Wow, what an amazing, surreal weekend I had!  I can't think of any other way to describe it.  Let me explain...

My first show was last August.  It was the SC Excalibur, promoted by Tres Bennett and Shannon Meteraud, and it was held at the Sottile Theatre in Charleston, SC.  My routine was choreographed by Lishia Dean.  When I got to the competitors' meeting the morning of the show, I found out my competition was Safiya Johnson, at which point I wanted to throw up.  It turned out to be a great blessing though.  Safiya was a huge help backstage and has turned out to be a great friend.

So, fast forward to Jen's show this weekend.  It was co-promoted by Tres and Shannon, and also held at the Sottile Theatre.  Safiya and I were the guest posers, along with Lishia Dean.  Safiya and I joked a little about how it felt like deja vu being back there together a year later but for a much bigger purpose. 

Throughout the show, they showed a few of Jen's routines, one of which was her "Hooters" routine from the '08 Arnold.  In case I haven't mentioned before, I watch that video almost everyday to get myself psyched up for routine practice.  That routine is a staple in my house, to the point where my husband could probably do the darn thing.  (When I was choreographing the Kill Bill routine, Julie Lohre suggested I buy a dvd of a pro show for ideas, Jen's routine really stuck out.)  So, there I was, standing backstage of the Sottile, Safiya on my left and Lishia on my right, Jenny Hendershott about 3 feet in front of me, watching the Hooters routine through the back of the movie screen.  If you had told me that a year ago, I would have thought you were describing some weird pre-contest dream, lol.  But, nope, it really happened!

Anywho, I can't give Jen enough praises and thanks for including me in her show.  She treated us so well, and she is just such a wonderful person.  I felt so welcomed and appreciated by her, and I am proud to be able to call her a friend.