A month long road trip with a car full of kids. A daughter that just started High School.  An adopted two-year-old lab. Many successful weight loss clients and figure competitors.  That’s just a few of the latest happenings . . . 

The long blogging hiatus is over!  So you weren’t on the edge of your seat, but nonetheless, it’s great to be back to the Blogging world!

The kids and I spent August road trippin’ the western United States (if that ain’t a cool mom, I don’t know what is, lol).  Vacation!  Not quite the National Lampoon variety, though.  Thankfully. Although, we did have all the makings of one – first destination was Vegas . . . baby.  We then headed to Lake Tahoe, followed by Eastern WA before heading home to the west side of the state. 

The first pic is my two oldest, way past their bed time, in front of the famous Vegas sign. Check that off of their "to do someday" list.

And here we turned the camera on ourselves on top of Paris Vegas, watching the Bellagio water/light show after dinner and a long hard day at the MGM's lazy river pool.

We had to come up with a way to continue the excitement of August – and what better way than to adopt a two-year old yellow lab?  Call me crazy. Daisy is her name.  Found myself drivin’ Miss Daisy to our home, to become part of our family . . . here’s a couple of the latest pics of my youngest with her Daisy Girl :)  

And now that you're kind of up-to-date, you're probably wondering where this blog is headed?  To answer that, I'd like you to think of . . . chocolate (you knew i'd find SOME place for chocolate!)

Yes. Think of this Blog as a box of chocolates.  (And since this is the third movie reference in this post, if you re-read that last sentence with a Forest Gump accent, you’re in good company!) I'll cover many topics, just like there are many bite-sized chocolatey choices in the box.  Although you might be unsure of which potential sugary goodness is on the inside, you DO know each one is covered in rich, creamy chocolate.  Likewise, you might not know what my post will cover on any given day, but you DO know it’ll be sometimes helpful, sometimes funny, sometimes uplifting, and always real.  

Thanks for reading . . . and as always, hugs.  chelle

Usually I wake up with my eyes still shut, kinda stretch a little, and point my squinted, half-focused eyes toward the half-dim red glow of the digital numbers: 6:15 a.m. Usually. But this morning my eyes popped wide open and I would have been staring at my ceiling if there had been any light in the room. And the very first thing that crossed my mind, before I even flinched, was "Wow. My legs are so sore." I knew this day (and the next 48 hours!) was gonna be just a smidge different.

Different because my normally energetic and limber body labored to get out of bed, in and out of the rig, winced in pain putting on kickers, and walked so short-strided you'da thought I had gravel in my shoes. OK, that last analogy is a slight exaggeration, but I can't remember a time my butt, hams and thighs have been this sore. Ooooooh yah.


We die-hard health and fitness buffs often display the special kind of mindset needed to embrace such physical discomfort: The kind of mindset that defaults to "Man, I hit 'em GOOD!" and not "Man, ain't doin' that again!" A mindset aware of the knowledge that those torn and screaming muscle fibers initiate a cascade of repair which will transform a typical "mommy" figure to a "hot mama" figure. A mindset that comes from an unshakable belief that when the time comes to shed this body fat . . . a new and improved physique will emerge . . . and all of the laboring, wincing, and gimpyness will be -- unequivocally -- well worth it.


And if you're anything like me . . . the previous was a nice lil' pep-talk through the bitter-sweet sting of a really, really good workout.


With you in the tough times, lol


chelle

I'm cleanin' house. Not in the metaphoric sense, but the actual sense. I had a professional carpet cleaning company come in and shampoo -- and the carpets are still wet. I've already sacrificed two pair of perfectly dry socks thinking that walking quickly to the kitchen wouldn't get them that wet. Wrong :) Why didn't I learn from the first pair, you ask? Good question . . .

As many of you know, I've been hemming and hawing with an official plan for whichever show I decide I'm doing next year -- and finally have a good skeleton one I'm on board with now. But, true to form, I actually made "The Shift" mentally about a week ago. That shift, into cleaning up my body, diet, and plan -- which strangely enough morphed into cleaning up my. . . carpets . . . ? Oh, and the garage. And some of those little odds and ends like a bum light switch, a leaking shower head, and a broken hinge on a kitchen cupboard. Funny, but for me there seems to be a correlation. My track record tells me this is true for me (third time's a charm!)

