Watch “That Time Pojo Took DC” on YouTube

My nephew recently went on a trip to DC and I loved seeing all these pics♡…

Miasma

The idea for this poem was originally drafted as a placeholder within WordPress in 2018, inspired by a SciShow episode. The episode was titled “5 Things Humans Got Really Wrong About Our Bodies.” That night, I drafted the idea to write a poem when I learned about Miasma theory. This is an aged medical theory about air… or “bad air” if you will. Also known as “night air,” Miasma theorists concluded breathing it could lead to the Black Death and other diseases. Tonight… I followed through on the idea and crafted a poem.

noxious fumes
of bad air drift
pushing past
the barrier

real love
floats
false friendship
sinks
into a ghost
of what you were

miasmal dream
a ghastly sight
straight poisonous
and untold

history was made
it’s there to keep
know the night air
will be cold

noxious fumes
of bad air drift
pushing past
the barrier

real love
floats
false friendship
sinks
into a ghost
of what you were

by Felicia Lujan
10.8.19

Watch “Hillerman Writers Conference (2015)” on YouTube

Going though my personal archive and realized I hadn’t shared these memories on-line! I really miss this conference and working for and with wonderful, creative spirits every year.

Susan Kills It!

So proud of Susan for killing it and representing for New Mexico women, our capital city, and our home away from home (Mandrill’s Gym). Making history with fleshin’ gunz ablaze… amongst several cool pics and videos she sent me from her recent comp in Cali, I selected four to share. How can I not share pics of her meeting Bradley Martyn and looking mighty shredded? #winsonwins

Watch “2018 NPC Muscle Contest Challenge Women’s Physique Winner Susan Ramirez Arellano” on YouTube

Pueblo

I love that they are teaching my son to value culture and tradition. Here is the model pueblo he worked so hard on for his NM history class.

Loretta Zygowicz… “Miss Muscle” in 1946

Calves on Fleek \(“.)/

Blue for Valdez

Here is the tee shirt design I created for this year’s Valdez Family Reunion. The color blue has been the color worn by the members of my mom’s paternal line from Las Aguitas, New Mexico.

Now That’s a Throwback

Here we are in our college days tryin’ ta look all fly n flashy for the camera. (from top left to bottom… Ivan, Carlos, David, Elaine and me) Thank you to Elaine for being the keeper of our history and sending me these! It was amazing to see pics of us from so long ago.

Lenda♡ In Honor of International Women’s Day

Visit this post: Lenda Murray, Lower Body Logic (1995) 

But did you die?

Sunday night I was seriously sleepless. Because of that, I just went in yesterday to do abs and skipped the after work cardio to sleep. I came home yesterday and went to bed at 5:30pm and slept until this morning. When my alarm clock went off for work, my eyes still felt like they were filled with lead. I wanted to call in and sleep more because I felt so drained. You know what got me out of bed? Eddie Hall.

•|• Eddie Hall… STRAIGHT BEAST •|•

Today was deadlift day and there was no way I was missing after Hall just set a historical deadlift record and didn’t die!!! He’s a straight beast! I told myself “get your ass up!” I went to work feeling like a tired mess, but got a lot of work done regardless. When workout time came I told myself… “wasted or not, you are deadlifting today!” I focused my mind and music on a replay of the first few seconds of “Till I Collapse” by Eminem x Nate Dogg.

“Cause sometimes you just feel tired. You feel weak. And when you feel weak, you feel like you want to just give up. But you gotta search within you. You gotta find that inner strength and just pull that shit out of you and get that motivation to not give up and not be a quitter, no matter how bad you want to just fall flat on your face and collapse.”

It worked and I didn’t die even though I didn’t feel good! Our minds are powerful. It has taken years of experience for me to master my mind in the gym. I’m so glad I went today. 5 days ago I posted about hitting a 185 dead and my plans to hit a 1RM at 205 soon. I figured by the end of the month. Half of July is left and I hit a 205 dead today for not 1RM, but for 2… *completely* raw, double overhand with a tight lockout. I got that 3 more times for 1, but failed to lockout the last.

That brings my 3 lift total to 575 lbs. Now I know I’ll get to 600. I’m going to bench 205 soon!! Goals on goals.

Intellectuals Love Pop Culture

I had a great learning experience at the 2016 Southwest Popular/American Culture Association (SWPACA) Conference thanks to scholarship funds. If I can’t find outside funds to attend this conference again next year, I would gladly pay my own way. I thought ARMA San Diego was the best conference I had been to until SWPACA. I love being around like minded intellectuals. There is really nothing like it. I do want a PhD someday.

