Vegmom Moments

The Stripes

So the Vegkid started Taekwondo this week.  He doesn't have his white wardrobe yet, so when he got stripes they couldn't put them on the belt.

The lady stuck the tape to his shirt, but see, this child doesn't like things stuck to his shirt.  Instead, he ran out all proud of his stripes but wanting me to hold them.  Well I'm proud for him, but not going to hold his stripes all weekend until he gets a belt.

I mean call me a horrible Mom, but I have things to do after-all.  So the stripes went on my green tea starbucks cup.  And there they sat until I could take a picture of them

 

Because it isn't every day that your child has a Taekwondo striped tea cup.  Or maybe that is just me that has never seen one before.

Spring Break 2013

Can I just say that this was THE Best Spring Break of all Vegkid history.... 

Oh my KALE it was so awesome.  Our school closes for two weeks, so every year I have to figure something out for two weeks.   Some times we had to send him to camps.  Sometimes I worked from home all hours of the night to make up for a Spring Break activity during the day.  In some cases, I took a week off, only to be bombarded with extra hours when I return the second week.  I have had wonderful friends help out, family visit or Hubby at home.  Thankfully when all else failed, I was able to work from home and we made it work.  But no matter the scenario, I was running around from morning till night.  

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining.  I loved my life then and love it now.  My job then was an amazing opportunity that I can't possibly regret.  But restful was certainly not a word that could describe Spring Break.

But this year... Yes, THIS year was different!  We went to Florida for a couple days that first weekend. Perfect weather there and perfect weather when we got home.  

Once home, we had NO kid activities planned.  Except a Karate class... But then Vegkid got sick the day of the Karate class so we had to cancel.  

Him being sick meant we didn't go on any adventures and were homebound for a few days.  While it was sad to see him not feeling well, he recovered quickly and just wanted to be a homebound cuddle bug.  It was perfect.  I'm positive he grew a couple inches in the process and spent a ton of time hanging out with Legos, movies, books and yes even video games.  

I still made it to the gym most days and was hugely productive at home and with the business since we didn't have anywhere else to be.  I just plowed through things at my own pace. But sleep was a definite luxury.  One day, I slept until 9:30 Really NINE THIRTY!

OK, so I didn't do NOTHING while he was on Spring Break, but it was so productive and yet so restful. Not a bit of stress!  He even said to me that this was the best Spring Break EVER.   

He said "Mom, I love all of our adventures but sometimes it is nice to just stay home"

Why yes, yes it is!!!

 

When Legos Throw up

This is what happens when the lego boxes (and toys sitting on top of them) throw up:

 

This is what happens when they all get put away:

I like the second picture, WAYYYYYY better, Just sayin!

Garden at Legoland

Loved the green house in Legoland!

The lego farm stand was Adorable:

Even lego butterflies were fluttering about:

Compost

Aftermath of an hour in the kitchen!

Eating with a Group

One thing I miss about my old job is the funny stories that came from eating with business comrades while traveling.

Every new group brought it's own story.  Probably my favorite being the time I sat near people with lobster and the flesh ended up all in my hair.  Meaty and fishy "starters" always ended up in front of me and the conversation ALWAYS turned to some sort of dead critter.

There could be 100 people in a room, and I would end up sitting with those that had a conversation about dead animals.  EVERY SINGLE TIME!

So yesterday when I went out with my Hubs for a lunch with a group from his church, I had to laugh when the conversation at my end of the table turned to dead critters.  And I'm not just talking about what they were eating.  NOPE!!  

I'm talking about shooting groundhogs, chopping heads off of chickens to see what their bodies do, and I won't share the deer, goat or other details.  

Note to self, when living in Tennessee, don't ask someone about their garden... it may or may not lead to talks about tomatoes!

Food Contest

Our CrossFit coach gave us a challenge within the challenge.  To see if we could plan our meals for a week, shop, make them and take pictures.  We were tasked with sharing the pictures and presentation creativity was on the list.

Well it was a Food Prep Sunday of the greatest proportions.  I had so much fun prepping food that day.   Then when I posted my variety of presentations, another coach chimed in and said that I was missing the handstand.

So I did that too!  

Turned out, I won the challenge!  BUT our coach didn't just have our team vote, nope, he hung all our pictures up in the Gym so everyone could vote.  My Completely Veg picture page was hung closest to the ceiling.  FOR REAL... the coach is 6'4 and I know it wasn't intentional but his arm reach put my page over the door jam and near the ceiling. 

I was pretty sure no one would be able to see the small photos, and wrote it off as a super fun challenge.  We had food all week and I didn't have to cook or go out to eat a single time.  It was sooo nice.  And a reminder to do that more often.

