I first began in 1984, my last year of high school. My brother was working out a lot at a local gym, and he got me hooked, but I joined a different gym from him. I would buy all the latest body building magazines that featured mainly woman, and I became familiar with the top competitors in the business. Cory Everson, Carla Dunlap, Gladys Portugues and Rachel McLish were all of my favorites. I married in '86 and didn't work out as much. Had my first child in '89, became a size 16. Lost all the weight at a local gym, then decided I wanted to work to compete. I had a partner and everything, then I learned I was pregnant again. I gave it up to focus on my children. Weight went up and down from 14 to 12s over the years. Battled many illnesses, emotional turmoils, divorce, single parenthood and more. Through it all, I became a powerhouse of strength for myself and family. In 2011 I decided to go back to bodybuilding, but became sick, got engaged, and stopped working out. In 2012, broke up, more health issues popped up, and that was it! I headed back to the gym, motivated like never before. No more dating, or letting illnesses rule my life. My diet and determination sustained me, as does my faith in God. I refuse to give up without a fight for the very first time in my life when it comes to my body. I always seem to have obstacles trying to stop me from my goals, but they are just walls that I decided to climb then to take an easy road and work my way around it. A good climb has helped me to become stronger and more tolerant of the so-called negatives in life. For me, they are positives!

I love bodybuilding because of the feeling it gives me when I look at my body as it transforms into something strong and renewed. Bodybuilding is a model of strength and physical beauty that brings new life into being. It is a test of strength and endurance, mixed with patience to overcome weaknesses and frailties within ones self. It gives the body a harder more durable shell to sustain it through illness, accidents, and can overcome the feeling of weakness or vulnerabilities that I or anyone may have. It also has made me more aware of the inner parts of my body, and how it all works together like a fine tuned machine. It adds a greater importance of all that we are made up of when I can see each muscle stand out from the others. It is totally amazing!