I made it a point to keyword search the program (which was close to 150 pages) for the words archive(s), culture, history, and New Mexico. I focused my time at the conference on those sessions for the greater good. I love learning things to benefit both my knowledge and my agency. Everytime I could, I supported New Mexico professors and students by attending their presentations. There was so much great research presented during this conference. I also made a presentation there.

I did attend a small handful of sessions that were chosen because of personal interest. One was a session titled “Myth and Metaphor in the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien,” which happened to be delivered by a University of New Mexico (UNM) professor. Another awesome presentation gave an analysis of “Penny Dreadful,” which I love, by a teacher from Texas. That session featured another presentation on the research of a UNM professor and student on violent video games and children. There was one on how Batman’s suit employs STEM!! Then there was one on fetishism and the villainess. You know I went to that one!!

The mission of SWPACA is “to promote an innovative and nontraditional academic movement in Humanities and Social Sciences and to celebrate America’s cultural heritages. To provide an outlet for scholars, writers, and others interested in popular/American culture, to share ideas in a professional atmosphere, and to increase awareness and improve public perceptions of America’s cultural traditions and diverse populations.”

Amazing…

Stars and Stripes Christmas

On December 6, one of the personal trainers from my gym went to Albuquerque to help welcome Holly Holm home. There was a parade in honor of “Holy Holm Day.” These two photos of the new UFC Champ were a Christmas gift from him. Gotta love the stars and stripes. Awesome gift for sure!!!

••Knock Out Xmas Gift~ Holly Holm~ UFC Champ from Albuquerque, New Mexico••

UFC Trap Queen

Gotta love how my fellow New Mexican kneeled with true injury etiquette when she knocked out Rousey last weekend. She’s the UFC Trap Queen. Her traps are lookin’ straight fire! She developed those impressive homegrownz in a year. Looks like heavy barbell and incline dumbbell shrugs +facepulls to me. The trap… still my all time favorite, sexy muscle. Hit those shrugs boys!!

••Holly Holm... the new champ from Albuquerque and UFC Trap Queen••

Holly Holm: A Burqueñia Who Knows How to Get It

The established champ went down like a little rag doll (I felt kinda sorry for her) during UFC 193 and crowds all over the world went wild!

~Photo of the cover of one of my local newspapers the day of the fight.~

Holly Holm was focused with the intent of taking the women’s Bantamweight title from Ronda Rousey last night. I’ve been a Rousey fan since way back (see all my posts), but I was for the underdog from my home state this time. I had a feeling about the New Mexico native since I saw how much muscle she put on for this fight (check out her thread on my site to see why).

In March of 2014, Holm made the “ABQ’s Fittest People” list in Albuquerque the Magazine. I remember being rather disappointed when I saw her physique in that issue. But after seeing her in interview footage about a month and a half ago, it became clear to me that she was intent on taking that belt. She had really put on muscle!

I’ve been following Holly for a few years now, and have posted about her a good handful of times. I felt so inspired by her in 2012 when I posted video footage of Holly’s training program, which includes her running in the Sandia Mountains. I could feel her heart and drive through that footage. I felt so proud of her last night and got teary eyed when she took that win.

All of Holly’s training paid off. Take that… to all the haters and doubters who saw no chance for her. Her secret weapons in that fight were not only her deadly fists, but her monstrous quads! Much of her super power came from those stems. That woman put in WORK since I saw her spread in Albuquerque Magazine in the first quarter of 2014. It so paid off.

`Watching the fight! Living Room on fyYah!~

We had a big fight party last night. The party was complete with gloves by the TV, beer, good food, and the candles and fire ablaze. Our living room was seriously on straight fire with ravenous cheering as we watched the beat down of a champ in amazement. I don’t think I’ve ever stomped my feet so hard in my life!! Every single second of that fight was awesome.

Holly Holm broke the mold by setting a new standard for women and men in the UFC, champions, and for everyone else. She made international history last night. Most importantly, Holly Holm made New Mexico history. This notable New Mexican made the fight to become champ seem effortless.

(P.S. Now go hit those legs if you want to be as tough as a soon to be 35 year old Burqueña with killer quads! Rousey is 28.)

(P.P.S. Holly’s shoulders, abs, and biceps looked hella tight too. Really doe.)

(P.P.P.S. What did I hit today? LEGS!)