Each day however, my pictures kept getting more votes until I took the prize along with 2 other people.  We won a personal training session with our coach to learn any CF skill we want.  The best part of all this was the Veg awareness.  As the only Veg in our box, amongst all Paleo meat eaters, there is a lot of curiosity about what I eat.  Since that challenge, I get way less questions.  Except people asking for recipes. *smile*

I also created some new recipes as I decided to change it up and try new things.  Everything from stuffed acorn squash, to apple, jicama and pecan salads.   Lots of spaghetti squash, kale soup, kelp noodles, cauliflower rice, fajita veggies, salads, salads and more salads.

Because of the challenge rules, there are no grains in any of these dishes.  

Every day, I just came home and grabbed something, it was the best food week!   Even if I didn't win the contest, I would have won it as a personal challenge on so many levels!

Was really a reminder to just be ME... and I share that for you all to just be YOU!

Own your weird and your differences.  You never know when someone might learn something!

 

 

Growing an Avocado

Our Spring Break science experiment!

Can we grow a plant from an avocado seed?  That is the question!

So far we have a creepy looking root....  Will we get a sprout???

The root got so long we had to change glasses and that seed drinks a WHOLE lot of water.  I pretty much have to add or change water everyday.   

Has been fun to watch though.  We'll have to see if we get a sprout and then figure out what to do with it.  From what I have read, it won't ever bring fruit, but can make a really nice indoor plant.  

We shall see!

 

Running Skirts

Remember when I bought my first running skir?.  Hubby teased me and my mother took pictures.  It was an Xtra Large.

When I stopped running long distance and started working out at CrossFit my body started changing in crazy ways.  A couple weeks ago I used a gift certificate to get me another running skirt.  It is an Xtra Small.

Hubby still teases me, and my mother probably still wants a picture, but I like that it covers what needs to be covered.... 

Here is the size difference:

Crazy large basil

Yes I found Basil growing at Legoland and it was taller than me!

Poor Neglected Blog

Oh Dear Blog, I have neglected you so!

What an interesting month March has been!!!

Here is the excitement in two paragraphs or less:

We are looking at new schools for the Vegkid, went to a fun science expo, hit up Clearwater Beach and Legoland, finished the "I am CrossFit" challenge.  I discovered that a size 4 pants is within reach (never ever imagined that) cleaned out all my clothes for donation, won a food contest, submitted pictures to a photo contest, applied for several coaching jobs, put in a ton of proposals, confirmed several speaking engagements, increased my fitness level by a ton, taught other people how to cook and prepare food, and got called for some consulting work.

I've enjoyed coaching some of the best clients on the planet, watching major changes take place in their lives.  Had my first article post on MindBodyGreen, was featured with a Health Coach Association, and a guest blogger on several sites.  I've finshed the first 4 Modules of a business extended learning program and passed my first test.  Am preparing for the Falling in Happy birthday, ran a 5k (actually ran the whole thing with no training), built a website for a coaching friend, signed Veg up for karate,  finished some serious filing and taxes, made several holiday cards, joined my first virtual CrossFit competition, began looking at summer kid plans while enjoying an extended spring break, and in the process of planning huge business projects that I can't wait to announce.  

Other than that, life is normal... Nothing new!

I'll start posting random photos as the fun continues.

Did I mention... LIFE is GOOD!!!   HAPPY SPRING everyone!!!

Lego Room

This is what happens when I hand the hubs a box of legos and say "make something related to VegKid's Birthday"...

This is what happens when I put it on the dresser with punching balloons and a little hand made card:

And this is what happens when I decide to make a Mini-Lego Land with just about every Lego ever built in our house (and some Knex roller coasters):

Ps.  That is just one corner of the room.  You should have seen the rest of it!  

And of course there was the wall of banners, Cards from Grand Parents, His Personalized ticket to get in to the REAL Lego land and a map of the park to finish out this lego themed birthday room.

After 10 Years, we are still decorating at night time while he sleeps and after 10 years, he still sleeps right through it.  

Not sure how much longer we will be able to sneak in and decorate nor if he will want it much longer as he turns in to such a grown up, but for now it works.   He said "Mom this was the best one ever, but I hope you don't expect me to clean up that mess"

Ha!!  Nope, I will clean up the mess.  

Still can't believe he is TEN!   Goodness!!!

 

The Hunger Monster and a Challenge

Most days I eat what I consider a normal amount of food.  A lot to some, less to others but normal for me.

Today, however I'm feeling super duper duper hungry like nothing can satisfy my hunger monster.  I'm relating this to one of two things.  A crazy intense workout this morning, or PMS.   Well I'm going to pretend it was the workout.  

One of those partner workouts where each team of two had to complete 100 reps of 6 different exercises.  Throw in 35 burpees, a crazy warm-up and handstands after the workout... lets just say I'm HUNGRY!!  

So, I have consumed a giant smoothie (and when I say giant, I mean like 32oz), 3 salads (yes I said THREE), almonds, avocados, macadamia nuts, coconut, Fajita veggies and beans and I'm STILL HUNGRY. 

I've guzzled, 60oz of water already and it is only 6:15pm.  Guess what?  I'm STILL THIRSTY...

