Tag: Beth

dare to be different, featured

The Photo Story

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If you’ve been reading our blog for a while, you know the 2 Chicks have been through some pretty big changes this year.  Physically, professionally, personally, you name it, we changed it. To celebrate these changes and continue creating our big vision for 2019, we recently met for a photo shoot. Here’s a glimpse!

As usual, we got to laughing pretty quickly.

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And then, in classic #2chx style, one of us couldn’t stop laughing, which left the other rolling her eyes…

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And finally, the as-close-to-serious-as-we’re-getting-today moment… Are they angry?  Are they daydreaming? Bored? Do they even know each other? It’s anyone’s guess…

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Yup, that’s a glimpse of just a few of the faces of 2 Chicks and a Pen. Every day is an adventure.  Some days are giggles, some days eye rolls, some days who are you? We just wonder.

Oh yeah…one final surprise from the photo shoot.  Another example of just how different these 2 Chicks are…Who wore it better? Drop your thoughts in the comments! (I’d ask you which one the librarian is, but maybe that’s obvious….?)

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Anyway, big things are coming in 2019 for these 2 Chicks.  Our next chapter will be an exciting one! Keep following us here, on Instagram, and facebook for all the latest updates.

 

fitness and nutrition

A few recent (small) victories for Chick 2

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As I’ve probably mentioned in one way or another, my gym progress may look different than many CrossFit athletes.  I started CrossFit about 16 months ago as an uncoordinated, imbalanced stranger to my body.  I am not far from that start in some ways, but I continue to push forward.  Here are a few little proud moments from the past few weeks.

I jumped up on three 45-pound plates. This is maybe 8 inches off the ground. Previously, I had only jumped about 5 inches so this feels like a big deal.  My Achilles has given me problems on and off which has derailed jumping for a while but I am back to working on it.  Losing weight is also a huge help in getting higher off the ground. Soon I’ll be jumping on a 12-inch box.

This week, I did a kipping swinging knee raise as a start at transitioning from hanging knee raises to toes to bar. Awkward and tests my grip, but a good challenge.

I used thirty pound dumbbells in to do alternating dumbbell snatches in a WOD.  My previous gym didn’t have all the increments so I now feel like I might get to the Rx 35#s sometime!

Not every attempt is successful, of course.

I attempted a double under and have the slap mark on my ankle to show for it.  Not pretty, but failure is a start.

Today I did backwards lunges with dumbbells off a 6-inch platform.  This was a total fail since lunges are a challenging movement for me on flat ground with no weights.  I eventually did backward lunges with dumbbells on flat ground in the daily WOD.

I may not be doing movements as prescribed.  But, I’m still inching along toward them.  My path is long, but I am moving in a good direction.

New coaches have helped me see where I have become complacent in my progress.  They are encouraging me to push forward and, because I’m accepting new challenges, I am not pushing back.  Instead, I am giving it a shot and going after it.

author moments

Literacy Night with the 2 Chicks!

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It was a dark and stormy night….really!

Seriously though, last week was amazing! 2 Chicks headlined a literacy night at a local elementary school. It was well attended despite the hurricane weather fast approaching. The set up was cozy; kids gathered with blankets and snacks on the floor. We couldn’t have been happier to meet these readers. Sharing our books and our story as authors is the heart of what we do!

We had a diverse audience, which we love, as we get to hear what our readers think about our work. What more honest critic (and fan) is there than a child?

Some of the kids were interested in the illustrations and why we chose what we did. Others were fascinated with the book-within-a-book concept from our third book. Still others wanted to know what it means to be an author and how we got our start. Many enjoyed hearing about the beginning, middle, and end of the process of making a book. Of course, the 2 CHX love the opportunity to share all of our ideas in hopes of inspiring future writers and illustrators. We encouraged them to carry notebooks with them and keep paper by their beds. You never know when ideas will strike!

Chick 1, KT, had a particularly moving experience where she met a young boy who likes to write comics with his friend. His friend likes to illustrate their ideas. WOW that is amazing! A partnership of creativity much like the the 2 Chicks have! A relationship to cherish. Their conversations expanded as the evening continued and his curiosity climbed. KT seized the opportunity to inspire and share artwork and works in progress, a true behind the scenes look for this aspiring writer. They then exchanged contact information at the child’s request to form a pen pal relationship and the young man offered future book reviews. What an amazing opportunity for both the child and the author. A connection made and more inspiration to follow….maybe even some pen pal updates. Our cup is overflowing with pure joy when we have events like this.

