B4B

I'm playing hookie today from work......sometimes you just need what I like to call and "mental health day".  I was so tired yesterday and then didn't get any sleep last night. 


This past week was pretty fun at our box.  They are celebrating the one year anniversary of opening and so all week we had team competition between the various class times.  It all came down to Fridays WOD which also just happened to be Grace.  Anyways the prescribed weight for females in this WOD is 95lbs!!!!  Our high and what I had to do was 30 clean and jerks at 75lbs for time.  Previous to Friday I had only done 65lbs on clean and jerks as it is a pretty new lift for me.  It wasn't pretty and it wasn't fast but I rocked Grace out in 7:01 to help our team win the highest load point......btw we also had some pretty fast girls with some lower weights and we won the point for fastest overall times as well!

As a treat I made cookies!

AMAZING!!!!!  I love my new cookbook.

I also spent another afternoon on the lake!  I so want a paddleboard!

SUPr weekend!

I love having four days off!

Friday I found my new hobby Stand Up Paddling, now if I can just scrounge up the money for a board!

Canyon Lake, a beautiful 94 degrees on this October day!

A lot has gone on since June.  For now what I will say is that mid July until about beginning of September I fell off my paleo/primal wagon reverted back to my SAD diet and stopped going to crossfit for a good month or so resulting in looking and feeling horrible!

Since September I have been going back to the box at least 2x week trying to make it 3 and have been adding in some running, hiking, and walking.

I have once again cleaned up my diet forgoing grain, legumes, and dairy.  In the past month I have cheated maybe twice and overall feel better.  I am still fighting the sugars (honey, agave in my coffee, condiments, and those pesky hidden ones like in a can of diced tomatoes).  Since I have started really looking at food labels I am shocked to see how many things have added sugar (chicken broth?!).  I am about ready to completely give up on grocery stores and stick with Whole  Paycheck Foods and farmers markets even for my occasional canned goods.  I am currently reading this, this, and I'm anxiously awaiting my copy of this.

"Filthy fift.....er 25"

Yesterday for breakfast I attempted some almond meal/flour pancakes. As you can see my first few were an epic fail!

I did get two that actually resembled a pancake. My first bite I was unsure then I kind of started liking the taste. Much different texture and taste than a regular pancake, but not bad. I will have to tweak the recipe a bit and continue to review some recipes online to find what works best!

On to the good stuff!

Today at crossfit we started a four week challenge. Our WOD was....

The Filthy Fifty

For time:
50 Box jumps (16 inch box),
50 Jumping pull-ups,
50 Kettlebell swings (8kg bell),
Walking Lunge 50 steps,
50 Knees to elbows,
50 Push press (35 pounds),
50 Back extensions,
50 medicine balll squat/throw
50 Burpees,
50 Double unders (150 regular jumps)

Now because I am still a new girl we did 1/2 so 25 of all of the above except the full 150 jumps with jumprope (the weights and notes in parenthesis are strictly what I was at being new). The burpees about killed me, ughhh! I suck at jumping rope and can't do a double under.....YET! My time was 18:06. In four weeks we will repeat the same workout and see how well we improve our time. There are some really awesome chicks that someday I hope to grow up and be like. One lady finished the full fifty just a few minutes after I finished my 1/2, LOL! AWESOME!!!

MMMMahi Mahi

A lonely girls dinner and because my other half doesn't like fish I ate mahi mahi; twice this week actually!

This bowl turned out to be very tasty. My paleo version of a mahi mahi taco.

Shredded cabbage with juice from one lime
Mahi Mahi
Mango cranberry salsa that I picked up from Whole Foods
Avocado

Simple, light, and easy to put together! I forget how filling fish is. I thought I would need a fruit or something after this dish but I didn't! Two nights of fish though have me craving some red meat today.

I have to confess, I slept in today (til 7am) either way I made a conscious decision when my alarm went off  not to go to crossfit today. I'll find something fun to do to get my workout on and loosen up, my abs are killing me.

Whey...t, I'm so confused.

In my effort to try new things paleo/primal I went shopping. Then I came home and read an article on why whey protein is not really paleo, hmmmph. Oh well, again I am not a purist and truly I imagine this bag will last me a while since I only occasionally make post workout shakes.