On that note I shall show you a peak in my fridge this past week:

Our coach had us prep a week worth of meals and take pictures.  They are being judged for "most prepared" and will see next week who wins the contest.

Even if I don't win the contest, I won in my house.  By not having to prepare a single meal for an entire week.  It was SOOOOooooo nice!

As for the bigger challenge, it is going well.  I'm working out at least 5 days a week and constantly improving, gaining skill, adding weight to the bar while losing weight and inches on the bod.

But the best part is making new friends and having people question my eating.  The more they question, the more I get to share.  It has been absolutely wonderful.

Speaking of food... think I'm going to eat more... did I mention I was HUNGRY!!

Valentine BookMarks

Think this was the easiest Valentine's craft of all time...

We took two pieces of paper outside on the driveway... colored and colored with texture from the asphalt... brought them in, cut, stamped, laminated, punched and tied... Voila!

23 Bookmarks ready for classmates and teachers.... 

Hope your Valentine's Day was simple and filled with love too!

 

Ah The Wedding Memories

No, not my wedding.... the one we went to last week.  

My crafty cousin did NOT disappoint.  From the moment we walked in to the hotel there were goodies waiting for us:

Her Super Bowl themed wedding was so much fun, the hotel was perfect (even traded out my pillows for non-down with out any hassle), staff was amazing, food on all fronts were taken in to consideration..  Even veggie goodness at every corner.

The Mall attached to the hotel offered the biggest and best salads ever (along with some coffee and chocolate, shhhh!)

It also offered me a new outfit to wear since I could no longer fit in my pants.  Yup, dropped another pant size and had to go shopping.  Not only did I wear a shirt that I would never ever ever wear in a million years, but I had a necklace on and a belt even.

While I was shrinking, my sweet Veg boy is growing and required his own new pants.  Note to self... if ever traveling for an event, make sure a mall is always attached to hotel.  Talk about PERFECT!!!

A fun extra that went along with this trip was the Snow.  Because we didn't have to leave the hotel for a few days, it felt like we were inside a snow globe.  Even the youngest generation was enjoying the view:

Speaking of the youngest generation, this was the first time that some of the cousins met, and man did they have a good time.  Swimming, video gaming, chatting... but their favorite part was during my crafty cousin's reception.  Each table was full of mini footballs of which the children made their own.  Soon the hallway was full of mini footballs and children running EVERYWHERE!!  I may or may not have witnessed several adults coming out to join in the fun.  I'm talking 100's of footballs.

The kids stayed up late, the adults got to visit, seeing relatives that I haven't seen in over 30yrs. It was an absolute blast.

Once back at my Moms the snow kept falling, to the point my little Mini couldn't exit the driveway...  If her husband didn't help us get out, I would have thought it was a conspiracy to make us stay a little longer....

Vegkid had some shoveling fun too:

As for the drive?  Well we hit some scary spots on our way up with a whole lot of Snow Squalls.  In fact we found out afterward, there was a 40 car pile up in Michigan.  Thankfully, we missed it, but was sad to hear of those that didn't.  

Have to give HUGE kudos out to Ohio's road crew.  OH MY KALE... they were on top of every snow squall, with their lights flashing as a beacon, plows and salt clearing the way for little mini drivers like me.  It was amazing how hard they worked.

On our way back the roads were completely clear, weather perfect, snowy views were so beautiful and we arrived home to 65 Degree temps.  

A trip with so many family memories. Vegkid laughed so hard and for so long that his cheeks hurt and his belly was sore.  In fact when I asked vegkid what he thought of my family he said "They are all crazy"....

Yes... yes we are!  *smile*

 

Weddings...

Just FYI, won't be posting here for a few days while I head out to a wedding...  but as I reminisce, I'll post this:

I have only been to 7 weddings my whole life (that I remember)...

One was an older cousin....  I was a young tot at the time but I remember having to dress up and couldn't stand it.

Two was my own... a pair of jean shorts and pink t-shirt is all I had to wear at that one

Three and four were Navy friends... A pair of jeans and sweater was perfect at each.

Five was my step sister's...  I had to wear a dress... Not Happy!!

Six was my brother's wedding... This one on a ski slope and ski gear was as fancy as it got!

Seven was my bestest friend...  SHE MADE ME WEAR A DRESS!!!  While pregnant... NOT NICE!

So if you were keeping track... Shorts, Jeans and Ski Gear make for awesome wedding attire.  But Dresses, not so much.  I mean really.. what does it matter the type of clothes I wear in the grand scheme of a wedding?  Why do they have to be fancy at all?  Me wearing jeans is not going to make or break a marriage and me wearing a dress is not going to guarantee marital bliss.  

In fact most couples don't even remember the event because they are too busy, too nervous or too tipsy to pay attention to who is wearing what.  Which leads me down a whole other rant about spending so much money on a wedding you may or may not remember.... oh never-mind...

