I spoke to someone very important today. She reminded me of how many little things in life we brush off and do not appreciate. She also reminded me of all the wonderful times we shared water skiing and boating together over the years. I hung up the phone feeling refreshed and saddened... for she also reminded me that all things have a beginning and an end. This wonderful woman is my grandmama:)
The lady who waterskied into her 70's! What an inspiration she is:)
I love you Grandma!

This is a letter I received from a fan that I really appreciated...

"Ms. Abrams, your homepage says that "in 2005 I plan to take
your breath away." I know you are a very fine and dignified
woman and a happily married wife and mom, so I hope you don't consider this fresh, but you've taken my breath away from the first time I saw your picture and read about you on the internet.
What's most impressive about you is that as corny as it sounds, you seem just as beautiful inside as you obviously are outside. And you have exhibited good taste in your modeling, as your beauty is evident to all, without your ever having gone over the line too provocatively.
I wish you great success whenever you return to competition, and more important continued happiness in your family life.
Good luck to you and yours."

I just thought I would share this one! It was nice to hear:)
Thank you!!!!

I have posted 11 photos to my yahoo fan group from one of my photo shoots last weekend. you can view them by going to this link,
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/JenniferAbrams/ and clicking "photos" on the lefthand side. They are the last 11 photos in the gallery..oh yah, and one from when I was 6 months pregnant with Wade just as a reminder of how hard I have busted my butt the past 8 months:)..I still have plenty of work/fun ahead as well!
Jen:)

I'm back from Las Vegas! I had a really nice time and the weather was fantastic. My favorite highlights where relaxing by the pool and clubbing at "Studio 54". Two nights was plenty though. By Sunday morning I was ready to come home and see my husband and kids. Time away always makes you appreciate what you have:) My husband is the BEST for giving me the weekend away from being "mommy"!
So it's back into the swing of things again...both the kids are feeling under the weather so I've been keeping a low profile the past few days. We just got back from the park a little while ago, it's just incredible by the river! So peaceful and calm...reminds me a little of the beach we used to go to in California when I lived there.
I love it!
I received the most sincere and thoughtful e-mail from a fan today that I would like to post. I'm waiting on his ok and then I will share it with all of you.
As long as the kids are better tomorrow I will get back to the gym for legs and shoulders. I was able to get a run in with a client yesterday and I hiked up to the park today with the baby in the backpack carrier and my daughter in the baby jogger..so I got a sweat going;)
Got to do what ya can when the kids come first!
Jen;)

My workout yesterday was cut short, the baby needed me and they called me down to the nursery...oh well, such is life as a mom;) This is what I did get done though...
Chest & Back
4 Sets Hammer Strength Lat Pull Downs
4 Sets Underhanded Pull Downs(chest parallel to the ceiling)
4 Sets Hammer Bench Press (Horizontal)
3 Sets Cable Flys (chest horizontal to the ceiling on exercise ball- palms open)
1 Set of Standing Wide Grip Lat. Press Downs
20 minutes on the Rotating stair climber and later that evening a 30 minute run with a client (Great Job Terese!)

I saw the proofs from the photo shoot i did with Gene for FbbWorld.com last weekend. They turned out GREAT! I will get them posted to the site when I recieve my disk. It feels good to see the results of the past 8 months work after the baby.

I leave for Vegas tomorrow:) Three mornings and two nights to have a break from being mommy, I'm looking forward to the time away! Once again my incredible husband will be taking care of the kids. He's great with them, I have no worries:)I am also looking forward to spending time with my sister. Since I had the kids we very rarely ever get together alone. It will be fun!

