How It All Went Down - Part 1

For some reason I have struggled with writing this recap post. I wonder if it's because I have so much to say about this particular show or I had some sort of block.

I apologize in advance if this post is jumpy or doesn't quite "flow" - bear with me!

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This particular show was not originally on my 2013 competition schedule. As I briefly talked in my "This Might Be A Good Time" post, the team decided I should do this show so I could attempt to re-qualify nationally for the 2014 competition season. Since the decision to compete was a "last minute" decision, Tom was not going to be able to travel with me to Mesa and attend the show. There was a birthday camping trip that he and The Princess had planned that happened to be the same weekend as the show. He and I both knew this camping trip was more important than the show :)

This was the first time I would be traveling to a show by myself! I know many competitors do shows on their own but up to this point I had done 9 shows and Tom had been at each and every one. I was nervous but excited. This wasn't going to be a big deal. I would drive up to Mesa on Thursday, camp out in my room until prejudging Friday night, do the same thing Saturday, and then head home on Sunday.

Making Pro Tan footprints after round 2 of tanning :)

Peak week flew by really. I worked Monday & Tuesday and Wednesday was spent watching my cutie patootie nephew. Our living room was a disaster area! Between all of the stuff for the camping trip and all the things I was packing got my trip, the room looked like chaos!

What didn't look like chaos was my physique. I had made it a priority to trust the process this time around and not stress about the things I couldn't control. I gave myself a specific bedtime and I stuck to it!

Positive messages from The Boss :)

My favorite line from As A Man Thinketh by James Allen

During my cardio sessions I read "Creative Visualization" or "As A Man Thinketh". In other words, I worked really hard at drawing in the positive and pushing out the negative!

Thursday arrived and before I knew it, Tom and The Princess were driving off and I was finishing up a few last minute chores and double-checking my bags. There were two stops I had to make before leaving Tucson - I needed to hit up Target for a yoga mat and bands for backstage (see my "Pack It In" post for a list of what other things I take backstage with me) and I needed to get my eyebrows threaded. Once those things were taken care of, it was time to hit the road!

I headed straight to athlete check-ins (after being stuck in traffic for what felt like hours due to two different accidents) which was being held at a local gym. I pulled into the parking lot , walked inside, saw the line and all of the competitors waiting to check in, and all positivity went right out of the window! I texted The Boss a frantic message about looking like a bag of rocks compared to some of the women I was seeing and she reassured me that I was acting like a complete jackass :)

Due to the large number of competitors, it took awhile to get checked in but while I was waiting I finally meet Jessica! She and I connected through Instagram, then began emailing each other, then texting! This show was going to be her first figure competition after competing in bikini last November. She introduced me to her friend Liz and we chatted for a few minutes before agreeing to keep an eye out for each other at the next day's athlete's meeting.

My home for the next few days

My hotel was about a 35 minute drive from the gym and it was close to meal time. I ate my last meal in the car and tried not to freak out about all the beautiful bodies I had just seen. Once I was checked into my room and had dragged all my stuff from the car upstairs to my room, it was time to send pics to The Boss. My hotel room did not have the best lighting so I resorted to standing on the toilet seat and taking pictures of the bathroom mirror :) I changed into my jammies and called it a night.

The view from my room on the 9th floor!

Friday morning I woke up feeling less overwhelmed and I decided that I was going to be as still as possible. I kept the curtains closed, only got out of bed for meal time and potty breaks, and alternated between napping & watching television. Before I knew it, it was 3:30 and time to start putting my face on.

I sent one last picture off to The Boss and headed over to the venue. The expediters and show promoter talked for a bit and then we were being called up by our divisions and height classes. It turned out that they had to do some shifting of classes based on who was competing so instead of competing in Class E, I would be competing in Class D. With the modifications made, Jessica & Liz ended up being in my class as well!

One of the few backstage pictures I uploaded to my Facebook page

Figure Class D

I stuck with my routine and found a small corner to put down my mat and put up my feet. Figure was close to the beginning of the show so I knew I didn't have long to wait before going onstage.

While waiting to go on, I met another competitor that I had connected with on Instagram. (Hi Kristel!) It was her first competition and we chatted about various things like when to glue yourself into your suit, when to glaze, when to pump up, etc. Before I knew it, Teen Figure was being called and that was my cue to start pumping up and put the last finishing touches on my face.

