Sugar Detox

21DSD. What the hell does that mean? 21 Day Sugar Detox. 21 days of no sugar. No sugary fruit. No Diet Coke. No dairy. No bread. No wheat bread. (Did you know wheat bread is worse for you than white bread!?) And whatever is on the "avoid" food list.

Go to this link:

http://www.rosecole.com/handouts/21DaySugarDetox.pdf - this is what I've been following.

Today is my 6th day. Still going pretty good which really surprises me. I think what really have been helping me - the wonderful community of CFV and our private FB page. Also, a lot of willpower.

I've eaten so much avocados, eggs, bacon, chicken, broccoli, green and red peppers, mini mixed peppers, salad, almonds, pistachios ..

Side effects I've experienced so far:

Pros:
Absolutely no bloating. Not kidding! As Kristina would put: gut ache. None of those. I've never felt so amazing.
Less breakouts on face. Acne is slowly disappearing.
Less cravings for food. Apparently sugar makes you hungrier?

Cons:
Feeling mucus-y. But I don't feel sick .. Doesn't really bother me.
One pimple. Hahaha, but better than five-10 like in the past.

Be sure to eat a lot of meat. Lean, that is. Veggies.

I don't really have any specific recipes for you. I just look online and make with whatever I have in stock. My favorite is egg, bacon and sausage muffins. Well, I like avocados filled with bacon and balsamic vinegar. And avocado with fried eggs. Heck, I like all recipes I've made so far.

I admit: I miss bananas terribly. Especially in bacon grease. For my crazy sweet tooth, I have dark chocolate (85% or up). It does taste bitter but I really like it.

I need to try and make kale chips.

I also lost 4 pounds on this detox so far but that isn't the point of the detox .. I have a mini flappy skin around my tummy so obviously that makes me happy to see it more toned .. Still a little flappy, but eating a lot of sugar, bread, carbs make me feel so bloated and I get that extra flap, for real. My stomach has its own mind. After all this detox is over, I'm going to continue what I've been making because it is so delish AND makes me feel good and full. I'm going to add bananas, though. A little bit of oatmeal. I don't really miss oatmeal that much as I thought I would have. It helps to love bacon and eggs in the mornings. I think I will try the Zone Diet. If Dick and I go out to restaurants and such, I'm going to toss the bread. Icky.

Zone Diet link:

http://www.crossfitcharlotte.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/cfjissue21_May04.pdf

Some of food pictures.

Holding Inside Me: No More

Since Reborn Fitness on Facebook suggested that we go and "like" Strong Women Against Bad Men. I was quite puzzled to see what that was about. I then realized it's about abuse and harassment. Of course, I went ahead and "liked" the page.

After reading M's blog, it hit me. Why am I holding this in? Am I letting the men win just because I am keeping quiet? No, I believe I became stronger by moving on. However, there may be others suffering so I've decided to share my story to the public thanks to M .. I've seen her at CF Hydro but never got to know her more since I joined another box CF Vise which is closer to my work. My fiancé knows a lot. But my friends? Not really. Everyone knew I was treated badly, but how bad? I don't know.

Let me start out by telling you this, I grew up in a hearing culture in a small town in Iowa being the only deaf child thru all of my school years. I never had a serious boyfriend. Never went to prom at my school. Didn't go to parties since I was never invited. I didn't have any close friends. I played sports, but did not get the chance to play that much in basketball. Softball was my thing, but never got recognized like I should have. I decided to go to the only deaf university in Washington DC because I knew I would be able to blossom. It was a good place for personal growth. I was so happy to be able to attend Gallaudet. I played softball at Gallaudet, one of my best memories. Met a lot of friends. My first year there was my best time there as well as my fourth year in the fall before I decided to leave DC for good.

