Roxanne Modafferi's Blog, page 19

Craziness! moving done, Serena & team’s fight, training!

Craaaazy two weeks!

So on Wednesday morning I woke up earlier than usual to take my mom to the airport. ;_; Sad! I barely had time to feel any feelings since I had so much on my list of things to do.

I had my pad session with John and learned awesome stuff, then Teri massage, packed a bit, and taught kids. Then I guided Serena to cut weight. I told Serena to jump rope and hit the bag. I was worried she wasn’t wearing enough clothes to make her sweat. She didn’t weigh herself before she started and I forgot to tell her, so I’m not sure how much she sweat. Finally after an hour, she weighed herself and was 139 lbs. Okay. The goal was to go to bed no more than 5 pounds away from her target weight, which was 135.

I asked her if she wanted to go to the Scooters bar to watch TUF with the team, or my house and she chose Scooters. I got to order a dessert so I don’t mind. haha I dropped her off, got home, and after that and pretty much went to bed by 10. Thursday I was packing and doing last minute stuff, then went to training and did technique and two hard rounds of sparring with Hannah before I cut out at 12:30 to help Serena cut weight. I made the hot bath, put in the salt, adjusted the temperature to make sure she sweat, helped her in and out of the tub, etc. That went alright except her scale was a pound lighter than my scale, and she chose to trust her scale instead of mine. Mine is the same as the gym scale – just saying. -_-; so after a few hours she made weight. It wasn’t easy, but we she was a trooper and suffered through 3 hot salt baths and made 135….on her scale. Her mom, we nicknamed “Mamarena” (Serena’s Mama), was there for moral support.

I drove us to Hooters Casino where the weigh ins were and we hung out there she did her thing.





She weighed in at 135.2….which means that MY scale was correct and she had gotten out of the bath at 136 and floated 0.8 lbs in those 3 hours. :/ But the commission allows a pound leeway, so she can legally weigh in up to 135.9. I take the pound all the time when I fight – nothing wrong with it.

I drove them to a Pho place! It was good. I had already eaten something but I ate again. u_U

I dropped Serena and Mamarena off home and hung around a bit to hang out with Rob, Tonya, and Vanessa, who came over to visit.

Went home at 10 PM too full to sleep so I packed….moved all my boxes into the living room. Heavy Labor FTW! ;_; Just my last minute stuff odds and ends left.

Bed. Woke up Friday at 4 Am as usual. Pack pack pack pack. Met Hannah, my new apartment-mate, (aka close friend and training partner) and got the key to the new place! She helped me load up my car with boxes and stuff and we made two or three trips back and forth up and down the stairs. Up and down.

Then we went to the gym and did the MMA class from 11:30 until 12:30-ish, when we had to leave and go get the U-Haul. I was really enjoying that class especially and sad I couldn’t finish it *sigh*

Hannah had offered to help me get the U-haul but at first last week I had turned her down….it didn’t occur to me that I NEEDED her to drive it back while I drove my car back. LOL yeah so we arrived at the U-Haul place. Two and a half weeks ago, I had called and reserved a 10-foot truck for 48 hours, Friday at 1 PM to Sunday at 1 PM. A week before my move, a staff lady called and said to me, “We’d like to offer you a van instead. It’s almost as big and the mileage is cheaper.” I replied, “No, thanks. I want the truck. I have a 7-foot couch.” She said, “The reason is that we have a waiting list for families.” Why should I care about any other families? If they wanted a truck, they should have planned ahead and made a reservation. “No, I want the truck, please,” I said. “Okay,” she had said.

So Hannah and I showed up at the U-Haul office and the staff behind the desk said, “Okay, Modafferi? So you have a van from 1 PM to 5 PM.”

“Um, no,” I said and explained everything I just wrote above.

“Sorry, we don’t have a truck available,” the lady said, and did not look sorry at all. She looked like she wanted me to take the van keys and get the hell out.

“But I made a reservation!” I protested. “What good is making a reservation if you don’t reserve the vehicle? LOOK, HERE IS THE EMAIL CONFIRMATION stating two days , 10 foot truck.”

