to the salt and water, and I'm not nearly as bloated. Thank goodness! Potassium got thrown in the mix today, too, so I am a peeing fool.

I practiced posing this morning, tried to tweak things... I just made myself unsure and uncomfortable, but I will practice more this evening.

It WILL come together. Almost there!

You all are going to think I am nuts. NUTS! Out of every single freaking thing I could eat, the one thing I am truly looking forward to the most is a big ol' bowl of steaming hot steel cut oats... PLAIN! with nothing but a bit of sea salt. OMG. I want it now.

Hungry!

Woops. I forgot to pack my veggies with meal 2 today. I will stop and get a side salad from McDonald's at lunch. I need some foliage to fill me up!


10 Days to go! Man. Time F L I E S!!!! I am excited, but I am ready to get it over with. I am ready to eat. LOL

Almost to the Finish Line!

I'm getting anxious, excited, and I've stopped worrying about how my body will come in. Sure, I want my midsection to be much leaner, my legs and calves to be bigger, heck my whole stinkin' body could be leaner, but that's okay! I'm okay with it. I just want to have a wonderful experience!

As usual, I have a lot of to-do's floating around in my brain. My current project is a brand new suit. I ordered one to stone then sell, since I had great luck selling my suit that I previously stoned. Well, turns out that this suit fits me wonderfully! CC Fitwear is the bomb! (Do people still say things are the bomb?) I'm going to try to bust ass and see if I can stone this baby by May 9th... but in a stress-free manner. I have the beautiful pink suit borrowed from a friend, and while it 'fits', it is still tight in the hips. I didn't lose much weight at all during this process. I think the running total is 7 pounds. Yeah. How does THAT happen?! Maybe if I went on another vacation, I would lose more! LOL! KIDDING! That vacay weight loss had to be a total fluke!

Post-competition plans are, well, being planned. The hubby and I have had several discussions about cutting out a lot of our meat consumption. There are the obvious reasons: animal cruelty and the high cost of meat, but did you know that it greatly negatively impacts the environment? While I can't say that we'll cut out meat completely (because I can't figure out where one would draw the line... many household and personal care products have bits and pieces of animal in them!), I am hoping that we can help a little by decreasing our consumption. I am so excited about this! and I am totally impressed by my husband and his excitement! My only concern at the moment is how this will effect my physique.

It's Happening!

I'm getting excited! FINALLY! Will my body be ready? I sure hope so, but at this point I've given up on being stressed out about it. I feel like all other things are finally in place. I decided to not worry about tanning myself, so I scheduled that; booked the room last night (got an awesome deal on the rate!); and since I am on SUCH a roll, I even ordered a suit for the fall. LOL! Go me go! I have two blingin' patterns to choose from, and I can't wait to get started. YIPEE!

Tanning Woes!!!

Okay, okay... So, I've been slacking in the blog department, what's new?

Right now, I'm still stressed about not being lean enough, but I'm just rolling with it. It's almost over. I'm almost at the finish line, even though I don't think I will present quite the package I had envisioned. That is okay. I'm going to bust my balls and get up on that stage anyways. The stupid scale has worked its way UP once again. I'm broken. I need fixed. In 2.5 weeks I will be able to mend myself back into a calorie burning machine. :) In the mean time, I am really hoping peak week will be magical... I'm gonna need it! LOL!

Noooooowwww, on to something I have a little more control over. What's everyone's favorite tanning process? I'm a little bit stressed about this. My tan will have to be on point! I am too flawed to be flaunting abs and the slightest straitions. I'm gonna need all the help I can get. I have some Pro Tan Overnight Competition Color in my aresenal. Last year, for FAP Bikini, I used Jan Tana. I don't think it liked me. I ended up gross. Liquid Sun Rayz will be there for on site tanning, and I might go that option... What's your tanning process? Do you have any tips? any tips for things NOT to do?

I need help please.

Time flies when you're not having fun...

Now that isn't quite how the saying goes, is it? LOL! This week has not been a good one, so I have been in a less than stellar mood. I have been able to start each day happily, so at least I'm not dwelling on the negatives. My diet has been 100% on point. I will not waiver. Dammit, it's the one thing I have complete control over while prepping for this competition.

