Hiding in the bathroom!! "I don't wanna go back out there!!"
Yep...that's how I've been feeling the last couple of days....work is a little rougher this week than it was last and I can't seem to figure out what it is. I felt slightly weepy yesterday and tried to call Tom so I could whine to him. Luckily (for him...lol) he didn't answer his phone and I just took a few moments to "get myself together" on the breakroom patio. I'm going to write off my uneasiness/gloominess/wackadoody (The Princess & I made up that word) behavior to a combo of exhaustion and hormones (damn you, monthly visitor!).
On the workout front, everything is going well!! I had my first date with the StairMill on Monday and holy crap, that thing is a BEAST!!!! My old gym didn't have any StairMills so I was able to avoid the torture pleasure of this particular machine :) But now that I'm going to a new gym that does have them, I can't avoid it! Tuesday, I did a fairly decent upper body workout during my lunch hour. It consisted of lateral raises, push presses, lat pulldowns, barbell bent-over rows, and barbell bicep curls. I hit the StairMill for a beating again yesterday and I left the gym with wobbly legs & clothes that were DRENCHED! I think the score is StairMill - 2 and Tenecia - 0!! It was pretty cool to see a poster for the show hanging on the wall as I walked out...I really hope people in Tucson come out to the show....it's the only way the promoter will come back.
I didn't share any new music on Tuesday because truthfully, I haven't heard anything recently that has made my ears happy. However, I'm still in L-O-V-E with Adele's latest cd (if you haven't purchased it, I have no clue what you're waiting for!) so I thought I would share one of my favorite songs from it....
I'll be back later with today's "That's What's Up"....
That's right, folks!! I'm a survivor!!! I made it through my first week at my new job!!! I wasn't voted off of the island!!! Whew!!!! :)
Week One was filled with lots of learning, many "I'm not sure - I'm the newbie so let me find out" responses, hours of shadowing, an abundance of laughter & smiles, and a few occasions of being thrown into the fire! But at no point in the week was there any self-doubt, second guessing the decision I made, or fear!!!
My new home away from home!
I'm a public librarian at the Joel D. Valdez Main Library....and I'm finally home! :) Oh....and can I just say that it's frickin' AWESOME when one of your "homework assignments" is to take home a Nook and try it out! I'm currently reading Serena Williams' memoir entitled On The Line and it's an interesting read so far!!!
Enough about work....let's move onto prep!
Yesterday marked 3 weeks out!! Last Saturday, I signed up at the Gold's Gym that is thisclose to the library so I was able to hit that up this week during my lunch hour. It was strange working out at a new gym but once I put my headphones on & started my workout, it was no big deal!
I'm holding some water and am a little squishy due to TOM getting ready to show up but I feel like there was a small amount of progress made from last week to this week. The plan as of right now is to keep cardio/workouts/diet the same for this next week.
Why do I look like I'm in pain?!?!?
There's a wig shop that is also thisclose to the library so I walked there Friday during lunch and found this new wig. I feel like it's a bit more low-key than the last one I wore and it feels more like me. What do you guys think?
Tom and I are tossing around the idea of changing my August show to the Pacific USA show in Anaheim, CA versus the New Mexico show we were previously planning on. No firm decision yet but I'll keep you updated!
I leave you with something I shared on facebook a few weeks ago...I love it...even if it's a bit cocky :)
Ok ya'll....my life has been CRAZY the last two weeks! I was training my replacement and wrapping up "stuff" at my old job while trying to prepare (read up on policies, procedures, strategic plans, etc) for my new job. My sleep was terrible, stress levels at 200 on a scale of 1 to 10, meals were missed, and workouts fell to the bottom of the priority list.
My new desk...it needs some love :)
Whew! Thank God that's over!! Today was the first day of my gig as a public librarian and it was, in a word, FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!!!! It was busy, busy, busy with little time to do anything other than learn, learn, and learn some more!
I wasn't sure what the food storage situation would be or how accessible water would be - at my old office, there was a small room where the refrigerator & bottled water was kept - so I had to change things up a bit! I downsized my lunch bag, put all of my food in Ziploc bags, and bought a gallon of water. Eating on schedule and making sure to drink all of my water will be a challenge but I'm sure once I get settled in, I'll be able to figure out a system for all of that.
Saturday marked 4 weeks out - I need my back to get it together!! I feel like it's the part of my physique that's not quite there yet.
I'm pleased with the way my legs are coming in and the number on the scale is getting smaller & smaller (holla!).
