Sweet Tea, Sims, & Revenge

Friday Night after we performed surgery on my hands...aka...petroleum jelly, gauze, and tape, we hung out at home.  Warmed up some Paleo Chili, I had a glass of Barefoot Sweet Red it pairs well with beef.  I am not really a wine person but have been craving it more often, I like the red wines.  I am a nerd and love the wine at church, I do not know why but I'd drink that stuff at home! HA :-P  We then tried Seagrams Sweet Tea Vodka which a lady recommended at Target mixed with lemonade.  Now, this stuff is dangerous because it does not taste like alcohol it literally only tastes like Sweet Tea.  However, it was a nice change from Jack Diet Cokes.

We watched the tv show PRANKED on MTV and discussed how we should prank each other and get it on video!!!  I really want to do this to Justin, but I need to come up with some good pranks.  Ideas are welcome, post some comments of pranks for me to do to Justin!

I told him thou, if he does prank me he needs to video it because whats the fun in only him knowing how he got me.  We might as well share with the world or at least our friends!

I also downloaded SIMs FreePlay on the iPad, can you say Nerd uhh yup!  But I forgot how much fun it is, I used to love the game back when it was on P.C. and this just brings back that pre-teen fun!  You can even play it on your iPhone and sync it with your iPad which I will have to do when I get the new iPhone5 coming soon!

Saturday, I coached Mobility again same routine as Thursday.  I am thinking I want to incorporate a day where we literally just foam roll hardcore and do some static stretching which is good for the body also.  I don't want it to get boring and be the same MobWOD every week. Afterwards, Trish convinced me (She really had to pull my leg hard...not) to work out with her.  Justin came too and we convinced Josh to stay and also endure in the pain!  It was a good day for accomplishments:  Josh did parallete Hand Stand Pushups (BEAST MODE), Justin did strict HSPUs and also figured out how to kip them, and Trish got 2 handstands!!  It was a great day for being upside down I guess lol.  I on the other hand was limited by my hands, you really realize how much you use them after you hurt them ugh.  The WOD of the day was 21-15-9 Cleans with 42-30,18 Pushups, Justin, Trish, and I all scaled our cleans to 20lb MedBall Cleans.  Josh did it at Rx.  We all did fairly well, completing in under 15 mins.  It was a nice workout because it wasn't too brutal but it got the blood flowing and sweat dripping!

In the afternoon was Kelsey's bridal shower, 1950's themed.  I did not have anything to wear so I just wore a sun dress, it worked out fine and I didn't spend any extra money (such a tight ass).  It was a very nice party, we played a few fun games and got to decorate our own mini cakes!  The even better part was that the girl hosting the party has been doing Paleo for 3 years now and everything she made was Paleo!  It was all very delicious:  bacon wrapped scallops, hardboiled eggs filled with avocado, bora bora spicy pork balls, cream cheese filled dates, olives with something not sure what, and apple crumble!  I had just eaten lunch so I didn't have too many snacks, but I ate my entire mini paleo cake that we got to decorate...it was SO good!  I love cake :)  I will definitely be getting some of those recipes from her!

I started a new show called Revenge, recommended to me by Trish.  At first, I didn't think I liked it but now I AM HOOKED!  It keeps getting better every episode.  The entire first season is on Netflix, so go go go little birdies and watch it! Second season starts up soon, my DVR will be set to record :P

Death by Pullups

What a great past 4 days I've had!!!  Besides my UBER ripped up hands which I will explain later...

Thursday was SUPER fun!  Slept for about 12 hours, woke up feeling fabulous.  Then Trish and I drove over to KoKoHead in Hawaii Kai and did the Hike!  There are about 1,100 steps I read somewhere up this mountain...  They call it "Nature's stairmaster" which is so true.  Our legs were BURNING and we were especially tired still from doing the Filthy 50 on Tuesday but we made it up there like champs!  Even beat Trish's previous time of 27 mins by 5 mins...we completed it in 22 mins, I'd say not too shabby.  But there are some crazy people that actually run up and down KoKoHead like its a cake walk...yeah...not for me!  I was drenched in my own sweat after just the once up it!  

