TWO....

Well... here it is about two weeks out from my next competition.  TWO WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!  I am getting really excited.  I feel like I am making good progress and I am really enjoying the program I have been using.

Here are my progress pics at 3-ish weeks.  Be nice.  I'm whiter than snot.  I should have gotten a little tan before this event took place but eh... here I am!  The photographer was my daughter (hubby of course is out of town, next time they will be better pics), who was TOTALLY disgusted with me and that is apparent in the fact that every picture is blurry.  I blame her, wanting to get the heck out of there... and at the same time I don't blame the poor kid!  I feel like things are going well.  I don't want to get too much into my diet right now because I am taking a completely different approach this time around then I have ever used and I am sort of "testing" it out.  I will talk about it more after the show when I can really see if it was beneficial to me and my placing is good.  I am hoping that by taking this route my post show will not be nearly as rough.  Only time will tell but so far... so good!  Obviously I have some tightening up to do... some leaning to do but a lot of that happens in the last couple of weeks so I feel and HOPE that I am on track and will come in looking better than ever.

For this show I have a new suit... which isn't quite finished yet but I think it is going to be gorgeous.  It's a bright blue, and was made by a local competitor Heidi Patterson of Lucky Buuns Bikinis.  She was able to get this made pretty fast and on not a lot of notice (thank you Heidi).  I opted to stone it myself (wish me luck) so when it is finished I will post pictures!

PHEW!!!!!

My plan of getting pictures taken this weekend didn't happen.  I do have a good reason though.  I weighed in and was down 2 pounds... YAY, then the next day up 4... WHAT?!? On top of that I have been nauseous for days, tired (exhausted), bloated, crampy, GRUMPIER than anyone should ever be allowed to be (sorry family), emotional, and extremely clumsy.  I knocked down a banana display at the grocery store, still don't have a clue how or what happened and while trying to fix my mess just kept making it worse, then I immediately dropped my wallet at the checkout stand where money, cards, coins just went flying everywhere.  That was almost enough to bring me to tears.  I started doubting myself for the first time in this whole process.  Feeling very unprepared and so not ready to be on stage in 4 weeks.  So I did what anyone in my shoes would have done, I took a pregnancy test. Yes I did... and guess what?!?!?!?!

It was NEGATIVE.  Ha ha.  PHEW!  I have to admit I was a little nervous for a minute.  Then guess what happened... the very next day I started my period.  EARLY.  That explains a few things.  So... I will likely take some photos tonight.  I will have them up this week sometime.  I promise.  Now that I have shared way too much information I will leave you with these....

Errr... hi......

I'm not doing very well am I?

I promised progress photos at 6 weeks out, didn't I?

But somehow something got mixed up.  You see math was never my subject... and well that 6 weeks I thought I had turned into 5 weeks... and now I am inching closer to 4 weeks out.  FOUR.  F-O-U-R.  Oh. My. Gosh.

So here I sit... PROMISING to get some 4 week progress photos...

I am not very good at this.  BUT... I want to be better and that has to count for something right?!?

Things are going well though.  I am having my suit made as we speak.  I am about to start ordering tanning products, registering for the show and all that fun stuff.  I am feeling good about the progress I have made.  Of course I always feel it could be better.  I plan to start adding in a second cardio session next week.  I can't believe that last year the only prep I did was diet and cardio.  I didn't touch a dumbbell for over 3 months.  I just can't believe that.  This time around I am hitting the weights, feeling tighter, leaner and SO much better all around.  Such a completely different approach for me and I hope it pays off!  Photos this weekend.  Swear.

Just Peachy!

Thanks so much for the comments on my last post.  It's nice to know I've been missed... I need to be better at commenting on YOUR blogs... just know that I DO read them... even when I disappear!

I absolutely have to share this recipe with you all, especially because Janetha called me out on it ;)  I came home from work the other day to a few very ripe banana's and a few very ripe peaches.  The thought came to my head "banana peach bread" so I googled it, found this recipe and made it my own by changing it up.

