"Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles

 

My main man, George Harrison (I always like the quiet ones??).  My dad is from Hong Kong, and didn't grow up with tons of American music, but The Beatles he always knew.  And loved.  So, hence, my sisters and I also love The Beatles.  He has an unexplained affection for Glen Campbell, John Denver, and The Monkees that I do not share.  Well John Denver is okay.  Anyway, this song is picked in hopes of spring weather coming and staying.  Dear winter, get the fuck out.  You have long overstayed your welcome.  Don't let the metaphorical door hit you on the ass on your way out!

Just finished week 2 of "Suns out, Guns out!:  This week, it got easier to find the motivation to get to the gym.  4x total.

Food for the week:

grain free pancakes with Hormel bacon for breakfast and real maple syrup

paleomg.com grainless chicken tenders, crockpot veggie soup, and orange for lunch

 

Dijon marinated dover sole and stuffed squash.  Recipes courtesy of a cooking lesson with Keri, a woman who goes to my gym and often does the food for the chiropractor's office who also owns this gym.

bacon and pancakes for breakfast, PIZZA AND CUPCAKES for a coworkers birthday (I brought the fruit and veggies!), and soup and chicken tenders for dinner

Smoothie King Berry Carrot Dream, pancakes, and bacon again.  soup and pineapple and a piece of leftover pizza again, and just coconut water for dinner that night

toasted up the rest of the pancakes and made an overflowing 2 egg omelet with bacon and raw cheddar.  Yay big breakfast Fridays!

ordered in Thai food at work.  I was a good girl.  Spicy cashew chicken, hold the rice.

Splurged on nachos and shrimp basil pasta at Cheesecake Factory.  GOOD food to splurge on.  Not fast food shit.

yogurt and apple for breakfast, salad for lunch, sweet potato noodles made with Dan Dan sauce at my dad's restaurant. 

more freaking soup!, stuffed zucchini, and then goodies at book club (guac and plantain chips, fruit kebabs with greek yogurt and honey, paleo chicken nuggets, clean chicken buffalo dip with celery, and organic trail mix)

 

 

Pretty happy with how I ate this week.  Aside from the pizza!  I always have one cheat day.  It keeps me in line.  My cousin had a bridal shower, and I gorged myself on flatbread pizza and broccoli cheese soup with ice cream and cake. :)

 

This week's workouts were intense, but not with anything that was for time or as many rounds as possible (AMRAP).  It was more about form and mobility.  Which is the part I really like.  I PRed my snatch by 5 lbs (**new PR 75 lbs), and as a coach told me, there are no little PRs.  PR is a PR.  The snatch is the hardest lift for me.  I feel like my chest gets in the way and I just am too timid about getting under the bar.  The thing about these snatches is that they required a full squat when you catch the bar, instead of a power snatch, that requires only a partial squat (above parallel).  Brandon had said that the more skilled you are, that there will be less discrepancy between the full movement and the power movement.  Right now, I can do way more with a power movement.  Part of that has to just do with fear, though.  Given more time, I probably would have gone up even higher.  The thing I am proud of is that I have not been the last in every single work out, and that I didn't fall on my butt once during snatches.  I missed a couple maybe, but I reattempted.  

Second part of that work out was 10:00 of Turkish Get Ups/Wind Mills/Arm Bars combo for shoulder mobility and flexibility.  Loved having 4 different coaches this week.  I like longer workouts that focus on strength and mobility. 

Also introduced myself to the 600am Bootcamp class that Crossfit Cornerstone is offering.  Few participants so far, but that makes it more like a personal training session!  The one and only that I have gone to so far was a 25:00 AMRAP of 3 inverted burpees (I cannot do a regular hand stand, so it was a head stand, and it definitely was two separate movements, not one fluid movement!), 6 grasshoppers, 9 ball slams (but Megan wasn't strict with us catching the ball on the first little "pop"), and ended with a  combination of medicine ball squat clean/thrusters and throw/jog.  Finished with an extended stretching that included use of bands to stretch the hamstrings and a few yoga moves (cat pose and cobra pose).   All in all, I was glad I got up at 500am that day.

Aside from my food/exercise, I have been focusing on security and confidence.  I didn't realize it but I had this instinct to be defensive or to imagine the worst, most ridiculous reactions from people.  And that is highly irrational and just not helpful at all.  So, I am focusing on being secure in my actions and decisions and not jumping to the unwarranted defense.  Because quite honestly, my life is full of cheerleaders.  I am being very vocal about this with my family and myself, in the hopes that it doesn't just fizzle out.  I already felt a weight lift away from me after consciously making this decision.  It was wonderful.

This last Sunday was the last segment of the "Fit for the Kingdom" bible study lead by a couple at my gym.  Jayce asked this big question, "How does Jesus' crucifixion affect your life, really?"  A huge freaking question, right?  I told the story of when I lead a Christian Awakening retreat as a college student (ca 2007) for the seniors at the high school I had gone to (I don't really know why I went, but I was asked to by a former teacher, and maybe I had that zeal that I would change some teenager's life, that didn't happen I'm pretty sure, but it is always a nice weekend).  One of the teachers gave this talk, and posed the question, "How many people do you actually know that would die for you?"  She was clearly alluding to how Jesus made this huge sacrifice, blah blah blah.  I think it's a really unfair question, but it did make me think that there are entities and people that do things for me and that have set me up to take advantage of the opportunities in my life without my ever having asked for it or even appreciating it.  If I were the kind of person that also believed that Jesus had done so (I'm not sure I am, so don't ask yet), I would feel this incredible and overwhelming feeling that I could never repay that and that I would spend a lifetime trying.  Realizing the motivation that people do find from this story of Jesus on the cross, and when that motivation is used for good in the world, I find really fascinating.  And I'll be excited to continue the Bible study and get to know my fellow members more closely.

More than that, it made me see that despite the life I was born into, and that overwhelming feeling that I could never repay to the earth, to my family and ancestors, to society, to history, to God what I have been given, it doesn't mean I should stop trying or that life here is hopeless.  There was also talk of an asymptotic relationship (where we all got a lesson from the engineers in the group about what an asymptote is) where as you continue, it gets more difficult, but that you do get closer.  It made me see how much growing I still have to do, and that I will never really feel fully grown.  There is always going to be something to learn or something to know that will enrich my life.

I feel like I am at the dawning of something big.  As much as I would like that to be adopting a dog, it's not.  But something cool is gonna happen here, soon.  Hopefully learning to trust my instincts is going to pay off!