After that I coached Mobility and did the WOD...which was 20 min AMRAP of 6 strict Shoulder Press @ 70% 1RM and row 500ms.  I did 5 rounds + 6 Presses and 263m beating Staci by 1m ha!  But she also did 70lbs where as I did 65lbs.  Strict Shoulder Press always kicks my ass...or any shoulders for that matter, I wish they were stronger.  That will come with time! Tough WOD thou after doing kokohead, my hipflexors were burnt out oofta.  

We watched 'Cabin in the Woods' Thursday night and this is one movie I DO NOT recommend, it was STUPID!  I still don't fully understand what they were trying to accomplish by that movie and the whole concept is ridiculous.  Basically, its not scary, the acting is horrible, and storyline doesn't mount up to anything.  There are a few funny parts that is about it.

Friday morning, I got up and cooked Justin breakfast.  I wanted to try these Caramel Apple Pancakes I saw on PaleOMG.  They were kind of a fail...I don't know if they were a fail on my part or that's just how the recipe is supposed to be.  But the pancake batter was SO dense, I tried adding water to make it a bit more runny like pancake batter but that did not help it just soaked up the water like a sponge...  I didn't think they tasted bad but they weren't great.  Justin said it best, "You can definitely tell these are paleo..." lol.  The best part of it was the cinnamon apples and the caramel sauce you make with it.  I could eat that stuff all day nom nom, so may be incorporating that into a different recipe would be good!  I still have some batter left over so I'm going to try using it maybe like a sandwich type deal.

The sausage looks like a penis. 

Now, the recipe that REALLY turned out GOOD was the Banana Chocolate Muffins from FastPaleo.  These were delicious, I did add Non-Paleo chocolate ha.  I had Hershey bars left over from smores and just chopped them up into pieces and threw that in the batter.  You can't go wrong with some chocolate every now and again!  Plus, it wasn't that much.  I brought these to crossfit and everyone said they were yummy...even Justin liked and like I said he's my toughest critic ugh.

OH and how could I forget, I made my own Paleo Hummus!  This was exquisite!  I was recommended to try hummus from some co-workers, which I have never had before and I was looking at the ingredients and of course regular hummus is made from chickpeas.  So therefore, I decided to google Paleo Hummus and found this amazingness recipe.  Paleo Friendly Hummus  The only thing I had to substitute was that I had maybe a 1/4 cup Mac Nuts so I filled the rest of the 1/2 cup with cashews.  I will try to get some more Mac Nuts to do the actual recipe but doing the half and half of the two, it is still really good.  I put it on my celery sticks I need to eat up and I've never eaten so many celery sticks due to this stuff! 

SOOOO ABOUT DEATH BY PULLUPS...Friday night's WOD was 9 hang snatches paired with 15 pullups...4 rounds for time...  Two movements that should never be paired together because they are two of the top movements that cause Hand Rips...  I wanted to do all my pullups Kipping because I am trying to practice that and link them.  I used lots of chalk an still ripped horribly bad.  My problem I think is the jumping onto the bar, which I need to use a step up instead for and then I grip too hard during the motion.  I need to learn the hand release to lessen my grip.  And for snatches using the hook-grip the bar was rotating hard core in the middle of my hand.  I was on the last round of 15 pullups and I seriously did not think I was going to make it, I was almost literally in tears trying to finish it out.  Lucien had get me a step ladder and purple pads for my hands but I did it.  The time cap was 20 mins and I completed it in 20:38, hand rips, tears, and all.  FML  

Not for the faint of heart.

Needless to say, Justin is investing in some gloves for us because my hands do not want to HARDEN THE F**K UP grr :-/

Improvements, Realizations, and Goals.

I have noticed A LOT of improvements lately in CrossFit, my body, and my outlook on things.

CrossFit Improvements:
1.    I finally understand how to Kip properly during Pullups and Toes to Bar.  Knees to Elbows not so much for some reason.  I have a perfect kip forward but it was the coming back I wasn't getting.  I now realize I have to basically 'pull the bar' down to my bell button when I reach the back position or else I will be exerting too much energy and lose my efficiency when I actually kip up.  Also, CORE CORE CORE.  You must keep your abs tight, body in hollow position, and feet close together does help.  When doing the motion, I try to imagine myself as a gymnast sounds lame but it really helps to get in that mindset when doing gymnastic movements!

