burpees part 2

+ it's Halloween! donny and i will be attending a Halloween party, maybe two, tonight. no costumes, but good food, friends, and some cute kids in costumes! should be a fun time.

recipes, as promised:

homemade granola bars

5 cups of nuts/seeds (i used 2 cups of slivered almonds, 1 cup each of walnuts, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seed)

1 cup coconut flakes

1- 1.5 cups almond butter

1/3 cup oil (i used coconut oil)

1/3 cup honey

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

preheat oven to 300. mix oil, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. remove from heat. pour nuts/seeds into a greased 9 x 13 pan and pour oil/honey mixture over them. mix well and distribute evenly before baking for 30 minutes. when you take out the pan, immediately add the almond butter and coconut flakes and mix well. then press mixture into bottom of pan and chill in freezer. cut into granola bars, about 14 (and i keep mine in the freezer or they start to get pretty soft). a yummy, protein-packed, quick meal!

tuna balls

a medium carrot, grated

a large sweet potato, peeled and diced

a large can of tuna in water, drained

half of a large, sweet onion, diced well

1 egg

1 tblsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

dash of pepper

preheat oven to 350. boil sweet potato until soft, drain and mash. mix in a bowl with all other ingredients. shape into balls on a foil-line baking sheet. bake for 25-28 minutes. yields about 12-25 depending on size of balls. can be served warm or cold, but i prefer warm!

yesterday's CF workout was the same one we did a month ago and it marked the end of october's "burpee challenge".

CrossFit 10.30.09

warm-up

3 sets of 10 reps of:

double unders

GHD/sit-ups

ring dips

strength

5-5-5-5-5 push press

weight= 52lbs

WOD

100 burpees

time= 8:32

i beat my previous time by 2 minutes and 20 seconds! it was still killer, and my burpees were still ugly from about 25 on, but the faster time definitely indicates significant progress, so i'm pleased! also, nothing we did today irritated my hand, so it is well on it's way to a full recovery :)

rest day? if you consider slaving in the kitchen "rest"...

+ i made another delicious dinner tonight! and have leftovers for lunch tomorrow :)

tonight i made tuna balls, also from my CF trainer's blog (with my own slight spin), and they were amazing- much better than i was even expecting! and definitely better than donny was expecting... i think he was skeptical when he saw them. i am 3 for 3 this week with trying out new recipes. i will do a weekend post with the recipes for both granola bars and tuna balls.

tonight donny and i did a whole lot of nothing but watch tv. which is ok because we've actually got a full "social calendar" for the weekend (as well as a good deal of work cut out for us on wedding stuff). a relaxing night with wine and tuna balls was just fine by me. and, i took a rest day today and skipped CF. the weather was looking ominous and my back is still so incredibly sore from pull-ups on tues. not to mention my hand is still healing. i also took a look at the WOD and it didn't look like i'd be missing a whole lot. but i'll be back tomorrow, and with the cool weather donny and i discussed going on a run or two over the weekend.

so i have a new favorite wine. it's red wine, which is kind of new for me. and it's cheap which is not new for me but definitely a good thing. meh, scratch that, it's pretty much a requirement. i don't let myself love expensive wine. it is a pinot noir by jargon. it has a screw off top. i'm classy! but really, it's tasty... thanks to my sis for choosing it as one of the wines to taste at my shower!

speaking of my sis, kate has an adorable halloween costume, and although i won't get to see it in person this weekend, i'm sure erin will take great pictures which i will then post on the blog (once i figure out how to post pics lol) some pictures will definitely liven this thing up a little... and what better pictures than kate pictures? i absolutely love being an aunt more than anything (except for maybe an almost-wifey... i love that too)

domesticity

+ i cooked a yummy dinner tonight, and the granola bars i made last night are decent. i am successfully becoming more domestic... and perfect timing since i'm getting married in a MONTH!! eek! i'm so excited yet at the same time nervous/stressed. in the end though, donny and i will be husband and wife, AND we will be in puerto vallarta on our honeymoon :)

if you hadn't already guessed, i cooked fish tacos tonight for dinner. they were delicious, healthy, nearly gluten free, and paleo-friendly (for any of you with various dietary restrictions)

fish tacos (borrowed from my CF trainer, jordan)

5 tilapia fillets

pepper

salt

garlic salt

lime juice (i substituted chipotle lime marinade)

butter (i left this off)

for the tacos:

corn tortillas

diced tomatoes

sliced avocados

2% shredded cheese (non-gluten-free addition)

rub salt, pepper, and garlic salt on thawed fillets, top with lime juice and a dollop of margarine, bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. make tacos to your liking and enjoy!

granola bar recipe coming soon...

