I am glad to know Im not the ONLY one who is a bit annoyed over current events. Read this letter sent to the Glenn Beck show:

Glenn Beck: The Letter


June 17, 2009 - 10:36 ET
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/26742/

GLENN: I got a letter from a woman in Arizona. She writes an open letter to our nation's leadership:

I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?

Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:

One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This isn't to be confused with legal immigration.



Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.

Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.

Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.

Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!

Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don't you start there.

Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.

Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why ‑‑ what do you have against shareholders making a profit?

Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.

Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band‑Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.

Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try ‑‑ please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.

Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.

Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let's just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.

I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.

From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.

We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when hewill rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.

Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.

I wrote my post, deleted, wrote and deleted...so much I want to say based upon the responses I got on my previous posts...but Ill save that for a later date. I just want to be sure I can articulate exactly what it is I am trying to get across.

I find it funny how in this sport some people try to start trouble around every corner. Having separated myself from it a bit, and focusing on other things , its been refreshing. For example, someone imed me the other day trying to get me to say something about anther young up and coming Female bodybuilder by saying shes bigger than me, and so on and so forth. I turned pro because the physique I had was what they wanted. I never ever wanted to be a big person or huge. I wanted to win and give them a look I knew they wanted. Its a game. My endeavor was never to be the biggest I could be but rather the best. Not to digress though...this person kept asking leading questions to get me to say something about this girl, who by the way I don't even know. In this sport you compete against yourself really . To be better than you were the year before. It just blew my mind how ridiculous this person was being. First as I said I don't know this person and I would never say anything bad about them as why would I? If their goal is to be HUGE ...hey thats their decision but why this fan or spectator was trying to lead me into a dicussion to say I was better or she was better or who even knows was ridiculous. And its not the first time. I find people like to start controversy so much in bodybuilding. They like to start trouble. Its so sad and petty... YUCK! Yes I said YUCK!

Sorry for the rant! But goodness gracious :) I have alot going on in the next two weeks. Its going to be CRAZY! We have our fouth of July "In Defense of Freedom: An American Celebration" concert coming up on July 1 and July 2. We are playing some amazing patriotic pieces , some are extremely difficult and yet exiting to play. I liked the challenge. I am just so excited!

I have really also seen God work in mysterious ways lately! Its been amazing and I am just curious to see what is next, not only in my life but I have seen him working in others around me. When you see God answer a prayer you realize how he works in HIS own time. Something I have wanted in my own life for several years, finally has come to pass. Its truly an amazing opportunity and God waited..and when I look how he prepared me for it, amazes me even more as I see what experiences he put in my path to prepare me for this journey. I thought I was ready years ago and wanted it then, but it was almost as if the experiences he put in my path along the way were to "train me" for this !! I will go into more detail in the future as things develop! But I am just so excited for what lies ahead! Just because you dont' get an answer today, remember God doesn't work in our TIME ZONE!!!:)

ME

The emails I recieved from my last post were interesting. The bottom line is the Presidency is an INSTITUTION not a person. And I will leave it at that.

IN OTHER NEWS...I had a really good week the past week. Sometimes people just surprise you and just put a smile on your face. Its nice! Work is busy busy busy. School starts back July 11 for me. I took the month of May off due to my busy schedule and its only getting busier. I literally fly more than I drive lately. Now that I won the nationals and don't have that pressure on me I have been able to sit back and relax a little and pursue other goals in my life. The fact i didn't have to compete this year allowed me to start my masters program , focus on work and the travel it requires and many other things. Its been great, eye opening as I realize how much I missed out on for so long...LOL ...don't get me wrong, I love training and training hard but that pressure is now gone and that feels sooooo good.

I was saddened today as I was on the plane and talking with a very successful business man and the subject of bodybuilding came up. He said, let me ask you a question, " Why are bodybuilders such jerks?" I asked him to expand, and he said he was in the gym once and a he politely asked to use a piece of equipment, and the guy said "Sure, little man". First of all this guy was not a little guy. And the arrogance that many bodybuilders portray really ruins this sport. I am amazed at how many people outside the sport really are disgusted with bodybuilders because of the attitude we display in public arenas. Now this doesn't apply to all as i know many many gracious bodybuilders, but so many give it such a bad name. So keep that in mind as you are out and about as a bodybuilder and how your attitude reflects not only on you but the sport.

