My Blog

Having a Good Old Moan

05/24/2012 19:57:00

Having a Good Old Moan

I am going to moan and whinge about a lot of things in this week’s blog.

Some things just darn right piss me off.

Number 1 on my moan list is bullies.

Not only bullies, but the people who allow the bullies to bully.

It takes a lot of restraint by a parent to stop herself going down there with a few of her bodybuilder friends and putting a stop to it right there on the spot.

Arrrghhhh it makes me very mad.

This is only year 3 students, what are the bullies going to be like when they are older, if they aren’t stopped now?

Learning is supposed to be fun; well it should be fun as we learn better when we are having fun doing it. You sure don’t learn lots when you are fearful about playtime and lunchtime.

My Number 2 moan is with the health system.

Anyone who reads my blog knows my little girl has cerebral palsy due to lack of knowledge by the midwifes/nurses at our local hospital.

Well the complaint process is a real pain in the arse.

The worse part is you have to re-live it all over again.

The next part is filling in lots of lots of forms and then lots and lots of forms with another department.

Then being asked loads of questions and being asked “why does the hospitals turn of events not match mine”?

And the one that stung the most was when it was suggested that “maybe I was too busy giving birth to notice what they were doing behind the scenes.”

HELLO!!!!! I WAS THERE; I know exactly what was happening.

My husband has also filed a complaint which not only covers the birth of Eva but the almost fatal turn of events with my health just hours after giving birth.

Almost every week now we hear and read about another life lost or injured due to lack of knowledge by midwifes. When is it going to stop?

Brought me to tears last night with the latest mother and child dying.

It all comes down to he says, she says.

Exactly what my Son said to me about the bully situation at school.

He said to me “But Mummy, how will they know that I am telling the truth and not the bully?”

How am I supposed to answer that when I don’t know the answer myself?

Stress of course flares up the arthritis so Arthur is number 3 moan of the week. (Sorry Arthur you have been demoted)

It is bad in both thumbs which are making a lot of simple things challenging.

I am still training very hard and it is going real well. I am now week 4 of my pyramid power program and my strength and stamina has increased heaps.

Loading and unloading the bars and dumbbells hasn’t helped the thumbs much but I am hanging in there and very proud of my results.

Number 4 Moan is Eva’s increase in seizures due to the increase in her medication.

Why is this happening? Is it because she has to build up a resistance? This doesn’t make sense because a resistance would mean it would not be helping, or would it?

Is it the medication that is causing these seizures?

Her Paediatrician is away for 6 months, arrrrghhhhhh again!!!!!!!!!

This means more phone calls and trying get put through to the right person or even just a person with a heart that will say “you know what, I will find the person you need to talk to, I promise”.

Some fights you just need to let go of, but others you need to stand strong on.

Even if the outcome isn’t exactly what you wanted at least you gave it a go and stood tall and spoke up, this way you can live with no regrets.

In that one moment

05/09/2012 14:27:00

In that one moment it is all worth it

When you have a child with extra needs it takes a lot of effort to make sure they have what they need and do what they need to do to help them grow and be all that they can be.

We do this with all children but when it comes to a child with a disability it does take a conscious effort to make sure you do the extra work.

With Eva I have to make time for her workouts which include strengthening her quads and abs, stretching out the hamstrings and working on the flexion through her feet.

We do activities to help the hips and it is very important that when doing this work with her that I make sure the body is in perfect alignment. This adds to helping the hips out, we often do puzzles and games with one foot on a step so that the left side has to work harder.

Sometimes it can seem like you are hassling the crap out of her. I have to remind her Not to W sit, don’t tippy toe, etc etc. And at the end of a long school day she does her home work and gets to relax before Mum harps on again about doing some exercises and stretches.

I am good at keeping her motivated and I continue to think up new ways to do the activities to keep it fresh for her.

The other night I was tucking her in bed and she said she had something very special for me and told me to lean in close.

So there we were nose to nose. She had her hands on my cheeks.

She told me to close my eyes.

She then gave me the gentlest kiss on the nose and whispered “thank you”.

I asked “what are you thanking me for?”

She replied “for helping me everyday with my cerebral palsy”.