Also while at Whole Foods I got a cup of this kale salad to try. Pretty good! Kale, tomato, sea salt, pepper, olive oil, dried cranberries, pine nuts....
May have to try a similar salad at home maybe with some walnuts in place of the pine nuts or almonds. Surprisingly, I liked the tomato, dried cranberry combo!

Todays crossfit revelation, "you mean you want me to turn my hips out and not point my toes directly forward while I squat???" = hello hamstrings! I am a newbie at crossfit and therefore I am not allowed to squat without a box which is good since I am relearning how to squat and it burns! Tip of the day to remember: Curl your toes up as you squat down that way you put the weight into your heels and can't lean the upper body forward. Positive for the day: I held my plank for the full 3 minutes without dropping once = laughing now off limits for the next few days due to how sore my abs are going to be.

Finally a TTC side note: I went to the doctor today for a plan update come next cycle and to get some lab results. I am happy and yet frustrated by my results. I got "excellent" and "above average" on my ovarian assessment report. So my 35 years of waiting are proving not to be the issue.....which makes me scream "Why is it so freaking hard then?"

i.de.al couples

Eggs and canadian bacon



Riggs and Sadie

And of course the couple of the day Jill and Tamara! May you have a long and happy life together!

P.S. I cant walk today...well not without looking a little funny. Thanks!

Rolling

I need lots of this!! Day 2 of crossfit, walking may be an issue in the next day or two. The paleo/primal eating is still going good. I am working on getting different ideas down for meals/snacks but doing ok so far. Todays workout hurt and I have a slight headache from it. I am not sure if it has to do with the change in eating and my body adjusting, the sun while I was working out, or the actual workout. Also I smelled of ammonia after, ewww. Off to play for the weekend, spending time with some long lost friends!!

My first paleo meal.....and mobile post take one

Lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado, bacon, grilled chicken with splash of olive oil, vinegar, fresh lemon juice.

Kids say the darndest things

Today my 4 year old nephew laid it on the line, "Why you don't have no kids?" to which I responded, "I don't know". I pondered for a minute trying to explain to my nephew how desperately we've tried for more than a year now, how twice now I've had my heart broken with what could have been, and how just today I had to accept once again that this was not the month. He's 4 though and while smart enough to realize that I am old enough and should have kids I don't think he would understand.

TTC has become my life over the past year and it is not the i.de.al one I've dreamed of. I just never thought it would be so hard. First it was charting and temp taking, then on to opk's and acupuncture, tests and more tests, pills and shots, peeing and more peeing.........nothing but disappointment and a few extra pounds around the middle. UGHHHH!

Time for a break though and a new chapter. I have let my exercise go by the wayside as well as my healthy eating. I have a plan so stay tuned as I explore crossfit and a paleo way of life. This is not going to be easy but hopefully I will regain what I've lost over the past year or rather lose what I have gained.

My long lost friend.....

Ughhh, I can't believe that I was i.dle for a whole year. I can't even tell you where the last year has gone except to say THE CLOCK took over my life. Don't fret though I have a whole new list of i.de.al for my life.

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My Hangover

So here is the deal. This year I put aside the constant goals of eating healthier and working out more as I sat down to confront my new year. This year I am confronting my finances. It's not that I haven't wanted to do this in the past or dreamed of it I just hadn't made that conscious click in my head that I am going to do this.......until now.

It's funny while reading different blogs I am always amazed at people who list their weight or post pictures of their before weight loss photos. I can't imagine how those biggest losers get on the scale (on tv, no less) in a sports bra. I am always in wow. Then I came across some different blogs as I was delving in the my new years plan: conquer my debt, start living my i.de.al life and not my i.dle one where I scrape by paycheck to paycheck making my monthly minimums but ultimately digging myself deeper and deeper. My wow factor went up a notch, these people had too set goals to battle their debt but they took being brave to a whole new level. There it was in black and white for anyone to stumble across just as I had.......their total debt! Talk about facing reality. So at the beginning of this month I collected all my bills and accounts and made a list and totaled it up (insert vomit and week of hibernation sulking here). After hours of research, reading, hyperventilating, a few tears shed I had a plan in place.