I'm so excited about the changes that are going on in my life right now but worry & fear have crept into my mind from time to time....this is why the picture below is perfect....perfect motivation for what's ahead!!
Happy Father's Day to my hubby Tom who gave me two of the greatest gifts in the world! Thank you for loving Jayde, our angel Junior, and I unconditionally. Thank you for being our comic relief, movie date, swim partner, chef, Santa Claus, and DJ :)
I also want to say "Happy Father's Day" to my Papa John! He always said he would be the #1 Man in my life and it's true, he is!
I can't leave out my father-in-law Jack who always has a hug and a shot of whiskey waiting for me :) He's a great storyteller who is willing to give you the shirt off of his back if you needed it!
Last week, some of the BoBettes got together for a online chat. The conversation touched on a variety of topics including what type of criers we are (or aren't, in my case...lol), what ridiculous behavior was taking place on The Bachelorette, my upcoming nuptials with Phil Heath in Vegas during Olympia weekend....you know...important stuff! At some point, we began taking about the type of training each of us is doing and why. Donloree said something that hit me like a lightning bolt - she said, "I'm not training for a show. I'm training for life".
Training for life.
Think about it, folks. ALL of us, in some way, are training. Not for a figure competition, marathon, or some other event. We are training for life, plain and simple.
It's about being the healthiest version of ourselves we can be. It's about taking steps, even if they are baby steps, to change our lifestyles. It's about going after what we want and not waiting for what we desire to magically appear in our laps. It's about letting go of our fear and taking a chance.
Now that you know that you're in training, what type of results do you want to achieve and are you willing to put in the work that's necessary to achieve those results?
I am being dead serious when I say that I think I'm in love with Lupe Fiasco! He's so smooth....lyrics outta this world....beats that make you shake your body without even realizing it.
Yep....my heart & ears belong to Lupe.... #justcallmealaser
Add this one to your music library - you can thank me later :)
Today is Tom’s birthday! He is the ripe old age of 29 :) He and I met exactly 11 years ago today!! Who knew when I met that shy, blonde haired blue eyed, muscular hottie that day that he would become my boo (picture me singing that like Usher & Alicia Keys did…lol!), the father of my children, my trainer, master griller of my chicken, my own personal Katt Williams, my partner-in-crime!
Happy Birthday, Thomas Jack! I love you!
And The Princess wanted me to tell you that she loves you…more than Wolverine :)
I hope you had an enjoyable weekend! I did!! The Princess and I spent Saturday in our jammies watching movies like The Rocketeer and Space Chimps. On Sunday, Tom went target shooting with his parents so it's was Girls' Day Out! The Princess and I went to breakfast and then took a drive to La Encantada. MAC was our destination and there was money to be spent! I'm a MAC whore and I'm not afraid to admit it! I had an appointment with an artist to figure out my "face" for my next show. The artist I worked with was INCREDIBLE! It's always fun learning about applying makeup, not only for show day but every day! I'll do a post later in the week about the look I'm going to do and the MAC products I will be using. But let me just say that any look that incorporates a product with the name "Fetish" is fine by me :)
Check-in on Saturday went well for one reason.....The Boss was out of town and couldn't respond to my email & pictures! I told myself that silence equals The Boss thinking "you look so incredible that no changes are necessary!" Hey, a girl can dream can't she?? :)
Here's what I looked like on Saturday - a little bloated from TOM but I can definitely see changes from the week before.
There are diet changes and my am cardio has been increased (this makes me hateful of those competitors...you know who you are...that don't have to do any cardio...that's some bullsh!t...lol). But guess who gets to see the inside of a gym more than once a week?!?!? That's right....ME!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited and I'm sure Tom will have some awesome workouts for me to do!
I want to send a HHHUUUGGGEEE "Congratulations" to Kellie of Mother Fitness. She competed this past weekend in the INBA America's Natural Bodybuilding show in Tempe, AZ. Kellie won not only first place in Figure Open but Overall as well!!!
I would like to end this post with the video below. This speech is beyond powerful. The portion of the speech that resonated with me is:
Defeat, retreat those are not in my words
I do not understand those definitions
I do not understand when things go wrong
I do not understand mistakes but I do understand this
I understand victory and I understand never surrendering
No matter how bad things go
My Heart and my mind will carry my body when my limbs are too weak
Now picture me yelling, "I am a champion!" - that's the theme for this week - let's get it!!!