With tears welling in my eyes I kissed her on the nose and said “thank you”.

She replied “what are you thanking me for?”

I said “for helping me every day with my rheumatoid”.

At this moment all the hard work that I do to help her and all the hard work that I do to help myself stay healthy all seemed worth it.

It gave it purpose, rewarded me in the greatness way ever.

What an amazing little girl I have.

I think I floated through the rest of my week. I just felt so fortunate. My children are both exceptional and so kind and honest and loving.

Having such gratitude in your heart makes everything so much better.

Training is going real well. I am now into week 2 of my second growth programme.

I must say it is scary as I am lifting my heaviest ever now and still have 4 weeks to go with this cycle.

Very exciting and motivating and it does truly instil power to be lifting big weights.

In this programme I am training Chest and Back on there own separate days.

I am training quads with shoulders and hamstrings on there own.

With pyramid training I do a set of 10 reps, then increase the weight and do a set of 8 reps then increase the weights and do 2 sets of 6 reps.

I have increased the intensity on my abdominals as well by putting the weight up after each set of 100 reps. The simple abdominal roller is great for this as it keeps the neck safe and my form perfect while increasing the intensity.

I invested in a treadmill this week to compliment my gym and give me another piece of equipment to torture myself and clients on…ha ha ha.

I am not a runner, actually I hate running, I can’t run really, don’t enjoy it at all.

So my goal is to change that, while not annoying the rheumatoid in the hips.

So my first run…..well o.k. run/walk. No make that walk/run a little, went quite well and I hate to say it but I think I actually enjoyed it.

It did not last long, only 15 minutes but the second effort I managed 22 minutes before clasping.

I think I was secretly hoping that the knees or hips would be riddled with arthritis when I woke up the next morning but alas they were fine, even more than fine, they felt great.

So along with the weight training I will be improving my running ability which will make my kids proud as they know I just don’t run unless I really have to.

Stay present in the moment everyone and happy training no matter what type you do.

School Holidays and Training

04/26/2012 21:52:00

School Holidays and a Week off Training

The children are back at school.

The holidays went well.

The first week we spent each day bike riding, helping Eva work on her balance and co-ordination. She did so well. Ben also loved biking around and did a lot more off road style. So much so that he decided he wanted to learn how to ride a motor bike.

Lucky for me I have a fantastic brother who took us out to his property far from anywhere.

We spent time in the wilderness where my little man learnt to ride a motor bike.

We sat around an open fire and told ghost stories, toasted marshmallows and couldn’t get enough of the starry night.

There is nothing like staying in the outback with out power, to make you appreciate your home and bed.

We then went the opposite direction and headed to the beach where we camped in style with power and beds. Taranaki has had the most wonderful weather in April and we made the most of it, spending loads of time out doors.

The first week of the holidays I stuck to my training schedule but once the second week hit I wasn’t feeling to great so took the whole week off, no cardio, no weights.

Now that school is back I have started training again. I have 1 week left in my currant program. Each program is 6 weeks long so this will be the first block of 6 weeks achieved and I am looking forward to moving on to my next 6 week challenge.

Over the last 6 weeks I have been super setting 2 major muscles groups together. This made for very challenging workouts straight after the competition but coupled with the increase in calories it has been awesome.

I am lifting heavy and recovering well. My only complaint being my left glute .

I am managing to train with it but sitting is still very hard to do for any length of time.

Our appointment for my daughter with the Neurologist from Star ship went well, I guess.

The answer always seems to be to increase the medication. That’s what they say to me about my Rheumatoid, add more drugs.

Anyway as we are doing everything we can the only option really is to give it a go. It is a very safe drug that Eva is on so better to try it than them put us on a nastier drug.

If the higher dose does not work then she may have to have more tests, another EEG and perhaps another MRI.

Eva had a fabulous birthday at the end of the holidays. We had a cupcake party and all her little friends came and made cupcake stands and decorated cupcakes.

It was so very cute and all her friends were so well behaved.

Ben disappeared upstairs to play playstation and Lego with one of his mates. He only ventured down for the odd bit of food or to see what was happening.

