New Release Tuesday

I have shared Fantasia's music on my blog before. I loved her last cd - one of my favorite songs was Man of the House!

There are singers that when they aren't making music, you miss them and you feel their absence (Lauryn Hill is one of those singers for me). I missed Fantasia and am soooooo happy she is back...and back with a vengeance!

Movin' in Slow Mo'

Welcome to another week of Black and Yellow's Excellent Adventure! We are now 7 weeks away from taking Chicago by storm! Can you believe it?!?!? 7 WEEKS!!!!

My "Oh hell naw" face

At my 8 week check in, The Boss made some changes to my diet and cardio schedule. While no competitor loves to add more cardio to the rotation, the amount of cardio I have been doing is relatively minimal so I didn't freak out about having to do more. What I did freak out about was the removal of green olives from my daily food selection! Now, my current diet doesn't really make me do my happy wiggle but there were pieces of my meals that helped me keep my diet sanity (see my Out of Whack Tastebuds post). Green olives were one of those pieces. I anticipated that I would have to say goodbye to them at some point but I thought it wasn't going to happen for another 2, possibly three weeks. With that said, The Boss did send a follow-up email saying I could have ONE serving of green olives and I almost wept like a baby ;)

One of the things I find myself over-thinking is posing. I feel relatively confident in most of my poses but my relaxed or "model" poses cause me to have a bit of heartburn. I am currently leaning toward a bent leg pose (see the 7 weeks pic above) but I have done the straight leg pose (see the 9 weeks pose above) in past shows. Hopefully, I'll pick one soon and practice it until it feels perfect!

My stress levels have decreased over the past couple of weeks and I have been sleeping a lot better. These are things I know affect me physically so I am happy to have them "under control" :) I, by no means, feel ready to step on stage but I feel like I'm moving in slow motion towards the finish line. I would rather be moving in slow motion than not at all!

photo credit

Before I go, I would like to wish a "Happy Peak Week" to Melissa, Kari, and any other ladies who will be stepping on stage next weekend! Wishing you ladies the best of luck!

Out of Whack Tastebuds

Y'all, something is going on with my tastebuds! I know it's probably because of prep but things that I would have enjoyed eating in the past taste like poo now!

Tilapia. Can't do it. Can't cook it. Can't eat it. Can't even look at it in the grocery store. While it was never one of my favorite lean protein sources, I could tolerate it but that is no longer the case!!

photo credit

Blue Diamond Wasabi & Soy Sauce almonds used to rock my world. Tom would buy a large bag of them and I would inhale the entire bag before the end of the day. Picture me sitting on the couch licking the wasabi & soy sauce dust off my fingers while exclaiming "this is bomb ass diiiiggggggiiiiitttttyyyyy!!!". It's not a pretty sight, I know, but it happened many times! I tried to eat some of these almonds last weekend and guess what? I was not a fan of the taste! Say what!??! Yep, I ate 3 of them and decided I was not feelin' it. What the frack, tastebuds???

Since my tastebuds have been doing their own thing lately, I've had to get creative with my meals. I know that one of the big reasons I "cheat" on my diet is because of boredom. When I become bored with the selection, flavors, seasonings, etc that's when I start adding extra green olives to my salads or nibble on tortillas! :)

The Boss recommended that I take Metamucil to help me stay regular and after my first time drinking it, I knew I was going to have to find another way to consume my daily serving that did not consist of adding the powder to water. With this in mind, my "Power Slushie" was born!!!

I know it doesn't look like much in the above picture but it makes me do my happy wiggle. This slushie helps me satisfy my sweet tooth, keeps me regular, helps support my muscle recovery, and also helps me maintain my muscle mass. Now you see why I call it my "power slushie"?!?!

I place 1 scoop of GAT's Muscle Martini, 1 scoop of Dymatize's glutamine (micronized), 1 tablespoon of sugar free fiber therapy (or Metamucil if you buy the "full price" option...lol), ice, and 1/2 cup of water into my Vitamix. I then blend while eyeballing the consistency which is usually 30-45 seconds and that's it!

So, this is one of the prep-approved drink options that is making my world that much more bearable. But talk to me about it in a month and we'll see if I still feel the same way ;)

New Release Tuesday

I have never been a huge Fall Out Boy fan. That's not to say I didn't enjoy some of their songs but I wasn't buying tickets to their shows or anticipating the release of new music from them.

I heard this song on the radio over the weekend and I just can't get it out of my head. I like this song so much, I'm going to purchase it and put it on my workout playlist - trust me - that's a big deal :)

Take a listen and let me know what you think!

Embracing Our Beauty

I posted this on my facebook page a couple of days ago but wanted to take a moment to share it here (if you haven't seen it yet).