She looked. “That is only your request. Someone calls later and actually schedules it. And I have no way to know what was said on the phone.”

HOW CONVENIENT. “I JUST TOLD YOU WAS WAS SAID.” I was so mad. I usually don’t say very aggressive things like that. Okay okay calm down. What chapter in my Positivity book is this? Look on the bright side and do the best you can do in your situation?

“Alright, so the bottom line is there’s no truck. I’ll take the van. And I would like a discount for my inconvenience.”

“Oh we can’t do that.”

I looked at her name tag. It said “Manager on it.”

Obviously she wasn’t going to back down, and obviously didn’t have the power to do anything. I could tell. So I decided to blast the company on social media and get it handled later.

We had a time crunch! Only a few hours to pack up what we could and then go to Tuff-N-Uff to support Serena and our teammates. meeting time was 4:45. It was 1:30.

“Okay, we’ll take the van,” I said. She had us sign the paperwork and gave us the keys.

“So go on outside and Doug will help you with a walk-around.”

Okay so Hannah and I got outside and saw……not much. Various vans. Nobody. Which was our van? Where was Doug? After waiting for a few minutes, I was seriously punchy from exhaustion and stifling my anger, so I started shouting, “Doug? EXCUSE ME, DOUG? Is there a DOUG? WHERE ARE YOU, DOUG?” and then I started giggling insanely.

Two-week Insanity of Moving and Fights

These past two weeks have been crazy, just like I predicted. First of all, my car’s axl broke at a stop sign Sunday the 17th, so I had a stressful day of getting it towed and repaired. If I want to look on the bright side, I can say that it broke down in a great place – just next to a parking lot outside Walmart. Well, I sat at the wheel waving my arms and shouting to alert people while mom pushed it trough the intersection into a dirt field, where we safely waited for the tow truck. Then a good repair place was open on Sunday, so I sat there for 3 hours and they repaired it for only $350 (including work hours).

I had caught a cold a few days before so I’ve been drowning in my own mucus. I trained Monday and Tuesday but decided that on Wednesday morning, I was coughing so I’d stay away from people. I stopped coughing and actually felt better by evening so !!!!!

Wednesday the 20th The Ultimate Fighter season 23 debuted with it’s one-hour special of fights to get in the house, in which my three training partners Jamie, Khalil, and Cory, all successfully made it in!

Quick food blog and Herbal Papaya

I thought I’d do a little blog on food.

I tend to eat the same kinds of things. Breakfast is the biggest meal around 5 AM because I have to have that last me through training which ends at 1:00 PM, lunch is medium sized, I have a high-protein snack around 3 PM, and then dinner at 5:30. If anything messes up my eating schedule, I get exceedingly cranky. lol I love yogurt and cottage cheese and dairy (not milk, though) for breakfast, along with seed/nut-ridden bread with peanut butter, veggie omelettes, and a big salad with broccoli, lettuce, radishes, and asparagus. Lunch is always some kind of grilled or boiled chicken or sometimes lean beef with various steamed vegetables and BBQ or teriyaki sauce and a Fiber One bar or many different things. Dinner is usually boiled or grilled fish with some kind of Asian sauce, snap peas, carrots, and celery. That’s why I like having Mexican food at lunch time (like El Pollo Loco, because they have grilled chicken and rice meals)

Now on to my sponsor, Herbal Papaya. I really like the powder made by my sponsor Herbal Papaya.



The dark colored one is made from ground up seed and has a very light, nutty-peppery taste. It would go well in smoothies, but I don’t drink them, so I just sprinkle it on my salad and put in omelettes. Their new product is green papaya powder. It doesn’t really add a lot of flavor to my foods but I can taste it very lightly. It’s supposed to have potassium, magnesium and vitamins A, C, E and B, and has the digestive enzymes papain and chymopapain. Herbal Papaya says that it may help in raising enzyme levels and improving assimilation within the body, which also helps fortify the body’s natural immune response.

That is good enough for me.

Then the tea! I always drink so much tea. It calms my stomach. Tea with caffeine for breakfast, and with no caffeine in the afternoon and evening.

