Shirts for the Open...get them while they are HOT!! AND NO you dont have to be a competitor

THE DESIGN AND THEME ARE FINALIZED!!!!

Yes. That's right-a group of us crazy ones (thanks Jo Jo-Shannen and Kris) decided it would be awesome to THEME the Open this year. The Open being the 2013 CrossFit Open.

First I want to thank Kat, Liz and Andy for letting us do this. And also Garrett Smith/DFS for designing the shirt pretty much blind with just words.
For me personally-the old crazy empty nester- I have to have busy hands and that has to result in something that fills my soul and my heart.

There is something really amazing about competing but there is something amazing about spectating and being able to be support for someone else. YOU CAN HAVE THEM BOTH!! The Open allows us to compete and be a spectator, friend, judge, shoulder to cry on...etc etc. I am SO SO excited for our first time Friday Night Lighters. Trust me when I tell you (Mary Cruz) This experience will change you. It will help you to realize not only what you ARE made of and what you are capable of but also bring out some things in you - that perhaps you never knew you had...even if that one thing is puke..He he he.

No on a serious note. The theme for this year was a collaborative effort between many. The goal was to entice and or encourage people to break out of whatever is holding them back from competing, throwing caution to the wind and letting the leaves fall where they may.

So here we go

THIS YEAR....The athlete in me found the COURAGE to tell the spectator..."I AM NO LONGER CONTENT BEING ON THE SIDELINES"

It's a powerful statement right? But HEY...we are POWERFUL PEOPLE!
I love that the little flame says 2013 OPEN.

So here it is. Just one of the many things we plan on doing for and during the open. I will have the bosses post this on CF 22's blog but I have posted on FB as well. The women's tank is the fitted Bella non ribbed and the men's T is the American Apparel 50/50
COST IS ONLY 18.00 INSANE RIGHT?
I will make sure there is a sheet at CF22 on Monday- this is prepay so make sure to leave payment or you may risk not getting your shirt. You can make checks payable to me.
The timeline is approx. 2 weeks from when we order so super close to WOD 1 of the open-Deadline for orders will be Wednesday at the End of Business...or the end of the day so to speak.
Order on the sheet at the box-email me-fb me- text me-don't call me..I rarely answer my phone- but if you want one- again-let me know by Wednesday!


THE OPEN IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER....ARE YOU READY????

The MADNESS of the Muscle up ...oh have you met my niece Riley? aka badass??

MUSCLE UPS INFURIATE ME!!! 

Here is the deal. I feel like if I can get my muscle up it will give me an ever so slight advantage to get into that top 100 women. BUT AT WHAT RISK?
In my mind I am going through everything I remember about what Tiff Hendrickson (our gymnastics coach and bad ass athlete) taught us. Now...I would get up and wod at 6:30 AM just to get to her class. So that speaks volumes. She is a great coach and learning the basics was so necessary. But here is the deal. WHAT IS IT FOR?? Why do I need this and why am I obsessing  about what is functional about it. Because as  CrossFitters we know the mantra, constantly varied, high intensity, FUNCTIONAL movement. So finally today on a search for answers I turned to the CrossFit Journal. I have read this more than one time. But today. I found what I was in search of. 
"The movement gets you from under something to on them".......
There it is. The functionality of it all. Makes perfect sense. But I ask myself why do I need this. I often joke about the fact that I hope to get a muscle up on accident and then I will put it in my pocket and save it for a rainy day....
My rainy day is the open. Here is the problem I am having with the muscle up..uhh EVERYTHING..I have the transition down. The swing...no-the kip out of the bottom of the dip-no how does one get a muscle up in less than 4 weeks minus almost everything you need to get it??? A hope and a prayer. So that's it.Every time I work the muscle up even though I prep my arms before and after-my arms are jacked..I joke about how awesome it would be if my weight were reversed and I weighed 105 and not 150 ish (actually 149). I am tabling whether or not I want to focus on getting 1 or 2 muscle ups...it will be what separates the boys from the men...or get better at something else. I will keep you all posted on what in the HELL I decide. So I share this pic of my brother Matty. makes it look so simple- swing big, pull the the hips-head butt a midget ( this may not be PC but for those of you who have been to a Level 1 Cert you will understand) and get up out of that dip....I got this???