The mornings are getting colder and although it has been beautiful sunny days here, it won’t be long before winter hits us. At this time of the year I get excited about being inside nice and warm watching movies and playing games with the kids. Summer is my favourite season but I do enjoy living in a country that experiences all 4.

Our Mountain will again start to look fabulous with a white coat of snow. And you must admit there is nothing quite like sleeping in to the sound of rain on the roof.

Unfortunately my R.A has started to play up more, just seems to be sitting in each joint ready to attack but not quite attacking. Warning me or reminding me that it is still there. This gives me more motivation to get up and moving to help decrease the cell inflammation.

I am in the process of adding some pages to my website.

I have a few followers that suffer from some form of arthritis and would be interested to read more about what I have tried and my experience with certain drugs. So instead of boring everyone with R.A gossip I will write this in a separate area.

The beginning of May is almost here. The years sure do go faster the older you get.

No time to dilly dally and do things half hearted.

My goal for May is to enjoy my new training program, keep up with some time on my glute-in-ator and eat well and often.

All of my dreams /goals that I wrote down and put into my dream box have come true so its time to carefully write down some new ones.

My wonderful Mother turns 70 in May so I want to plan something special for her birthday.

It’s also my big brothers birthday 2 days before Mums, my kids love him and he is a fireman and takes them for rides in the fire engine. I think they actually think he owns the fire engine…ha ha so cute.

So I think the Month of May is going to fly by.

A great opportunity to stay present in the moment so I enjoy it even more.

Why is being "normal" all that important?

04/12/2012 21:32:00

Normal, what is normal?

What does normal mean or look like?

These holidays I have been working with my daughter to help her with her bike riding and scooter.

Over the last 6 weeks we have been going to physio sessions which she is entitled to 6 free ones each year, that isn’t many as she needs daily work to keep her limbs stretched and help her with her walking etc.

I am glad I am a Personal Trainer so I can help her with her development.

Eva and I have worked hard together to get her where she is today and it is a lot like my training, it needs to be done consistently to benefit from.

While we were at our 6 free session’s one thing that stood out to me was how they were trying to make her “normal” when she was attempting some exercises. And they were being “real tough” when it came to performing them.

Walking a balance beam without putting her arms out to balance her self, well I don’t know many people that don’t put their arms out to balance themselves. She was quite often made to start over till she did it “right”.

To me, just being able to walk a balance beam was a victory!

Doing a jig saw puzzle but staying in a squatted position the whole entire time that it takes to do the puzzle, or squatting down picking up a piece and squatting down to put it in place. I counted one day and it was close to 70 squats!!!!!!

I know that we have to push a person to get results but I felt like she was being made to do activities like a “normal” child would do them.

The amazing thing about the human body is that it can adapt.

People can paint with their feet when they have no arms. Move about their home on skateboards when they have no legs.

Eva has a fabulous way of achieving things.

If she wants to learn to ride her scooter then she will practice and practice and practice. She can now ride her scooter. It may not be as fast as “normal” children but she can do it.

Riding her bike is very tough on her as she has so many things to concentrate on. But every day over the holidays I have been taking her up to the schools flat concrete and she has been practicing. She has trainer wheels on but that doesn’t take away the accomplishment and how amazing she is to now be riding her bike. She is now Steering, peddling, balancing, braking, breathing all in the one activity. Wow fantastic.

When I watch some of our videos from when Eva was a toddler, I am reminded just how far we have come.

The other day I was sitting having a coffee and watching her being her fabulous self and I wondered if she would be as wonderful if she didn’t have these challenges in her life.

Then I couldn’t help but wonder if by some miracle some one told me they could take away her cerebral palsy but it might change her character, would we want that?

I would say No, don’t change her. But Eva would say yes, as she feels like she is not normal.

Once in awhile she will cry and say how unfair it is and ask me “when are the doctors going to fix her?” These times don’t happen to often thank goodness as she is so very brave. But I am sure she thinks it often. My little girl has a certain way about her that likes to protect Mummy from being sad.

So as I trained biceps today, in a very un-normal way, as I have had to adapt my exercises because of the rheumatoid in my wrists, I wondered what was so wrong with not being normal.

