Category: Random

The Hostage Negotiation of Christmas 2010

Okay, so THIS is about what I felt like by the around 9:15pm on Christmas Evening. . . . but let me start from the begining.

Paleo Christmas Eve Feast – A Success!

Paleo Christmas Dinner – A Success!

We went over to a friend’s house for Christmas Dinner – I knew that there would be tons of stuff there that wasn’t “Paleo-Approved”, so I took along some Waldorf Salad and some Paleo Pumpkin Muffins with Cinnamon Icing. I figured this way, I could still have dessert along with everyone else, and not feel the least bit deprived. . . well. . . it was a good plan anyway. . . but would have been even better if I’d stuck to it!

We had a great time on Christmas evening, and I had already decided ahead of time that I would have a glass or two of red wine because it was a special occasion, but would stay otherwise Paleo-Compliant. I had about two glasses of wine before dinner, and then ate a sensible and Paleo-Compliant dinner. No Problem. I wasn’t even tempted by the mashed potatoes or stuffing – really! I was quite satisfied with myself after dinner, and decided to go ahead and indulge in a third glass of wine.

About half way through that third glass, the hosts broke out the DESSERT. And yes, that is DESSERT in ALL CAPS!!! My God – I have never seen such a spread in one place at one time in my life! And it wasn’t like it was store bought pies and cookies. . . oh no . . this was all home-made decadence, and gourmet cupcake shop debachery – all sitting there staring my slightly un-inhibited self in the face.

Tollhouse Cookie Pie (still warm from the oven w/ Whip Cream!), Red Velvet CHEESECAKE, Gourmet Mini Cupcakes from a local bakery (Chocolate w/ Peanut Butter Icing!!), Creamy Decadent Yule Logs, Godiva Truffles . . . . and that’s just listing the highlights!

Suddenly my “Paleo Cupcakes” weren’t looking quite so hot anymore!

Anyone that knows me personally knows that sugar is my weakness. When I’ve been strict Whole30 Compliant for a good stretch of time, my sugar demons go to sleep, but alchohol wakes them back up in a heartbeat (yes – unfortunately, even red wine).

Soooo I ate a Paleo Cupcake and sat there staring longingly at the dessert table trying to summon my willpower.

After what felt like 3 hours, but in reality was more like 3 minutes, I said to myself “Screw it – it’s Christmas, and I’m having some friggin REAL dessert!” I then proceded to fill a DINNER PLATE with desserts of every shape and size, and dug in. (Reference Picture of Young Child above – yep, that’s about right!) Then I went back for a second helping of Tollhouse Pie. Yes. Really.

After about 15 minutes of indulgence, I was able to turn the switch off, and publicly swore that my meltdown was over with, and that I was back on the Paleo straight and narrow as of that moment. I knew that I’d be in for some serious digestive distress, but at that moment (3 glasses of wine in), I felt that it was totally worth it but knew that I needed to get a hold of myself before I started snowboarding down that slippery slope.

As we left, the host was gracious enough to give my poor deprived hubby a big tupperware container full of “real” mashed potatoes and stuffing. They had listened to his tails of woe regarding my mashed cauliflower and stuffingless dinner table, and had pity on his poor soul.

On the drive home, my hubby reminded me that he had some cheesecake in the fridge that a friend of mine had given him (another “pity” gift!). He asked me if I needed him to “hide” it when we got home so that I wouldn’t be tempted, but I ensured him that my sweet tooth was fully satisfied, and there was no need to go hiding food. I was in control again.

Around 11:30 that evening, we were laying there in bed, and my hubby got up to have a midnight snack of mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cheesecake. I was suddenly overwhelmed with the NEED to have cheesecake RIGHT THAT INSTANT. It wasn’t like I was sitting there and thought “hmmm. . cheesecake sure would be nice“. No. This was “I. MUST. HAVE. CHEESECAKE. NOW!!”


This is where the hostage negotiation began. I walked out to the kitchen where my husband was eating cheesecake straight out of the tupperware container. I batted my eyes as softly as I could, gave him my best “come hither” look, and in my sexiest voice said “Hey Baby – I sure would like just one bite of that cheesecake. . . . ” He proceeded to dutifully remind me that I had just sworn off sugar again not even 2 hours prior, and swore that he was doing me a favor by not giving me a bite. But in my cheescake craving frantic mind, I could not see reason.