As Class D lined up, I grew more and more nervous. I was antsy and couldn't keep still. Luckily I had brought my bands downstairs with me so I continued to pump up (I wanted to keep my shoulders full) in addition to doing push ups against the wall. As we lined up behind the curtain, I was struck with overwhelming nausea. I told Jessica that I thought I was going to throw up! She chuckled and told me that I was an old pro so I shouldn't feel nervous. I was crouching down, praying that I wouldn't throw up when it was time for us to walk out. As I straightened up I told myself "It's time to do the damn thang!". The second I walked past the curtain, my nervousness went away and a smile came across my face.

Michael Simon Photography

Our class consisted of 15 competitors so we were put into 2 lines. As the first line of competitors "presented" themselves to the judges, I along with the remaining competitors stood off to the side of the stage. I have read on various forums that even if you are not standing directly in front of the judges, pose as if you were. I made sure to stand up straight (Tom always scolds me for slouching), pose like my life depended on it, and smiled until my face hurt.

Michael Simon Photography

It was our turn to pose in front of the judges and the head judge ran us through our quarter turns. I remember thinking "chest up - no slouching!" and when we did our back poses "wide! pose wide!!" and "feet together! pop that booty!"

The head judge thanked us and told us to go back to our spots. I started to walk back to the side of the stage when I heard the head judge say "We would like to see..." I wasn't quite to my original spot when I heard "Number 64". I remember saying "oh...ok!" out loud (lol!) and I walked to the line I had just left. The position I was standing in,  facing the judges, was second from the right or what is usually assumed to be 4th place. I was happy about where I was standing as we went through out quarter turns. If I could stay in this spot and not get moved to my right, I might be in the top 5.

Michael Simon Photography

The head judge then asked "number..." and "number 64" to change places. I thought "64? That's me!" and I moved to my left.

Michael Simon Photography

Now I don't remember how many girls were to my left or to my right. I just remember being excited about being moved to the left because that had never happened before. We went through our quarter turns, girls were moved but I remained in the same spot, and we did our quarter turns again.

Michael Simon Photography

As we hit our back pose, we waited to hear "quarter right to the right" and it didn't happen so we posed and posed. After what felt like 20 minutes, we heard the magic words and we continued on with the turns.

Michael Simon Photography

When we faced the front, we were asked to hit our modified pose and there we stood for at least a minute or two. The the head judge thanked us and second callouts began. As second callouts were taking place, I remember being excited about the possibility of making top 5 while at the same time feeling sadness that Tom wasn't in the audience.

After the judges thanked our class and excused us from the stage, I walked back upstairs to check on Kristel. After getting her into her suit and glazed up, I realized I had hit a wall. I gathered my things, found my car, and was on a mission for a burger (minus the bun) or a carne asada burrito!

I sat in my car texting The Boss and The Boss #2 about making first callouts. I found a burrito shop and then made my way back to the hotel. I attempted to wash off my drag queen makeup, put on my jammies, and checked my phone. I had a message from Crissy my sister-in-law and it was a cute picture of The Princess sitting by the campfire eating a hot dog. I sent a picture of me taking a bite of my burrito to her and then sat in silence.

I was a mixed bag of emotions. I was happy that I had possibly placed in the top 5. I was sad that my family was having fun elsewhere without me. I was scared that maybe I hadn't done as well as I thought. How was I ever going to get to sleep?

I've babbled long enough so I will stop here. I promise to finish the in part 2...before 2014 :)

I Haven't Forgotten...

I haven't forgotten about sharing a recap of my most recent competition! I'm waiting to get some of my pictures from the show's photographer so I can share those with you in the recap. Hopefully that will happen in the next couple of days!

In the mean time, I would like to share two of my favorite blog posts this week:

NOT Keepin’ Up With The Joneses from Dani at Weight Off My Shoulders

S’mores Krispie Treats from Melissa at Treats with a Twist

*I already informed my mother that she has to make these for me!*

New Release Tuesday: Show Edition

I love music and I always make sure

to bring my ipod with me when I compete.

Backstage at shows is a lot of hurry up & wait and

so I have gotten into the practice of laying on my yoga ma,

putting on my headphones, and letting the music take me away.

This last show I had mixed emotions about how I would do

and so I decided that I would make a playlist of

my favorite "You're a badass" songs! 

These are some of my favorite songs to workout to, 

dance on the treadmill to,

and most recently, 

get into the right mindset for 

that moment when I step out on stage.

