Real talk...be honest about what you want to achieve!

HAPPY EASTER!! 

Let me start by saying I love that I WOD at a box where love knows no boundaries. Call it what you want...we have an amazing mix of people and personalities at our box. And I love it. I love that we acknowledge and accept people for who they are because honestly at 3..2..1.. go...we are all the same! (suckers about to die...)

This picture really needs no caption. LOVE THIS!

Since I won't be posting tomorrow- those of you who follow for food ideas I have just 1 recipe I know FOR SURE I am making. Thanks AGAIN to freaking Maria. YES! SCOTCH EGG MEATLOAF!! And super appropriate to make on Easter Sunday.(because it has eggs...)
http://optimalnutrition1.blogspot.com/2013/03/scotch-egg-meatloaf.html

Scotch Egg Meatloaf

An easy, delicious version of this recipe, except made into a meatloaf, rather than single meatballs and the clever addition of bacon, wrapped around the entire loaf, so each serving gets one slice of bacon.
Either version works and either will give you a huge bolus of protein.
Ingredients
Your favorite meatloaf recipe using 2 lbs grassfed ground beef
3 hard boiled eggs, peeled
Bacon
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix together the grassfed ground beef with your favorite meatloaf additions.
Dump half of the mixure into a loaf pan (I used 8x4).
Top with 3 eggs.
Dump other half of ground mixture on top of eggs and press down to seal around sides.Layer slices of bacon on top and wrap around sides, so the entire meatloaf is covered. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour.

That's it. All the food advise I am offering this week. With Easter I am sure there are going to be family dinners with lots of leftovers and if you are like me and your assignment was salad you got smart and you are making enough so that you have some left over- I also grabbed a rotisserie chicken from Costco- have to have protein with my greens. If you are looking for ideas for easy items for this week-  here's a tip of things to purchase on grocery day-

A few sweet potatoes, cauliflower and broccoli or any green veggie, eggs, spinach, kale, lots of turkey (for us non beef lovers) and some chicken thighs..need that fat for the last open wod! That's it. If you can't make some quick easy meals from that..email me, text me- I am always happy to help.

THE LAST WEEK OF THE OPEN IS UPON US!!

I can't believe it. This is been the longest and shortest 4 weeks of my life. The emotions this Open brought out of me this year have been all over the board. 

But ...time for real talk. As each WOD has come out- we all get a little nutso. WHY? because lets be honest. There are very few athletes that have ZERO weakness' if there are any at all. The ideology behind CrossFit is the term general physical preparedness. Meaning if we are training CrossFit in GENERAL we should be prepared for whatever comes our way.  I have been able to find complete LOGIC with each movement. Now do not get it twisted that because they are functional I love them. No one LOVES thrusters OR burpees..and if you do..get your mind right THEY HURT ALOT! Anywhoo. So here is my gripe and please, no one take offense to this. I am not targeting any one person.

Gthug pushing 135# first time ever and not just ONE time..

We all have strengths and weakness'. BUT- do we train our weakness' like we do our strengths? I am going to throw a BIG FAT NO out there. I myself am guilty of dropping off the pull up bar more often than I should. 

Here is a great example-Garrett Smith- a triathlete by choice (I call it crazy but whateves) He knows his strengths are anything without heavy weight on the bar, running and gymnastics movements, (this is in relation to CrossFit we all know he swims like a freaking fish and can ride like the wind) however-he has had to endure 4 WODS now whereby the weight has been heavy (even a 20# med ball can be a challenge). Last night he pushed  135# multiple times. Did he get a super high score? No...was he smiling when it was all said and done? YES ! he has made some pretty amazing progress. And I would venture to guess that next year he is going to shock the crap out of us all. He knows in order to get stronger-he will have to train that weakness. Although I didn't really get to watch him in this WOD. From the pictures I have seen from week 1 to week 4 tells me he has been training his weakness. 

Love the look of determination!

I also want to point out another athlete who confessed to me that when the WOD came out-she might have cried. She felt like there was NO way she would even get one 95# bar over her head. Oh Monie- you silly girl. Of course you will. We were all there cheering her and pushing her and again- not only did she get one-she got more than one. She was SO excited, we were so excited. It was honestly the BEST moment of 13.4 at CF22 if you ask me. After she got her first rep she dropped the bar and started screaming over to her son who was also wodding-her whole affect changed- we all watched as Monies confidence increased and that bar was no longer something that was going to cause her to cry OR defeat her. 

