Gatlinburg-A Trip to Remember?!

We got back yesterday from our weekend trip to Gatlinburg and, well, it was an interesting trip to say the least...we definitely won't forget it, that's for sure! It ended up not really being the most relaxing trip ever...not so much what I had envisioned for our weekend getaway in the mountains!


So it started out with us having car trouble with both of our vehicles. We had planned on taking my car on the trip, but it started having problems the day before we left and then the check engine light came on, so we ended up having to drive my husband's jeep.



Well, then the jeep started acting funny on the way there, and the check engine light came on about an hour into the drive! So we ended up sitting at an auto shop for a couple of hours on the trip down to Gatlinburg. Not really a good start to the trip!


But we finally made it to there, and our cabin was super cute and had a really great view. It was a little cold and rainy-so much for the sunshine I was hoping for. Anyway, we had a nice dinner Friday night at Alamo steakhouse(BUT they didn't have our reservations for private dining that we had made, just to add to the list of things that went wrong!), and then we came back to the cabin and thought we'd start a fire in the fireplace.


Well, us "city" people had the hardest time getting the dang fire started! After numerous attempts, I finally got one going. Good thing I grew up with a wood burning fireplace and remembered a little of how my dad used to get the fire going. But...it only lasted about 15 minutes, and then I just gave up on trying to keep it going. So much for that!


Then we spent some time in the hot tub out on the deck, which was nice. The cold weather was perfect hot tub weather, and luckily the rain held off for a little while so we didn't get poured on.


So THEN... the main catastrophe of the whole trip(without going into details), we stayed one night in the cabin and then ended up having to pack everything up and find a hotel to stay at for our second night. A hotel room was not exactly what I had envisioned for our "mountain getaway", but oh well...I was determined to make the best of it anyway.


It was cold and cloudy again Saturday, but at least the rain held off until later in the day. We spent the day walking around downtown Gatlinburg, then rode the sky lift up to Ober, which had some amazing views, and then last we went to Ripley's aquarium.



Sunday was another cold and rainy day. We had planned on taking a hike, but because it was drizzling and so cold, we just decided to take a drive though the Smokies instead, on the Roaring Fork Motor Trail.


Because of the rain it was super foggy, so we couldn't really see any good views, but it was still a nice drive. But of course, we somehow ended up missing the cascade at the end of the drive that I was really wanting to see! But at least we stopped off and got some pics at a pretty stream. :)


The trip wasn't completely horrible; we did do some fun things, but it was more stressful than it was relaxing. Mostly, I was just disappointed that we didn't get to stay in our cabin-that was what I was most looking forward to!



I've decided that from here on out, our vacations will only be to the beach. You just can't go wrong with a beach vacation. There's nothing more relaxing than laying on the sand and soaking up the sun, with the sound of the waves crashing in the background....oh well, maybe next year!

So anyway, I'm still recovering from all the bad food I ate over the weekend. I mean, I really ate like crap, and I feel like crap today. And I haven't worked out in 3 days, which is the longest I've went without working out in a LONG time! I can't wait to get back on track with my workouts and clean eating!

Yucky Veggies

Why do vegetables have to be so good for you??? I hate them! I love meat, I love fruits, I love nuts, and of course I LOVE carbs. But I really, really do not like vegetables.

If I didn't care at all about my health, I'd never eat vegetables EVER.
Tonight I gagged down a salad and some steamed cauliflower for dinner...and I'm just thinking, "why am I doing this to myself??" I shouldn't force myself to eat something that I hate, right? I don't think I'm ever going to eat another salad again. Of course, I always say that, and then I do! Maybe I just need some new ways to prepare my veggies...or disguise them somehow.

All I know is that it's definitely time for a cheat meal when I just cannot choke down another vegetable! UGH. Sometimes I go through phases when I just want to go back to eating all the carbs I wanted and never any vegetables, like I used to! BUT that's always just a passing thought- I know I would never go back to eating like that because I just don't think it's healthy. So I'll just keep eating my veggies....

