Tag: #kt2019

dare to be different

Booty Shorts or Ass Eaters?

2chicksandapen

 

 

And so the story begins just like this…..

The nice weather is coming which means it’s time to reach into the shorts drawer. Oh no, nothing cute and fashionable is in there! I guess I just need to sweat my butt off in those leggings again. And please remember I sweat all the time when working out.

Three unlikely paired friends sync up on a Saturday morning. One with thick thighs, one pregnant and one with an amazingly cute figure. This all equates to small, medium and large or x-large buns. Yup buns-hun. Ass cheeks, booty, butt and so on.

Enter the convo on booty shorts and the brilliant idea to get matching ones for an upcoming competition. Oh, how much fun it is to shop for booty shorts! So many choices. So many options. Flair, flair and more flair. I almost forgot to mention the three girls noted range in age spanning about 20 years.  To put things in perspective those small, medium and large/x-large booties come with thighs attached and some have more mileage on them than others.

A decision is made. Lemons it is.  Big, juicy lemons on the teeny tiny booty shorts. A pinkish color to warm your heart for the sunshine weather that is fast approaching. I will have oversized lemons she said. I will have a muffin top another said. And the other said I’m so damn excited. The shorts arrive in a few short days as does the excitement and giggles. There is even a matching lemon (boobie) shirt. I am going to refrain from sharing that photo but it completes the outfit for all three of these ladies.

They fit! Surprisingly they are amazingly comfortable in the mirror and on the booty. I do my squat test in the mirror and all seems okay. Size small wears hers the next day. Compliments flow like a normal day because, guess what? She sports booty shorts all year, as in 300 plus days a year. No big news here but the new pattern is super cute.

We giggle some more and decide we need more matching pairs. One for each workout in the competition. I know we are a bit crazy but we said let’s just do it. Just like that we order a couple more pairs. What is wrong with us. Retail therapy? This time we go for cheetah print and pineapples. The cheetah were a bit outside my comfort zone due to the simple fact I am the one with the biggest butt or real estate one would say.

The new shipment arrives. I immediately gravitate to the cheetah print. All that print but I was dying to wear them. I never would have guessed it! The next day was the grand reveal. Oops, those mirror feels of comfort didn’t account for movement. Holy cow they ride up on my Clydesdale-like thighs! They ride up and you already saw the white of my legs. Holy moly the white of my thunderous thighs, oh my.

Too late. I already committed. I ironically meet a friend when I get out of my car at the gym. “What’s up, bootylicious?” she shouts. I was already like dying inside and now that she called attention me I was surely rethinking my wardrobe choice. Then the door opens and it happens. The shock and awe of “what the heck are you wearing?” from the crowd of regulars.

Oh, so many raised eyebrows. So many neck twitches. And just a few comments and giggles. I didn’t expect anything but I’m sure if somebody wore them aside from me I would be the first to make a snide comment so I moved on. The warmup is guess what? An ass bender. Yes, indeed it was. Pretty much every stretch or scoot imaginable that had your ass in the air with a gym mate behind you. The thoughts in my head are horrifying to say the least.

Did I scare the others in the gym for life?  Did they see more than they needed to? I scoot to the back of the group to be sure. I feel a chill. An ungodly chill in my rear leg/butt/crotch. What is it? It’s the rower! The poor guy finishing his row from the class before was literally air conditioning the entrance way by my thigh – every time he pulled the rower handle the air blew up my shorts. Yup, I had to move around again to avoid the chill and embarrassment.

All of this happened in just a few short minutes of my 1 hour class. I survived. My size small friend arrived and we were able to twin it up with our cheetah girl shorts. The jitters left and I owned my body and all its jiggles. The shorts were amazing in many ways. I even had the freedom to move and conquer a movement I was working on all week.

Today is just another Saturday where the small, medium and large/x-large girls connect for their Saturday showdown. A triplet trial run of the lemon shorts before our competition next week. How will it go? Will the same shock and awe happen out of the gate? Will the air conditioning issue arise again? Only time will tell.

Did we burn eyes with our lemon shorts or did we make refreshing lemonade? I think we each rocked them in our own special way. A terrific trio had so much fun flaunting their buns. Thank you Feed Me, Fight Me for the amazing comfy bootilicious shorts. What a beautiful Saturday it is when you spend time with friends laughing and being silly. #loveyourself

I hope you enjoyed this short story about my ass eater booty shorts. It’s meant to show that I test my limits often and I do get nervous sometimes but I mutter along. I push through. There are worse things in life than busting out of a pair of booty shorts.