You have to be tougher, stronger, wiser, and stubborn, cry if you need too but never give up. That’s a lot to ask from a 5 year old, and yet that’s exactly who my daughter is.

Tomorrow we have an appointment with the Doctor at Starship.

God they have a hard job.

We sit and steer at them and plead with them to make things better. Tell me why her seizures are changing. Just look at her and tell me all the answers please Doctor.

It may be an appointment that will last less than an hour, but it hits you like a ton of bricks. You re-live each seizure to tell the Doctor and go over every little detail that you think may be important.

Give me a script for some more HOPE please. That’s what we need.

Hope keeps us trying new medications, hope keeps us doing our work outs, hope enables me to leave her at school each day and I hope that one day other human beings will accept us for who we are and not expect us all to be “normal”.

Post comp? No, its Off Season

03/30/2012 20:38:00

Some competitors struggle with life after a competition.

Training for a competition takes loads of preparation, and you really do live to a routine.

After a comp you encounter freedom. This freedom can be hard for some people to handle.

The freedom to train or not to train and to eat whatever they want.

Your not focused on the one event anymore and it can make your days seem out of control.

It's a bit like children that are naughtier when they don 't have structure. Children need rules and guidelines as they perform and behave better.

A bodybuilder's lifestyle is enjoyable because you can plan and prepare and you do have structure and routine. You have to so you fit in all the training and food preparation and family life etc.

After a competition it is important to plan your next move.

Are you going to compete again?

If so when?

If not, are you still going to train?

You should train, all women and men should do resistance training. Lets face it, it is so good for us. For our muscles, joints, and the mind.

Even if you are not a bodybuilder you need to have a plan.

A training program to follow that will help you improve your fitness, improve your life.

So you get a training journal, do up or get a program done up for you-preferably for 6 weeks then change it again-be clear on what you want to achieve. Write it down. Let your trainer know what YOU want to work on.

Make sure you not only have your training program but you have a healthy eating plan to go with it.

Remember to drink water and get enough sleep. Stay positive and keep your thoughts on how you will look once you have achieved this block of training.

A lot of tools that are useful to keep you on track don't cost anything or you already have them.

An old book to use to track your training-cover it in motivating pictures.
A white board or similar to do up a vision board
Water
The freedom to choose a healthier option to eat
A bed to sleep in for longer
Positive thoughts
Gratitude
Visualization
Music
Fresh air to walk in

Have a plan.

Don't delay and say you will start tomorrow. That is just an excuse.

I am 2 weeks into my new plan.

My training is going real well.

I have been training hard out and the arthritis is under control again. My glute/adductor is still so sore but are managing to train hammies now, its still the sitting/exercycle that hurt it the most.

I have been eating well and sleeping well.

I am focused and already have a vision of what I will look like at my next competition.

I split my bodybuilding year into 2. On Season which is competition time and Off Season which is hard out heavier training to improve strength, stamina, body structure and shape.

It is a bit like the change in seasons.

I love summer but as winter draws closer I get excited about the change in lifestyle. The cold nights snuggled up with my kids watching movies. The beauty of our Mountain, the awesome winter coats that I get to wear. (Some girls love shoes, I love coats).

As winter comes to an end I get even more excited about Summer. Summer is my favourite.

So I love Off Season. I get to eat more, train heavy, and eat more again!!! But as On Season draws closer I get more excited. I look forward to dieting down and seeing what I have built, what changes I have made.

My goal always to impress myself. I love competing.

Getting out of your comfort zone is so refreshing. Even though I have competed many times before it still makes me nervous, keeps me on my toes. You never know who you will be standing next to on stage.

With the plan put into action it is just a matter of being consistant.

It does sound easy but we all know that life is not predictable.

If you end up taking a detour make sure you get back on the right track as soon as you can.

This week my life took a detour when my little girl had a seizure that lasted quite a lot longer than usual.

We were at physio putting her through the paces and she turned into a different child.

Eva is happy all the time, all the time that is until she has a seizure. She gets real mad, and can't do anything really, just wants to sit down and stamp her feet and she just gives up. It is hard for an outsider to know what is happening. Her eyes go a horrible grey pale colour, they lose their brightness and her face turns very pale. Once in the car she fell asleep instantly. We got home and I carried her to bed. From there onwards I could not wake her up. She slept through afternoon tea and dinner. I tried over and over to wake her up but she would just moan at me and roll over.

