Busy Bee!

Things have been so busy in my life I've been neglecting my blogging! But a little time away from the electric box never hurt anyone. :)  I have a new addition to my family!!! Meet Kodi!

Kodi is a 4 month old Australian Shepherd/Poodle cross and though this picture doesn't show it well he's going to be a big boy. lol My husband and I have had some adjusting to do but we're splitting up the duties pretty good so that we can each get our workouts in still.  Soon enough Kodi won't have to be supervised but for now everything is a chew toy! lol  

I am still trying to cut some fat for my photoshoot on June 5th, not sure if it's going to work but a tan makes everything better right? lol

Fountain of Youth

It's amazing the reaction I receive when I tell people I'm 30.  They scoff in disbelief then ask what my secret is.  Alot of it obviously has to do with good genes but those only get you so far if you decide to abuse your body.  You want to know what the real secret is?

Water.

I kid you not.  Your kitchen tap is the most valuable tool in keeping your skin and body looking younger!  Ok, well that and sunscreen but this blog is called fountain of youth not bottle of youth.

Our bodies are 55% - 78% water depending on body size and when you're not consuming enough you are basically drying yourself out. I know I'm really over generalizing things but if you're not already, start by consuming 1 full litre of water a day then work your way up to 2.  This can include your coffee and tea if you wish.  Try this out for a full month (but continue afterwards of course) and keep notes of how you feel, changes in your body, etc.  You'd be surprised at what a little H2O can do.

New Direction

This weekend was highly busy with Mother's Day and my second photography class so there wasn't alot of working out being done.  Mother's Day was awesome I took my mom out to a little casino about an hour out of town for the night.  We had a great time and came back with some money!  My second photography class was packed with information that I'm still digesting.  Here are a couple of shots I've taken over the last couple of days.

I have also created a Flickr site for myself so if you want to track my continued progress go here.  I'll still write about the class and give one shot in my blogs but the rest you'll have to go check out!

Walk The Line

There is a very thin line between building lovely lean girly muscles and getting fat while trying to build lovely lean girly muscles.  I am currently travelling right down the middle of this line like I hit a check stop and was asked to walk a line, or tight rope walking in the circus, you choose.  While I'm realizing the "science" behind building lean muscle was ALOT less confusing than I initially thought there's alot of room for mistakes.  To sum it up you take the food you're eating for contest prep, eat about 1 1/2 times more, add some more carbs and VOILA! You're on your way to lovely lean girly muscles. Ok, that was over simplified but who woulda thunk it?? (besides the obvious people) 

Last night I attended a work function that required me to dress up a little. I hadn't tried on any of my dress pants in MONTHS so I had no idea what would fit and what didn't.  The pants of choice were a great black pair, wide leg, and water resistant apparently (they should use dogs in testing by the way).  The only issue was that they were in fact a little snug. Not because of a fluffy waist, oh no, but because the amazing deadlifts I've been doing for the last 6 weeks have produced more muscle in the gluteus maximus region.  Lamen terms: Baby got too much back.  While I am loving the added size to my posterior I am NOT loving the "back gap" effect my pants now have.

Oh the whoas of a bodybuilder! ;)

Peppermint tea and belly buttons

I found peppermint tea early on in my contest prep.  Though I am a lover of most teas, including fennel seed, peppermint is my favourite among all of them.  The whole reason I began drinking peppermint tea started for digestion reasons. While trying to figure out ways to help my body deal with the strict contest dieting I was looking for natural ways to help it deal.  However the reason I keep drinking it, besides the fact it reminds me of Christmas trees and candycanes, is because it comforts me.  People have comfort foods (as do I) and I have comfort teas.  How do I drink it? Straight up, steeped for about 5 mins or whenever I remember to take out the bag. lol

Now I know you're wondering what belly buttons have to do with tea. They have nothing to do with tea normally but today these 2 subjects happen to be floating in my brain.  During the last 3 weeks of contest prep my belly button changed, it was no longer the baby finger nail deep "crevice" in my abdomen. lol  I found it highly odd that something that has stayed the same for my whole life was changing.  I seemed to think that belly buttons had a set depth, but apparently that's not the case when it comes to fat loss. lol Anyway, it is remaining forever changed which is something I will have to accept and love along with all of the other forever body changes that are happening.  Judging fat loss based on your belly button depth.....who knew? ;)

Week 6

First off I would like to say hello to the 5 or so followers of my little babble blog. :)  Thank you so much for following along!

This week marks 6 weeks since I started the weight training program from simplyshredded.com. I haven't been doing alot of cardio but the heavy lifting is helping with any added fat that I accidentally develop. This weekend was mostly crap food wise so I'll be doing at least 3 days of cardio this week.  Anyway, my lifting weights are up siginificantly since I started this program. 85lb deadlifts people!! My goal by the end of the next 6 weeks to is deadlift my current body weight at that time. (probably around 135lbs)  I have yet to figure out what happens after I'm finished these 12 weeks but I'm pretty sure I'm going to go back to working individual body parts and if I get bored of that then I'll go back to this 12 week program. :)

On a different note I attended my first photography class yesterday. I enrolled in an 8 week course to teach me the basics of taking a technically good photo and there are 2 other classes I will complete probably this year.  This is in hopes of one day taking pro photos specifically fitness related photos (I've probably touched on this before and probably will again since I can never remember what I've written from day to day. lol) I would have really liked to have taken the diplomacy program but that's 10 months full time and momma has to pay the bills. lol Anyway, yesterday was merely introductory. I learned about most of the buttons on my camera which have been eluding me since I got it. lol  In the following weeks I should be able to take a fabulous technically sound photo.  I have a bunch of willing specimens to let me try out my talents which will help me build a portfolio. Now I just have to figure out photoshop........