In 1998, my 2nd year at Gallaudet, I met a guy that was also from Iowa. Of course, I was excited because it is rare to meet a deaf Iowa guy in DC. How cool. We started to do things together, watching movies, getting intoxicated - even though I was 19 at that time, go to house parties, hanging out a lot. He was really nice when he's nice. I don't remember when exactly it started, but I got to know him more and more, he called me a dumb fuck almost everyday. I remember vividly, one night, he was calling me a DF nonstop ALL night long. I laughed, thinking it was nothing. So my friend K, was getting really fed up of him calling me a DF so she really kicked him in the face or his neck while she was wearing Dr Martens sandals. You know how heavy they are. Who did you think I supported? A guy who called me a DF rather than my own name or a friend that was trying to wake my eyes up that he was no good for me? Yep, I chose the man. Boy, was he pissed and of course, he put it on me just because K was my friend. I lost many friends - they kept their cool I was dating him. I went broke because of him. I paid for his cigarettes. I lied for him. He KNEW how to manipulate me. He knew my weaknesses. He made me cry everyday, feeling worthless. I lost a lot of things. He stole my money, change from my ashtray - I like having change in there, just in case. One weekend, I had a softball tournament out of town. He took my truck keys and went for a cruise to God knows where, probably drunk behind the wheel. He got pulled over for running thru a red light. Imagine, he never told me he got a ticket till his later girlfriend found out he had an unpaid ticket or something. He started out as verbally abusing me. It started to get physical. How? I don't remember. One evening, I refused to let him have the last hit so yeah, I hit him back. We hit each other nonstop on our arms for a good 15 minutes. Yep, I got a nasty bruise. He's really mean when he's mean. He made me lie to his baseball coach saying his uncle died, but we went to Florida for spring break. He threw me on my bed. He pushed me down to the floor. The ground. One time, I didn't want to get up from the sidewalk after being pushed down. I thought, just leave me alone. It felt strangely good laying there, I guess you could say I was numb. I got up and went back to him. So many, many, many, many things happened but am not going to type any more since I'm sure you get the idea and don't want to become sad right now - bad memories. I bet some of you are thinking, why the heck did I stay with him for so long? He was my first boyfriend and thought I could change him. Third year at Gallaudet, same routine path. He cheated on me, but I still took him back. We went home to Iowa for summer break. I lived with my brother so I went to see my boyfriend as much as I could because they lived about 25 miles from each other. We worked together at the car wash. He said he didn't want to go back to Gallaudet. I secretly wanted to go back and thought, perfect plan for me to break up with him. As summer was soon ending, I decided to go up north 2 hours from my boyfriend to live with my parents to talk more about college. I finally told my mom that I had enough with the guy. I couldn't stop crying. A huge sense of relief. I waited till the last week of summer vacation and I was probably mean but I broke up with him on the phone on Thursday (we didn't have a cell phone back then). I had to. It was my only way out. He went to visit me on Friday (yes, the very next day) after I called him. He stayed overnight at my parents' and I left for college in DC the next day on Saturday. That was the ONLY time he visited. Why now? Why not before? Well, yeah. I have never felt so free after letting him go. I gained my friends back, but more importantly, I gained my self esteem back, slowly. I was 21 at that time when we broke up. Almost 2 years of waste. Oh well. I saw him again in 2003, what an awkward moment. He wanted to talk. I was so strong. I wouldn't let him beat me up again. He said "well, it was good while it lasted," but I was glad I told him, "For you, sure, but not for me. It was beyond awful." The words "it was good while it lasted" was stuck in my head for few weeks. So he was happy with me? What? Apparently he liked to be in control so I went back living my life with my soon to fiancé (we got engaged in 2004). He is so understanding about this, he lets me talk about it, but I have moved on. :) I don't talk about it much unless I see something that reminds me of that ex. I'm just happy I'm able to talk openly about it to my fiancé.

Many years later in 2006, I worked at Ameristar Casino as a kitchen steward. I was 25. There was this coworker that knew how to sign well. I was impressed, of course, since a lot of people don't know sign. He started to say "you're pretty." Yah, I was flattered at the first time and said thank you. He knew I was engaged. He started to say you're pretty a lot and it made me uncomfortable. I said, no I'm not just to push him away. There were two other deaf coworkers that noticed he was really coming onto me. He said it was ok for him to flirt while he had a girlfriend. Weeks passed by, months passed by, he always flirted with me but I just nodded my head and kept my distance. One day, my supervisor KNEW something was wrong. Yep, I was sexually harassed by that guy. He felt me up and pressed his thingy (yeah, the P word) towards my hip. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. I ran away to the bathroom then my supervisor saw me standing in some hallway. There were witnesses that saw what happened. I had to fill a report out. I was shaking like crazy. I felt stupid filling it out. I then realized HE was the stupid one. He thought he could hit on a deaf girl because we had no voice or what? The company took a great care of me and fired him immediately. I was very sad it happened to me. I then saw him at Applebee's where he was working when I was with my fiancé. I was hiding my face because I didn't want him to spit in my food just because I got him fired. My fiancé took a good care of me, making sure I was ok. I don't know where he is now but I'm ok with that!!!

