New Blog

I know, I know, it's been 6 friggen months. BUT I have a new blog. If you are interested...you can find me at:

www.hardenupprincess.wordpress.com

Ciao for now

Vix xx

28 Question Meme

I found this questionnaire on some other dude's blog - who also incidentally "borrowed" it from somewhere else...anyway it's questions I haven't answered before so why not?

Here goes:

When showering, do you start the water and then get in, or get in then start the water?
I start the water and let it get nice and hot before getting in. HATE cold showers!!

Do you read the labels on your shampoo bottle?
Depends on my hair colour at the time. I do when I am blonde, as I buy blonde hair shampoo to try and deter my hair from turning that ugly yellow colour.

Do you moan in the shower like the people on the Herbal Essences commercial?
Um...no. Think my housemates might think I am a little nuts if I started doing that shit. But even when I lived alone...no.

Have you ever showered with someone of the opposite sex?
Yes.

Have you ever been forced to shower with one of your siblings?
No - but I am pretty sure there was a picture of my bathing with my brother as a kid that made it onto the photo board at my 21st. I am also pretty sure that everyone I know has one of "those" photos.

Have you ever brushed your teeth in the shower?
I have tried it once after having a flatmate who used to do it, but it's definitely not something for me...

Have you ever dropped your soap on your foot?
If I have, it wasn't a memorable experience.

How old do you look?
Um, not sure - it's not something I think about. I get told that I look mid-20's and when I compare myself to some of my old schoolfriends I look younger than some of them - would imagine it's the lack of husband/kids ;) hehe
Mind you there are some days where I feel like I look 40? Tired days I think.

How old do you act?
It varies. I can act my age or older, but have also been known to break into random moments of acting like I am 12...

What's the last song you sang?
Honestly - not sure?? I listen to my iPod in public a lot - doing cardio at work, on the bus...so I am pretty conscious of not breaking out into random song. It would probably have been something in the car on the radio.

Have you recently become a member of anything?
Well I haven't gone and joined the Ku Klux Klan or anything random like that, if that's what you wanna know. I did recently join a new health fund though - does that count? I got a member card...?

What are your plans for the weekend?
Hmmm today I am going to see Di (my coach) and we are practicing posing and doing some cardio together. Then I am officially moving to the new pad (I say "officially" cos most of my gear is already there - the only stuff that now has to make it's way over is my bedding and the clothes on my back, and my laptop pretty much!). Not much else planned - think tomorrow night I am going to the Gold Coast for dinner and movies with some friends down there.

Do you kiss with your eyes open or closed?
Closed.

Whats the sexiest thing about Condoleeza Rice?
Clearly and American quiz. I will just skip to the next question cos I can't think of who I could write about in Aussie politics? Maybe Tony Abbott and his sexy budgie smugglers? Eewww...I think not!!

Does anything on your body itch right now?
Actually, yes. I got the pig flu needle last week (almost 2 weeks ago actually) and the spot on my arm where they jabbed me reacted (big red bump for days afterwards) and has been itching since. No more pig jabs for me - it is quite annoying!

Who's the sexiest famous woman alive?
Disclaimer: I am answering this on a count that there is a male version of this question following.
Once upon a time I would have said Angelina Jolie, hands down. But now she's gone all mumsy and human rights and while I appreciate how great that is for humanity - well she has lost the hotness factor. Brad Pitt hasn't done her any favours, it would seem!! lol

Who's the sexiest famous man alive?
Fabio Cannavaro. Mmmm. Love World Cup time - too bad Italy got booted out after the first round.

Does every family have a crazy uncle?
Yeah, I am pretty sure they do!

Have you ever smuggled something into America?
Funny you ask. Yes I have. Laundry detergent. No I am not shitting you. I nearly got arrested in San Fransisco airport 9 months after 9/11 happened for having laundry detergent in my bag while trying to board a flight to New York. I actually had to sign a waiver, stating that I acknowledge they were taking my "dangerous goods" for testing, and if it came back positive for certain substances, I would be liable for a $US250,000 fine and 5 years imprisonment. The entire airport was pretty much gathered around to see what the fuss was about, and my passport was then flagged for 2 years afterwards. Everytime I tried to board a flight in the next 2 years (anywhere - USA, Australia, Europe) I got stopped as I was about to walk on the plane for "random" security checks. Quite inconvenient, and I can't tell you how many flights I missed during this time due to the "random" checks!
Can look back and laugh now but at the time it was quite distressing.