CrossFit 10-28.09

warm-up

500m row

strength

3-2-1-1-1 power clean

weight= 42lbs (not even close to max)

WOD

team workout:

1 person does 20 cleans (42lbs), the other does as many knees-to-elbows (KTE) as possible during that time. then partners switch. when 2nd person is done with cleans, both partners do 20 box jumps before starting the next round.

3 rounds total

KTE per round= 8/13/10

total time= 13:24

i was terrible with the KTE, in part because of my torn callous bothering me, but also because i was tired and my hands kept slipping off due to sweat. our time was really good though- the second best time overall (out of about 7 or 8 teams). my partner, amanda, was really fast with cleans, which was nice for our time but also meant less KTE for me :) i liked the team workout, but this was a long, tough one, and my rip was definitely re-irritated. off to do more salt treatment tonight...

my first rip

+ bought all of the necessary supplies to make my new recipes! trying out the first one tonight... paleo granola! review and recipe to follow

other than that, today has been just ok. not so high on the productivity scale, due in part to things out of my control. and then CF... today's CF was definitely one of the toughest days yet. while previously i've earned some fleeting battle marks in the form of bruises on my knees, hip bones, collar bones, and shins, and one knee scrape that drew some blood, i've remained pretty much unscathed (although some of the bruises were quite gross and in startling locations). that changed today as i got my first torn callous- details after the workout description...

CrossFit 10.27.09

warm-up

200m row

3 rounds of:

5 burpees

10 squats

strength

3-2-1-1-1 cleans

max weight- 72lbs

not terrible by my standards. this was tough for me.

WOD

5 rounds of:

1 minute max pull-ups (using medium band)

1 minute max double unders (jump roping)

1 minute rest

totals for each round (pull-ups/double unders):

32/21

22/13

18/18

16/18

15/17

UPDATE: numbers are all accurate now. this was such a hard workout- i had never done so many pull-ups and my arms felt like they were going to fall off. good thing is that the kipping motion is pretty easy now. also i wanted to switch to the large band after round 3 but stuck to the medium one for the whole workout, which i was proud of. double unders have gotten a little easier as well, but with so many mess ups still, they take a while. also the transition between the exercises burned at least 10 seconds off of the minute.

but now for the interesting part, the battle wound part... mid 4th round one of my callouses on my left hand ripped off. i finished that round and did the last round, and it was only mild discomfort at that point. about a minute post-workout it started stinging pretty badly. jordan told me what i needed to do- rinse it out, cut off the skin flap, and rub salt on the raw skin. that's right, RUB SALT IN MY WOUND. her other advice included to do it sitting down because the last couple of times she's had to do it she nearly fainted. needless to say i was really excited about it. when i got home i prepared the wound for the salt torture. i asked donny to do it and he agreed, somewhat hesitantly. as he went to put the salt on my hand i wrestled my hand away, crying, for a good minute- i was so afraid of the pain. when i finally let him touch me and he rubbed the salt on, the pain was excruciating! i was flat out wailing in pain- loud, uncontrollable sobbing. i apparently do NOT have a high pain tolerance. but when it was all over, it felt better. whether that was a result of the treatment's efficacy or simply that the dull ache seemed miniscule compared to the salt rub, i can't really be sure. i think i need to do it again tonight... we will see if i'm brave enough to bear it.

busy, rainy day

+ today ranked pretty high on the productivity scale. saw a bunch of kiddos at work, got a bunch of wedding junk done at home. also, donny cooked me a very satisfying dinner!

woke up to thunderstorms. did NOT want to get out of bed. therefore did not take a shower, nor did i put on makeup. and i had no umbrella so i was a bit damp. i was looking GOOD today.

this weekend was awesome, albeit exhausting. i got to see my grandma and aunt karen, who i haven't seen in a while. my shower was absolutely perfect. the wine, cheese, cake, and company were wonderful- thank you to my beautiful hostesses! i got a decent fill of kate time also. she is pretty much saying her first words... i think. dog, dada, and mama. so cute! and then on sunday, all of the women (mom, erin, kate, grandma, aunt karen, and i) went to the renaissance festival and enjoyed fried food and people watching to our hearts' content. donny and i got back in town last evening and started to unpack some wedding gifts. the fact that we need a bigger place is becoming quite obvious. speaking of which, donny and i (and some of our friends and family) had long discussions this weekend regarding our future plans. we are back to being pretty up-in-the-air, so i don't really want to talk any more about it right now.