I’m really happy to be sponsored by a health food company! And if any of my fans and friends (i.e. YOU reading this) decide to order and use the code “ROXY” at check out, you get 10% off and I get 10% credit.

visiting Mom’s family, Amherst, training at old gym, Baby party, narrowly avoided disaster

I had an amazing trip!

I left early Wednesday April 6th and flew in to Newark, NJ, landing at 1:30 PM. I got my luggage with no issues and went to go pick up my rental car. I had reserved the cheapest one, but the compact car looked so small! I was like, uhhhhh do you have the next size up after all? He offered me a Camery and another midsized car, but they were so big. Then he offered me a Volkswagen beetle. It was bright yellow. I thought, “Oh my god…OKAY THAT ONE.” No one will miss seeing me coming. Maybe it’s safe? XD I felt kind of hesitant to drive one…but then I thought, “Well Emma Swan from Once Upon A Time drives a bug. It is good enough for me!” So I got it. HAha! The steering was too sensitive and every time I breathed on the wheel, I felt like it took me a few inches to the side, so I felt like I was constantly making adjustments back and forth, which was annoying and aggravating.



However, when I stepped on the gas, it SHOT FORWARD like Oliver Queen’s arrow! And I screamed, “Whoohooo!” each time. Hah. I tried to find an excuse to step on it, but it mostly came when changing lanes or passing someone or pulling out into traffic from a stopped position. One must not simple accelerate for no reason. XD

It took me an hour and a half to drive to my Aunt and Uncle’s place. The roads and vegetation ALL LOOKED THE SAME, as it usually does when driving in New England, especially in the winter or spring when all the trees are just brown, spindly figures, still hibernating in the cold weather.

I checked into my hotel and met my Aunt Mary and Uncle Steve at Crackerbarrel restaurant and had a really nice dinner.

We agreed to meet at either 11 or 12 for “breakfast” and then visit Franklin D Roosevelt’s house, which was turned into a historical sight. yay. So I woke up at 5:30 (which is actually 2:30 PT time? WHY??!? ;_;) , had breakfast at the hotel restaurant, and exercised! I exercised pretty hard. yoga, walk/jog/sprints outside, weight room with jumping rope, push ups and weight lifting. I did hill springs for the first time since HIGH SCHOOl. I was sore the next day! haha go me.

I still hadn’t heard from my family at 11 AM, so decided to drive into Beacon, which turned out to be a tiny little quaint town. I walked up and down for a while, and then came to a library. I noticed the manga section! ANGEL SANCTUARY VOLUME ONE was there!



I have been meaning to re-read the series, so I read it! It took me an hour! Then I had a nice meal with my aunt and uncle and went to the museum, although later than we had intended.

I really enjoyed the museum! I learned some history and how Roosevelt influenced American history. I didn’t know he got polio BEFORE he became president and then hid it from the public!

We all want to go back and I want to visit again!

Friday morning, I woke up, exercised a bit, and drove to Amherst! It’s been 11 years since I visited Umass when I graduated! I timed it perfectly so I had 15 minutes to drive around UMass campus before meeting my old coach and friend Kirik for lunch at the Far East Cafe in the town center. Yummy and he treated me. ^^

pics comparison:

In 2005, IFC Utah!



Now, 2016 Amherst.

Then he ditched a podcast appointment for his website and went with me to the student campus store in the center building, I forget what it’s called, and I got an Alumni T shirt and window sticker. hahaha Then I went to the new building New England Submission Fighting club and my other instructor, Dave Roy, met me for special training!



We just rolled. I thought I was doing great and then he said, “Can I turn it up?” and started dominating. Man, I wish he didn’t ask. LOL He didn’t really really beat me up. I wish he did! Rather than make me wonder just how high above me he is. But upon stalking his Facebook page, I found that he’s a black belt with one stripe, so still pretty damn good. He never stopped training after I left, so even though I got better, he did, too. He taught me a few things and gave me some advice. It was great! I got so excited to learn the stuff and train with him again! So much fun! haha he taunted me a bit while rolling. And it was so nostalgic! I miss him already and keep thinking when I can go back to train. The grappling-based MMA style is kind of what I’m evolving away from, but I miss it. And I miss him taunting me and making me unable to fight because I’m laughing so hard.

