November 3rd

Since I promised myself I would blog everyday in Nov, I will. However, today's will be short and spastic.

1) My diet is helter-skeltzer right now. Gotta get it back on point. on track. Reoriented toward a new goal.

2) Excited about dressing up in real clothes and speaking at MSU tonight!

3) "To be as an effective leader as possible, you have to have good discipline."- Hugh Culver

4) "We must all suffer one of two pains. The pain of discpline or the pain of regret." - Jim Rohn

5) If Skittles and M&Ms had a baby, Candy Corn M&Ms would be the love child. 

Stay Strong Y'all!

Manic Monday/Speeding Eclipse

This morning when my alarm went off, I didn't want to get out of bed. Surprise surprise, right? Who wants to get out of their warm comfy bed at 5:26 AM? I hit snooze a couple of times.

When I got up, it was closer to 5:45, but that still gave me plenty of time to get ready and get to the gym. I like to leave myself a lot of cushion and I was reminded of why I do that this morning. 

Coming out of Hazel, a little town I drive through, the speed limit goes 35 to 45 and then 55. As I drove into the 45, I got passed by a little Eclipse. My immediate thought was to look at the clock, see that it said 6:54 and assume that he must have to be at work at 7.

As fate would have it, Mr. Eclipse and I caught up with each other again in just a mile or so because we were behind a school bus that was going at that lovely school bus pace. Then,  Mr. Eclipse surprised me by whipping out and passing the car in front of him as we are all breaking for the school bus to pick up a kid.

Poor Mr. Eclipse. What must you be feeling? Frustration at the situation? Indignation that you were going to be late because of a school bus? Panic that you weren't going to make it to work on time? Rage? Fear?

Whatever he was feeling, Mr. Eclipse whipped out again and proceeded to pass a car and a semi-truck AS THE SCHOOL BUS RED LIGHTS WERE FLASHING! The children were standing on the side of the road. All the cars and the bus were stopped, and Mr. Eclipse is picking up speed in the oncoming late.

What the hell is this idiot doing? Kids, you better be paying attention! Bus driver, be checking your mirrors! This could end badly.

Mr. Eclipse whips into the line behind the bus and everyone's breathing returns to normal. As soon as he can, Mr. Eclipse whips off onto a side road with intentions (I suppose) of driving 80 down back roads to Murray.

I get it, don't you? We've all been there! Overslept. Can't find keys! Going to be late! Oh shit, a school bus!

But that should be the extreme anomaly. Not an everyday occurrence. And judging by Mr. Eclipse's stunts today, I would wager this wasn't his first crappy morning commute.

Now think about how his day is going to go. Rushing out the door, getting stuck behind traffic, passing cars, coming close to causing injury to children, rage, adrenaline, aggression and frustration all built up. He's probably still going to be late. His boss will be pissed. It's Monday morning and his day is going to suck. And honestly, tomorrow and the rest of the week will probably go the same way.

Would could he do different? Well, one simple solution is to get up earlier. I know it sucks. I hate mornings also. But if getting up 15-20 minutes earlier gives me time to just slowly go about my morning routine and leave 5-10 minutes early, I call it a win.

Yeah, I would have preferred to not get stuck behind a school bus. But I had plenty of time and was listening to a great podcast. I was heading to a place I love to work at. My Monday started off stress free, thanks to just dragging my arse out of bed a bit earlier than I wanted to.

Mr. Eclipse can blame whoever he wants for his shitty Monday, but I'd wager it started when he didn't get his butt out of bed.

Because I wasn't in a rush, I fixed my oatmeal this morning and enjoyed it while sitting behind the school bus. Lol, I know I look like crap. It's Monday morning, what do you expect?

Stay Strong Y'all!

Last night was fun!

11/1/2015

My candy corn leggings came in yesterday and I was super stoked to wear then to the MSU production of Rocky Horror Picture Show. Brooke played Columbia and did fantastic as usual! 

And since I basically only had carbs and fats left last night, I nibbled on Butterfingers during the show! 

Stay Strong Y'all!

Halloween = Candy Corn

Happy Halloween y'all! 