Tomorrow we're leaving for Gatlinburg, and I am not going to be worrying about eating right, that's for sure! I'm not going to go overboard and eat every bad thing in sight, but I know there will be more than a few cheats this weekend! :)

70 Burpees, Oh What FuN!

Today's workout was:

70 burpees
60 sit ups
50 kb swings with 35lbs
40 pullups
30 handstand pushups


I saw the 70 burpees...and I knew that it was gonna be a hard one. I did it as rx'd....well, my handstand pushups were not completely full range of motion all the way down to the floor, but oh well! It took me about 23 minutes(a little under). Kristan Clever, one of the BEST CrossFitters out there, did this workout in 9:56. I can't even comprehend that. I was just finishing the 60 situps at that time-not even half way through!


But I am getting so much better at a lot of the things I could hardly even do a couple of months ago. My double unders are getting easier, my kipping pullups are MUCH better, I'm stronger at handstand pushups, and my freestanding handstand holds are getting there! I stayed up for about 10 seconds one time! :) Still need to work on some of the lifts, especially the snatch. And I'm wanting to improve my squat and deadlift weight. I'm stuck at about 200lbs on both of them for my 1 rep max.


ANYways...today is going to be 85 degrees! Ahhhh, it's sooooo nice to have the warm weather back. Everything is starting to bloom-I love it!

Yay Spring

SPRIIIING is in the air!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally it is here. :)

We had a beautiful weekend with nice, warm weather. Today and tomorrow it's going to be almost 80 degrees. I love it, love it, love it! So long, winter! I won't miss ya!

We went to Derby Dinner Playhouse over the weekend with my mom and her husband to see Jesus Christ Superstar. The show was ok...a little weird... But I did enjoy the food!

Now THAT is a cheat meal! Fried fish, potatoes, green beans, a roll, and there's some mac and cheese under there! It was a buffet, and yes, I had a second plate! Plus a slice of peanut butter pie that was WON.DER.FUL! And guess what? After that huge cheat meal, I didn't gain a pound, and I still can see my abs. ;) So there.

Well, this weekend is our trip to Gatlinburg! I'm so happy it's here. :) I'm obsessing over the weather like I always do before a trip. I check it 10 times a day like a maniac; I can't help it! I don't know why, it's not like I can control it! It'll be fun no matter if it's rainy or sunny.

So I skipped today's WOD. Run a 10k, are you kidding me????? NO THANKS. After I ran that last 5k, I said I was never running that far again. So it'll be handstand and double under practice for me today. :)

3/16

Happy 3/16! :)

"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life."

5 Years

5 years ago today, I was standing on the beach in Maui, saying "I do" to my best friend! :)

Anniversary Date

Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary by going to dinner at Olive Garden. I hadn't been there in forever, and it was soo good!

It was SUCH a beautiful day-clear blue skies, sunshine and almost 70 degrees! I had a really yummy, chocolately dessert that totally HIT the spot! I ♥ chocolate! It was delish.

By this point, I was already stuffed after having 2 bowls of chicken and dumpling soup, breadsticks, and dinner(chicken and beef skewers,veggies, pototoes), but I ate every single bite!

Well, only 2 more weeks until our trip to the Smoky Mountains(our real anniversary celebration). It'll be here before I know it! I just hope the weather is gonna be nice. :)

OUCH

I really liked yesterday's workout, but my hands did NOT!

The workout was only one exercise: pullups. You had to start the clock and do one pullup in the first minute, then 2 pullups on the 2nd minute, 3 pullups on the 3rd minute and so on...until you couldn't get the number of pullups you were on within that minute.

I think I got to minute 13 when one of my calluses ripped off, and I was left with a torn and bleeding hand! :( But I kept going and finished up the round I was on, plus 5 more the next minute. And then I was completely done-zo. Biceps screaming, forearms fatigued, lats burning, hand bleeding. I think I ended up doing somewhere around 96 pullups in 14 minutes!