Matty just hangin around

Next- update on the food business. Ok on the Tomato Basil Soup. Here is what I did. I did NOT use a whole 15 oz can of coconut milk. I used barely half. I think if you like the creaminess and consistency it provides then milk on. Also I do not have an "immersion blender" I just poured it into my food processor and gave it some whirls until it was at a consistency I desired. One more thing. Didn't love the dried basil in it. Not sure why. I will skip it next time. But this soup is unusually hearty and delicious. It could be a good one that you can add rotisserie chicken to.

Tips on the chicken burgers. You can probably skip the onions on the top. There is 1/2 of an onion in the burger itself and with 1 pound of ground chicken that is not a whole lot. I made the burgers and skipped the onions on top altogether. They are ABSOLUTELY delicious. I used chicken thighs and just trimmed the excess fat off and I was a little liberal on the parsley- skipped the garlic powder. 

That's it...food stuff in a nut shell.

HEY!! HAVE YOU MET MY NIECE RILEY? 

I like to refer to her as Ri. She is 15 years old. She is a sophomore in high school and the truth of the matter is. She makes me want to be a better person. I have some pretty amazing nieces and nephews and you will see their stories posted on here. I start with Riley- this kid. I don't know what to say. Talk about a truly intellectual, well rounded and grounded kid. I attribute this to maybe that she has great parents but also to the fact of who she is. 

Riley and her hair burpeeing it up at Angels for Alex..we cried together..it was a tender moment.

She is a former gymnast so yes...she can butterfly, do bar muscle ups (my hero) walk on her hands, do a one handed hand stand...you name it. BUT she also is my biggest cheerleader, when I am wodding and Riley is there, it is not unusual to hear her encouraging her old aunt to push on. She has a heart of gold. My niece Tenley adores her. She is so unassuming and I love that about her. 

I post about Riley today because I just want to say 

MY 15 YEAR OLD NIECE RX'D FIGHT GONE BAD TONIGHT!!! 

For my non CF friends who do not know what FGB is. It is 3 rounds-1 minute rounds of the following movements. Wall balls @ 14# ball for women, Sumo DL high pull @ 55#, 20" box jumps, push press @55# and row. You do all the movements with a running clock for 1 minute each and once you are done you rest 1 minute and onto the next round. For 3 rounds. Ok. I have to throw this out there, my 15 year niece rx'd this wod today, Meaning she did it "as prescribed" meaning again-14# wall ball and sdhp an pp at 55# and 20" box jumps and I need to add she had a little mishap on the box jumps and hit that shin...no blood she will be ok but I bet it's hurtin right now.

HOW MANY 15 YEAR OLDS DO YOU KNOW THAT WOULD EVEN TRY THIS??? 

Riley at Angels for Alex with her Oh so proud Dad in her face..look at him..can't stop smiling with pride!!

I talked to Riley after this- she was GLOWING. She could not stop smiling. And before she even did this WOD to me she came up to me all excited because...my 15 year old niece registered to do the open. AMAZING right? ok and on with my story. So after she rx's this wod I see her sitting around with the other athletes that just finished...just chatting it up- she is glowing..and she comes up to me and says "Next year...I am going to do Fitness Elevated!" I don't know that I need to say much more.

Hope every ones week is going well..hump day is behind us and for some of us a 3 day weekend is just around the corner...WOD or die!! finish out the week strong!!!

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY, and is there a shortage of basil or what?

Oh..Duck Dynasty...happy happy happy is something they say quite often. It cracks me up. It's pretty much in reference to anything. One of the things I absolutely love about the show. Have you been curious to peek yet? Meet the Robertons. I love them. Again if you are needing a pick me up..watch one episode. I am guessing you could either love it or hate it. 

One thing I heard from more than one person this week-getting tired of breakfast stuff!
Here's the deal. I find the same thing from time to time. Probably not as often as most because honestly-I have already learned that it's not odd at all to eat breakfast for lunch, dinner for breakfast, breakfast for lunch or dinner etc etc. The way we eat there are SO many options. 
Tuesday morning last week I had a piece of leftover salmon with an egg and spinach in place of my typical chicken or turkey sausage. It's not odd to see me from time to time eating a turkey burger for breakfast and eggs for dinner. DON'T BE AFRAID TO MIX IT UP!! Especially if you are tempted to eat something that will derail you. Try it out and see how it works. Saturday morning I saw Jo eating her egg with a piece of chicken breast and I think it was kale or green beans, if you are getting bored with breakfast don't be afraid to mix it up. 