CrossFit 10.26.09

warm-up

3 sets of 10 reps of:

push ups

pull ups (with medium resistance band)

overhead squats (no weight)

pull ups are continuing to get easier, which is good because they are in tomorrow's WOD.

strength

max back squat= 112 lbs

good for me, weak in comparison to most of the others. but still making progress!

WOD

3 rounds of:

25 kettle bell swings (20lbs)

20 wall balls (6lbs)

15 sit-ups

time= 7:52

my time was pretty good- one of the top female times. i felt like i could have done more weight on my swings. the 6lb medicine ball was tough because i used the small one instead of the oversized one- required a lot more coordination, and also the weight was more concentrated. it was kind of hurting my hands. but that's just because i'm weak. all in all though, a good workout.

2200 meters

CrossFit 10.23.09

warm-up

250m row

strength

3-3-3-3-3 split jerk

weight= 62 lbs

the split jerk is similar to the push jerk, where you hold the bar at your chest, dip, then "squat" down as you bring the bar above your head. the idea is that you make the bar weightless so you can get under it more easily. in the push jerk, your feet go wide in a normal squat stance. in the split jerk one of your feet goes back, so your stance is split. i prefer the push jerk and struggled splitting my stance enough.

WOD

time trials:

1 mile- 6:42

400m- 1:08

200m- 0:28

we had 3-4 minutes of rest between each. we ran outside and the weather was ideal for running. i felt like my pace on the mile was kind of slow so i was surprised by my time. i think it helped that the other two people working out at the same time as me were both men, so they were ahead of me which pushed me to try to keep up. i thought it was funny because my time for the 400m matched my best 400m time from junior high track. i was dreading this workout from the moment i saw it online late thursday night and could have easily talked myself out of going, but i finally made it to a whole week of CF, and i feel great! the running felt good too, once it was over.

must see tv

+ a smooth sailing kind of day with gorgeous fall weather (from lunch time on)... can't ask for too much more than that!

our make-up soccer game that was scheduled for tonight will have to be re-rescheduled due to the early morning rain. can't say i mind as thursday night games definitely interfere with our thursday night tv schedule... now we'll get to enjoy vampire diaries, the office, and maybe we'll even get to grey's anatomy, too. aren't our lives thrillingly eventful?

today at work i spent my lunch break looking at puppies online. we are really wanting to get another one, even though right now is not the best timing... maybe we'll hold off till the summer when i have time to train her, but i don't know because we are both starting to get pretty antsy. i've got my heart set on a maltipoo (maltese + poodle). due to my pet allergies and disdain for dog hair i have been pretty decided on a poodle or poodle mutt of some sort. plus p-lope is half poodle and she's pretty much the best dog i could have ever asked for, so i'm sold :) we will definitely wait until after the wedding, and maybe until the summer... we'll see!

tomorrow we will be going to houston to visit with my mom as well as my grandma and aunt karen, who both flew in from pennsylvania for my bridal shower this weekend! the shower is saturday afternoon (and i'm looking forward to it immensely), and then on sunday i will be accompanying my wonderful fiance to the texans game (the tickets were a bday gift from my parents). i'm pumped to see the game, but almost equally excited to eat dippin dots while watching the game. love me some unnaturally textured and overpriced ice-cream!

CrossFit 10.22.09

warm-up

3 sets of 10:

double unders (jump roping... difficult and somewhat painful getting repeatedly lashed by the rope on failed attempts)

push-ups

strength

3-3-3-3-3 back squats

weight= 102 lbs

this is a 10lb increase since the last time we did back squats a week and a half ago, and a 35lb increase since my first attempt a month ago. progress made.

WOD

5 rounds of:

5 muscle snatch (32 lbs)

15 sit-ups

time= 5:18

my goal for this was under 5 minutes, and ideally close to 4:30, but obviously i wasn't very close. my sit-ups were really slow... they always are. i don't think it is because i'm weak, but for some reason i just can't do them quickly. my snatches felt good, but i maybe should have done 37 or 42lbs. next workout with snatches i will definitely increase my weight. day 5 tomorrow (for real this time)!

meetings and paperwork and legalities, oh my!