This of course was stressful and frightening. I monitored her closely and didnt get much rest. All training that I had planned naturally went on hold.

Around 2-3am in the morning she woke me saying "Gee Mummy why am I so Hungry?".

She could not remember going to physio or anything that happened after that until she woke up.

Then in those early hours of the morning she was as bright as a button!!!!!!

Me, well I was knackered!

I was grateful today to receive an appointment to see the specialist from Starship in 2 weeks time.

He will hopefully help me understand what is happening and lead us in the right direction. We have seen him before and he helped me understand how Eva's brain is wired. Why she is so clever and why she struggles with certain things.

Of course all children and other family members can interupt your training, your walks and even when you are trying to get an early night, the dam phone rings.

The best you can do is stay calm, and keep moving forward. Be grateful for what you have and visualise where you are heading to.

You can either give up, or choose to succeed.

This week will be full of action. We have more birthday parties to attend and the children only have 4 days left of school before they break up for the holidays.

Next weekend is easter. I have been invited out to a Pink Party! Sounds like fun and is a fundraiser event, need to go find something pink as I don't own any pink clothes anymore.

Tomorrow is a brand new day and I will greet it with gratitude and excitement.

Make sure you do as well. Happy Training.

The Benefits of Training

03/22/2012 21:12:00

Last Week after the Rheumatoid hit with avengence I started on my next 6 week Training Program.

It is now a week later and the pain and inflamation has improved by 50% at least.

The Benefits of staying fit and healthy are preached to us everyday.

We really need to listen.

The benefits of looking good on the outside are nothing compared to the benefits for the internal body.

It helps to have a goal of some kind to help keep you motivated.

Major goals come to us sometimes in the way of health scares, other times it may be a special day such as a wedding or vacation.

What you really want to focus on is consistancy.

Start an exercise plan and healthy eating plan and be consistant.

My goal this competition was to look better than my last, impress myself and do an awesome routine for the crowd. I consistantly trained , ate what I needed to , prepared and practiced.

I had taken a year off from competing to improve and during that time I practiced what I needed to do

I was consistant.

With a major goal like a bodybuilding comp it isnt as easy as just being consistant, It is a whole lot of hard work and loads of self descipline. When things arent right in your every day life it will make it harder to stay on track. I struggled this time but stuck to the rules and still made it with a fantastic outcome.

Next time I compete I hope the waters will be calmer.

My first program is a 4 day split which goes like this:

Chest/Quads/Abs

Biceps/Triceps/Calves/Abs

Back/Hammies/Abs

Shoulders/Calves/Abs

I have started training legs again but being very careful. My glute muscle is still hurting, mostly when I sit for to long. I managed to preform lunges, leg curls, squats this week so thats a start.

The important thing to do when you have arthritis is to train with your brain, if it doesnt feel right then stop. There is a difference between feeling the muscle working and damaging the area.

I have enjoyed lifting heavier weights again after dieting for 10 weeks. It really does impower you.

My cardio has decreased now. If I feel like a blast on the glute-inator I will go for it. At night I have attempted to sit on the exercycle but my glute only allows me to do 40 minutes maximum before it really screams at me.

My eating has consisted of:

egg whites/poached egg/toast/banana for breakfast

protein shake morning tea

1/4cup muesli mixed into 2 scoops of protein powder, blended with water. Walnuts sprinkled on top

piece of fruit and whatever the children are having for afternoon tea

meat and steamed veg for dinner.

protein shake for supper if I'm still awake!

So a lot of protein, if I don't have protein powder I will eat chicken/fish what ever is prepared/cooked in fridge. I like to nibble on raw carrots, mushrooms, cucumber during the day.

Its nice to be able to eat what the children are having and not having to always cook another meal.

Our dinner time is always at the dining table and it is full of talking and laughing about each others day.

I believe in starting the day in a positive way and definately finishing the day in a calm pleasant positive way. If you have balance in these areas you are more likely to stay present in the moment and enjoy your day.

