Tag: celebrations

balance, giving, perspective

Holiday Smoliday

2chicksandapen

img_5920

This holiday season has looked a bit different than years past and different than I planned in my mind, but peaceful all at the same time.

This month I spent time on gratitude. I wrote hand written notes to those who made an impact on me. I shared some sweet Starbucks treats as an added bonus and it made me feel so happy to see the smiles for those who didn’t know they were coming.

I received as well. I met some girlfriends for an annual exchange event. It was a blast and I received some treasured keepsakes. A pickle ornament. Random but special. A notebook. A super secret notebook to pencil my ideas and visions. A bracelet. An intention bracelet that reminds me to love others unconditionally.  Stickers. Seems simple enough but they were motivating stickers. Power stickers to use as momentary reminders to take action. The infamous tank top. A bold statement given on a shirt to see if I have the brass to wear it in public. The answer is yes! My gal pals know me so well. They are also part of my inspiration. I continue to evolve as they support my goals and dreams.

I made my annual donations at Goodwill, coats to the homeless, books to kids and made some other charitable donations to warm my soul. Giving will always be part of my holiday season.

I spent some time rekindling with family and friends near and far. Sometimes when you only have the ability to make a call it’s still is better than no call at all. Technology offers the flexibility of FaceTime or Skype as well.

I cleared some clutter on the home front. Shifted some furniture and mindsets. I made some shifts personally and professionally to be aligned for the new year and all the crazy that 2019 has waiting for me.  Put up a new vision board to help focus on moving forward with vim and vigor. As part of this process I took some time to invest in myself as well. Nothing major, just aligning of key resources to support what’s ahead.

In order to be a strong leader, one must take slivers of time when they present themselves as opportunities to recharge your batteries. This could be in the form of pampering, it could be in the form of extra rest, some time alone, some time thinking, or maybe even a shopping spree. I won’t tell all my secrets here but I will stress the importance of self care. Self care is often overlooked and can cause stress for some.

I also emphasize the ability to give up control to gain control. Sometimes you battle so hard without seeing results, requiring you to let go in order forge ahead. This could be translated to business, personal or even relationships. Letting go can be hard but can be a necessity to reach the ultimate outcome you want or need.

The above leads me to risk. Every day one is faced with risk taking. Some take a cautious approach while others stare it down with optimism. I look at risk with ambition and optimism. I trust the process. I look ahead knowing what the worst could be, but smile at the thought of what can be.

As 2019 approaches for you, be fearless. Connect or reconnect with a loved one. Try something new that you have been putting off for whatever reason. Step out of your comfort zone and invest in YOU. The power of YOU is something you control!

I leave you with one of my cards from a vision board I use. It may help with any ups and downs you face in 2019.

More rants and blurbs to come in 2019 along with cool new projects on the horizon. #kt247

 

fitness and nutrition

A few recent (small) victories for Chick 2

2chicksandapen

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.

fitness and nutrition

Water Weight?

2chicksandapen

I started a little competition at my box in the month of December. Eating clean for 25 of the 31 days of the month.

Pretty easy for me since I already count macros but this challenge has some interesting accountability points that I thought would give me another layer of accountability this month. Here I am with the challenge to combat This holiday month that is full of many temptations. #Decembergoals

Enter water: drink a full glass with every meal on day one!
Drink 6 glasses of water today. Ha, this was easy as it was the same day as my competition.
Drink 8 glasses of water.
Drink 1 glass of water for every alcoholic drink…on New Year’s Eve #evil

But I decided to set out a glass each day and fill it up at meals and make it a priority to drink my water. I then made it a point to bring water to the gym which I normally don’t do but I can now chug said water after the workout. Then I changed out my Sparkling Ice drinks for regular water. This is major for me!

Before starting the macro movement I struggled with water. Ice drinks got me through the first six months, no joke. And right about now I was getting sick of the Ice drinks or favorite flavors so now I am making the move to just plain old water. This is a miracle in my mind of some sort, but a lesson learned. You can overcome anything you set your mind to. Seriously, start small and test the theory. You can and you should!