This isn't the whole playlist but I hope you enjoy it!

Maino - All the Above

Jamie Foxx featuring Justin Timberlake - Winner

Busta Rhymes featuring Linkin Park - We Made It 

DJ Khaled - All I Do Is Win

Jessie J - Domino

Miley Cyrus - The Climb  *don't judge me for this one!*

Gym Class Heroes - The Fighter

The Script - Hall of Fame

David  Guetta -  Play Hard

Becky G featuring Will.I.Am. - Problem

Havana Brown - We Run the Night

Fort Minor - Remember the Name

Ellie Goulding - Anything Can Happen

New Release Tuesday

As Genie would say "Gahhhh!!!" :)

I love P!nk...y'all know that...her music could be the

soundtrack of my life...not kidding!

This song makes me laugh because I'm pretty

sure I've said some of the same exact things...

see...soundtrack of my life...lol...

Enjoy!

P!nk - Storytellers - P!nk - P!nk News - P!nk Music Videos - P!nk Storytellers Tune-in November 13th at 11pm

Drum Roll Please....

*click the picture to enlarge*

AHHHH!!!!!!!!

That's me!!! 1st place!!!

I did it, you guys! I finally won my class and I am over the moon!

*as you can tell by all of the exclamation points!!!!!!*

I am filled with so much emotion right now that I can't even think straight.

Three long years. 

Three years filled with sacrifice, training, 

doubt, uncertainty,

tears, highs, lows, and more.

Three years ago I stepped on stage at the NPC AZ Open 

for the first time and I placed last.

I stepped on that same stage last year and placed 5th.

It felt like redemption and I was proud of myself.

I stepped on the same stage again last weekend 

and Saturday I walked away with the win. 

I guess the saying below is true.....who knew?? :)

This Might Be A Good Time...

Hey all! I thought this might be a good time to share with you (if you don't follow me on Instagram or Facebook and already know this tidbit of information) that I am currently SEVEN days out from my next show!! I know....crazy, right?!?

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After Junior Nationals, I realized how much I really wanted to step on the national stage again. I was already formulating a plan of action for 2014 when I realized, there was something I had to do first. I had to get re-qualified! I am nationally qualified, and only for certain national shows based on my placings from last year, until the end of this calendar year. So, another local show has to be done! Based on the feedback I received from Junior Nationals, the changes I need to make will require time and me not "dieting" as strictly. We looked at different shows, the dates, locations, schedules, blah, blah, blah and decided it would probably be best for me to continue prepping and hit up the AZ Open show on July 19-20.

2012 AZ Open, 5th place

The 2010 AZ Open was my first show and if you recall, I did not do so well (ok...if you want to get technical...I placed dead last!). However, I redeemed myself last year at the same show by placing 5th in my class. The goal for this year's show is to place in the top 3 of my class. By doing so, I will again receive my national qualification which will be good until the end of 2014. Placing third or better will also give me a larger selection of national shows to choose from next year.

4th of July workout - not sure why I look so angry! :)

The last two pictures are from this morning. Sorry for the crappy bathroom shots but I did want to share a couple of "progress" pictures. I'm happy with the way things are coming along and am hopeful, that if I stay the course, I will do well next weekend.

Seven days.... #letsdothedamnthang

Black & Yellow's Excellent Adventure Parte Uno

Are you ready for a recap?!!? I know....I know...you're saying to yourself "it's about damn time!" (yes, Mom I'm talking to you..except I know you didn't curse...lol!)

The start of peak week went rather smoothly. I am the Queen of Lists so I had started lists of what I needed to pack, what needed to go in my show bag, what needed to go in Genie's gift bag, what The Princess needed for her stay at Nana's house, and a schedule of tasks. All of the the lists help me when I have cloudy diet brain and can't remember what needs to be done! Before I knew it, it was Wednesday and time to drop The Princess off at my mom's. Our flight left at 7:00 am on Thursday so we my mom decided that it would be best for her to spend the night Wednesday night. Despite all of the lists, I still felt extremely disorganized! I kept remembering things that needed to be done like running the dishwasher, setting out the garbage cans, and cleaning the bathroom (yes, I'm one of those weird people who cleans their house before they go on vacation because I don't want to come back to a dirty house!). I finally finished packing and climbed into bed around 3:00 am. Before I knew it, it was 5:15 am and the alarm was beeping.