Im still in love with my coffee machine! I don't think that will ever change but I have been seeing someone else at night........nothing like a nice cup of tea while watching T.V.

Some of the family's routines have changed this week. It is taking abit to get used to but I think we will be fine. My son is alittle unsettled so working hard to make him feel secure.

My daughter seems to take things in her stride. Embracing change with a nice warm hug and a million questions.

Loving our New Home and now that I have more energy I am enjoying setting it up just the way we like it.

We lost a few trees in the storm this week and had a night with no sleep hoping the house wouldnt fly away. Very impressed that we are still standing, feel like the third little pig who built a house of brick.

This week is another busy one.

Birthday Parties to attend, therapist and physio appointments and teacher/parent meetings.

Cant believe there is only a few weeks until the school holidays again.

Time sure does fly by.

No time to Procrastinate but lots to of time to be Consistant.

Strange how you forget

03/16/2012 21:14:00

What a nasty day I have had today.

The Rheumatoid has hit with avengence.

For 3 days following the competition I gave myself some freedom and ate whatever I felt like. I also was going to give myself a good week or 2 off training.

On the forth day I noticed that the pain was returning so I set myself up with a new training program and hit the gym. I also cleaned up my diet again.

By the 5th day, today, I can hardly walk and have had trouble using my hands.

When you live pain free you forget how horrible the real bad days are.

Well today is a real bad day.

What a mission trying to get the kids to school, trying to do simple things like hanging out the washing or driving the car.

Out came the painkillers!!!!!!!!!

I want to make sure that people understand that this flare has nothing to do with exercising or bodybuilding. I have been pain free and spent last Saturday absolutely pain free as well as the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

What flares mine up is the food I eat.

Lack of exercise also does not help.

Exercise decreases the cell inflamation which is way better than having to stomach anti-inflamatories over and over.

So here I am with one foot three times the size of the other, what makes it look even funnier is that my competition tan has left patchy brown areas on me. I am limping and look a funny colour....ha ha ha....you got to laugh really.

My focus is to get this flare under control with better eating and hopefully tomorrow I will be slightly better and it will be safe on the joints for me to train.

Its been a real busy week.

Eva and Ben both had to spent time up at the hospital on Tuesday, on Wednesday Eva had horse riding and we did lots of walking with the horses and my children had their school funanza on Thursday afternoon.

I also had 10 loads of washing to do, 10 loads my god it took all my spare time, hanging out and getting in and folding up washing.

It was nice to get everything clean, tidy and fresh again as some things go out the window in the week leading up to a competition.

My favourtie part of the week was when I got to crawl into my nice new clean sheets........arrrrrhhhhh.....bliss.

This is a bit of a boring update so I will leave you with some pictures from last weekend.

I am very excited about this year and next and very motivated with my training and I am setting new goals to reach.

All it takes is Preparation, Patience and Practice.

The Morning Show

At Prize giving

Performing My routine

Morning Juding with some of the other Figure Competitors

My Client Trisha who believe it or not is almost 51 years young

Well Done Taranaki

03/11/2012 16:17:00

My Experience at NABBA

I can never really sleep the night before a competition.

So no surprises when I lay awake on Friday night.

At 3am my daughter got up as she wasnt feeling well. After tucking her back in bed I lay there thinking about what I had to get done and was more awake than ever so at 4.30am I got up.

I had a small black coffee and some carbs then started to get ready with make up etc.

At 5.30am my daughter had a seizure so I was transported back to Mummy land to cope with that situation. She has been having different seizures lately so I have to monitor and keep a note of what is happening.

Once I felt confident that she was o.k I continued to deal to my make-up and hair.

About 9.30 I applied the top coat dream tan so I was all ready to go.

My little girl again did not feel well and as I was with her I noticed that I was feeling real hot.

I thought it was just because I was worried about Eva and nervous about comp.

Once at the venue I felt quite hot still and was glad to get backstage where we can strip off a bit.

I noticed that I had gotten a lot darker in skin colour. After another hour other people were noticing that I was going a very black colour and I could feel my skin tightening and burning. It was too late to wash off the dream tan as I was due on stage so I had to put up with it.