I'm off to the gym now and to take the kids swimming and to the library for new books. Then it's back home to make dinner and finish packing before my two clients this evening.
Have a great weekend! Wish me good luck on the slot machine;)
Jen

I had a GREAT weekend! I hope you all did as well!
Happy Father's Day! I hope you all enjoyed time with the important "father's" in your life. I spent time with the three most important "dad's" in my life...my husband, my dad and my father-in-law. They are incredible men!!!
Today is a special day for my hubby and I, our Wedding Anniversary of 6 years:) We celebrated on Saturday and went out "ALONE" Wow...was that a treat! We had an incredible dinner at "Wildfire" in Schaumburg. Fantastic place, I definitely recommend it for special occations. We also went to see "Terminal" with Tom Hanks. Funny movie:) but a little disappointed with the ending.
My photo shoots on Friday went great. I am anxious to see how the photos turn out. We got some great shots outside and by the indoor hotel pool. Gene (of Ftvideo.com and Fbbworld.com), and Mike of Herbiceps.com are both great photographers. I had fun shooting with both of them. Karen even had a few shots done to get her first exposure with herbiceps.com. I was hoping that would happen:)) I was also approached by a representative for "HotRox" that was interested in having me represent their product at GNC on a monthly basis. Sounds like a great promotional deal to get involved with. The time away was well spent!
A HUGE thank you goes out to my husband for taking care of the kids all day and night so I could go..you are the ultimate team player Michael, I love you!!!
Special thanks to Karen for waiting on me through all my clothing changes and photos on Friday...you are awesome, I'm so glad you had a few shots done too:)
As for the pre-judging...I went into it interested in how the new light-heavy class was going to look. As expected, it was the strongest and most competitive class. Amanda Dunbar was holding a bit too much water and looked a bit smooth next to Christine Sabo, who ultimately won the lightheavy class and the overall. Alissa Jones, who was also a light-heavy and a new comer to the National scene made some great improvements from April, where she won the overall at the Mid-Illinois Ottawa show. She tied for 6th place. There were some great looking female athletes but, as always, there are those who choose to destroy their femininity and health to gain more muscularity and rid their bodies of excess body fat. I know a lot of people have strong opinions on this subject, as do I. My stand on steroids remains to be what it has always been...I wish it was out of the sport completely! I met a lot of great people at the show on Friday but one topic that was recurring between Karen and I was the girls who were so obviously using. I just don't understand it! I suppose they start out just looking for that little edge and it grows from there, but when you see a beautiful women and she starts talking to you and sounds like she's been smoking for 30 years or is a man you have to question.."is it worth it"? To me, it never will be!! It's too bad the NPC and the magazines don't value the natural athlete. There just isn't the exposure for the all-natural athletes as there is for a sport that doesn't follow strict testing. It is a topic I will always feel strongly about but my opinion unfortunately, will make little difference. With the continued popularity of figure competitions I feel it is even more important to keep female bodybuilding natural to keep it alive! The masculine female look from steroid use is not appealing to the majority of men and women. And the bottom line is...bodybuilding will NEVER be considered to get anywhere close to Olympic status while drug use is so prevalent. The judging criteria has always been a problem, I know. How do you describe or explain "overall package"? but the sport has to clean up if there is any hope and female bodybuilders can be an example to all.
Well, enough with my opinions:) I had a fantastic weekend and my photos from both shoots will be on my site as soon as I get them!
Just a few more days until I am off to Las Vegas for a "girls only" get away with my sister, mom and my 3 aunts. I am very excited! I've never been to Vegas:)
Have a great day!
Jen

Our daughter's dance recital was last night and she was great! She finally got comfortable on stage after her ballet number and was her spunky self for her tap number. She looked just beautiful...It is unbelievable to think she is so grown up already. Daddy wanted her stage makeup off...she looked too grown up:) I will be leaving in just a bit for my photo shoots and to watch the women's pre-judging. Karen is a trooper to come and hang out with me for the shoots. She's the BEST:) My husband is taking care of the kids all day and evening so I can go...Thank you Michael...you are the ultimate team player;)
I ran into an old client of mine a few nights ago at work. She is a police officer and is anxious to start kickboxing again. I only trained her when I was pregnant so it was the first time she had seen me without child. I enjoyed training her, it was always enjoyable and the kickboxing drills I did with her while I was pregnant will remain something to smile about forever. She could never believe I could do them as prego as I was;)
That's bodybuilding and dance training for yah!
Well, have a great day and I will let you all know my thoughts on prejudging when I return.
TTFN,
Jennifer