+ i made it to CF at 4, which added an extra hour to my evening of time to spend with donny and penelope. and sytycd comes on tonight.

today was a long day at work, although i hardly got to see any of my kiddos. had two meetings, one of which was somewhat long and stressful and required lots of preparation. that makes 3 so far this week, and one more is scheduled for friday. definitely not a typical week, at least for the fall semester. but all went smoothly today, in the end.

donny and i had a short talk tonight and decided that we are for sure going to move this summer. i have been telling people it's all but certain, but now donny is completely on board as well. he says he doesn't care where, in texas or elsewhere. so, i'm going to start looking at job salaries for speech therapists in all different places, as well as costs of living and whatnot. yay for a big adventure yet to come, as married folk :)

CrossFit 10.21.09

warm-up

400m row

15 squats

strength

3-2-1-1-1 push press

max weight= 72 lbs

this is a 10 lb increase from two weeks ago! and last time, it took me 3 attempts to get 62 lbs up. today, it took me 2 attempts for 62 lbs, but i got 67 lbs and 72 lbs up on my first attempts! definitely significant progress on this, so i'm pleased.

WOD

tabata burpees (20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest for 4 minutes)

cumulative total= 49 burpees

my first and only tabata experience before today was with bottom-to-bottom squats, where the "rest"wasn't actually rest, and our total for the workout was the total from our worst round of work. today, the rest was actual rest and we got to keep a cumulative total. i was really happy with my performance on this workout. now granted it's not a competition, but i typically set my goals and measure my performance by comparing it to what all of the other women are able to do. i'm usually the weakest strength-wise, and never the fastest. but today, my total was higher than any other female's. and my push press weight was NOT at the bottom, so i'm really starting to see some measurable progress/results.

i want to cut my head off

+ solved a problem that had been bugging me regarding one of my diy wedding projects... my wonderfully handy fiance will be to the rescue, using an assortment of power tools to create the solutions. glad to have that little, pesky weight off of my shoulders!

today was kind of crappy due to yet another headache. this time i woke up with it, and it lingered most of the day. i took the morning off and stayed home, hoping that if i took meds and went back to sleep for a bit i would feel better. but alas, no relief. i had some things i really couldn't miss on my afternoon schedule (as opposed to the things i really shouldn't have missed in the morning) so i went to work and soldiered through the pain. unfortunately, fluorescent lights and kids are not a good cure for migraines. i'm hoping that tomorrow i'll wake up, and remain throughout the day, pain free. i really need my productivity to be at a max right now (and, in reality, for the rest of the school year). 

no staff meeting today, which was definitely a good thing. donny got to take a half day and go play 34 holes of golf, which was also a good thing... he loves to golf and i love for him to be happy :) 

CF was pretty good today, despite my headache...

CrossFit 10.20.09

warm-up

3 rounds of 10 reps:

GHD sit-ups

wall balls (6 lb ball)

strength

3-2-1-1-1 cleans

weight (not max)= 42 lbs

WOD

"elizabeth"

21-15-9

cleans (42 lbs) and ring dips (small resistance band)

time= 8:54

my weight was pretty light (big surprise), but my time was pretty strong. also, i was able to use the small band for dips, instead of the medium band i used last time for a ring dips workout. many of the women used the medium band, and some had to do static box dips. overall, i think it was a good showing. my lower back is still sore, and last time we did dips was when my triceps freakishly swelled, so i'm hoping that issue doesn't reappear. took lots of fish oil tonight and am drinking lots of water, so hopefully i'll be ready to rock tomorrow!

return of the migraines

+ the weather is so unbelievably perfect, and has been for the last few days. i hope it is exactly like this on our wedding day... but if not, we have contingency plans :)

a pretty decent day, as mondays go. i gorged myself on miniature candy bars at our special ed meeting this afternoon, which was fun but not so good for the wedding diet. was productive during the time i was on campus. the day went by pretty fast, which is almost always a good thing.

the weekend was, overall, great. the one big downside, that should have been an upside, was tiffany and justin's wedding. thank you, migraine! your impeccable timing was much appreciated. maybe you'll stay away another month and a half and reappear at my own wedding, too. that would be super. seriously, it was awful and there was nothing i could do about it and i've never been so mad about feeling crappy. but we stayed most of the reception because i refused to miss it- i just didn't get to enjoy it as much as i wish i could have. but, the most important thing was that it seemed like the bride, groom, and family enjoyed it, and everything was really beautiful, including the bride! congrats to the wimpees :)

kate was ADORABLE this weekend as always. whenever she does anything that amuses her she turns to look at you with this adorable, crinkly-eyed smile on her face, and it absolutely melts your heart. she has a "word" that she uses consistently- we think it is supposed to be "dog" but it sounds like a dirty word that rhymes with "sock", and she uses it to label pretty much anything that catches her attention. but the important thing is that it is a consistent production, and she is clearly trying to label things. less important what she is actually labeling and that she is inadvertently cursing ;) i know she'll be taking her first steps and saying "mama" and "dada" in a matter of weeks! i can't wait!!

i was super pumped about the red river shootout, but there's not really much to say after the fact. a win is a win, no matter how ugly. and the ugliest of wins is unquestionably better than a loss, and infinitely better than the kind of loss/humiliation the poor ags endured. hook 'em, and hope you're feeling better next week, colt!

back to CrossFit today, and again trying to go all 5 days... think it will work out this time!