For Chick 2, Beth, it was an opportunity to connect with former students of her own. Chick 2 used to teach future teachers at the University of Georgia all about reading, writing, and children’s books. Three of her former college students are now teachers at this elementary school! Seeing these educators, now colleagues, encourage young people to enjoy reading, writing, and sharing their ideas was a full circle moment.

Thanks so much to our local friends for inviting us! We are looking forward to reaching more readers this way in the coming months and years. If you’d like us to visit, let us know!

Our message: Keep reading. Keep writing. Keep smiling. Keep doodling. Keep dreaming. You can be whatever you aspire to be.

fitness and nutrition

Chick 2 and the Birthday Burpees

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This time last year, I was still pretty new to CrossFit.  So when I stumbled into my box on my birthday for a workout, someone told me it was time to do my birthday burpees.

Now that I think back, there was some snickering around the box that morning about birthday burpees.  But, I am pretty gullible, and I was anxious to be part of the community.  I also don’t like to seem like I am slacking or afraid of hard work.  So, I went over into the beginner’s corner (what I call the side area of the gym where I often retreat when I am doing particularly sloppy / awkward movements), and started at it.  I did them a few at a time, very slowly, spread throughout the workout, probably cursing each one, but I did my 44 burpees.  Maybe halfway through the 44 someone saw what I was doing and told me that it was all a joke.  But, I did them anyway.  Why stop part way through?

Here it is, my birthday week again.  It’s been over a year at CrossFit Pure.  My birthday fell on a Sunday this year so I didn’t have anyone to tell me to do burpees.

As I’ve mentioned before, I am working on health and weight loss.  I also have some challenging injuries that limit my ability to do some of the most dominant CrossFit movements (squats, deadlifts, etc.)  To be sure I am still getting a solid workout, I often add things on my own in addition to scaling and adapting movements.  At times, I challenge myself to do certain moves each day during a week as extras, like 50 sit ups, 50 slam balls, and so on.

During my Monday workout this week, I decided to do some extra burpees. Burpees kick up my heart rate better than nearly any other movement.  Monday was a shorter workout so I was able to do 50 spread throughout my gym time, mostly before and after. I thought I would do 50 each workout day this week. On the way home, I thought to myself that, given it’s my birthday week, maybe I should go a little bigger.

How could I challenge myself?  What could my birthday burpees be this time around?

So, I decided to go a lot bigger, shooting for a goal of 10 times my age in burpees.  So, 450 total for the week.

As I sit here on my birthday, I am happy to say I reached that goal, and even BEFORE my actual birthday.  I learned something each day, too.  Here’s a snippet:

Monday: The first 50 burpees, completed before I set the actual goal.

Lesson: Sometimes you start something without a goal in mind, then the opportunity to create a measurable goal comes to you.  Embrace it, and challenge yourself beyond what you think you can reasonably do.

Tuesday: Another short workout, so managed to add in 100 burpees on this day. I set that 100 burpee goal when I walked in the door that afternoon, given that the workout was brief.  Plus, I decided that if burpees were part of the regular workout, they did not count toward my personal goal, so I had to push myself on the days when they weren’t programmed. (We don’t see the next day’s workout until the night before.) (Total: 150)

Lesson 1: Set intermediate goals that help you along the path.  When you have the chance, take a bigger bite out of the goal than you normally would if you were doing the same amount each day.  You never know what life will throw at you.

Lesson 2: Making up my mind before I started also helped me push through the after workout burpees.  The workout we did pushed my upper body to exhaustion.  So, when I dropped to the ground after it to finish my birthday burpees, I laughed out loud since I couldn’t push my body back up.  But, I had a goal to achieve, so I shook them out, took a few minutes to rest, then got going again.

Wednesday: Did 50 burpees during a crammed schedule kind of workout, then 25 at home. (Total: 225, halfway there!)

Lesson: My schedule was off this day.  Arrived at the gym late, couldn’t do the programmed workout due to injuries so had to pull one up from previous weeks, had a doctor’s appointment just after gym, and so on.  We all have these days where it is hard to fit things in, but we have to do it anyway.