Short term goals:

Save up an emergency fund of $500
Cut my monthly expenses
Create no more new debt
Start paying off my accounts using the snowball method

Mid term goals:

Continue paying off my accounts using the snowball method
Increase my emergency fund to $1,000

Long term goals:

Finish paying off my accounts (all debt except for my mortgage)
Increase my emergency fund to cover 6 months living expenses
Maximize my retirement savings

Things that I have accomplished over this past month:

-Cut my monthly phone bill by taking advantage of work discount program (took all of 5 minutes)
-Increased my emergency fund to $446 through selling some stuff I didn't need, setting aside some birthday money, cashing in my reward points (again took like 5-10 minutes online)
-Planned and stuck to menu and grocery lists only going to store once a week
-Just paid off one of my accounts today the 1st of many
-Stopped going to my trainer (saving me a huge chunk of money each month to apply to my bills)

Goals for next month:

-Continue to find ways to save money
-Sell a few more items that just waste space in my house
-Get my taxes done and hopefully finally put an end to my taxxacre from last year


This month has been less than happy for me. First, after stopping the luxury of going to my trainer twice a week I have been less than motivated to workout. (combine that with two weeks of gray skies, rain, and working extra nightshifts) UGHHH! Second, I have been daily stressing about this whole situation. Waiting for the mail to come to see what other bills I have...counting down the days in between paychecks so I can see some headway...and just facing the reality that is. On the other hand all this stress and reality has deepened my desire to be debt free, to break free from the month to month, and finally work for money that I can spend and not work for money that has already been spent. As I make this journey I feel very alone. I am not comfortable or brave enough yet to post my total debt. Maybe next month.

THE CAPRICORN IS ALIVE

LOOKING BACK, LISTS GALORE

BEST OF'S, WORST'S OF....I DO ADORE

LOOKING AHEAD, A FRESH START

MAKING PLANS RENEWS A GIRL'S HEART.

Jump, Jump, Jump Around....Jump Up, Jump Up and Get Down

From Chucky Cheese CessPools, Perfume Baths, Surgeries, and Sore Throats this week has flown by.

Forget closing the schools if you want to rid the world of swine flu, why don't you try closing Chucky Cheese. I felt dirtier after spending two hours there for my nephew's 3rd birthday then I do after leaving a 12 hour shift in the er. On a side note, as you can see above racing boats is serious business!

***SOAP BOX OF THE WEEK*** If you work in a hospital you should not wear perfume! If you work anywhere in which you are in contact with other people you should not wear perfume! I'm not talking about the lightest scent in which only the one that loves you most can identify that smell as being yours. I'm talking about the ladies who wake up in the morning and have somehow figured out how to connect their perfume bottle to their shower pipes, thus replacing the water. Thanks to one said lady who I merely had to stand by for 20 minutes at the end of my shift the other day caused an allergic reaction in me that nearly landed me as a patient in the er. Instead I opted to just spend the next two days in a benadryl coma. I am still congested from the incident and now woke up in the middle of the night with a sore throat!

Despite all that, I had a good run of 2 miles on Wed then did about 10 minutes of jumproping. Yesterday, was another wonderful TSOTD which I will be returning to post starting next week for all you out there looking for some weightlifting motivation! After my workout I ran 5 quick hills while on a walk with Riggs. We are working on the leash training and can't wait until he is old enough to go for a real run with me and hiking season is about to start which will mean a whole new world for my pokey little puppy to explore!

Finally, Squidney had to have surgery yesterday to have a huge tumor removed from her back. Hope she gets to feeling better soon!

I love, love, love lululemon workout apparel and also their manifesto which I will share with you bits at a time. To read or learn more about LULULEMON

•A daily hit of athletic-induced endorphins gives you the power to make better decisions, helps you be at peace with yourself, and offsets stress.

For today's athletic-induced endorphins I dare you to find a jumprope and relive your childhood! Not only is jumproping a great calorie burner and metabolism booster it is fun! For specific jump roping workouts or tips on jump roping

Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back!

July - while on vacation I had to put my beloved Barnacle Bo down when he got "bloat" while we were on vacation in WA.......needless to say really, really sucky vacation! I miss him so, so, so much.

I have been in blogging hiberation for the past two months. The summer heat sucked all the life, creativity, and motivation out of me. A recap of some happenings.