And now that I am embracing water I have to deal with water at restaurants. I have a hard time drinking nasty tap water and sometimes that’s what you get. Sigh! Anyone have any suggestions? Send me a message or post. I’d love to hear about some trick to get over this small hurdle.

Scale report: I think the first week the water intake increased my scale but it could just be a coincidence. However I did feel like I went to the bathroom every minute on the minute. #realworldissues

Before I wrap up this blog I wanted to share a mid-week update. I have been in a YASSO mood. As in YASSO desserts. They have an amazing array of flavors but then they taunt us with their holiday treats just like Starbucks does! This time I fancied the sugar cookie flavor and it didn’t disappoint. If you are looking for a little pick me up snack, give the YASSO bars a try.

I can. I will. I am. Those are my action lines for 2019. No more I can’t. I won’t. I shouldn’t. Out with the negative in with the positive. All this stems from a silly water challenge. Funny how life flows. Glad to share my life views with you all over the 🌍.

fitness and nutrition

Squad Goals

2chicksandapen

It’s Saturday, the week before the competition. One week until the big day. I already worked out at 8:00 am but I am back at the box for a Squad Games team practice at 3:30 pm. Practice makes perfect (or it is needed) so that we can work together as a team since this is, in fact, a team event. But let’s just say my legs are screaming at me (due to soreness).

What is so great about this squad? It is made up of some amazing people and folks that I am happy to call friends. Our team name is “All Jacked Up” which you can read into  for multiple meanings but for me we are each jacked up in our own way. Different backgrounds, different careers, different lifestyles, but one common passion: CrossFit. We are not set to win per se but we set out to compete to win. Is there a difference? Yes. All-male teams can dominate some workouts and coed teams can compete but most likely can’t put up the numbers needed on the top of of the leaderboard. All-female teams would likely struggle a bit more in this area as well but they show up and compete for their own personal best performances as did we.

I was going to introduce each squad member in detail here with how much each person means to me but instead I am opting for the condensed version. Drumroll for Chris our fearless leader, but on completion day he is a little under the weather, fighting off a cold. He is still going to give it his all because I know he doesn’t give anything less than 100%. He should get props for still competing!

Then we have Lisa, who threw out her shoulder doing split jerks the other day and the doctor didn’t release her to compete. This means I have an IOU on the table to compete with her sometime in 2019. What a let down for her but we found a fill-in at the last hour.  Enter Nick who already had a 5k to run at 8:00 am across town, but don’t worry he will just jump in when he gets there. Yup: 10:30am arrival after his 5k and ready to put in work.

Then we have Sarah and David who are both long standing buds in the 6:30 am time slot I workout in. Both are nervous in their own way but they will crush their movements and be great teammates.

It appears we are all jacked up in our own way as we enter the competition. The name we chose a while back couldn’t be more fitting. As I mentally prepare for the games at the wee hour of 4:00 am I am jotting down these notes so this is as raw as it gets.

T-shirts are in for the Squad. Carpool is all lined up. Everyone is nursing their pre-comp jitters or sore muscles. Snack prep is happening for some. Let the countdown begin…

12/8/18 Squad Games

It began with the packing of the bag and a good night’s sleep with an alarm set to meet for carpool.

The weather was cold and rainy in the early hours of the day and I woke to darkness outside. My nerves were at bay but my energy spark hasn’t hit yet. Time to rev that engine and get those muscles ready to go go go.

A long hour drive happens. Sign in and then off to another table to get the floater WOD assignment. Workouts are firm for 11:00 am, 1:00 pm and 2:40 pm. Lots of waiting and time to mentally prepare and bond with the team and meet lots of new faces from around the area. Did I mention lots of potty breaks, too?

WOD 1 has a Part A and Part B back-to-back. First flub-up on this was my weights. Somebody put the wrong weight on one side of my bar when we were climbing. I was lopsided overhead with about 105 lbs on one side and 95 lbs on the other. Definitely not a good moment overhead, but a teammate picked up my share while we fixed the issue. We finished a notable 5th in both these rounds which was pretty good.