Anyway, it's a beautiful day here in Kentucky. It's been raining nonstop for the past few days, but the sun shining bright today. :) I'm looking forward to this weekend and my treat meal at Olive Garden for our 5 year wedding anniversary!

Squats and Bench

I love love LOVED today's CrossFit workout!

You had to do as many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of:
3 bench presses(125lb for women)
5 squats(155lb for women)

What I did NOT love, however, was that yesterday's workout was full out sprints, so I am super sore in my quads and hamstrings today, and I have some knee thing going on....

One of the only things I don't like about Crossfit is that sometimes I don't get their programming. Doing sprints and then squats the next day doesn't make sense to me...but oh well, I'm just goin with it anyway!

So I did the squats with 135lbs, which is usually not hard for me at all...Well, today it felt like 500 lbs with how sore my quads were! I used 115 on the bench press, which was pretty tough. But fun! I love to bench press. :)

I'm Not Perfect

I'm not perfect.


I'm insecure. I'm not always confident. I have days when I feel fat, I have days when I feel puny, I have days when I feel ugly.
I have to accept that I will never be perfect. I will never have the perfect body, no matter how hard I try. God gave me this body...so I have to live with it and make the most of it!


I might not have a 6 pack...but I do think I have pretty nice arms! I'm proud of my guns!(And yeah, I take a lot of flexing pics, so what?)

I may hate my skinny legs, but you know what? They are fast and pretty strong, too.

I may not be so good at met-con workouts, but at least I can do it! My body can move, it can jump, it can run and it can lift some pretty heavy weight! And I'm thankful for that.

"Strive for progress, not perfection."

My Thoughts On Cheat Meals

I like structure. I always have. If I go on a trip or vacation, I plan out every little thing that we are going to be doing, and I make a timeline. I plan out meals and snacks, I plan out what my workouts are going to be, what outfits I'm going to wear, and I make my list of things to pack about a month ahead of time!

I have found that I like that same structure with my eating plan. So as far as cheat meals go, what I've found that works best for me is having one planned cheat meal a week(I actually have always called it a treat meal, not a cheat!).

I have tried some different things recently with my treat meals. I've tried being a little more relaxed about it and just having a treat whenever I feel the urge, instead of having it planned. I've tried having a few small treats throughout the week instead of one huge meal. And I have even tried having a whole day where I pretty much just let myself eat whatever I feel like.

But what I've learned is this: having one or two treats throughout the week just doesn't satisfy me. And I don't think that having a whole day of eating whatever I want is good because I usually just end up eating way too much junk all day. I may have those days occasionally, usually on holidays or family get-togethers...but NOT on a regular basis. And I wouldn't suggest that anyone else do that, especially if you are trying to lose weight. (Remember-that is NOT my goal!)

I like to eat. I like to eat bad food. And I like to eat a lot of it at one time! So I am going back to what I have been doing for past 5 years. It has worked for me this long, so why fix somethin' if it ain't broke, right?

I can't lie, I like to stuff my face!

I like to have my treat meals planned out. I like to be able stuff my face and eat as much food as I want in one sitting. That is what satisfies me-one BIG cheat meal. Then I'm ready to get right back on track the very next day. I am able to eat clean the rest of the week, knowing that I have my next cheat meal to look forward to!

**Remember, I am not trying to lose weight or body fat. If you are trying to lose weight, I would suggest that you NOT have a huge cheat meal every week. One small treat each week would probably be better, or a bigger cheat meal every two weeks. Or you could have a "healthy" treat meal each week, where you take something that may not normally be very good for you and make it in a way that is healthier. For example: homemade pizza on whole wheat crust and reduced fat cheese, pasta with whole wheat spaghetti and lean ground beef or turkey, whole wheat banana muffins, lean beef or turkey cheeseburger on whole wheat bun with sweet potato fries, grilled cheese sandwich with mozarella cheese on Ezekiel bread, etc.

