Team WOD

So Saturdays are team WODs and it was my first team WOD today and i LOVED IT! first of all...workin out with the people at CF Indynorth is just awesome cuz there are so many fun and encouraging people...that always makes psycho workouts more manageable. Teams were made with the attempt to have 2 experienced cross-fitters and 2 not so experienced CFers...so needless to say i was one of the not so experienced CFers, and I was paired with 2 SUPER beastly CFers and then one other guy who started around when i did. The workout was intense. I really thought I held my own (for my "experience" or lack thereof) but i still felt bad cuz i couldnt go as fast as the other woman on my team so she ended up doing more reps to help keep us in the running (the guys on our team did the same thing)...we were last (3/3) the entire time UNTIL the part of the WOD were we had to do 250 double unders and THIS is where i could really contribute! I was BEASTIN the double unders and helped bring us in to 2nd place!!! I realize im really new at this so i try not to make unnecessary expectations out of myself, but i just wish i could be as strong as alot of these CFers NOW lol. Obviously i realize that all takes time, but that doesnt take away my desire to be at that status at this point in time lol. I'm being rather impatient....but the fact that i was able to REALLY contribute today with the double unders felt awesome, im not gona lie. And it made me realize that i gotta take everything in stride...go really hard in the areas im strong in and just keep working on my strength and endurance to get stronger in my weak areas (and i have many weak areas lol...my poor little weakling self). Anyhoots...really loved working out as a team today...loved the encouragement...loved pushing myself harder and harder...loved taking a nap AFTER that crazy intense workout, and loved seeing my hard work contribute to our team coming in 2nd place!!! Definitely positive reinforcement...and definitely cant wait to continue to see my progression!!

That's right ..I got bold

I woke up this morning unsure of what 10am would bring ...i had a hair appointment...FINALLY...ive been wanting to change my hair for SO LONG...as in since like high school lol..i just never got bold enough to cut my hair off...i just kept going longer and longer. Which was great for the wedding cuz my hair is super beasty (compliments of Mrs Abby Robertson= beast-a-tron), but after the wedding i just HAD to do something different...even if it was 2 inches off...just something! But I actually got bold enough go for the short hair look...been talking about it forever...finally followed thru! I started off this morning like the first few pics...and ended...with hair above the shoulders! That's right madame mim...got bold enough to chop it off! I'm not gonna lie...i wanted to cry at first...it becomes an emotional attachment...hair becomes a part of who we are almost. I know the song goes " i am not my hair" but DANG it sure does become an attachment...but once i looked in the mirror it confirmed my hair was gone...there was nothing i could do about it ...but embrace it. And i finally realized it really wasn't that deep...so today i did more than cut my hair off...i got passed a fear and let go of some chains! ALLELUIAH!!! YES YES!!!!! LIBERATION!!! As the day has gone by i like it more and more...the husband LOVED it from first site which helped the transition from long to short...but i still had some getting used to and its def got better! Who knows maybe next time i go in for a hair appt ill go a little shorter!! orignally wat i wanted was it to be longer in front and then have a steeper angle for the "bob" so maybe ill go for that next time...who knows?!?! since im passed my hair alteration fear i feel like i can do anything! except shave it lol. DUH. I'm glad i went thru with it tho...its really grown on me...and im glad i went thru with it and broke the chains i made with this head of hair of mine...i feel liberated ..."I am not my hair" :)

A Day to Give Thanks :)

Ahhhh yes....thanksgiving :)  A day to sit back and reflect on all we have to be thankful for...well, really i feel like we all should do that everyday...but today is a whole day designated for it! I have SO much to be thankful...i feel so blessed for all the wonderful people in my life, my journey thus far, the brightness of my future, my health, my happiness, my financial peace, for music and my ability to share myself with it...For a job that's not only a place to get paid but it's rewarding knowing that I'm being used to help these babies grow and get healthy enough to go home and to help the parents in the journey from hospital to home. Thankful for my relationship with God...thankful for His mercy and grace, His support and love..for His faithfulness...for protecting and keeping my loved ones..for everything all the life lessons that have helped me grow to be who I am today.