Does playing the guitar make a girl/guy more attractive?
Typically, I would say no - but I have seen it give some serious sex appeal previously so it can do when in the right person's hands.

Do you live in a city with a good sports team?
Broncos are ok I guess...

Have you ever finished off the popcorn and ate the junk from the bottom of the bag?
Can't even remember the last time I ate popcorn to be honest but YUM! lol
The answer is probably yes - I am sure I would have done that at some point.

Have you ever had sex in a tent?
No.

What about in a boat?
Nope. Clearly I need to be more adventurous? lol

Have you ever dated a Goth?
No.

Can you fix your own car?
Depends what's wrong with it but probably not. That's what's great about having revhead mates ;)

Would you want to kill George W Bush yourself if you were guaranteed to get away with it?
Nah, I'd just poke him.

Should guys wear pink?
If it looks good on them, then it usually looks really good. But some guys just can't pull it off.

Lists

Credit where credit is due. Thanks Friday for letting me pinch your post idea, which you shamelessly admit to pinching yourself ;)

So folks, here you go - some stuff you don't know (or maybe do?) about me:

Ten movies you’d watch over and over:
1. The Breakfast Club
2. Top Gun
3. Scarface
4. Pulp fiction
5. La Vita E Bella (Life is Beautiful)
6. Fight Club
7. Gone in 60 Seconds
8. Reality Bites
9. Good Will Hunting
10. Chopper

Nine people you enjoy the company of:
1. My mum
2. My bestie, Meegan
3. My God-daughter, Natalie
4. My pretend cousin, Dani
5. Foxy Roxie
6. FernSter
7. Cathy
8. My brother Joseph
9. Myself

Eight things you’re wearing:
1. My bodybuilding.com beanie my good friend Rose brought me back from the Arnolds
2. Leg warmer slippers (wow how cool am I?? Soooo 80's!)
3. An Adidas tracksuit cos I am fucking freezing!!
4. My hieroglyphics ring that I got in Egypt - it has my name spelt in hieroglyphic characters and I loooove it
5. Stockings (yep, under the trackies and legwarmer slippers. Gee I am looking hot!!)
6. A bra
7. Undies
8. A skivvy under the tracky jacket (how awesome is the mental image you are getting?!?!)

Seven things on your mind:
1. 9 days til I go to Sydney
2. The Boy
3. Only 2 days til the weekend
4. What the hell to buy my dad for his 60th
5. Should I do another Uni course??
6. 2 days til I move out!! WOO HOO!
7. Hoping the next 16.5 weeks isn't too painful!!

Six objects you touch every day:
1. Food
2. Sneakers
3. Keyboard
4. Coffee mug
5. Mobile Phone
6. Keys
(apologies for stealing most of your answers Fri!!)

Five things you do every day:
1. Exercise
2. Eat
3. Sleep
4. Swear
5. Check facebook (fricken junkie!!)

Four bands or musical artists that you couldn’t live without:
1. U2
2. Foo Fighters
3. Jeff Buckley
4. George Michael

Three of your favorite songs of the moment:
1. Whaddaya want from me? - Adam Lambert
2. Undisclosed Desires - Muse
3. I won't kneel - Groove Armarda

Two people who have influenced your life the most:
1. My Mother
2. My (late) grandfathers - both of them

One person who has been nice to you today:
1. One of my workmates (well all of them have been but one of them was being especially nice today lol)

OK - now (my turn to say this) - your turn!

Countdown begins...in T minus 26 hours...

Saturday night, and two weeks in a row I am at home...and I haven't even started prep yet!!
I am not quite sure where this week went but it just seemed to fly by. I always find that as the year goes on, the time seems to go by quicker and quicker.