Food business is going to be a little sparse today. Here are a few staples I picked up today. I am finding more and more that as I add items in that I would not normally have when I want to try something new I have the ingredients in stock. Like a huge bag of pistachios. I watch my nuts and seeds very closely. Try not to over indulge. That is why I bought the ones with shells.

I have a good breakfast recipe and one that was posted as a possible breakfast but I am using it as a treat. 
Here is the deal on treats. I am actually going to reference a paragraph from Marias post from this recipe. It is so well written and makes absolute perfect sense - then I will add in my take-

"Even with the best of ingredients (nut flours, veggies, eggs, coconut) and lack of the worst ingredients (refined flours, industrial seed oils, added sugars), these little treats can still interfere with your health and body composition goals if consumed frequently.

Regardless of the quality of ingredients, baked goodies should not be touted as a good-for-you food. Good for the palate, yes.
Better than the processed, sugar-laden junk you buy at the bakery, yes.
But will eating these baked goods promote optimal health?
Probably not.
Having said that, indulging in these baked goods infrequently are MUCH better than choosing MANY of the purchased baked goods."

What stands out to me the most that grabbed my undivided attention-is the statement they they can still interfere with your health and body composition. I personally experienced an issue with treats that I am happy to say I finally have under control. It cost me 8# meaning I gained 8#-now granted this was during the holidays and I did indulge in some other things I should not have. AND yes, I had to get on a scale to know this. I preach not getting on a scale but there are times you are just going to have to. I would recommend you just don't do it obsessively. Saturday morning I decided to finally weigh again and FINALLY, almost 2 months later..buh bye you nasty 8#. I have a weight I like to be at and I am there. HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY. With baked goods, treats-whatever you want to call them I find the same thing I find when I overdo it on my starches, I feel bloated and yuck. So I have a goal to not go completely without some goodness-I feel you need a treat from time to time, I am just going to be really smart about it. With all of that being said. YES! I made this. From Marias blog of course Optimal Nutrition. Urging you again if you haven't ready her post on adrenal health..take the time to read it. So much good info!!! 

http://optimalnutrition1.blogspot.com/#!/2013/01/adrenal-health.html

Carrot Pistachio Breakfast Loaf

Ingredients

3/4 cup almond flour

1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs 1/2 vanilla extract
4 tblsp coconut oil, melted
2 very ripe bananas, mashed (1/2 c)
7 dates, pitted and chopped
1/2 c carrots, grated
1/4 unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 c pistachios, chopped
1/4 c unsweetened cranberries
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Lightly grease loaf pan w/ some coconut oil or line with parchment paper.
In large bowl, combine almond flour, baking soda and cinnamon.
In another bowl, whisk eggs, stir in vanilla, coconut oil and mashed bananas.
Combine wet and dry ingredients.
Fold in dates, carrots, coconut, cranberries and pistachios.
Dump into loaf pan.
Bake about 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle of loaf comes out clean.

Link is below

http://optimalnutrition1.blogspot.com/#!/2013/02/carrot-pistachio-breakfast-loaf.html

Ingredients-again- had most of them on hand. Had a really hard time finding unsweetened cranberries, I am sure you can get them at Whole Foods but I wasn't driving there for 1 ingredient so I had to settle for getting the bag marked "less sugar" eh not super happy, this older lady at the store was getting a complete kick of me reading all the cranberry bags out loud and whining about why everything has to have sugar added and I was getting so MAD. She just chuckled at me..as she wheeled away on her assisted cart with her chocolate chips..I am not judging her..nope. Notice the shredded carrots? awesome..bags of shredded carrots. Best snack ever. Anyway this recipe is great. My home was filled with the most amazing smell. It's not complicated and it is delicious-I had one little corner and then I portioned them all and right into the freezer they went. I will keep you posted as to how it goes this week with treats in the freezer.

This was still steaming not a great pic wish you could see the deliciousness

All bagged up for freezer time.

The only other recipe I have for you with pics today is ....breakfast quiche. I remembered that I saw this one on PaleOmg. I am not sick of breakfast but again- I like to switch it up from time to time. 