So, blah. Why do guys do this? Beats me. To make them feel like they're top of the world? Heck if I knew.

Ugly signing hands. All about Crossfit. Don't like? Don't read!

Toes to bar. Butterfly pull-ups attempts. Kipping pull-ups. Doing a muscle-up with Ricky's assistance and no, I didn't make it (the dip part), but it was a fun ride. Ha!

Yesterday, we had a WOD of four rounds for time doing this::

21 wall balls (20#/14#)
21 toes to bar

15 minutes cut off.

I a.l.m.o.s.t made it. By almost, I had just ONE freaking toes to bar left to finish it up before time was up. I did two but my toes didn't touch the bar - I was totally out of energy. 167 reps out of 168. Ugh! But I felt so accomplished because I finally understood how to do consecutive toes to bar without stopping. A rhythm, I think, is the word for it. Oh, my hands! Owie!

Today, we went to the group class at 9. Air squat ladder/shuttle run.

One air squat and one shuttle run
Two air squats and one shuttle run
Three air squats and one shuttle run
Continue till you're not able to finish those in a minute

I went up to 28 minutes and 23 squats. If I did the calculations correctly, I did 427 squats less than 30 minutes. I don't think I'll be able to get up tomorrow morning. I have a softball game tonight at 10:20. Uh-oh. Lol. Stretch stretch stretch just like Nancy Moore would! A guy and a lady made it to 35 minutes. Beasts!

After the group class, Dick and I thought we would stay for the open gym to improve our skills. We tried doing the butterfly pull-ups with a couple of other ladies. I don't think I did too bad for the first time. Till the very last one, I felt something sting a little on my hand so I took a look. Yikes. A blister. Ugly, but cool.

I think it's time to wear gloves. I will try my softball batting gloves out. Ha. I don't wanna, but I want my hands to look pretty for signing. :D

I'm still disliking overhead squats. I've learned some of mobility hip stretches or whatever you call it at Crossfit Vise. Boy, have I learned a lot there! Did this some kind of stretch for two minutes on each side and I could feel my hips being more flexible. My hips are so tight .. My knees just need to go way out then I'll be able to go lower. One sucky thing,my right knee doesn't want to cooperate at times. Grr. :P

I don't think I will be registering for the open this year. I still have a long way to go. Some suggest that I do so I'm able to compare my times next year. I am trying to encourage Dick to register. :)

Til then.

Random thoughts.

So I'm sitting here waiting for our volleyball game to begin...... Today was so nice outside even with clouds. Yesterday was just perfect with clear skies with sun shining. Ahh. I'm looking forward to spring so we can open our windows and smell the fresh air. Motorcycle rides. Softball. Sand volleyball. Grilling out. Going to the lakes. Crossfit - yea, I had to say that. ;)

I went to the doctor yesterday and he said it is a guarantee that my face will clear up in few weeks. I am looking forward to that!! I thought to myself, why the heck didn't I go see him years ago!? Better late than never. Funny.

Today, Dick and I had our LAST on ramp class and did this WOD of:

12-9-6-3 KB swings
Wall balls
4-3-2-1 Ring dips

I finished in 5:41, I think. As always, I should have pushed myself more. Especially with the ring dips. I went to the bench to do the dips instead of the rings. Just gonna keep practicing and I am closer than I was yesterday. After that class, we had our regular WOD class. We did 5-5-5 of press. I ended up doing 87.5# (5-5-3). If I did all 5-5-5, I would be able to add 5# for the next time, but I didn't make it so I have to stay with 87.5#. I don't think that's too bad because my 1 rep max was 88#. A proud moment for me. Yea! We also learned how to climb a rope. That was fun but jeez, my legs are bruised. Need to purchase some long socks. I have some softball socks but don't know where they are. Will probably make a trip out to Scheels to get some cute ones. Or better yet, order online.

Time for volleyball game. Flying hands, let's go!!

