IFBB Bikini Olympia (Part II)

Hello again friends :)

Today was a great day to blog, but unfortunately it was a pretty lame day to do anything else - chalk it up to "flu season" I think the bug got me. A sore throat and a feverish feeling sent me home from work at lunch- like a defeated puppy with my tail between my legs, who overeagerly chased after the neighborhood cat only to smack into the picket fence, not fully aware of my own limitations. Ugh. Fail. Well the good news is I have extra time to blog and sip a coffee :)

Let's pick up where we left off shall we? Ah yes, I was recounting the surreal weekend activities of the Mr. Olympia Weekend in Las Vegas 2 weekends ago. I had enough excitement and late-nights there to last me until the end of the year! I am not a late night regular, usually going to bed at 9pm :p but when the Las Vegas lights put me up to it, I found myself staying up until 3:30am. Yikes!

But you know that if I was up that late-it was for good reason! Lots of fun and friends kept the midnight oil burning. With that, I give you my Olympia Recap (Part II) !! ....

Right after the Bikini Olympia pre-judging I found my friends Kinjal and Annie who drove up from San Diego just to see me. (**Please excuse the ridiculous show tan in all these photos... I know, I look weird next to normal skin tone colored people)

Annie, Kinjal, and I

My Bombshell homegirl, and good friend Leslie
came by and supported me too. Thank you "Mr.
Bombshell" (Leslie's hubby) for filming me at
prejudging. It helped to see my replay.

The night show Finals were Friday night, so if you missed the recap of that check out my last post.

Me on stage at the Olympia. Can you believe I get to say that?!
I'm still in shock.

Friday night after the show I was free to celebrate and enjoy the town with Kinjal, Annie, Leslie, and her hubby Jeremy. Our mission? Silly fan photos and quesedillas :)

My gguuurrrrrllls!

After a full night of exploring we got home at - gasp - 3:30am!! Way past bedtime to get some shut-eye to work the Olympia Expo for Muscle & Fitness Hers/FLEX magazine.
Photos from the expo on Saturday:

Not too shabby for 4 hours of sleep, eh?

Bombshells workin' and lookin' fly

Just being my Baddass self :p

My girl Nicole and I working at FLEX. Yes, we are actually
both standing on the same level... I'm not wearing heels....
Yes I am 5'10" and look giant here lol.

POWER CRUNCH!
Shout out :) and thank you for the bars! I
loved them and so did my peeps at work.

Another shout out; this time to FitnessGurls!
Check em out: FitnessGurls.com
This was for #ABSolutelyFitBody :)

Even with all that excitement at the expo, I got some once in a lifetime opportunities too... Like judging the FLEX Bikini Model Search! Yes, the very show I competed in last year.
 See the 2011 Olympia recap post here: Blessed at the Olympia

The gorgeous Top 5 ladies

Not a bad job :) It's so inspiring to see these amazing ladies.

Winner! Miss Ana D absolutely deserved it.

An awkward ending while waiting our judges scores to be tallied...
the Mr. Puny-verse contest. LOL. No words.

Saturday night it was an amazing time with my friend, Bobby Black, and Michael Middleton (Jamie Eason's new man) and his adorable Southern parents. We had a great dinner and then Bobby, Michael, and I went to the Boddybuilding.con party to meet up with Jamie. The rest of the story is a long night of ..."What happens in Vegas".....

Bobby (grrr baby grrr!) and I



Baddass Nutrition owner, Kevin and I
Yes- we look like we're going to prom and we like it lol.
 

Goodnight from LV ♥

The Graduate

Some things are just so worth it.... 

Case and point: 4 years of devotion to school, late nights pouring over homework, early mornings up studying, weekends spent building dune buggy projects, days and days spent writing term papers, and oh... while you're at it why don't you tutor the underling engineers in their Statics, Dynamics, and Thermodynamics that you passed, and can now pass on your supreme knowledge to the fledgling aspiring graduates. 


Well, this weekend marked the end of a season for me. As far as the foreseeable future goes I am no longer a student. Not enrolled in classes, no teachers, no campus, no homohomework, and NO papers!! Oww oww!!! 

Peace OUT Tech, it's been real... 

Nothing is more fulfilling than graduating with honors; from the very same school my dear papa graduated from many years ago :) I am so proud and honored and blessed and just- relieved! 

Alumni <3 

I received the General Engineering Department's
Student Award for Outstanding Achievement. Booyah!! 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-

What does "The Graduate" do with her copious free time and lack of classes to attend? Ha, a whole lot less! 


So far I've been waking up far too late in the "morning," spending 3+ hours in the gym per day, and practicing walking/posng till my toes are numb. 

Practice makes perfect....
Just put one foot in front of the other! 

