Jet-Setting Survival Must-Haves

I can’t believe in seven short days I will be on my way to Italia!

Sadly Hubs is not coming with, but I will be meeting my family in Roma, and from there we will tour some of the major sites and cities of Italy. 

It will be a whirlwind trip, but it is also the first family vacation we have taken in about 10 years.  It will also be the first time we will have all been in one location in about two and a half years!

As I mentioned in my last post, I got back from Thailand about a month ago, two weeks ago I was in Ohio for one of my besties’ wedding.  After this Italy trip I will be flying back to Ohio for another good girlfriend’s fabulous wedding.

Hubs and I use to run through airports on a weekly basis when we were dating, but since being married, my passport has been gathering dust.  I feel like a jet-setter again!

I’m sure a lot of you will be traveling this summer, so here are some of my travel essentials:

Clorox Wipes

During my last trip, I read in a magazine about all the germies on planes.   I am a bit of a germaphobe to begin with (I consider the smell of bleach an aphrodisiac). After reading the article I quickly bought antibacterial wipes for my flight back.

As I sit, I wipe down the arm rests, the seatbelt, the tray table (top & bottom) and if the seat is leather, the seat … as well as anything else I might possibly touch that could give me Hepatitis A.

(Did I scare you?)

Water Bottle with Filter

As a bikini competitor I drink a lot of water.  Before competing I drank a lot of water. This time I will bring a water bottle with filter, so I can fill up anywhere! It will save you a lot of money, and keep you healthy and hydrated.

Nibbles & Nosh

I have been delayed on planes one too many times. I ALWAYS carry something to nibble on, whether it’s a packet of nuts to a sandwich from the airport deli.  On international flights, vegetarian meal options often leave a lot to be desired in the protein department. I’m usually so over-carbbed and bloated by the time I got off the flight.  This time I will be packing a few packets of tuna just in case.

Kindle

If I have a long travel itinerary (layovers and long flights), I hate to carry a huge bag.  I also get really bored with books.  I’m usually reading two or three at one time (probably why I never finish any of them!)  My Kindle compresses everything into one small carry-on, leaving lots of room in my bag for:

Tolitries

If it’s a short weekend trip, I try to stuff pack everything into a carry-on.  However, for my international trips, I like to carry on a small bag of make up and a small bag of necessities to make sure I don’t look like Lindsey Lohan when I get off a flight.

Make up bag:

Tri-color palettes give you some variety without
 taking up too much room

Foundation 

(mine is liquid, so I pack it in the quart-size necessity bag)

One neutral-color eye shadow compact

Eye liner

Lip pencil

Chap stick

Teasing comb

Travel size hair spray

Lip pencils can be used to color in the lip, and the chap stick glossies it up a bit and keeps you hydrated.  Also, rub a little of the pencil color on your fingers and blend into your cheeks for a bit of color.

These are AH-MAZE-BALLS.
I never travel without!

Necessities:

Travel-size face wash

Travel-size face lotion
(I also use it for my hands and arms)

Travel toothbrush and paste
(if it’s a short trip, then I will pack Wisps)

Saline eye drops

Anti-bacterial hand sanitizer

Wet wipes

Just enough to keep from being too stinky when I get off the flight.

Happy Flying Lovies! 

Eat, Love, Renewed

In my last post I mentioned I wanted to blog more.  I have failed on that one, but for good reason.

Two weeks ago, the hubs and I flew to the other side of the world to celebrate the marriage of my brother-in-law and (now) sister-in-law.

The week in Phuket, Thailand was just what this bikini competitor needed.

Prior to leaving, my body was failing me.   Honestly.  Waking up each morning was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do.  I woke up feel like I had been run over by a truck.  My body ached.  All I did was sleep, but I was not rested.  I had no energy to even make it through the day, let alone attempt a work out (but I did). I was holding on to 5lbs of water weight.  Any moment I had to sit and think, I would just start crying out of frustration. 

I know other people have a way worse lot in life than me.  I am truly blessed. 

But when you have spent the last six month only putting pure energy into your body, participating in strength-training and (multiple) cardio sessions on a daily basis, and seeing improves in both strengthen and endurance then to have it all crumble while you attempt to paste it all back together, is just disheartening. 

Another realization out of this trip: Hubs and I have never taken a REAL vacation together. 