I’m moving apartments, Mom, back at training, TV shows, archery, friends

I had a fantastic week last week. I feel so healthy it’s odd. Well, my back hurts a little. u_u But my shoulders feel okay. It’s usually one or the other that hurt. Magic Masseuse Teri helps SO much with that. (Yes, I made up her new title).

I only gained 3 pounds of fat (as opposed to 5 or 6) since my fight, probably because I tried to get back to training immediately and cut down on sweets. But every time I rejoice, I go back up fast. LOL But I feel so energetic from eating carbs. Yay. I’m appreciating my health now because usually something hurts, and when I get older, I’m sure it won’t get any better!

I was joking around with Clayton, or was it Tom, that fighting adds an extra year to a fighter’s life. If that’s the case, since I’ve had 33 fights and I’m 33, my life years are 66? O_O hmm

It’s been so great training with Serena and Hannah again! Serena came back to Syndicate right after my fight, after an odyssey around the country. Serena’s wrestling game has really improved a lot, Hannah’s stand up and everything, really, has also, and I also see SO much improvement in the new girl Jenny.



And I see improvement in myself. I feel more confident about certain techniques that I was able to pull off in my fight.

I’m back in training full force. I’ve been enjoying gi jiu-jitsu classes a lot. I used to have trouble comprehending Vinny because he talks so fast and my brain works slowly when learning a new technique, but I think I’ve gotten used to it now. I’ve been pulling off and working stuff he has taught me. He spent extra time with me before my fight and helped me out a lot. He’s fighting April 2nd in WSOF!! So excited to watch him WIN.

My week after Invicta 16 – partially failing at relaxing, random pics

I’ve had a good week! I’ve been enjoying food again. My days have been running together since I get a sense of the day of the week depending on what type of practice I have. I’ve been teaching my kids as usual, and doing various chores and stuff during the morning. I didn’t think I was injured and wanted to hurry up and train, but I knew I had to rest or I’d get sick. Then on Tuesday I tried to do jiu-jitsu and realized that I have some kind of bruised rib. It hurts to laugh and do a sit-up and stuff, so it was kind of torture. I found huge bruises on my left knee I hadn’t noticed before, and my neck hurt. x_x But not big deals. I’m lucky. In my last 4 fights, I limped for weeks. Anyway, I did technique – this cool rolling move to recover guard – rolled lightly with another beginner lady, and then stopped.

I kind of freaked out stepping on the scale, so I’ve been trying to tone down my eating. I’m enjoying the waffle cookies my friend Bonny sent me, and Jamie gave me some green tea KitKats.

My Invicta 16 fight experience blog!

This fight week was such an adventure! First, trying to eat barely enough to stay healthy while making sure I had a caloric deficiency so I could make weight. Cutting out ALL sodium. I usually try not to eat at ALL weigh-in day, but then I remembered one time running into Andrea Lee at a diner and she said that she was having a little bit to eat before starting her weight cut. So I had a tad bit of water and microwaved two tea spoons of oatmeal with (green powder) supplement. And two bites of watermelon and like 5 walnuts. I felt decently energetic all day during my weight cut, meaning I didn’t feel like I was dying.

Photo shoots went GREAT. I dressed up as Mileena, and John, as Raiden. Esther took the pics and photoshopped in the eyes and lightening! I think we look so cool!

Great training, Hannah’s back, Mortal Kombat, dresses

Having a grand ole time with Hannah Fitzpatrick now that she’s back after five months of being away and leaving me lonelyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

My fight, great training, NAGA tourney, fun times w friends

HANNAH IS COMING BACK THIS WEEK!

Fighting soon, book,Kerry&Emma, kids BJJ, anime,

I really enjoyed having Kerry and also Emma here from England to train! Kerry was here for two weeks, Emma, one. Kerry first visited when she came for TUF 23 tryouts and decided to come back.