So, I did 10 burpees in the driveway at 6:00 am while I was waiting for my daughter to get in the car. (This stunk on concrete but I was SO much more awake on my drive!) I was at the gym for less than an hour total but still got 40 burpees in.  Then, I did 25 more at home that night.  Those were also awful since I wasn’t in my gym clothes and trying to do them on carpet or tile is just different.  But, I did them. Striving toward goals means doing things that aren’t ideal or just plain stink sometimes.

Thursday: Another 100 burpee day. Did all 100 before the workout. (Total: 325)

Lesson: Most of the week, I did my burpees in sets of 5, EMOM style.  (Every Minute on the Minute, do 5 burpees.)  I didn’t wear out too much this way. I just chipped away at it. Take bite sized pieces from your goal.  This day I did them for 20 straight minutes, since my schedule was off again.  (I don’t usually have this much time before a workout).  One of our CrossFit coaches saw what I was up to and said, “look at her, over there doing burpees like it’s her job.  Like it’s her JOB!”  And this week, it really was my job.  It was my commitment to myself.  It’s also so helpful to have people notice along the way and encourage you!

Friday: 75 burpees. These were the hardest of the week. (Total: 400)

Lesson:  What I dreaded all week happened Friday.  There were burpees in the workout.  So on top of the 36 in the workout, I did the additional 75 that I needed to do for my birthday goal.  I was so tired after a long week, hadn’t eaten as much as I usually do so I felt sluggish, had a busy day at work, and so on.  It was a true mental challenge to get through these, especially since I did all 50 after the workout.  Again, sets of 5 EMOM style.  I nearly cried about 4 times but I just talked myself through it.  It was a slog and a true mental test. I just kept focusing on the next five.  Thankfully, the end was in sight at this point.

Saturday: 50 burpees.  Mostly all after a challenging workout. (Total: 450!)

Lesson: For these, some of our awesome gym ladies jumped in and did them with me.  We all challenge each other at times, so this was a great lift (and an amazing support since burpees aren’t much fun for anyone!)  This also made me push harder, since these ladies are all faster at burpees than I am and were doing them until I was done.  So, my EMOM style meant everyone else was doing more! more! more! I had to do the last 20 without a break so everyone could stop!  This is one small example of how our community makes you push yourself out of solidarity and encouragement.

I was so happy to get over the finish line.  I screamed in relief and joy. I am so thankful for what this body and mind can do.  There were several times this week when, through the pain and “I don’t wannas,” I reminded myself to be grateful for the strength to do this.

Later that day, it was fun to clean up, dress up, and have a tea party, again with some of my amazing friends from my box. Then, family celebrations as well.

The big takeaway:

It was a week of CELEBRATING WHAT MY BODY CAN ACCOMPLISH at age 45.  Getting older doesn’t have to mean getting slower or weaker.  I can set goals, push through, and have people cheering for me and pushing me along the way.  It is a metaphor for life, goal setting, achieving, and setting new ones (which is what I am doing today!)

Maybe next year I’ll do burpees all month.  Maybe by then I’ll be doing my burpees completely correctly. Or maybe it will be something else that seems like the right mountain to climb. Who knows.  I’ll see where I am and set a new challenge.

This post wouldn’t be complete without a tip of my party hat to Chick 1.  If you’ve been reading her blog posts, you know that she is a goal setter and a goal getter.  I didn’t really understand much about making progress toward goals until I watched her in action.  She is a marvel in what she chooses to strive for, how she accomplishes it, and the way she holds herself accountable. I’m still practicing this whole goal thing, but her showing and sharing that process has been a gift to me that will keep unfolding for years to come.

May 45 bring all the growth that 44 did, and more!

dare to be different

Changes for Chick 2

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In a recent post, KT shared her thoughts about change. In fact, if you look closely, change and growth is a theme in many of the things KT writes. She embraces change as a part of life, welcomes it as a path to new challenges and achievements, even seeks and manufactures it to keep herself growing. It is a quality I admire (especially since I do not share it.)

In yet another of the 867 ways that the 2 Chicks are opposites (that we have discovered so far), change is something that makes me very nervous.  I worry about it, try to avoid it, pretend it’s not there, and usually resist it with every bit of my being.  What’s sad is that, even at age 44, I act as if change is avoidable – like I can do something to stop it. I’ve wasted a lot of precious energy trying to keep change at arm’s length. So what’s been happening lately is surprising.