I normally will make a recipe exactly the way it is written the first time then tweak it from there but with this one I was comfortable tweaking it out of the gate. I need to make sure I have enough breakfast to get me through the week so I made just a little extra. I used a combo of regular turkey sausage and hot turkey sausage. With the leftover I made little sausage meatballs which will be my quick source of protein post WOD this week. I also added 2 additional eggs as well as more spinach. I opted to keep my sweet potatoes chunky-AND, I did not salt it at all. This is one thing I am learning I really have to watch. I have noticed when I follow the salt, with the garlic powder that some of the recipes call for, it's just to salty for my taste and if you need salt you can always add it. I always crack up so bad when I read Julies blog. She is a nut! 

As Julie states in her recipe this will shrink

Add caption

Meat Crust Quiche

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 50 mins

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

• 1 pound breakfast pork sausage (or italian sausage)
• 1 small sweet potato, diced
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• 4 eggs, whisked
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ⅛ teaspoon ground paprika
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons bacon fat (or other kind of fat)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Now you gotta make your meat into a crust. So pull out a pie plate and begin to press your meat into the pan until it is even all around and pressed up to the rim of the plate.
3. Place the pan on a baking sheet (in case of any spills) and in the oven, and bake for 18-20 minutes until meat presses back when you poke it. It doesn’t need to be completely cooked through, but pretty close.
4. While your crust is baking, place 2 tablespoons of fat into a saucepan over medium heat. Then add the minced garlic.
5. Add in the chopped onions and sweet potatoes to the pan and mix to cover with garlic. Once the onions begin to become translucent, sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper on top and cover to help steam the potatoes and cook quicker.
6. Once potatoes are tender after about 4-5 minutes, toss in the spinach and cover once more to help the spinach wilt.
7. After a minute or two, once the spinach is wilted, remove your mixture from the pan and place in a bowl to let cool.
8. When mixtures is cooled, add in the eggs, garlic powder, ground paprika and a bit more salt. Mix well.
9. After the crust is done baking, remove the excess oil that may be left behind, then pour your egg mixture on top of the meat crust. It’s just fine if some leaks over into the pan because the meat will shrink just a bit.
10. Place the pan back into the oven and bake for 23-25 minutes. My quiche took quite some time to completely cook through because the pan wasn’t very deep, so be sure to just poke at the middle. Once the middle pushes back when you poke it, it’s all good to go.
11. Let cool, cut and serve. Avocado on top was perfect
12. I tested just a corner of this DELICIOUS!!

I have 2 other recipes I am doing this week. The soup is in the pot so I will let you know how this goes. This is why the question is there a shortage of basil? Why is it so hard to find a good healthy handful of basil in your basic grocery store? There are times dried basil is fine but not in a Tomato BASIL soup right? I was so frustrated today and I don't think I ended up with as much basil as I needed but I bought out what was left at WalMart and then the last one at Target as well. That was it..my rant about basil. Again I am sure I could find plenty at Whole Foods but again-already had been to 3 stores. Lame

http://www.freerangecrossfit.com/2012/tomato-basil-soup/

I am saving this one for Wednesday. I still have 3 turkey patties from Friday night and a delicious portabello mushroom that will more than likely be my lunch tomorrow.  And Wednesday I do not train the kiddos so I actually have time that night to cook something different if I need a little break. If I don't make this Wednesday its for SURE on the menu for next food prep day.

http://paleomg.com/herb-spinach-chicken-burgers/

SPEAKING OF FOOD PREP DAY!!! Just to show you what your fridge SHOULD look like after food prep. I get excited when people get excited about being prepared!! Thanks Jo for the photo..Safe to say she is ready for the week eh?

Here's we go..the Open is 24 days away. Are you doing everything you can to be ready? For those of you preparing just for life, have you done everything you can to prep for the week? Always have a plan-even if you have to travel, or you have a really busy schedule. The key to getting and staying on track is simply that you have to put the work in. Easier said than done sometimes but it's truly the most basic thing you can do. Put the work in. 
Have a great week everyone- lift heavy and dirty and always eat clean!!

Croni...Out. (my family will appreciate that)

Some end of the week food stuff..And OH FRAN..WHY??

Food stuff first before I get into the dirty details of Fran.

