Crazy Tans, Fitness Queens and Muscles…. Oh My!

On Saturday, May 23rd I had the privilege of seeing one of my bestest friends knock a GIANT goal off her list.

Heartland Classic

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Tyree has had a fitness competition on her Bucket list for several years now.   Each time she has gotten to the point of competing, something had come up that didn’t allow her to see it through.  And no… these roadblocks weren’t your everyday situations that come up.

Oh, No.  

This is the girl who donated her KIDNEY to a friend 8 days before she was to go on stage for the May 2014 competition.    Tyree’s heart is made of gold, my friends.  Pure gold.    You can read about that journey here:  A True Hero.

Today’s post is finally about her achieving her fitness goal – to compete in the Heartland Classic Bikini Contest.   And, for anyone that thinks competing in a fitness competition is a piece of cake, or maybe a little vain, I am here to tell you it is 100% quite the opposite.   MONTHS of preparation go into something like this.  Strict nutrition.  Strict workouts.  NO FUN FOOD.  A lot of chicken, fish, green veggies, eggs and sweet potatoes.   Some fruit in the beginning months.  No fruit the last multiple weeks.  Minimal grains.  No red meat for a time span that made me want to cry.

No Sugar

Yep – I am out.

Tyree did it all.   And she FREAKING ROCKED IT!!!

So, let’s recap the day of, shall we?

10am – Arrived at Tyree’s with FOOD that couldn’t be eaten yet, balloons and then the first layer of her tan.

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For those thinking about competing some day – Jan Tana has great products for staining your skin.  I say staining, because honey – ain’t NO ONE need to have that kind of tan on the regular.   We used the foam based stain that was very easy to apply.   But – USE GLOVES!   That stuff is no joke.

After layer one had been applied we waited two hours before applying layer 2.  And that is when the magic happened.  Hellllllo very tan skin.   Boy, if she didn’t already have white teeth, she looked like she did now!  Next was hair and makeup.   What I have found: I am no stylist.  I only seem to know how to do my own hair at a very mediocre level.  But the makeup?  Oh, we had FUN!

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Before.

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After

Those eyes! <3<3

3pm: Time to go!

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We ran into her parents first upon arrival.  I am sure that helped calm some of Tyree’s nerves.  There is just something about seeing your mom and dad that is good for the soul. 🙂

Then it was time to head backstage and continue the prep work.

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Suit on, taping of suit (you don’t want that baby to move on stage, now), helping others tape up, tanning touch-ups, oil baths….

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Ya, that happened…

Pumping up

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Photo sessions with friends

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And last minute posing practice before hitting the stage!

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My role that day was to be her back stage pal, makeup artist, nerve calmer, shit gatherer, taper,tanner, photographer, videographer, name yeller when she was on stage “Smile, Don’t Hook, Butt Out, Let’s go TYREE, Looking good”.. you name it.  I was her b!tch. 😉  And, I loved every second of it!

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I also was a Snapchat QUEEN!

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At one point a fella and I were in competition with each other… he didn’t know it, but it was to me.  He would yell for his girl and I’d follow up with a yell to mine.  Ya, I hear you and I one up you, my friend.

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She competed in the Bikini Tall Open and Bikini Tall Novice.  She also did a stage walk at the end of the night.  All in all the competition took around 5.5 hours.   I got a little delirious towards the end so can only IMAGINE what the competitors were feeling like…

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#selfie4dayz

At the end of the day, Tyree did absolutely fantastic.

She made a goal, she stuck to the goal, she accomplished the goal.

And she had FUN while doing it.

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AND the best part at the end of the night?  She got OREOS to CELEBRATE!

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To say WE are all over the moon proud of her is an understatement.

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Tyree and Mom and Dad

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Carrie, Tyree, Lise

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This last photo speaks VOLUMES as the lady on the left is Rachelle, Tyree’s kidney recipient.

Truly amazing how full circle this has all come

CONGRATULATIONS, Tyree!

Happy 40th Birthday, Clint!

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This stud muffin, aka my HUBBY, is 40 today!!!!!

 

And you know what else?  You guys are getting to see the fun decorations I have left behind for him LONG before he even thinks about getting out of bed today.  I am on my way out of town for two days (bummer) so decorating the house for him to wake up to is my way of ensuring he starts his day off special.  ❤

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TO my fun loving…

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wonderful father…

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loving son…

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tough guy…

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crazy friend…

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always up for fun…

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dog dad…

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hard working…

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partner in crime….

