Laugh With Me

I saw this list below on Recipes for Gals in Figure and Bodybuilding's page on Facebook. If you haven't pressed the "Like" button for this page, you should probably do so when you're done here. Jen's blog "Jen-Fit's Fitness and Recipe Blog" is a great resource as well!

Anyway, check out the list she posted....for those of you who compete, you can definitely relate and have a chuckle or two.....

You know you're a figure competitor when...

1. For a few days each year your toilet seat is brown and this time it aint the husbands fault.
2. You can honestly say you have spent more on a bathing suit than your wedding dress.
3. Six inch clear hooker heels is your footwear of choice in your own home (and not just in the bedroom).
4. Someone asks about the man in your life and you tell that Gym is fine!
5. You have two sections in your wardrobe. Contest and Offseason. And they arent mix and match.
6. Your top three priorities on any given day: A. Workout. B. Eat Clean. C. Check the fitness forum board. Not necessarily in that order.
7. You can name any pro figure competitor by seeing her butt alone.
8. When someone wants to take your picture, you immediately spread your lats, tighten every muscle in your body, point your fingers and SMILE!
9. You take more pills daily than your 80 year old grandmother.
10. Your idea of dressing up is taking your hair out of the pony tail its been in for a week.
11. If you have had someone close to you, hide food from you in your own house.
12. An easy day is lifting and only 1 cardio session.
13. Instead of carrying a Gucci pursue you accessorize with a Coleman cooler.
14. Waking up so sore you can barely move puts a smile on your face.
15. You cant do any work because you are to busy counting down the seconds until your next meal!!!!!!!!!
16. The faint smell of Pro Tan gets your heart pumping faster than your man’s cologne.
17. You leave a little trail of Splenda packets, tupperware, and empty water bottles everywhere you go.
18. Your hubby makes you pee in the guest bathroom because every meal includes asparagus.
19. You consider Beano an essential part of your supplement regimen.
20. Your jaws are sore because you can’t stop chewing sugar free gum!
21. You spend at least 5 minutes grilling your server at a restaurant, and another five minutes re-writing the menu until you’ve got a meal that meets your diet’s specifications…and then you devour it in less than 60 seconds flat!!
22. You consider a day when you only have to make ONE trip to the gym a luxury!
23. You think about having “relaxed hands” and sticking your butt out while standing in line at the grocery store. (Hey, a girl’s gotta practice her posing!!!)
24. You consider condiments and diet coke taboo!!!
25. And…your neighbors start gossiping that you’ve had lipo cause there is no way a girl could get that fit in 12 weeks!

My additions to the list :)
* If you act like a kid at Christmas when your order from bodybuilding.com arrives
* Your daughter asks if the meal you're eating has been pre-approved by your diet coach (true story!!)
* You're not sickened by the idea of going for days without showering or wearing deodorant

What would you add?

Happy Saturday!!

Almost Forgot....

Look what happened yesterday....yep....I finally mailed in my registration form for the show!! And yes, I'm rockin' pink nail polish and Silly Bands cuz that's how I roll :)

I Need Caffeine, Stat!!

I need an espresso!!! I had a TERRIBLE time sleeping last night! For whatever reason, my body didn’t want to shut down so instead of tossing & turning in the bed, I parked myself on the couch and watched shows on my dvr. It’s no longer 92%...woot woot…lol! Really though, it’s a shame that I have so many shows recorded and no time to watch them (Jason Morgan from General Hospital, I promise we’ll be together soon!). While I tried to make myself fall asleep, I thought about this week’s Project Tasteless challenge . I have an idea of what I want to make but it’s going to be a matter of getting it all to come together…we shall see….

Tom tried to kill me yesterday. Ok, I exaggerate but the leg workout he put me through was KILLER! There were a couple of times where I burped and wasn’t sure if it was going to be a burp or I was going to throw up. TMI, I know but have you ever had that??? I forgot my notebook to log my workout so I can’t tell you exact numbers but I definitely know there were weighted lunges, sumo deadlifts, stiff-legged deadlifts, hack squats, leg curls, and leg extensions! Good Lord!!!!!