I remade the twice baked cauliflower. I do this from time to time. I will find recipes I think are going to be amazing and I end up either just never making it again or tweaking it. I loved this. I love to substitute cauliflower for the potatoes I used to love so much ( not sure why) I still have not figured out a substitute for the yogurt and I pulled WAY back on the cheese. I omitted the salt and garlic powder. I used chopped garlic and pepper no salt at all. SO MUCH BETTER!! Here is my 2nd attempt. Very pretty. Freezes and heats up well!! Here is the link just for a reminder. So again- omit the salt and garlic powder and sub chopped garlic and sub coconut milk for the whole milk. DELICIOUS!!
http://paleospirit.com/2011/twice-baked-cauliflower/

Go easy on the cheese and pile on the green onion and bacon!!

Next matter of food business. Thanks Liz for sharing this tasty little morsel with me. Portabello mushroom, turkey burger with spinach, a little tiny bit of goats cheese and topped with my homemade guacamole.

So basically-if you have to do this indoors-this is how it goes-

Remove stems from mushrooms rub down with olive oil

put a small amount of o/o in a pan and place mushrooms smooth side down cover and cook approx oh i don't know...20 minutes or so on med low. (this is just how I did it I was completely winging it)

While my shrooms were cooking I seasoned and cooked my turkey burgers-you can be free here, I used a very little amount of S & P, greek seasoning and of course fresh parsley some chopped red onion and chopped garlic-once they are done layer as follows:

Mushroom on the bottom, a little tiny bit of goat cheese-some spinach or kale, burger, then top it off with some guacamole or sliced avocado. I managed to only get through half of this goodness. I have added a protein within 15 minutes of each wod (NO not protein powder...actual real food that contains protein) and when I get home to eat dinner, I am just not as famished as I usually would be. This was over the top delicious. Again thanks to my sis Liz for this amazing recipe. 

FRAN....21-15-9 THRUSTERS....PULLUPS...95/65

For those of us that CrossFit, you hear FRAN...and I can only speak for myself but I think most will agree, there is this sudden sinking feeling...FRAN....how ..why...who...what is the point???

Fran is that bitch that will take even the strongest, most nimble, most athletic etc etc CrossFitter DOWN! She is so very deceiving. You look at the rep scheme and you are like..eh..ok 21-15-9..DO NOT EVER EVER BE FOOLED BY THIS. This WOD is brutal...it makes you do crazy things. The combo of the thruster and pull up is pure and complete evil. 

So today..this WOD comes up. I wanted to puke.

Yesterdays comp/snatch wod was pretty taxing, 80 snatches, 50 knees to elbows, with a cash out of 300 dubs (double unders jump rope) and 75 GHD situps. I was feeling toasted today. My hands were tender even though I ice bathed them and I had a pretty bad headache all day..not sure why. So when I approached the box tonight...my stomach was churning, I was nervous...it was like that saying..like a moth to a flame. I could have rested today, last night when I peeked at the WOD I was convinced I would rest, yet there I was at the front door of CF22 almost excited to give this girl another go around. I pr'd this in October at a whopping 5:51. My only hope for today was to simply not do worse. When we do Fran we go in waves, meaning you count for someone and someone counts for you. This is appropriate and you should NEVER be allowed to count your own Fran reps...the delirium this girl causes will cause you to miscount. So last time, Jo and I partnered up and I went first. She rx'd this wod for the first time that day and her time was 8+ minutes. So today-being the kind person that I am-I let Jo go first. I knew she was going to kill her last time. Even though she has been modifying-she is completely UNAWARE of what she was capable of. It cracks me up and infuriates me all at the same time. Anyway she shaved well over a minute off her time. Then it was my turn. I knew I could do the first 21 thrusters unbroken, I have to because I suck at pullups. I was slower than I wanted to be and honestly this WOD as short as it can be feels like a freaking eternity when are doing it, Kat had given me a tip to try and breathe...I was trying...Liz and Jo were in my ear telling me to push...I pushed as well as I could today...5:50 rx..pr. Yes it's 1 second. But I didn't do worse, I did better and I will take a 1 second PR. It was a fun class tonight, Amanda PR'd, Jen Perry PR'd, we had 2 new girls that had never done Fran before- it was just good clean fun..

With another Fran behind me..and a mystery WOD tomorrow (this can never be good) I am going to watch one more episode of Duck Dynasty and call it a night. Trying really hard to get my 8 hours in. DUCK DYNASTY YOU ASK?? you can have the WORST DAY.. a complete shit day yet if you watch this show..you can't help but laugh and smile. Too good. I recommend it. I may be referencing this more in the future. 

I want to close with this. Stole this from Garrett. Loved it too much to pass it by. 

OWN IT!!! 