Hard work gets hugs at CF22

And I am throwing this out just for shits and giggles...You will probably see her stepping her game up in the next few weeks. After the WOD was over she walked around from the inside of the perimeter of safety tape and hugged us and thanked us all. What an amazing moment to watch an athlete like myself that sometimes has too much self doubt overcome come a fear. At the end of the day if us women in the Masters have learned anything from this -it should be that age won't define us. We work just as hard as a 21 year old elite athlete-it just may look a little different. 

Sweet Sweet Kim

So now let me add an example of an athlete that KNEW she had to train her weakness if she wanted to get points in this WOD. Sweet quiet Kim Weir..Oh do NOT be fooled by her quiet demeanor...this girl has so much MOXY! Kim got the opportunity to train one on one with 3 pretty amazing coaches on Thursday (he he Kat, Liz and I) probably more pressure than she wanted and honestly- Kat started coaching her but Liz and I were there and well...if you know anything about the SWEATFIELD girls..um...we always have plenty to say. Funny story about Kim. When 13.2 came out she and Joe had to WOD right after the announcement because they were leaving to go out of town and I was her judge. She asked me what she should do if she couldn't complete a 75# push press...I know that I looked at her all kinds of crazy and was like uh..WHAT? then also in the same breath told her she could. I think sometimes...all you need is someone to tell you that you CAN do something..because she did. She pushed the bar as many times as she could. She never gave up. And so here she is 2 weeks later...pushing 95#. So proud of her. Another HUGE moment. 

15 years old...watch out boys..this cutie can handle herself.

And of course, I am a little biased with this one. My niece Riley. Now, my meltdown when this WOD came out wasn't due to the fact that I completely suck at Toes 2 Bar. I was pissed that my MOM at 71 had to try and get a toes 2 bar. The concern wasn't that she wouldn't try. It was would she hurt herself trying? So. Mom was only able to post a score of 3 on this WOD. BUT, she modified the wod and did it anyway and I believe she got as far as I did. Into her round of 15's. BUT, there is no modification for my 15 year old niece. And guess what. She did it. She pulled that 95# bar as many times as she could in the time she was given. Its crazy to me that the individual age bracket spans from 14 or 15-to 39. But here's the deal. If you want it bad enough- you will get it. And Riley wanted this. 

Probably by now - I should have made my point. There are so many amazing stories coming from CF22 right now that if I blogged everyday I wouldn't be able to post them all. We are all getting better and we are all getting braver and stronger. 

Here's my beef. If a normal everyday WOD is posted and you look at it and you are like eh..that weight seems heavy to me, and you are constantly going under the weight by 10 or 15#....do you REALLY believe that you are going to get stronger? What is that saying from Eintstein about INSANITY Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. This   is so true. So if you are in the gym and everyday you pull the same weight lets say 65# and then you do the Open and you are required to pull 95# don't bitch and moan because you can't do it. You can't do the same thing day after day and expect a different result or outcome right? We all have goals. We all CrossFit or we are athletic for whatever reason. So here's a non CrossFit example..you can't train for a marathon and only run 1 or 2 miles right? How do you expect to build up endurance if you never train past a certain point. The bottom line is - if all you really want is to just be fit and workout a few times a week and constantly get your ass handed to you. Then that's awesome. You are still doing WAY more than most people do. If your goal is to get better. Better at life, better at lifting, better at anything. Then honestly we all know- YOU HAVE TO PUT THE FREAKING WORK IN. If you aren't willing or able- totally fine and ok. But don't complain if you are participating in something that requires you to give more than you are willing to give. 

A really good example. A competitors WOD came up before the Open whereby we had to do 30 135# hang cleans. It doesn't help that I was doing these WODS with Amanda who is CRAZYYYYY strong, and I am always trying to keep up with her..oh did I mention my own child is only 3 years younger than her (again- age is just a number). Anyway..my gut instinct was to scale the weight (glorious thing about CF scaling options) however, how in the hell would I know if I could do it if I wasn't willing to try? So I tried and by damn after I pulled a few power cleans and realized oh snap...a hang clean...can't take the bar all the way to the floor.  I managed to get through 30 hang cleans that day. And the next time I had to pull a 115# clean...I knew without a shadow of a doubt..I could do it.