I received my plan for peak week (can you believe it’s only a few days away?!?!?) and it’s going to be interesting. I sent Tom a text that said, “Got the peak week plan. I’m scared.” His reply (which was typical Tom) was “Be strong! You’ve made it this far!” so that’s what I’m going to do! I’m going to listen to Maino’s “All the Above”, Jamie Foxx’s “Winner”, and DJ Khaled’s “All I Do Is Win” on repeat for the next 9 days just so I don’t lose my focus. Ok…that’s a little extreme…but I’m definitely only listening to songs that make me feel like I can kick in doors like a member of a SWAT team and take names….what songs make you feel this way?

That's What's Up Thursday

When I look at this woman, the word "strength" instantly comes to mind!

Alicia Harris - now that's what's up!!!

Moment of Silence

I would like us all to take a seat and have a moment of silence for the death of my happiness. Orbit Cinnamint gum, Extra Dessert Delights Mint Chocolate Chip gum, and Maranatha Organic No Stir Crunchy Peanut Butter have been cruelly ripped out of my hands. So, let’s just take a moment to mourn the good ol’ days.

Now that we’re done with that, let’s move on to prep updates. I’m doing 2 sessions of fasted cardio each day. It’s not a crazy amount of cardio but tell that to the Tenecia that’s trying to conquer the treadmill at 4:45 am! As far as diet goes, carbs and fats have been decreased. All in all, nothing I can’t handle but it’s still a long road to Show Day!! I’m seeing some changes physically that I’m very happy with and the scale is being kind to me! In fact, the scale was so kind to me this morning, I stepped on & off 4 times just to make sure it was giving me the correct weight!! I’ve been practicing my posing and I’m still have issues with my “relaxed” pose…I just don’t like it…I look like a dork…whatevs…

I thought Monday was going to be a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (one of my fave when I was a kid)! My morning started off with cardio that took FOREVER to end! My Princess and I did our normal Let’s Get Out of the House On Time routine and as we were walking out, I couldn’t find my keys. Now, I’m obsessive about leaving things in its given place (in this case, my keys are always left on the kitchen island) because it makes things run easier in the morning. Well, I can’t find my keys and after searching for them, so I decide to load our stuff into the car and voila, my keys are in the ignition. Not completely strange because I have left them there before but as I get in and turn the key, NADA! The car doesn’t start. Now, here’s where my panicking sets in. “What the hell?!?!” “Why isn’t this starting?!?!” “Damn it! We’re going to be late!!” You get the idea…well….the car doesn’t start because it had been left on since Saturday afternoon (long story – let’s not get into it!). Fast forward to 9:40 am…trust me…it’s better if we just skip ahead…my battery is charged just enough to get the Princess to school and make it back home. I didn’t go into work and while it’s nice to have a day off, it’s even nicer to have a day off WITH a car you can drive to fun places!!!

Since I knew the Princess was a little upset about missing computers since she was late to school, I decided that she and I would bake something sweet to rot her teeth and bring a smile to her face…lol…. I stumbled upon a blog over the weekend entitled Cookies & Cups and I live for every single thing that the author has baked. I decided we would try out the Candy Jar Brownies and it was a success. The proof is in the pics! I may make a pan of these to eat after the show along with a Dos Equis Amber to wash them down.

I leave you with a question....I'm going to have some pictures done next week...it's my first time doing a model/fitness type shoot...let's hope I don't make a complete fool of myself....but the question is, what should I wear? I'm at a loss and would love to hear your suggestions.

Happy Hump Day!!

Guess who was received an honorable mention for their naked cooking this past weekend...HOLLA!

Check out the winner announcement at Project Tasteless Winner and take some time to look at the other ladies who entered including Cindy (my body is BEGGIN' for some of that mac & cheese) and Devon's Rice Krispie treats (candy corn is a nice touch!).

This next challenge will be announced tomorrow so be prepared for some more outta control behavior in my kitchen - should be fun!

New Release Tuesday

I fell in love with P!nk in college when she came out with "There You Go"...she is a badass plus she has the abs long for :)

Definitely adding this song to my cardio playlist!