Can't say it enough..leave your ego at the door..and HAND CARE!!

Ego...oh boy..where do I begin. I have to keep details to myself.... But I will still get try and get my message across.

I looked up the definition of Ego -well like everything else I do..I googled it

1. e·go

   /ˈēgō/

   Noun A person's sense of self-esteem or self-importance: "a boost to my ego". The part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and the unconscious and is responsible for reality testing and a sense of...

   
   

   So that's where my story tonight begins. I have to apologize first for my lack of posting consistently. Tuesdays are crazy well every other Tuesday that is. I do the Comp WOD, Oly class then train my kiddos. I have added a strength element in as well so sometimes I have barely enough time to shove something in my pie hole in between it all. Thank heavens for Chipotle' I will post that shortly.
   Anyway. So I talk all inspirational - be tough, do this, be strong, do that. I crumbled yesterday. This is a form of true confession. 
   Sometimes, you think you are doing a good job. You work hard, you put the work in, you have a good understanding of how you affect something and what goals are and how to get to them. Sometimes statistics from things you rarely have control over tell you otherwise. So this happened to me. I am not saying how. I have to keep those details to myself kind of. BUT I had a crushing day yesterday. When I left work and headed to gym, my mind was racing, I was so mad. Why was I mad? ego. I let something get to my ego..something that I didn't need to. I got to the box...and I realized..it's true. I CrossFit because people piss me off. CrossFit Lisbeth says it well. I will include the link so you can read this in its entirety but this is hands down my favorite part:
   
   
   "I CrossFit because people piss me off.
   It’s not the only reason I CrossFit, but I’d be lying if I said I just CrossFit because it makes the sun shine and the earth spin and some other shit that’s kinda important. Makes me healthier, happier, blahblahblah.
   No, I CrossFit sometimes because people can be miserable rat bastards. And professional jerks. (“What do you do?” “Oh, I’m a Professional Idiot!”) And a-holes. And they come and find you, no matter where you work, no matter what kind of armor you wear. No matter how sunny your outlook. They’re amazing that way. 90% of people are fantastic, but that other 10%? TDB. (I’m going to leave you to figure that one out on your own.)"
   http://crossfitlisbeth.com/2012/10/25/i-crossfit-because-people-piss-me-off/
   
   Anyway- the person who ruined my day..wasn't their fault. A messenger delivering not the best news. I got into the box. I wodded, I lifted, I trained. And something happened. Even if it was ever so slight...my attitude changed a little. Then I realized. And it took me literally most of the day today to realize, I let my ego get the best of me. I am constantly preaching to check your ego at the door..and I personally forgot. Shame on me. The long and the short of it is this. There are going to be some things that happen in your daily life you can't control. Only you can decide how you are going to let that impact you. Me? I had a serious look of distraught on my face I am guessing and even after venting, I didn't feel better..after lifting..I did. There is a lesson to be learned in here somewhere..I think what it is could be something that leads back to what I am always saying, check your ego at the door, control only the things you really can control, and I guess if people piss you off you might want to try CrossFit? He he. No in all seriousness, never forget or lose sight of your self worth. If you think you are doing a good or even great job? you probably are. Embrace it and be prepared to crumble every now and then. It happens. Even to the strongest of us.
   
   ON TO SOMETHING MORE PLEASANT....HAND CARE!!! 
   Damnit Jo. 
   
   

   

   Gross I know...Jo sent this to me tonight and this prompted my next rant. TAKE CARE OF YOUR HANDS. I am not saying Jo didn't. Care means more than just prepping them before a WOD you KNOW is going to possibly result in a tear. This means get familiar enough with your hands and be ok if you start to tear you are NO LONGER doing that movement-modify!! that's the glory of CrossFit, scaleable and modifiable. Tears happen we all know this - with the open around the corner I personally am not risking a tear just to RX a WOD. A tear like this will take Jo out for a week at least. You have some options.

   
   

   1. Invest in some gloves. These do NOT have to be fancy CrossFit gloves. Yes I have some. My Christmas gift from my kiddos. Monday my skin started to pull, we all know this feeling, I gloved up that hand and finished my 90 pull ups. It's not ideal, they throw your game off just a little but to save a tear it's worth it. I have seen under armour receivers gloves, I have seen garden gloves I have seen cut up sham wows. There are options to protect the hands. Try and figure out what might work best for you.