So I guess my point, and the train I am going to be on. If I want to get better at things I am just really not good at. I am going to quit bitching about how bad I suck at them...and I am going to train them and get better. So when "goat" work comes up. BE honest with yourself. One day we had to do goat work and it was funny because my shoulder was bugging so I just worked on Dubs instead and Jen Perry totally called me out. She knew..I didn't need dubs work..but I did explain my shoulder was compromised and Staff Sargent Jen let me off the hook. 

Everyone is at a different place in life. You all cant be like me. An empty nester with not alot to do besides work, blog and wod. I get that. BUT, decide what you really want. If you want to get stronger...start with baby steps add 1.5 lbs to each side of the bar and go up from there. If you want to stay the same. Just show up and do what you have been doing. 

I love that this Open has brought out things in people I never knew existed and more than likely neither did they. I know that last night Jayanne asked a few of us to please start pushing her. Please make her do heavier weights. Can't wait to WOD with her next year in the Open......

Croni...out.

3 generations compete, goodbye 13.3! Trying to keep food simple!

MOM

Its completely strange to me that I am just now realizing that we have 3 generations competing in the CrossFit Open this year. I mean I knew this but I am not sure why it has taken so long to blog about it? That's pretty incredible right? My poor Dad. He must be a basket case every Friday night. Not only his wife, son and daughter in law and daughters and a son in law are competing, his granddaughter is as well. So I decided to grabbed some pictures just to show how amazing it really is. So lets start with my Mom. 71 years young. I was worried about this one. Getting that squat below parallel I knew was going to be a problem. But did she give up? NO! Many no reps for Momma but she just kept on going. 

Matty 

Next...babyboy of the family. I feel sick about Matty this year. He worked so hard in the months leading up to the Open. And ended up with an injury that I think probably (this is me just guessing here) broke his spirit more than anything. But still...he shows up every Friday and does some pretty amazing stuff. Last week it was strict pressing 135# like it was nothing...this week muscle ups. Didn't get to see my sweet Sis in law Shae go on this one- she was out of town and had to do it alone yesterday. Poor girl..no one should have to go through that.

Liz getting SO CLOSE!!

Riley

Lets move onto Mother and Daughter (other than us being daughters of our Mother) Liz and Riley. Riley amazes me. Girls her age aren't doing this on a Friday night. She is 15 and a sophomore in high school. I honestly don't know what girls her age do. I just know that I am sure her friends are out doing teenager things while she competes with her family. Pretty damn amazing.

The sheer pain of this WOD shows on Kats face

Me with a few serious attempts to get a muscle up

Amy making wall balls seem like a walk in the park!

That leads us to the rest of us. Amy, Kat and her hubby Andy. We have 3 different people in 3 different age groups of the Masters-40-44, 45-46 and 60+. AGAIN, not sure why this all just seems phenomenal to me today. I just feel that we are so blessed that we are all healthy an able to do this together. I don't know what normal families do with all their spare time. And I often wonder what in the HELL they talk about at family gatherings...he he. 

Andy getting his side kick muscle up...He did this wod 2 times!!

Well it's in the books. And I did ok. I got through the 150 wall balls and dubs and I got to the rings. This was the day that I was hoping I would get my "accidental" muscle up. I can't say I got close but I tell you what. I TRIED. SO SO SO glad this WOD is behind us.I ended at 21 in the SouthWest and 286 Worldwide..whew out of the 300's but not by much.  

Going to keep my food business brief. Below are my staples I picked up this week. By now there are things you should be buyin each time you go to the grocery store so if you get sick of what you made and repetitive eating is not for you- you can change it up a bit BUT MAKE SURE YOU HAVE INGREDIENTS ON HAND- that way you won't be tempted to eat like crap. 

I have to say this. Last year during the Open I gained almost 10 pounds. Don't as me how-with all the intestinal issues you have before the WOD it would seem impossible. This year I feel amazing. My eating is so on point during the week that I don't feel bad when I have something I normally wouldn't. I keep this to Saturday evening meals ONLY!! So here I have Kale, bagged salad, strawberries, eggs, avocados, portobellos, spaghetti squash. 

