We (Dorian, Jodi, myself, and Dorians Dad) arrived at Pearson International Airport about 10am, hoping to catch the 11am flight to Saskatoon. We were on stand by and came early in case we didn't all make it on the 11am, and then would try for the 4pm. We were in line ready to sign in and Dorians Dad forgot his passport/ID at home (they live 45mins outside of Toronto....and longer with traffic!!). So we decided Dorian should get on the 11am and Jodi, Mr Hamilton and I will try for the 4pm flight and hope we make it on.
4pm rolls around everything seems to be going smoothly, we all get on the flight. It's late taking off, but no biggy. About an hour and half in the air, the PA system turns on and they announce "We have turned around and headed back towards Toronto for an emergency landing because there is a crack in the wind shield". OMG! Ok, not so bad, we'll be landing in 20 mins. Literally 5 minutes within the announcement, the plane is nose diving at full speed towards the ground! It starts shaking (think major turbulence), with no lights on and I thought the oxygen masks were going to pop out at any second. I start to feel HOT AIR all in the plane which was heavily air conditioned and Im thinking "OMG!!!! THAT IS NO CRACK THERE'S A FRIGGIN HOLE!!!" and I am soooo scared lol. I can't even look out the window! There is not one PEEP from anyone. Everyone was dead silent. Apparently we dropped from like 18 000ft to 10 000 or something like that in less than 10 mins to ensure we were at the right altitude if the window burst. We finally landed, (thank the Lord, seriously! I was praying the whole time!!) and we get to see the windshield, and its completely cracked everywhere!! Jodi got a decent pic with her cell phone, they let us go into the cockpit! We finally arrive in Saskatoon at about 2am our time (they are 2 hours behind us). I was worried that all my food that I pre-cooked was going to be rancid from baking in the heat all day (it was a record high in Toronto), but it actually was fine! Thanks goodness!
The day before the show I go for my spray tans, which is great. Super easy and stress free! .....I go to the athlete's meeting that evening...and yup. It's raining. I get water droplets all over my quads and some on my shoulders. Awesome, anything else? Lol!! So at that point I was starting to feel a little stressed, but surprisingly I was very calm and relaxed with everything that was happening.
Show day! I felt really good, well rested, I was happy with how I looked, I LOVED my new suit and felt I did everything that I could have done up until then. During the pre-judging I got the second call out (which means they called out the top 6 girls) then they'll call out the next 5. So I ended up getting 10th place. Youch! Not exactly what I hoped for lol.....but in all honesty I was half expecting it. I have seen these girls and they are HUGE! SO heavily muscled! I looked like a pip-squeak next to them lol. I also had my suit sitting too low; on my hips as opposed to above them creating a wider looking waist (this is due to my emergency pee run a few minutes before stepping on stage lol...guess I didn't pull them back up high enough). I am content and ok with my placing. I know I did everything I was supposed to, and there's not much else I can say! I feel that I looked better than last year, and so did my coach, Mindi O'Brien and Dorian too. Not that I was any bigger (which I needed to be I guess lol!), I just felt more crisp and even looking. I understand why I received my placing, and like I keep saying, Im ok with it :) Top 10 in Canada is still a great accomplishment, and looking better than the previous year is even better in my books! I currently have misplaced my camera, but will post some pics we took in the hotel room when I find it.
Before this show even happened I told myself that if I don't do well, maybe I should take a break off competing and focus more on fitness modeling etc. It seems like I have a better body type for this direction! I don't have a crazy V-Taper (wide clavicles, narrow waist) and I'm not extremely muscular either. It seems you need either or to place well at the National events! But I truly did have a great time. It was amazing to see (and be onstage!) with Tami Beckers who received 2nd place! She'll always be number 1 in my books. She is someone I have looked up to for a long time and gave me the initial push of confidence to compete in the first place. Congrats Tami!! You deserve it! Can't wait to see you kill it next year! I also got to hang with some great girls and fellow Team O'Brien athlete Meni M, and fellow Oxygen Model Fran Dennis after the show. We all pigged out at very oddly decorated Earl's Lol! Good times! 
I just wanted to thank a few people who helped me get there and try! Dorian Hamilton, Mindi O'Brien, Jodi Boam, my Parents, Jeffrey Bell, Mr.& Mrs. Hamilton, and Pur Nutrition. I am so thankful for each and every one of you. Without you guys I couldn't have gone and experienced the 2011 Canadian Nationals! I'm so glad I did! It was definitely a trip to remember. I now have a new perspective and goals and can't wait to pursue them!!