I am starting a bootylicious challenge now. Hoping to get others to step out in those short shorts and shine their thunderous thighs no matter what size or shape they are. Pictures to follow in the coming weeks of the booties.

Until next time……

Part 2 is here!

Ahh this story continues. Of course it does. The life of the traveling booty girl shorts!

From time to time we may write a post but let it simmer for a while for whatever reason. It might not really be done or we just don’t want to post it for whatever reason. This story fell into that gray area. Do we post it? Do we hold it? Does it serve a purpose?

Time passes…..

After my first few pairs of 3″ booty shorts, I went with a couple of more conservative 5″ booty shorts for the days I run. Don’t need to have any chafing issues! and they work like a charm. No riding. No chafing. SUCCESS!

Now I get a coupon. The infamous coupon to buy more. What a sucker I am! Enter the blue shorts with white stars. I just had to have them since I think I am shining star on most days. I adore these but others find it funny when my stars expand when I bend over. It’s okay….I embrace the attention and commentary. I am such a big ham, that I can easily reply with the bigger the stars on my ass the bigger the stardom I am destined for. That normally makes people want to walk away horrified to say the least.

Then there are the donut pair. These may be my favorite pair. I don’t even really like the taste of donuts but they are fun to wear for sure. And what makes them so special? You can watch my donuts rise…..when I bend over. Too funny I know. On the serious side, my feed me fight me booty shorts are extremely comfortable and versatile when squatting, jumping and basically doing anything in the box. No matter what chuckles I may get, they are fully functional for me and that is what matters. My meaty thighs need the short shorts to get through the hot summer workouts without sweating up a storm in the gym. These shorts are also perfect for under a fun summer dress too. Talk about multi-purpose booty shorts. And if your dress does happen to blow up….well all one will see is donuts!

Then it happened! Chick 2 jumps on the booty short bandwagon. A few others did as well and that was exciting to see. Ok, so she insists on the 5-inch inseam.  So they may be more bike shorts than booty but I wear some 5-inch shorts, but they are still a far cry from the below-the-knee leggings she usually sports. A huge leap from the comfort zone but she did it. She did it with class and sass!

Her side:

It happened on a Tuesday morning.  5 am class.  Those poor people!  Maybe they’ll be too bleary-eyed to notice. (Chick 1 nods, I doubt it.)

Well, I run into a friend who immediately notices that I am wearing shorts.  What was it that gave me away?  The glaring white of my spongy thighs?  My embarrassed glances and slumped “don’t notice me” shoulders?  Who knows.  But, it was class time and I was getting it done. No turning back now.

Running was great in them, and I mean great.  It’s SO HOT running (even at 5am!) and it felt great not to be hemmed in by longer leggings.  But, they did kinda roll up on the third round of the run.  Still, an overall thumbs up.  And no one suffered shock from the sight of my thighs!  A relief.

I invested in 2 pairs but there will likely be more in my future.  I stuck with basic gray and black but maybe branching out into brighter colors will come in time.

Being comfortable is such a benefit when you’re sweating and working hard.  Feeling good matters. Check me out rocking a pair at my next Saturday class.

As this story unfolds, the beauty of women around us explode. Let’s take our friend Kim. She is amazing in so many ways but she is now rocking some booty shorts and she looks damn good in them. As a grandma in the over 50 crowd, she is setting the tone for so many. She inspires me to stay fit and keep pushing so I can be as asstastic (yes I made that word up) as her in my 50’s. Check out my pal Kim working on her booty in her booty shorts all while wearing a fashionable booty while her foot recovers from an injury. Everyone who is making up an excuse of why they can’t work out should just look at this picture and say I can do it, too.

As we wrap up this post, I leave you with you can do it to. Get fit, get moving, and most importantly get that ass in some booty shorts. Even if you start in the comfort of your own home. Be bootylicious or asstastic today.

At the end of this story you can see that even the most confident people challenge themselves to get out of their comfort zone. Be brave. Be fearless. Be you. Be-booty-licious!

 

dare to be different

Shoe Issues or is it Shoe Goals?

2chicksandapen

3 years of CrossFit and my shoes have evolved just like me.