The Shift for me was turning down ice cream. Twice. And chocolate. Twice (yes, I do remember them vividly, lol). Not to mention a myriad of other goodies that as little as three weeks ago my brain would have gladly been in cahoots with my stomach, "Oh, just one bite."

In the gym, I've started radiating The Shift. Three unsolicited comments after one leg workout had the same undercurrent, "Man, you trainin' for the Ironman? You're hard core girl!". Yeah baby.

Don't get me wrong -- I wrestle my demons almost daily. My demons come in the form of sugary treats, a busy schedule, and three kids (NO! My kids aren't demons, lol, but the demands of raising them as a single mom can be!) As of now, I can balance those demons with a bit looser, off-season-lean-mass-gaining-plan that affords me three free-meals each week -- not a whole lot to complain about here.

But challenges are on the horizon . . . and to that I say, "Bring It On!"

hugs, chelle

Happy high-fructose-corn-syrup day! LOL. Okay, wuz up with the Disney pic? I have a two-year-old. Enough said. Well, she turns two on the 8th of Nov, but close enough. I've always loved Tigger, and Pooh's a pretty good lil' bear, so I guess I influence my toddler a little in this department :)

Hope everyone has a great Halloween -- and if you're eatin' a bunch of candy . . . eat some for me! I'm not eating any. None. Nada. Did I hear myself? None. There . . . that ought to do it. LOL.

Hugs,
chelle

. . . and here's another thing that knowledge can be: A great excuse for being lazy! Huh? Well, I was talking to a girlfriend the other day and we both came to the same conclusion.

"I'm gonna get 'serious' and get a bit leaner, I'm thinking November," I say, almost noncommittal.

"Yah, I'm gonna start putting my diet together -- you think a 40/30/30 split? How many calories?" my friend optimistically wrestled with the numbers.

Yup, we were both talking about when our plan gets serious. And how we both have been pretty lazy with a "plan" lately. Except, she has a really good excuse. She's recovering from surgery. Me? Well, I'm recovering from -- recovering? I guess?!?

And in the midst of our conversation, how I really feel came to light.

"For sure I'm walking around a bit plump right now, but in my head I know it won't take much at all to whip a program together and drop some fat. Soooo, I may be walking around with some extra fat, but in my head, I'm actually much thinner! I guess it's reverse body dis morphia!"

And we both laughed. And laughed. And when we caught our breath, we laughed some more. Guess things that are really funny are funny because they have a ring of truth to them.

So, in this case, knowledge on how to get a plan impelemented and get quick results gives me the power to be lazy -- and plump! Argh!

I'm working on my plan . . . LOL

hugs, chelle

Just givin' a shout out to my client and friend Brittani Simpson, who this weekend won the Northwest Championships in Olympia, WA! She won the Open Short class, the Masters, and the Figure OVERALL!! That's TWO shows . . . two weekends in a row! Now it's time for a much deserved -- and needed -- break. We are soooooo happy for her and her tremendous success and hard work. She is inspiring others in ways she never imagined. Way to go Britt (www.brittfit.com) . We are brewin' up a ROCKIN' team for next season, eh? ;)

Here's a pic of her on stage the weekend before (yesterday's show pics haven't been posted yet).

Another added benefit of Britt's domination: It gave me the high spirits I needed to make it through a weekend where my beloved Red Sox lost and gave up the opportunity to fight their way back to the World Series. Boo hoo.

OK, enough wining! I'll post soon ;)

chelle

Wooo Hooo!! What a GREAT show this weekend at the NPC Seven Feathers Classic Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure Championships in southern Oregon! My client and friend Brittani Simpson (pictured above) won the open 5'2" and under, the Masters, and the OVERALL!! A very tough line-up indeed, and she rocked the house! After taking the summer off, she leaned down for this show in about 8 weeks. She's made great improvements on her physique -- especially downsizing her quads to capitalize on her symmetry. This was her third show, and I'm proud to say that her physique looked its best so far . . . um, and not to mention, she's an outstanding example of beauty and dedication -- and a proud mother of two! Way to represent, Brit! (she's working on a website to share her transformation and journey, which I'll post a link to later).



In addition, another client (and friend!) of mine placed Top-5 in her division . . . Congrats to Cheryl Sargent. A personal best, and we're all fired up to make some big changes this off-season and come back strong!


Thanks to everyone for a great show! Until next time . . .

hugs, chelle