All I could think about was a bite of that cheescake. So I changed the angle of my argument. I told him that my friend that had made the cheesecake would be insulted if she found out that I went off my diet for a few minutes, and didn’t eat any of her cheesecake (yeah, lame excuse, I know – but I was desperate!) Well, he didn’t buy that either, and slowly began a countermanuever around the kitchen island and into the living room.

As I began to follow him, he picked up the pace – before long I was literally (yes. . . this is real – you have to see this mental picture) chasing my husband around in the circle that goes through our kitchen and living room. He was holding the cheesecake out in front of him at arm’s legnth, running full speed ahead, pulling every evasive manuever he could think of – and I was nipping at his heels, fury in my eyes, screaming all kinds of obscenities and threats of what I would do to him if he didn’t give me a friggin bite of cheesecake. Reason had left the building!!

After about 5 or 6 laps, I had a brilliant idea. I knew that he was covetting the mashed potatoes and stuffing that he’d been sent home with, so I decided that I would take it hostage. Oh Yes I Did. On about my 7th trip through the kitchen, I ripped open the fridge door, pulled out “his precious” and strutted over to the sink with a sadistic grin on my face, ripped off the lid, and held it at a 90 degree angle to where it was just shy of dumping down the disposal. He froze opposite of me and we locked eyes. It was staredown time. He yelled “YOU WOULDN’T“ and I shouted back “JUST WATCH ME!!!”

This exchange was followed by about a minute of staring each other down in silence. He was weighing his options and trying to decide if I would really dump his sacred Christmas food down the drain. I was trying to read him to see if my threat was working, and drooling over the cheescake that was still in his hands and just barely out of my reach. As he started to draw back, I tipped the container just a hair more and he yelled “Nonononononononono!!!!! Fine – You can HAVE your freaking Cheesecake! Just Don’t Throw That Food Down The Drain!!” I slowly walked around the island and made a grab for the cheesecake, but he pulled it back at the last minute and made a grab for the mashed potatoes and stuffing that I was still holding hostage. Fast Forward a moment or two and we were chasing each other around in circles again (You just can’t make this stuff up kids!) Right about now, the dogs come out of the bedroom and start chasing us around as we’re chasing each other. So I’m screaming threats and profanities, the dogs are barking frantically and nipping at our heels, and my poor husband is simply running for his life and wondering how he ever got himself into this situation and how he can save his food.

In the long run, I was able to catch my hubby (Thank you CrossFit!!), and rip the cheesecake from his hands, simultaneously shoveling it into my mouth with my bare hands. He made the split second decision to save his mashed potatoes and stuffing, and give up on the cheescake. . .

We ended up the night on the floor rolling in laughter reflecting on what had just happened. I mean really. In what household does the wife go ballistic over cheesecake and hold mashed potatoes and stuffing hostage over the garbage disposal? I’m almost willing to bet Vegas Odds that this is a first. And part of me wishes we’d had a hidden camera somewhere because we definitely would have won an episode of America’s Funniest Videos!!

So I may very well be the only person on the planet that has gone batsh*t crazy when I had a massive sugar craving – but somehow I doubt it. While most sane people out there have probably never taken the pursuit of their object of desire in a moment of weakness to such great legnths, I’m willing to bet that many have at least contemplated it! Hopefully my honest disclosure will help others to realize that they’re not the only ones that have moments of “craziness” when in the grips of a sugar craving.

As for my “Recovery” . . I woke up the next morning with the worst belly-ache of my life. I asked my husband why the hell he let me eat the cheescake – and then we both laughed some more. This unfortunate incident did wake up my sugar demons with a vengance and I’m having to be very mindful of everything that I eat right now. I’m craving sugar a lot, and just having to suck it up.

I’ve made the decision to start a “Whole100” on January 1st, so I am being a little more “relaxed” with my diet over the next several days, but I refuse to fall of the wagon completely as I have in the past. It’s so easy to say “Well, I’m starting the Whole30 (or **insert diet name here**) in a week, so I have to eat this and that and this and that and this and that and this and that BEFORE I start so that I can get it out of my system”. How do I know this? Because I’ve Been There. Done That. I refuse to do that again. I have to remember that I want to hold on to all of the progress I’ve made so far in my journey to becoming a healthier person, inside and out. And a week long binge would NOT do much to set me up for success! All of my main meals and snacks have been 100% Paleo, but I did allow myself a single serving of ice cream last night. This was different though. Ice Cream is the #1 Item on my “Healthy/F-Off” scale, and I had made the concious decision a long time ago that I would have one scoop before January 1st when I will dig in for the long haul.