It's been a pretty good week training wise. Those who are FB friends with me or are over on Lindy's Forum will prob have read about my little bout of muscle soreness earlier in the week. On Monday morning I was training legs, and there was a fire in the building my gym is in, so we got evacuated mid-workout. I was in the 2nd last set of my 2nd last exercise when we were evacuated. By the time we were allowed back in I had no time to finish - had to have a quick shower and get to work. I might throw in here for good measure that I was very tempted to exaggerate to work the length of time the evacuation went for, finish training, and head in a bit late - or call in sick - but me being me, and having my conscience - well that kind of stuff just doesn't eventuate!! Anyway I figured that I would just finish the workout off when I went back after work for cardio - only when I got there, it seemed pointless doing 4 sets of one exercise. SO - I figured I would just do the entire workout from scratch. And being the bright spark I clearly am - I even thought I would increase some weights and set some new PB's on leg press, leg extensions and seated hamstring curls. Smart, Vic. Real smart. Anyway did a bit of walking after the workout to flush the legs and did extra stretching as I knew that I had exerted myself beyone my usual standard. Did it do any good? Not much. By mid-morning Tuesday - I couldn't even lift my feet off the floor. No shit. I actually spent the day SHUFFLING around the office, kinda like a penguin. I ended up booking in for a leg massage that night as I couldn't take the pain in my quads and the anterior tib (front part of the calf, along the shin bone). Oooouuuccchhhh it was NASTY!! hehe

Anyway massage seemed to do the trick cos I was able to do the stepper on Wed night.

So anyway that was the highlight of my week (I lead a sad life, yeah?) lol. OH - one more highlight - after said leg massage I went to check out a new share accommodation place and LOVED it. There were others checking it out too so wasn't sure if I would get it or not - but Sharleen, the girl who lives there, called on Thursday to ask me if I still wanted to move in! YAY! So I went and handed the forms into the real estate today and all being OK I move in next weekend.

I also booked flights today to Sydney for 2 weeks time. I am surprising my mum, whose birthday is next weekend (but I am moving so can't be there on the right day) and also my cousin Dani who has been my biggest supporter over the last few years and makes an effort to come to as many of my comps (and other functions) as humanly possible - it is her 30th party that weekend. She has been organising this night for about 6 months, she has hired out a function room in an exclusive bar and has a theme 'A night at the Mansion' and I was spewing that I was going to miss it....BUT not so anymore. I am not telling her I am going (she was disappointed I wasn't gonna be able to make it), I messaged her bestie today and asked her to discreetly add me to the door list if possible....I so can't wait to surprise 2 of the most important people to me :)

Hmmm so prep starts in a day and a bit - and I am a bit excited. Was going to finish my off season by eating everything I crave while dieting - but guilt got the better of me. I kept today to one cheat - had clean food all day and ate ice cream for dinner (no shit, I actually got a take home tub of Rocky Road; Coconut and Peanut butter chocolate from Baskin Robbins and ate it for dinner); and will prob have a cheat tomorrow (chocolate? or nutella? or pizza? not sure yet)...and then GAME ON!

Anyway I think I have done a fair bit of ramble this post so will leave it at that for now...

So til next time - train hard and be good x

Weekend

Aaahhh weekends, how I love thee.

I have had a very quiet weekend, which is just what the Dr ordered me thinks. It has done me some good :) and I feel pretty rested - which is a good thing seeing as the plan is to be up at 2am to watch the Italy v NZ game! Me and my soccer...I swear the World Cup is the highlight of every 4 years for me...even if it *does* mean little sleep!

Since last post I haven't done anything major. Friday I did cardio after work then stayed at home and listed to the flatmate snoring on the couch while I watched the footy. Yesterday morning I was up, bright eyed and bushy tailed, and tracked off to the Goldy to see Di. Her gym is so cute, I loved it! So we sat down and went over a few things, devising plans for my prep, which starts in a week. IFBB QLD & Aussie titles, here I come! My plan was to then head over to the new World Gym, Ashmore, as it was Open Day, and train there. Was supposed to be legs day but they were still way too sore from Tuesday's crazy session, so I had decided in the morning to do back instead. During my meeting with Di she mentioned that she was heading over to World herself to train with the fab Donna Jones. They were also training back and invited me to join them - which I jumped at!! These women are a huge inspiration to me so doing a training session with them was cool!