Hubs and I traveled back and forth to see each other while we were dating.  I made a 72-hour total round-trip to South Africa for his friend’s wedding.  He brought me to London for my birthday and proposal, then we immediately flew off to Seychelles to celebrate Christmas with his family.  We spent three months working together on the boat, traveling from the eastern US throughout the Bahamas and Caribbean.  Last Christmas was spent in St. Maarten.  And this doesn't include the half a dozen or so trips back to Ohio. 

But even with all that traveling, not one trip was truly a vacation.  The South African trip was a blink.  Hubs was working in London, and when I arrived he was still dealing with boat issues and pre-proposal nerves. And he got so sick he practically was on his deathbed (no fun with an lengthy layover in Qatar and a 14-hour plane ride). Arriving in Seychelles, was the first time I was truly meeting my future in-laws … I also had food poisoning, and was spending my first Christmas away from my family.  All Ohio trips involved something wedding-related ... and for those who have planned a wedding, know there is NO relaxation during the engagement period.

While our mini-moon, a long-weekend at the Ritz, was fabulous, I spent most of my time poolside, studying, not sipping over-priced pina coladas with my new hubs. 

And while we have been to some pretty beautiful places on the boat, it’s not a vacation, as Mark always has on his captain’s hat.  Even if the only people on the boat are the crew and family, he’s concerned about personalities, if people are happy and well-taken care of, and if the day’s event or dinners are planned.  I feed off of his energy.  We both end up being a bit uptight.

… Luckily our trip to Thailand included no captain hats.

Hubs and I spent all week relaxing poolside with family members we haven’t seen (or, in my case, met) in years. 

And of course, the wedding was beautiful, and so much fun.  Both Mark and I walked away hopping for a community of friends and support that both Guy and Shannon have.  Not only did the bride and groom get love, but the Hubs and I experienced nothing but the whole week.  

A quick layover in London allowed me to see my brother

My in-laws the night before the wedding, enjoying Thai milkshakes

Guy waiting for Shannon

The beautiful bride!!!

The hubs, handing over the rings

They had an elephant at the wedding!!!!

It was SUPER windy! 

 And, even more surprising, while I was off diet the entire week (I didn't want to stress out if I couldn't get a fillet of tuna at 2 pm), once I got back home and got back on diet, all water weight and bloat that has been plaguing me these last few weeks immediately disappeared.  

While diet fell somewhat by the wayside for the week, I did workout everyday and actually learned to enjoy the gym again.  I started seeing results from my workouts too.  I also decided to compete again.  

It's amazing how something as simple as relaxing can actually renew the body.  

Major Reservations

I competed this past weekend in Pittsburgh.  The past week was an emotional roller coaster, with lots of tears, thoughts and reservations about going to Pittsburgh.

How to best explain this?  Funny how God gives you validation of your own thoughts through others.  Channa Serenity, a vegan bikini athlete I’ve been following explained it best last week with her own situation:

It's been a very rough couple of weeks for me, I've had to come to terms with the fact I need to make dramatic lifestyle changes due to my health. I haven't been feeling well...for quite awhile now. After eliminating other ailments from the table, It seems I'm left with Chronic Fatique Syndrome. I felt sorry for myself for a few days, this meant no more crazy workouts, and possibly feeling yuk a lot of the time, then I smartened up and took time to reflect. Why was I even working out so hard to begin with? I don't even enjoy lifting weights lol I was trying to gain approval from others by doing what I was told I'd be good at. Truth is, I love to dance in the living room, walk peacefully along the tides of the ocean, rollerblade, yoga, I want to exercise with grace because I enjoy it and the healing nature around me. Everyone always says "Moderation", but I certainly wasn't doing that with my training, or my desire to be the best. I was living in ego consciousness. That's not where I want to be or where my true path is, its in the mystical/spiritual consciousness.

Last week, as I was practicing posing for the Pittsburgh show, I just collapsed in a state of mental and moral confusion. 

I had spent all this time prepping for the show, but it’s not on my heart.  I feel run down.  I’m tired all the time.  My hip is injured. 

Morally, I can’t see spending hours in the gym so my abs look good a benefit to society.  Especially when I live in an area where homeless people are on every street corner and sleep right outside my complex. 