So, I'm just going to briefly touch over two of my negative occurrences of the week... then I'll put them behind me. What's done is done. First, my suit arrived... my beautiful, glorious, suit. It is way sparklier than I imagined. The color is so me! It's too big. Way. Too. Big. I contact the designer... no returns, only exchanges, but they don't make the cups any smaller. I will sell it and wear my friend's suit. It's absolutely gorgeous... and a lot nicer than anything I can afford anyways! And, the other prep related woe... The scale is not moving in a favorable direction. I don't know what the deal is, but I'll keep plugging along.

LET'S FOCUS ON THE POSITIVES!!! I have to end this on a happy note.

1) Diet has been spot on
2) Training couldn't be any better. I've never cardio'd harder in my life. :)
3) I have a beautiful suit to wear thanks to a very gracious friend. (XO Thank you so much!)
4) In just a little over three weeks I will be able to cook my little heart out! I haven't missed eating food nearly as much as cooking! How weird am I?

Have a terrific Thursday!

ohmyfrickingoodness

It's April 7th already. Where does the time go?! I'm only one month and two days out. AHHHH! I hope my suit gets here soon! I hope I have time to get lean enough. I hope I have time to get my posing and walk down! I hope, I hope, I hope!!! My nerves have kicked into high gear. My stomach is clenching as I type. *sigh* Time to kick it up a notch, if there is such a thing. Low carb days start today and cardio will go up next week. Tunnel vision.

And We're Back!! (Recap, Progress Pics, and Vacation Slideshow)

Vacation was great! The weather was stormy, but that's okay. We had a fantastic time!!! We spent Saturday and Sunday in Atlanta. We watched the Lakers play the Hawks (unfortunately Kobe did not put on the show we had hoped for, but it was still a fun game!), and we also squeezed in some bar hopping, gym going, restaurant eats (Cheesecake Factory anyone? hehe), and a trip to the museum where they had the Emporer Qin Terra Cotta warriors tour. Amazing. We left for Panama City Beach after the basketball game, arrived shortly after midnight, and became couch potatoes. :) I did make it to Gold's once where a beefy older man told me that I did not lift like a girl and that I did not have arms like a girl. LMAO! I took it as a compliment and giddily thanked him. We only had one good day of beach weather. We spent that early morning lounging on the cold beach. The rest of our vacay was spent shopping, eating, drinking... I did eat well during the day (egg whites, chicken, and veggies), but I enjoyed our dinners out. I was able to stop when or before I was full, so no damage was done! Below are my 5 weeks out pics to prove it! :) Ignore my wide-eyed face in my front pose. I was running off of fumes having only slept 3 hours, and I tried to look more awake... Uh... Mission accomplished. LOL! I look crazy. Oh well. You can click on the pics to make them larger. A slideshow of our trip can be found here!

Happy Monday to all! It's back to the grind.

Wt: 129.0
BF: 17% (Pfffffft)

Let the countdown begin!

3 days before I leave for Atlanta to watch the Lakers play the Hawks.
4 days before I leave for the beach.
6 weeks and 3 days before my first Figure competition.

Where does the time go?!

I am so very excited about our upcoming vacation! Prepping on vacation may not be ideal, but it is what it is! I'll be bringing along tuna, protein powder, and oats... and DVDs (for cardio) and resistance tubing just in case I can't get to a gym. I am a sucker for fresh seafood, so I think the diet will be a breeze. I also bought some Baja Bob's sugar-free margarita mix to tote along. I will make them alcohol-free, of course!! (unless it's a cheat day, then I might sneak in some booze LOL!) I tested it out the other day (sans booze), and it was pretty tasty. You can order it at netrition.com (see bar on right to order>>>)

Diet has been going great! I have noticed some excessive bloating and tummy aches lately. I'm going to take better notes so that I can get to the bottom of it! I have my theories, but they are just theories.

I hear that that the condo does not have free internet! I may go through withdrawals! :)

That's all for now. I don't have much to update. Peace out homies!! XOXO!

Take THAT Scale!!

Hip, hip, HOORAY!


I showed my scale who is BOSS! That's right. I busted past the 130 mark already! This is a sticking point for me. I am feeling good. I am feeling in control! I eat this, do that, drink enough water, and the scale moves. It's that simple! Okay, maybe it isn't always that simple, but I'm rolling with it. I am feeling stress-free and optimistic about it all. This prep, although only in the first week, has been completely opposite of my last attempted prep, and I already weigh less than my 1 week out pics from the Northern Kentucky. Woot!

