Holy long time no posting, Batman...!

Hey everybody,


Wow. It has been a long time since I stopped by and got something to share with all of you guys.
Since last September, things have changed QUITE a lot in my life!
Like you probably knew if you've been reading my previous posts, that I was studying Computer Animation/Game Art in USA. My school was taking ALL of my time, because it was 24/7 school, so sometimes I had to get up at 3 am to prepare for 5 am labs and vice versa. I didn't really have time for anything else than going to school, working on my projects after school and going to the gym at times.

But now... Now it's all over! I FINALLY graduated in the end of November, with few Course Director's Awards which completely surprised me. I worked my butt off the whole time, because I promised myself that I didn't move to the US to slack or party, I moved there to get the education and degree that I needed in order to start working in my dream career field.

In the beginning of my journey to the US, I was planning on staying there after I'd graduate, but towards the end I started to realize how much my heart misses my home in Finland.

I got a whole new perspective towards my home country because I had a chance to take a step back and see it from a distance. I appreciate even little things in my country so much more than I ever did before. I could not be happier that I had the chance to experience all this though. I could say it has been an eye opener and life changing experience. After I graduated, me and my parents packed all my stuff, shipped them to Finland and flew ourselves there as well in December 2012.

It was cold and snowy, but I couldn't do anything else than just smile. My best friend was waiting for me at the airport, and you can imagine the feeling what I had when I finally got to see her and give her a huge hug!

I stayed the night with my parents, and next day my best friend wanted to take me out.
When the night time finally came, we had a place in VIP room, and when I finally walked through the door, I heard a huge "SURPRIIIIIIIISE" coming next to me. I was in shock. All my closest friends were there welcoming me back home with some bubbly and food. The feeling was just something incredible. I am still smiling about it :)
I had an amazing time with my friends that night.

Christmas felt so nice to spend with my family which I haven't seen in so long. I actually changed my diet to gluten and dairy free like in May-June of 2012, so my mom was kind enough to help me prepare totally gluten/dairy-free meals for Christmas :)
You may ask why did I change my diet? The reason for that is that I've had so many issues with my stomach and digestion. I was unable to lose weight etc. I've felt so much better with the new diet, even though it is not the easiest to follow. That is why I usually prepare my own meals wherever I go. But like with bodybuilding/fitness lifestyles, it takes commitment and sacrifices, it doesn't come easy.

So yeah, I'm back in Finland, and started a whole new life here :) I'm so excited about the future which I hope will stay bright!

Here's some condition pictures cos I am sure you don't want to see my blog without pictures ;-)

September 2012

October 2012

December 2102

December 2102

January 2013

January 2013

 Heya guys,

Time is going fast and the end is near with my school, and I've only got couple of months left before graduation. 

I can't believe it's almost been two years since I moved to Florida. I could say this has been an amazing opportunity for me to be able to live in another country. It has given me so much more perspective towards my own home in Finland and how good things actually are in our little country :)

I can't even begin to explain how much I miss my friends and family...

I've been trying to work out as much as I've been able to. My final demo reel classes are taking up a lot of my time, so whenever I have a chance, I'll go do a lil workout and try to keep them as intensive as I can. Right now I'm not trying pb's or get my workout weights to increase on a weekly basis.
I just wanna get leaner and try to maintain the muscle mass I already have. Sometimes it feels like it's not easy because the crazy schedules that I have with school, but I know that I'd feel miserable if I wouldn't be able to work out and eat healthy. Sitting on your butt for 16 hours a day is no joke.


Working out and healthy (eating) habits are a lifestyle that will never leave my heart and I'm sure that people who are as committed as I am, understand the way I feel.

I've also been thinking about that whenever I'd get my life back on a regular schedule, I'd LOVE to compete again. Not in bodybuilding, but in the new physique division. I'm happy to notice how popular it is actually getting, and apparently a lot of ex-fbbers have switched to that division because they don't want to just get bigger and bigger. That's how it is with me. I'm happier with a bit smaller physique and leaner look than how I was before.
I know some of you readers prefer me as big and bulky, but this is how I am right now, and I have no intentions getting big anymore... :)

I'd like to mention that if you're interested in following my 3D art blog, then you should definitely go check out http://artbyevakovalainen.blogspot.com

Drop me a comment if you like! :)


And also... wanted to drop few pics for you guys of my condition that I am in at the moment !

XoXo,

Eva

Catching up!

Oh wow, where could I start. It's been almost 5 months since I've updated last time. I do apologize such a long pause with my posts. Now I'm on my summer break which gives me a lil time to finally let you guys catch up how's life treating me here in the US :)

A lot has happened in my life during that time, good and bad (for example needing an ambulance ride to a hospital because of severe abdominal pain... but "thankfully" it was "ONLY" kidneystones, lol. Not fun, I tell you. )
but mainly I've been just focusing on my school and getting good grades :) Been working my butt off to be honest.
Been trying to go to the gym as well, as much as possible, but our long days at school (sometimes my days are like 17,5 hours long because I need to continue working on my projects after the school day is over), so I barely get even sleep until I have to wake up and start preparing myself for a new day which could be similar to the previous one. You can imagine how though it has been. But I still do love it.