So for main dishes today I did chicken veggie meatballs - and buffalo chicken (remember this is just seasoned and cooked in Franks and then finished with a broil in the over). Lots of chicken this week- I actually wanted to make some ceviche' but I could not find any good fish that didn't cost a fortune. At Costco the containers of scallops and shrimp are enormous and they were like 30.00 a bag or something silly. And as much as I loved seafood for just me, little ol me that's way to much to spend just because I am having a seafood craving. I even went to Harmons hoping they had some reasonably priced whitefish in their fish counter but no such luck. I will put the links the recipes I did use at the bottom of this blog. 

For sides I still have some broccoli left from last week but I did opt to make twice baked cauliflower again. This time-I used just about a tablespoon or so of goat cheese and skipped the other cheese. UMMM delicious. 


And last but not least. Breakfast. Thanks Maria for posting a new recipe this week. Mine doesn't look quite as good as yours but it's absolutely delcious. I didn't think I would like it with the coconut milk (I am wierd about my eggs) but this is really good. 

Well. That's it.  Kind of all over the board on food business today. Wasn't sure what I wanted but happy with what I ended up with. 
Good Luck with your eating this week. If you haven't figured out by now how important food prep is, hopefully you will figure it out soon! 
BRING ON 13.4...I AM READY!

http://paleospirit.com/2011/twice-baked-cauliflower/
http://www.multiplydelicious.com/thefood/2011/08/chicken-veggie-meatballs-with-pesto-zucchini-noodles/
http://optimalnutrition1.blogspot.com/2013/03/squasage-bake.html

A REPEAT???? Time to get my mind right....again!

13.3...it's a repeat. Can I just tell you how absolutely pissed off I was Wednesday when I heard this? 
For 100 reasons- here are just a few...
1. Who in the FREAK really wants to do 150 walls balls...Karen?
2. 90 dubs after 150 walls balls...why not make it 900?
3. Muscle up?? SURE WHY THE FREAK NOT??

This was how I was feeling last night. Talk about a bad attitude right? I couldn't help it. Of all the wods I have ever done this truly has been one of my least favorites. I don't even want in print how I did last year in fear of totally jinxing myself! How does one approach a wod knowing you can only get to a certain point. That no matter how much better, stronger or faster you have gotten over the past year...there is only so far you will get in the wod? 

And of course, this is why... here they are....still hanging on my bucket list....

NEMESIS

I had to quickly shake out of my anger and my funk...well. I didn't do it quickly at all. Ith as taken me an entire day to stop being so mad at the wod. Again- my first thought was that feeling of sinking defeat. I can't do better on this wod than I did last year...oh no...what if I do worse?
I am going to be honest. A little true confession. The Open has been kind of rough for me. I have had moments where I have questioned if I have even made progress over the past year. Am I really any better than 2012? Have I made progress really??  THEN.....I took a quick break at work today and decided to read something to cheer me ( I do this when I am irritated and frustrated-I read CrossFit websites, I watch videos, it's good for he mind and the soul) and holy SHIT! how is it that sometimes the right words just happen at the right time? CrossFit Lisbeth saves the day...AGAIN



"Your goal today is simple: Be better.
Be better in thought, in word, in deed. Be better at what you think, what you say, what you write, what you do.
Easy to say, harder to do. Or is it?
If you’re reading this, I’m betting that you want to be better. You are looking to improve. Whether you’re a CrossFitter or not, there is something in you that wants more of this life, that wants more of yourself. There’s some part of you that’s sick of the bullshit and the mediocrity and the “good enough” attitude that seems to pervade so much of this ridiculous world. There’s some part of you that wants to step out into the sunlight and tell the whiners to STFU, stop pointing at other people, and start saving themselves. As for you? Well, you already know you could be better; you’re just figuring out how to get there. Most importantly, you’re willing to do the work.
So step up your whole game today. I’m not asking for everything to be perfect — it never is. You’re going to mess up a shitton of stuff. Lifts will go bad, words will go wrong, mistakes will happen.
Just don’t accept them.
When you fail, try again. When you don’t even want to try, just try. When you want to spread anger into the world, think twice. Maybe that anger is really just you, mad at yourself. So, pick up the barbell and throw it down a bunch of times. F#ck up plates instead of f#cking up people.
And life will get better … when you get better."