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loving husband…

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I wish you the BEST 40th birthday and I can’t wait to celebrate with you and your friends this weekend.

Love You!

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Viva Las Vegas 2015 | Girls Trip!

3 days, 3 nights, 7 girls, countless cocktails and 1 city simply known as

Vegas

 

 

Girls trip to Vegas… can you imagine?   Well, we did, we made it happen and now I am going to cram three days worth of photos into one post.

Friday, January 16th.

It was a bright and early start to the day for Kristen, Jess, Tina and I so of course Bloody Mary’s were of utmost importance.  Apparently all Kristen had to do was bat her eyelashes a bit to our fight attendant and the next thing I know we all had double Mary’s.   To say I was feeling mighty fine by the time we landed is an understatement.   And no, those weren’t all mine.

I don’t think.

  Cheers!

First stop:  Planet Hollywood to check-in, kiss Britney, unpack and get lunch while we waited for Cyndi’s flight to get in!

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Britney’s show was on hiatus while we were out there.  That makes TWICE I have been in Vegas and haven’t seen her.   This is a real life tragedy for this guilty Britney lover.

Moving on… elevator mirror selfies for the WIN!

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Cyndi’s arrival meant it was finally time for Vodka SLUSHIES!

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Complete with red tongues!

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We spent the afternoon walking and checking out the sights.  In Vegas, there is never a dull moment.

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This mirror selfie is clearly well AFTER the vodka slushies.

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A day of walking and cocktail sipping left us wiped by early evening.  Pathetic, huh? I blame the 9am bloody mary’s, the four shots of vodka in my slushy, the beers and whatever else went down the hatch.   Whew!   Carrie’s flight got in after 9pm so Cyndi and I rallied to walk around and have another cocktail with her.   Bonus: vodka induced shopping for the WIN.  I mean, check out this killer midnight purchase!  🙂

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Want to know something super crappy about our first day in Vegas?  Tyree was also to fly in by Friday night, but her flight was CANCELLED without notification.   She was at the airport ready to rock n roll before she even found out.  No email, no phone call and no indication that it was going to be cancelled since she had checked in 24 hours prior.   Ridiculous don’t ya say?  Do NOT use Cheapoair.com.   They will screw you right on over.   Thankfully Southwest Airlines was able to book her a Saturday morning flight.

Saturday, January 17th.

The morning started with an early workout and then we took off walking while we waited for Tyree’s flight to make it in.  First stop, Bellagio.

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Then on to Caesar’s Forum Shops where Jessica and I ordered the BEST Bloody Mary’s we have ever had.   $20 for this baby, but it was 100% worth it.     Highly recommend. 🙂

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We watched the creepiest statue show I have ever seen before making the hike back to the hotel to meet up Tyree!

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Jess, me and Tina!

The gang finally together!

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Saturday was hands down one of our best days there.

I don’t think we laughed as much that weekend as we did that day.

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We hung out at our hotel bar to watch the end of the Iowa game.

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Gambled and drank.

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Walked to numerous hotels.

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Made Cyndi into a MapQuest pin.

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These four insane girls rode the Roller Coaster at New York, New York.

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I mean, LOOK at that beast.   Hell no.

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Carrie and her thought process coming alive.   I had too much alcohol in mine.

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MGM Grand allowed us some couch sitting while the cocktails continued to flow.   It’s vacation.  Don’t judge.   Ok, well… some of us drank far more than others.

Tina played it cool <— smart cookie.   Some of the rest of us… ahem….. 😉 ❤

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After the MGM we made our way BACK to New York, New York for some Coyote Ugly action!

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We were the first in line to get in!  Causing trouble everywhere we went…

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Coyote Ugly was straight up awesome.  Shots, dancing, singing, game playing, photo taking craziness all around.  It was fantastic.

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Soon we found ourselves making the long walk back to the hotel to call it a night.   I don’t have picture proof, but, trust me when I say, if you go to Vegas with Kristen and you find yourself needing some food, stat, she will just help herself to any passerby’s food.   Straight up hysterical.

Sunday, January 18th.

Breakfast and coffee (bloody mary’s for a few.,. names witheld for judgement… hahaha) followed by the long walk to the Venetian.   Worth the walk to see the Gondolas in the middle of the hotel.

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Carlo’s Bakery even has their own shop there.   We didn’t care to stand in the 25 minute wait of a line, but I am sure it would have been absolutely worth it!