So very much to thankful for ...glory be to God for His goodness ....

SMOKED!

So went to Crossfit at 1pm today and we did our warm up, back squats, and then our WOD. I only back squated 115# cuz I've never really lifted for real before and was too nervous to keep trying ..but Im still proud of the 115# and am lookin forward to improving. One women squated 235# !! Crazy right? Most women were doing around 135# tho ...I got some work to do! Then we did our WOD which was 8 rounds of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off of : burpees, 20" box jumps, and squats . It was insane! I did a total of 64 burpees , 33 box jumps (thought id do better w those being a former vball player and high jumper! Guess not lol ), and then I did 84 air squats (this one lady did 182 !) ... I actually did the best in burpees but I got SMOKED in everything else! It's inspiring to see these people do so well tho! I'm tryna get like them! Lol. Crossfit indy north is actually hosting a competition in January and I can't wait to watch and cheer and hope to get that good someday! We shall see tho ...oh yea! And I did 12 double unders today! Double unders are when u r jumping rope the rope goes under twice for every one jump..the other day my record was 4 so I def surprised myself w that!

So now its work for the next 3 days so no Crossfit :( excited for thanksgiving w the fam! Sean, nicole and Keaton will b there AND the in-laws including sister for life (aka sister-in-law lol) ...only sad thing is I will b one brother short :( he will be there in spirit tho ...not too much longer til he's back home! Regardless of the situation there is so much to b thankful for...family being one at the top of the list! Love my fam-o ...

Crossfit on Friday (after 3 days off AND eating thanksgiving dinner) is gona b a doozy ! But I'm ready for the challenge! And gota stay focused so I don't keep gettin smoked!  Hahaha ...all in due time!

P.S.

*I wanna be a burlesque dancer ...but only if i can sing at the same time lol. I cant wait for the movie Burlesque to come out... and i should've been told about the auditions for the movie cuz better believe i wouldve been there lol

*I'm finally doing SOMETHING to my hair..have an appt this friday...not entirely sure how bold im gona be feeling so we'll see wat actually gets done (lord knows i talk alot about cutting my hair off and it NEVER happens lol)..even if i just take an inch or 2 off and add some more layers tho itll be enough to atleast give me a change. Not doin any color this time but might actually join the hair coloring world soon if my hair stylist envisions something amazing and i actually will fork over the greenery for it lol

*i love my *husband*

*we will be entirely debt free by the end of this month--> AMAZING feeling! Big plans ahead :)

*Had ALOT of fun at abi and mike's wedding yesterday...I feel very blessed to have been their cantor for the ceremony...singing in that beautiful church with the AMAZING acoustics was such a joy and so happy i could contribute to their wedding celebration...and it was so awesome thinking back on our wedding mass which was only 3 weeks ago when we exchanged our vows for forever...such an amazing day and start to this new chapter :)

*i look forward to delighting in gravy this thursday...i have alot to thankful for...one of those things being gravy...even tho i cant eat it as often as id like.

Striving to be a BEAST...

So my husbando and my's newest addition to our life is a little something called Crossfit. Crossfit is a RATHER extreme form of working out..it's an intense strength and conditioning program that kicks ya booty into ridiculous shape. I truly believe that if ur dedicated to crossfit u have NO CHOICE but to become a machine lol...there are actually competitions for crossfit athletes...im tellin ya its a big deal! I originally wasnt interested AT ALL in competing (except for against myself) but ive watched some of the videos of the womens rounds at last years crossfit games and i got SO HYPE watching those girls kick butt! they must be so proud of themselves for being able to accomplish such an amazing level of fitness...at first i was nervous to do crossfit cuz i saw some youtube videos of these crossfit girls that were DIESEL...like manly diesel...and i became fearful that i would bulk up and look like a man...reese has always told me thats not possible because of my body composition but it scared me anyway...but the girls i watched in the video at last year's games still looked feminine but were DEFINITELY fit and killin it...so now im excited and hope to one day have enough strength and endurance to be able to compete and actually hang with some of these women.