To tell you a tad of what's been going on:
I've been trying to have some life outside as school as well, and for example I was doing a hair show with bunch of awesome people in April:

 Also been going out at times to get my mind off at work and see my friends outside school, which is usually the only way to see them all together at same time :)

I had the opportunity to go see the IFBB Europa 2012 show here in Orlando, and I was so happy to finally being able to see my idol Cindy Phillips live on stage. She was my first inspiration to become a bodybuilder, so you can imagine how exciting it was for me to see her. It was fascinating to see the new Physique division, because I feel like if i'd ever compete again, Physique division would be more towards what I'd be aiming for.
Also had the opportunity to meet the IFBB Pro Mikaila Soto, who was a total sweetheart :)

Gym is going well, not really aiming for any PB's at the moment, but I was REALLY happy to notice that I can squat again! After the horrible accident that happened 4 yrs ago, it has really prevented me from training legs heavy anymore. But about 2 weeks ago, I decided to face my fears finally, went underneath the smith machine barbell and started squatting. Even if it was with baby weights compared to the ones I've used to do, I was perfectly fine with it, because I could finally do them.
I just have to be extremely careful when I'm doing them, so right now even if i'm doing with smaller weights, I do em the way that I DEF walk like an old grandma the next day, lol.

I think right now I'm weighing around 130-131lbs, so I'm finally making progress with toning down. I still have fat to loose but I'm getting there :)... I hope!

And guess what... geez, TIME FLIES. I'm 4,5 months away from my graduation and I'm getting excited and scared the same time. I'd need to find a job in the gaming/ movie industry when I'm done with school. I'd absolutely love to move to California, because I really fell in love with the place when I had the opportunity to visit some of my family there in 2010. I'm really working my butt off to make this happen. 

If anyone knows about any open junior/entry level positions, mostly for 3D modeling,  I'd love to hear them out :) Any information would be MUCH appreciated !

Well that's all for now....Thanks for reading my post ! Hope to hear from you guys again.
Love you all!

XoXo,

Eva

February update :)

HEY HEY HEY!
Gosh, it's been way too long since I've updated my blog last time. Huge apologies. School's been taking pretty much 95% of my time and the rest 5% that I've had I've been spending at the gym and getting enough rest.It has not been easy trying to balance between day/night school and getting all your workouts done, but I've done what I've could.Usually it seems to happen that when people start going to a college or start another huge chapter in their life, they start lacking of self discipline when it comes to taking care of themselves. They start eating food that is easy to get ( fast food, pre-made meals etc) that unfortunately just do harmful things to their bodies, and stop exercising.

Not even once have I eaten fast food here (haven't done that since I've been 15-16 yo). I'm still really strict about what I eat here. I'm either making my meals at home and carrying the to school or just going back home and eating. People usually ask me how do I do it? I just answer it pretty plain and simple , like it would be from a Nike commercial ; "I just do it".

People make a lot of excuses nowadays why they can't eat healthy or why they don't have time to go to the gym.
You ALWAYS can make more time. Either waking up more early, or maybe taking some time from your social activities and using that time for your OWN health and wellbeing.

This sign pretty much sums it all :

Even I have to keep telling myself this at times, when I'm tired or not having motivation, wether it comes to going to the gym or improving my artistic skills at school, and using that lil free time that I've got doing some personal projects outside school.

Anyways, I can't wait for the 2012 IFBB EUROPA Show here in FL. I'm excited about seeing the new Women's Physique Division and especially Cindy Phillip's decision to change from Bodybuilding to WPD, and making her debut in April! She's already looking amazing, so I'm wishing her all the best with rest of her comp prep !

(And, oh my hair is not THAT short, I still do have a little tail in the back, haha ;-) )

Aight, it's time for me to head to the gym ! Adios my friends! Take care ! *mwah*


XoXo,
Eva

Hello from sunny Florida :)
How was everyone's summer? I hope there's some people still reading my blog, although I know, I haven't been posting that much lately, which I am sorry about!
Things been going great here! Been starting to work out more, even with my super busy school schedule.

Our school's amazing, and I'm really loving the stuff we're doing there. It just takes a lot of hard work and effort in

order to learn 3D modeling/animation and that sort

of stuff. But I'm willing to work hard, because I really enjoy it, and know that this is the thing that I wanna do later on in my life as well.
I want to learn to be GREAT in order to get a job later on, after graduation next year.