2.    Secondly, Carl Paoli from http://gymnasticswod.com/  is a genius.  He stresses the importance of a tight core in all your movements once again and how important it is to keep a neutral neck and spine. Basically, this is stating avoid the 'Chicken Necking' syndrome...I myself am guilty of this also.  You 'chicken neck' when you want to get your chin over the bar in that pullup, or you think it will help you pull more weight up when deadlifting...both of these are false.  Keeping your neck inline with your body helps to maintain...homeostasis (for lack of a better word) but it really does.  I've been testing this theory and it does work.  It makes Pullups harder but you use less energy and it activates the proper muscles during the movement.  The skill can also be transferred to pushups, burpees, backsquats, deadlifts and many more.  Working on my deadlift...I used to look up when lifting, however this was inefficient, a buddy Rob showed me that if I keep my neck neutral and inline with my spine the lift would be more efficient and it was!  I was able to complete more reps with less fatigue and better form.  Give this a shot!

3.    I have made Kipping Handstand Pushups my BITCH!  I did about 7 yesterday, not in a row but doing 1 then getting off the wall and resetting and doing another.  Soon I should be able to link a few!

CrossFit Goals to come:
1.    Improve on Strict Pullups and Dips.
2.    More linked Kipping Pullups
3.    A Muscle-Up...need to get the above first to be able to get this guy.
4.    Strict Handstand Pushup and an Rx one either kipping or strict.  This would be 2 25# plates on each side of the ab-mat.  Which I probably can do, I'll give it a shot on Thursday :)
5.     Make improvements on my 1RMs.

Body Improvements:
1.     I've noticed that after completing the Whole30, I've actually seen more progress.  During the 30 days I didn't really see the results I wanted but you need to keep in mind it was only 30 days...it takes the body a lot longer to actually make true change.  I've been feeling stronger and I can see some Abs coming in!  And not like the 'Holocaust Child' ones I had when I was prepping for my show, but true STRONG Abs.  Plus, my arms are looking more cut and a bit bigger :)  Legs are legs ha I know they are strong but I don't see too much change in them personally.


2.     Also, eating wise I can tell what my body likes and doesn't like...well sort of.  I notice that after I eat something that I don't normally have, for example: Thai Food Saturday, Alcohol and Pop, and the meal we had at The Shack...I tend to get Acid Reflux or as the internet calls it Gastroesophageal reflux disease.  I get this feeling that food is lodged and I can't swallow it down pretty much the whole next day after having something 'not normal' to my body.  It pretty much SUCKS!  I then have to take at least 4 tums to get the feeling to subside some.  So in some respects its almost not worth eating the food if I am gonna have that feeling blah...

3.    A few things I've been incorporating back in to my diet in small quantities are Peanut Butter, Ketchup, and Protein Shakes.  I have to use up these things in my shelves before I make my own Paleo Almond Butter and Ketchup...but Protein powder well that is one thing I probably will not give up.  Also, I have been adding some dairy such as string cheese because I have one of those GIANT bags of it from Costco so I must eat it ha.  And some milk occasionally if I have a bit if NON-PALEO cereal :P.

Lastly, my realizations are that I AM HAPPY!  I love my life.  I have an Amazing Husband.  The Best Family.  The Best Friends.  An annoying yet loveable Dog, Sky.  A new found passion for CrossFit, Paleo, and cooking.  I have a good paying job.  I am making new friends here in Hawaii.  I live where it is perpetually Summer.  And who would've ever thought I'd like to Blog.  I hate the saying but YOLO, you truly only live once and why not live life to the fullest!

Carl is HOT!

Vampire Diaries Season 3 on Netflix!!!

On Sunday morning when I came into work it was slow...so I was searching through Netflix for something to watch and low and behold the most recent season of Vampire Diaries had been uploaded!!!  SO EXCITED!  I've been watching it non-stop at work, have about 11 episodes down and 10 to go...I just may finish it this week at work.  Then the new season starts up Oct. 11th, going to have to set the DVR to record that one!  This is the one thing I love about my job when it is slow and there is nothing to do, I can catch up on my TV shows as long as their on Netflix.  I can also browse a bunch of youtube videos and do all the crossfit research I want! Lucky me to be getting paid to watch TV basically, I can't really complain except for the hours suck Midnight to Noon, but on the upside I get a 3-4 day weekend every week :)

I NEED to find someone with Sons of Anarchy Season 4 ugh, but no one seems to want to borrow it to me ha.