Its silly really for me to question if I have gotten better. Even if I am not better at walls balls, or dubs, and just because I still don't have my muscle up...I am better at something. 
Everyday that I get up an I do something more than nothing with myself ...I am better. I am happy, healthy, gainfully employed, surrounded my by friends and family that love me. There are so many positives I have no idea why I let the negative thoughts creep in.

So...here's my plan for the silly repeat 13.3. Work as hard as I can for 12 minutes. That's it. If I have to breathe, I will breathe. What I won't do is quit. I am not a quitter. Negative thoughts...BE GONE!

Good Luck to all my peeps tonight. We got this...
NO food advise today. Well...fuel to fight- fuel your body to fight for every rep that you can get tonight! Friday Night Neon...lets do this!

13.2 done and moving on. Easy food stuff

The CrossFit Open is FLYING BY!!! I can't believe we are 2 wods in with only 3 to go. Super SUPER fun throw down at CF Race on Friday Night. This one we actually got to kind of watch some of our athletes and our family so it was awesome. I absolutely love this pic Matt Jensen captured after my Mom finished. Only thing really missing is big sis Robin...sniff sniff. My Mom did so good on this WOD. So proud of her for doing this. I can't stress enough how far removed from her comfort zone she is right now.

I am rapidly dropping in the rankings after 2 wods. I thought I would be super bummed about it but  considering  there are approximately 1000 more women in my age group this year compared to last. I am fine with it. I am sitting at 27th in the SW and 363 worldwide..YIKES. 
WOD 2 I was hoping to get a full 6 rounds so ending in my 8th round was quite a surprise. I was bummed that my legs went so early and that the 75lb push press seemed so heavy. But one and done. That's how I have to do this. I had another one of those moments where I thought I wanted to maybe do it again. But Liz put it best. If it makes a different of whether or not I would be going to regionals...then yes, do it again. Enough said. And well said. 
I know this week- well I am guessing this week we are going to see some form of a toes to bar or pull up or something.

SOME SHOULDER TIPS/ADVICE:  As I mentioned above. I think this week we are going to see some bar work- and not talking about barbells...I personally have been struggling with a nagging little shoulder issue that is finally starting to feel better. I am again realizing how important mobility is. DO IT PLEASE!!! I know time is precious. But so is taking care of those body parts after pushing them to the very limit. Take that extra 5 - 10 minutes and work on them. PLEASE! Thanks Kat for sharing this with me. I have been trying to pay it forward.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACAz6HFj1xE&feature=player_detailpage

This is my St Pattys day green!! Yum Yum!

LETS TALK FOOD BUSINESS! Started Bountiful Baskets up again this week. This is some of the stuff that was in the basket- I also ordered the Thai pack add on which got me basil, coconut, garlic, limes, some random roots, ginger, cilantro and napa cabbage. Loving it! Veggie side had broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus and lettuce. Fruit side had grapefruit, tangelos, mango's, apples and lemons. Forgot how awesome it was do this and plan my menu around it. Got everything washed and cut and put away, my fridge is HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY!! This is my happy fruit drawer in my fridge as well. I am going to give apples another shot this week I have decided but at the first sign of tummy rumbling they are going to have to go.

Menu is super simple this week- after checking out my basket I knew for sure I was doing a tomato sauce. This is one I kind of made up and kind of got from Andy Gunther. I was cooking mine in sauce pan on the stove top and he recommended throwing that goodness into the oven and roasting it. 
Indgredients
8-10 med size roma tomatoes ( I prefer roma but any kind is fine)
4-5 garlic cloves ( leave whole or cut in half but do not chop)
basil-here is where it gets tricky- I use a bunch but its all to your taste
1/2 red onion cut chunky
I like to throw all my ingredients into a bowl-toss it with some olive oil and a little sea salt and ground black pepper.
Bake at 350 for approx 20-30 minutes. 

I let it cool for just a bit and then throw all that goodness into the food processor and give it a few good pulses. Just depending on how chunky you want it. I leave it kind of chunky. This is my favorite sauce to have with spaghetti squash. 

