Sunday, December 15, 2013

Christmas is the time to say....

no thank you! Sigh. Why is it so hard to say no to the peppermint mocha lattes, warm apple pie with vanilla bean ice cream and chocolate torte after all these years? Oh I know, because I'm human. Right. I'm not gonna lie, I've gained a few pounds, just a few and no one would probably notice but hell, once I start down that path of "I'll just have a bite, It's just one Milky Way or Hey, I have a gift card!"and yes,  I'm talking to YOU Starbucks! It's makes it that much harder to say no. I'm sorry, I love you peppermint white chocolate mocha latte.

Ok, so I'm trying to make piece with myself about enjoying the holidays, not meaning I'm going to eat my face off because the gluten free gods know I can't really do that. Just that I'm not going to stress over the fact I had a 'real' cookie or a slice of heavenly wheat flour and sugar filled apple pie. I'm going to make old fashion Pilsbury sugar cookies with the kids (and their friends) because not everything needs to be about me and what I can and can't eat. Is it healthier for the kids to eat my usual almond flour, maple syrup sweetened cookies? Probably but hey, it's Christmas and with the limited time I have to spend with them while they are little and somewhat adorable, I'm going to use it wisely.

So I'm finished shopping. Can't friggen believe it. First time ever. Well, I'm 99.5% done. I have a few little teacher gifts to get and something for the inlaws' inlaws. I'm hosting Christmas Eve this year which means lots of planning and cooking and baking and cooking and baking and tequila here and there to calm the nerves. The menu is set for the most part and it should be delicious. Not quite as 'clean' as it should be but gluten, refined sugar and over processed free. If I remember I'll try to take some pics and post the recipes, at least for the dishes Bob and I created on our own which include a citrus kale salad with walnuts and shallot and sweet potato casserole with baked apples and pears. Fabulous.

Workouts have been pretty decent. I'm going with my own programming for a few weeks. Not quite as intense as the strength bias program, but along the same lines by making sure I work in deadlifts, shoulder press and back squats every week. I've been feeling great so I must be doing something right. I figure after 3 years I should be able to program myself a few times a week and follow Outlaw for cleans, snatches and conditioning in between.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Holy Yoga!

Decided to do yoga 'for athletes' this morning. Wow. I'm sorry, I just can't bend like that. What do you mean put my hand behind my back and grab the other hand under my crotch? Oh no no no no, that ain't happenin my friend. It was insanely hard but I felt GREAT 5 minutes after. I really need to get back to doing it at least once every 2 weeks or so. Even if I have to modify a bit.

Lets see... my diet. Well, it has been shitty as of late. Actually since Halloween. My kids brought home 15lbs of candy. Seriously. It was obnoxious. If I was a good paleo/primal practicing mom I would have let the kids trade it in for a toy or money if they agreed but I'm not, so yes, I still have candy in my pantry. They haven't really touched it in weeks but it's still in there. The chocolate lover in me refuses to throw it away. The other reason for my poor dieting is just plain ole lack of control. 'Sure I'll have baked pineapple butter sugar dough casserole, hell give me another scoop! And add some of those oreo crumble truffles and a piece of pumpkin pie.' Yep, that was Thanksgiving this year for me. Not one of my finest moments. And yes, I paid the price that night. Hello gluten baby. But, my workout the next day was pretty good thanks to all the extra calories and carbs. I did Dirty Diane in 8 min. Not the best time, but I felt good and sometimes that's all that matters. In all reality though, the diet isn't that bad. I've been snacking more than usual but dinners are still on track. Stuffed chicken breast with artichokes and sun dried tomatoes, big salad with egg, avocado, pears and prosciutto over arugula and baby spinach.... still awesome. And I promise next time I do the chicken (since I've made it a few times now) I'll post the recipe. It's pretty damn good if you like artichokes or are looking for a different way to serve chicken. Lets face it, chicken is boring, the more recipes the better.

Speaking of new recipes. I've just about had it with eggs. I've done every possible combination known to man and some days, the thought of eating another egg makes me cry. So after taking a short break, I made eggs for breakfast today. And a thought occurred to me while deciding if I wanted fried or scrambled. Why not just saute my meat and veggies, in this case shrooms, green peppers and ham and just break the eggs in over top. If they break I'll have a loose scramble, if they don't I'll have a yummy fried egg. They actually came out terrific. One egg yolk broke the other didn't so I had this nice mix of runny yolk with my sauted veggies. Delicious. It's the little things.

Off to go shopping. 85% done. Go me.


Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Thanks for giving... and all that

Yeah yeah, I'm here. Still cooking, crossfitting, painting, dj'ing, skateboarding, writing... although not blogging. DJ you say? Yes. And I'm a natural if I must say so myself. I'm actually doing it right now (via the iPad) as I type this and it still sounds pretty good. Anyway, life has taken me in a different direction lately. Blogging, as much as I hate to say, has taken a back seat. Something has to give. I'm not Wonder Woman. Well, I'll never admit it publicly. The only reason I'm writing now is because my husband recently asked me if I've added a certain recipe to my blog. God no. I can't seem to make the time anymore. Not sure what the hell happened but needless to say, I haven't been able to get one up in months. I know, thats what she said.

So what have I been up to. The long short of it is. I don't know. I just don't. One day I'm happily scribbling down my recipes on a note pad beside the oven and cramming in the last season of Game of Thrones and Grey's Anatomy, next thing I know it's the day before Thanksgiving and I'm Christmas shopping my face off. Yes, I actually started earlier this year than ever. Doesn't mean I'll be finished sooner, I just won't have to spend endless amounts of time on "Huh, I wonder if dad would like a Pepperidge Farm beef stick this year?" Shudder.

We have added a new member to the family this past few weeks. George the Elf. He hasn't caused any mischief yet but I think he just needs a little time to adjust to his new family. I'm guessing he may start off small by tying everyones shoelaces together or something. Small yet insanely annoying. If you were thinking we may have gotten an animal, hell no. I'm still enjoying not cleaning up shit after 8 years.

Wods have been ok. Still plugging along 4-5 days a week. This time of year it's a little harder with my limited alone time I've been using it to shop and get holiday stuff done. Also the kids always have those 'parents come in and help bake, clean, make, craft, watch days' at school. I've volunteered quite a few times and figure next week I'll put in the last of my required hours for the year.

Still doing Outlaw programming although supplementing with a little strength bias here and there to work deadlifts back in. My back has been bugging me for a while and I wasn't quite sure why. I now know it's because Rudy doesn't program deadlifts very often and the lack of was hurting me. So now I do some 5x3's once a week and it's helped already. No need for the old lady heating pad anymore. Nothing new to report on the PR front, still working my cleans and snatches. They are improving slowly. I'm also still coaching my mom friend. She's doing well, hanging in there and doing whatever I tell her to do which is nice.

Oh well, time to head out got to pick up the kids. Recipes should start again soon.