At first, I wanted to compete just to say I did.  Then there was the draw of the stage.  And, while I’m in school for acupuncture, I don’t know how quickly my practice will pick up, so having a back-up plan (personal training) is beneficial.  And being a NPC bikini competitor, especially one that places, can help me in marketing myself to clients.  But the clients I want to help are everyday people, with jobs, kids and crazy lives, needing a push to make healthy lifestyle choices, not aspiring to spend three hours in the gym.

Between school (a must) and competition prep, I have no time for things I value as more important, such as my marriage.  It would be nice to have enough energy to doing something with Hubs other than just watching TV.

So, in going to Pittsburgh I brought my worst attitude possible.  I didn't feel like I should be there, I was dreading every moment, and complained to my family in every conversation throughout the weekend.  But Hubs told me that if this was going to be one of the last shows I compete in, I should at least just have fun.

He was right.  (Wise man.)

I prayed the whole weekend. 

And rather than looking at Pittsburgh as a waste of time and money, I decided to take it as a learning process and an experience. 

1.     I got to meet some of the fitness world’s most famous. 

Jay Culter

 Sonia Gonzalez

I got to drive a Fiat 500 ...  which I will never drive again. 

2.     I was surrounded by other teammates. 

3.     I was able to meet with my coaches and get some feedback.

I also realized that I am not mentally or physically ready for a national level competition, which I had planned on doing one in August.

Not to shabby, but not good enough ... I placed 12th of 25. 

Outside of Pittsburgh, I realized I do want to compete, but I have decided to change direction of my training.  I will still be with Bombshell, but I am not going to do a show until the fall.

I also want to incorporate a healthy lifestyle: see a doctor about my exhaustion, and not feel terrible if I miss a workout to spend time with Hubs or beat myself up if I have a frozen yogurt mid-week. 

Hopefully this will leave time to post a bit more as well!

Yum-Yums and Cravings

First off, whoa!  Blogger updated their posting section!  So forgive me if this post is haphazard.

Yesterday I felt like a weight was lifted from my shoulders!  

Last Tuesday, I got the sh*t knocked out of me by a cold/flu.  Funny how that happens the week I have a final!  Oh, and it was final with a time-crunch. I had less than an hour and a half to take it (it usually takes about two hours), as I was going back to Ohio for a very special occasion for a very hot minute. 

This lady:

With her handsome fiance!

is getting married in a few short weeks, and we were celebrating her bridal shower.

Though we went to the same high school, Sara and I didn't become friends until college.  Then it was "love" at first site, and after freshman year we were inseparable. It also didn't hurt that telling people our names, Sara & Tara, made us very memorable, so I think we had to stick together to get people to recognize us.  I don't have a college memory that doesn't involve Sara. 

(p.s. Homegirl got engaged after my wedding reception!  Since we called each other "Wifey" in college, I think it only appropriate that the night as I became someone else's wife, she was on her way too!)

I felt like a bad bridesmaid being all the way down here.  Luckily the MOH, Cara, asked me to take care of favors and game gifts, so I felt I was somewhat involved. 

With my mind swirling with acupuncture points and herbal medicine formulas, it was nice to get to be creative.

I didn't get to Cincinnati until late Friday night and the shower was on Saturday, so I needed something easy and supplies I could transport via carry-on.  So I came up with these:

So fun and so easy to make! 

Marshmallow pops!

The inspiration for the cakes and cupcakes! 

My mom helped late into the night on Friday, and I was very pleased with how they turned out. 

And I did eat any of them (in full contest prep!)! 

The game gifts were these:

Cakes in a Jar! 

Though you can microwave the cakes (which is what I did) I think I want to try it by baking, as I think it would taste better.   Though with the amount of icing in the jar, I don't know if you'd care what the cake tasted like.  :)

It was a beautiful shower and it's always nice to be around my friends and spend some QT with family.

The beautiful bride-to-be awaiting her gifts :)

Especially since I had to come back to a new class (my herbal medicine board review class, which I have to take the exam a week early for, so its a bit scary considering I need to review 75 weeks worth of notes in 4 weeks!), and an exam yesterday.

But the exam is done and I feel like I am handling the study load okay for right now. 

Plus, I might have blinders on since I have a show coming up next weekend (man, and I CRAVING frozen yogurt and potato salad right now ... Bikini competitors crave strange things during prep).

This show, only a national qualifier (which I since my third place win in March), is huge.  A lot of my team will be there, as well as my coaches.  Whether I place or not, it's a big deal to get in front of national judges, as well as possibly get direct feedback from my coaches.  So far I look better than my last show and I get to meet/see a lot of my teammates.