So the session went well - always awesome to train with others every now and again when you are used to training on your own all the time - it's so good to have a spot so you can lift that bit heavier, and also to train with women who train heavy and hard is always unreal!! The gym is also awesome too - not that I expected any less having trained several times at the Sydney World Gyms. We went for coffee afterwards and then I headed back to the open day to catch up with some of the ASN guys. Organised a bit of an eat off for next weekend while there, to say goodbye to my off season in style!! hehe I so can't wait!!

Took myself for some retail therapy afterwards and there may have been gelato involved...lol...

Spent the night perched on the couch watching a dvd and eating Thai in a box - I rented 'It's Complicated' with Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwyn and Steve Martin. GREAT MOVIE!! I absolutely loved it. Stayed up and watched the Socceroos match....not happy Jan! I can't believe they red carded Kewell!! What a rort. Oh well - there is still a slim chance they will get through, but a chance nonetheless!

I am about to go do some groceries (fun lol) and off this arvo to catch up with the lovely Fernster for a walk, YAY! Can't wait!

On that note, I'm outta here dudes.

x

Wow, two posts in two days...?

Yep - you are seeing right. Two days in a row. I must be going for Blogger Of The Year award...

I am posting mostly about my dumbfoundedness (did I just invent a word?) over some ongoings in the fitness industry. Normally when I go to the gym (to train, not work), I get in a zone. I appear to be of sound mind and alert but really I am in my own little bubble, and don't really care much for what is going on around me. I just do what I gotta do, and get out. Anyway back to the story. So the last week or so I have been a little more aware of things happening around me.

Now, I have recently become a member of a chain of gyms, which allows me to train basically in any of their clubs. And the stuff I have observed of late just astounds me. I would say the ratio in this chain of personal trainers to attending members (I say 'attending members' as it's a well known fact that the majority of people who pay for gym memberships don't actually ever use them on a regular basis) is roughly 1:2. Yep, one PT for every 2 people in the gym. Maybe that's an overestimate but at the times of the day I train (early morning then right after work) it's about that high. So the place is SWARMING with personal trainers, along with other assorted gym staff. Many of whom I assume would at least have their Cert III in Fitness.

So last week I notice this lady, who I would guess is in her late 50's / early 60's, doing single arm dumbbell rows. Awesome. I love that ladies of that age know the benefits of weight training. BUT while observing her last week, I noticed that her posture while doing said exercise was terrible. The curve in her back kind of resembled the Golden Arches. So here she is, performing the exercise with abismal form (I am not here having a dig at her - my thought is that she was never shown this exercise properly), and about 15 personal trainers walking around. Do you think any of them corrected her form? I didn't observe one trainer say anything to her. Clearly my observations were pretty accurate, as this morning, I saw the same lady, doing the same exercise, with the same arched back. Not good form at all - but even poorer form of the gym staff - THREE of which I saw watching her - not saying anything.

Likewise, this morning I am doing my thing, and the dude on the incline bench next to me, doing incline DB chest press, wearing THONGS (to any international readers, by 'thongs', I don't mean underwear thongs. That would be kind of weird if I knew that's what this dude was wearing, and even weirder that he had more than one on! By 'thongs' I mean what you may refer to as 'flip flops' or 'jandals' if you are a Kiwi). Yeah, that's right - thongs on a gym floor. WTF??? I know I have only just moved states, but I am pretty sure it's not just New South Wales OH&S rules that stipulate anyone on the gym floor MUST BE WEARING TRAINERS?!?! Again - not ONE person said a word to him. Just my personal experience, but my thoughts were - no trainers, no entry. At least that's how it has been in every gym I have ever worked in?

