On the road.... again!

Yup, believe it....I'm going on another trip.... This time, I'm headed off to a little town nestled in the mountains....the population there is predominantly Italian so you know what that means....I'm off to visit family, friends and EAT. I figured I needed to squeeze in a trip to visit my family before I start dieting for my show. Let me tell ya, the 10 hour drive to visit them would not be cool if I was dieting.....it's LONG enough when I'm not dieting.

As of now the road conditions are great...most of the mountain passes are clear so the drive should be fairly scenic. I'm sure you're wondering why I wouldn't just fly there...well....the airport there consists of a landing strip that doubles as a runway...there is only one airline that flies in and out of there and unfortunately, the airline does not have scheduled flights on the days I have chosen to travel...go figure! It'll be nice to get away again :)

Aside from my upcoming travel plans...this is week 2 of my new training program...I thought the pain would be subsiding by now, but it's not....uy, it's brutal. One of the highlights of travelling to see my family is that I get to train at a little gym that is so quiet that I usually have the entire place to myself. The gym has been there for years, but somehow I always manage to avoid training at peak times....it sure is a nice change from what I am used to at my regular gym.

Unfortunately, the little village in the mountains is still buried in snow....I'm not used to 'changing shoes' when I get to the gym like I will be..lol...ah the joys of snow, slush and puddles....

Now speaking of training....I can not believe my pre-contest prep is coming up so darn quickly...it's only weeks away.... My weight is constantly fluctuating right now as I enjoy treats more often than not... My neighbour knows that my pre-contest prep starts soon so she has been baking me all kinds of stuff including cinamon buns and homemade donuts etc. I'm trying not to add too much excess weight, but the sweets are tough to avoid considering 'D-day' is right around the corner...lol... I might as well enjoy it while I can.

I'll be home next weekend, so until then....

Happy St Patrick's Day!!

A pic from my photoshoot in Columbus for HDPhysiques..enjoy!

Home and somewhat rested....

MY TRIP WAS FABULOUS!

I got home last Monday after a long winded trek to Columbus and back. I had an absolute blast! This trip exceeded my expectations far beyond anything I had imagined! It was friggin cold out, but well worth the trip! My first 'Arnold' was something I won't soon forget...an amazing experience to say the least. I was able to meet up with numerous old friends and spend some time with new ones too. From the moment my flight touched down in Columbus, my time there was action packed. I was able to watch the women's pre-judging and finals, skipped the men's events and attended the UFC instead.

The expo at the Arnold was so jam-packed full of people it was almost impossible to walk around...I'm not sure I have ever stopped and posed for so many photos in my whole life.


Aside from photos, I stopped and hit some poses for a few photographers I know who were shooting video in the expo.....tons of fun! Really sore biceps..lol...

While in the expo, I did some shopping too... I picked up some cool gym tanks etc.

I just might make a point of attending this event every year! Although Columbus is literally on the other end of the continent from where I live, my travel time passed quickly. Regarding the events, I do think that the women's pre-judging needs to be moved to it's own venue though...the area designated in the expo was overflowing with spectators. The women's finals were very interesting...I thought the placings were 'bang on'...

I attended the event with a few friends who kept me entertained.... these two guys had me laughing my ass off. This pic was taken at the women's finals. As you can see I was bundled up due to the cold weather.

My weekend in Columbus had to have been one of the most sleep deprived stretches I have ever endured. By the time I got home, I needed a few days rest just to catch up...lol...

So after the women's events on Friday a few of us decided to skip the men's events on Saturday and attend the UFC instead...now that was awesome! What were the chances...the UFC and the Arnold Classic in the same city on the same weekend... we had to seize the opportunity! The UFC venue was sold out, I was amazed by the number of people who attended the event... it was great to see it live as opposed to PPV. I attended the UFC with IFBB pro Tazzie Columb and a few other friends....I gotta say, Tazzie is one hell of a gal..

Aside from keeping busy with everything going on, I was able to get quite a bit of shooting done for my site. I shot with numerous photographers and even teamed up with Kim Birtch and Melissa Dettwiller for a few photoshoots.....

After my weekend in Columbus it was time to head back home to reality..... I took a few days to recoup...my trainer arrived here in town on Thursday and we spent three fun-filled days training together and plotting out my pre-contest schedule. We changed my training program again just to keep my body responding...and it's responding alright..I'm in pain. Aside from training, we did tons of eating...lol..I swear I put on 5lbs. while she was here. The three days passed quickly, I dropped her off at the airport this evening and now I need some rest again. I think I may stay in bed tomorrow and let my body heal some before I head back to the gym on Monday.

That's all for now :)