HALT!!!!!! Be ready

Maybe it's the years I was in the Army or perhaps it's my time as Mom or maybe it's just life in general that has taught me to always be prepared.

As a soldier (for those of you that have been in for any amount of time, you'll get this) you NEVER came to Monday morning work call at 0900 without HIGHLY polished boots and a VERY starched set of BDU's, let alone forget your dog tags, ID card, notebook and a pen....SOME preparation HAD to go into that "dog and pony show" but once you got a rhythm, you were "squared away".....

Oh the joys of motherhood....ya, I took a deep breath as I typed that. When they are babies you NEVER leave the house without a FULLY stocked diaper bag (I won't even hash out all the JUNK an 8lb child needs!!!) and as they grow they may not have as much JUNK physically (and I say junk in the NICEST way...oh how I LOVE Legos!) but they sure can throw you a mental curve ball from time to time...THAT'S a whole 'nother blog in itself!!!!

So what am I getting at??? FOOD, duh! There are 4 instances in which we are tempted. I use food here but this really applies to ANY temptation....Remember this acronym... H.A.L.T.....

Hungry
Angry
Lonely
Tired

When we prepare ourselves for these temptations we are setting ourselves up for success. There is not one of you out there that has not reached for something when you are hungry, angry, lonely or tired and regretted it!!! Chocolate, chips, alcohol, bread, Oreos, ice cream, cereal, etc...you get my gist.

Set aside time during your week to prepare food to use throughout the week....don't think that you'll cut up the veggies as your cooking up the rest of the meal....it'll rot, you know it, I know it!

I took about an hour today to cut up my cabbage, brussel spouts, cauliflower and broccoli....I spent a good chunk of money on produce today ($34!!!) and I'm not about to waste it. Make every dollar count and use your time wisely.

Is life hard?

Increasing Your Value

Avoiding pressure will only decrease your value.

It’s the difference between coal and diamonds. Did you know that every diamond starts out as coal? And the world’s loaded with coal! But diamonds are rare. We can become God’s priceless diamonds when we respond properly to the pressures of life.

But if we refuse, and give in to discouragement and fear, we’ll remain “just coal”.

Yesterday’s tests prepare us for the greater trials of tomorrow.

They help make us the person we’ve always wanted to be.

When it seems nothing’s working out; when it appears your hopes and dreams are going up in flames, will you still trust the God who promises to give you a future and a hope?

Will you allow Him to make you His treasure?

I heard this passage about a week ago on the radio, it's by Francis Anfuso. It really spoke to me. How many things of this life are "too hard" for us?

What is it for you?....Balancing your budget?....Going back to school?....Spending quality time with your family?...Working out? There is nothing too hard in this life, through hard work and faith in your Father, that cannot be achieved.

Get uncomfortable folks.....that's when growth and real change occurs. It's the JOURNEY that makes the GOAL great, how you get there DOES matter.

Wondering if I have ever hidden from the uncomfortable moments of life and taken the easy road? Yup, many times. Part of me is embarrassed....ashamed....but I'm constantly working on it! The truth hurts people, we all know that!!! Suck it up, Buttercup! Put your big girl panties (or big boy undies) on and deal with it...dive in head first.

Time to balance the budget!

Sign up for a class!

Learn a thing or two about the people you live with!!!

And for PETE'S SAKE, WORKOUT!!!!

Tunes

I LOVE MUSIC! There are some songs that have special meanings between myself and other people....

My girl, Erin Carter, and I LOVE Monster by Skillet and Jesus Freak by DC Talk....

My girl, Kristin Pheasant, and I love/hate G6 by Far East Movement...

And you should see my girl, April Jordan, dance! She's got skrillz!

So when the time comes for "3-2-1-GO!" I had better be hooked up to my iPod with the perfect song cranked. And finding the perfect music device plus headphones can be hit and miss....I can't stand the headphones that come with my iPod/iPhone, there are just too big! Amazingly enough, I have EXTRA SMALL ear holes....I know, I know, this comes as a BIG shock that someone of my size has ANYTHING small, but yes..yes, I do.

There are some of you out there that are anti headphones...and that's cool. Maybe you're a better athlete to focus in on the workout and don't need the vices of this world (ehhhemmm, Mr Michael Keathley!) but for THIS girl, I WANT MY MUSIC and I WANT IT LOUD!!!!!