Look at this big bag of basil! Had to use it all!!

You can't really have spaghetti squash with tomato sauce without a kick ass meatball. I make the same ones every time so I went out to PaleOMG and found this one. Just going to give you the link and then a few little tweaks I made.
http://paleomg.com/turkey-basil-artichoke-meatballs-egg-free-nut-free/

I followed her recipe with just a few minor things-I used a combo of turkey meat and 2 spicy chicken sausage. I added some garlic in with the onions and artichokes when I sauteed them. 

I was not shy at all on the basil. I am sure I chopped up more than it called for, and it called for dry parsley and I opted to use fresh and more than a tablespoon. Lately I have been making my meatballs in my mini muffin tin but I thought these would shrink alot so I just rolled them and cooked them on a cookie sheet. They didn't really shrink at all. Careful with the salt and pepper as the artichokes do have a salty flavor. I also added a little red pepper flake. They are great!

One more I found I will be trying this week. Didn't make it today

http://fastpaleo.com/asparagus-with-bacon-onion/

I did Kalua chicken thighs for my break from "spaghetti and meatballs" I love how simple this recipe is and only 4 ingredients are needed. 
I used boneless skinless chicken thighs usual. 
So for those of you who are not familiar. You simply line the bottom of your crockpot with 3-4 pieces of bacon-put your meat of choice on top-add garlic and hawaiian sea salt and plug that sucker in. I cook mine for 6 hours on high. At about hour 5, I shred the meat with 2 forks and let it cook the last hour then I let it sit for about 30 minutes as well after that. I love to just eat this as a "filler" so to speak but I love to use it on salad as well add it to some nice greens and top it with tomatillo salsa! YUM!!
My breakfast for this week is going to be my staple. Spinach- 1 whole egg 2 egg whites a few chicken sausage. Simple is as Simple does.

I don't really have much else. Have I ever mentioned how much I love Sunday? I love it. I love being able to just get the past week out of my head and have a new week to look forward to. I get my shopping, bill paying, cooking, laundry and other chores done and then I just get LAZY!!!! 

I also have to mention how much I am starting to appreciate competing. Its truly the cleanest I eat and I can't get over how great I have been feeling. With the exception of the pre-wod jitters that never seem to go away I feel great! 

Good luck to everyone with their eating- remember ...keep it clean!

Random things that make me smile...Some not so random things that really aggravate me...

My posting this week sucks! Its been kind of a crazy busy week in a not so crazy busy way.
FIRST OFF WHAT ABOUT THIS WEATHER??? Holy cow. I am one happy girl. I don't even LOVE to run and I am LOVING running right now- outside- its pretty much the cats meow. Last night we ran outside in tanks and shorts and it pretty much amazing.

Next- tips from my recipes I posted. SKIP the chorizo in the burger recipe if you don't LOVE chorizo. It made them super salty-also I used Turkey not beef. ALSO. Read the instructions the entire way through, specifically before cutting your pineapple in half..just sayin..
I don't really love fruit with my meat so I didn't think I would like this but when you salt your pineapple and bake it a little it makes it a little savory. They were delicious. I had a weird eating day and had not had any protein or fat so I added a little bacon as well and it was crazy good.

Awww Baby Vans

Essential for the grandchild of a CrossFit Granny

Like I said! Life seems crazy busy right now. Not sure why. GREAT NEWS!! I am going to be a Granny!! I posted this on FB and it went viral pretty much if that's possible. So now I find myself looking...ok who I am kidding, purchasing things like this....oh boy...this kid is going to spoiled by Granny Jo. I am sure I wont be the only one!


So our awesome T-shirts came in last night. I was ecstatic with how they turned out!! I can't thank Garrett @ DFS enough for taking the time to design this. And the help I got from my sis Liz and also Jo for helping me to get the words just right! I still have a few extras if anyone is wanting one. Just a quick pic of my sis Kat rocking 13.2 in the new shirt. She slayed this WOD. Love that she is in the masters this year. My sisters and my bro Matty are freakish strong. I just don't understand why that gene skipped me. I am strong but definitely not freakish.