NOW # EIGHT is upon us.., will be my younger cousin's wedding!  The dress is "Dressy Casual"... They will be playng the SUPER BOWL at the wedding, so we don't have to dress fancy, but jeans are not an option.

Soooo, I have to dress up casually... which is kind of confusing...  Me and dressing up, don't go so well together, but casual, I CAN DO!  As for the whole wedding thing itself, my younger cousin is also a crafty cousin and has already proven how fun and creative she is making this event.

Which means, I may just have a really good time,  even if it is a wedding and even if I have to dress nice *smile*  I'll be seeing some family that I haven't laid eyes on in 30yrs.

Should be a ton of fun to see everyone and I'm sure there will be stories to post upon my return!!

Have a great weekend!!

 

 

 

Officially Graduated

2012 was an amazing year!   It will forever be known as the year I found my HAPPY!!!  

So many new things happened including my changing careers and finishing up a school program.  

While I've had my certifications for a little while, I just recently received the fancy golden sealed version in the mail.  I feel so good about where I am personally, physically, & emotionally... Now it is time to kick this business idea of mine in gear.

2013 is the year that something big will happen on that front.  I just haven't found it yet!   But then I think about all the people I have touched in such a short time frame, those with positive feedback, positive results and testimonials and it makes me think that I've already done something BIG.  Changes in one person's life is super BIG to them, right?

However, trying to start a business is not all roses and butterflies... Sometimes it starts with the Caterpillar.

What I didn't expect was how fast some family, friends, and acquaintances would become such negative nellies.  Sometimes it gets a little frustrating to be lacking support and watching people turn their back on you just because you won't join the status quo and/or you got out of the "corporate world".   

Well here is the deal!  I've spent way too much time proving myself to others, and now it is time I prove myself to NO ONE but me!   I may fail, I may have to get a "Real Job" as everyone keeps calling it but for the time being, I push ahead and continue to reach as many people as possible with my mission of health and happiness. 

When I gave a workshop recently to find the audience in tears, laughter, hugs, and positive outcomes, I knew that this is what I'm supposed to be doing.   I left that day saying "THIS IS IT".....

I'm now listed as Alumni of The Institute for Integrative Nutrition, I have my name in the National Health Coach Directory, am a member of two Interntaional Health Coach Associations and Monday kicked off my extended learning program because you can never stop learning. 

Still on the journey, but this is what I'm supposed to be doing, at the exact time that I'm doing it!!!

ACT AS IF!!

Estimates and Actuals

My young lad thinks in actuals.  If something isn't logical than it must not exist.  Which can sometimes be challenging as a parent to explain the unknowns, maybes, and what ifs in life.  

Many times I'll hear:

"Mom, was that sarcasm"

<Yes, yes it was>

Or we have to explain that something was a joke or "someone didn't really bite their foot off", it is just a figure of speech. 

The other day when I said something to the effect of "Some adults just have a lot on their plate"

He went on to explain that we should do our dishes faster because he had nothing left on his plate....

In all honesty, I love that these things make him who he is.  Sometimes even worthy of a chuckle.  But when a teacher asked him to think in Estimates, well....  That didn't go so well.

In fact we had an all out Drama moment.  As in HUGE world caving in kind of drama...

Apparently estimating doesn't mean, figuring it out in your head and putting down the correct answer.  So when he got all the answers right, but the assignment wrong because they were right....

YEAH, try to explain THAT????  Heck, I confused myself trying to explain it....

Thankfully he went back to school and had a nice sit down chat with his teacher, and thankfully he has teachers that will have a nice sit down chat.

These are the times I wish they came with manuals!

Ice Day and Some Soap

We had rain and snow, why not some ice to make it a trifecta!  *smile*

Thankfully we got to spend the day at home and it was so beautiful!

 

Even the Kale was pretty:

What is one to do when the homestead is covered in ice???   Go outside and skate of course.  Croc style!

Then carve some soap... because really what else is there to do?

A friend gave us this whittling idea and the males had quite a bit of fun.

And crafties... We got out the crafties... This guy is my favorite:

Turned in to a pretty awesome day.  I didn't get as much work done as I would like but it was worth it!

 

Some Serious Green

I'm back to juicing as time allows, since my workouts have become so intense.  The juice is not only nutritious and energy inducing but anti-inflammatory too.   Packing a power punch of goodness.

Anyway, not sure why, but I just LOVED the color of this one!

Sick Dog, Well Dog

When we found our Spunk dog he was in a ditch, very sick, broken rib, no fur, infections, pads on feet burned from the asphalt, swelling, eyes swollen shut, etc.... But his little tail would wag and he ran around like a loony bird as if nothing was wrong.   My neighbor named him Spunky and planned to keep him.

Well we ended up keeping him and the name kind of stuck.  No matter how sick he got and all the battles we went through to save him, that tail still wagged in a circular silly motion.