Also, I started a Pictoral Food Log that I plan to update with EVERY SINGLE BITE that I put in my mouth during my “Whole100” Journey. I started it this week so that I could work out all of the technical difficulties before my journey begins, and also so that I can get in the habit of snapping pics of everything before I eat it. There’s a link to my pictoral food log at the top of the navigation bar on the right side of your page. If you’re ever curious about what I’m eating, check it out! I hope that my log will help to show others that being “Whole30” Compliant REALLY isn’t as hard as some people make it. It’s basically just meat, veggies, and healthy fats – with some fancy stuff thrown in there from time to time to keep it interesting. Hey – if I can do it, ANYONE can!

Don’t Worry. . .Be HAPPY!

SMILE!

It really is that simple.

I’m a glass-half-full kind of girl, as anyone that knows me personally can confirm 🙂

I make a concious effort to go through life looking at the positive side of things. I can’t control what happened in the past, so I try not to dwell on it. Don’t get me wrong – I take into consideration past mistakes and learn what I can from them – but then I move on. The same goes for the future. If I policed every single move that I made because I was worried about it may affect my future, I’d be a stressed out mess! I make responsible adult decisions but I also do my best to live in the moment and enjoy the heck out of life while I can.

If you’re having a particularly bad day, analyze the things that are bringing you down – see if you can find one potential positive outcome for each of those negative things. And then focus on bringing about the most positive that you can from the “bad” situations. You’d be amazed at how much smoother the ride through life is when you choose to look at it with rose-tinted glasses 🙂

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” ~Albert Einstein

“Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means that you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.” ~Unknown

“Don’t rely on someone else for your happiness and self worth. Only you can be responsible for that. If you can’t love and respect yourself – no one else will be able to make that happen. Accept who you are – completely; the good and the bad – and make changes as YOU see fit – not because you think someone else wants you to be different.” ~Stacey Charter

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.” ~Frederick Keonig

“A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.” ~Hough Downs

I was going through some old pictures, and noticed that I really tend to have a perpetual smile. It takes a lot to bring me down – here’s a brief slideshow of me from Newborn to present – and you’ll see that I have a big fat Joker-like grin in 99% of the pictures – I used to hate that grin and think that it made me look goofy – but as I’ve “grown up” I’ve learned to appreciate it as something that makes me unique 🙂

(Oh, and hopefully you’ll get a laugh from the many different crazy hairstyles and colors that I’ve tried over the years as well . . . HAHA!)

Why?

Why Do I Live the Paleo Lifestyle?

I remember when I did my first round of the Whole30 Program in July, I had a TON of people ask me why in the world I would “put myself through that”.

When I say a TON of people, I’m not exaggerating in the slightest. Family, Friends, CoWorkers, Waitresses in Reastaraunts. . . . . No one could understand my motivation.

I tried explaining myself, but most people just shook their heads and said “Well you’re crazy, but good luck!” (By the way – when I get called “crazy” from time to time – I take it as a compliment. . . it means I’m different – and I want to be different! Who wants to a carbon copy of everyone else?!?)

At the time, I had a ton of reasons for wanting to “Put myself through it” ranging from health issues to vanity reasons. After about two months of strict Whole30 Compliance, I sat myself back down and re-evaluated the reasons that I have chosen this way of eating. I am one of those people that won’t do something unless I understand WHY it is that I’m doing it. In other words, I have to understand the Why? behind the How? before I can fully commit to a decision.

So what are my personal reasons for choosing to stay Paleo?

#1: Prevention of Autoimmune Disease

  • Autoimmune disease runs rampid in my family. It would be easier to list the autoimmune diseases that DON’T run in my family than to try to list the ones that DO. But a short list of the biggies include: Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), Interstitial Cystitis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Lupus, Autonomic Neuropathy, Ulcerative Colitis, and Thyroid Disease. Additionally, adult onset Diabetes and Osteoporosis are also prevalent in my immediate family.
  • I love my family dearly and I hate to see them suffer with the pain that these diseases cause. I would do anything that I could to make it go away for them. Unfortunately, I don’t have the power to take their diseases away, but I am going to do everything in my power to prevent the onset of these diseases in my future.
  • The elimination of Grains, Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Nightshades, Legumes, and Artificial Sweetners has been linked to the remission of many auto-immune diseases, and there are a ton of studies out there that suggest that adhering to a diet free of these inflammatory foods can prevent the onset of autoimmune diseases in people that are pre-disposed to them. THIS is the BIGGEST reason that I have chosen to follow the Paleo Diet for life! My health and quality of life is worth a little “inconvenience” when it comes to finding and preparing approved foods!