I have quite a few TV shows I've started and NEED to finish.  Including SOA above, Breaking Bad Season 4, Grey's Anatomy (I am on season 6), House (the final Season 8), and my new friend Trish has recommended Revenge.  I looked it up, and noticed it has the girl from Everwood if anyone ever watched that show.  I believe her name is Emily Van Camp, I really liked her so I may just have to start that show too as well.  But along with my long list of TV series to watch, I have started many books ugh!  I should read the 2nd Hunger Games book and I also started the Steve Jobs book which I REALLY need to finish.  Along, with everyone telling me to read the 50 Shades of Grey series.  I need to set some goals on getting these accomplished I think!  But besides my love for TV shows, Movies, and Books of all kinds...I love cooking as you know.  This week there are a few recipes I believe I am going to make:

1.  Paleo Mayo! I want to try making Paleo Ketchup and my own Almond butter however, I am not one to put anything to waste so I want to finish my bottle of Organic Ketchup and JIF natural Peanut Butter before I buy the ingredients to make those.  The recipe I will be using, was recommended my a friend from CrossFit who states its amazing!  It can be found here:  Homemade Paleo Mayo

2.  Crockpot Breakfast!  I am trying to get Justin to like eggs, he has a thing about their texture and I think this recipe could possibly cure that as long as they eggs are cooked through and do not give off that rubbery texture eggs normally have.  Its worth a shot, if he doesn't like it well I guess I'll just be eating it hehe!  OMG Crockpot Breakfast Pie

3.  The Crockpot Chili from last week.  We loved it so much and I have enough ingredients to make it again so HELL why not! It's very delicious.

4.  Caramel Apple Pancakes!  I must be on a breakfast kick but these looked fabulous and more like dessert to me then anything.  Plus, I have dates that needed to get used up before they go bad.  I hope to try to make this for Justin Friday morning.  OMG Pancakes

I will let you know how the recipes turn out and post some reviews and maybe tips on cooking each.  Stay tuned.

Weekend Warrior

I forgot to state in my last post that another funny/romantic comedy movie I love is, 'Friends with Benefits'.  

Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis are great in this film.  They are both really funny and all of the banter between them is just perfect.  I've seen this movie multiple times but it still makes me belly laugh every time I watch it.  

Saturday morning,  I was scheduled to coach Mobility at 9:30 but noone signed up.  So Justin, Rob, and I just went through my class together and stretched out our lower back, hips/hipflexors, and ankles.  I am thinking I will probably repeat this class on Thursday for those that couldn't make it to Saturday.  You can always use hip flexor stretches because those muscles tend to get very tight in all of the movements we do in CrossFit.  Plus, almost EVERY movement we do in CrossFit involves the thrust of your Hips.  After mobility, my new found girl-friend Trish was all alone for the 10:30 WOD and we couldn't just let her go by herself that is NO FUN!  I am not going to lie however, I really wanted to do the workout anyways and helping a friend out was an added bonus :).  I found my 1RM in bench press which was 105lbs I think I can do more than that, I was watching a CrossFit.com video on youtube that said you should drive the weight up with your heels pressed firmly into the ground.  Basically, you should be ripping the floor apart with your feet engaging your core muscles, keeping your butt tight, and driving the weight up with your chest.  I want to give this a try next time and see if I can move more weight.  

The WOD was 7 Full Squat Snatches @ 60% of 1RM, 40 Double Unders, and 13 Box Jumps.  My Full Squat Snatch is only 75lbs...the movement is very technical the weight will increase as I get better at the technique.  Which I will be practicing...been watching Coach Burgener A LOT!  And we are going to purchase some PVCs to work with at home.  So for the WOD I did my snatches at 55lbs, I aimed for perfect technique on each rep.  I did 5 rounds plus 7 snatches and 20 Double Unders.  During the workout, Staci gave me a few tips to remember to not Pull to early because then I am muscling up the weight but to PULL right when I hit that 'pocket' aka a little bit above your knees and POP the hips...boom fall under the bar quickly.  I need to work on this more, once I started to do it that way it was much easier and more fluid.

