No matter the placing, I finished first at my second show.

The jitters and nerves did not ramp up until 10 minutes before show time.

I competed in my first bodybuilding competition in August 2015 (blog here). Experience increases comfort and confidence. I definitely carried more of both for this second show. The 2016 NPC Central USA Natural Championships was held at the Century Link Center in Omaha, Neb.

This go around, the show seemed to fly by. Saturday morning was prejudging.


I made a few mistakes.


That evening for finals, those errors probably added to my results.


I placed second in my class.

Stage photos courtesy of npcnewsonline.com

Initially, I was bummed.


I had worked my tail off. Yet, again, I got second place.


After some reflection and kind words from my coach and friends, I knew that in reality, I finished first.


There were some tough competitors in the group. I brought a better physique and stronger confidence to this show. I also practiced posing much more and it felt much more natural on stage. For only my second show ever, placing second two times is a big accomplishment! I even made some friends along the way.

It's fun meeting other competitors, especially those who live nearby!

Why I am so critical on myself and don't take time to celebrate the little successes? It was a local show with a comforting environment.

The most comforting part was the group of people there supporting me.

I'm a baker not a ballerina

Outside of my 40 hour work week, I wanted to find some other ways to stay active and healthy! Two of these hobbies that go hand-in-hand are cooking and exercising. On Friday night, I took my Betty Crocker skills to the kitchen by baking some blueberry banana muffins! You may think that is an odd combination, but after 20 minutes in the oven, they proved heavenly to the taste buds.

I discovered this Pinterest recipe (of course) from In Vogue at Home and will definitely be using it in the future! ***FYI, images above were taken by me. This was the first morsel of Milwaukee apartment cooking, and now I need to find some new recipes to test out as well.