Boobs, Barbells, and Broccoli: Puttin' It Down In My Hometown

Before we continue this walk down memory lane, I wanted to share with you that I made the Siouxcountry banner this week! Head over to the website and check it out!!

I ended Part 1 with Figure Class B lining up and getting read to hit the stage. As I stood there, the last girl in line, I realized that I was towering over most of the girls that were lining up. I had a momentary freak out because I was worried that in the judges eyes, I would look like Gigantor compared to everyone else. I pushed that thought aside and mentally went over the things I knew I needed to do when I walked on the stage.."smile...remember to look at the judges...chest up...spread lats.." The next thing I knew the expediter was walking us onto the stage and directing us to where we should stand.

After my line did our quarter turns and returned to the side of the stage, the head judge began calling the numbers of those in the first callout. As each number was being read I kept thinking to myself, "Please call #39...please...just call #39". The number of competitors slowly rose from 3 to 4 to 5 and after the fifth number was called, I knew that I didn't make first callout. As my heart broke just a little bit, I reminded myself that there was still the AZ Open the following weekend. I was startled when, in the middle of my attempt to uplift myself, I heard "#39 please join the line". I would be a total liar if I said I didn't jump up & down with glee on the inside but I made sure to walk quickly to the front of the stage and smile politely at the judges.

Trying to contain my glee at being in first callouts!

Front pose courtesy of the show's official photographer

After our class was excused by the judges, I went to my spot and put my jacket & pants on so that I could go out to the audience. My parents, my sister, and a couple of my friends were in attendance so I chatted with them for a little bit. I knew Tom would have some feedback to give me so I headed over to where he was sitting and he told me his thoughts about my class and my possible placing. Since I needed to eat and The Princess needed to be picked up from my in-laws, we decided to leave and not finish watching the rest of prejudging. While Tom and I walked to the car, I expressed to him that I was a little disappointed that I remained on the end of the line and was never moved during the comparisons. In his calm and to the point way, he reminded me that I was fortunate to be in first callouts and I should be happy with the package I presented.

Me and my mister <3

My sister, my mom, and I

After having lunch with my sister and parents, we headed to pick up The Princess. She was full of questions and kept saying she couldn't wait to watch me get a trophy at the night show. Once we got home, I took off my suit and rested on the couch. Before I knew it, it was time to get myself and The Princess ready to head out the door. The Princess was excited because this was her first time attending finals and most importantly, she had a new outfit to wear :)

Honestly, I don't remember much about finals. I remember making it a point to put on my ipod and start the book I had checked out from the library. Each competitor is individually introduced during finals so I knew it would be a bit of wait before it was my turn to hit the stage. I did meet WBFF Pro Karen Mullarkey backstage! She was sitting on the floor next to me and it took me a good 10-15 minutes before I realized who she was. She had two girls who were competing in bikini so all of us sat on the floor, chatted, laughed, and just enjoyed each other's company.

After individual presentations, the audience is given a brief intermission. During this time, the expediters post the top 5 for each class. As the sheets were being taped to the wall, I literally sat in the corner trying not to get ill. No matter what I may have told people beforehand, I was going to be extremely disappointed if I did not place in the top 5.

Once the stampede to the postings died down, I slowly walked over to the Figure Class B sheet with my eyes half-open. When I finally got the courage to open them, this is what I saw.

I spy with my little eye... :)

Yeeeaaahhhh buuudddyyy!!!! My names was highlighted!!! I sent a text to Tom, who was awaiting the verdict out in the audience, that said "Top 5, baby!". The expediter began yelling for the top 5 of each class to get ready to go back out on stage. I quickly touched up my lipstick and headed up the stairs to the stage.

Since I previously shared the video of trophy presentations in my Look What I Have post, I won't go into a ridiculous amount of detail about this portion of the show. I will just say that when they called my name, my heart dropped a teeny tiny bit at not doing better than I had done at last year's show but I didn't think about it too much. My friends and family were cheering for me and I was happy & relieved!

I think the look on my face is ridiculous...and priceless..lol

NPC Terminator, Figure Class B, Top 5

After the trophy presentations, I gathered my stuff and headed out the audience. The Princess gave me a huge hug and then instantly grabbed for my trophy...lol! I think that girl loves trophies more than I do ;) My baby brother was at the show and being his normal, smartass self asked me, "5th? I came to watch you get 5th??" My mother, father, and sister-in-law were in attendance and they are such a crazy group! Molly, one of the engineers (meaning she drives the fire engine) at Tommy's station was sweet enough to come to the show as well.

Tom and I decided to wait until the show was completely over so we could speak the judges and get feedback. We wanted to know what could I work on in the next week that might help me improve for the AZ Open. One of the judges was at last year's NPC Terminator and at that time gave me some really great feedback. I decided to speak with him again and the conversation was, once again, very beneficial.

With feedback fresh in our minds and a 5th place trophy in my hand, it was time to head home for a tiny cheat meal, shower, and sleep! My brother decided to come over to our house and we ate, drank a little, and had a really good time. I really miss being able to do that with him since he's livin' it up in Los Angeles!

"I'm Proud of You, Mom" kisses from The Princess

My parents left roses at my house! Yes, they have a key to my house :)

The card from my mom & dad

Isn't my brother so handsome??!

We all decided to call it a night around 1:00 am. As I crawled into bed, I vowed to work as hard as I could in the following week to do better, look better, be better. It was officially Sunday, July 15th and peak week #2 was beginning!!