I am including this video below because it is a great Instructional Slow motion version of the Snatch.

The rest of the day we stayed at the gym and helped out with Gym Maintenance day, it was fun we got to drink a bit and play with power tools....that can' t be safe lol.  It also gives Justin and I time to be together and we work well on projects, were a great team!  Just takes communication and we really have gotten much better at that.  Afterwards, we went out to Thai Village with Jed and Kelsey.  I had never had Thai food before, they couldn't believe this...but I am almost certain I never have.  Its kinda like Chinese food thou!  I had the Stir-Fried Broccoli and mixed seafood it was very good, I also had a few bites of Justin's rice.  I have been sticking to Paleo like I said 80/20, when we go out to eat I try to pick paleo options and if anything I just have a few bites of Justin's food like french fries and what not.  For example, yesterday for the Sunday Night Football game we went to The Shack in Kailua with Justin's co-worker and his wife.  I ordered the Jalapeno Chicken sandwich without the bun and a side salad instead of fries.  The sandwich came with Pepper Jack cheese which is fine because I have been including more cheese in my Paleo and the Salad came with croutons.  Also, I asked for a better option dressing but its a sports bar so of course they don't really have any healthy options!  They didn't even have salsa, which I thought was super odd!  Therefore, I got some ranch...at least I tried to get a better option.  So this whole meal was, I would say "mostly" Paleo and keyword is mostly.  I did allow myself to have a few bites of Justin's fries cause I am a sucker for potatoes!  But see its really not that hard to pick healthy options at restaurants you just have to ask, yeah they may look at you a little funny but who cares...your the one paying for it right!? ;)

I was DOG tired yesterday, didn't get much sleep before work and at work.  Then to just stay awake after work was quite difficult.  I have noticed that I need at least 4.5 hours of sleep before work.  I am going to try to stick to that!  Well that's my weekend in a nutshell.  

Friday Sickness. 2 movie reviews!

Soooo it's been a few days!  I got pretty busy it seemed, I definitely missed blogging.  It's weird...I will think of things and be like oh I should blog about that or write about that, but I am really not sure if anyone will read it or think what I think about is interesting ha.  Oh well, if anything I'll just write to myself!  Kind of like little notes or things to remember.

ANYWHO!  Friday morning,  I felt fine when I woke up but after breakfast I was just miserable.  My stomach and head were at war with one another :(  It was really not a good feeling, I felt like butt most the day. I drank about 3 liters of water and took a two hour nap in the afternoon.  After that, I felt amazing...I think because Hawaii is so warm and I constantly seem to work up a sweat here that I get dehydrated really easily.  So I will have to keep up on my water intake as much as I can.  

I did however watch two movies!  'How to Train your Dragon' and '127 Hours' both once again that I will recommend you see!  'How to Train your Dragon' was awesome, I seriously love pixar movies and when you look back at the very first one aka 'Toy Story' you can truly see the improvements they've made since then.  So remarkable.  But the movie itself was super cute and had a great message, basically to never give up on what you believe in even when everyone else seems to be doubting you.  Kids need to see and hear that message, I myself am a BIG dreamer always talking and thinking about things that I want to do or see that probably may never happen but why not dream!?  I don't see anything wrong with it.  Great example, I told Justin the other day after watching the Men's Crossfit Games Pendleton: "I will be the Fittest Woman on Earth someday."  And he looks at me and goes "I know you will."  I then told my mom this too, and she chuckled and goes, "I believe you."  I also told her, that WHEN I do become the 'Fittest Woman on Earth' that she would need to fly out to Cali to watch her daughter compete in the games and she said, "Without a doubt, I will be there."  See now, the two most important people in my life know that I may dream BIG but If I put my mind to something and commit to it that it will get accomplished, that is just who I am and I praise them for their support.  I couldn't do the things I've done without them.  Therefore, 'How to Train your Dragon' will be a must purchase for my kids when they come along!