I'm back.

We lost our game, but we only had five. We did pretty good with five players .. The other team was kinda too good but had fun.

This really made me chuckle. Dick loves his iPhone so much that he talked with his mom on FaceTime while he was taking a bath. Good thing it has a life proof case so it wouldn't get wet. That's so cute. He also sent me a video message while he was taking a shower. I love that guy! Lol! :)

Starting August 1, Post Office will stop delivering mail on Saturdays. That doesn't bother me a bit. That means good business for FedEx!? Ha. Just joking. I wonder if it will make a huge impact on the workers? More lay offs? Or cut their hours even more. Hmm.

I'm addicted to Ruzzle. Add that app to your phone or iPad if you haven't yet! :)

I got Essie apricot cuticle oil. I wonder if it works well. I'm gonna apply to my nails after I publish this blog. On the back, it says 'my promise: smoother softer more supple cuticle; helps strengthen and nourish cuticles with moisture; refresh and revitalize instantly.' Hmmm. I love Essie nail polish. I have like four or five colors. I want more. Ha. I don't really do my nails often as I would like to.

I'm off now. Later.

Monday

I don't get why people hate Monday so much. For me, it doesn't bother me. I know it's the first day of the week, but gotta accept it, right? If Monday didn't exist, the other days wouldn't exist either. I love all of the days, but yea, I admit, my favorite is Saturday. Lol.

Yesterday I painted the office walls. It looks much better than what it was before. It looked like a boy's room filled with one red wall and three very light gray walls. I painted it all with this color called pier. It makes me feel like I'm out at the sea during the night. Dick said he would paint the edges or whatever they're called today but he hasn't yet. I bet he will do it next week or two. Lol. Or I'll eventually do it. Men. Ha.

This morning we had our fifth on ramp class, yeah, we had to do those again at Vise even though we went through that at Hydro, but that's ok. After on ramp class was over, we decided to do a WOD.

---- Four rounds, each for max rep burpees ----

Row 300 meters
10 deadlifts 155/105#
Max rep burpees (over bar)

3 minutes per round, 3 minutes rest in between.

Yep, I'm with Dawn. I effing hate burpees. After the WOD was over, my legs were on fire. Owwwwwww! But I felt so amazing!

My results: 13-12-12-11 with a total of 48 burpees. Need to push myself harder. I always tell myself that after almost every WOD. Ha. Be patient and I will succeed.

Hmm. Egg and ham bake or chicken for dinner? I asked Dick and he wants egg bake so we can have some left overs before we go to work tomorrow at 3am.

WOD and Paleo desserts

This morning, Dick and I went to Crossfit Vise for our very first WOD. It was tough, lol, but I looooooove it. I'll have to admit, I miss Crossfit Hydro. That 'box' we started at will always be a part of our lives so we are thankful to learn all about what crossfit is about. Anyway, life goes on, right? :) We enjoy having Ricky as our coach. Different, but everyone is different which I like.

Our WOD today was:
10 hang squat cleans 185/125#
15 burpees
20 walking lunges 60/45#
30 pullups
60 box jumps 20"
100 double unders
60 box jumps
30 pullups
20 walking lunges
15 burpees
10 hang squat cleans

25 minutes cut off

I didn't finish. I did all of the reps up till the 2nd part of box jumps (40) and had to reduce my pullups to 12 since my hands were getting a little bit torn up. I didn't want ending up with really ugly crossfit hands. Lol. I had 14 burpees and hang squat cleans left to finish it. Of course, I had to scale the weight of hang squat cleans and walking lunges. My legs are out of order right now. You see, that's why I'm thankful to have learned a lot at Hydro - I'm able to do kipping pullups since I've been getting a lot better with those. Yay. That goes for double unders, too. My legs are so sore. Hi, foam roller. ;)

I made paleo brownies today. I tried a different recipe and it tastes a lot better! Yum. Even Dick likes it so that's a huge plus. I will include a pic of it and include a recipe as well. FYI, I didn't add walnuts to it since I only had almonds. Dick wanted nut free brownies. ;)

I also had some "protein" shake which had 10oz of almond milk, half banana, frozen strawberries and a scoop of chocolate protein powder. I got a comment from Melissa and she was wondering why I drink it. It has higher nutritional value. Lower calories. Trying to cut down on dairy. Has more calcium than cow milk.

