Allergies have almost completely disappeared, but a few sneezes and a bit of congestion still linger on.

Of course, the best thing to clear out the sinuses is a great scare, and I indeed had one when I went to Six Flags over Texas, which is less than 30 minutes from where I live. In about 24 years of living here, I have never been to the theme park, and I finally made it this past Sunday. I am scared to death of heights and was stuck on a ferris wheel in Chicago at the Navy Pier with my mother when I was four years old, and it scarred me (and scared me) for life! I'm not exaggerating! If you go to the Galaxy website, you'll read about my preparations for the obstacle course competitions and about my fear of climbing up the 15-foot high cargo net. So, I thought roller coasters would forever be banned. I was wrong! I went on three rides. It seems like such a small accomplishment, but to me it was fantastic! I rode two water rides--one of which had a very steep drop that made me feel like my stomach had disappeared into my throat. Then I went on a roller coaster that had tons of sudden turns and drops (not huge ones...just mini drops), and I rode that one four--count them, four--times. There were other rides that my friends went on, and I had a blast watching them but I thought, "thank goodness my feet are where gravity meant them to be." But there is one roller coaster that I'll try when I return. It's called the Judge Roy Scream, and it is a simple one, with hills and valleys and one turn. It is wooden, though, and the creaks kind of freak me out, but it doesn't seem as awful as the Texas Giant or the Titan. Oh, and Mr. Freeze is just plain wrong! Who in their right mind would want to ride on a track that takes you straight up to the sky in a complete vertical position and then drops you straight down and make you go back through the whole ride backwards at warp speed? Crazy doesn't even begin to describe the people who ride those!

Now, Batman seemed like fun, for your feet are dangling and you twist and turn and go upside down and get all topsy turvy and scream your head off (well, I'm assuming, for I stayed in a safe spot...the ground). But I don't know if I'll ever have the guts to venture onto that ride.

Suffice it to say, I'm quite proud of myself for the three rides I ventured onto. Yaayyy me!

Okay, onto stuff you actually might want to know about, like my back workout today! It was truly spectacular! I feel completely pumped, almost as though my back is the size of Ronnie Coleman's. Okay, now I am exaggerating...lol! Just slightly, though. I killed my back with one arm dumbbell rows--60 pounds for sets of 8...good lord!!!! And that was just the beginning. A few guys in the gym had a case of the eyes popping out when they saw that weight in my hand.

Anyway, I moved on to 90-pound bent over rows and then continued with 90-pound lat pulldowns and finished off with a superset of seated rows with lat extensions. I can still feel my back pounding! And I swear I've put on at least three pounds of muscle since the New York show. And most of it has gone into my back and shoulders. That's quality muscle, for my V-taper has truly improved. I can't wait to shed off the bodyfat and see how it'll all look on the stage next year.

Speaking of stage, I have backstage photos for Junior Nationals this past June to pass on to JT. I wrote the captions today, and I think y'all will enjoy them immensely. So, be on the lookout for them in the next week or so.

G'night!

Jodi :)