August - my pretty Squidney as well as I were devastatedly lonely and depressed missing our best friend.....we welcomed Riggs into our family who has brought much excitement, pee, poop, and chewed up things into our life

Sept - although only the first week, it has started off with a bang! 6 years of nursing and I have successfully avoided the feared deposition.......of course to break the ice I got called in on not one but yes TWO different cases in a matter of the past 5 days, gotta love that.

Other things to make note of:

- I finally went to the chiropractor got an adjustment and 3 weeks of therapy on my hip and am happy to say I am pain free and hopefully getting back into my running frame of mind and body

- I passed my level 3 pilates instructor test. I have two more levels within my program and then I can sit for my national certification!

Final food for thought......how does one break up with their hairdresser? I am in a style rut and the bad part is that as a person I really like my hairdresser and like to go chat it up however just not getting the creativity that the mop of mine needs right now.

Upcoming:

I have decided to forgo the fall garden this year as Riggs has taken a liking to gardening or shall I say excavating and so I think it would be a losing fight at this point in trying to plant anything.

Looking forward to cooler temps and wishing I was taking another trip to New England this month like last year. Such beautiful colors!

Season PremierE!

STAY TUNED!

I WANT TO HAVE MY CAKE AND EAT IT TOO!

Ahh...to be 1 again. Happy Birthday Kierstin (cutest niece ever!) I am officially on vacay!!!! Today is a matter of packing and last minute details and then we are off. I will be back mid month with pics of our camping/road trip bonanza and maybe a book review or two. So nice to have time off of work.

It's the final countdown!

TSOTD - THURSDAY

warm-up
plank - opposite arm/opposite leg up hold - 30 secs/then switch
side ups - 30/side
v-ups - 10
single leg squat hold on flat side of bosu - 30 secs/leg

4 sets

incline press - 10 reps/35lb dumbbells
push-ups (feet on step bench/hands balanced on physio ball) - 10 reps
single leg leg press - 10 reps/leg 4x45lb plates on
jump ups to big tire - 10 reps
hanging knee raises - 15 reps

3 sets

squat to cable row - 10 reps/pin at 25's
assisted pull-ups - 10 reps/pin at 5
rdl's - 10 reps/25lb dumbbells
burpees - 10 reps

1 set

bicep cable curls - 10 reps/pin at 15's
medicine ball overhead raise with single leg raise and opposite leg few inches off ground - 10 reps/leg

Up again at 4am so I also got a bike ride in at 5am.

The countdown now begins. Day 1 of 4 today, may they go fast. We are doing vacay road trip style with lots of camping. We will be doing car camping since we are taking the Barnacle Bo and Squidney along. I am thinking that I may have to get this



We have tried multiple air mattresses and I swear I always wake up with half the air out of it. So I am thinking a thermarest is the way to go and this is suppose to be the deluxe car camping crem'de'la'crem of them. A bit pricey but all the reviews are very positive. If I do get one then I will definitely provide you with a review of it. Who else likes to go camping?

Embrace the things you can not change

This is what I have decided to do in regards to my frustrating sleep non schedule. After working 4 nights in a row the past two nights at home I have woke up at 3am. Today I decided I would make use of that time. So I was out the door at 5 am off and running. Good thing to, check this forecast out. Todays high - 108!

Good news - I actually ran today
Bad news - a return of my left hip/left it band/l knee irritation....I blame it on my lack of recent massage and my TSOTD yesterday

SUPERSET TUESDAY TSOTD

warm-up
w/ physio ball
30 ball rolls
20 overhead passes

w/ medicine ball
15 - push-up (w/ hands balanced on ball) squat and jump w/ ball throw

3 sets (no resting between two exercises)
10 inverted cable rows
10 chest press (30lb dumbbells)

3 sets
10/leg lunges w/ squat bar
10 - single leg ball hamstring curls

3 sets
10/side - hang clean to overhead press (25lb dumbbell)
15 pushups on bosu ball (flat side up)
25 squats (flat sided up, holding 25lb dumbbell)

3 sets
10 - cable tricep pushdowns (pin at 15)
15 - dips on bench
10/leg - split jumps

3 sets
10 - dumbbell flys (10lb dumbbells)
8 - cat's curls (12lb dumbbells)
30 - situps (holding 25lb dumbbell to chest)

My thoughts of the week:

