Our Last Dance

You can't fool me, I saw you when you came outYou got your momma's taste but you got my mouthAnd you will always have a part of meNobody else is ever going to seeGracie girl

With your cards to your chest walking on your toesWhat you got in the box only Gracie knowsAnd I would never try to make you beAnything you didn't really want to beGracie girl

Life flies by in secondsYou're not a baby Gracie, you're my friendYou'll be a lady soon but until thenYou gotta do what I say

You nodded off in my arms watching TVI won't move you an inch even thought my arm's asleep

One day you're gonna want to goI hope we taught you everything you need to knowGracie girl

And there will always be a part of meNobody else is ever gonna see but you and meMy little girlMy Gracie girl

Crossfit

I started Crossfit a few weeks ago.  I had been thinking about it for a while and finally decided to bite the bullet and spend the money to join.

My initial reservations had to do partially with the cost and well, it seemed a bit intimidating.  Here are my thoughts about my experience as a new Crossfitter.  It might be fun to look back later and see where I started and there might be others out there on the fence too like I was.

Before I signed up, I joined in on a class.  From what I hear, most boxes (gyms in Crossfit-land) will let you test out a class for free.  The trainers were very nice and they focused on doing the moves correctly or modifying them so I could do a similar move to my own ability.

After the workout, I signed up that night.  It was fun!  What sold me was the attention of the trainers...they really care that you perform the moves correctly so you don't get hurt and the workouts are fast paced and tough.

The next couple of classes are called foundations.  This is where they will go over their basic movements so you understand the proper form and techniques used in a lot of the workouts.

Then, you go into the Workout of the Day (WOD) from there on out.  My first WOD was FRAN which is the workout in the video below from this year's Crossfit Games.  (It starts around 5 min mark) 

Apparently, that is one of the hardest workouts. I got through it by modifying it.  The workout is 21, 15, 9 reps of Thrusters of 95lbs (I did 55 lbs) followed by pull-ups for your fastest time.  I can't do more than one or two pull-ups in a row, so they modify the move by giving you different tension bands to assist in your pull-up:

My finish time was 8:48 and I felt like jell-o afterwards.  I wrote my workout time and weights on a card and will try to beat it next time!

I'm on my second full week of Crossfit now.  For me, paying the money makes it worth it.  It's so easy for me to skip a workout at the gym if I'm feeling a little tired (or lazy), but since I pay good money for every workout I do at Crossfit, you better believe I'm going to make it!

What I've liked so far:

• There are a lot of nice people at every ability level and all are willing to share advice that I've come into contact with so far.
• The workouts are fast-paced, tough and different every day.
• There's accountability...if you tell the trainer you will be coming at their class time, they ask why you weren't there if you miss a day.  (Yesterday, I skipped the morning workout because I didn't sleep well and went to the evening workout instead and they actually asked me about it after only being there 2 weeks.)
• I feel like I get the most out of my time.  When I went to the gym, I wouldn't feel beat after every workout.  So far at Crossfit, I've been worn out after every single workout...and they're a lot shorter time-wise than I'd spend in the gym.

To be continued...

Have you tried Crossfit?  

28 in 28

I'm going to be linking up today with Erin at Living in Yellow.  

This is a list of 28 things I would like to accomplish in my 28th year:

1. Document so much more of my life.  I've learned how precious pictures are to have down the road and I don't want to forget anything.

2. Make it through at least one month of going to Crossfit 3 times a week.

source

I'll touch on this more later.  Ideally 3 months straight, but I'll start with one since I've only just begun.

3. Find a way to consistently motivate myself again.  Usually, I'm great at pushing myself, but with all that has gone on this year, I've found my motivation is sometimes lacking.

4. Visit NYC with some of my favorite ladies!

source

5. Plan something awesome for my love's 30th birthday.  I have some big ideas!

6. Fix our house up to sell.  

7. Move.

8. Run at least 3 races this fall/winter racing season.

9. Get a good jump start on planning an event to raise money for lung cancer.  

10. Read the entire bible.  I've already got a start on this.  I'm on Day 38 right now.

11. Read 4 books for fun...possibly in a book club?

12. Host a holiday at our house.

13. Get a group around to volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House at least once.

14. Eat clean for a month Monday-Friday.  Basically the Paleo diet.  Good thing I'm obsessed with eggs!

15. Complete 3 home Pinterest projects I love for the house...that are easy to move!  Some ideas:

16. Spend a few evenings a month with my grandparents.

17. Take a trip with my mom.

18. Spend some time in my favorite place: 

19. Take a cruise.

20. Snowboard trip!

21. Try and rid myself of clutter!  I'm a bit of a pack rat and I need to let certain things go... especially of the clothing type.

22. Make one piece of furniture myself.  I might need some guidance, but I think I can handle it.  For the record, it will be something very simple I'm sure.

23. Complete another triathlon.

24. Tough. Mudder.

25. Donate clothing to charity.

26. Make it to at least one Gator game this year.

I L.O.V.E. football, but life has been so busy lately, it's hard to make it up there sometimes...

27. Win at life!
Don't let the little things get me down.  There are some pretty intense situations that are coming my way and I'd like to handle them with grace!

