#OperationMelanie

A guy friend of mine showed me this inspiring message about fit girls. And, I'd like to think he was speaking to me. lol

But, really, I was never really a "skinny" girl, I always had meat on me. But, I was always pretty fit. That is until I moved to Santa Barbara for college. I didn't move as a Freshman, so I can't say that I gained the "freshman 15," and honestly, I probably gained much more than 15 pounds in that first year. I'm gonna go ahead and call it the "transfer 20" maybe even 30. But, before I moved back home, I got my ass into gear and lost all the weight. I wasn't trying to come back home looking like that. I think it was about this time that Justin Timberlake came out with "Sexy Back," so all me and my girls would talk about "bringing sexy back" and bringing it back to high school and how we looked then. I actually think that when I moved back home I looked better than I did in high school. And we all know I thought I was hot sh*t in high school. Hahahaha!! If you didn't know my back then, my prom dresses were the epitomy of bourgie hood. lol 

Anyway, I got to my goal and got to my ideal body figure before I moved home. Life was great. I just graduated from college, moved back home, and I was feeling great about myself...looks and all. And then, I don't know what happened. I guess I just got comfortable. Got into a relationship, where I moved in with the dude. We ate out a lot, and late, and a lot of times on a really late night tip. To this day I just don't know how I let myself get like that. I'm still not my ideal weight/shape as I type, but I'm working on it and it's coming along. I look at old pictures, and at at first I was in digust, and now I'm just in awe. What the hell happened! 

I'm still quite embarassed as to how the hell I got like that. But, that friend of mine that showed me the message above, told me to be proud. Be proud of what I accomplished. And so I am. I'm not one to put myself on blast with the selfies. And, I know this is a bit different b/c I'm showing my success with fitness. And, I see people do it all the time, and of course I clap it up for them and congratulate them...I just don't know if I'll ever do the famous sports bra and shorts shot. Maybe when I get closer to my goal it'll happen. For now, those have been saved for those closest to me, that I know won't be secretly hating with their snide remarks.

But, I will show you this. 

To the left is a picture of me on October 18, 2009 when I ran my very first Nike Women's Marathon in 02:47:36. To the right, is a picture of me running the Nike Women's Marathon this year, October 20, 2013. I made a PR for this course at 02:37:46. 

#OperationMelanie is in full effect. I'm really on a mission this time. No more being consistantly inconsistant. A little while ago I posted on twitter and facebook a little note to my abs - "Dear Abs, I see you peaking out. It's time to come out and play." Funny, I know. But I'm also being completely serious. I've tasted a sliver of accomplishment and I'm ready for more.

UFC 167 - 20th Anniversary

The gym that I go to for Muay Thai, Evolve Training Center, had a contest called "Refer and You Shall Receive." The basic premise was, if you brought in people and they signed up, you got points. At the end of the contest, who ever had the most points would win. 

 
I didn't really think anything of the contest at first b/c no matter how many people asked me about the gym, or who I brought in, in the past, no one ever signed up. BUT, it just so happened that my cousin finally brought in my nephew for Muay Thai and Ju-jitsu and she happened to also take part in the boxing for fitness class. I say FINALLY b/c I had been telling her for months already to just come in and check it out. And then, she decided to sign both of them up. At this time, I wasn't even thinking of the contest. I was just happy that someone that asked me about the gym, finally came through and would be sharing in my joy. But, lucky me, it just so happened that it was double points week. I wasn't even in the running and all of a sudden, I was a contender. WOO HOO! 

 
In the end, I WON!!! Yesss! The grand prize? A trip to Vegas for UFC 167, the 20th Anniversary of the UFC. That's right, my flight, my hotel, and my ticket for the fights were all paid for. 

I flew out Friday morning, with Mark and Audrey. And we tried for an early check in at the MGM (yes I did stay at the hotel venue!), unfortunately, it couldn't happen. So, we checked our bags in with the concierge and did a little eating and shopping. Later that night, we went to Light at Mandalay Bay and partied it up a little. 

 
Saturday, John flew in and we met with Mark and Audrey for brunch. And later we got to enjoy the fights! The first fight started at 330pm and I must say they didn't disappoint. And, so it had begun. None of the fights were disappointing, even the fights that were not even broadcast on TV were good. And, the main event, GSP vs Hendricks, even with all the controversy following the results, the fight was a great one. Every minute was exciting. The atmosphere in the arena, Bruce Buffer's introductions, the crowd's energy … I'm so glad I was able to experience that. This very well could be the only time that I will ever be able to experience this, I'm so glad that I was able to. It was an amazing weekend.

Thank you ETC for giving me the opportunity to enjoy this in person. So, much better than my big screen. lol 

Oh and I did stand only a few feet from Nick Diaz. No I didn't get a picture with him. I was too shy. I was just shocked that he was right there. And really he and his friends were in their own world, I didn't want to bother him, he was out for a night of fun. 

Here are the few photos that were taken this weekend.

military boots

Again with another super duper late post. Oh well. 

So, I was looking for some military boots for quite awhile. I almost got some Doc Martens, but they just weren't the look I was looking for. And then I came across these wine colored military boots by Steve Madden. I fell in love. But I sure the hell didn't fall in love with the price. At $100 I had to pass. And after I seen the wine color in person, I wasn't so pleased with the tone. So, I would've gone with black if anything. 

But, again, Target came to the rescue. I've had pretty good luck finding boots during the Fall and Winter season in the past years, so I just had to check. And looky looky what I found. I was able to find these. And, I happened to find my size in store. They were meant to be. Here's how I wore them when I wore them for the first time.

(Please excuse the exploding gym bag.) 

Halloween 2013

Well this post is about a couple of weeks late, but I haven't been posting much and I am still quite pleased with my make shift Minnie Mouse costume, so better late than never right? Right!

Well, my cousin Jessica dragged me out, but honestly she didn't have to twist my arm too much. I hadn't been out in a really really really long time and some of my favorite dj's were spinning so why not go out and support the folks right? So, I thought about what I could do. I had these clip on Minnie Mouse ears that haven't been put to much use, so I decided to be Minnie Mouse.

So, I had to look of course for a red shirt. And the tank I'm wearing is honestly, the only red top that I have that isn't a 49ers top. And so I threw on some black shorts.

I wanted to make sure that I didn't forget the collar. In Kindergarten, I was Minnie Mouse for Halloween, my dad and I answered the door for some trick or treaters and a big kid was also Minnie Mouse, but as soon as she saw me, she realized she had forgotten her collar. I don't know why that memory resonates with me so clearly, but it does and b/c of it I wanted to be sure that I didn't forget mine. So, I went ahead with my pearl collar necklace.

I added the suspenders b/c honestly I just think they are a sexy accessory and it fit. The gloves were a last minute after thought. Minnie and Mickey are known for their white gloves, and just before Jessica and I were headed out, something clicked and I remembered that I had a pair of white lace gloves.

The makeup was quite simple. I did blush, bronzer, highlight and my eyebrows. The only thing I did that was quite different is that I extended the black eyeliner out to have 3 wings. Minnie Mouse is known for her 3 eyelashes. And of course I drew on the nose. I didn't draw any whiskers b/c Minnie doesn't have any.

Oh and the shoes. Can't forget about the shoes. You can only see a glimpse of the shoes in the first picture, but Minnie is known for her yellow shoes. So, I brought out my yellow dunks! Here are the few photos that I have from that night.