Creamy Crack, Booze, and Fire Safety!

First of all, Rachel punked me into participating in her Project Tasteless!! Ok, technically she didn't "punk" me but she did encourage the readers of her blog to participate in a 6 week cooking contest. I’m not the best cook but I decided to participate in the contest as a way to have fun and get my black ass back into the kitchen!

This girl loves herself some vodka…ok…I love myself any type of booze…I’m kind of a lush…keep your judgment to yourself! Prepping for a figure competition is a big o’ BLOCKER of my love of vodka and that is not cool! I am also a huge lover (borderline addict) of Precise hair relaxers. I rock a Rihanna inspired ‘do and it is not cute when it is nappy! So…I ran to Sally’s to get my fix…I could feel the burning of my scalp just by pulling the box off the shelf! When I returned from the store, I took off my tank & comfy yoga pants and put my apron on (per the contest rules). Please note the fire trucks, hydrants, and Dalmatians – I’m a firefighter wife and it’s only right that I show my support for fire safety in addition to some side cleavage! Oh…and this apron was evidently made for a woman with size A breasts because I was showing ALL of my girls before I made some modifications to the neck ties! I also put on a pair of turnout boots because what’s sexier than a naked woman rockin’ rubber steel-toed boots in the kitchen..that’s right…nada!

*And before you start talkin' $hit, I did put underwear on before sitting on my clean kitchen counter. Hello, I have home training!!

So, I had to make a decision….Creamy Crack (aka hair relaxer) or vodka…?? I already knew I couldn’t actually have the vodka so I decided to throw on the creamy crack and then figure out what recipe I could use the vodka in. I decided to go with a vodka pasta sauce recipe I had come across some time ago and had apparently saved to a Word document on my computer entitled “Recipes to Try” (umm…yeah…I completely forgot I had even created this document!).

Makes 4 - 6 servings

12 ounces grilled, marinated chicken breast, cut up

2 garlic cloves, minced

14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes and juice

8 ounce can tomato sauce

1/3 cup vodka

½ tsp dried oregano

Morton’s Lite Salt to taste

Parmesan cheese for topping

I eat chicken almost every day and the thought of cooking it today made me want to hurl so I opted to replace the chicken with ground turkey. I’m also not a fan of mincing garlic so I took a shortcut and used 1 tbsp of minced garlic from the jar (shut it, Iron Chefs that are reading this!). I also added 1 green bell pepper (chopped) and black olives (chopped). Oh...and I have no qualms about using Great Value brand products...I'm a girl on a budget...I need to save money for important things....like MAC makeup, Coach purses, and 5" clear heels! ;)

I put the pasta on to cook and sprinted to the shower to wash out the relaxer that was now SIZZLIN’ at 10 on a scale of 1-5. Why, you ask? Because Creamy Crack Code clearly states that you may not wash out your relaxer until the skin on the top of your head is boiling like a Chemistry experiment, that’s why!

With the shells done and off to the side, I browned the ground turkey. In another pan, I sautéed the garlic and added the tomatoes, tomato sauce, bell pepper, black olives, vodka, basil, and oregano. While this simmered for about 10 minutes, I washed the pans I had dirtied and slapped my boo’s hands away from my backside!

After I had my fill of dirty…and I don’t mean dirty dishes, I added the ground turkey to the sauce and let it do its thang for about 5 minutes. Pasta was added to the mixture and el fin (the end!)!

I took out one of our "good" plates and served Tom the meal he is still in shock that I created!

Nails done, hair done, meal done…..I’m fancy, huh? ;)

Hardbody…Long Lost Brothers…Check Ins….

I was reading Hardbody.com and the question was posed about what makes YOU a hardbody. I thought about what my answer would be and this is what I came up with:

Yes,
I’m 30 years old and have the bedtime of a 7 year old.
I eat cold chicken and veggies in the car on the way to work.
I would rather deadlift 185lbs instead of going to a Zumba class.
My digital scale is one of my most prized possessions.
I feel a surge of pride when I move and scream out loud because my muscles are sore.
Love the smell of metal on my hands.
I cancelled my subscription to Cosmopolitan & Shape and replaced them with subscriptions to Muscular Development and Muscle & Fitness Hers.