This happening to me at a Wanganui Comp and I thought I had just purchased a bad batch of dream tan.Now I know that I react to it. Was abit of a shame because it ruined the pre-judging alittle for me.

My time on stage in the morning show was fantastic though.

All the competitions I have done in the last few years I have ended up standing next to an amazing NZ Champ and yesterday was no different.

I was on stage with amazing Sue Betteridge (hope thats the right spelling).

At my last comp it was Janine Haywood, before that it was the fantastic Ali G.........I tell you, talk about having to pose my heart out. I held my own though and placed second with some amazing feedback from the NABBA judges.

I must say that I am really impressed with the women over 40 and 50years of age and how wonderful they look and how much better they look compared to the younger competitors. Absolutely amazing and inspiring.

The highlight of the morning show was hearing my childen cheering for me.

This is the first time they have came and watched.

Every time I heard their little voices I couldnt help but smile and I had to resist the urge to wave and blow them a kiss.

During the break between day and night shows I washed off the dream tan.......oh what a relief.

I hunted in my old tanning products and found some half used body shimmer.

I put it on and hoped like hell it would stay the same colour.

Before I knew it I had to head back to the venue.

Us ladies had so much fun back stage.

The support from the Taranaki public was amazing to.

When I started my routine everyone started cheering and yelling. It was great. I tried my best with my routine as I always do and it seemed to be much appreciated and I walked away with the Best Performance Award and again some amazing feedback.

This was a small competition of only 21 competitors. But it has put us on the NABBA map and hopefully from here on we will be the first competition on the NABBA Calandar each year.

Thanks to all of you that came along and supported us. If it werent for you guys and the great competitors that gave it a go we would not of achieved our goal.

A big thanks to NABBA for believing in the Taranaki's Passion for the sport.

So today is Sunday and we all met for breakfast, oh what a wonderful meal that was. We got to ask the judges questions and relax and chat about the show etc.

I am so tired but had loads of washing to do and a house to clean and kids to entertain.

I am going to sleep well tonight with a big smile on my face and content in my heart.

I can see the Finish Line!

03/09/2012 10:44:00

I Made It

Well it has been a different journey for me this competition.

Lots of different life stresses outside of the training have made it very challenging to stay focused.

It is now the Friday before the competition.

I am all tanned up and ready to roll. I am finally excited and my major goal now is to have fun and enjoy every moment.

Even though there is some upset in my life right now the miracle or silver lining is that I have been pain free again (apart from the glute injury) for the last week.

When you have rheumatoid you forget how great it feels to live a day without pain.

The last 2 days I have enjoyed every second of it. Still amazed at how such a strict diet can affect this horrible disease.

Today I have had to take my methatrexate so I am hoping that I am not going to blow up like a balloon by tonight. I will have to keep a close eye on my condition.

It’s been a weird week with major upsets and then beautiful things happening in between.

My little girl had her triathlon yesterday. She was given a head start because of her cerebral palsy which she took full advantage of, and apparently she won!

When her brother stated that she had a head start though, she was quick to point out that she deserved every second of it.

She is so brave and wise.

It was a busy day for her and while I was painting myself for the comp she started having a seizure. She has had more of them lately.

We have recently increased her meds again so I am not sure if it is that or if it is how busy she has been and her little body not quite coping.

She has been having them at school and been too embarrassed to tell the teacher so yesterday I mentioned it to Mr G (teacher) and Eva and him worked out a code for letting him know when it was happening.

It is a beautiful day in Taranaki today which makes it easier to tan up etc but I must admit that I do have the heater on in the gym where I am tanning. It is nice to do a comp at this time of year as I usually aim for September and it sure is cold then.

The rest of today I will be eating carbs and putting on false nails and tanning up so more and probably start to get nervous.

I will go over my routine again and practice some posing with those huge heels on and then probably panic a bit and get more nervous.

It’s all part of getting out of your comfort zone.

I am feeling very proud of myself.

All that’s left now is to impress myself on stage. To do that I just need to stay present in the moment and put in the hard work on stage.

And it is hard work on stage. You maybe carbed up but you are dehydrated and add the mix of nerves, and the hot stage lights and maybe a little stage fright and it is hard to stop the body from shaking, especially if you are posing hard out for a long time.