That little dog and I made a pact back then... The day his tail stopped wagging, we would know it was time for him to move on.   Well 13+ years later.... I let him outside to go potty, everything was normal that morning, until he didn't come in.  I went to check on him and he wasn't moving.

I laid him on his bed... His tail no longer wagging... and his legs no longer working, he and I had a talk... We decided it was time to say goodbye.  His labored breathing, uncontrolled bottom business, white tongue, dry nose, pink hot to touch body, and inability to move his legs... 

Vegkid came over to talk to him and we both had funny memories, we looked at pictures we talked and cuddled and loved on our bestest furry friend, it was to be a peaceful goodbye... 

And then he started shaking, breathing hard, making horrible painful noises.  We wrapped our Spunk dog in a blanket and took him in to the emergency room on a Sunday planning to not bring him home.   6hrs later, fluids, some tummy meds, xrays and a whole lot of money, they sent us home with a dog that wasn't moving, had horrible vitals and nothing concrete wrong.   Meaning they couldn't DIAGNOSE anything..  Except maybe a mass pushing on his organs.

Fine then... I thought, now what??  New plan was to watch and wait, keep him comfortable... I gave him some homepathic remedies, tummy meds, natural canned food stuff in teaspoon intervals and dripped water in to his mouth... We planned to just keep him from pain until we could get him to our Vet.   I was pretty positive he wasn't going to make it through the night, so I stayed with him until morning.

The next day he Pooped what seemed like a piece of sock, or a snake.. not sure which but I'm going with sock....  And the tail started wagging, his legs started moving, and his fever went away.  He ate/drank and become whole again.

I'm pretty sure we are on his 10th life if cats have 9...

A couple days after that. I found him IN THE CUPBOARD looking for his food.

Doggy Diaper and all...

Silly Silly Spunk Dog!!!

 

 

This Handstand Thing

Never in my life have I been able to do a handstand.  Never in my life have I wanted to do a handstand....

In fact I would look at people doing handstands and think, "WHY?"  If we were meant to hang out upside down, our feet would be on our heads! 

Then I started CrossFit.  There is this thing we have to do called Handstand Push-ups.  Yes, that is what it sounds like.  You get yourself in to a handstand against a wall, and then go up and down with your hands to make push ups... CRAZY right???

Well, here is the deal.. if you can't do handstand push-ups, then you have to do WALL-WALKS... which means you walk up the wall with your feet while your hands stay on the ground and push you closer to the wall.  This is a difficult task...  I would do these wall walks, half kiltered because well, walking upside down is not really my strongest ability.   And all the while watching these skinny whinnies, just go "FLIP" up against the wall.  I walk for a long time, they just FLIP...  

One day, I had it in my head that I have to learn that flippy thing.  I HAVE TO GET A HANDSTAND!!   But I couldn't get myself to do it.  Something about the thought of my head crashing in to the wall and then landing and crushing my neck kept deterring me from trying.  Not sure why.. but you know, it could happen!

I really really really wanted a handstand though.  So I put it down as one of my goals for the CF challenge that I started the weekend before last..  My plan was to have a Handstand push-up in 8 weeks.   But I couldn't even get a handstand!

So a lady stayed after class and gave me some pointers... I practiced, and practiced and practiced... Then I came home and practiced some more, each day!!

 

Oooooh Almost!

Ahhh, here is the start of a very funny fall...

And then:

I got one..  Again:

And AGAIN:

Now that I had a Handstand, I was told by my coach to practice the hold.   By the end of 8 weeks I should be able to hold it for ONE MINUTE.... well each day I held it for 15, then 20, then 40 seconds, and by the end of the week, I was up to holding for one minute AND could do 4 handstand push-ups without a mat under my head.

Being only a week in to the challenge, I had to set some new goals.  Coach now wants me to hold a handstand for 2 minutes.. you do this by building up strength with 45 second intervals several times a day.

He also has me doing "Negative hand stand push-ups" which means, I get up on the wall and come down as slow as possible with out falling until my head taps a mat.  Well you start with three mats and remove them as your able.  

Thing is, I have short arms, so I got down to one mat real quick.   These pictures are me at home with no mat.. just my crazy hair!  I have discovered there is a benefit to having short arms when doing handstand push-ups though, you don't have as far to go before you hit the ground.  (and I don't mean that in a neck crushing kind of way)

Continuing to build my arm strength will get me to my June Pull-Up goal which is a whole other story.  In the mean time, I can just FLIP!! 

No more wall walks for me!!!

 

 

Snow of January 2013

Only in our town could we have a flood warning and winter weather advisory on the same day.   

It rained so much that some roads succumbed to rock/mud slides, houses and businesses flooded, a river even peaked.. and then it turned to snow.

Some people got inches upon inches.  The mountains got a lot more.. here at the Veg homestead, we got enough to make a happy snow angel and my kiddo was quite pleased with that!

Then it rained some more, froze over, and we got a snow day from school making it a nice long weekend with the Martin Luther King Holiday.  