My version

Perfectly Peachy Banana Muffins

2 C oat flour

1 C splenda (its all I had, I like ideal better)

1 tsp baking soda (I accidentally left this out but next time will add it)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp all spice

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/3 C unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp vanilla (I used vanilla bean paste)

2 small banana's, smooshed

2 small peaches, chopped

3 Tbsp cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 350

In large bowl mix the dry ingredients together.  In smaller bowl mix the wet ingredients together.  Make a well in the large bowl and add the wet ingredients to it.  I had to add a little bit of moisture at this point so I added a little milk until it was the consistency I wanted (it was still pretty thick though).  Fold in the chopped up peaches.  Put into muffin tins and top with cinnamon sugar.  Bake for about 25-30 minutes.  I got 12 our of this recipe.  My only regret was not making more.  By the time I wanted to take pictures there were only two left :(  Sooooo delish!

My model. He's mine, you can't have him..... or them, because I ate them all!

The muffins got rave reviews from all!  My husband and kids thought they were really good (and they don't always love my healthified recipes!).  The girls from work loved them too (thanks Janetha and Amanda).  Let me know if you make them and what your thoughts are.

8 weeks out

Every time I get on here to write a post (or read yours) I suddenly feel too overwhelmed to say much.  I figured that I better at least do a little update.  Things are going really well.  I am still planning on competing Oct. 13th (just under 8 weeks out).  I feel like I am on schedule and I am loving the program I have been using.  Lots of sprints which surprisingly, I am loving.  Back to lifting weights which I missed terribly through my last prep when all I did was cardio.  Last I checked I was down 10 lbs, I am not sure where I am at now.  Probably about the same.  I haven't noticed a big difference in the way my clothes fit.  They are a little looser but nothing crazy.  I would like to be down another 7 lbs by show day.  I have plenty of time lets just see if my body cooperates!  Yesterday I turned 29 again (hee hee) and it was a nice relaxing day at home with my loves.  Instead of cake we had some Sugar free, fat free pudding with a little fruit (and some whip cream of course).  It was perfect. A cheat without the guilt of a cheat.  I was surprised that no one complained about the missing birthday cake!

Last weekend I flew out to my old stomping grounds. My husband was in Southern California for two weeks for work, so during the weekend I flew out and we got to spend the entire weekend together... just us... NO KIDS... and guess what???  We didn't kill each other. In fact it was absolutely amazing.  We had the BEST time just being together.  I didn't want to leave.  I also got to see some of my old friends, and step foot in my old gym.  I miss it there.

Work has been great, home has been great, kids start school next week (which will be great!!!) and things are just... well... great!!!!  I will put some progress pics up soon. I wanted to do them at the even weeks out but haven't really been on top of things. I will start at 7 and post pics as I feel necessary!

Our Girls Trip...

I went on a little (MUCH NEEDED) vacation with Janetha and Amanda last weekend! We drove to St. George on Friday morning big thanks to our boss for letting us stay in his house there ;) Once we arrived we went straight to lunch at a cute little place called The Painted Pony, it had rave reviews.  Food was good, company was even better.  These girls crack me up.  We have TOO much fun together.  After we ate we headed back to the house to get ready for the pool.  It was HOT.  We laid by the pool for a couple of hours and decided to hit the outlet mall.  By the time we left there it was 9 pm and we still hadn't had dinner.  But we had big plans on making Janetha's famous pizza and we couldn't wait.  BUT first we had to stop by Nielson's Custard and pick up our dessert... which we ate.... on the drive back to the house...

Finally the pizza was ready, and it was SO worth the wait.  It was delicious.  I got full really fast though, thanks to that dang custard!  After that we (we as in Amanda and I) did some dancing... and I am pretty sure we got a wiggle or two out of Janetha until we bored her right to sleep.  Amanda and I ended up staying awake until about 2 or 3 talking and laughing and plotting practical jokes on our sleepy friend.  We had a gooood one and we couldn't wait to put it into action.

