I know this chair has nothing to do with working out...or does it?

Okay- So I just wanted to post about this chair because it's one of my GREATEST accomplishments! LOL...okay- maybe I'm exaggerating, but I was pretty darn proud of myself after finishing it. 

I bought this ugly little lady for $10 off of some guy on craiglist. Cat not included in the purchase. That is Cullen (our cat). King Cullen if you ask him...that's why he immediately took over the new chair as his throne.

I loved the shape of the chair and how antique-ish it looked. She stole my heart and I had a vision for her from the start. 

I don't know if any of you have ever reupholstered a chair or not, but it is NOT a piece of cake. NOT, I tell you! I pulled around 500 staples out of this chair before I could do anything to it. It took forever and I built a callus up on my poor little finger! I don't mind callused hands from working out, but not on my fingers!!! AAAHH!

But after that was over it was just a bunch of sanding, priming, cutting, measuring, ironing, more measuring, poking, gluing, stapling, painting, trimming, sanding and SITTING! 

Here is what my finished product looks like. :) I think it will go great in a 

cozy cottage-y home with sunlight peeking through the old single paned window 

that I will not replace even for energy efficiency... this is what I have pictured in my brain anyways. ;) Don't know if the husband will go for that plan or not though... might take some good baking to convince him...

I also have extra material left over so I'm going to make some pillows to go on the bed in the 

 cottage-y cozy guest bedroom. 

I even envision 

little birds singing from the tree branches as I sit and enjoy the perfect spring day 

that is sure to arrive as soon as this chair enters it's rightful place.

Told you I'm bad at keeping up with this!

Well, I've been pretty busy since school started but I'm loving it already. I have kept up with Crossfit and making healthy changes to our everyday diet, but I haven't found time to get on here and update my blog!
I have been going to a bunch of body pump and body combat classes on top of Crossfitting, but nothing makes you sore in a good way like a hard workout from CF! I can definitely feel my body changing and see that my legs are really firming up and my arm muscles are FINALLY getting back to where they were- I can't wait until they're cut up again and looking awesome!

But besides my own personal improvements....

I know it's pretty typical for men to see improvements faster than women, so I'll let it slide that Dallas is looking amazing!!  He works so hard at the gym and really pushes his limits and it is definitely paying off... If we weren't against posting half naked pictures of ourselves on the internet then I'd take a picture and show you- but too bad for you- no pictures!
I'll post some of my workouts and times. I have kept track of them, but haven't put them on my blog.
Here is a recipe that I made for dinner last night- it was scrumptious!

  Pesto-y brussel sprout pasta chicken delight.

So, I cut a pound of brussel sprouts in half, added a little olive oil, salt and pepper and coated them. Baked them for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees. 

(the outer layer of them will be brown and a little crispy)

Then I cut up some boneless skinless chicken breasts and added a tad bit of olive oil, italian seasoning, salt and pepper...coated that and cooked it up.

I made a delicious broccoli pesto... kind of eyeballed it- sorry I don't have exact measurements. I steamed some broccoli and put it in a food processor. I added walnuts on top of that, about 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, 2 cloves of garlic and olive oil. I processed that until it was "pesto-y". I salted and peppered to taste. 

After that I cooked up some whole wheat bowtie pasta! Yumm-o pasta!

When that was finished cooking I kept about 1/2 cup of the water in the pot with the pasta. Then I tossed it all in together and made a happy little pasta, chicken, brussel sprout, pesto dish! I topped it with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese to make it pretty. I love pretty things. :)

It was heavenly and there was plenty to spare even after feeding myself and 2 grown men. :)

Here are a couple of CF workouts I've done since my last post-

3 sets of :

5 pull ups

10 air squats

10 dips

10 sit ups

10 back extensions

Then after the warm-up I did

"15-9-7"

15- 75 lb squats

15- burpees

9- 75 squats

9- burpees

7- 75 lb squats

7- burpees

Finished it in 5:20!!! Felt gooooood!

Another workout-

"The 13th"

4 rounds of -

400 meters run
3 65lb power cleans
6 95lb Squats (front squats won't work with my jacked up wrist)
9 burpees
Rest 2 minutes

Did it in 19:57. Rests included in time.

 "Barbara"
5 rounds for time:
15 assisted pull-ups
20 push ups
40 sit ups
50 squats
3 minute rest between sets
-30:38 with rests included

 

"Daniel"
25 pull-ups (assisted)
200m run
12 thrusters 35lb
400m run
12 thrusters 35lb
20om run
25 pull-ups (assisted)

10:40 was my time!

‎"Hager"
21 overhead squats-45 lb
42 assisted pull ups
18 overhead squats
30 assisted pull ups
9 overhead squats
15 assisted pull ups

12 minutes. :)

 

What a weekend!

We headed back home this past weekend to see our family and to meet our newest family member, Kezia Fae! Dallas and I are finally the proud aunt and uncle of a sweet, dark headed, long legged, sweet baby girl... She just melted my heart the moment I saw her. I didn't want to put her down once I got to hold her. She just cuddled up with me and made my day! We spent the rest of our weekend laughing, chatting, watching my sibling's basketball games and playing Taboo. I don't think it could have been any better...