My friend, and an international beauty pageant queen ;) - Melissa - has been teaching me sooooooo many things I didnt know about how to place my feet/hands/hips/shoulders... heck, BODY, when I present for prejudging. Why didn't I ask her to coach me sooner!? All I can say is ya'll Bikini gurls betta watch out, there's a new fitness diva in town ;) 

I'm channeling Victoria's Secret catwalk
attitude for my walk and posing ;) 

I got some new kicks with ankle straps (vital for getting the right leg extension and stride for walking) and they're also a good inch taller- ya know, cuz I'm kinda short.. LOL. 

These babies are gonna carry me to my Pro card, you KNOW
the reason women accomplish great things is because of the shoes! 

So, besides all that walkin' stuff I am also tweaking my posing, most notably my back pose. You'll just have to wait and see the differences in that though... 

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In other news, I am off to Seattle this weekend for my friend Leeza's bachelorette party. It's gonna be a BLAST and I can't wait. 


I attended my beautiful friend Staci's bachelorette party last weekend here in Butte. She's a Bikini competitior too, can you tell? 

Staci with herself as a Bikni-Staci cake :) 

That's all for now folks! I'll be out of town until Monday with Leeza's partay. Have a great weekend yourselves and enjoy all this nice summer weather!! 




Blessings, 


~ Ruthie

Las Vegas Weekend Recap

Hi friends! Well, I have returned from the fabulous Las Vegas... and back to reality :p I had an amazing trip and got some incredible shots at my fitness modeling  photo shoot with Bobby Black.

The view from our hotel, the Wynn

The Wynn's gorgeous lobby

I traveled with my friend from New York city, Chris, and he was kind enough to pay my whole way and even treat me to dinner and shows on both Saturday and Sunday night. We saw Celine Dion on Saturday night and went to a really good Italian restaurant (so  Chris said, I had to be good because my photoshoot was on Sunday.. I did have steak though!)

Chris and I at Celine's show

Celine Dion's show

It was worth the sacrifice though, Sunday's pictures turned out sooo good!

One of the shots from Sunday's shoot with Bobby Black

On Sunday night we got to go to Cirque du Soleil's show on the Beatle's called "LOVE." It was totally mind-blowing. I kinda felt like the show probably looked like what it would feel to be on drugs. I don't know how that'd feel, but I think I do now!! Part of the show had rollerbladding hippies haha:

Crazy circus stuff

Sunday night we went to the most amazing restaurant and got the Chef's choice 4-course dining experience... and boy was it incredible. It started with an appetizer, then the BEST lobster pot pie, then steak, and finished with a dessert sampler of a bunch of different chocolate dishes. DELECTABLE.

Part of our dessert sampler was mini root beer floats
and chocolate chip cookies. YUM! It was all so good.

We also chose to do the wine pairing carefully selected by our chef for each course. Four glasses of wine later I was definitely having a good night :p

Chris and I after dinner

And a good night to you! I'm off to bed. As always my friends... blessings :)

~Ruthie

Christmas Came Early

Tomorrow I'll FINALLY be done with this semester of school! Yes!! I could not be more excited for Christmas, family time, chilling out, eating some yummy holiday food (crackers, meats and cheeses and wine on Christmas Eve woot woot!!), and getting some "brain food" in reading my Bible and my a couple devotional books I;ve started but haven't had time to finish. I am also excited to travel.... I didn't want to mention anything until I was sure, but now it's official:


I am going to New York City....

I'm off to the big apple!

To do a photoshoot with Muscle & Fitness Hers magazine this weekend!!!

Back in September at the Olympia M&F Hers did a mock
"cover shoot" for fans at their booth. Now I'll actually be in the magazine
for REAL! I love coincidence :)

Just think, I'll be in the same magazine as the
incredibly athletic IFBB Pro Figure Arnold and
Olympia winner Nicole Wilkins!!

...My fellow Bombshell teammate Justine Munro
made the COVER a couple months back.
Way to go Bombshell!!

 I fly out on Sunday and come back on Tuesday, the shoot will take place on Monday. I have no idea exactly what the spread will be, but no matter what I am thrilled and ecstatic to be in print as a FITNESS MODEL. This is honestly a dream come true and a true answer to many many prayers :D

On Facebook I did a giveaway of ZipFizz to whoever could guess where I am going.

Barbie will be getting a sample pack
of ZipFizz to try out. I'm sure you'll
love it!!

We have a winner!! Congrats to Barbie Gonzalez to correctly guessing where I'm going/what I'm doing on the first try! Dang girl, good job :) I need your address so I can mail off your goodies :)

This is truly Christmas come early in my book and I cannot WAIT to go to New York, I have never been there but I have heard great things. Hopefully I'll have a little extra time so I can go check out some of NY's many attractions: Central Park, Time Square, the Liberty Lady, where the Twin Towers once stood, and the big Christmas tree.