"The great thing about candy is that it can't be spoiled by the adult world. Candy is innocent. And all Halloween candy pales next to candy corn, if only because candy corn used to appear, like the Great Pumpkin, solely on Halloween."

Rosecrans Baldwin

So yeah, I love candy corn. 

My candy corn leggings didn't come in in  time for class today, do I'm rocking last year's skulls. 

But since I love candy corn so much, I'll rock the new leggings for the rest of winter anyway. And if they are in the mailbox when I get home, I might wear them to Rocky Horror tonight!

Regarding my love of candy corn, two Saturday's ago we got Cracker Barrel carry out and when I was paying I saw Hershey Candy Corn bars. Um, yes please! But I didn't buy one because I didn't have enough cash on hand to pay for food and candy. Next time, right? 

I was so excited today to go eat lunch at Cracker Barrel and get a candy bar!! We never go out to eat so this was going to be a huge treat! Smash some grub, enjoy a sweet treat, IIFYM style, of course. 

And they were out of bars. So sad. 

I can order them off Amazon.....

And I just might....

Speaking of Amazon, a couple of weeks ago Amazon offered Prime members free 4 month magazine subscriptions. I selected, among others, Vanity Fair because I've always thought it must be what the smart, fashionable cool kids read. And wow, I love it! In only halfway through this month's issue and I feel exponentially more sophisticated. Two thumbs up to VF and another notch in the belt of Amazon Prime. (PS, I heard about this deal from http://moneysavingmom.com)

Nothing overly exciting or profound to write about today, but I can't wait to start November off with a couple of new goals. One is to blog every day, and the other i will explain tomorrow. 

Stay strong y'all!

Chicken and waffles, it's what's for breakfast.

10.30.15

Happy Birthday Mom!

This was actually yesterday's breakfast and it was pretty darn tasty! 

I started with two Eggo Nutragrain Low Fat Waffles, 3 oz of my crockpot chicken and a Fuji Apple. 

I cut up the apple and put it in my Tupperware Breakfast Maker along with some Tupperware Cinnamon Vanilla Seasoning. I microwaved it for two minutes. 

I heated up the waffles in the oven and warmed up the chicken in the microwave and voila!

Yum yum in my tum tum!

Training newsflash!

Pants are stupid! Why oh why did I think pants were a good idea today? As soon as the WOD started, all I could think of was how I wish I wasn't wearing pants. 

Don't get me wrong, these are awesome workout leggings. I just don't want to actually workout in them. 

What's the point?

10/29/2015 

9:28 AM

I started this blog as a way to express all the random thoughts that popped into my head. It was an outlet to assure myself (and others) that we weren't alone in being weirdos. 

During training for the big meets I did this year, it helped me stay grounded and focused. 

And then when I stepped back from competing, I was just done with everything. I felt like this blog had to be something amazing and epic, and I was not willing to put in the energy to be amazing or epic. So I quit writing because I felt like if it didn't have all the quality points of a great blog post, then why bother? 

What's the point? 

The point is it saves my sanity to word vomit sometimes!

I'm here today to tell you I'm committing to writing every day for the month of November. It may awesome. It may be sporadic and barely edited. It may be boring as hell. But I'm writing. Err day. 

By the end of the year, I plan on also having all of this transferred over to a real website! I obtained the domain a long time ago, but just didn't have the energy to move it all. 

I'm looking forward to a few big things coming up soon. The first is MSU's production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show Halloween night! My daughter is going to play Columbia. 

Next week I have two speaking engagements that I'm really excited about! The first is speaking at MSU about owning a fitness related business and then later in the week I'll be at Flex Fitness talking nutrition. Come see me if you are nearby!

11:39 AM

Huh. What I thought were shadows on the carpeted staircase was actually dirt. I'm great with organizing, terrible with cleaning. I need a housekeeper. 

Stay strong y'all!

Fearing Grace

I'm crying and having a mild anxiety attack. I'm begging to not do this.  I'm delaying and stalling as much as possible. I.do.not.want.to.do.this.

What is "this"?

It's Grace.

A CrossFit workout that puts fear in my heart.

No, that's not hyperbole above. I'm not exaggerating for theatrical effect. That is truly how I react when I am supposed to complete the wod Grace.