Squats and Handstands

I just finished today's WOD: 5 rounds of: 20 squats(I used 85lbs) and 20 yard handstand walk(I did 30 seconds handstand holds against the wall).


Yeah, I know I've mentioned that I love squats...well, not today. Like I said, I like heavy squats for low reps--20 reps with 85lbs was hard, even though that's a very light weight! Muscle endurance is definitely what I'm lacking!

Someone at the gym today told me that I look like I've gained muscle and am more defined! Yes, I love to hear that! It's hard to see the changes in your body yourself sometimes. I sure hope I'm getting bigger!

So... no big plans for the weekend, except for baking some healthy treats! I love love love to bake, and I have like a thousand recipes that I've found on the internet to try! :)

Toned Arms

How do you get toned arms? That's what every woman wants, right? Well, you forget about "toning", that's how.

You train for strength, you lift heavy, you TRY to build muscle. Toning=building muscle, losing fat. That's it. You don't worry about getting "big" arms-FAT makes your arms "big", not muscle!

Building muscle is actually a lot harder than most women think; it doesn't happen overnight. It takes a lot of effort, and doing 5lb dumbbell curls is NOT gonna get you toned, that's for sure.

It took me years of heavy pushing and pulling to get the muscle that I have in my arms today. It took a lot of hard work and and a lot of eating(healthy, of course)! It took constantly pushing myself to go harder and heavier-to squeeze out an extra rep or two than the last time, and to change up my workouts, exercises and rep ranges to keep my muscles challenged.

Another thing-DON'T just do exercises that only work your biceps and triceps, like bicep curls and tricep kickbacks. Focus more on exercises that work your bigger muscle groups AND the smaller bicep and tricep muscles at the same time, such as back rows, pullups, chest presses, and pushups. You can go heavier on these exercises, which means more muscle growth. And remember, that's what you want!

My goal was to always build. I have never trained with "toning" as my goal. BUT-the result of training to build muscle? TONED arms!

So I'd suggest if you want arms like this:

Then DON'T train like this:

Sunshine, WOD and Other Stuff!

The sun is shining!! :) It's so nice to see the sun after having clouds and rainy weather for the past week.

Today's workout was a hero WOD. It was a pretty crazy one, so I scaled it to this:
3 rounds for time:
3 muscle ups
9 burpee pullups(these are hard, but I really like them!)
15 pullups
400-600m run (not sure how far I actually ran, but something like that)

So the last time I tried to do a muscle up, I couldn't even get ONE, but today they felt pretty easy! I was really happy about that.

Oh-and yesterday, I got 30 double unders in a row, my new record! I am getting so much better at them.

And another thing-I stepped onto the scale yesterday....and I weighed almost 125 lbs!!!! Now, you've got to understand-it's very hard for me to gain weight. I have hovered around 118-120lbs for about the last 5 years, probably even longer than that. My body composition has changed in those 5 years(gained muscle, lost fat), but my weight has pretty much stayed the same. The highest I've been was around 122, and that's usually after a cheat day.

So I was pretty shocked to see 124.8 on the scale! I'm actually pretty happy about it, hopefully it's all muscle though! I don't know if it's CrossFit or the way I've been eating(less carbs, more fat and veggies)... or most likely a combination of both. Or maybe it was just the box of chocolates I had last week and those girl scout cookies...LOL ;) Who knows.

And just to keep you updated on my food "OCD"...I haven't been tracking anything on the board lately, even though I do kind of miss it! I'm still doing the carb cycling thing, just keep track in my head.

Today I was SO hungry a couple of hours after my workout...so... I finished up the last of the Girl Scout cookies, and also had some left over homemade mac and cheese! It was just sitting there in the fridge calling out to me...I tried to resist...but then I just said 'what the heck' and ate it!

Now that doesn't mean I give in every time I'm craving something "bad", but one or two times a week isn't going to kill me or make me fat. And I'm not gonna obsess over it or feel bad because I "gave in". I really don't even see it as giving in, I just let myself have it because I know that it's okay when 90% of my meals are clean and healthy.