Next WOD was the floater WOD and the judge gave us the wrong weights so we had to shift our game plan on the fly to adjust to the higher weight. David’s shoe fell off during the sprints and we fumbled a little on double unders. We came in about 9th this round I think despite the flub-ups. I guess the point I am sharing is nothing goes as planned and you need to adjust on the fly and work it out as best you can. This is one of those aha moments that you realize this can easily crossover into life…you don’t need to be perfect all the time, just try your best all the time and results will follow.

The last WOD was running behind so our muscles where starting to get fatigued and this workout was a doozie. It had compounding burpees each set. 5-10-15-30-25-30 and of course I am thinking “I am going to die” as burpees are my worst movement by far and these are synchronized burpees so my whole team has to wait on me. Holy cow! And that didn’t even count the 12 grueling calories on the death bike, or the 10-15 overhead lunges assigned to me that took place each round either. Holy leg burner at the end of a long day. 5 burpees was easy enough. 10 was a short chipper. 15 was taxing. 20 was a lot of self talk one by one. 20 was: damn we really have another round! 25 wasn’t so bad when I started but but about 18 it was all mental. Another round in and the team was wearing down and splitting movements to get it done. We entered the round of 30 but only made it to 13 burpees. I was not sad about that timing because I’m not sure I would have made it so thank god for the clock! And believe it or not we finished third in this round even with me slowing us down in the burpee area.

We nailed a 6th place finish overall and the point difference was ever so close in the top section of the ranks. Out of 14 teams we didn’t do too bad. There were three other teams from our box competing in a different division, one taking home first place. It was amazing to watch that team and know you are a part of their community and they are all down to earth.

Loved working out with my crew. We had a couple of friends cheer us on including the amazing Lisa who was unable to compete and the fabulous Beth aka chick 2. Beth was also the one who ran around to take pictures and videos so that we have all of our blood, sweat, and tears captured. So thankful for her dedication to get all of us documented as it is no small task. Even those who hate taking pics love to go back and review photos and videos to see how they can improve under pressure.

Well, I am pooped to say the least. Up at 4:00 am, on the couch showered by 8:00 pm. What an adventure. But at almost 47 I can say I definitely kicked ass today and did it amongst those in their 20s on up to their 40s…and maybe older but that is just my guess.  #girlswholift #girlswhocompete

Competition is a whole different level. Mental toughness, physical strength, team unity, stamina to go the distance and sheer willpower to push through all that is thrown at you. I love to compete in life at every level.

Hope you liked my blog this week. I ended on a high note and I am definitely sore but it’s all good. Until next time get off the couch and get moving. #beyourowninspiration

dare to be different, fitness and nutrition

It’s A Wrap

2chicksandapen

img_4995

Change is in the air for me, Chick 1. As most are looking at wrapping up holiday gifts, I am looking at unwrapping new opportunities just in time for the new year. Meticulous planning, strategically aligning resources and of course, the fostering of key relationships are all part of the process of building a solid foundation as my dreams become reality.

This process is not new to me. I have been chipping away at my plan while working full time, managing my busy family, and investing in me, each of which can be daunting in itself. Part of my dream includes writing and sharing stories with the world. They may not always be my stories, but as a storyteller I thought it was important to share a piece of me with my blooming audience. I initially set a goal and I worked towards that goal on my own terms and I reworked and adjusted my goals on a frequent basis to align with variables that pop up here and there, basically bending and flexing with what we all call life. This process repeats many times.

As I contemplated when to make the next chess move in my life, environmental challenges gave me an opportunity. This opportunity led me to make a career change at the end of September 2018 that some may say is a mistake or emotional decision. A mistake for some is an opportunity for others and frankly others have opinions and such opinions don’t drive my actions.

For me, my change is 100% about me, my short-term and long-term goals, and objectives. The road I chose is not an easy one and I am well aware of that.  I will have struggles along the way but that won’t dull my shine; rather it will fuel my fire.