So if any of you guys know any ideas for internships or anything like that, I'd be happy to hear about any of them out :)

The summer's been crazy hot here, 95-110 every day. Altho it's been raining almost every day too, I still prefer it over Finland's weather , haha. I've got a nice tan, cos whenever I've had day offs, I've been just laying out by my apt 's pool. It's so awesome and relaxing, just what I need between school and workouts.
I also had the pleasure to have my best friend from Finland to visit me over my spring break. Time we spent together was amazing, and gave me so many good memories. I miss her SO badly ...

Like I said earlier in my post, I've been starting to go to the gym more.
I decided I'm gonna make time for it, even if my schedule can get crazy.

Working out is so important to me, and the feeling you get after a good workout is _amazing_. I don't think I could ever stop training, it's such a big part of my life, and I truly enjoy it.

Even though I'm really not training for more mass now, I'm trying to maintain the muscles I got now, and get leaner.

Sadly though, getting lean is super hard for my body, but I am still working hard in order to achieve the physique that I've been dreaming of. Hopefully one day, it'll happen.

I also started to train a friend of mine, and I'm so proud of him, because he is making awesome progress ! He's been really excited about training with me, and he's willing to work hard. I'm really happy to help people out, who actually wanna work hard enough in order to get in shape.

Aight, well nothing more special to tell you about :) Unless you have some questions you'd like to know, then please, do tell !

Take care everybody !

xoxo,

Eva

Life in Florida.

Wow, where could I start...?

I've been here in Florida for over 4 months

already....Time flies.. It is so crazy...

Even if all my time goes to school and homework, I

absolutely love my life here.

The school that I go to, is amazing, even though the

schedule,workload and supershort deadlines are pain in the butt at times, I try to manage around it, because I totally love what I am doing. And the thing that I'm studying here is a lifelong dream: computer animation. So if I'll be blessed later on as well, I'd be able to work within videogame or movie industry. I just gotta keep working hard to be able to reach those dreams of mine.

Almost right after I arrived here, I kinda got sick, and I was diagnosed with a bad pneumonia, and I suffered of it for over 2 months.... I was in bad shape, so no gym for me.

Thank God I am in better shape finally.

I love the gym here that I go to, too bad the hours are not that great tho, cos I got school

around the clock, so I won't be able to go to the gym during nighttime. I wish i'd have more time for gym though, cos honestly I haven't been able to go train but only maybe 1-2 times a

week :( But now I gotta prioritize stuff in my life, because now it's time to bust my ass off to be able to get the dream career of mine later on.

Here's a pic from yesterday:

Even if 90% of my time goes for school, I've been lucky to be able to go out and meet new people. and made new awesome friends. Everyone has made me feel so welcomed here, and I absolutely love that. First I was a bit afraid how well I would settle here, but honestly - I don't miss Finland at all. I feel like I belong here. This is the place that I wanna live later on as well :)

I love hearing about you guys, so pls keep sending me comments and all !

Take care! * mwah*

Love,

Eva

Ps. A friend of mine sent a pic she took of a Finnish magazine, where is an A4 size gum advertisement, where I am in! haha (it was shot in May 2010)

Here it is:

Christmas time !

Hey y'all,

First of all, MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

2nd of all, i'm really sorry I haven't updated my blog in months.

I really haven't felt like I've had any news about my training.... or I

dunno if you're interested in my life outside my trainings as well?

haha.

Anyways, this is gonna be pretty short....

I've been working with this one thing for the past year, and I've been dreaming about it since i can remember...

(Random party pics...been enjoying and spending a lot of time with my friends :) )

.......And finally it's coming true:

I'm moving to USA to do my Bachelor's degree !!

And i'm leaving there in 4 days. YIKES. I'm super excited , terrified , happy, anxious...and of course smiling all the time. I'm sure you can guess all the excitement and feelings i'm going

through here.

(from my farewell party with my best friend, love ya girl !)

I wanted to let you guys know the reason why I haven't been really posting... Of course I've been training... doing a lot of indoor cycling classes, but also worked my ass off at the gym.

But not trying to gain more muscles at the moment. We'll see what's gonna happen in the future, but now i'm fully going to concentrate in my studies, cos I've been given this wonderful opportunity to do so, and ESPECIALLY in America.
Man... as I said, I've ALWAYS wanted this.

WOHOO! :-D!

Here's few condition pics from the beginning of November 2010.

I dunno if I should stop updating my blog or not.... I dunno how much i'd have time in the States to do that, or would I have any training stuff for you to offer.

What do you guys think? Would you still wanna hear from me?

Anyhoooo~

I'm off to celebrate Christmas with my family (we celebrate it here on 24th :-) ), and enjoy the final days with my friends and family.

Take care everyone, and enjoy the holidays with your family and loves ones!

Lots of love, hugs and kisses,

Eva