28. Try to live every day in a way that would make my dad proud.

Lessons Learned

Today is my last day as a 27 year old.  Where has the time gone??  I feel like I can't be that old yet...
I can't say I'm sad about turning another year older since I wasn't very fond of 27.  I've learned a lot this year, so I thought I'd share a few things...

-The things that are annoying in life are usually not that big of a deal.
I know, at times, things seem out of control, but I've found it's best to take a step back and evaluate the situation before overreacting.  Stress is an evil bitch that can sometimes get the best of you, but it's your responsibility take control and not let it.

-Asparagus is yummy. 

-People are going to disappoint you.
That's just life.  We all have our own things going on and sometimes, family or friends are not going to live up to your expectations.  Sometimes it's their fault, but sometimes, it's your own expectations that needs to be adjusted.  Life has a way of making things complicated so as long as they're still making the effort, there are some things you just have to get over.

-Lifting weights is actually fun!

-Spending time with those you love is incredibly important.
You never know what is going to happen down the road so it's important to soak up as much time with loved ones as possible...you never know when they'll be gone.

-Crying still sucks, but it's ok.
For a girl like me that never used to cry and finds it embarrassing, I've learned that sometimes it's the only thing you can do.

-Most people have their good points.
There are obviously those that are just down right evil and are always up to no good, but that's not the case with most people.  Sometimes, personalities clash, but most people still have their good points.  It's your job to find their positive attributes so you can try to view the person in a different light...or you have to learn to deal with it.  I've found if you try and find their good points, being around those that clash with you initially is much more enjoyable.

-'I'm sorry' goes a long way.

-Cooking at home is awesome.
It's less fat and fewer calories on average than most restaurants and it's cheaper, yes please!

-Holding a grudge is pointless.
Holding a grudge effects you more than the person you hold a grudge against.  There are some people that are probably best to keep a distance from, but it's probably best to let things go.  This is something I'm constantly working on because it's hard for me to let certain things go, but why let someone else control me?


-Leftovers are the best!
I was never a leftover person.  I would be the girl that took things home and left them in the fridge to later throw away.  Lately, I've been taking advantage of leftovers from dinner the night before and it's made life so much easier.  I'm not scrambling when I'm starving and prone to making poor choices at lunchtime anymore.

-Life is too short to spend it making other people happy.
No one wants to let their friends or family down, but it's ok to say 'no'.  If there are activities that you just don't want to participate in or you are over committing and not giving your spouse (or yourself) enough time, it's time to politely decline.  You don't want to look back at a bucket list with nothing checked off because you spent too much time trying to live up to other people's expectations.

Anything you've learned this year??

Beary nice...

We had a little get away recently.  Mostly to take care of family stuff, but it was to one of my favorite places...and my dad's favorite place.  God put on a show for us, we saw more wildlife than we've ever seen in one trip.

 Momma and baby bears in the tree!

We even had a momma bear with her cubs walk down the mountain in front of us while hiking.  If that doesn't make you want to pee your pants, I don't know what does.  She was literally 10 feet away...it was scary and awesome.  I love the mountains!

The weekend always goes by so fast!  Hopefully you are having a good Monday!

Let's take a look at last week's schedule and workouts, shall we?

Sunday: Run 3 miles

Ran 3.21 miles 

Monday: Strength + 2 mile run

Strength + 2.13 miles

Tuesday: Crosstrain + Strength

Swim for 30 min + strength

Wednesday: Run 5 miles

Softball, left field.  Lots of sprints.

Thursday: Strength + crosstrain

Strength 

Friday: Rest

Ran 6 miles

Saturday: Run 6 miles

Rest

I didn't follow the plan quite as closely as I would have liked.  I forgot about an appointment which threw off the second half of the week since I couldn't run 24hrs after the appointment, so I missed a run.  I was planning on making up for it Saturday, but it's been a while since I've run over 3-4 miles and my legs were a little like jello after Friday's run.  I hope to do better this week!  Here's the plan:

Sunday: Rest

Monday: 4 mile run + strength

Tuesday: strength + 2 miles/crosstrain

Wednesday: 3 mile run

Thursday: strength + crosstrain

Friday: Run 10+ miles

Saturday: REST

This week will be a little unique near the end of the week.  I'm participating in a Relay for Life team and am going to try to run one mile every hour I am awake.  We will see how that goes...I'll keep you posted. 

If you're interested in donating to our team, it is King's Realm.  All donations go to the fight against cancer.

How were your workouts last week??

Have you ever participated in a Relay for Life event?

White Chicken Chili

I made this chili a while ago, after a friend of mine telling me about it.  It's yummy and pretty good for you too! 

White chicken chili

2 cans cream of chicken soup (I used reduced fat)

2 cans chicken broth

2 cans northern beans

2 cans shoepeg corn

1 mild rotelle tomatoes

1 can diced chilies

2 teaspoon lemon pepper

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon garlic

3 tablespoon lime juice

1 medium onion

4 chicken breast, cooked

Mix everything, boil & let simmer for 30 min

You can also put it all in the slow cooker on low and let it simmer for the day if you want.

Enjoy!