Tackling a new challenge at work, at home, or in the gym is something I embrace and commit 100% to all day everyday. I almost love it when somebody says you can’t, you shouldn’t or don’t! In most instances my inner badass will trigger itself and say hmmm…WATCH ME! I write my own stories. I chart my own path. I define my own successes as well as my failures. I don’t wait for a boss to define or quantify my value. I set my own value. Perception vs. reality maybe, but I decide. Each day I look to inspire others along the way in any way I can and I always stay humble. I look to see value in others and share that openly.

This week, I heard my daughter make a statement that will inspire me for years to come. “You are high maintenance,” said one family member to my daughter at Thanksgiving dinner. Her response was not only timely but definitive: “You must be mistaken. I am not high maintenance, I am high quality!” Oh, how I love that girl and her wit. Her ability to respond positively on the spot to comments that could be construed as negative was amazing. Her brilliant mind at work. My prodigy.

Modeling for my daughter is one of my biggest challenges and joys. My risk- taking and leadership style shows her how to be confident and inspiring in her own special way. My strength and perseverance show her how to work hard for what she wants. My individuality teaches her how to be comfortable in her own skin. Watching her grow as a student, an athlete, and friend also fuels my passion to live my journey to success and show others there is no required path that one needs to take to be successful.

As as I have been adjusting to my new normal work/life balance, I have been growing as a person. When one part of your life is going well normally other parts of your life will be influenced and reflect positively. Same goes for surrounding yourself with those who make you work harder and aim higher. As I always say, success breeds success and surrounding yourself with a positive tribe/community is paramount in many ways.

Remember, most won’t accept the challenge of changing their surroundings because of the fear of the unknown. Embracing change takes courage, confidence, and a positive attitude. I know many in my inner circle who struggle with change. I seem to be the exact opposite. I would rather try something new and find I don’t like it rather than not try at all and wonder could I, should I, would I? At some point in one’s life everyone has the opportunity to wake up and smell the roses. But most may miss that opportunity, not me!

The next nail biter took place this week. I changed my gym/box environment. I loved my box, my community, and had great success physically while committing several years to the program. I decided I was ready for a new challenge, a new environment, and a new set of goals. Boom! I moved, just like that. I did a free trial with the intent of moving in January but then it happened. I knew after the first workout this was my new place to grow physically, mentally and potentially emotionally. Without hesitation I made the move. Why put off to January what I could do today? Why wait? If I knew I would progress why delay my start?

In my first few days, I had the courage to conquer new moves that I may have bypassed while in my old gym/comfort zone. How telling is that? I completed not only my first devil press in a WOD, but I did every one of the 80 in that workout. Another day I stretched my ability to complete pistols, multiple times. Finally, I completed a 40-minute grueling workout that tested my ability to push myself and maintain consistency and breath control. Just these few moments solidified my choice to move on. Not to mention I met several new friendly faces, all from different backgrounds and occupations but all living a fit and pure life through CrossFit.

This change also confirmed that the best is yet to come in so many areas of my life. Areas I may not have seen if I didn’t leave my comfortable box. And the box I am referring to is the boundary we set for ourself, not my CrossFit box. We all have a box or set of boundaries of some sort. Some hover at the edge of the box, others find peace dead smack in the middle of the box. Those are not your risk takers.

As I write this blog, I am one week into my new fitness routine and eight weeks into my work/career transition. No day is easy and I am actually juggling more during my transition than I will be come 1/1/19 but I am enjoying the ride I am on. My mind is stimulated and my body is ready for the physical challenge thanks to my daily fitness routine. #ktisonthemove

Stay tuned as I update my change progress in the new year. 2019 is a blank slate for me. What story will I write? What adventures will I tackle? What new friends will I make? #kt2019

Feeling thankful, grateful and positive as I wrap up this Thanksgiving holiday surrounded by friends, family and loved ones.

Thank you for following my blog. I am grateful for all who take the time to comment, like, or message words of encouragement. You are part of my online journey. You are part of my tribe/community. Virtual maybe, but connected nonetheless. When I see my stories reach other countries I just grin ear to ear.

Hugs to all my virtual connections.