Oh yeah, my last show!  I decided to do a second show a fews ago.  It was last minute and it was suppose to keep me on track for this show (dieting for 6 weeks seems like forever, so breaking it up with another show helped.) 

 Again, lucky number 3, because I placed third (out of 9 competitors).  It felt good to get first call out and to beat out 6 other competitors. 

So here's to Pittsburgh! 

Prayers appreciated!!!!!

Childless & Celebratory

Okay, I know Easter posts should be over and done with, but I am late, and I want to post it.

Especially since it will involve a gratuitous cute dog photos.

I had mentioned on the last post how Easter snuck up on me. I had mentioned this aloud later in the day. To which a women responded, “Well since you don’t have children, you wouldn’t really be celebrating holidays.”

WTF?!

First off, this woman is Buddhist, so no offense to Buddha or any Buddhist reading this, but Easter, really isn’t your holiday to begin with … (just saying)

Second, how about the fact that my friends and a majority of my family are 1,000 miles away, my hubs is 1,000 miles away on some island that may or may not have Internet and/or phone service, and if I’m not studying or gymin' it, I'm passed out ... on the couch, the floor, the bed ... these days I'm not particular.

(... These are also all reasons that BY CHOICE the Hubs and I have decided to not have children.)

I don’t lead an exciting life. It’s pretty routine, and sometimes in that routine gives you blinders that make you forget about things that are more important … like holidays!

For the record: I didn’t forget Easter, it’s just that those 40-days were really short.

And I’d like to think that despite being childless, I do a pretty good job of celebrating holidays. Granted, moving a lot has limited how much tangible décor I have at the moment, but I decorated for Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Easter (even though I was all by myself). Not to mention I properly celebrated each holiday, whether it was in a church pew, with family and friends, or in the case of Halloween, a few celebratory bevvies.

I like to think that when I do have kiddies, I will be the mom to make green pancakes for St. Patrick’s Day, force my kids to make elaborate Valentines (I don’t do store-bought), hide Easter baskets (my mom still does this and my youngest brother is 21!), gorge on King cake for Mardi Gras, and make tacos & virgin margaritas for Cinco de Mayo (though mommy’s may have a side car), make a flag cake for Fourth of July (my favorite holiday), bake fun Halloween desserts and create really memorable moments for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

(... and lets face it, with Pintrest, I will NEVER be out of ideas!)

But alas, I have dogs.

Martini-dog enjoying a coffee at the park

Morgs just chillin'

I did, in fact, celebrate Easter, and with family. I spent the day in Naples with my grams and aunt and uncle.

Grams loves me so much she invited the dogs, but I thought they better stay on her good side, which meant relaxing at home. Martini & Morgan appreciated the Grandma's gesture and sent along a basket for her:

Meanwhile, they stayed at home and enjoyed their goodies from the Easter Bunny:

I don't think she was upset about not sitting in the car for 2 hours ...

But Easter isn’t quite over for me.

I have a show this weekend, so I was not able to indulge in any candy. However, I have a Cadbury Crème Egg sitting in the fridge, waiting for Saturday night (and hopefully I can enjoy it next to a trophy ...and my fur-babies!).

Could I really like where I live?

Um, why didn't anyone tell Easter is Sunday?! I feel completely out of the loop!

As if the move and a competition wasn't enough stress, I had my very first apartment guest this past weekend! My bestie Kelly came down for a long-weekend.

but from the time Mark left last Sunday to Kelly arriving last Thursday, I thought I was going to lose my mind.

I had been posting on FB about not feeling well and then getting strange cysts on the back of my head (so gross!). They were SOOOO painful and itchy, and burned!

It turned out to be shingles. Gross!

It’s so frustrating when you do EVERYTHING healthy (diet, workout ... I have even been going to bed earlier and prepping everything the night before so my mornings are stress-free ... well as much as a morning can be) and your body fails. Granted it could be worse, but just knowing that there is no rhyme or reason for the shingle outbreak except an immune-system compromise, is annoying.

Last Tuesday was spent trying to find a walk-in clinic (since the one in front of our apartment complex was open, but had no doctor, WTF?!) when I should have been studying for a midterm, which happened to be the morning Kelly arrived. I was trying to finish the putting boxes away (finally my clothes are hanging ... my shoes ... are a different story) and get the guest bedroom set up by the time she arrived.