When Veg discovered that his school was closed he ran through the house screaming.. "Its a snow day its a snow day, I don't have school, la la la"  Have to say, I was almost as excited as he was.  Even took off from CrossFit to have the entire day at home.  Sooo much fun and so grateful for the opportunity to spend this time with him.

We stayed outside until the very last dribble had melted and then came in for an ICE AGE Movie marathon, which was perfect for an ice cold snow day, don't ya think?

Shoulder Update and a Fun Workout

Yesterday, I really took good care of my arm/shoulder.  

I rested, used ACV, eucalyptus rubs, stretched, massaged and made a whole lot of green juice with celery anti-inflam goodness!

But while heading to the store to find more celery, I ran in to a friend.  We stood outside in the freezing cold for over an hour and caught up on all things good in our lives.  It was so much fun... At some point, my toes were numb, and my nose was shiny red, but we kept talking/listening.  

So awesome... when I got home to carry up the bag, I realized my arm didn't hurt.  Nor did my shoulder, not nearly as much... The cold must have made my arm happy again!

Anyway, this morning it was back to the CrossFit box and I planned to take it easy with light weights.  

Turned out the stretches/warm up portion was so fun, and I got through it, no trouble... next up bench press and concentrated ring dips.. My shoulder held up again.  All was good!!   

And finally the actual workout which we call WOD's (workout of the day).. It was a partner WOD and the girls were out numbered so I ended up with a guy.  A very fast guy!  I immediately apologized that he was stuck with me and explained that I was slow... 

He was very understanding, told me to do only what I could and not to worry about my speed.  But by golly by gosh, I was wearing my KALE shirt... I couldn't be slacking with a KALE shirt on!! 

So the options were RX, Intermediate and Beginner.   My partner was taking the RX version (most reps and furthest run)...  I told him that I knew I could pull off the RX but would be holding him back on time.  He again encouraged me to do what I could.  So I offered to give it my best shot, worse case scenario, he got longer breaks if I was too slow.

We made our plan... I would go first... As soon as the buzzer went ding, I kicked it up a notch and have NO idea where it came from, but man did I move with the quickness.  Together we were ahead of the rest of the RX'ers and when it was time for me to run, my partner was always outside cheering me back.  We worked so well together.

When he was headed back, I was on to the next movement waiting for his signal, when I was done, he was starting... we moved in perfect sync and I got to watch him finish his final run.  Boy could he fly!  

We finished a full 90 seconds before the recommended time and first RX team to complete the WOD for our class.  It was Soooooo fun!!  

Welllll.. I TOTALLY forgot about my shoulder and I think I represented the KALE shirt perfectly OK... 

As of this post, I'm still feeling really good.  Practiced some push-ups, double-unders etc. all without any pain.  If I try to do my pull-up hanging practice, I can feel it, so I'll hold off on those for a few more days.

Tomorrow's work out has some more craziness (what else is new?)... But first I will be teaching my first health coach workshop of 2013.  Really excited to meet another group of Moms and hope I can inspire them to try new things in the new year!

Sooooo one week in, how is your 2013 treating you???   

 

 

The Shoulder and The Aches

Well, I've been doing this CrossFit thing for a little over 3 Months (minus a couple breaks due to travel or holiday closures)  And have yet to face the dreaded pain that people talk about.

The work outs are crazy, and I push myself beyond my own capacity.  Some may say that I don't push myself hard enough.  Some may say that our Box isn't as challenging as others.  Maybe both of these are true.  

But I say, that I push myself to the end of my limits until I'm shaking and quaking in my shoes, just trying to get something over my head.  Then I go on to the next thing and keep on going.  I'm not the fastest in the bunch or the strongest, I'm short and awkward, but I keep going and don't hurt.  

Oh, minus the bloody lip, bruised knees and monster lump on my shin from crashing on a box.  But that is another story... In general the only time my muscles ached to the point of immobility was when I flipped a 350lb tire.  I hurt my shoulder that day and had to take it easy for a few days.  But that was it...

UNTIL YESTERDAY!!!  

 

Back shot...3.5 Months of CF, Muscles forming

 

Whoop, back up....A couple days ago I was hanging out after class (literally hanging on a bar) with banded support and practicing my pull-ups.  This trainer happened to be around and said "Hey, you girls want to get stronger you need to get away from those bands and do negatives"  Then he showed us how to do them.  Holding yourself up on rings hanging from a ceiling and slowly letting yourself down.  Okee Dokee....  

Now mind you this is AFTER the crazy workout we had just done that involved a LOT of shoulder work.  But I hop on the box, hang from the rings and hold myself for several seconds.  I DID IT!!!  He then tells us to only do them a couple times or we won't be able to brush our hair the next day.

HA...NOT ME... I don't get sore, remember!!!  (I said to myself)....   Well, I was having so much fun on the rings that I did a few more...