I have so much respect for the athletes that are up on that stage with me.

It is not an easy journey at the best of times.

If you are coming to watch and have never been to a show before, it is quite easy to follow. First is the symmetry round which is the quarter turns then comes the compulsory poses. At the night show we perform a posing routine to music and then there’s the prize giving.

At the end of the night all the winners from each class compete for the Overall titles.

And then…….well then we eat!!!!!!!!

Well I have some more carbs to eat and nails to stick on now that I have finished my typing and oh yeah got to go embarrass my kids when I pick them up form school now that I am painted up like a freak!.

The point of the tan as so many people ask me, is that once on stage under the lights if we weren’t tanned up the lights would just reflect off the body, with a dark tan the lights don’t become a glare, they highlight the muscles.

So the old saying that everyone looks better with a tan is absolutely true with bodybuilders and figure competitors.

Hope to see and hear some support tomorrow at the Theatre Royal or TSB showplace, I never know what it is called anymore.

Day show starts at 1pm, doors open at 12.30 and the night show starts at 6pm doors open at 5.30pm.

Thanks for following and enjoy this Fabulous Friday.

Geez not more challenges

03/06/2012 18:51:00

Last Week, only days away from my first ever Nabba Competition

Monday = day one of de-carb

(warning:there may be lots of spelling mistakes in this due to de-carbed brain)

Everything is kind of going to plan. I have had a major piece of not so good news but trying not to let that affect my last week preparation.

Received this news on Thursday night and I must admit that I threw it all away for the night. I was so stressed and pissed off.

But I woke up the next morning and thought, well this person doing this is not going to ruin the weeks of hard work that I have already done.

So I have headed into my de-carb with less excitement than usual and at the back of my mind is the whole horrible situation.

To try and stop thinking about the nasty stuff I have tried to keep myself busy. The gardens have been done and the outside windows are washed. The house is spotless.

This has taken my mind of food anyway.

I am looking forward to Thursday when I will start to carb up.

Usually Wednesday would be the last day for exercise but with the rheumatoid medication I find that if I don’t do some form of exercise I blow up like a balloon. At my last comp it happened and I had to spend the Friday night before the contest in the gym depleting the fluid.

This competition is different again as I am on the same medication as last time but also have the humira drug added to the mix. I took my injection on Tuesday so hope that by Saturday my body will look fine.

I have no idea how this will effect my condition. Can only wait and see and alter what I need to at the last minute.

Because of the sore glute I still can’t train legs but have been able to sit on my exercycle for a little while. Most of the cardio has been done on the stepper still.

The major weather bomb that hit Taranaki on the weekend has flared up the rheumatoid but the more the sun shines the more it seems to be coming right again.

Sometimes I feel like a wise old Indian chief that can tell when it is going to rain etc just by the way my joints react to the weather.

The Taranaki Bodybuilders are all looking great and I am pleased that they have all hung in there and stuck to the plan.

The goal on the day will be to have a fabulous time.

All the hard work will be done.

It is now Tuesday night so I have one more day of de-carbing and then I get to eat kumara…..yay can’t wait!!!!!!!

I am yet to get excited.

I am hoping that it will happen.

Unfortunately the bad news I got on Thursday will affect my life and my children’s life so is serious and I can’t do a thing about it.

This has really killed any motivation and focus on what I should be doing. At the end of the day this is only a competition and when it comes to your life and your family it really does make you see things for what they are.

In saying that I don’t want to waste all the hard work I have put in.

So we will plod on with a smile.

De-carbing is so hard to do.

Today of all days my 5 year old decided she wanted to be a big girl and walk to school.

Well that set off the heart strings and I managed to talk her into just walking from the corner from school (so I could see her the whole way). I actually started walking along following her from a distance and it was a long lonely walk back to my car.

They grow up so fast.

The next few days we have school functions and I have a few clients still to train.

I will be posting on facebook on the day and you can check my website for tweets.

If you haven’t been to a bodybuilding show then come along.

It is great entertainment and a change from the normal.

I Might be able to get one more comp update posted with some pictures before Saturday.

Thanks for following my progress.

Stay healthy and happy everyone.