T-24 Hrs!

I must apologize to my dear readers who anticipate blog posts, which may be 1 of you! Having 3 kids in elementary school has not freed up my time as I thought it might. On the contrary! Now my life is full of PTA meetings, classroom volunteering, school chorus, sorting through endless piles of papers aka school work x 3, organizing said papers, which has led me to re-organizing my entire house, which led to some redecorating, which led to shopping that I probably shouldn't be doing, which led to me working harder to pay for said home projects . . . which led to my being AWOL from my blog. I'm guessing if you're female, and a mom, you totally get it. And if you're a man, namely my husband, you're rolling your eyes, sighing, and reprimanding me to just say no and sit on the couch for a minute. Alas, I am who am and it is what it is. I myself would like myself to just sit on the couch, read a book, in my self-cleaning, self-laundering, self-cooking, self-organizing, self-fun-money-earning house. Wouldn't that be dreamy?

But anywho, I'm back with a post. Because tomorrow is the day. The day we've all been waiting for! My first of two bodybuilding competitions in the bikini category (that sounds so much better than "bikini competition"). I've done the diet. I've done the workouts. I've cheated a lot along the way. But the past 2 weeks have been spot on (okay, except for the one piece of yummy sweet bread a kind neighbor anonymously left on our doorstep with the cute little ghost poem. Mind you, they left me a pack of sugar-free gum, which I appreciated and enjoyed. But slicing the bread for my kids was just too much. I ended up sticking the rest in the freezer so that I can enjoy the whole loaf after my competition!) Except for that one little mishap, I've been spot on. Plus, I took all the best of my Jill meal plans, the ones I like the most and which of course leave me the least gassy, and devised my own meal plan, which has made it easier to stick to. Still hard. But doable. Last weigh in, I hit 118.9. That's with boobage, baby! Yahoo! That's the least I've weighed since probably 9th grade. (I was a chubby high schooler).

But it's not just about the number on the scale. I truly feel better than I ever have-- I feel better than I did in high school! I feel amazingly strong, & that's my favorite result. I feel cleaner inside, more flexible, more energetic (maybe too energetic because lately, I've been waking up at 5 am, wide-eyed and bushy-tailed. The hubby is a bit annoyed!) I just feel so good. Yes, clean eating is super-hard. But I look around me, at the zombie-moms, the perpetually sick, the grumpy & lethargic, and I know it really is worth it.

So I think I'm ready. I've done the work. This week, I've done the grooming. I'm manicured (already chipped-- who can maintain a manicure longe than 24 hours??), pedicured (already calloused again-- all that Zumba), hair trimmed and deep conditioned (why is it everytime I get a haircut, no matter how expensive, I have to "fix it" when I get home?). I've begun the shaving process (no, I'm not waxing. First, because I've already been lasered where it matters most. Second, because I got waxed. Once. It hurt like hell and didn't look all that great. Third, because somehow, I got the non-genetic gift of fine body hairs, meaning I can shave my legs and they're soft for at least 2-3 days. Even long, they're not stubbly. I can go all winter without shaving and have a nice, soft coat of warmth! ) I shaved my arms yesterday. Yes, my arms. Someone told me the Jan Tana looks smoother if everything is hairless. So I'm carving out some time today for miscellaneous shaving.

Tonight will be Jan Tana time, then again in the morning. This afternoon, I have to drive to good ol' West Valley to weigh-in and check-in. Thank goodness I already have my MAC makeup, because this anxiety gave me a nice zit, which I knew I shouldn't have picked at but I did and now it's 10 times bigger of a blemish than it was in the first place. Jill said the judges are about 3 feet away, so I'm hoping the aforementioned blemish is not too obvious. Tested the 3 feet vantage point on the stretch marks, too, but those can't be undid. A friend suggested PVC pipe glue, so I had the hubby venture into the garage, and lo and behold we had some. But it's blue. And exceedingly vaporous. The hubby told me this stuff melts the plastic so that it welds together, and he does NOT recommend I use it for a homemade tummy tuck! One more whiff, and I agreed. Tonight I may experiment with duct tape. But I'm guessing I'll have to stick with the hands-on-the-hip-fingers-tug trick-- smoothes out that skin in a jiffy. Though when the hands return to my side for my little strut, the judges may be appalled by what they see. I'll have to divert them somehow, urge their eyes elsewhere. Maybe a nip slip? Although that may dock points . . .

The hair. I did have a struggle decided betweening sleek-sexy-straight with bangs or beachy waves/curls no bangs. In the end, I decided the beachy waves would be great if I had a professional hair stylist. But on my own, that hair is iffy at best, and I don't want that extra stress of a possible bad hair day. I had gone to Sally's to purchase hair extensions, but suffered immediate buyer's remorse. $96 to add a little length? Would it even make that much difference? And did I want to take the extra time to figure out how to install those segments of human hair onto my own head? I showed the hubby what I bought, knowing he loves long hair. Even he said return them. So back to the store they went. I'm guessing the hair won't be what loses it for me!