The Bestie Suite

Come Thursday afternoon, I was in desperate need of a drink.

… but I am still in competition training, so there is no fun bevvies for Miss T.

These classy bevs will just have to wait ...

Thankfully Kelly just wanted to relax too, so it was really a low-key weekend. Plus, I got to try new restaurants in my new city.

Mark and I always go out in Fort Lauderdale, but we usually go to the same places. We had a dinner and a lunch with some of Kelly’s friends/family that live down here, which meant a new restaurant on Las Olas and a lunch on Fort Lauderdale Beach (which was WAY more pleasurable than Miami Beach, even with spring break in full swing!)

On Sunday, I took Kelly for a ride on the Jungle Queen (a must if you visit South Florida). It’s a tacky-touristy river cruise. On it we past one of the major parks in Fort Lauderdale, packed with people. Apparently every first Sunday of the month the city holds a free jazz brunch.

And I found a place nearby that offers the Barre Method classes, something I have been dying to try! And down the street from me is a vegan/raw restaurant that I am itching to stop in (Seriously?! You can take the veggies away from a girl but you can't veggie outta her.)

… I might actually learn to like South Florida after all.

Bikinis and Boxes

Whew!

Happy Tuesday ya’ll. I can finally say life is somewhat back to normal.

Last Wednesday we moved, and with the competition this weekend, I hadn’t had a chance to unpack. Hubs has worked super hard to get the apartment to a box-less state, but my clothes are still packed away.

My competition went really well.

I met other Bombshell teammates, I think I looked the best I ever had, and I placed third …

… Out of three in my class.

Here’s the thing. During this training, I really tried to focus on God and the fact that He’s allowing me to do this. I asked and prayed he’d allow me to place in the top three in my height class, knowing that the top three get a bid to a national competition, and only through a national competition can you have the possibility of getting your pro card.

Is getting my pro card my ultimate goal? It would be fun and great if I did. But ultimately my goal is to go to a national competition, and guess what God did?!

He provided.

Of course, it's not without challenges, even the day of. I’ve blogged about my ankle pain, which is thankfully healed. But Saturday morning, I got up at 5 am to starting getting ready (Okay, I may have hit the snooze once). I plugged in my curling iron, which worked just days before, and found that it wouldn’t work. Since we just moved in, I still haven’t figured out which outlets work and which light switches turn on what, so after struggling for about five minutes I gave in to the fact that it was broken.

Luckily we lived across the street from a 24-hour Wal-greens. I had put my hair in curlers the night before, and tied my hair up with a scarf to keep everything in place. If that wasn't enough, I had been spray tanned the night before, and you can’t wear undergarments after being tanned, so in my PJs, bra-less, orange-skinned and hair tied up in rollers and a scarf, I walked into Wal-greens to purchase a curling iron and red lipstick at 5:20 on a Saturday morning. Let’s just say the clerk wasn't too chatty.

Hubs joined me for judging on Saturday night. This show was really cool because they had a wheelchair competition as well. These guys are such inspirations, especially since some of them have more severe conditions than being paraplegic.

With Hubs

The wheelchair competition

Afterwards, Hubs and I decided to eat, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with guacamole and fajitas. Sunday, I tried to stick with my diet, while I decided to take off exercise-wise.

Hubs and I made a trip to IKEA, which was a terrible idea. Overwhelmed, overcrowded and just plain tired, we decided to head to Cheesecake Factory for a long overdue date.

And guess what?

I got drunk. Obviously it took less than a half a raspberry martini to get me tipsy, but I figured I’d have another … and some frozen yogurt after.

By five in the afternoon, Hubs and I were passed out in the apartment. We had every intention of unpacking and doing a little home improvement, but it was nice to be “normal” again.

I also may have splurged on the flourless chocolate chip cookies from Chocolate-Covered Katie, and I HIGHLY recommend them. They are soooooo good and super easy to make! (p.s. I used the chocolate chunks rather than chips. Also highly recommend.)

And while I started the weekend a hot-mess in curlers, I’m beginning the week the same way. I look like an Oompa-Loompa as the dark spray tan fades to orange and my drug-store, glue-on nails are popping off left and right.

But I woke up at 5 am to hit the gym for a few hours before class Monday and today (I think I like the two-hour early morning work out rather than at the end of the day. Who knew I'd be a morning person?!)