I will be the first to admit that I am S-U-P-E-R critical of myself, especially my looks. I would never describe myself as "beautiful", "pretty", "attractive", or any such word. I would be a liar if I said that I didn't have difficulty accepting compliments when they are about my appearance (not that I'm saying it happens often...but when it does...). Now if you give me a compliment about being witty, intelligent, or a great mom - I will totally take it!! :)

In a new ad as part of its Campaign for Real Beauty, Dove shows how a woman's perception of herself can vary so differenly than that of a stranger. The tagline of the campaign is "You are more beautiful than you think" and I truly believe this is something you, I, and every other woman need to realize and fully embrace!

When It Hits Single Digits...

It seems like yesterday I looked at the show countdown and it read 18 weeks. The countdown was in double digits and that made me feel like I had enough, maybe even more than enough, time to get ready.

That is no longer the case!!

A shift has taken place --> the countdown is in single digits!! We are now sitting at 9...count them...9 weeks out from Junior Nationals!!

Starting the weekend off at Urgent Care --> dislike!

This past week was full of anxiety, stress, minuscule amounts of sleep, and lots of questioning. We had to take The Princess to Urgent Care last Saturday as a result of a fall she had the day before at school. While my daughter has limited mobility, I knew something was off when the things she could normally do independently were making her cry and scream out in pain. Tom and I both had to miss work this week to be home with her but I'm happy to report that our kiddo is slowly getting back to normal.

In additional to taking time off from work, I had to take time off from the gym. It was not a priority at the beginning of the week for me to get to the gym to lift. I expressed my concerns about missing workouts to The Boss and she reassured me that I have more than enough muscle so missing a few workouts wouldn't set me back :) While I did miss a few lifting sessions, I was still able to knock out my cardio sessions during the early morning hours --> perks of having a treadmill in our garage!

Happy Happy Happy!!!

When I was able to return to the gym on Wednesday, I received some incredibly fantastic news! I learned that my home gym Desert Sports & Fitness was going to be sponsoring me! EEEEEKKKK!!!!! I have been a member of this gym for over 7 years and y'all have heard me call it my "home office", "home away from home", and "happy place".

You can see Desert Sports & Fitness and I spend a lot of quality time together :)

I feel incredibly honored that Frank (the gym's owner), Matt (Vice President), Joella (Trainer Extraordinaire!), and the other folks at my gym believe in me and support me in this journey to my first national show. It's been a few days since I heard the news but I am still in shock, so humbled, so honored, and so thankful! Team DSF por vida :)

Nine weeks out and this is where I'm sittin'! I feel good about the progress that I've made so far but there is still more work to be done. It's my first time hitting the national stage - I need to make sure they remember my name!!

New Release Tuesday

Macklemore has crawled into my ear & I can't get him out. Let me be real, I don't want to. I'm diggin' him and this song.

Put it in your ear and feel free to shake yo ass a lil bit :)

"That's When You Press On...Lee Nails"

I just love that line from "The Fighter" by Gym Class Heroes, don't you?? I'm telling myself that when I feel like I want to just take a moment to whine about something, I have to press on! That applies to prep, my marriage, work, Mom Duty, you name it!

If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know that I'm obsessed with shoulders. I want them. I need them. I have to have them.

The Boss was really great in creating a couple of shoulder workouts for me to help me build & round out my baby boulders. One workout was designated as the "heavy" day and the second was designated as a "burn out" workout. I did the first heavy workout and at the end of it thought "Hmm...that was EASY..I don't think I did it right"...trust me when I say that about 2 hours after finishing the workout I was not saying the same thing! I believe the text I sent to The Boss said something along the lines of "If you hate me, just say it. You don't have to try & kill me". Her response was "LOL!"...yep...she is a mean, evil woman :)

One day last week, I had to modify my shoulder workout because of the equipment that was available and the amount of time I had to get my workout done. I am a creature of habit so I had to get over my initial irritation that people were using MY stuff ;) The workout turned out to be a really really kickass one and I'm definitely going to do it again. If you're interested in what it consisted of, here's the 411:

Lateral Raises

20/20 x 8 (2), 25/25 x 8 (2), 30/30 x 6 (2)

Incline Press (using dumbbells)

25/25 x 10 (2), 30/30 x 8 (2), 35/35 x 5 (2)

Superset consisting of:

Shoulder Press

45 x 10 (4)

Bent-over Lateral Raises

15/15 x 15 (2), 20/20 x 12 (2)

Superset consisting of:

Behind the neck Press (using barbell)

45 x 8 (4)

Upright row (using barbell)

45 x 8 (4)

10 weeks until Chicago. You guys, it's startin' to get real! 

New Year New Gear Goodies!!

I misspoke in the video when I said Tracy has a blog...eek! Tracy actually found the exchange through my last New Year New Gear reveal post. I swear, I'm a dork!

If you are interested in seeing what I sent Dawn from The Rushing Herd, check out her New Gear New Year post!

Consider joining the New Year New Gear exchange! You can sign up for the month of April by completing the April New Year New Gear form!!