Next day arrives, (Yesterday)... I can TOTALLY brush my hair, not sore in the least... I hit the gym....

Flipped a 250lb tire, pushed a sled thing lots,  threw some very heavy balls in to the ground, ran 1200 meters, did a bunch of ring rows, and a whole bunch of thrusters (squats then pushing weight over your head)

When all that was done, the workout was over....  But man did I feel good!!  I practiced some more doubles with the jump rope and then hopped on a box to do reach those rings and practice some more negative hanging stuff.  Because the guy said if I practice every day, I'll be able to do a pull-up in no time.  So I practice!!! 

Came home, went on with my day.. no troubles!

Wellllllll, I woke up this morning and that same tire flipping shoulder was quite angry with me.  It was my first taste of  "The Morning After CrossFit Blues"   In fact there were about 3 spots on that same arm that were angry with me.  I immediatly put a cold ACV washcloth over the sore spots, and consumed a bunch of anti-inflam foods.  Through out the day,I worked it out, until I had full mobility back.  But I will say that I could NOT brush my hair...

Trainer man was right... Hanging after workouts that involve shoulders is a bad thing for my shoulders.

As of this posting... I'm feeling about 80% better, but still stiff...  Will work it out some more tomorrow and be back to my good ol' self come Monday.

Needless to say, I learned my lesson!!   

 

This Whole Santa Thing

!!Scrooge alert!!

Veg has never been a Santa fan, from that very first visit to the mall.  From that day forward he was afraid of every human with a beard.  Grandparents included!   

Pictures of Santa, bearded men at the post office, bearded men at the store... SCREAM... you get the idea. 

Which was perfect for me, because I didn't want to do the whole Santa thing anyway.  My reasoning was simple.  I couldn't lie.

Which can spawn much debate... but yes, that was my reason. 

HOWEVER!!  Because my guy was terrified of the Bearded man, we didn't talk about it.  Presents came from who they came from and no other worries.   We had advent calendars, surprise ornaments, gift and craft traditions, but not the Santa thing.  He knew always where/who purchased each gift.

Veg was age 6 before he would look at a bearded man again.  By then Santa was just a person in costume, and he figured that out all by himself.   Started watching Christmas movies etc.  all good!

My Mother-n-law would send these letters "from Santa" and Veg would say "Why does Grandma keep saying these are from Santa, they are obviously from her"   Or when opening a gift that had a "from Santa tag", he would say "Why does this say Santa on it, it came in that box with Grandma's address"... 

Needless to say, even if I WANTED to pretend Santa brought all the presents, my Kiddo would have figured me out by age 3.

Sooo here is the problem... Getting him to keep the truth a secret so other children's parents can keep the lie.  We talk about letting other children believe and how that makes them feel special.    Now I have to tell my kid (with no mouth filter) that even though he knows the truth, this is one time that he shouldn't correct people even if they are saying something that he knows is not true because to them, it is!  

This is a conversation we have every year, because mine would be the kid to tell everyone in a classroom that Santa is a character in costume and doesn't bring their gifts. When he slipped, I felt like I needed to apologize.  

But then I think... Why should I apologize for my son being honest!  Ugh!  the dilemma this whole Santa thing has brought.   Well, we finally get that all working well at Age 9.  No issues... The Santa filter installed on the chatterbox.  

THEN insert the Flippin Elf!    OH MY WORD!!!  I mean the idea is fun, but parents making the kids believe that the Elf is alive and doing all these things while they sleep.  That is just CREEPY!!!

Not knowing anything about the Elf, Veg comes home from school EVERY DAY to tell me about the elf stories he hears from other kids.  Wonders why their parents are lying to them and curious how they could think a doll would be able to do all those things.

Sooo, we have the whole "Believe" conversation again and again and again...Conceptually, he just doesn't understand this because it isn't logical.   And everything in the Vegkid's head has to make sense.   We talk..I think we are good... I think we got it.  All is well... Elf Filter is installed on the chatterbox!

Christmas is over, Shewwww.... we got through another year with out him bursting someones bubble... Success!!!!

AND THEN we go out shopping.  Four strangers ask Veg what Santa brought him for Christmas, he says "Nothing" to all of them.  They just look at him surprised and I think "Woah boy, here we go"...  I told him it is Ok to say that he got gifts from his parents if that makes him feel better.  

NOPE!!!

Fifth random stranger asks him what Santa brought for Christmas and I guess the filter came off at this point.   He looks at me with those big eyes and says:

"MOM, why does everyone keep asking me that, St. Nick is dead"  

I give a smile to the poor lady that asked this question as her jaw was dropping out of her head and we quickly walk away to have ANOTHER conversation.  

Now, can someone tell me where that dead St. Nick thing even come from!!

Heck, maybe it is easier to say Santa is real... this telling the truth stuff is becoming quite a pain in the rear~

 

 

One Crazy Puppy!

A long time ago, I showed up with a Chinchilla...  A few years later, a shelter dog... 