And then there was the PT, who was doing a session with his female client right next to me, talking about bodybuilding and figure comps. He points out a chick on an elliptical trainer, who happened to be lean - but reed thin - and gave his spiel about why she would be the perfect figure competitor, and how it's harder for anyone who has any kind of shape apart from being naturally lean to do well in bodybuilding. On the contrary - I would argue that most people who are naturally lean find it very hard to develop the shape to do well. That's not to say it's IMPOSSIBLE, but speaking from someone who fights tooth and nail to get lean for comp, I wouldn't have it the other way round for anything - as I know so many girls who can't put on muscle - an area I don't seem to struggle in. BUT what do I know?

Anyway I know, pick, pick, pick. But hey, it's my blog and if I can't vent here, where can I???

Hmm...so onto a happier note. My tattoo is healing up nicely already! I didnt post a pic yesterday so here is one -

This was taken the day I got it so it's still a bit red in the pic...but all getting better now. It's not even itchy, which is weird - normally the healing bit is torture cos of the itching!! lol

Hmm nor really much else to report so on that note, it's pretty well bed time for me. Til next time...over and out :)

I'm still alive

Yeah I know, I know, I suck at this consistency thing!! I am hereby making a hand-on-my-heart vow....I will be blogging at least weekly from now. I need to get the accountability up and also just get shit off my chest every once in a while!

So I'm in Bris Vegas, been here for 3 weeks now. Slowly settling in and getting used to the place. I started my new job a couple of weeks ago and it's going awesome. I really missed this kind of work a lot and it didn't take much to get back in the swing of it. My boss has told me she is really happy with the work I am doing already so that is always awesome feedback :)

I have spent every weekend down the Gold Coast (at some point anyway) so far. The first weekend was the Asia Pacifics comp where I got to watch the likes of Fern, Raechelle, Selina, Shannon (and obviously many others) do their thing on stage - and do it FABULOUSLY!

The second weekend I went to the NABBA/WFF Southern Hemispheres, where I got to see Tara, Jeh, Michelle N, Di etc on stage....it was my first time watching a NABBA/WFF comp and the standard just blew me away! It was insane, and so awesome and inspirational to watch.

Then there was last weekend - the long weekend. God bless the Queen. I love that we celebrate her birthday with a long weekend when the Poms don't even get a public holiday for the event - that's true Aussie spirit for ya!! :)
SO my weekend was spent on the Goldie again - for the whole weekend. My bestie, Meegan, flew up on Friday night from Sydney and stayed til Monday night. We stayed at a friend's apartment in Burleigh Heads which is currently vacant, and had a ball. Friday night we didn't get there til about 8pm so headed straight for dinner to a Thai restaurant, it was lovely and we washed it down with a really nice drop of red. Saturday we headed into Surfers and got some pampering done, then caught up with one of our old schoolmates who has moved to the Gold Coast. He had some friends from Noosa down for the weekend too so we all caught up for a bite to eat and a few bevvies at Titanium bar, which overlooks the water in Surfers. It is such an awesome spot! That night we headed back in and had a pub dinner then met up with an old friend of mine, Nick, who also moved up to Surfers a few years back. A great night it was and was so good to catch up with everyone on Saturday.
Sunday was spent shopping, we went to Robina Town Centre and shopped, shopped, shopped. We had dinner at the Hard Rock and then went into Broadbeach for coffee after dinner. Up early on Monday morning (well I was anyway) to watch the Socceroos get annihilated by Germany :( and then a run along the beach. I ran from Burleigh all the way to Nobby's beach and back, which included 2 big hill sprints and stair runs (down then up 100 stairs or so). Monday we went into Surfers for me to get my new ink done...I got a cross on the back of my neck. I LOVE IT!! Then we went for more retail therapy at Pacific Fair, and then back to Burleigh for Cold Rock on the beach. It was such an awesome weekend - am so grateful to have a bestie who came up to keep me company over the long weekend.

SO...what else...OH...comp prep starts again next week. Prepping for the IFBB's - Aussie titles and undecided about the QLD titles which is the week earlier. I have a new coach and am stoked to say that I will be training under the FABULOUS Dianne Hunt - I can't wait to get cracking!

So I think that brings me up to date in posts...lol...and I SWEAR I will post more often!!

So til next time...train hard, play hard, and be good xx