Some of the quotes I put in our 'Crossfit WODs' journal::

"I may not be there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday."
"When life knocks you down ...... DO A BURPEE!!!!!"

Yep. Mount Zits.

Okay, this post is gonna be different, may gross some people out, but I don't care. It's my blog.

For a quite some time, I've been getting adult acne. I think it's gross and icky. I know there are a lot of worse things out there such as cancer, horrible diseases. Acne has definitely made my self esteem go a little bit lower. I stress over having acne which probably makes my face break out even more. I thought teenagers were supposed to get them and grow out of it. Apparently, adult acne is more common than we all think. So finally I called the dermatologist office and booked an appointment on Tuesday. Jamie, will you be interpreting for me!? Ha!

So in the past, I thought going to tanning salons kind of made my acne go away. I think it worked well but skin cancer vs acne. I pick stupid acne. I even tried ProActiv or whatever it's called. It worked at first, then my acne started appearing again. I cut a lot back on dairy. I drink more water than ever. I used gentle cleanser since other stuff were so harsh on my skin and made it super dry. What? Any home remedies!? Ha.

So, I'm kinda hoping the dermatologist will do something for my face. I'm assuming oral prescription medicines. I don't want a damn cream because it WILL NOT work!

Hopefully, 2013 is the year I say good bye to Mt. Zits. I admit, I sometimes name my zits just to be humorous. Laugh and move on but it's getting o.l.d.

:)

Overhead squats. Snatch squats.

I think overhead and snatch squats are so hard to be successful at. One thing I can do is:: practice. I read some tips online how to improve. Yep. Practice.

Today at Hydro, we are gonna do this:

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Burpees
Kettlebell swings 35/53

Then immediately do double unders

12 minute cut off.

Hoping I'm able to do double unders without too many problems.

Today's temperature is COLD. It feels like -15 with the wind chill. Ew. Like my neighbor, Jason, was saying the other day - not looking forward to MUD (gas&water) bill. And another thing they put a rate increase in electricity bill. Nice. Oh well.

Later people.

Update: double unders - fail. Did 100 singles instead. Finished in 9:12.

Pic of Dawn and I. I heart her shirt. Hehe.

Diet Coke and Donuts Freak

^^ NOT ANYMORE! ^^

Diet Coke. Diet Coke. I used to drink Diet Coke just like it was "water."  Every day on my way to work, I had a can of Diet Coke. At work, they have Diet Coke which I often buy for $1.25.  After work is done, I go home and have a Diet Coke before taking a nap.  After waking up, I have another Diet Coke.  Get the hint that I was HOOKED to Diet Coke?  I even got a Diet Coke t-shirt for Christmas.  That is really funny because after Christmas in 2012, I decided I needed to stop drinking Diet Coke and drink a lot of water instead. In the month of January, I have had only 2 bottles of Diet Coke and I shared them with Dick.  A huge change, but for good reasons. I noticed that whenever I drink Diet Coke, I always end up hungry and wanting to eat more.

For a long time, I knew diet sodas aren't good for you...... Empty calories.  Aspartame.  Risk of heart disease.  Causes headaches.  Caffeinated.  Risk of obesity.  And many more.  Why was I poisoning myself when I get one chance in life!? :P So, from now on, I will just drink one or two Diet Coke cans/bottles a month which is better than 6+ a day.  Crazy.

Diet Coke with bacon?? I love bacon, but I don't think I would want to drink bacon flavored Diet Coke.

Donuts.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE Hy-Vee and Casey's donuts.  In the past maybe 5 years, Dick and I would go to Hy-Vee or Casey's to get some donuts about 2-3 times a week after work.  Yep, that much.  I love the taste of their donuts, but I hated how I felt afterwards.  That terrible bloating feeling. Yuck.  Again, after Christmas in 2012, I decided NO more donuts.  They're gross.  I just need to remind myself they're gross and not worth in my life (even though I miss them .. the sweetness taste). Looking at the donuts pictures below (especially the Hy-Vee ones) sure make me hungry for one, but I'm proud of myself for not having one for about a month since my dad got the family Daylight Donuts during Christmas.  I can't eat just one - gotta have two or three.  Blechhhh.  These days, I make an egg sandwich with wheat english muffin or have an oatmeal.