#2 – I Feel Better!

  • My personal experience has shown me that I feel like a million bucks when I adhere to a strict Paleo Diet. I have all kind of digestive problems that all but dissapear when I’m “strict”. My mood in general is better, I have more energy, I sleep better. . .I just plain feel better. MUCH better. So much so that I can’t imagine ever going back to feeling like I did before!
  • I honestly didn’t think that I was “sick” or that I didn’t feel good before. But in comparison to how I feel now, I realize that I was tired, sluggish, and drained most of the time. When you’ve felt like this for a really, really long time, it just becomes “normal” to you, and you forget what really and truly feeling GOOD feels like!

#3 – I’m Vain!

  • Yep – you heard that right – I’m admitting it. I’m Vain. I look and peform SO MUCH better when my diet is dialed in. . . . and I like that! And you know what? I like it when people notice it too! I love the feeling of squeezing into a pair of jeans that I couldn’t get my big toe into 3 months ago. And I don’t ever want to experience the feeling of having those jeans get too tight again! I like going to the beach and not worrying about taking off my shorts and exposing my cellulite! I love setting PR’s in the gym and watching my strength increase. I love watching the little “turkey neck” that I had under my chin dissapear (no more gobble gobble!!), and watching my abs show up a little more each week. Lastly, I love that for the first time since I was a teenager, I’m 95% acne free.

Well, those are my PERSONAL responses to all of the “Why’s”. These reasons may or may not motivate you to try or stick with a Paleolithic Diet. I have found that it’s not worth doing unless I want to do it and have good, solid reasons to fall back on when I have a moment of weakness and really want a DQ blizzard. . . 🙂
So if you’re considering trying a round of the Whole30, or you’re finishing it up and trying to decide if you’re going to make this new way of eating a way of life – do yourself a favor and do a little self-reflection. Determine what YOUR reasons are for wanting to eat this way – write them down – and pull them out to remind yourself from time to time.

Patience is a Virtue. . .

For someone with my personality, patience is one of the things I struggle with the most. Not patience with others, but more patience when waiting for things to happen or in this case, waiting for injuries to heal. I want to get back in the game ASAP even though logic is telling me that I need to take it easy for a few days. . .

On Tuesday I was doing a WOD that involved a lot of Hang Power Snatches at 65 lbs. To me, this weight felt heavy, but definitely not unmanagable. Unfortunately though, as fatigue set in I started to let my form slip and as a result I tweaked a muscle in my back on one of the very last reps. Throughout the rest of the day my back got tighter and tigher as it continued to spasm every time I’d move a certain way, so I decided to give it a few days off. I’ve been keeping ice on it taking anti-inflammatories to help with the swelling. It’s feeling much better, but not quite 100% just yet.

The “smart/logical” side of my brain is telling me that I need to just chill out for a few more days and let it heal completely before resuming my training. I know that if I go back too soon I will prolong the healing time and it could turn into a nagging injury that holds me back for months. Unfortunately, the “other” side of my brain is less logical and feels like I’m losing ground every single day that I don’t train!
Fortunately my wonderful husband is my voice of reason, and every time I say “well maybe I’ll just do something light” he threatens to chain me to the furniture and reminds me that I will make a lot more progress if I wait just another few days and go back at it when I’m 100%.

So good luck to all the CrossFitters out there doing Fight Gone Bad today! I’ll be cheering you on from my couch . . . patiently!

Evil Edamame!



This is a public service message for anyone following Whole30 or attempting to eat within Paleo Guidelines – EDAMAME is NOT an approved Vegetable – it’s a Soy BEAN. . . A.K.A. a LEGUME.
This is common knowledge to most, I know – but I made the inadvertent mistake of eating a half of a bowl of edamame on Day 28 of my Whole30, thinking that I was eating a vegetable! I know better. . . I really do. . . .but for some reason, it didn’t compute to me that I was eating a legume until I was about half way through the bowl. . . crap!!