CrossFit 10.19.09

warm-up

250m row

3 round of 10 reps of:

sit-ups

pull-ups

my pull-ups were so much better today! i think i've finally gotten the swinging motion down, so i'm pretty pumped. i was actually able to do 10 in a row!

strength

5-3-1-1-1 dead lift

max weight= 132 lbs

this is a 14 lb increase since my last max attempt about a month ago! i'm pretty happy with this progress. it felt pretty good! although i did get a rapid onset migraine in the middle of the lifting, which was kind of bizarre because they never come on quickly like that. i almost sat out the WOD but decided to suck it up, and i'm glad that i did...

WOD

AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) in 10 minutes of:

5 dead lifts (92 lbs)

10 push ups

15 squats

total= 7 2/3 rounds (3 squats away from 8 rounds!)

i was pretty ticked at myself for not pushing harder and finishing the 8th round, especially since i was so close. but considering the heavy dl weight and the migraine, i actually felt good about this one. i was much quicker with my squats and push ups than usual. my lower back is already sore... i'm going to try to convince donny to give me a massage :)

fail

+ all of the speech therapists threw me a surprise shower at our speech meeting with more yummy cake and beautiful decorations, the whole nine yards! and they gave us the awesome knife set we registered for. what a nice surprise!

other than that, the day was just so-so. i didn't make it to my 5th day of CF after all because the meeting ran late. i was contemplating not going already because, although i said that i was feeling pretty good thurs night after the soccer game, i woke up at 1am crying and screaming in pain- my left lower leg was cramping up so terribly donny contemplated taking me to the emergency room. after about 30 mins of rubbing, stretching, chugging water, and finally getting into a hot bath, the cramps went away and we both went back to sleep. not a fun night, though. i really need to get better about drinking water.

also, yesterday i had my favorite pair of designer jeans rip. i don't know why, they aren't too tight or anything. but they tore right across the rear, and i am very sad for my loss. it would be extremely difficult to find a similar pair, and even if i did, i wouldn't be able to afford them right now. stupid wedding :P

donny and i will be off to houston shortly, where we will watch the longhorns dominate on television and then go party the night away at justin and tiff's wedding. yay for weddings and weekends!!

double trouble

+ i survived today and now it's almost the weekend!! red river shootout and tiffany and justin's wedding on saturday, then some quality kate time sunday morning. and a soccer game sunday evening.

speaking of soccer, today i not only made it to my 4th consecutive day of crossfit, but i also played in a make-up soccer game afterwards. double duty, but i'm feeling pretty good. i felt much more comfortable on the field tonight than in our first game- no blatant whiffs or obvious mistakes this time. i was able to defend even the men somewhat effectively. we didn't win but we played better. i'll chalk that up as a victory of sorts. my notoriously bad temper, not to mention poor sportsmanship, began to rear it's ugly head tonight. i hate that i am so competitive on the field, even when i'm not intending to be. i've gotta work on that.

the principal at the intermediate school i'm placed at this year told me i was violating dress code today. questionable. i thought i was dressed perfectly appropriately, as did several of my colleagues. but whatever. i'm a rule follower by nature so i was a little upset, but after some kind words of support from said colleagues i felt much better. 

leftover cake from the shower is my current vice, and i'm ready for it to be dunzo... which it will be soon thanks to my lack of self-control. but damn, is it good!

CrossFit 10.15.09

warm-up

3x 10 

GHD sit-ups

ring dips (using skinny band)

squats

strength

3-3-2-1-1 cleans

max-ish weight= 72 lbs

i probably could have done more, but something about my form didn't feel quite right and it was irritating my arms a little.

WOD

3 rounds of:

30 dumbbell snatch (15 lb db)

200m run

time= 6:03

i definitely worked my hardest and was pleased with my time. tough workout for sure, especially considering i was still recovering from "fran". 5th day tomorrow, yay for achieving even small goals :)

shower uno

+ we have more wedding gifts, thanks to my wonderful coworkers! my first bridal shower was after school today in the library. donny was able to come and we enjoyed delicious cake and punch and posed for numerous photo opps... a good time all around! donny has all sorts of new things to use when he cooks ;)

i wore pretty much my cutest work outfit ever, which included my new boots and some of my new stella & dot jewelry. i enjoyed the compliments too, because let's face it, sometimes looking like crap that was scraped off of the street gets old.

i'm so looking forward to a (hopefully) yummy dinner, some vino, and a night full of tv... i'm really needing a relaxing evening after today's workout.