A couple years after that, we found an abandoned little pup in a ditch which became ours against the husband's wishes.  

Soooo for the next many years, we agreed NO MORE ANIMALS....  I can't save them all (he would say) and this is IT!!  When they are gone, they are gone!!

A while back, he changed his mind... "I would be willing to get a dog if you could find a Jack Russell"   Seriously???  You finally agree to another dog but you want a hyper one?

Well he thinks we could mellow it out... Yeah OK!!!  He thinks getting a small playful dog would be perfect because they would be fun, and small enough to travel with us, etc.   Did I mention they are CRAZY though!!!

Soooooo fast forward to today...  I decided to check my 2 local shelter links as I do every month.. and there was a Jack Russell Mix.... 

This GUY:

OH MY KALE, how adorably cute is he??????  

Jack Russell which means Husband is happy and a mix, which means hopefully the MIX is enough to mellow him out....And besides, he is soooo flippin cute!!!  LOOK at that face!

So I Call.  They said he was still available.   I go look at him... He is sleeping in his little cage and so adorable.  He woke up to see me and sat up with that little face that you see in the picture above...  So peaceful, no barking, just perfectly still.   And I thought... I was going to Trick the Hubby..

I could get this Puppy, and bring him home as a Jack Russell knowing dang well that this was no Jack Russell.  There is no way that he could sit so perfectly still if he was.

The lady let me hold him and he melted in my arms.   Oh just precious... he cuddled and snuggled.. sooo cute!!

AND THEN!!!!!!  Duh duh duh duhhhhhhhhhhh!!!   We went in a room to play.  I sat this sweet little quiet cuddly puppy on the ground and he went BALISTIC!

Here he is leaping up and grabbing my sweatshirt arm.  You can't tell in the picture, but he is literally hanging off the ground by my sleeve and was NOT Letting go!!   If I tried to remove him from my sleeve he growled and growled and grrrrrrrumbled... It was actually kind of funny.  

I mean he was only as big as my foot..

 

After about 5 minutes with this guy, he attacked my shoes, fingers, arm, ears, hair, clothes and purse...I began having visions of what my house would look like in 2 minutes.  And poor old Spunk dog would not like this one bit...

I handed the adorable psychotic little puppy back to the lady in scrubs and told him goodbye! 

That is the story of the puppy I did NOT bring home!   

Don't worry though, on my way out, someone put him on hold for adoption...  So hopefully he will have a home for Christmas. 

I told the husband all about this cutie and he said we should have gotten him and named him Taz..  

OK.. NOOooooo!!!  

**disclaimer.. I realize Jack Russells are amazing, intelligent, awesome dogs... so please don't take anything I say to mean they are a bad breed.  But a puppy with this much energy would not work well in our quiet family dynamic....

Snacks, Sorta!

The Husband has discovered Costco, and brought these home in a bag the size of my kitchen table.

He couldn't figure out why Veg and I (both dairy free) would not eat them....

He said he couldn't tell they had dairy in them....   Is it just me or does the giant word "CHEDDAR" on the front not come from the dairy family?  *smile*

 

Cat Visitor

A couple of months ago our neighbors brought home a kitten.  I always saw the cat with a human when outside but he seemed to live in the house otherwise.  Then one day... he was outside for good, all alone...

I would see him circling their door, meowing for hours and I felt soooo bad for him.  They started to keep a spot in the garage for him, but he was mostly outside.  Now I'm not a cat person (allergic actually) but this guy just seemed too little to be outside all by himself with no big cats showing him what to do.

Well it turns out after a while, he got bigger and does NOT act like a cat!   In fact he plays catch, and badminton, and frisbee.   I know this because every time the Vegkid and I go out to play... this little guy scurries in to our yard and grabs our toys.

He leaps in the air, jumps out of bushes, and will chase what ever throwing object we happen to have.

As of this posting, we still don't know his name.  We don't feed, water or shelter our new friend, but he sure enjoys spending time with us.  When this picture was taken, he was in our yard for the better part of two hours.

The Vegkid LOVES cats, so he wants to keep him.   I'm Puuurrrrfectly OK with just having him visit for a game of catch though!

Finally a Pair of Real Jeans

You may remember my hunt for a real pair of jeans:

 Part 1  and Part 2

But even after I found some, the years went on, sizes dropped some more, and the quest for a real pair of jeans continued.   You know, light blue DENIM jeans... not spandex, not stretchy, not boyfriend or Skinny!

Just a REAL PAIR OF JEANS!!!

Then today I stopped in at Sears where I never go to find the Husband something that only they sell, and guess what I found???

REAL JEANS!!  For $17 no less... Yes, apparently Lands End makes a real pair of plain ol denim jeans that were on sale...  I only grabbed two because I didn't try them on first, but now I want to go back.

Light blue denim... no boot cuts, slices or dices.  Just comfy, baggy, lovely denim Jeans!!!  

Me= Happy Camper!