The next morning we were off to Vegas.  We had big plans of hitting up Trader Joe's first thing.  We brought our trusty coolers with ice ready and waiting.  I am anxiously awaiting Trader Joe's arrival here in Salt Lake City.  After that we headed to the Las Vegas strip, we parked the car at the MGM because that was where our show was going to be later that evening and started walking. We had lunch at a cute little sandwich shop, and dinner at Diablos which was really good food, and outstanding service.  We let them know we were in a bit of a time crunch and they had us out before we knew it.  In a nice way.

 

lunch

Dinner... so so good

We had tickets to see KA.  It was pretty good, I have seen Mysterie and I think I enjoyed that one more only because it seemed to have more acrobatics in it.  KA was fun, the story line was easy to follow and it was something that my kids would have loved to see. It was more of combat and though it had some cool stunts I like the trapeze type stuff.

Couldn't leave without playing my favorite game for a few!

After the show we decided to go do the ride on top of the Stratosphere.  I have done it a few times in my life, and though I have done it before I was freaking terrified.  I don't know what my problem is but the older I get the bigger of a wuss I become.  I always have these irrational fears.  What if it doesn't stop at the top and we just keep going and going and going and going..... plus it was dark and it is even scarier at night.  I am pretty sure our faces say it all... and yes... I laugh cried.

On the way home Amanda decided it was time for our joke on Janetha.  I was SO excited to get it started.  We had a 2 hour drive back to the house, it was like 3 am and we had to do something to wake us up a little.  SO... at the MGM I snuck into the magic shop and picked up one of these.... ha ha ha

Now one thing you have to know about me is that I don't even pass gas in front of my husband.  Never have, and never will so you can imagine what a shock it was when Janetha heard some strange sounds coming from the back seat... "oh sorry" I would say "my stomach hurts a little"... bahahahaha!  I laugh every time I think of it.  Then the BIG one came... and she looked at me... just completely confused and said "WHAT the HELL was THAT?  Are YOU even HUMAN?"  We died.

Our last morning there we were told that we had to have breakfast at the Bear Paw.  The food was okay... but the service was awful.  Here are some fun pictures end our awesome trip with.  Love these girls.  Had so much fun!

Funky.....

I've kind of been in a funk.... not really sure what to say, not really sure how I am feeling.  I am here.  And that is about all I can say!!!  I will snap out of it.  In the meantime I figured that I better at least write a short post about what I have been up to.

I am still LOVING GPPfitness.  I love the workouts and though I have missed a few here and there, I do try and do the ones I miss at home, or at my local gym.  That's what I love most about them.  Its great to be there, around everyone but its also great to be able to do them anywhere.  If you haven't looked at the workouts you should.  They are posted daily (for the next day).  They WILL challenge you. If you are a local to the area and want to give it a try I encourage you to do so.

I am still working.  I love my job.  I love the people I work with.  I feel very blessed to be where I am.  In fact I love the people I work with so much that I am going to St. George with Janetha and Amanda THIS weekend... and I am beyond stoked.  I need a break.  So. Dang. Bad. Can. Not. Wait.

My diet, is well.... a diet... some days are easy, some days are hard.  I could be better.  I could be worse.  that is all I am going to say about that for now.

Utah Bloggers Potluck, put together by Janetha... this is going to be a great opportunity to meet each other and make some new friends.  Anyone is welcome.  If you are interested in attending feel free to contact myself or Janetha!  I am really looking forward to this!

Date & Time: Saturday, June 30th at noon
Location: Liberty Park: 1300 South & 700 East in SLC. I will scope out the area this weekend and let you know the exact area.. but I am thinking the southeast quadrant.
What will be provided: napkins, utensils, plates, bowls
What to bring: a dish to share with everyone--ANYTHING goes, a beverage for yourself, and your camera!
Who can come: absolutely anyone! Bring your spouse, kids, friends, whoever. Please make sure to note on the spreadsheet how many people you will have with you so we can ballpark how much food we need to make and bring. 


That's my update for now.  I will definitely be posting a recap of our weekend away...