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After some shopping we decided to head back to the hotel to drop off our goodies.  Tina apparantly wanted to get in an extra workout for the day by walking down the up moving escalator.  In flip flops of all shoes too.  Funniest moment of the morning, hands down.  If only she would have opened up her shopping bag for tips from the crowd that gathered to watch.

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Next stop: Fremont Street for the afternoon.

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Lunch, gambling, cocktails, shopping and more walking.   We didn’t get to see the canopy light display due to us being there during the day, but Fremont street is a must to experience, regardless.

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After Fremont Street we headed back to the Strip to check off our last bucket list items.

Stop 1: Sprinkle’s Cupcakes.

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They have a freaking Cupcake ATM machine.  Yes, yes, I DID get mine from the ATM machine.   We need one of these babies in Omaha.

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Next stop: The High Roller

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5 of us purchased tickets to the 30 minute giant Ferris wheel.  This thing was MASSIVE.  Normally I am terrified of heights, but this thing moved incredibly slow and seemed so secure that it didn’t really phase me.  Shocking.

Oh, but I did take a Dramamine tablet prior. 😉

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After the Ferris Wheel, Jessica & Cyndi split off to attend the Bone Thugs N Harmony concert.  Ya…. That happened.   Tina and Kristen grabbed pizza and headed back to the hotel.  Carrie, Tyree and I went to an outside bar for a few cocktails, then headed to dinner and finished up with a little walking before calling the Vegas trip an official rap at midnight.

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Vegas Girls Trip 2015 was a success.   I had so much fun with each of these girlies.   It was a laid back, casual vacay.   Tyree and I actually served as the only connecting points for everyone.   I knew all the girls really well.  Tyree knew all of them but Tina, who she met briefly a few months back.    Carrie knew everyone but 3.   Cyndi only really knew 2 of us…. etc.    It was really cool to see how everyone got along.

And honestly, it was like we had all been friends for years.

Until next time.

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The Real Meaning

I’ve talked about this before.

This weird place we tend to live in.

A world of Jealousy.

Feeling of Spite.

Annoyance.

Whatever you want to call it.  It’s ugly.

And unhappy.

I see a lot of facebook and instagram posts a day.

So many thoughts and dreams are shared.   Tons of check-ins happen.   An overabundance of sharing happens.

But, that’s the world we live in.  Social media.  It’s social.  We share.

So, what point am I getting at?

The fact that we tend to ignore the things that people are really trying to do and say on Facebook.  We jump to conclusions, we pass them by, we don’t comment or give them a little “like”.   We just internally judge and move along.

 

Scenario A

1. You see:  UGH… sick again!  This is day four and I feel like I am going to die.

2. You hear:   I am just being a whiney baby and I want people to feel sorry for me.

3. The true meaning:  I feel terrible, I am still stuck at home, this place sucks, I want social interaction in the worst possible way, someone please humor me and talk to me via comment section since being near you would be contaminating.

Scenario B

1. You see:  A check-in at the gym. 

2. You hear:  A check-in at the gym.  Again.  For the 5th time in a row.   We get it.  You go to the gym.  Yay.  Good for you.  Is it necessary to check-in every. single. stinking. time?

3. The true meaning:  Checking in at the gym again!  This is holding me accountable.  I know SOMEONE is tracking my actions and maybe I am even inspiring someone to get off the couch tonight and get moving!

Scenario C

1. You see:  Picture of a baby eating a snack

2. You hear:  Dude… that is just another picture of your kid.  Again.  Same kid, same snack, different day.

3. The true meaning:  My family that doesn’t live around here will love this pic!  My kid is wearing the Christmas outfit they got for her/him.

You bet, I have fallen guilty to the negative thoughts on what people post on Facebook.  Lately, I have been really trying to focus on the positive side, giving them support, making a comment, showing the love.   I am friends with the people I would talk to if I saw them on the street.  Why wouldn’t I talk to them about what they are posting on social media for all to see and comment on?

We live in a world full of so much negativity, it’s time we all work on finding the positive.   Give some love people.  What are your friends really trying to say?  And the next time a post annoys you, try and understand why it annoys you.  Is it because they are doing something you aren’t?  Are they misunderstood?  Are YOU misunderstood?

Sometimes posts actually ARE annoying.  Maybe that particular friend is a constant negative nelly.  Well, let’s make it our job to turn their frown upside down!  We have the power to spread some light and love to their world.

Happiness.  Smile.  Share in your friends’ enthusiasm and excitement.   They are sharing for a reason.  Support it.

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Happiness is contagious.

Spread that shit.  😉

Cheers!