Hy-Vee Donuts

Casey's Donuts

 Willpower.  Yep.  That's all there is to it.

Til then.

What's it like to be deaf in my words?

This is how I feel .. Some other deaf people and I may have different perspectives so don't think we are all the same. :)

I'm watching a tv show that looks interesting. It doesn't have captions.

I need to get my fiancé's attention and he's nowhere to be found. I have to look in each room to look for him so I can ask or tell him something simple.

There's a severe thunderstorm going on during the night. I'm tired. I went to bed hoping Dick and I won't be flown away to a different state due to a tornado.

I go up to a cashier at McDonald's asking for paper and pen to write the order down. He or she tends to misunderstand what I was trying to 'say.' Getting a little fed up, I had to move my lips slowly P-a-p-e-r p-e-n. One time I had my purse with me and I usually bring pen with me but I don't use it because I'm selfish. :) One stupid lady got all pissed at me and pointed at my purse saying 'you have one!' I just stood there waiting for a pen for a long time. too bad. Really, they should be able to provide what I need. Paper and pen can be found pretty much everywhere, right?

Every time I go into a store, especially the mall ones, the employees ALWAYS ask 'May I help you with anything?' Or 'is there anything specific you were looking for?' Or whatever they ask. I always sign I'm deaf or give a gesture out saying I'm ok. Know what their responses usually are? Oh I'm sorry. I hate pity. Why are they sorry? Embarrassed they talked to me? Sorry I'm deaf? I dont know. Well, I'm sorry you're hearing.

Dick and I enjoy going to places together. People go up to us telling us stuff. No eye contact. So I had to wave to get their attention to let them know we are deaf. They look at Dick and started to talk to him. He said I'm deaf too. They just looked and walked away.

What is the radio for? I never use it in my car.

I can feel the music. I can dance, but I'm shy. Maybe after 10, 11 cans or bottles of beer, I'll dance the night away. Ha.

Dick and I go to Crossfit. We miss a lot of information but do we complain? No. A discount would be nice because we don't get 100% of what the coaches are saying. Ha ha. Just kidding. No pity allowed. I think we pretty much get 20%, more or less, of what the coaches are saying.

Everyday at work, there's a safety meeting or whatever it is called at the beginning before we all go to work. Do we get all of the information of what is being said? No. Having an interpreter would be nice but silly since the meeting usually lasts for about 5-10 minutes. At least, our boss knows a little bit of sign and he always print paperwork out summarizing what will be talked about at the mini meeting, but still, that's not the same.

Softball. I love softball. It's my passion. I tend to play with hearing players because of the competition. I really hate when I'm feeling left out. I go home and cry once in awhile. Not cry, but feeling disappointed, mainly. I never know what the score is. I always have to ask what's the score and that's getting old. People always laugh and I'm like, what are you laughing about? What are you talking about? I just don't let it bother me till I go home and talk to Dick about it. I then realize I'm thankful to have the skills I have because I'm sure there are people out there that think deaf people can't do it.

I drive my own motorcycle. Some say, how did you get a motorcycle license? Um. Really? I can read. I can see. I "hear" with my eyes.

I drive a stick shift. How? Practice. I'm used to it. I learned from my dad when I was 11.

Going to a movie theatre is tough. We have to use this rear whateveritscalled caption view. It's better than nothing, I guess. I'm sure people giggle at us and wonder what that is for. Duh, we are deaf and need to understand the movie better. We mostly rent movies or watch on Netflix which is easier.

Ok, that's all for now. There are so many obstacles/barriers out there but we just stay strong. Attitude is everything. Being positive helps. It is what it is.

Nutrition

www.balancedbites.com/GUIDE/BalancedBitesNutritionGuide.pdf (copy and paste, obviously)

Here's a good website you can take a quick look at and it pretty much explains what you should have on your plate. I don't follow 100% but I've been getting better. A lot better than what I was at this time of last year.

Every woman should know how to clean and no, I'm not talking about cleaning homes. Crossfit term.

Animals, plants and water are what you should be putting in your mouth.

Small weight loss. Inches down.