CrossFit 10.14.09

warm-up

3x 10 push-ups, sit-ups, squats

strength

3-3-3-3-3 thrusters, 52 lbs (not max)

WOD

"fran"

21-15-9

thrusters (52 lbs) & pull-ups/body rows

time= 10:32

this was maybe the hardest workout ever. pull-ups suck. or, more accurately, i suck at pull-ups. i used the medium band for the first set, and then the next two sets i switched to body rows. the thrusters were so tough- i had a hard time making it through the first, long set, and didn't know how i'd ever finish the workout... but i did. considering my load, my time was actually pretty decent relative to the other females. i really, really want to get better at pull-ups though!

farm raised vs. wild caught

+ had subway for lunch! a rare workday treat, and much appreciated.

donny and i made a desperately-needed trip to the grocery store tonight. fish is nearly always on the list due to my pescatarian diet, but recently my choice to eat fish but not meat has been called into question. after some reflection, i decided to attempt to eat mostly wild caught fish instead of farm raised, which i think more closely aligns with my discomfort with the idea of raising animals for the sole purpose of killing them. so, tonight we bought swordfish steaks, which supposedly are similar in texture to actual steaks... yum! i'm attempting to cook them tomorrow night.

CrossFit 10.13.09

warm-up

3x 10 squats

strength

1-1-1-1-1 shoulder press (47 lbs)

3-3-3 push press (52 lbs)

5-5 push jerk (52 lbs)

WOD

work on a goat (something that is difficult for you)

pull-ups, 3 sets

used skinny band for the first set, did 10 dead hang pull-ups

used medium band for the next two sets, about 5 each set, tried to add in swinging motion which was really difficult technique-wise

sort of felt like a rest day today...

i think people forget that columbus didn't actually discover america, but happy columbus day just the same

+ just saw couple's retreat and loved it, and date nights with donny are always a very good thing.

this weekend was perfect. i have amazing friends. and i am exhausted :) special thanks to my wonderful bridesmaids who really went above and beyond to make my bachelorette weekend special- love y'all!! and april is the greatest, most awesome hostess ever. my weekend was littered with homemade pizza, LOTS of wine, pancakes, kerbey queso, guitar hero world tour jam sessions, loaded questions, chicken dances, panties, and mexican food. and, after the festivities finished but before heading for home, i got some grade A shopping in with april at barton creek mall. a few hours and almost $250 dollars later, i was driving home with new boots, forever 21 finds, and some fun new makeup. a success, i'd say (although donny would definitely not concur)

despite all of the fun and shenanigans, i was most happy to come home to my sweet fiance, have a frozen yogurt date, and watch vampire diaries... no better way to spend a sunday night.

less than 50 days till the wedding... that's kind of insane!

CrossFit 10.12.09

warm-up

3x10 wall balls (6lb), kettle bell swings (25lb)

strength

5-5-5-5-5 back squat

weight= 92 lbs

WOD

5 rounds of:

5 dead lifts (82 lbs)

10 burpees

time= 6:18

pretty good time, not so good weight... what's new though. considering the weekend i had, i was pretty happy with my showing. goal for this week: 5 days of CF!!!

bachelorette party, here i come!!

+ i'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning to go to austin, where my bachelorette party will officially commence on saturday morning!! tomorrow i'll get to spend all day with my beautiful loving friend april, and best of all, i WON'T be at work ;)

today was a moderately stressful, and somewhat unproductive, day at work. but hey, you can't win 'em all. at least i know that next week will most likely be better (although it will be a full 5 day week). i did make a revelation that had me tickled... on monday on the way to work i was listening to one of the local radio morning shows and they had called a girl to have her tell her story of what happened to her over the weekend- she had gotten engaged. on tuesday, i got to work at the intermediate school and one of the teachers i work a lot with told me he had proposed to his girlfriend over the weekend. i was really excited for him and congratulated him and all. but i certainly didn't connect the two situations- until today, when he showed some of us the video of him proposing, and it happened the exact way that the girl on the radio had described... sure enough, his fiancee was the one i heard on the radio on monday! what a small world... or at least a small town that i live in :)

last night donny and i had a wonderful time seeing toy story 1 and 2 in 3d... we ate popcorn and gummi bears and relived our childhood for a good 3 and a half hours... not bad for a wednesday night. tonight, we are going country western dancing with a group of our friends/donny's coworkers. our dear friend tiff is moving to houston this weekend with her almost-husband, and while we are happy for them, we are not pleased that she's leaving. so tonight is kind of a last college station hurrah... bittersweet, i suppose.