What about you? What makes you a “hardbody”?

My little brother recently moved to Los Angeles to pursue his dreams. I’m so proud of him for stepping outside of his comfort zone and following his heart BUT, I miss my bro!! He and I have such a great time whenever we get together and it makes me a little sad that I can’t just drive over to his house or call him at the last minute to grab a drink. Jonathan was in town this weekend to attend a friend’s wedding and we decided that he would join us at Apple Annie’s Pumpkin Patch. Well, that plan was scrapped due to the fact that we wouldn’t be able to effectively use Jayde’s wheelchair at different areas of the patch…boo! So, I ran over to my parents house first thing (ok…more like 10:00 am…it felt like first thing…lol) this morning and hung out there for a bit. It was great seeing my brother – he looks great and California is treating him well!

Here is a picture from this morning. We’re still working on the adjustments to the bottom of my suit but I think it will be perfect once it's done! I checked-in with my diet guru this morning. I’m frustrated with the fact that I’m not dropping weight like I feel I should be. I have two weeks until my show and I’m freakin’ out! I feel like there’s a TON of work left to do and not enough time to do it! But, it is what it is.

Stay tuned for a post inspired by a blog that has become one of my new addictions…click the link below for an idea of what my next post will be about…. http://www.rachelwilkerson.com/2010/10/20/food-blog-competition-project-tasteless/

Mom Duty!

Guess who's a proud momma today??? Yeppers - ME!!! Actually, I'm a proud momma every day but today is extra special. Why, you ask? Today was Parent/Teacher Conference at my daughter's school. Of course, conferences are during the work day and I had to ask for time off but let me be honest, sometimes I would rather be in a 4th grade classroom sitting on a mini-chair as oppposed to being in the office :) Luckily for me, my current supervisor understands that being a mom is my number one priority and I will request time off as needed for school-related things.

Anywoo, my daughter is considered "special needs" (umm....hello....what child doesn't have special needs...but that's a topic for another day) and has really been working hard at being independent and walking on her own (she utilizes a wheelchair for long distances). Her teacher, Tom, and I have really been working hard as a team to support her independence and my Princess is coming into her own! Her teacher was very informative about what her strengths are and what skills she needs to improve on. Her report had A's and B's with 0 days tardy and 0 days absent (which I'm most proud of - no staying home & missing school!!).

Today was just a reminder of what's important in my life. Yes, I've enjoyed taking the time this year to improve my body and fulfill a personal goal but being a mom is the most important job I possess. So there you have it....my cheesy grin is for my Princess and her hard work....gotta luv it!!

That's What's Up Thursday

One words - abs!!!!!

Teresa Anthony - now that's what's up!!

Jabbed In The Arm

Guess who received their flu shot today?!?! That's right - me!!! My employer offers flu shots each year as a part of the Employee Wellness program and today was the day to get jabbed in the arm. Of course the shots were being given after I returned from my lunchtime workout (arms and shoulders - woot woot!!) so I'm not sure if the soreness in my arm is due to the workout, shot, or combination of the two!

I'm anxiously waiting for the new copy of Muscle & Fitness Hers to arrive on newsstands....Courtney West is on the cover and I'm not gonna lie....I have a bit of a girl crush on her :)

That's about all the excitement that has taken place today...I'll try to be more interesting tomorrow...lol....

I'm off to watch Modern Family!

New Release Tuesday

This is too cute and I just had to share it!!! Love that Sesame Street is teaching kids (and parents) to love themselves because let's be honest, sometimes we don't! I always wanted straight red hair when I was younger...not the nappy short hair I had...but you know what, now I love my sassy 'do! Not everyone can rock it like I can!! :)

Update....