   
   

   2. This is a little trick I learned from Liz, those disposable razors we all throw away- put them to good use. Carefully shave those callouses. I do this while I am in the shower while my hands are all old lady like. Use a pumice stone-I don't do this I prefer emery boards but same end result. Make sure after a wod where those hands take a beating you are taking the time to prepare them for the next one. 

   
   

   3. If you are tearing, STOP- think about how long it will be before you are doing pull ups again or wrapping your hands around a barbell again, stop and tape but for the love of everything holy don't go to blood.

   
   

   4. Maybe go easier on the chalk. Now this is a controversial one. I remember when I did my Level 1 Cert and on that first day we got to do Fran. I recall someone asking Chris Speallor if they had chalk- I remember him saying yes we have some chalk but (something to the effect of ) I don't recommend it, it's not necessary and chalk causes friction which leads to tears. If you ask Kat, she will also tell you the same thing- if you have to chalk make it ever so slight-she rarely chalks more than skiff and she rarely tears. There are many different opinions on this but try different things but most importantly do NOT let it get to a tear if you can possibly avoid it. It takes you out for too long!

   
   

   5. Ice bath those hands. I know, sounds crazy eh? Just like you ice bath those legs after a marathon or Sunday Night Sprints (which I am missing like MAD right now) ice bath the hands. After doing lots of pull ups or bar work my hands will throb through the night. Lately it has been so damn cold I have been avoiding doing this but after Mondays wod (90 pullups) it was necessary. I iced bathed and I was good to go on Tuesday. 

   
   

   6 Lastly-keep it clean-try aquaphor, neosporin or whatever witch remedy you have been told helps. Try covering it at night and do your best to keep it clean.

   
   

   That's it folks. That's my Wednesday wisdom. Take it for what it is worth!

   
   
   
   

Thank you Alex Terry, and some food stuff...

I am sure that many of you have seen this posted all over Facebook. But I can't help but repeat it. 
At CrossFit 22 on Saturday an event was held to help out a family with a son struggling with brain cancer. This event, although as hard as it was to see young Alex not feeling well, probably changed a small part of me forever for the better. In fact, it was at this moment when this picture was taken I realized how truly blessed I am.  This is why I am thanking Alex Terry and his family, for allowing me the opportunity to do something good for someone else. I appreciate the chance and I will be holding this little family in my thoughts and prayers.

CrossFit 22 Angels for Alex

This photo was taken right before the Terrys took Alex home. It had been an exhausting and overwhelming day for him at this point. He was coughing and really struggling and although we all really wanted to get a picture with him it broke my heart to watch this little man struggle. What was most impressive was the love an patience shown by his parents. Wow. Talk about angels. I am so proud to have been able to say that I was part of this amazing experience. I want to thank my family for allowing this to take place at their business. There is so much that goes into pulling off an event such as this with as much class and style as they did. And yes. It made the news. Channel 2. Its a great video. Watch it if you get the chance. Here is another photo that might give you a small idea of how many athletes showed up. I think many people had left by this time. I would guess it was about 130 athletes that actually participated (this is a complete guess). What an awesome sight to see. And again. This is one of the reasons I love the CrossFit Community. People showed up an opened their hearts and their wallets like nothing I personally have ever since before. I have renewed sense as to the fact that there is really so many good people in this world.

I will keep my food business brief. I am kind of excited to post my first recipe that I did not get from any other blog or website. I am sure I have see a variation of this maybe in the past but this is one I created as I went along today. I will call them Sweet, Bacon, Turkey and Sausage muffins.

Ingredients needed

1 medium sweet potato

1 package ground turkey

3 links hot italian turkey sausage ( i just push this out of the casing)

parsley( I used about 1/2 a bunch)

red onion I(i used about 1/4 and diced well)

bacon

seasonings of your choice

1 egg

almond flour ( egg and flour to bind only use your best discretion)

Mix all above ingredients together with the exception of the sweet potato.

Slice your sweet potato thin. I used the medium slicer on this contraption I bought a while ago. I need I would need it someday. Place sweet potato slice on the bottom in your muffin tin (cupcake liners are not really necessary I was thinking the sweet potato might stick that is why I used them)

I then layered 1/2 piece of bacon, meat mix-only fill them up about 3/4 of the way. Place another slice of sweet potato, tuck in the end of the bacon (i laid it across the muffin spot length wise) and more meat mix on top. You CAN kind of build these up over the top they do shrink up so be generous. I cooked on 350 for about 30 minutes. Just depending on how thick your sweet potato is you may need to cook longer. 