The final day of my business trip (yesterday), I was invited out to lunch with several of the employees from the office I was visiting. Building rapport and working relationships with other members of my company is very important to me both personally, and as a part of my career. I did not want to be the person to order a dish with 15 revisions, and give them the impression that I was high-maintenance!

Explaining my choice to follow a Paleolithic “diet” to friends and co-workers doesn’t bother me at all – it’s just that it usually centers the conversation around me and turns into a 45 minute discussion/debate – not the kind of first conversation you want to have with co-workers that you just met over a casual lunch meeting!

We went to a very nice Sushi restaurant (I told them I was unable to eat Gluten that morning when I passed up a bagel in the breakfast meeting, so they were gracious enough to find a place that I could easily find a gluten-free option).

I used to LOVE Sushi Nigiri & Sushi Rolls, but am happy to say that the rolls/etc on the menu didn’t even tempt me!

I scanned the menu, and found the “Seafood Salad”, which was a bed of fresh greens topped with Avocado, Sautéed Shrimp & Calamari, and an Asian dressing. I was easily able to make this Whole30 compliant by simply asking that they hold the dressing and sauté the Seafood only in olive oil. (And by the way – it was DELICIOUS!!)

As an afterthought, I also ordered a bowl of steamed edamame as an appetizer so that I would not appear “rude” or go into a 15 minute explanation by refusing food as everyone else was sharing appetizers of Sushi Rolls & Tempura. I thought to myself – “Hey, I’m increasing my veggie intake to boot – Yay!”

I had eaten about half of the Edamame when I suddenly had the realization that I was eating . . Soy BEANS. . . which I’m pretty sure are legumes. . . CRAP! Here I was thinking “veggie” and instead was eating “legume” . . . darn it!

I did some research to see just how much I may have screwed up the Whole30 “reset button” that I’m trying to press.

Here’s what I found about Soy Beans/Edamame:

Apparently, Soy beans contain a ton of “anti-nutrients” – more so than most legumes. To make matters worse, the particular kind of anti-nutrients contained in soybeans are not removed by cooking them. . . yikes!

My research informed me that Soy beans contain Enzyme Inhibitors which block the action of enzymes that are needed for protein digestion. In other words, these prevent our bodies from absorbing proteins and amino acids in our foods – No Bueno!

Additionally, soy beans contain Phytic Acids which block the uptake of essential minerals in the intestinal tract – blocking absorption of these minerals by our bodies. In other words, the good minerals like Calcium, Magnesium, Copper, Iron, and Zinc that we would normally obtain from our foods is not able to be absorbed by our bodies when Phytic Acids are present, and instead is passed straight through in our waste. . . Ick!

Finally, Soy beans contain Goitrogens, which can suppress thyroid function . . . again – Wow – Who knew?!?!? And these things are legal, and toted as “healthy”???

So I’d say that my inadvertent slip up yesterday definitely broke my Whole30, as I’m sure that there were some negative reactions within my body as a response to the Edamame, which interfered with the healing cycle that I was trying to complete – but that’s okay – upward and onward – I’m going to stick with it the remainder of the 60 days, and I’ll just call it a Whole 28/32!

Oh, and I looked at several different sites when researching this info, but most of it was found here: http://www.mercola.com/article/soy/avoid_soy.htm

A House Divided

As I was doing some casual reading last weekend, I ran across this quote from former President Abraham Lincoln:

“A house divided against itself cannot stand”
Well, I am very much hoping to prove the exception to the rule in this case!
You see, when I made the decision to begin the Whole30, and make this way of eating a life-long thing, I tried desperately to get my husband to do the 30 days with me on a “trial basis”. I love him dearly, but his eating habits had slid as much as mine had over the last 6 months, and they are starting to impact his health. In his defense, he has made an effort to improve the quality of the foods that he is eating (no more McDonalds/fast food, and he’s cut down his Pepsi consumption from 2L a day to 20oz a day), but he was just not ready to go “all in” with me – and I have to respect his decision – you simply can’t force this way of life on someone who is not ready for it – it has to be something that a person wants for themself.
As a result, I haven’t been able to “purge” my house of non-paleo foods. Mainstays in my husbands diet are (white) bagels w/ cream cheese, toast, cereals with milk, sandwiches with cheese, baked beans, sodas, sweet tea, and frozen desserts like popsicles.
Fortunately, he doesn’t complain when I cook Paleo dinners (I refuse to cook two seperate meals!), but I have found it hard over the last week to be sitting at my desk in the morning, and suddenly have the heavenly smell of a toasty bagel floating through the air, tempting me! It’s equally as hard to watch him eat a popsicle after dinner, which is when my sugar cravings tend to kick into high gear. Lastly, I found out early in the first day that opening my pantry and seeing the bread, cereal, and bagles was not a good thing for my will-power . . or my sanity!
I know that many people who follow a Paleo lifestyle have family members or children who are not Paleo-Compliant – I would have to assume that it is difficult for them as well, especially in the begining as they are trying to go “cold turkey”.
So what can be done to make things a little less difficult, without forcing the Paleo lifestyle on those that we live with who do not want it for themselves?
Here is my solution:

