Road Trippin'

The past week was a busy one spent traveling all over the I-5 corridor. My mom and I went to Portland to watch my cousin, Sarah Gwen (yes check out her new CD on i-tunes), open and perform live. It was a blast and made for a sweet little get away. The drive down did not take as long as I thought but when we got there and the inevitable double cardio loomed over my head, I knew it was time to get it done in order to relax. Popped in my head phones and went down to the hotel gym, which consisted of a two treadmills, a bike, and a weird hydraulic stair-stepper thing. I have never seen anything like it but it intrigued me so I decided to try it. It was like stair climbing on a trampoline, shooting me up with each step. Now this may seem neat but in all reality when you are facing a wall full of mirrors and there is a huge glass window behind you that separates you from the hot tub. Soo anyone in the hot tub gets a prime view of your backside. So,while doing my 30 minutes, the maintenance man had to check the chemicals a few times. If you know me, my back side is not a small feature. So with each step, there was alot of booty bouncing and well... you get the idea! The next day, I was laying on the hotel bed and asked Siri to find the closest gyms. Siri, come to find out can be very helpful, but she can also be a huge pain in the ass. I found myself fighting with her on a couple different occasions. She can be a real smart ass sometimes.

The drive home was not as bad as I would have thought either. We only got stuck in a little bit of Portland traffic but still made it home in decent time. The following couple days have been filled with training, posing, and spending time with my CZ family. We are winding down and this weekend marks the 4- and 5-week out mark from the big shows... Nerves have officially set in.

Ciao for now,     J

Can't Sleep...

Last night I could not sleep. I couldn't fall asleep, couldn't stay asleep, and once the clock hit 4 am, I was up. No sense in fighting to stay asleep when I can get up and start tackling this Monday morning. Now, I hate Mondays, well at school I do. This past quarter,  my Monday started at 5 am with cardio followed by a 6 am lift, then on to classes until 7:20pm then topped off with another cardio. I would go home, eat, shower, and repeat the next day. Such a busy quarter but that also made it go by reasonably fast!

Today however, I don't have class nor do I have to worry about homework. I'm excited to be home and to see all my friends and family. I have some serious catch up to do with all of you and I now am able to do it, full-heartedly (ps spell check tells me this is not a word)! Morning cardio can wait (not too long for I cant eat until I do it) lol but I had to fire up my computer and get to blogging. I couldn't wait! Haha it reminds me of when I first started this blog, I would sit and write the first 30 minutes before my day would start and if I didn't, it threw my whole day off. I just heard from a good friend that was reminiscing with me and the journey of the past year. Ahh the good ol days. Well guess what.. Shes back! I have hit the ground, not running as of yet because of these nerves, but soon... Soon I will be back to running circles around y'all and you will probably just shake your head at me but that's OK. It feels good to be back!

Ciao for now,     J

Emerald Cup

Here is some photos from Emerald Cup. I have never been as disappointed with myself as I was at this show. I beat myself before even stepping on the stage. I doubted what I was doing and how I looked before I even made it to prejudging. But that is alright, ya wanna know why? Well even if ya don't, I'm gonna tell you! ;)

I learned one of the most important lessons yet on this journey. I learned that no matter what, if you fight yourself and doubt yourself, you have already lost. Looking back and looking at the pictures, I made some improvements from the last show and I did not look as bad as I thought I did. Had I come with the spunk and personality I normally do to the stage, I think I would have felt a lot better but I will be the first one to admit that I looked like a complete dork on that stage. I did not pose like I normally do, I did not smile like I normally do and most of all, I did not shine like I normally do. Case in point, always always hold your head high no matter how hard it is. You will never look back and regret doing so!

J

I'm Back!

What a whirlwind of events from my last entry on February 21st! I am finally home from completing my first year in graduate school. I never thought I would see the day but man does time sure fly. I have had many ups and downs, but heck, who hasn't? Isn't that why we are supposed to buckle up and enjoy the beautiful, crazy ride we call life? Where do I start....

I prepped for this years Emerald Cup and it was not a good prep to say the least. I was having issues with my hip flexors and that tiny, painful muscle called the Piriformis. Man if you have ever experienced a tight or hurt piriformis, you know what I am talking about when I say that sucker can be debilitating! Long story short, I had something, somewhere go wrong and have been battling nerve issues for the past 14 weeks. When I say battling, I mean I have fought one heck of a fight against my emotions and everything else to find a fix. It sucks.. I cant wear my jeans nor can I wear my Lululemon pants because it causes my legs to flare up like a fire when you dump gasoline on it. It is fierce and I have seen normal doctors, a neurologist, a CT scan and an MRI later and still fighting the pain. Some days are better than others and I am doing better now compared to a few weeks ago but it has been on hell of a fight.

On the flip side, I have been working on data collection for my thesis, which puts me ahead of the game going into my next (and final) year of grad school. I have two collection events behind me and have a couple more to do but overall I am feeling great that some of the hard work is completed. With that said, I am firing up my computer and starting my blog again to keep track of my thoughts as well as continue tracking my journey in the gym!

Ciao for now,     J