The finished product is delicious. That's it kiddos. My first very own recipe. 

With the leftover sweet potatoes I simply put them on a cookie sheet-mixed them with a little olive oil and salt and pepper and I have yet another delicious little snack. These will be great for post WOD.

I am making the twice baked cauliflower again tomorrow. I love it. I am creature of habit I can pretty much eat the same things over and over.

I did add one little morsel of goodness and thanks to Shannen for letting me in on a new way of cooking eggs. Heat oven to 350 I put a small cookie sheet on the lower of the 2 racks and stuck my eggs right on the top rack-baked them for approx 30 min then put them right into an ice bath. I know it seems more complicated than just boiling them but as she promised they were easier to peel and surprisingly enough the yoke was much creamier.

I made paleo deviled eggs- no real recipe. I used the items below:

8 eggs baked, peeled, yokes removed and sliced in half

1 lime

1/2 large avocado

spicy brown mustard

seasonings of my choice (as seen below)

Super simple. Throw the yokes into a bowl add that avocado, lime and seasonings to taste. Please taste this it can get super salty real quick. Get that mixture nice and smooth and spoon back into the eggs. DELICIOUS!

The only other thing food related I have for you. I have reconnected with my love for my own salsa. I realized today how great this is. It's fresh and pretty easy to make. I had some today with my fried eggs, lathered it right over the top. Amazing! I will post a recipe later this week. 

Well nice job Ravens. That was a decent game. Even though I am actually a Niners fan I felt it ok for them to win-because of Ray Lewis of course!!

Hope everyone has a GREAT week- if you didn't get to food prep-try and carve out some time to get it done early on or when you do cook- make extra so you have leftovers. Here is to a great week and welcome to February!!

Angels for Alex is finally here! and why before and after pics are necessary

I don't have a lot for a Friday. It's been a long crazy week and just so glad I made it to Friday without losing my mind.

Tomorrow is going to be a big day for CF22. I can't imagine the work that Kat, Liz, Andy, Matt, Jake, Garrett...Just to name a few have put into making sure this event matches the class of our box. I am sure its been stressful as the event has gathered a large number of people and thinking from the business aspect of it all, you get a lot of bodies in a gym and they start throwing weights around and throwing themselves on the floor the first concern will always be everyone's safety. But I say this with all the confidence I have, if anyone can pull this event off - it will be CF22. I am sure I will there late tonight getting things prepped for tomorrow and I am so happy to help. It's going to be amazing. If you have a minute go through the blog that Alex's parents have. Its a good read. Get some tissues though. What an awesome family and amazing kid.
http://www.kathyhterry.blogspot.com/

Meet Alex. What a little soldier!

If you are still interested in doing this-I am certain you can still register and if you just want to show up an maybe volunteer (doing what I don't know) or you are curious to see how classy CF22 really is-this is great event.
  http://angelsforalex.wodhub.com/

Bring your dollars there is going to be a raffle. I personally want to thank WOD Love Clothing for donating some items. It's always nerve racking for me to ask for anything. I am just that independent of a person. They were amazing-sent more than I could have ever asked for and I am excited to snap some pics of the winners of their items to share with them. Thanks Ladies.

LAST AND CERTAINLY NOT LEAST: This is why I PREACH before and after pictures- lets check in with Jo-

You should remember Jo. She is one of my first before and afters. I have been slacking on my stories but I have a really good one for next week.
ANYWHO....This is why this is so important. Now I think Jo and I might be obsessed with our middles. Not sure why must bet that area we are both working to improve. If you are working to improve arms or legs or whatever just make sure they are in the picture.
So here you go. These 3 pictures are from the first challenge Jo did as well as a second challenge and now the current challenge. What if she didn't have these pictures tracking her progress? You see yourself everyday! And sometimes its hard for you to see your progress. TAKE PICTURES AND TAKE THEM OFTEN! When you are having a SH*T day (sorry as always Mom) you go back to were you were, where you are and that gets you to where you need to be.
Thanks Jo for always being a sport.

 

These pictures are in an odd order. The top pick is challenge 2- bottom pics are challenge 1 and the picture she took before this challenge started on Monday.

 

Keep pushing all-keep taking pictures and hope to see you all out at CF22 tomorrow!