I just had to share my excitement. Remember that YOU are in control. You can have cravings. You will be tired sometimes. That is okay! We are human, and no one is perfect! Just try to make the best decisions that you can at that moment. If you make a mistake (and we all make mistakes!), try to learn from it, then start fresh! :)

"The big secret in life is there is no secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you're willing to work." - OPRAH WINFREY

I am not a morning person!

Morning cardio and I do NOT get along. We are like oil and water. I woke up before the buttcrack of dawn to do my cardio this morning. It took me an hour of moping around the house to finally get on the treadmill. Five minutes in, and I was mad at the world. This was NOT how I wanted to start my day. So, I have devised a plan!!! Right now I am not required to do any a.m. cardio, so I won't! I do, however, want to get my body used to moving at 5:30 in the morning, so I am going to incorporate a.m. pilates and yoga instead! Extra Bonus: ab work and flexibility -- two things I need major help with! And, maybe when a.m. cardio becomes mandatory I will be more willing to do it!

Sheesh. I suck in the morning. LOL!!

Do you have any morning cardio tips?

P.S. I am another pound down! That's 2.4 since Saturday.

Not that I am weighing myself daily or anything. hehe!

Virgo

Thursday, Mar 5th, 2009 -- You may have to give up your need for clear thinking today, for mental Mercury's alignment with hazy Neptune places a layer of impenetrable mist over your world. Your normally sharp perceptions lack focus now and critical analysis seems out of the question. Contrary to your belief, there's no need to struggle. Let your feelings guide you, even if you don't have the facts to back up your intuitive hunches.

From www.tarot.com

Okay, I admit, I read my horoscope nearly every day. They amuse me. Do I put any stock into what it says? Normally, no, but I think I might need to! They are usually eerily on point. I just had to share!

Krissa, Becca, this is for you two! Here are my pics from earlier in the week, approximately 1.5 weeks out from the initial show date. My friend let me borrow her suit. It is SO gorgeous! I wish the pics were better so that you ladies could see it! :)

Closure

I have been neglecting my blog. I've been thinking too much, questioning things too much, a lot of things have been going on in my wacky wacky brain. I will spare you all the nitty gritty details, but I'm pulling out of the March show and am going to focus on the off-season. This is what I need to do.

I did not drop enough fat. Simply put. Some things just aren't meant to be. Pre-existing plans, my budget, and my unwillingness to travel to compete makes a slightly later show date impossible. I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed, but it is what it is. Bummer.

I'm going to try to concentrate on the silver lining: The first fall show is smaller, closer, and more convenient. There are also shows soon after that are within less than 3 hour driving distance. More importantly, I did get lean enough to see what body parts are really lagging behind. Now I can spend more time working on those. I can do some damage in 3 months worth of building. :-)

Peace, Love, and Chicken Grease.
Genie

BOO-YAH!

Effin A dudes! Effin A! I'm so stoked. I benched 15 pounds more than my bodyweight yesterday -- talk about a great workout session! It wasn't a PR in either weight or reps, but I was surprised to be able to push it out this late in prep on uber-low calories while still recouperating from a cold. It really set the tone for an amazing workout. Sometimes I think it would be so much fun to just eat and eat to see how strong I could get.

At the end of a good round of dieting I always feel like I am starting over. At least this time I haven't lost nearly as much strength as I did when I prepped for Bikini last year. Thank goodness. It was depressing watching the weights plummet.

I spent some time checking out other feds yesterday. I have competed once in FAP Bikini, and now I am going to compete in NPC Figure. I LOVE the style and look of NPC Figure. I love that it doesn't have a T-walk, that it's very regimented... I love the leanness and hardness, the amount of muscle that graces the stage, but in reality I'm not very big, nor am I very muscular. I am also not very familiar with most organizations. Sure, I've heard of them, but I want to learn more about them. For now the plan is to compete in a couple shows this year, and then let my voracious appetite aid me in my muscle building quest during the off season... I guess those are the random tidbits floating around in my head today...

HAPPY HUMP DAY FOLKS! Less than TWO WEEKS to the Arnold! *happy dance*