  • I set up a seperate shelf in my pantry, above my eye level, and I put all of my husbands “non-paleo” foods on this shelf. I have two shelfs at eye level and below that are full of all of my Paleo-compliant foods. So when I reach into the pantry for olive oil or coconut milk, I don’t have to reach past his bagels 🙂
  • I did the same in the fridge – there is one shelf dedicated to his soft drinks, baked beans, cheeses, and anything else that doesn’t fit into my diet – there are also two condiment shelves with the salad dressings, ketchup, mayo, ect. Then I have MY shelves stocked full of veggies, fruit, lean meats, and water 🙂 When I open the fridge, I can go straight to my shelves, and don’t even have to glance at the stuff on his shelf that would normally tempt me or set off a craving.
  • I’ve also asked him not to leave the bagels or toaster on the counter-top, as both make me think of bagels, and tend to set off a craving – he’s been great about putting these things away when he’s done with them.
  • Lastly, I just leave the room after dinner when he’s enjoying his popsicle – I can easily use that 5 minutes to straighten up in the kitchen, lay my workout clothes out for the next day, or sort some laundry – it would be unfair of me to ask him to leave the room!

I have found that these simple steps have helped me a million times over in surviving the first week of my new Paleo way of life. They have also helped to reduce some of the tension in the house (because I’ll admit – I can get a little cranky/moody when I’m craving something, and he’s sitting there eating the very thing that I want!)
I also remind myself that I could have these things if I wanted them, but I am making the choice to cut them out of my diet in order to improve my health, both now and in the future. Looking at it in this light helps me to avoid the feelings of “restriction”, and help to make me less grouchy, and a little easier to live with 😉

Unplanned Rest Day

Okay, so I’ve officially got a nasty cold 🙁 I’ve been fighting it off since early this week, and it finally got the better of me.

Tossed and turned all night last night w/ the sweats and chills. . .hate that!

Sticking to a Paleo diet today, but not going to make the gym . . obviously.

Note regarding food today – I really feel crappy and have next to no appetite so I’m not going to get in the calories that I normally would, but I’m missing my workouts today too so It’s not like I need a lot of extra energy from the food anyway.

So far today:

8:30am – 2 mini fritattas, 4 oz Trop 50 OJ
late morning snack – 1 TB almond butter
12:00pm – 1 Lean Turkey Sausage Link, salad w/ spinach, tomato, onion, carrot, avocado, 1hb egg, and balsamic vinegar
Snacked througout afternoon on: 1 peach, 2 baked chicken tenders, 6 oz Trop 50 OJ
7:00pm – 6 inch Oven Roasted Chicken Breast sub

I know, the sub was totally not paleo, but I felt like total crap and really didn’t feel up to cooking anything, and being sick absolutely killed my willpower against starchy carbs 🙁 But I was good and got it w/ vinegar instead of mayo!

Not feeling so hot!

Ugh, I really feel crummy today 🙁 This cold has finally gotten the better of me! I felt okay when I woke up, but have been feeling worse and worse throughout the day.

CF this morning was good. Did 15 Deadlifts/15 Pushups – 10 rounds. RX was 95lbs on the Deads, I did 99lbs. Wow did they get heavy by the 6th or 7th round! My final time was just over 20 minutes. I did the first 2 rounds of strict pushups, and then went to my knees to avoid compromising my form.

Lifting was AWESOME last night! I FINALLY pressed the 65 lbs for all sets. . . . they were really ugly, but I did it! Only thing is that I did bounce a little bit at the bottom of each rep (okay a LOT by the final set). I’m going to drop it down to 60 next week and concentrate on eliminating the bounce before I go back up in weight.

Okay, on to food. I’m on day 3 of being strict.