13.2 scares me a little bit. Not sure why. It's 2 movements I am ok at with a very manageable weight - the box jumps are in my head...tonight when I do my WOD I am only going to think of all the successful jumps I have had rather than focusing on the dark marks on my shin - ghosts of mishaps in the past..I am turning that page...in fact...that book is no longer welcome on my shelf.

RANDOM THINGS THAT MAKE ME SMILE!!!

Do you ever just look around at the end of the day and wonder what in the hell just happened? I do. I did this...several times this week...One time I had come home from wodding and work. Been a little frustrated because I have to take extra care with one of my shoulders so that I can get through the Open and avoid injury. I have had to modify quite a few WODS and it's not about not getting the RX that bothers me..what bothers me is not being able to do movements I already SUCK at. So Wednesday night I come home- kick my shoes off- tromp upstairs throw my bag down-start unpacking and then for some reason I was distracted..Idol was on and maybe someone came on I wanted to see who knows. When I get back to what I am doing- I see this. My shoes..right where I kicked them and then walked past them. Not like me at all!! for those of you who know me I like to keep a very organized Casa.

And this- it's a post it note with a WOD on it. It was something I either have already done. Or something I want to do. In the day and age of smart phones you are probably wanting to know why I write these on paper still, because I do. That's why. But I looked at my shoes, and the WOD that snuck out of my bag...and I smiled. My life has evolved into something I never would have imagined 2-3 years ago. I am more of a person now than I have been the past 40+ years or so. Yes I still have my SHIT days and days when I get down on myself but I have days where I look in the mirror or look around me and just nod and say...YUP. Life is good. Life is really good!

WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY NEXT TOPIC...going to try and keep this short and not so sweet...Not so random things that aggravate me...
Negative people of the world...unite...on your own dark planet...somewhere far far away from me and my happiness..you need a planet with absolutely ZERO of the amenities that you are currently enjoying in life. No facebook, no pintrest, no instagram, no motivational sayings that you don't believe anyway. NOTHING. Because here's the deal-I don't want your crap. If you are putting your crap on me on a daily basis I am removing you from my world. Now, this could be in reference to the people at work who are CONSTANTLY complaining about the temperature in the building or this could be anyone of you maybe reading this blog- if the shoe fits...GET NEW DAMN SHOES or get a size bigger cause they are pinching your toes. Monday when I drove to work, when I exited 33rd South to start heading to my building, under the overpass sat a woman, with a sign clearly out of work and needing a hand up, she was there EVERYDAY this week. And I got to work and the first thing I hear is something b#tching about the temperature and talking to others as if they were beneath them, and I thought to myself..."first of all, it's not cold in here...secondly I am so blessed that I have this desk to sit in today...as I am not sitting under a viaduct somewhere holding a sign" that was the thought I tried to revisit everyday this week and I will be damned if I didn't exhale and just kept moving through my day as the negative around me seemed to slightly disappear. I picked out the social media/networking type things above because this is where the downers of the world post their opinions and feelings the most. Sometimes it helps me to be MORE grateful that I found myself and found the happiness I truly deserve in life and sometimes it simply pisses me off. Do you think that people you call your "friends" really need your dark shit dumped on them?
When I started FB one thing I told myself I wasn't going to do was post negative stuff. With the exception of one desk move I think I have been able to do that. It's not that I don't struggle sometimes and I am trying to be fake. What I am trying to NOT do is be that person who never has anything positive or good to say.
I know for a fact many people look up to me. THAT in an of itself makes me want to be a better person.... KAPISH?
I think that's it. I really needed to get that off my chest. Whew.

Now for something FUNNY!!!! Why did I instantly think of  my Dad when I saw this? Holding my sides laughing right now! This cracks me up. The one below cracks me up as well. I am a victim of this. I have reebok oly shoes and inov8s. I don't think it makes me good at CrossFit but every time I see this I just bust up laughing. So glad Amrap posted it again today I needed a good hearty chuckle.
Well. That's it. This blog was 2 days in the works and thank goodness that I had the day off today so that I could finally get it finished and posted. The next time I post 13.2 will be history- less than 4 hours and counting. Again, not sure why this one has gotten in my head but I have under 4 hours to get my mind right. I am hoping for 6+ rounds. I have to get it. If I don't I can see myself wanting to do it again and that's not my policy. I told myself one and done because really...are there any do overs in life???