:)
Elena

THE PRESIDENT

I may lose several fans today but I just have to ask a question or two....$350K for a photo op in NYC....A date that cost more than most Americans in a year... putting his hands where the government doesn't belong...ie..General Motors... When are Americans going to get fed up and really speak their minds? Sure we talk about it around the water cooler, and in private settings but does anyone ever speak up ? He has the potential to do really great thigns...But I have to be honest I don't want a president that is COMMON just like me ...NO NO! I don't want a president who eats at Five Guys...I want a president who is so revered and distinguished and feared almost. I know I can't run a country so why do I want him to pretend he's just like me? I don't want a first lady who wears sleeveless dresses and poses sexy...I want one who is elegant and classy. Michelle I am sure is these things but the way the President and First Lady want to be seen is , in my opinion , taking away from the Prestige of the office of president. I don't want to see him on a Late night talk show joking around. We are in serious times, not a time for high fives...and chest bumping ( at the Naval Academy graduation.....REALLY ???? Do you think the queen of England would ever chest bump someone? Or George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, our founding fathers? I understand what hes trying to do ....but its just not for me. And its degrading the office of president....

And then there is the subject of torture and what not. Waterboarding...oh my...it was to my knowledge 3 PEOPLE!!! We are spending time focusing on that? My only thing here is the people we are up against don't play by any rules...they have severed heads , sent video, tortured...oh im not sure if you all remember this one but UM FLY PLANES INTO BUILDINGS killing thousands...or have we already forgotten that???....and yet we worry about offending a prisoners rights. Its embarrassing to our country. Im not sure American gets it. If we are doing something to gain information to protect american....shouldn't we explore every avenue to retrieve that information?

I feel we appear weak to the rest of the world. These things should not be exposed but rather handled with discretion . I will agree that American Soldiers that took pleasure in humiliating prisoners, is wrong but when things were done to get information to PROTECT our country ...that is a different story. I think this is something that has gotten blown way out of proportion and those that are saying they "didnt know about it" ( Pelosi....really?) and red alarms don't go off for the american public...is even scarier.

I just feel the priorities of our current administration are not in the right place and we are taking for granted this great country and what it was built on and we are going to regret many of these decisions.

Just my opinion.

GENETICS

Everyone knows that bodybuilding relies HUGELY on GENETICS! I have here a picture of my father and two of my brothers.....the photos speak for themselves. So you can see it started back with my dad...and my mom...and i have to say my entire family is really well built.
The photo of my dad was taken while he was in the marines and I am not sure his age. I would guess late 20's. But look at him . Im pretty sure he didn't have the weights we have today or the machines or the gyms available and yet he looked this good. My dad was an athlete , gymnast, football player etc growing up and I do remember him telling me he used to walk around on his hands, do pullups and dips. I remember as a kid we used to do stuff like that all the time. He taught us young. Stevens was taken recently while he is stationed over in Iraq with the US Marine Corps about a week ago. One thing you need to know about Steven is we have a picture of him at about the age of 5. We were on a swim team together and when we had our pic taken steven is standing there with a shredded six pack. AT THE AGE OF 5 or 6. He just has always had an amazing physique. He has striated , like hard striated triceps. Its awesome. Hes been training now for a few months and he is very dedicated and going at it hard. I am so so proud of him and the gains he has made. Jon is 19 and his photo was just taken last week. Jon was pretty skinny kid up until recently . WOW! I saw him a few weeks ago when I went home to the NPC Mid ATlantic Natural BB show...and when we got home he took his shirt off , veins everywhere and did a rear double bicep...people his back has the same shape as mine, same thick traps everything. In time this kid is gonna have a phenomenal physique too. I was so impressed . I am impressed with both my brothers. Steven is just full and hard and lean and Jon doesn't have the same size but I think hes going to surprise us all. I just need him to work on that farmers tan...eeesh.
I take after my father moreso than my mother and In my opinion and they may argue with me , my sisters take more after my mom. However all the Seiples have the combined genetics of my parents and just are naturally lean people. My oldest sister after two kids weighs about 115 pounds. My sister who is having a baby prob doesn't even weigh 125 and is due next week. My mother is gentically tiny. I tried her wedding dress on one day, she got married when she was 18. I was in High school so I was well under 115 and I could NOT get in her dress...So you can imagine how small she was. After seven kids she is still pretty petite and in good shape. My parents actually work out. My dad is pushing a bench somewhere in the 200 pound range and folks hes 68 years old. So you see where I get it from ? So many don't realize how important genetics are in this sport. But they will give you an advantage. The thing you can't see is that the Seiples have great upper bodies and not so great legs. LEAN legs yes...but we dont' get the huge legs. Those I have to work at. Strong? Yes but I have discussed before how strength and size are not necessarily related. I have seen in my strongwomen days, some tiny women do some amazing things. And I have seen some huge men weak as can be. So ... don't think you have to be big to be strong. So I just wanted to brag a little on the fam :)

DC, NJ, NYC and VA....