Grace:
Get a 95# bar loaded up.
Pick it up.
Put it overhead.
Put it down.
Repeat 29 more times.

No big deal, right? I can clean and jerk a lot more than that. I've been CrossFitting for 7-8 years now. I own a box for goodness sake! J can do men's RX in 2:01. Camille Leblanc-Bazinet, 2014 CrossFit Games champ, can do it in 1:40.

Me, I don't wanna do it.

Everybody knows I hate wall balls and hate Karen (150 wall balls for time). I bitch about Karen every time I have to do that wod. I generally cry a lot during Karen (I'm a crier, it's a fault).

But Grace is different. I don't hate Grace, I fear Grace.

I've acknowledged this fear for a long time and even made a plan to conquer it once before. When I was setting my 2014 goals, "Grace sub-3" was one of them, meaning I would complete all 30 clean and jerks in under three minutes. And you know how many times I completed Grace in 2014? Maybe twice. Maybe.

I know I did it at the Super City CrossFit Competition in September of that year as part of a team wod. And I'm pretty sure my time was sub-4. But no one really looked at the clock so I'm not 100% sure. All I remember was crying and cursing as it happened.

Then in or around November, J suggested I should try it again since it was a 2014 goal....and 2014 was almost over. I whined. I cried. I stalled. I finally started it.

I did 3 reps and had a melt down. I quit.

Why?! Why?! Why is that wod so hard for me?

I can power clean 95# easy.

I can jerk 95# easy.

And 30 really isn't that many if you break it into sets.

But for whatever reason, that wod is my Achilles Heel. Want me to freak out? Program Grace. Want to watch me cry and hyperventilate? Program Grace.

Do you want to know how many times I've completed Grace since September of 2014? Zero.

Flash forward to last week. I sat down on Sunday and wrote out my weekly goals. Accumulate 50 minutes of stretching. Drink a gallon of water every day. Etc.

Then (for some dumb reason) I decided it was time to get over this ridiculous fear. One of my goals for last week was to do Grace. No pressure for time, just do it. And maybe, just maybe, finish off that 2014 goal by the end of 2015.

And guess what?!

.....

......

......


I didn't do it.

Yup. I wimped out.

I am a HUGE believer in weekly goals and meet 90-95% of my weekly goals. If it goes on the goal sheet, it happens.

Except Grace.

But karma has a way of biting you on the ass and Grace showed up in today's programming. I really thought about not doing it and of coming up with an excuse that would keep me from having to face my fear. I am an excellent cherry picker when it comes to Grace.

When it came time to wod, I loaded up my barbell. And then I pouted. I played with the radio. I got my gum. I teared up. I went to the bathroom. I put on my lifting belt. I tied my shoe. I changed the song on the radio. And then I finally turned on the clock. And I completed Grace.

I finished and looked at the clock and I HAD COMPLETED A SUB-3 GRACE!!!

Bwahahahahah! Yeah, right! This is my real life, not Miracle on Ice!

I actually teared up (again) when I looked at the clock, because I was much slower than I should have been. I pouted and felt sorry for myself for a long time this afternoon. A few hours removed though, I'm gaining some perspective and am happy I did it. I now have a recent baseline score and I didn't die. So some fear conquered there. No promises on if I'll do it again in 2015 though.

Every time you or I face a fear in CrossFit or life, we can hide or we can stand up to the challenge. Sometimes our fears are irrational (A silly workout) and sometimes they are founded in a very real and logical place (a cancer diagnosis in a family member). It takes courage to acknowledge our fear and walk toward it and through it. That's the beauty of CrossFit. Every thing in the gym translates to real life. Not just the movements like the squat and deadlift, but the mental part of the workouts as well.

When you are in the middle of a brutal workout and want to quit, but don't, that mental toughness will translate to any number of situations at work and home. When you finish a workout that you honestly didn't think you could, you will look back on it in tough times and think, "If I can make it through that wod, I can make it through this."

 As for me, I'm going to take some artistic license and change the capitalization in the Hemingway quote to

Courage is Grace under pressure.

What workout or movement do you fear and avoid?

Stay strong y'all!

Proudly linked up at