Posin' and Shout-Outs

Hey Hey Hey!

So, I'm already slackin' on my Octo-goals. Booooo! One of those goals was to blog at least every other day, however it seems whenever I make that goal, something inevitably happens and I end up not blogging it as scheduled. Then I end up feeling guilty and that is just silly. Seriously, how silly is it that I should feel guilty that I was too busy enjoying LIFE to write a blog, which for all purposes is just for "fun". I haven't established myself or my blog enough to really feel obligated to write. I'm all about QUALITY or quantity and don't care if I have 10 readers (Hi, ya'll!) or 100 .

Blogging is a FANTASTIC creative outlet for me and I am enjoying the H-E-C-K out of getting to know such fabulous gals! (Yeah, I'm talkin' about YOU!!!) I luuuurve it so much when you comment and I love visiting your blogs and getting to know you all better and feeling a sense of "like-minded" community. Again, if you are a reader and haven't commented or said "hi", please do! I read blogs for a month or two without commenting or saying "hi" and once I started interacting on forums, I've "met" some of the greatest gals and have even made connections in my own city because of it! (I'll tell ya about that in a minute!) I'm not saying commenting will change your life, but it sure does make blog-reading more fun--and I'm all about FUN!

****ABOUT ME****

OK, so one of my Octo-goals that I did do (phew!) was post my 'About Me' page. I know, I know- finally! I found it a bit difficult to write, though, because I didn't want to give my entire life story, but mainly wanted to talk about why I started this blog and what brought me to do so. Basically, it was gaining weight after getting married, moving to a new state, struggling to find a job and meeting new friends that made me question my purpose. I know in a few months time I'll get to add another page about my competition prep and maybe one day I'll write more about my struggle with gaining and losing the same darn 20 pounds and what finally 'clicked' for me.

OK, so here is what I really want to talk about today! POSING! This past weekend I attended a workout/yoga/posing class given by a Cathy Savage coach, Andi, here in Pittsburgh. Jessica, from How Sweet It Is, who I have not had the pleasure of meeting, e-mailed me the dates for Andi's workshops, encouraging me to attend as I prep for this bikini show. I loved, loved, loved it! Andi led us in a killer workout (and by killer, I mean I thought I was going to die and even had to "walk it out" a few times DOH!) After the workout, we did a 15 minutes yoga flow and then Andi instructed and critiqued our posing.

I was so so so nervous and my knees were shaking just being in the presence of such beautiful and FIT gals! It was clear the minute I walked in the room that I didn't know what I was doing, but the girls were so supportive and kind and made me feel welcome. After about 2 times "workin'" it in front of the mirror, I started to get the hang of it and began to feel more confident. I even got compliments on my smile and posing, which really helped boost my confidence!!!!

The other girls in attendance were SO nice and friendly and made me feel like I belonged. I even got to watch one of the girls do her fitness routine and was amazed! Since college, I've always wanted to do a fitness competition, but never pursued it. I think after bikini is over and I rest for a bit, I want to try that next. (I know, I know- I should cross that bridge when I get there!!! HAHA!)

Anyway, I cannot wait to go to the next classes and am glad I'll be in town for the next 3 meet-ups before my show! I know I'll need all the critiquing I can get on posing and such and I love that I can ask questions, too! In the meantime, I definitely need to do more plyometric/high-intensity workouts to condition myself to do the workouts at these workshops. All this steady-state cardio I've been doing has not helped me "dig deep" and Andi advised me to really "up" the intensity and maybe only do steady-state cardio once or twice a week. Done and done!

So, as I mentioned earlier, through blogging I've been able to "meet" amazing gals and in many cases I've been able to reach out to those fabulous bloggers who have done a figure/fitness show. I am a question-asker and have been so fortunate to get such great advice and encouragement from these gals. I'd like to take a minute to thank the following for your encouragement, advice and gracious responses to my questions about this contest prep:

Jessica from How Sweet It Is
Tina from Faith, Fitness, Fun
Dawn from Excuses Don't Burn Calories
Becca from A Mile In These Competition Shoes
Naomi from One Fit Foodie, who is training for her first bikini show, too! It's comforting to know we're in the same boat!

Jessica, I want to thank you especially for pointing me in the right direction and encouraging me to attend Andi's class this past weekend. You are awesome and so right-- the class made me feel so much better about things!!!

OK, enough talking about workouts. It's time for me to actually do it! Time to HIIT it! I have calories to burn, fat to lose and a butt to find, STAT! Seriously, what happened to my butt? It's all but <--haha! disappeared! ♥, T PS- Hopefully I'll have more pics up soon! Still workin' on getting a camera! Question:

1) What connections or positive outcomes have you noticed through blogging?