4th consecutive day of CF, yet another first! first yesterday's workout, then today's...

CrossFit 10.7.09

warm-up

250m row

strength

1-1-1-1-1 push press

max weight= 62 lbs

it took me 3 tries to get this weight up, but i finally got it. i felt ok with this amount- of course not one of the best, but for me, not too shabby.

WOD

3 rounds of:

10 turkish get ups

30 tuck jumps

time= 7:45

if you are wondering what the hell turkish get ups are, so was i! they are so much more difficult than they sound/look. it will be hard to explain, but there are plenty of youtube videos that show it... you start on the ground on your back holding a weight in one hand straight over your head, arm fully extended. using your other arm and your legs, you get up off of the ground and stand up, keeping the weight directly over head, without letting your elbow bend and without taking your eyes off of the weight. it takes so much concentration to do this correctly, not to mention the physical exertion! i used a 10lb weight (for reference, the two guys there used a 20 or 25 lb weight) for the turkish get ups. the tuck jumps were just jumping and trying to get your knees to your chest, without stopping in between jumps. these were pretty exhausting! (i lost count of the turkish get ups twice during this WOD and think i might have been short one or two, so i added 20 secs to my time to get the time listed above)

CrossFit 10.8.09

warm-up

250m row

3x 10 squats

3x 10 lunges

no strength- rest day

WOD

3 rounds, AMRAP (as many reps as possible) in:

1 minute cleans (42 lbs)

1 minute push-ups

1 minute sit-ups

1 minute rest

total per round is the total of all 3 exercises combined

total= 59/58/59

this may have been the toughest workout this week. my muscles were wanting to give out during push-ups in round 2. by round 3, my form all around was suffering significantly- my squats during cleans weren't as low, my push-ups were embarrassing, and i had to use pretty much my whole body to propel myself up for sit-ups. most rounds broke down about like this: 10-12 cleans, 22-25 push-ups, 22-26 sit-ups. glad i'm taking tomorrow off because i am going to be SORE.

blah

+ one of my little kiddos made a breakthrough today during therapy, and i'm so proud of her. also, we had yummy snacks during our staff meeting today.

today was kind of a blah, off day, with gross weather and a ridiculously long staff meeting. but, i'm one day closer to the weekend, so that's a plus. me and donny also spent some overdue quality time with our wii playing mariokart, which is always fun... but due to our long leave of absence, our racing was pretty awful. 

i'm going to cut straight to the chase today...

CrossFit 10.6.09

warm-up

3x 10 push ups, wall balls (6lb)

250m row

strength

3-3-3-3-3 front squats

weight= 62lbs (same as last week)

wish i could have increased my weight a little, but i guess it hasn't been long since the first attempt, so maybe by next time i'll be able to increase.

WOD

3 sets of max effort body rows: 20/16/13

3x 10 GHD sit ups

body rows are the "substitute" for pull-ups, and while i previously thought that they were too easy, today proved me wrong. i should have done a few more the first round as i didn't really work till fail, but the next two rounds were really my best effort.

4 day week? yes, please...

+ mondays are always tough, and they always come too fast and take too long... today's wasn't really any different except that i only have 3 more work days this week! which essentially makes monday more like a tuesday. or some other semi-legit logic that makes my work week SHORTER! i'm taking friday off for my weekend trip to austin. i cannot WAIT to see all of my girls!

i'm currently sitting on the couch, already showered and fed, preparing to watch mnf with donny. with NO invitations to work on simultaneously. man, does it feel good to be finished with that monumental task! i can't stress enough how much work those suckers were. but well worth it i suppose as they came out exactly as i had envisioned.

donny's actual birthday yesterday was quite nice. we got some kate time early in the morning, followed by a delicious breakfast with donny's mom at kelley's country kitchen. we drove home in the rain and spent the afternoon watching football, catching up with our dvr, and napping. it was a delightfully lazy sunday. our soccer game was rained out, so i went to the gym last night and ran 3 miles on the treadmill... that may be a record for me as i am NOT a runner, not even a little bit.

CrossFit 10.5.09

warm-up

500m row

burgener warmup

strength

3-3-3-3-3 snatch deadlift

weight= 92lbs

i think, for me, this is a decent weight... no reference as there were no other females there today. had a tough time keeping my back set, as usual. my hands are hurting now...