My anniversary was this past Saturday - Tom and I celebrated 6 years of marriage. We’ve been together for 10 years and we have managed to not claw each other’s eyeballs out :) We celebrated by going to a baptism for our friends’ son, hangin’ out at their house afterward, visiting my in-laws, and then watching the U of A game at a bar near our house. Yep…it was such a romantic anniversary….lol! We actually had a lot of fun and “celebrating” this way is more our style as opposed to dinner by candlight or something along those lines :)

We also celebrated by going to the gym on Sunday and while we didn’t work out together, Tom still managed to be close enough to smack me on the butt while I was doing deadlifts. What can I say? He likes my bootay :) I really enjoyed my workout yesterday – HEAVY back and I finished off with some leg stuff. I’m trying to tighten up my hammies and the jury is still out as to whether or not I’m doing a good job!

My weekly check-in went pretty well, I suppose. I’m dropping small amounts of weight but of course, not enough for me to be satisfied! You know me, NEVER satisfied…lol!! No changes to diet or training at this point but I have a feeling something will be shifting soon even if SOMEONE (aka my diet guru) is keeping quiet!! You will be proud to know that I did cross off some items on my “to do” list! Tom’s tickets have been ordered and so has my tanner and XPel! Also, I made my appointment for my brazilian (Dear Lord, help me!) and brow wax. But I haven’t done the most important thing….registration form!!! Yep…I’m still draggin’ my feet…and I can’t figure out why..????

I have about 20 days or so until my show….oh crap….I think I just threw up a little bit…

F%*k You Friday

I didn’t forget about this Friday’s “f%*k you”!!! There are so many things that I would LOVE to give a super-sized middle finger to this week…yes sir…it’s been one of those weeks…but I think I’m going to focus on something incredibly powerful and positive that took place this week.

The 33 Chilean miners were rescued from the collapsed mine they had been confined to for 69 days!!! I’m definitely not a touchy-feely person but I will be honest when I share with you that watching those men come out of the ground to their families and supporters made me cry. It made me feel good to know that beneath it all, we as human beings still care about one another, still possess compassion, and will join forces to support those in need. It was a clear picture of what humanity could and should strive to be.

So, no “f%*k you” this week just a huge thank you to everyone who helped those men survive their ordeal and return to their families!!

The Moment I Knew

I was reading an article this morning about the moment when people knew they had to quit their jobs. It got me thinking about the moment I knew I had to stop talking about competing and actually do it.

At the end of 2008 I was thinking about my “goals” for the upcoming 2009 year…I’m not a fan of calling them “resolutions” so I call them "goals" It's my personal way of supposedly preventing failure…ha! One of the goals I wrote down was to prepare for and compete in a figure competition. Fast forward to the end of 2009 and I am about 40 pounds heavier than I was at the start of the year (WTF?!?!? Let's not discuss that right now!!) and again I’m talking about goals for the next year. I remember telling Tom that I would be turning 30 in the next year (2010) and I wanted to do something BIG for myself. I start talking about random things I can do…new tattoo….skydive….start dreadlocks….do a figure competition and Tom whips his head so fast in my direction that I’m surprised he didn’t get whiplash! He looked me dead in the eye and said, “You’ve been talking about doing one of those for over a year. Why don’t you stop talking about it and do it?” Umm….did my husband just check me?!?! Yep, I think he did!!! I’m not lying when I say that it was at that moment, I decided 2010 was going to be a year of doing NOT talking!

Fast forward to today and I am a little shy of 3 weeks out from my 2nd figure competition. It feels great to have accomplished something I wasn’t sure I was capable of. Go, Me!

Now if I can just place in the top 5, that would be the icing on the cake…..mmm….cake…

A Mile A Minute...

My brain is a big jumbled mess. I seriously feel like there are 345667233 things going on and my brain is barely processing number 1!!! Let’s start with the fact that I have yet to complete and send in my registration from for the show. Technically I have another couple of weeks before the deadline but the way I have been forgetting things lately, it would be best to not risk it and get the damn thing sent in! Other things I haven’t taken care of are booking the hotel, ordering my tanner, scheduling my waxing appointment, scheduling my haircut and ordering Tom’s tickets. Yep…I’ve been slacking… :)

I started this post with a clear idea of what I wanted to write about and now I can’t remember what I wanted to share with y’all!!!!

