This is it! Finally… the day I had been waiting for since I made up my mind to enter this competition last August. I tried to go to bed early on Friday… I think I actually closed my eyes around 10:00pm. I woke up again at 11:30pm, 2:00am, and 4:00am. I finally got up at 4:20am to finish packing, eat breakfast, make up my bed, and put curlers in my hair. Yasmine was here at 5:00am to start my make up. Marcia got here just a little later and Yasmine got us both all glammed up like beautiful Hollywood stars. I felt like a million bucks! I was so excited to get the day started and see how the competition would play out. Marcia and I were out the door at 7:00am on the way to the Convention Center. We had to be there by 7:30am to finalize check in. We already registered in advance so that wasn’t a problem. We had to confirm our height and be placed in the correct divisions. Since I’m under 5’2, I’m in Class A and Marcia is under 5’4 so she’s in Class B. After they completed all the category assignments we had a contestants’ meeting at 9:00am where the promoter and judges spoke to give us an idea of the day’s events. This took forever!!!! I was growing very impatient. The prejuding was set to start at 10:30am and we only had about 30 minutes to get dressed and make final touches on hair and make-up. After rushing through the beauty prep in a very crowded public restroom we rush to the backstage holding area. This was a whole lotta hurry up and wait. So we got there about 10:45 and didn’t get to the Bikini portion of the show until almost noon or 12:15! So we’re all freezing cold back stage in our bikinis and our toes were about to go numb because we were standing in high heels for over an hour. Most of the girls were chatting with friends and being really sociable. Typically, I would be right in the mix of all this and having a blast getting to know everyone. Unfortunately my mind was not focused on the competition today.
Right after arriving at the competition I got a terribly scary phone call with some really bad news. It was Sean calling from Nepal. Things weren’t going as planned in his trip. His news had me shaken up and scared. I was helpless because I couldn’t do anything for him
I’m so thankful that I have chosen to read the Purpose Driven Life for Lent. This book has taught me so much in a few short days, but I was able to draw on these lessons to know that God is in charge. When you let go of your wants and desires, and hand them over to God for His will to be done, then all will be ok. It will be ok in His eyes and according to His plan….. which may be tough for us, but in the end, in eternity, it will bring us ultimate happiness. It's God plan that really matters, not mine. I had to lift my worries up to God. I had to give him 100% of my trust to be with Sean and this team in Nepal. I prayed for God to be with Sean and to calm my nerves. I tried to clear my head and stay positive for the competition. It wasn’t working very well.
A few hours later when I was waiting backstage I notice I had a missed call and new voicemail. It was not the same number that Sean had called from earlier. I was too afraid to listen to it. I was scared it would be bad news and that I would have a terrible crying fit. Haha, I paid too much money for this make up and I wasn’t about to ruin it over a situation I couldn’t change. I just let it sit there until my portion of the competition was over. As soon as I walked off the stage I turned to watch Marcia, once she was finished I rushed to my phone and listened to my message. It was from Sean. He was ok!!! That’s when I lost it. I sat on the floor and cried because I was so happy he was going to be safe and healthy. I couldn’t hear the complete message, but I know he’s ok now. What an amazing relief. God is good! I can now breath a little easier.
I didn’t feel confident in my performance on stage this morning, but I had a new perspective on priorities and important things in my life. The past few weeks have really changed my life, and a trophy didn’t seem to matter much anymore.
My afternoon rest didn’t seem long enough. Pretty soon 5:00pm rolls around and it’s time to go back to the Convention Center for the finals. Marcia picked me up at my house, then we met Johnny at the gym and the three of us headed down together. At this point the real competition is over. We were relaxed and feeling great. No stress, nothing to worry. We compared all of our candy, treats and post competition indulgences. In my bag, I packed a peanut better & jelly sandwich, Somoas girl scout cookies, BBQ Pringles, Starburt jelly beans, chocolate turtle Chex mix and tons of chocolate candy that my mom and dad brought me. Johnny had a bag that looked like he had just robbed a pack of trick-or-treating children…. But at this point I wouldn’t blame him. We didn’t care where the goodies came from. We were just happy to have them!
We arrived a little early for the participants’ meeting. Of course, it was almost a half hour late starting and very unorganized. I was beginning to hear rumbles from around the room. Everyone was getting frustrated because nothing seemed to go according to plan or run smoothly today. Anyway, we finally got started and it became a lot more fun. I was lucky that they switched up the order of the show because the Bikini division wasn’t last. We were actually 3rd or 4th but it all went so fast it was almost over before I knew it. Literally. I was in the crowd taking pictures of Johnny when my group was lining up. Luckily one girl called me to line and I quickly put my heels on while Johnny sprayed me down with shiny spray stuff J
Here we go…. I was second in line for my group and I felt great. READY TO ROCK! I went out and strutted my stuff. I did my best walk and poses ever! I actually had fun and enjoyed it. The music was pumping and it’s hard not to feel like a total badass when you have so many people cheering for you! The decisions were already made so the group walked off stage and the top three were immediately called back up. I stayed. Oh well…. I didn’t expect to do well after my bombed performance this morning. I waited to see how the top three finished and congratulated those three girls. I also waited again to see Marcia. She didn’t place either but we were both proud of ourselves and proud of each other. I rushed back stage, threw off my shoes and grabbed my PB&J sandwich. It was heavenly…. And so the feasting began! After that I ate a few Samoas Girl Scout cookies. By this time Johnny came and found me back stage to give me the judges critiques. He told me that my physique was perfect. I had 100% of the body and “look” that they wanted. For the finals, I had the perfect walk and poses. BUT, it was my showing during the prejudging that kept me from taking home a trophy. If I had been 100% focused and relaxed and had my head in the game this morning, I would have won in the evening. Well damn. What am I supposed to do with news like that? Now I’ve always said “Never say never” so I don’t know if I’ll go back again and try my luck at a another competition. I was sooooo close! I just don’t know… what would you do? It’s like training for a marathon and finding there’s a boulder blocking mile 26. There’s nothing you can do about it. I know I can do the training, the dieting, the final showing, but how bad do I just want to take home a trophy? I don’t know…. Where would I even put that silly thing? Maybe it’s just one more piece of junk to collect dust.
I went back to find my parents in the crowd and continued my feasting. I ate a little bit of everything that I packed along with Johnny’s hijacked trick-or-treating stash. After the show was complete our group (Johnny, his wife Michelle, Marcia, her husband Matt, our friend Ryan, my parents and I) went to Marietta Diner. This was the REAL celebration. Of course my eyes were bigger than my stomach, or maybe even the whole table, but I ordered Motzerella Cheese Stix, a ½ lb bacon cheddar cheeseburger, and then baklava cheesecake….. with a Cherry Coke! WOW! This was exactly what I’ve been working so hard toward for such a long time. Like the prejuding round, I was disappointed in my performance. I only about a fourth of my burger, but I ponied up and got back in the game when my baklava cheesecake was served. Marcia and I split this and still couldn’t finish the whole piece. But I sure enjoyed trying. It was like heaven in my mouth. Johnny didn’t need any help in putting away his two cheeseburgers, fries, and chocolate chip cheesecake. He’s an old pro at this now!
I’m looking forward to a comfortable and restful night’s sleep, no alarm clock, and a peaceful day with my parents and Tini on Sunday.
I'll add more pictures when I get a chance.
I'll add more pictures when I get a chance.
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