'127 Hours' was another really good movie.  This was actually a movie that I watched where I was not on the computer facebooking or doing other things while watching it.  It kept my interest the entire time and the way it was directed was fantastic.  It had many camera effects in it that really sucked me in.  It is about a young guy who goes hiking and doesn't tell anyone where he is going.  He has done this hike many times and figured that nothing could go wrong.  Well...of course...he was wrong.  One false step and he is plunged into a crevasse in the canyon with his hand wedge between a rock and the canyon wall.  For 5 days, he recaps the many things in his life that he should have done better or changed or wish he had changed.  He thinks of all the people in his life that have supported him and how important they are.  It makes you think about all the things you have in life and not to take them for granted.  SO watch this movie!  Plus, James Franco is a stud.

Friday, I made the Paleo Chili I posted in my Food Prep blog and by Sunday night it was already gone.  So delicious.  I will be making that again for sure.  We didn't do much Friday night, went to Crossfit and I found my 1RM Box Jump Height of 33".  I want 35" ugh!  I am very close to it, I will get it soon gotta keep practicing my jump.  The WOD of the day was 20min AMRAP of 8 Toes to Bar, 16 Pushups, 12 Wall Balls.  I finally understand how to properly do T2B which made it so much easier.  **TIP**: Everything in Crossfit is about keeping your core tight!  I did 5 rounds + 8T2B + 16 PUs + 5 Wall Balls...HOWEVER, I did the entire thing wrong because I was doing 20 Wall Balls instead of 12 blah!  I don't know what I was thinking.  Still did pretty well for doing more, I also used the 14lb ball and aimed for the men's dark blue line (Practice for real life competition).  I am going to start mixing it up and using the 14lb ball at the dark blue line and then sometimes use the 20lb ball at the women's line just to get stronger in the movement.  

I was going to write about my whole weekend in one blog but this one got a little long so I will finish up my next EXCITING days in another post ha.

Food Prep and an article about 'Zone vs Paleo' in "The Box" magazine.

I wanted to show some of the things I do for Food Prep that makes Zone Paleo rather easy.  I am getting more familiar with the measurements of how much is 1 block of each protein, carbs, and fat.  Below is what I had for breakfast today, a little change from my usual!  I made a zucchini, bell pepper, onion hash with Eggs over easy or Fried eggs whatever you rather call them.  Along, with avocado.

Here is the measurements of the peppers and zucchini.  1 block peppers is 1.25 cups, 1 block of zucchini is 1.33 cups and 1 block of onions is .5 cups.  I just chop em up and as I am chopping I put them in the measuring cups for my own reference.  I only had 3 blocks of carbs at this meal.

Next, is what they looked like separated.  I sauted up the veggies in the skillet with some salt, pepper, and oregano then fried up the eggs (4 whole eggs = 4 blocks of protein).

Lastly, is the final product! All 4 eggs piled on top of the veggie hash and 4 slices of avocado roughly 4 blocks of fat.  It was so yummy.  I needed a bigger fork to pile it all in my mouth ha.

Dried apples are a great Go-To snack!  I tried soaking them in water and lemon juice before, but those just didn't taste as good.  This time I just sliced up the apples and then sprinkled them with cinnamon...WAY BETTER!

Thought this was cute, a perfect heart!

Great way to keep peppers for a really long time, cut them up and freeze them on a cooking sheet for a few hours then put them in a ziploc, BOOM peppers for easy use in any recipe!  You can also do this with onions.

Lunch Time!  Pretty standard lunch, finally finishing up my turkey burgers!  1 cup zucchini, 1 cup carrots, 1 cup grape tomatoes equals 4 blocks of carbs! 

The AMAZING Paleo Chili I made!  Which Justin loved, if he loves it then I know it must be good because he is SUPER picky.  I can't take credit for it but you can find the recipe here:  Paleo Chili

I highly recommend it! 

Thursday night's WOD: 1 RM of Full Squat Snatch: 75lbs for me, improved by 20lbs and perfect form which I was going for.  Then row 5K...barf...I completed it in 22: 54, pretty good for never doing it before!

Lastly, I wanted to say that everyone should read "The Box Magazine" July/August 2012 issue.  It has a great article on Zone Vs. Paleo and really states that incorporating both are the best of both worlds!