So far today:

4:30am – 2 mini sweet potato frittatas (pre CF)
6:30am – 3 oz sweet potato + 1/4 scoop Protein powder (post CF)
8:00am – 1/4 cup steel cut oats, 1 T Almond Butter, 1/2 scoop Protein Powder (needed energy!)
11:45am – 4 oz Tilapia + Salad w/ spinach, tomato, onion, avocado, 1 hb egg, carrots, and balsamic vinegar
Afternoon – Snacked on 1 TB Almond Butter & a few saltine crackers. . .later had 1/2 plumcott
6:30pm – 1 Link Lean Turkey Sausage + Zuchinni, Squash, and Onions sauteed in EVOO

Really felt crappy by the end of the night. . I know the saltines weren’t Paleo, but I had to do something to settle my stomach mid-afternoon.

Missed my Oly lifting session tonight b/c I felt absolutely horrible, not to mention I don’t think the others in the gym would have appreciated me sneezing and coughing all over them!

Not a Weiner

So Jamie and I bought $10 worth of Mega Millions Tickets last night on a whim since the Jackpot is up to some kind of crazy amount over $250Mil . . . and am devastated to announce that we are not wieners. . . lol 🙂

I got 9 hours of sleep last night, and it felt A-Freaking-Mazing!!

Up this morning at 5am for 6 O’Clock Crossfit – had my favorite WOD on the board when I walked in, so I knew it was gonna be a GOOD DAY!
WOD involved Pullups, Situps, and Walking Lunges. I have super fast sit-ups, and my walking lunges are fast too b/c of my looong legs 🙂 My pullups really slowed me down this morning though. Couldn’t seem to get the rythem right. The first set I got abotu 5-6 in a row, but after that I was only getting 2-3 at a time, and then just singles, so it really slowed me down.

Posted a time of 14’45” which I was okay with, but got home and checked, and my previous time was 14’08”, so I definitely need to do more pullups to get them back up to speed!

Having a productive day at work today (got to LOVE those!)

Planning on taking the evening off from schoolwork so that I can unpack my luggage (yes from the trip that I returned from LAST WEEK!! – I’m so bad about that stuff). . . and do some laundry and just give my brain a break!

Hope to be in bed by 9 tonight so that I can get 8 hours of sleep before CrossFit tomorrow morning.
Planning to cook Fajita steak, peppers, onions, and tomatoes for dinner tonight w/ a little Guac on the side. . YUMMY!
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Stress is at Max Levels!

Okay, so today started off with me making the most bone-headed move EVER! I mean this was like Epic bonehead stuff that you only see in the movies . . .

I decided to get up early and knock out my grocery shopping before getting into my schoolwork for the day b/c the grocery store is typically really empty on Sunday mornings. I jump in my car, open the garage door, throw it in reverse, and hit the gas. . . .went about 2 feet before I was suddenly jolted to a stop with a loud “CRUNCHing” sound . . . . NOT GOOD!!!

I look in the rear view mirror to see my hubby’s pretty new Tahoe sitting outside in the driveway w/ my rear fender imbedded into it’s front fender . . . CRAP!!! Since when does he park in the driveway?!?!?! He ALWAYS parks his “baby” in the garage!! Guess I should have noticed it wasn’t there when I had gotten into my car a few minutes earlier . . .

Then comes Jamie running out the door and he just went white. . so I knew it wasn’t pretty 🙁

Leave it to me to go and wreck two of my own cars at the same time.

So yep, we’re going to have to get them both fixed. . . . and pay two SEPERATE deductibles . . . YAY ME!!!

Pics of the damage:

So I go grocery shopping, come home, sit down to schoolwork, and am working on my assignments, when I notice the end date for my Master’s level class is 8/24/09 – that’s TOMORROW!!!!! CRAP!!!! I thought it ran until the end of the month – 8/31/09. So now I’ve got less than 48 hours to turn in all of the rest of the assignements. . . . I forsee two all-nighters in my future
So just for the heck of it, I check on the other class, which I was nearly positive ended 8/31. . . NOPE . . that bad boy ends on 8/26/09. . . I’m SO SCREWED!!
But I will remain positive – going to buckle down and knock out as much as I possibly can. I have requested extensions, but there is absolutely no guarantee that I can get them . . . wish me luck!
For obvious reasons, I’ll likely be MIA from the blog until 8/27 once I’ve turned in all of my work for these two classes. .