Well, just a few more days until the Jr. Nationals in Chicago (Rosement to be exact). I am anxious to see the new women's light heavy division...I anticipate it to be the most competitive class. There has been a lot of "Buzz" about Amanda Dunbar doing well. I have two photo shoots scheduled with Gene X for Fbbworld.com and Mike of Herbicps.com.
It feels good to be in the swing of things again:)
It's a busy week here with our daughter's dance recital, swim lessons and gymnastics classes..boy the baby is soooo good! He just goes with the flow.
We hope Grandma (my mother-in-law),is feeling better real soon! She came down with pneumonia and was in the hospital:(
I have to get some sleep to let my legs recover from leg day yesterday, so I will leave you with a quote, night-nite!

TODAY'S INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE:

"Though we can't always see it at the time, if we look upon events with some perspective, we see things always happen for our best interests.
We are always being guided in a way better than we know ourselves."

~ Swami Satchidananda

I have an incredible story to share with you. A client of mine found an article in the Chicago Tribune a few weeks back and brought it to me. The article was about a woman by the name of Kristie Marano, an Olympic wrestler, and the story of how her daughter was born...this is unbelievable!
"When she wrestled in Chicago at the age of 19, she was nine months pregnant...and hadn't told anyone. She won. Then she went home to New York, delivered her own baby, and wrestled 10 days later...and won!"
"At first whatever nausea she experienced, she ascribed to illness. Whatever weight gain occurred was so slight, it didn't show. Kristie still qualified for her 138 weight class! After her win in Chicago for the National University games, she flew home to New York. She went to sleep and was awakened by a pain. Then her water broke. Too ashamed to wake her parents, Kristie proceeded to deliver her own baby in the bathtub! She found scissors and cut the umbilical cord. Then, unbelievably, she drove to a nearby Kmart and bought diapers, leaving the baby at home. The baby girl, 6 pounds 8 ounces at birth, is named Kayla and is now in kindergarten. Kristie later married the baby's father and took his surname, Marano. Ten days after giving birth, Kristie wrestled in a national competition in Orlando, winning another gold medal. Frontier women had nothing on her!!!"
Takes the breath right out of ya doesn't it? Especially if you've had children. Wow! What a story! And to think most of us, myself included, have epidurals and a warm bed to rest in for two days after having a new baby. Not the mention not looking pregnant at 9 months! I can't hide a pregnancy past the first 8 weeks:)
My hat goes off to you Kristie Morano!

I would just like to thank all of you out there for your supportive and encouraging e-mails! The sport of bodybuilding will flourish as long as there are fans like you! I just want to say "Thanks"! You are all great!
Remember...Today is the first day of the rest of your life!
God Bless:)

TODAY'S INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE: ( This is GREAT !)

"Regardless of how you feel inside, always try to look like a winner.
Even if you are behind, a sustained look of control and confidence can give you a mental edge that results in victory."

~ Arthur Ashe, Professional Tennis Player

TODAY'S INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE:

"If you are not going to be better tomorrow than you were today, then what need have you for tomorrow?"
~ Rabbi Nahman

Hi there:)I trained legs and biceps today..awesome workout! (Even with the fire alarm interruption:) I finished 4 weeks of pyramiding super-sets and now I am back to lifting heavy (8-10's). Today was a full day...starting with my daughter's dance class, to errands, going to the gym, grocery shopping, planting a few flowers, cooking with Alyssa and yyyeees:) I'm saving laundry for last..ha-ha the washer and dryer are running as I type:) My son was just adorable in the bath tub tonight:) He holds onto the extended shower handle and will not let go of it..if he does he slides across the tub on his belly and grabs it again, followed by a giant giggle and a smile that lights up the room (from dimple to dimple). I could just gobble him up!
I am attending a biomechanics continuing education seminar on Thursday and Friday this week. I am hoping to gather some new ideas and training methods to use with my clients. I love fresh information, it keeps my work interesting and fun.
Jen:)