Damn diet brain!!

I’ll be back when I can remember….

That's What's Up Thursday

One word - PERFECTION!!!!

Erin Stern, Ms. Olympia 2010 - now that's what's up!

New Release Tuesday

Linkin Park (or LP as some of us so fondly refer to them) has a new cd out. A Thousand Suns is completely different than their other cds and I can truthfully say that I like the direction they're going in!!

The first time I listened to the cd, I was instantly drawn to "When They Come For Me". I kept playing it over and over because there was just something about it that I loved!

Hope you enjoy it!

Miley Cyrus??? What the...?!?!?

When doing my cardio, I often zone out and don't really pay attention to the songs that are playing on my ipod. Today was no different...I was about 40 minutes in when I realized that the song I was listening to really spoke to the way I felt about prep at the given moment. "I can almost see it...this dream I'm dreamin'..." shall I go on??? Yep....the song I was clutching to as my theme song of the moment was "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus. I can't believe I just admitted to having a Miley Cyrus song on my ipod....judge me all you want but I'm owning it! The song is motivating and I like it. That is all I have to say about that...lol :)

Check in went fairly well yesterday...my weight was 0.6 lbs higher than last week but I know it's due to the fact that TOM is here. So, I wasn't freaking out...too much...when I saw the number that popped up. Pictures were done by my fill-in photographer aka my daughter since my hubby was off fighting fires. They're not fantastic and lil blurry but they got the job done. I'm not posting them here but may take some mid-week and share. Diet and training will remain the same...cardio in the morning has increased in time by a small amount. All in all, nothing that I can't handle!

I've been going back and forth about purchasing a new suit for this next show. I would really love to rock an orange or gold suit but let's be honest, I'm a brown-skinned girl...those colors may not work for this particular skin tone :) Anyway, I don't hate my suit from my last show. In fact, I LOVE LOVE LOVE it but it needs some modifications. This is where Superwoman aka my mom comes in. My mom stoned my last suit for me and since she has fantastic sewing skills, I thought she might be able to make the necessary modifications to my suit and that would allow me to spend the money on other competition costs. Picture my mom, hubby, and I in my mom's craft room this afternoon....I'm wearing a tank top and sparkly bikini bottoms....my mom & hubby are pulling at fabric, pinning here, snipping here....and I keep complaining about the fact that my butt is hangin' out....good times! I trust my mom completely and I know it will all work out. If it doesn't, I'll just go to Plan B.

I leave you with a photo of my hubby and I having our own "gun show"...mine aren't bigger than his...but maybe soon ;)

F%*k You Friday

It’s that time of week again! Time for me to say “f%*k you” to something or someone that has WORKED my last nerve this week.

Let’s get this thing rollin’!

This week’s big o’ “F%*K YOU!!!!!” goes out to…..wait for it….wait for it….

ME!!!!

That’s right, folks – I got on my own nerves this week! I have been struggling with feelings of inadequacy, fear, resentment, list goes on and on. Last night while my hubby was working, I texted him that I was pretty sure that I was to ready call it quits. I told him I wasn’t sure I could cut it and that I didn’t want to make a fool out of myself for a second time. I may have also complained about not being able to eat like a normal person…lol…

During this past week, I did A LOT of comparing myself to others. I compared myself to someone I know who is competing in the next few weeks. I compared myself to the girls who were on stage with me at the July show. It seems like I compared myself to every female on planet Earth. And you know what I got from that?? NOT A DAMN THING!!!!

I’m scared – bottom line. Because let’s be honest – putting on a ridiculously small bikini and walking across a stage in front of hundreds of strangers can be a little intimidating. That fear is heightened when you are self-conscious (like I often am) and you feel like you’re the Marshmallow Man compared to the other competitors. So, this week I laid out the welcome mat for fear and it came right in and made itself at home!

Now, I’m not going to lie and say that today all of those feelings magically disappeared but I will say that I’m not a quitter. In times of difficulty, I have always found strength in a poem entitled Invictus by William Ernest Henley. In fact, the word “invictus” is Latin for unconquer, unconquerable, undefeated. I fell in love with this word and I have it tattooed on my right wrist to view each day!