We definitely took advantage of the good food that we were around back home... goodness we love us some BBQ and steaks and shrimp and oh gosh, are you ready? LUCKY CHARMS!
Guilty as charged. I ate a whole yummylicious bowl and I savored every bite!
I did say that I was going to take it easy with the cheat day, so I really didn't go overboard like I usually would. Well, except with the LUCKY CHARMS!

Let's see if I can recall what all I ate:
Friday- An Oscar, oatmeal, peach green tea (tsp of sugar), a banana, 3 grapes. Then at dinner at Daddy's house we had steak and grilled asparagus! mmmm... so good.
Saturday-A tiny piece of sausage croissant, an Oscar (blueberry,strawberry,spinach), ribs, mac and cheese, pinto beans, 5 honey wheat pretzel sticks, a starburst, a toosie roll, grilled shrimp, corn on the cob, Peach green tea (tsp sugar) and LUCKY CHARMS!
Sunday- An Oscar, egg sandwich, homemade sushi, shrimp tacos, cucumbers and carrots and peach green tea (tsp sugar)

Oh, and I didn't work out at all for two days!!! Oh heavens. Back to the real world... I missed the gym though!!
So that was my weekend and it was absolutely wonderful. I can't wait to see my parents, little baby brothers & sisters and Kezia again!
LOVE!
The Lord sure has blessed me hasn't he? He is a good God and I'm so proud to be HIS!

"The 13th"

We're headed off this afternoon to my hometown to visit my family!!
I love getting to go home and see all of my siblings, parents, and my brand new niece, Kezia!

I had a really productive day today... I cleaned my house top to bottom because I cannot stand coming home from a trip to a dirty house. Not that our house ever really gets dirty, but I like it spick and span when I walk back in that door from being gone a few days. I think it helps me relax when I know I have to do all the dirty clothes that we brought home, but I don't have to clean!
And by I cleaned today I mean that I mopped all hard surfaces, scrubbed baseboards with a toothbrush and got every single piece of dirty clothing, towels and floor mats washed. Man that feels good!


I headed up to the gym to "Get crunk" (I'm so not hood):

I did a warm-up which was 3 rounds of 

5 pull ups

10 air squarts

10 tricep dips

10 crunches

THEN my WOD

"The 13th" (scaled)

For time- 4 rounds of

400 meter run

3- 65lb power clean

6- 95 squats

9 burpees

2 minutes rest.

I finished the whole thing (rests included) 19:59!
I was feeling pretty good about that time...
We'll see what tomorrow brings...Yes, I'm working out on my vacay. It'll be worth it in the long run...

We're headed off for the weekend so I probably won't post again until Sunday, but I'll post everything from the weekend so that I am held accountable! There may be a few cheat snacks in there because I'll be at home and my parents cooking is so delicious!
:)

Hope everyone has a blessed weekend!

Boo for sore shoulders...

Well, today was quite unproductive, but I enjoyed it.
I woke up around 8:00 today and hung out with Doc and Cullen, made the bed, picked up here and there and headed downstairs for some breakfast.
I could tell that I wasn't going to be able to do a whole lot at the gym because my shoulders were so tight today. I thought that if I continuously stretched them throughout the morning that they'd get to feeling better...
I sat around, did some stretching and recipe hunting and by the time I knew it, it was lunch time.
Dallas called and said precious Cody had invited us to lunch at the country club. Goodnight it sounded good, but I just couldn't do it. I have been trying so hard to eat right and stay on this healthy eating plan that I had to resist the urge to go eat that delicious, yummy food.
Instead, I stayed home and made me a whole wheat tuna wrap. It was really good... and now, hours later, I don't mind that I missed that lunch. I feel good and know I saved myself about 1,000 calories, carbohydrates and fat grams. Lucky boys, they can workout for a week and see fat shrinkage and muscle bulk. Us girls take a little more time, but I think we appreciate the work a little more. :)

Step one- Whole wheat tortilla, fat free cheese, jalapenos!

Step two- tuna fish!

Step three- Roll it up and enjoy!!

 I headed off to the gym and met up with Dallas where I saw Cody and finally met Kirk. It's fun getting to know people around the gym that are a good support system and who are so willing to help out anytime you need it.

I started off with my CF warm-up.

3 sets of:

5 pull ups

10 tripcep dips

10 air squats

10 back extensions

10 sit ups

I headed back into the weight room to get started on my work out, but I realized after giving the kettlebell a swing, that I wasn't going to be able to do what I had initially planned for the day.

My workout was going to be

20 minutes AMRAP:

5 pike pushups

7 squat thrusts

10 kettlebells swings

Those were all things that would involve using my shoulders and my body was telling me that wasn't a good idea at that point. I figure I'd give it a rest for the day and start over again tomorrow. My body will get use to CF again soon, I'm sure. That's what I get for taking a month off!!! UGH!

I wasn't very good at getting my 5 meals in today. I was kind of icky to my stomach today. Not sick or anything, just not really feeling like eating.