Reese has LOVED crossfit from the first day of on-ramp (the "beginner's" course to crossfit..its kind of like an introduction to all the basic exercises)...his wife, who is such an amazingly smart woman who knows her husband VERY well, knew he would love it because its so intense, athletic, and competitive. When he walked in and saw the wall of the WODs (workout of the day) w people's best times i could see his eyes light up and im sure what he was envisioning was his name on as many WOD records as possible lol. Such a competitor. I could've cared less when i looked at all that. I really just wanna compete against myself and keep pushing myself to get better and better...stronger and stronger...and if i get to the level where i could hang in a competition then SURE, id love to...like i said earlier i got REAL hype watchin the women's videos from last year's games. But for now, i just love it for the intensity, the structure (ur form has to be IN CHECK bc of the intensity of the workouts), and the sense of community and comaraderie that fills the warehouse. It's awesome. We both got so excited that we bought crossfit hoodies for our gym, Indy North. The coaches are fun, encouraging, inspiring, and awesome...and i love meeting new fellow crossfitters. We eventually have to have "the talk" with Bryn (the owner and one of the coaches)...by "the talk" im talking about nutrition...which i think will be AWESOME but also difficult cuz we both will have some big changes to make im sure. I eat pretty healthy to begin with but man i love me some ice cream and occasional baked goods! its why i NEVER buy or make them myself cuz i lose control and discipline...but whenever i turn around it always seems like there's a cupcake or tub of ice cream starring at me in the face. They follow me EVERYWHERE! Stalkers....

Today was our first WOD bc we just got done with on-ramp...we did a workout called "hellen" which was 3 rounds for time of a 400 meter run, 21 kettlebell swings (the prescribed weight i used was 26# cuz i gotta start small w my weak self lol), and then 12 pull ups. I SUCK at running so that obviously killed me...but i felt really great on the pull ups and kettlebell swings! I was told to use a band for my pull ups bc Bryn knew id prolly tire out doin 3 rounds of 12 w the kettlebell swings and all and BOY am i glad i did cuz my arms were startin to feel like jello..but i am really proud of myself cuz im actually able to do pull ups SOLO which i was never able to do before! its so encouraging to already feel like im making advancements...its all very addicting! which ive heard other people say that have been doing crossfit but didnt know how addicting it really is! wat sucks is i cant workout as often as id like since on the days that i work i cant workout AT ALL thanks to my awesome 12.5 hour shifts...i feel like if i ever really wanna train to compete im gona have to work in a clinic/office or something so i can workout more often. If that day ever comes im sure ill figure something out...until then im just gona keep on keepin on!

If you're interested in learning more about crossfit check our www.crossfit.com, youtube it, or google a crossfit in your city and check it out in person!

Snuggie bar crawlin it

So Friday night I met up with Alex and Angela (who r HILAR) in brip for a snuggie bar crawl. In Alex's words...we were "drinkin for the kids" lol. DORK. hahaha...no but for real we were doin the snuggie bar crawl to raise money for the Ronald McDonald house which im OBVIOUSLY a HUGE supporter for being a pediatric nurse and knowing first hand how important that foundation/resource is for families with sick little ones. Unfortunately, I didn't have a snuggie...and my frugal self wasnt gona go BUY one just for the event sooooo i took my handy dandy big fluffy blue robe, put it on backwards, and tied 'er up! WAH-LAH!! instant "white trash snuggie" (quote per fellow snuggie bar crawler who was quite the professional snuggie wearer lol). There's a competition at the beginning of the crawl of best get-up and she actually won it...she was rather decked out and i had to give her props...i missed the competition tho cuz i had to work and didnt get to brip until after it started. Which brings me to an AWESOME moment in my life. Picture it: im wearing my scrub pants still and just took off my scrub top so was wearin a white tee...i step out of dolores merchinski (the vehicular) in front of some italian restaurant full of young profressions out on a friday night...head to my trunk and pull out a big fluffy robe...proceed to put the robe on and tie up...then look up to see two men all decked out in their suits and shmancy coats staring at me like im JUUUUUST not right...so i try and make light of the AWKWARD situation by laughing at my super hot outfit to them...only for them to not laugh AT ALL and continue to stare and then for me to walk away...by myself...praying to find fellow snuggie bar crawlers and my friends ASAP lol. I'm not positive but i think i might have heard those 2 young gentlemen mumble "peasant" under their breath as i walked away. There's a really good chance actually...and even if they didnt actually say it...they looked like the type that would GENUINELY be thinking it. Poor babies...too snooty booty to appreciate a good homemade snuggie lol.

