To all my lady friends

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1359325/Gwyneth-Paltrows-skinny-figure-Men-turned-skeletal-chic.html

GOD BLESS HIM!!!

Happiness

Today we did a 2K row and a 1 mile run. I am terrible at rowing, have watched a few videos online, but I still can't get the technique down great. Needless to say, I rowed a 10.0 min flat. And that was pulling hard every count of 5 or so.

The awesome news is that my mile was fantastic!

8:27

I have NEVER run that fast!!!! Even months ago I ran a 9:17, so that is 50 seconds off my time. I'm pretty stoked!!!

Yep

Just to be clear...I did two hard core days of Whole30 and gave into the temptation of wine. And chocolate. And a million other things that make life worth living. I will begin again, soon, because I really can't take much more of feeling like crap, since I'm eating crap...you get the picture. Shawn leaves soon for training and I think that's when I'll start. I just can't wrap my head around it right now. Just wanted to make sure for all you folks out there who thought I was made of steal...not so much.

Ha.

Golden Orange Scones

On Day 2 of my newest Whole30, I grabbed my newest favorite thing, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook and got to work. These scones are adapted from Elana's Orange Apricot Scones.

3 cups blanched almond flour

1/4 tsp sea salt

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 c evoo

1/8 c apple sauce + 3 T apple sauce

3 large eggs

1/2 c golden raisins

1/4 c freshly squeezed orange juice

1 T orange zest

Preheat oven to 350°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, sift together the first 5 ingredients (to nutmeg).

In a blender, combine the remaining ingredients and process for about 30 seconds.

Stir the wet into the dry until thoroughly combined. Drop batter by 1/4 c 2 inches apart onto prepared sheets.

Bake for approx 20 minutes, checking after 15.

CrossFit Total

The CrossFit Total is the sum of the best of three attempts at the squat, the press, and the deadlift. The first attempt would be a weight you know you can do for a heavy set of three. The second attempt would be a weight you know without any doubt that you could do for a single, having just done the first attempt. And the third attempt is the weight you want to do, based on your performance on the previous two attempts. -Mark Rippetoe

Basically, you max out your weight with the three movements mentioned above.

Shoulder press is my worst move, since my upper body is weaker than my lower body. My max today: 80#. PR’d 15#

Deadlift, deadlift, deadlift. I’ve been beating myself up lately about body weight deadlifts. One Saturday in the near past, I tried the prescribed weight (body weight) and got through 2 sets of 14 before I felt I should drop weight because my back felt tight. Ten pounds off and it was better. And I felt like a wimp. The WOD took me 10 minutes longer than everyone else, and I had to drop weight. When finished, I went to the bathroom and cried. Nice.

Deadlift max today: 205#. PR’d 40#

Without encouragement from my fellow Crossfitters I never would have even imagined I could’ve tried 205. Thank you Tonya, Ed, and Meri!

Back squat. Out of the three moves today, I feel this is my best. Again, with the weight. Once the numbers get above 150, I start to freak out. It’s all in my head, but I exponentially concerned with looking like a fool...or worse, hurting myself for being stupid. It was okay, no injuries.

BS max today: 170#. PR’d 45# (I think).

With 455# today and my body weight, I am between intermediate and advanced. Wahoo!! Thank you CrossFit Rio Rancho!

The Truth Is Out There

On the eve of 2010 I had a fearful symmetry with a group I loved and released myself from said group. I didn’t know myself and had become a scary monster. To end game the ghost in the machine, I wrote. Feeling closure, the fire left me as did the bad blood. All the signs and wonders in the beginning of 2011 made me face the grotesque details of the past year.

void

where once a heartbeat joined and sure;

one breath off, insecure.

where is the drum, once so loud?

yonder yet, beyond the bounds;

Behold! the heart in the mist!

left by wolves to loneliness

can it sustain life on it’s own?

without ears, does it drum?

this one heart, who’s left to hear?

whisper, whisper-- thundering ears!

cloaked by sorrow, life remains,

who remarks with kindness feigned?

Wait! I am solid, I feel the throb!

it is MY heart, is it not?

shadows move, the mist is lifting!

I remain. apart and drifting

where once my heart did beat alone

in tune with all, a blessed stone

left aside to be heard by none

what once was known is now undone.

(Written in Sept, 2009)

I now feel no shadows when darkness falls or am sleepless with revelations. I am the pusher of myself. I have shed my demons and the unusual suspects. I have detoured into life, the red and the black, and come out from underneath young at heart. Life is irresistible and within the existence of all things there are millions of sunshine days. Be your own first person shooter. Find your zero sum. Be the drive. There is no void.

A Piece for some Peace

Watching “The Muppet's Christmas Carol” last night and listening to Kermit sing, I realized there are only 12 sleeps til Christmas. I don’t even really remember September. We’ve been eating mostly clean, except for the glasses of wine on weeknights, occasional cookies and/or piece of pie. Every weekend has been booked with parties (more wine) and these coming ones won’t be any less hectic. We leave Saturday for our Christmas trip to the other side of the country, via two other states, and I am starting to fray.

Trying to have serious conversations with myself about this doesn’t help, since my kids keep asking me who I am talking to. So, I decided to write ideas down.

Kill the WODs.

Try and make a sweat angel on the ground after every workout of the day. Whether you are traveling or family comes to you, it’s easy to let go of the box. Stay on the path! Even if you don’t hit it everyday like you usually would, hit it as hard as you can when you go. You’ll keep your piece of mind over the piece of pie!

Drink and Be Merry.

Increase your water intake. If you are like me and have eaten some cookies, you need more water. Most Americans can’t tell the difference between thirst and hunger, and with lots of cocktail parties, you might need a hydration check.

No “coffee and cake” time.

Try not to drink any caffeine after noon, but if you must, to please your grandmother who likes coffee after dinner, make it decaf. You will look much better for the family photos and be full of yule-tide cheer with more hours of rest. Also, choose your dessert well. Make sure it was made with love and you will savor every morsel before you put it in your mouth. And, p.s., pillsbury dough cookies are NOT eye-rolling, sigh-filled, melt-in-your-mouth cookies. Let your fingers walk right on by those.

Bask.

Amid the packing for the flight, wrapping Santa gifts, or shopping for ANOTHER pair of tights for your daughter... just stop. Take a walk and remark on the beauty of winter where you live or are visiting. Breathe deep the frigid air and let the escaping air take all the holiday frenzy with it. Remember what the season is all about...love, being together, faith. And even if your baby girl does tear yet another hole in those tights from playing too hard, she’ll have you there to kiss the tears away. What better present can there be?