Here's what I did consume:
1/3 cup of oatmeal, tsp brown sugar, tsp raisins
Tuna fish wrap (tuna, teaspoon miracle whip, teaspoon mustard, salt and pepper) 1/8 cup of  fat free cheddar cheese, jalapenos and a whole wheat tortilla.
I cheated and had two hersheys candy cane kisses.
Mexican chicken soup (my version).
Glass of peach green tea, 2 tsp. sugar (little extra today...it was good too!) lol
WATER WATER WATER!

Mexican Chicken Soup

(and no picture, dang it! I ate it all before I remembered)

In a pot mix together:

3 cans reduced sodium fat free chicken broth

Can of stewed tomatoes (no salt added)

Can of diced tomatoes

Can of hominy

Can of corn

Whole chopped onion

4 garlic cloves chopped

2 chopped stalks of celery

2 chopped carrots

2 chopped jalapenos (gutted before you chop them)

Cooked shredded chicken (cooked with pepper, garlic salt, chili powder) 

Add in seasonings as you see fit. I used a little salt and some pepper and chili powder.

Bring it to a boil, cover, reduce heat and let it simmer for 25 minutes.

We topped ours off with some fat free cheddar cheese and a small dollop of sour cream.

It was super yummy!!

Now I'm off to cuddle with my Love and watch some moving picture box. Nighty night, everyone!

Be Blessed!!!!

Well on my way to being jacked... I hope.

Oh the sound of the alarm was not a welcomed one this morning... I could have snuggled in bed all day with my hunk of a husband!
But, lucky me, I had a dentist "Crentist" appointment to get to at 8:30! Woohoo! Okay, maybe not. ;)

It was a pretty neat appointment though- As I sat there trying to form words with a numb upper lip and looking like a total idiot I'm sure, I managed to make my mouth work enough to ask if I could work out after I left the office. Dr. Runyan said, "Sure! I guess everyone's on a health kick right now, huh?"
I told him how we've been doing Crossfit for some time now and he seemed VERY interested. He said that he was a member at the gym that Dallas and I just switched to and asked so many questions about Crossfit. It was pretty neat to be telling him about it all considering he works out often and is buff and knows a lot about health and fitness. After we were done chatting it up about how awesome Crossfit is he said, "Man, I'm really motivated right now, I need to go to the gym!!" Guess we can add another Crossfitter to our little family!

After the appointment I headed home to give myself a little time to regain some feeling in my upper jaw. I looked ridiculous! I laughed at myself so hard in the mirror because I couldn't smile straight, speak properly, or lick my lips despite the minutes I spent trying! I sure didn't want to go to the gym and try to talk to people and look like a crazy lady...

I did end up heading up there after lunch and met up with Abbie. We did our Crossfit warm up together and then she headed off to run and I did a WOD (workout of the day).

This was my warm up and workout:

 3 sets of

5 pull ups

10 air squats

10 tricep dips

10 sit ups

10 back extensions

15-9-7 (for time) WOD

15- 75 lb. squats

15- burpees

9- 75 lb, squats

9- burpees

7- 75 lb. squats

7- burpees

I finished my workout in 5 minutes and 20 seconds!!! Not to shabby for taking a month off of CF... I'm back in the game!

 

I felt like a million bucks by the time I was headed out the door of the gym... I still feel good. I can't wait to get back in there tomorrow! I may be paying for the squats though- have your legs ever been so sore that you grab onto the sink or the bathtub or wall even to ease yourself down onto the toilet because it hurts so bad to squat even that far? Yep, that will be me in a few hours!!
You're welcome for the visual!

I also found a brilliant idea for lunches when I start the radiography program on Monday and only have 30 minute lunches... I apologize for some of the bloggers language or references, but really, it's a genius idea I had to share. You'll thank me later! SALAD SHAKERS!

http://www.antihousewife.com/2012/01/salad-shakers/

Here's the meal diary for today:
-An Oscar (spinach and blueberries today) for breakfast
-1/4 cup oatmeal, tsp brown sugar, tsp raisins for snack
-Healthy Chicken Gumbo left overs for lunch
-Banana for snack
-Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken, corn on the cob and squash for dinner (sorry, I forgot to take a picture)
-One glass of mmmm mmmm yummylicious peach green tea with a tsp sugar
-WATER WATER WATER WATER!

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken

Brown Sugar, 4 tsp unpacked Chicken Breast, no skin, 12 ounces Garlic, 1 clove Butter, salted, 1 tbsp Salt, 1 tsp Pepper, black, 1 dash

This makes four servings, 3 oz per person

1. Melt the butter in a frying pan.
2. Brown the garlic in the butter
3. Add chicken breasts to garlic and butter and cook thoroughly, adding salt and pepper as you like it.
4. When chicken is fully cooked add brown sugar on top of each breast
5. Allow the brown sugar to melt into the chicken (about 5 minutes)
6. Serve with your favorite carb, and veggie or salad. 

Also, you can add a little chicken broth to the mix to make the sauce go a little further, or even some soy sauce for a little extra flavor. I'd use reduced sodium on both of those additions if you choose to use them!

I hope everyone has a blessed day!!! And night. And morning. And workout.