Although I haven’t announced it widely, big changes have been happening in my family. There have been job shifts, school shifts, routine shifts, goal shifts.  Some of these were invited, some were forced upon us by circumstance.  We are all still trying to find our footing as things continue to change and develop.

By way of example, I changed my job (on purpose!) this year.  This is HUGE for me, as someone who avoids change.  But, I needed to make this happen for several reasons, so I set a goal, did the work, and one of the several positions I applied for panned out. (Not surprisingly, it was KT who helped me through the process of getting it done. She is truly a #goalgetter and generously shares her approach!)  Although I still have the same job title, it is a completely different community and school dynamic.  I am trying to keep up, but it is a lot to take in.

Then there are the “domino effect” differences.  The biggest of these is trying to fit in my workouts after school. I can’t attend CrossFit classes at 5:30 am anymore, which has been an adjustment.  I miss my morning gym friends and the stress relief that starting the day with a good sweat brings.  But, I’m getting there at other times as often as I can and making it work. And there are all kinds of other changes that came from my job shift as well.

I’ve been watching the way the changes throughout my family have been playing out.  Even on a good day, with good support, change can be taxing for some.  As I encourage everyone to be patient and take care of themselves while taking each day as it comes, I try to remember to do all those things myself as well.

It can be hard, though.  If I scroll through facebook or instagram, it seems like everyone is always happy, always on vacation, always upgrading their houses, always successful, always champions.  I know my kids see this, too.  It’s rare that people post the hard stuff, the mundane, the oil changes, doing dishes, folding laundry, managing illness, aches, and pains, doing paperwork, struggling with homework, waiting in line, dealing with boring commutes, enduring frustrating people and all the other the day-to-day junk that can take up most of our time.  Of course, we all have those things, but we often keep them behind the scenes (myself included). We may share them with friends, but not always on a big platform. It’s easy to be sucked in to thinking we are the only ones with work or troubles or time we wish could be better spent.

We also rarely see all the work that goes in to transformation.  Instead, we see the end result, the success, not the sweat, the sacrifice, the tears, the drills, the hours of practice, the falls, the U-turns, the frustration, the days when it didn’t seem like anything good was going to come of all the effort.  When you just see the result, it always seems easier than it actually was.

As I was sitting on the back porch writing and thinking about this, trying to make some sense of it for today, a butterfly floated by, blissful as can be on the breeze.  I thought about all the change that butterfly had been through in life.  And so much of that change is done out of view, in the muck and mush and ugly, miraculous work of transformation.

We get no view, there is no applause for this process of change.  The caterpillar goes into hiding, on some internal cue, all along doing the mysterious, innate work it was meant to do.  When it comes time, it emerges, dries its wings, unfolds those beauties, and takes flight.

For me, Sunday is a day of errands and preparation.  Shopping for the food, cleaning the house, packing the lunches, doing the workout, folding the laundry.  Maybe not what many would see as an instagrammable day, but one that sets me up for a week with less stress so I can focus on pushing myself further on the path in my work while also supporting my family and friends in theirs.

It’s also a day of writing and thinking and reconnecting with my vision of my future, and the next steps it will take for me to get there. I’ve carved out that time, so I still take a personal step toward who I am becoming.  No one else can make that time for me (another lesson from my friend KT!)  I have to do it, even if it is just a couple of hours. Other things will go undone, and I’ve learned to be ok with that (but I haven’t always been that way!)

Unlike the butterfly, I’m giving you an inside glimpse into one messy Sunday afternoon moment of my transformation. It may not be pretty. There are groceries all over the counters, floors that need mopping, emails that need answering, kids that need encouraging.  Today and every day, there are loose ends and mushy parts.  There are red herrings and rabbit trails. There are things I will sharpen or learn to do better as I practice and continue to evolve.

Through all of it, I know I am changing.  It may not be a straight path and it may not be quick, but I am inching forward overall.

And at the end of this path is my launch pad, where I’ll suddenly, inevitably, unfold these beauties, and take flight.

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#2CHX #inspireothers #change #transformation #butterfly #goalgetter #Sunday #mealprep #Crossfit #embracechange