Sometimes I don't like the scale. The number means nothing. So that's why it is very important to measure yourselves. I lost about 2.5 inches in my waist area since I've started crossfit. Dick and I have been eating a lot at home. We were so bad with eating out last year. It has all to do with our laziness. Don't feel like cooking. You don't know what restaurants put in their food - seasonings, dressings, all that extra calories so screw it .. Eating at home is the best way to keep healthy, in my opinion. The dishwasher is really busy these days. Ha!!! Oh, yea, a lot of things is being recycled - milk jugs, almond milk carton, so many things. I hope you recycle. A little bit of recycling or a recycle freak. Either works for me. Better than nothing!

Here's a silly pic of me with my jeans. Still kind of tight in the thigh area, but that doesn't bother me. I used to use the 2nd hole in my belt. Now I use the 3rd hole. Call me weird, but that little thing makes me happy.

I used to weigh 156 when I first started crossfit back in November. I'm at 149 now.

Today's WOD

Since Dick and I were not able to go to Crossfit Hydro, we looked a few WODs up online. We decided to go to Blue Moon and do dumbbell thrusters along with 5 burpees at every minute. Dick grabbed 35# for each hand and I grabbed 25#. That was a tough one. I kept going and had to do 3 burpees for the last 3 rounds. Our goal was to get 50 thrusters. Dick couldn't finish it (the burpees) so he stopped doing those and did thrusters instead to reach 50. I did it and ended up with 13:38 on the clock. We were going to do 100. Forget it. Maybe next time.  We went to Dick's to get an AB roller. We did a few of these and we were too pooped. Ha. I also got softball shoes, well, lacrosse to be specific, for softball season coming up. I've realized I didn't like the turf shoes. Hard to run fast in those. They're still nice, but just not my type. Originally $64.99, bought them for $8.75. Super awesome deal!!! Awesomeness.

Till then.

Last Sunday on the 20th, I got my very first experience competing in the team crossfit games.  Now, that was something NEW to me.  Boy, was I nervous!  If it was a softball tournament, it wouldn't be a huge deal since softball is my thing.  Crossfit isn't.  Dan (one of my teammates) asked if I would be interested .. I looked at some of their requirements such as swim 50M, lift from ground to overhead, kettlebell swings, double unders, some more I can't remember.  I didn't exactly want to join at the beginning because of the swimming part.  Just because I was worried of what I would look like in a swim suit. Ha! Definitely self-conscious, lol.  So I got over it quickly and told Dan, yes, I would gladly participate.  It was a fun experience. I got to ride on Stephanie's back for about 100M, do burpees, box jumps, 35# kettlebell swings (9-15-21 reps), got a personal record of 115# power clean and push press, toes to bar, swim with a 35# KB underwater, squats, etc.  So if you ever feel too comfortable in your life, GET OUT.  I got out and did Crossfit.  I was SO hard on myself than I thought, and doing Crossfit has helped me a lot and be proud of what I've accomplished so far.  At the beginning, I admit, I wanted to be as strong as a lot of people at the box.  I came to a realization that I am a beginner and I will build my strength. I did look at others' weight and was in envy of others that they can lift so much while I couldn't.  I've came a long way (3 months of Crossfit, I think) .. I remember I couldn't clean and jerk 65 pounds.  Now I am able to do 115#.  Awesome.  Super proud.  I did bench press 115#.  Something I have never done in the past.  There are A LOT of things I need to work on, but that's okay.  I love Crossfit no matter what.  Few of my goals: get a RX'd workout, do a pistol, do a headstand push-ups, do better with kipping pull-ups, get a muscle-up (a way later goal, ha).  I had 14 double unders in a row.  That was huge for me.

I have a couple of pictures, but I'm too lazy to upload them to my computer.  They're on my iPad, though.

My team:  Dan, Steph, Ross and myself.  CROSSFIT HYDRO CRAZED!!

So, on February 3rd, it will be Dick's and my last day of Crossfit at Crossfit Hydro.  We will be going to another box which is located Council Bluffs called Crossfit Vise.  The main reason is because they will provide a class at 9:30am which would be perfect since we work really early hours in the morning, usually get off at 7-7:30am .. They also had a super awesome deal.  We also liked the space.  Looking forward to classes .. We are doing on-ramp classes again, but that's ok.  As long as we are learning so much. We were super sad to announce to the Crossfit Hydro community but we had to do what was the best for us.

TMI, I gotta poop.