Anyhoots! Had a ton of fun w the girls and we have already started planning our AWESOME snuggie outfits for next for the competition...its gona be AMAZING...cant give any details tho JUST IN CASE our competition finds my blog and gets any inside. We warned our competition of our determination to win next year...and threatened them repeatedly. I'm pretty sure we accomplished instilling fear into their bones. They are NOT gona know what hit them when they see us next year.

PLENTY of people took pics of me and my robe-ie (robe version of the snuggie) so i feel like im PROBABLY all over several peoples facebook lol...i was quite the center of attention by both fellow snuggers and innocent by-standers. I felt PRETTTTTY awesome lol

Lookin forward to next year!!!

ps. the first bar i made it to was "brothers"...so i ordered food...and it was BANGIN!! the queso chicken wrap and their fries are AMAAAAAZING! cant have that again for a LONG time tho...between crossfit and my ridiculous and consistently climbing cholesterol i dont get much "splurge" food. Whats really funny about all that tho is that i finally got my cholesterol checked at a physician's office so that i could finally talk w a doc about what, if anything, i need to do medically to manage my cholesterol...and after i BEEN told both the doc and the nurse that ive BEEN exercising and eating healthy for a LONG TIME i STILL got told to "exercise and eat healthy" for 6 months and then they'd recheck it and we'd go from there. SeRiOuSlY?!?!?! my KNOWN (it could've been higher for longer but ive only KNOWN for 2 years) climbing cholesterol has now been goin on for about 2 years..luckily i have a really high HDL level so hopefully my good cholesterol has been doin its job and not allowing all that bad cholesterol to build up in my poor and innocent arteries setting my heart or brain up for failure :( Oh genetics...y must u be doing this to me!

I just wanna blog!

I've wanted to blog for SO LONG and it just never happens...something always ends up trumping it..or my thoughts r running so fast that i dont even bother to sit down and try to type them out bc either a) i wont accomplish wat i wanted to or b) itll take FOREVER to actually get out all that i want to. Very unfortunate situation. And I'm gona continue to not be able to blog...atleast not right now....gotta shower, run errands, and take a nap. Hopefully read a little. But i AM a married woman now...call me Mrs. Brown :) and we ARE essentially DEBT FREE (got the money for it just need to set up the payment method...which is a whole different and much longer story)...and i am DYING for a hair change but not sure what to do and not sure whether ill actually be bold enough to finally do something different...awaiting a phone call back from my stylist. I'm thinking about letting her do whatever she thinks will look best. I love Maurice Anthony. I love calling him my husband. HUSBAND HUSBAND HUSBAND HUSBAND!!! and i love when he calls me his wife...and now when he says it its actually "official"...i love BEING his wife...and i love that HE is my husband. I have extreme baby fever...often....but am trying to stay focused and tame the fever lol. We are both VERY excited for kids but want to grow and build our foundation a bit more first...just recently started crossfit...so far...its awesome..and my *husband* reaaaaalllllyyyyyyyy loves it...his *wife* knew he would ;) ...looking for a second job cuz getting mandatory called off on a routine basis is NOT ok NOR part of our master plan lol. ok...now its time to get back to all the other stuff i wanted to do...and hopefully ill get back to blogging later! hopefully ill be able to start jotting my thoughts down on here more routinely...doubt itll happen tho lol...

this has been Mrs. Brown---- OUT!