I hope everyone had a GREAT memorial day! I certainly did. Between a wedding, a road trip, NYC and so on...Just an absolute awesome weekend. I met some amazing people that were just so much fun, had the opportunity to go to the city with my brother on Saturday and meet even more fun and nice people.

Elmo found me in NYC and wanted a pose off. He needed to shave as I couldn't quite see his definition under the fur. :) Time square though was a buzz of activity . Tons of service men and women walking around.
I already appreciate our military and it was just nice to see so many of them out and about. And to share it with my brother and some really good people made it that more special . No matter how many times I have been to NYC , I still just feel like a kid, I love it so much. The trip back was fun as my boyfriend and I drove to Richmond where once again was introduced to some really nice people. And then to Richmond Airport. My flight was grounded due to storms in Atlanta but we got in eventually. Wasn't too bad. I have to say Atlanta weather is much less humid than than up north right now. Go figure .


I hope everyone had a chance to read my previous post ( See Below ). When you travel you have a lot of time to think and with me leaving me to my own thoughts can be so so dangerous. But overall, I just thought about alot of things and how hard it is to sometimes walk tall and proud, with dignity even when judged by others. Being a female bodybuilder has left me and many other women unfairly judged over the years by society as we do not fit the mold. Many do not understand why we do it. For me it was just a sport. I was an athlete and this was a sport. Being divorced I am judged the hardest by the Christian community. You find so many times you try to make excuses for who and what you are. But I have learned that being a Christian and living a life for Christ doesn't matter where we have been, who we are or what we have done. THUS the beauty of forgiveness. I know that through Gods eyes, I am EXACTLY who he created me to be. The BEST part is I know he is not finished with me yet and has a plan and a purpose in my life. Each day is a learning experience and if there is anything I have learned, Is I am not ashamed of who I am or what I have done or where I have been. As I have said time and time again..."IN ORDER TO APPRECIATE SUCCESS...ONE MUST FAIL". Things that come easiest in life are less appreciated than those things we work the hardest for. Squatting 500 pounds my first meet wasn't nearly as appreciative as waiting 8 years, and taking second and third place so many times to win the Nationals. Each loss made me work that much harder. Its the same with life. The harder it is for me to achieve the more precious it is to my heart. And that is my thoughts for today!!!

MAKING PEARLS OUT OF PROBLEMS!


I have spoken alot over the last year about trials and tribulations in my life. Now let me say this first of all... I have led a tremendous life , one full of great experiences. I had a fantastic family ( and still do ) growing up , I have had amazing jobs, I have had amazing friends. But I have addressed some of the harder things I endured as well to show my life has not just been peaches and creme. Not once was it to get pity or to make it seem I have had a hard life. But rather to give someone who perhaps is dealing with the same things I have endured , the hope of knowing God is always in Control and to just trust him to get you through it. And also to give my life some reality, as I am not sure there is anyone out there who has led a stress free, drama free , problem free life.

However , my point in sharing so much of who I am and what I have overcome is this and its simple: The other day I was looking at a beautiful strand of pearls my father bought me in China. They are the most precious piece of jewelry I own. The are gorgeous, and they were given to be by MY FATHER, a man I admire so much. And they have so much meaning to me. When I look at my life, I see a strand of pearls. So many beautiful things in my life, career, family, friends , triumphs...HOWEVER one must think how is a pearl made? "Pearls are formed inside the shell of certain mollusks: as a defense mechanism to a potentially threatening irritant such as a parasite inside its shell, the mollusk creates a pearl to seal off the irritation." When I think about life and problems, trials and tribulations I think of them as the irritants that enter into our lives...and from those irritants come pearls. From something bad comes something so beautiful and precious. And that is how I view anything bad in my life that no matter how irritating, bad or tumultuous it may have been, it was the stepping stone to something greater, beautiful and part of Gods Plan for my life.

The reason I have shared so much of me is that if one person who has ever felt or been where I have been and realized that God has been there and has had his hand outstretched just waiting for you to say , "OK Lord, I can't do this on my own, and I need you" Then it was worth it.

God has shown me time and time again, that no matter how many times I fall, and choose perhaps the wrong choice, its just another opportunity to make another pearl. The fact that we have a God that loves us so much that he not only FORGIVES and FORGETS, but also blesses and allows us to move forward EXACTLY where he intended us to be in the first place. Granted my string of pearls is getting rather long:)

So every morning when I dress for work, and I put on my pearls, I just think about the blessings I have in my life. And thank God for allowing me to make pearls out of problems!