Massive ornaments as Christmas decorations

THE tree to put all Christmas tress to shame!

Liberty Lady

Times Square

Twim Towers Memorial

I won't be there long, but I hope to see as much as I can! I'll keep you guys updated via Facebook with pictures and posts about my travels. When I get back I'll defintely do a full recap too! I know a couple things New York is famous for that I'll be sure to try while I'm there....

New York Pizza

Oh New York, you're so cheesy

And for dessert, my all time favorite: New York Cheesecake!

For now it's bedtime though, one Final to go...I need my sleep so I can think tomorrow :p Goodnight and sweet dreams.

Blessings,
Ruthie

In Print

Hey guys!

As of recently, I officially no longer blog for Montana Tech as a student life blogger. However, I still work for the school...but i an exciting new position: I am a health and fitness lifestyle writer for the school's paper, the Technocrat.

Read my latest work at the links below :)

• Avoiding the Freshman 15
• 5 Frugal, Healthy Tips

I apologize for not getting a "Sunday Share" up yesterday. It was a crazy weekend at the Olympia Expo filled with amazing memories, new experiences and new friends. BUT.. when it came time to leave Vegas had a different plan for me...

Take it from me, DON'T "Go green" at the airport. I thought I was being all eco-friendly by using mobile check-in, but it sure wasn't good for my world. My mobile check in code worked at the Delta check-in counter and to check my bag but NOT for the TSA security checkpoint. It took so long to sort it out I missed my flight home.

Not such a great idea...

Word to the wise: Print ALL boarding documents. Even in you want to use mobile check-in, use the paper ticket as a backup in case things don't go as planned. I got stuck in Vegas an extra night, had to get a hotel, missed class, and even got airsick on the connection flight from SLC to Butte on the way back!! The moral of the story is to never only have "Plan A."

Goodnight all + blessings,

~ Ruthie
    xoxo

Weather or not it's practical, it's Fashion!

Hi friends!
Today is my second day of work at my engineering internship (click the link for more info on what the shipyard and I actually do) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and it's going well :) I've already been out on a submarine both today and yesterday. I also got to get new "safety shoes" this year (aka steel toes) but they're surprisingly awesome lol. They're Reeboks and look a lot like this:

Not too shabby for steel toes!

Of course, I can't wear them for anything else because they weigh at least a pound each with the steel toe... but I am all about having fashionable work shoes he-he. Also, they're waterproof which is super important here in the Seattle area. I almost wore flats, but decided to wear my brown leather boots to Seattle (aka my "Obi Wan Kenobi" boots according to my brother) and was soooo glad I did because it was cold and wet all day. But I have a feeling I will be making some fashion choices while I;m here that are just that: only for the sake of an outfit's stylish properties... not s omuch that it's practical. But,
Weather or Not it's Practical, it's Fashion!


~In other WA/summer/work news:
- Saturday night @ 7pm we got here, my brother drove out with me to Port Orchard (where my summer apartment is). On Sunday we took the ferry to Seattle because he had to catch the Greyhound bus back. We had quite the adventure using my GARMIN to navigate to the station. Lesson learned = just ask someone! We went in a huge circle and had to double-back from where the silly GPS thought we should go. Ugh. We saw a lot of interesting things though and made it fun, Matthew always makes everything fun! You may remember I brought him with me to my first Bikini competition in Missoula too. Best road-trip buddy ever!

-I met my new roomie, Kinjal, in Seattle after my brother left for home and we went for a little "window shopping" at the mall... but both ended up buying something lol. I bought some tan lace up booties (for work of course) and Kinjal got a fake engagement ring to fend off the Navy boys at work. No joke, it's a very real problem to deal with Navy guys hitting on you when you're trying to work on a carrier/submarine! If they think you're engaged, problem solved :) We got our goods from Forever XXII. I love this store for cheap, trendy and well-fitting (unlike Wet Seal).

There's a lot of really cute outfits at Forever XXII, like the ones inspired from a super cheap ($13) Forever 21 floppy hat! You'll be lookin' like J-Lo or Kim Kardashian in no time :)

Here's a few more interesting fashion and outfit-idea links:
~ Making a 'party tank' fashionable
~ Hot shoes for spring (and summer)
~ Have FUN with your make-up


Okay well that's it for now, lunch break is over!
Get out there and be fashionable at work/vacation/summer school (I hope not)!

~Adios,
   Ruthie <3

PS - I'll post some pictures from the trip to Seattle  when I get them uploaded to my computer, stay tuned!