My trusty cooler!
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Tom's mom drove us to the airport and we quickly checked our bags. Can I just say how much I love Southwest Airlines for allowing you to check in 24 hours before your flight and not charging you to check luggage?!? I was nervous about going through security with my cooler/backpack but I had gotten some really great advice from different competitors about what type of bag to use and how to pack my food.

Waiting to board the plane

We made it through security with no issues and parked ourselves at the gate. It was time to eat so I pulled out my first meal of chicken & asparagus while it seemed like everyone else enjoyed coffee, bagels, and breakfast burritos. Tom wasn't feeling so well but he was a champ. He took the large ziploc bags I had brought with me and had one of the airport bars fill them with ice so I could get my meals frozen. (this was one of the great travel tips I received from Kari over at Figure Girl World!)

Tom & I had talked about where we wanted to sit on the plane and since I knew I might have to make multiple trips to the bathroom, we chose the second to the last row on the plane. We both made ourselves comfortable and went to sleep. I felt a little funny having to get up every 3 minutes (ok, that's an exaggeration) to use the restroom but a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do. I often joke that I know that it's peak week by the fact that I will use a public restroom without giving it a second thought. Any other time, I will hold it and hold it if I have to! I'm pretty sure the flight crew thought there was something wrong with me given the number of times I was in that teeny tiny bathroom :)

Almost there! And tell me the look on the guy's face next to Tommy isn't hilarious!

As I took this picture I said (out loud!) "Chicago....I am in you!" :)

The flight took just over three hours and before I knew it, we had picked up our luggage and were walking to pick up location for the shuttle we booked. I was so shocked at all of the green things I saw...trees with green leaves....grass....we don't have any of that kind of stuff in the desert :) Tom commented on how flat it was - we're used to looking out of the window and seeing mountains all around us.

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The drive to our hotel (Springhill Suites O'Hare) took less time than Google Maps had calculated so we arrived at the hotel before the check in time. Luckily the staff were really accommodating and they let us check in early with no hassle.

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This hotel was top notch! The staff were so nice and answered all of our ridiculous tourist questions. There was a free breakfast each morning that was incredible - I'm not talking about nasty orange juice and mini bagels, folks! Anyway, we got settled into the room and then the waiting game began. When the heck was Genie gonna get here?!?!

Yes, I actually wore this in public as I waited for Genie to arrive :)

She was texting me updates about her progress (or lack thereof!) and I anxiously waited! Three years this woman has been taking care of me, coaching me, supporting me, you name it and I was finally going to meet her in person. Tom kept teasing me because I was glued to my phone and fidgeting as I kept an eye out for a white Prius. Then I heard Tom say, "Is that her?". I looked up and guess what?!?! Genie was here!!!! In front of the hotel!!! She was H-E-R-E!!!! I think I might have squealed and yelled out loud "She's here!". Tom told me to calm down but it was too late - I was already on my feet and running out the front doors to meet here. I walked right up to her and hugged the life out of her.....and then tears started....yes....I cried...don't believe me...watch....

There was no way you could wipe those smiles off our faces!

Tom was included in the hugging - he didn't cry ;) but it was so awesome for the three of us to be in the same space. Genie parked her car, we grabbed her stuff, and headed up to our room. I was a little worried that it would be awkward between us. We've only communicated via telephone calls, text messages, and instant messaging so face to face would be new for us. Guess what? From the second we laid eyes on each other we were talking, laughing, teasing one another, and laughing some more!

The note The Princess wrote for Genie and the black & yellow blanket my mom made for her

Love her!!!

Before heading into check-ins!

My arm candy & I ;)

Once Genie got settled in, we started to get ready for athlete check-ins which were being held at the host hotel/show venue. My friend Jenny (who is also from AZ) was also competing and since she was staying at the host hotel, said she would meet up with us. Check-ins went quickly and I tried not to focus too much on the other competitors that I saw (in the past I've talked about how I have a tendency to psych myself out once I see other competitors).

Jenny! I met her at my first show and my "The Tan Rule" post was inspired by her!

Yep...competitors...and dorks :)

It was nice having friends that have competed at the national level because they were able to "guide" me through each step of the process. Once we checked in and had a chance to chat with Jenny, we headed back to the hotel to eat and rest.

I'm going to stop here because I still have a TON of things to share with you and I don't want to make your eyes bleed! :)

I'll leave you with a few more pictures from Thursday in Chicago!

She looks so sweet & innocent ;)