 

 



Damn you 13.1...food for the mind and the soul!!

Well..it's done. 13.1 is over and done and right now..not super happy about where I am sitting. I should be. I should be ecstatic but for some reason I have a few regrets. First..I didn't get the 100# snatch I needed to get so bad. I tried. 2 things against me..my arms were trashed and just not enough time. I tried to get through last 20 burpees faster but it may as well have been 2200 burpees..ironic because that is how many women are in my age group this year. 2200+. that is about 1000 more than last year. So right now. In the SW I am sitting at 12 out of 151 and 200+ on the WW ..I have a goal and I am not going to lose sight of that! 

 

I am putting 13.1 behind me and getting my mind right for 13.2.

My 71 year old Mom putting up a 55# snatch...eat your heats out old folks!!

NEXT...I can't help but keep mentioning how FREAKING awesome it is that my MOM and my NIECE Riley are the oldest and youngest competitors in our box. Both of them put up an amazing performance and I can't help but share these photos. I love them both so much!

Riles wanted this 75# so bad. She is a true warrior. She won't give up until she gets it!

My food was on point last week. I was able to really focus and keep all of my eating in check I was so happy about that. So this week I am not getting crazy..if it ain't broke no need to fix it. 

Here are some items I picked up at Costco- Blueberries- avocados, chicken maple sausage(I have discovered they don't always have this so even though I did not intend on getting them today but felt the need) strawberries, salami (yes strange I know) pineapple and cauliflower that I actually picked up at Wally World. If I have any sound advise...please wash and cut all fruit prior to putting it in the fridge-it just saves SO MUCH time!

Menu is being kept VERY simple this week. Lots of salsa. Had to make this for my sweet niece Adis bday party so I had to of course stop at Rancho Market-for 13.00 I got the ingredients for green salsa, red salsa and the chicken that I love so much from there which I simple baked and called it a day. I will be honest. I find right now that chicken breast does not really provide any fat that I need. The protein is great but it lacks any of the necessary fats so I am making sure to add avocados or something 

Salsa is SO easy to make and all fresh ingredients are SO PALEO. 
Tomatillo Salsa (shooting from the hip no real recipe)

6-8 good sized tomatillos

2 jalapenos ( I seed one otherwise it gets too hot)

garlic - 1T ( I used the bottled chopped)

2-3 limes

handful of cilantro (this is to taste I use 1 bunch)

salt and pepper to taste

throw all ingredients into the the food processor and pulse to desired. This is great for eggs and for salad. I like to mix it with about a tablespoon of greek yogurt when I am doing dairy. 

Roma Tomato Salsa

3 cans Rotel diced tomatoes. I like the lime cilantro and I do NOT recommend getting the hot...it burns...alot!

7-10 good size Roma tomatoes

1 bunch cilantro

1 large jalapeno or yellow chile (I use jalapenos only if I cant find yellow chiles and they do not sell them at WalMart)

1T chopped bottled garlic (I use this because it just gives it a different taste)

3-4 green onions, whites and greens chopped

Juice of 1 whole lime

Salt and Pepper to taste.

I hand cut all my ingredients for this. It can be done in the food processor I just choose not to. 

2 recipes I am trying this week that I will share 

http://paleomg.com/pineapple-stuffed-chorizo-burgers/

http://fastpaleo.com/souvlaki-with-tzatziki/

I actually used fresh oregano and let this marinate for about 6 hours. I don't think it's required I just prefer the lemon to break down the pork. I highly recommend- especially now that BBQ season is creeping up on us that you invest in some metal skewers. They are so worth it.

I baked mine in the oven at 375 for approx 25 minutes.

Ok so. I learned this week that my go to meal has not changed. This is STILL my favorite. A little sweet potato, turkey burger, bacon, avocado and an egg on top. This is minus the egg. I cook 3 or 4 and just keep them in a container. 

so easy to cook in advance and package up several portions

ALSO. A great PRE 13. whatever 1 hour prior to wod snack. Prosciutto wrapped hard boiled egg. Thanks Liz for this suggestion- this has really been a great one for me. I love it and it seems to not upset my stomach at all.

13.2 will be announced Wed at 6. Looking forward to it. I need to move on to the next one.