Here are SOME of my favorite tunes....some are new to my playlist, others are oldie but goodies that just "speak" to me....

Faceless-Red
I Can Transform You-Chris Brown
Monster-Skillet
Hero-Skillet
Diva-Beyonce
Breath into Me-Red
Wasting Time-Red
I'm So Sick-Flyleaf
Gettin' Over You-David Guetta and Chris Willis (Feat. Fergie)
Shutup and Drive-Rihanna
Bionic-Christina Aguilera
Sick, Sick, Sick-Queens of the Stone Age
Burn the Witch-Queens of the Stone Age
Sound of Madness-Shinedown
Gunpowder & Lead-Miranda Lambert
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend-Miranda Lambert
Make Your Move-Third Day

I apologize for not being able to put sound bites with these, I think it would make the blogging experience better. Maybe one of my blogger friends can point me in the right direction.

I bid you all good tunes, good WOD's and good peeps to throw down with!!!

Log books

Looks like Sally was right, topics to blog about just happen. Cool.


I have not logged a WOD (workout of the day) since December 1, 2010. At that time I was dealing with my shoulder/neck issue for two months and feeling downright hopeless on the matter. Let's just say that I was not "feeling it". So...I took a three month break writing down anything! That's huge for me. I tell my friends and athletes alike that they MUST journal their workouts...it's all about observable, measurable, repeatable data. How would I know how I did previously if I didn't write it down? Well folks, I was in a slump.

Today I logged my first WOD in three months. It's huge...for me. I feel like I'm back in the game!! Today's WOD was nothing special....Back Squat 3-3-3-3-3 and "Elizabeth" 21-15-9 of squat cleans and ring dips....I did not PR my back squats, I just enjoyed the ride and I scaled Elizabeth from 95lbs to 75lbs and I used a band on the rings...and my time sucked. But I ENJOYED the workout and I felt good about writing it down.

Why the change? I think it was because of my training session with Chad Vaughn last night. We worked on Jerks....Google Push Jerk or Split Jerk for those of you scratching your heads and wondering why I'm Jerking around with some dude!

For the last few months (remember, I've been dealing with a shoulder/neck issue) I've laid off such movements and my doctor has gone so far as to tell me to become a "cardio queen" and stay away from ALL weightlifting movements. Come to find out, my "condition" isn't as bad as first thought...so I'm back to dabbling with my favorite CrossFit movements...WEIGHTLIFTING!

Back to the Jerks from last night....it was great! Now I didn't hit a PR (personal record) with my Split Jerk but I got up 10lbs shy of my PR and I still felt like I had ALOT in the tank!!!! Talk about a high!!!

It's good to be journaling again.

Journey's start with baby steps...here we go...

My friend, Sally, says that blogging is easy...that it will "write itself". I'm hoping that she's right because I honestly don't want a relationship with the computer, I want relationships with people.

I guess as my virgin post I should lay some foundation work...but where to start? Maybe I'll plant a seed in your minds first off, I need a motto for my blog, a theme. Go ahead, ponder over it and get back to me....3-2-1-GO!

Currently I'm on a journey. A journey with many layers/levels/challenges. I'm on Day 3 of my 21-day food as fuel challenge. Basically it's the Paleo diet on crack.

Who's scratching their heads at this point already? Pal-eo wha???

Allow me to nut-shell it here....5 food "groups":
lean meats
veggies
fruit
nuts
seeds

Nothing processed. Fresh only. If it will rot within a week, buy it!

It's going quite well (thank you for asking!). I have TONS of energy, my workouts are going great (and considering I'm "recovering" from an injury/condition, this is such a blessing!).

Maybe on a later post I'll cover this diet more in greater detail....

I think this might be enough for me today, baby steps sometimes are a good thing!

Look for future posts about my journey with Crossfit, being an athlete and coach at two AWESOME affiliates.....my continuing recovery on the bulging disc in my neck....my LOVE for finding the perfect Paleo recipe (remember, abs are made in the KITCHEN NOT in the GYM!!!!)....my quest to raise my boys knowing God, loving others, eating well and FOR PETE'S SAKE---CLEANING UP AFTER THEMSELVES! Plus, my ever growing personal relationship with Jesus Christ....in addition to supporting my husband on his third deployment--remember, if you aren't willing to stand up behind our troops, go ahead and stand IN FRONT of them!

Until next time!