The poem is as follows -

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My Head is bloody but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul.


I also received a nice kick in the butt from my friend Chelsea. Her post today was just what I needed!!! Check it out at http://gititgirlaz.blogspot.com/2010/10/trust-your-inner-wisdom-and-follow-your.html

So there you have it…f%*k you to me and my self-doubt this week…I can’t promise that it won’t happen again….but I can promise that it won’t last very long!

Have a great one!

That's What's Up Thursday

One words - shoulders!!!!

Courtney West - now that's what's up!

Too Many Containers and Not Enough Lids!!!

Did anyone catch the Modern Family season premiere? In this particular episode Claire asked her husband Phil why they had so many containers and not enough lids for them? I busted out laughing because that is me almost every Sunday as I’m prepping my meals for the week.

Tenecia: “Where the hell are all the Ziploc containers?!?!”
Tom: “Did you look in the cupboard?”
Tenecia: “Really?!?! You’re seriously going to ask me that?!?! YES, I looked in the cupboard!”
*walks to cupboard and opens it up*
Tenecia: “Umm..ok…I looked again….I found 4 four containers and only 2 lids. Why do we have containers but no lids?!?!? This is some bullshit!!”
Tom then gives me his “You’re completely ridiculous and a Drama Queen” look and walks away.

There you have it…it’s like the movie Groundhog Day every Sunday….I don’t really look before I start complaining…then when I open my eyes and shut my mouth, containers magically appear yet the lids continue to hide from me! LOL!!

But I would be a liar if I said I could live without my Ziploc containers. In fact, I have next Monday off and guess who was planning on making a special trip to Costco specifically for containers! Actually, that’s not true. I’m going to stock up on a ridiculous amount of salmon and chicken breast...whoop whoop! Now guess what was waiting from me when I came home from work today??? A package of containers with pink lids to support breast cancer awareness month - thumbs up to Ziploc for supporting a great cause and thumbs up to my hubby for hookin' me up :)

New Release Tuesday

Tuesday is typically the day that new music is released so with that in mind, I share with you the video below.

The song isn't technically "new" but this version was "new" to me when a friend introduced it to me. I am in love with Niia's voice - its beauty & richness is effortless.

Enjoy!

Progress Report

Saturday equals check-in day for me so I crawled out of bed this morning, threw on my bikini, and marched outside in my clear heels for progress pictures. Below are my pictures for you to pick apart :)

I'm not disappointed with the pictures this week. In fact, when my husband showed them to me I was pleasantly surprised! That may sound weird but when you look at yourself every day, it's hard to see the changes your body is making. I like the way my legs are leaning out - last show I felt like they were one of the main reasons I didn't place higher. My back is coming in nicely but I would like to see more detail.

So, the plan for the next week remains the same. Fasted cardio each day and weight training at least 3 times throughout the week. Diet will still consist of 6-8 meals of the usual good stuff. It's funny because I don't taste food anymore. Whether I'm in the car, at work, or at home I just shovel it in with no thoughts about taste or lack thereof!

One week closer to the stage. I have a list of things I need to get done before "Show Day" but I don't feel stressed or panicked....yet!!

Enjoy your Saturday! I'm off the movies with my hubby and princess!

F%*k You Friday

I'd like to take a moment to say "f%*k you" to something that pissed me off this week...Sorry, Mom for cursing!

I'm happy that I'm dropping weight...that's the whole point of what I'm doing right...lean out so my muscles are POPPIN' when I step on stage....I get it...

BUT.....I'm not happy about the fact that I've looked down at my girls and there's frickin' space between my boob and my bra. Yep....I'm talkin' about boob shrinkage!! NOT COOL!!!! Can my thighs shrink instead?!?! What the heck?!?!

So there you go, f%*k you to boob shrinkage. You may stop now!

I leave you with a great song by Cee Lo Green that goes along with today's theme (do not watch if you have ears that are sensitive to the word "f%*k"..lol..)