WOD

5 rounds of:

7 muscle snatch (using 22lbs)

7 burpee box jumps

time= 7:25

my goal was to finish under 7:30, so i made it, albeit barely. this workout was exhausting. burpee box jumps are the worst thing in the world and may very well have been dreamed up by satan himself. they basically combine the two most tiring (IMO) moves in CF- a burpee with a box jump at the end (in place of a plain old jump into the air). because regular old burpees just aren't challenging enough (insert sarcasm)... but i was proud because i only dragged my knee getting up once- didn't tear up my old scab at all. granted it was a far less quantity of burpees, but even as i got fatigued i tried to keep decent form, and this is an improvement for me.

happy birthday weekend, D

tomorrow is my soon-to-be hubby's 25th birthday!! i can't believe how fast we are getting older. it makes you realize that you really have to take advantage of each day. you can't let your life just pass you by as you watch from the sidelines, although sometimes it seems to do just that despite your best efforts. but that's enough deep, reflective musing for now...

+ we are in houston for the weekend, celebrating donny's quarter-century birthday with our families (including our niece and goddaughter, kate!). we also saw the place where stacy is most likely booking the "rehearsal dinner", and it's awesome! also, we are already getting lots of online rsvp's, which is exciting- keep 'em coming :)

had a lovely girl's night lingerie shower for donny's coworker/my friend, tiffany, last night. it was a funfilled (and certainly wine-filled) evening of good company, good laughs, and good... well, mostly decent... "karaoke" on Sing Star. fun times!

i made it through a long week at work, and i accomplished my CF goal of 4 workouts... next week will be 4 again (due to my out of town bachelorette weekend in austin!!). after that, i'm hoping to increase to 5 workouts per week. 

CrossFit 10.2.09

warm-up

200m run

strength

3-3-3-3-3 OHS (over head squat)

weight= 32lbs

weeeaaaak. this was so hard for me and i'm not sure why. holding the weight overhead made me feel so off balance, like i was going to topple over at any given second. i think both my arms/shoulders and my core aren't strong enough for this. plenty of room for improvement on this one...

WOD

AMRAP (as many reps as possible) in 10 minutes of:

5 toes-to-bar (hanging from a pull up bar and try to pull feet up to touch the bar... i could hardly get my knees up to my elbows!)

10 push press (10lb dumbbells in each hand)

15 squats

total= 8 rounds

i did not like this workout at all, though i'm not sure why. and i did terribly. i don't know what my problem was. i didn't finish winded or very sweaty, which makes me think i just wasn't working hard enough. i think the movements were challenging for me, so i couldn't do any of them extremely quickly. blah. better luck next time i guess.

the 'rents request the honor of your presence...

+ i've been exceedingly productive at work this week. wedding invitations are DONE. we have our first rsvp's! and... it's almost the weekend!!

this week at work has been CRAZY, and that's about all i want to say about that. i have a feeling there will be a lot more of these to come.

every night donny and i have been slaving over stuffing, labeling, and stamping wedding invites. that has pretty much been my life this week outside of work and CF. that, and preparing for donny's birthday this weekend. nothing big, just shopping for his presents and racking my brain to try and remember the dessert that i apparently promised to make for him yet have no recollection of. and now for the really fun part of my week, CF...

CrossFit 9.28.09

warm-up

3 sets of:

10 box jumps

10 kettle bells

strength

3-3-3-3-3 front squat

weight= 62 lbs

WOD

100 pukees (burpees)

time= 10:52

my goal for this was under 11 mins, and i made it. it wasn't pretty. and it most definitely wasn't fun. in fact, i'd rate it the second most difficult workout i've done to date. i got through it though, and that's reason to celebrate.

CrossFit 9.29.09

warm-up

3 sets of:

10 push ups

10 sit ups

10 squats

strength

3-3-3-3-3 dead lift

weight= 86 lbs

WOD

8 100m sprints

times= 11/11/11/11/11/11/12/12

exhausting, but good. i had the strongest times of any of the females, and it felt good to finally not be the weakest at something. amazing how much harder each sprint was than the previous, how quickly our muscles fatigue. 

CrossFit 10.1.09

warm-up

250m row

3x 5 body rows

strength

1-1-1-1-1 clean and jerk

weight= 62 lbs

WOD

5 rounds of:

30 sec cleans (42 lbs)

30 sec box jumps

1 min rest

reps per round:

5cleans/10boxjumps

6cleans/9boxjumps

7cleans/9boxjumps

7cleans/10boxjumps

6cleans/9boxjumps

sweaty. much harder than it at first sounded. but i felt good and WILL make my 4x/week goal!