1. HGTV stubbornly is waiting til the last minute to notify me about winning the green home.
2. Being a female is not all it's cracked up to be. I just switched my bcp and my face is not appreciative of it.
3. I also blame the new hormones for my moment of weakness last night when I indulged in a brownie batter blizzard! Tasted good until I looked up the calorie count for one of those suckers (small = 630 calories! ridiculous)
4. I am currently obsessed with the new song by Katy Perry "That's what you get for waking up in Vegas".....mostly because she uses the word glitter in it.
5. For a detailed look into the uprising of cocaine across this country and the people and money behind it check out the following documentaries "Cocaine Cowboys" and "Cocaine Cowboys II" (triage was very slow the other night and you can watch it on netflix if you have an account)
5. What do you buy a girl for her 1st birthday?
6. How can I get Charm City Cakes to design me a cake for (insert event here)?
7. I wonder if the new palm pre from Sprint is worth the $200? probably not a necessity - it could potentially increase my blogging consistency though and you may get a new picture on here more than once a month.
8. If your out of control pumpkin plants and your out of canteloupe plants start to grow together and the flowers get cross pollinated should you call your crop and cantumpkin? or pumpkaloupe?
9. I am deeply disturbed that I wasted an hour of my time on Monday to hear that Jon and Kate are getting divorced. Why do I care? Why do I support tv programming like this? Ahhhhh, I blame Karen! Prior to living with her back in the day I didn't even have cable, then came cable, then on one very sleepy after night shift afternoon I stumbled into the living room sat down and was immediately sucked into Flava Flav and it has been a downhill slide since then into the reality tv abyss!
10. 4 shifts left until vacay!!!!!

The countdown is on!

Hmmm....I am currently MIA. I am out of whack. I am discombobulated. I am lost at sea. I have 8 days, 5 shifts, 1 niece's 1st birthday party, and lots to get down in the mean time before I am on vacation for 11 days and nights!!!!! This past week was a wash for me. I got one workout in and only 1 day in at the pilates studio, ugh! Allergies up, hormones on a roller coaster, sleep in the negative, and immune system down did not equal a good, productive week for me. And I worked 60 hours this week so yeah I am all of the aforementioned. Anyways, here is a run down of my
TSOTD (Thursday).

warm-up
reverse crunches w/ physio ball between ankles - 15
plank ball rolls - 20
side ups 15/side w/ 20 second hold knee to chest at end
reverse lunge to balance chest pass w/ medicine ball to wall - 15

3 rounds
alternate chest press 25# dumbbells 10/arm
pushups - 15
single leg leg press 4x 45lb plates 10/leg
plie squats 35lb dumbbell - 15
single arm seated cable row - pin at 35 - 10/arm
inverted row - 15
1/4 mile run on treadmill at speed 7.5

2 rounds
high cable seated on physio ball row - 15
ball leg curl w/ resistance - 15
double arm skull crusher w/ 35lb - 15
1/8 mile run on treadmill at speed of 8.0

20 squat to curl to press using 15lb dumbbells

Any thoughts on what to do with buckets of yellow pear tomatos and cherry tomatos.....the birds are even tired of them!

Today's workout brought to us by the number 8!

Dear 1st client of the day,
Please do not go get my trainer coffee after your session and before mine. It is just not nice!

Sincerely,
Me

TSOTD - with a triple shot of espresso (FRIDAY)

warm-up
small phsysio ball passes arms to legs - 15
alternate arm/alternate leg crunch with opposite leg 2-3 inches of ground holding onto the 15Lb medicine ball - 10/side
single leg squat to balance with 15lb dumbbell - 10/leg

3 rounds
45 degree incline bench press - 8 reps (1st round 30lb dumbbells, 2nd round 35's, 3rd round 40's)
seated leg press - 8 reps (315lbs)

3 rounds
RDL's - 8 reps (30lb dumbbells)
assisted pull-ups - 8 reps (pin at 5, 2nd rd 4, 3rd round back to 5 as arms went into muscle failure!)

3 rounds
squat to overhead press - 8 reps (30lb medicine ball)
one hand on medicine ball push-ups - 8 reps/arm
falling hamstring curls - 8 reps

2 rounds
cable tricep extension - 8 reps (pin at 15's)
hanging knee raises - 8 reps

Finished off with 30 minutes of arc trainer

Now it is off to work 1st of 3, blah! Next 2 weeks, lots of work.....then vacay!