When I was clueless as a newbie at CrossFit I wore tennis shoes. Plain Jane tennis shoes. Well they had a swoosh on them and they said cross trainers but were they good for CrossFit?

In a short time I found out I didn’t like to box jump in them because I bit it more than once. Could have been my skill level but I will go with the shoes. I didn’t like to run in them because they didn’t feel good on my shins. Whether it was the shoes or my excuses, I don’t really know for sure. Then before long I found out I didn’t like to lift in them. Just all around blah. But since I didn’t know if I would like CrossFit I didn’t invest in shoes just yet.

A few months passed and the new year came. I waited patiently and watched to see what others had on their feet. There was a good variety of brands and types. Some even changed shoes to run or to lift. I was fascinated. I asked questions. In no time, I bought my first pair of Metcons. Vibrant blue. Oh, how they seemed heavy when I ran. Like I was running with bricks on my feet. They just didn’t move well with me. Off they go to a friend.

“Don’t I just waste money on shoes?” I say to myself. I mean it happens to the best of us. I have bought heels before and they feel fine when I’m in the shoe store then I wear them for a day and I’m like heck no.  After some debate with myself, I ended up with some Reebok Nanos. I liked them. First I had a black pair. Black matches everything but then I felt goth. A new model Nano was coming out so I picked up a blue pair since I liked these. Then white. I was content but they were not my favorite to run in and in year two I started running a lot more.

Enter the new Nanos that were a cross between a running shoe and the other model. I saw a badass in the gym wearing them. I inquired. I purchased. First, a black pair. A conservative option. Oops, I ran a mud race in them which was a bad choice so I replaced them with black pair #2. Then, fun colors came out and so did the sales. I snagged pink, navy blue, turquoise and a grayish green color. I could match most outfits and I liked to run in these. I wanted to buy a few pairs in case they went end of life. Of course, it helped they had fun color choices.

I ventured out and bought a pair of of the new Nanos…7 or 8. I hated them. They had a weird coating on them and they had a small toe base. Gave those suckers away to a friend quickly. So then I said I’m gonna break the hundred dollar spend limit and invest in some No Bull shoes. Purely because the name was cool. They were red on the box but had an orange glow. Just didn’t feel comfy in them so I passed them on to a friend. Barely worn shoes can easily find a second home.

I went on shoe restriction for a bit. Just counting above will explain why I put myself on shoe restriction. I mean I still need flip flops, heels for work and cute tennies for my everyday outfits.

Okay, so it was maybe 3 months later when my son started CrossFitting with me. He needed some new shoes. He bought Camo Metcons. He loved them. We wear the same size so I tried them and guess what? I liked these. Either they got lighter or my legs got stronger and I didn’t think they were too heavy. I checked online and darn it they didn’t have cool girl colors. What a let down.

Then I flipped over to the dude colors and was like what the heck? They have a much better selection. I couldn’t decide between the grey Camo and orange or the red and army Camo. I just bought both on a whim. Then I decided I would wear one of each shoe together. That was a lot of fun. Then I switched back to just orange and grey and red and army Camo.

Then the phone ads pop up. The girls line just came out with baby blue with shimmer Metcons. Seriously, just after my men’s order shipped. It was Valentine’s Day so I gifted them to myself…sneaky, I know.

Then the chalkboard and whiteboard versions. I wanted both but I passed on them. I just figured too many would have them and I just like to be on the edge of different.

A few more versions were released for girls and I wanted them bad but I refrained. It was hard. Then I saw a bright pink, white and black pair conveniently around my birthday. Gift time again. Nobody ever knows what to get this girl so Metcons it was. These were preorder so I didn’t get them for another month. I just love them, all of them.

Then today I see a new flashy pair. Golden with floral pops. A must have! Did you say Mother’s Day is just around the corner? Sure did! Look a perfect gift for Mom. Metcons for Mom. Preorders rock. A little delayed gratification for this girl but now I have the run of the closet floor to choose from for my daily WODs.

To some, I am sure they see me as wasteful but I seriously choose my outfit down to my socks based on what movements we are doing that day.  Shoes are included in this regimen. Crazy girl I am but welcome to my world of shoes. I absolutely refuse to add up the dollar amount spent but I seriously work hard so I can buy shoes.

And, I almost forgot I also have a pair of Reebok lifters. White with pink. Only use those for special occasions. And I just ordered a pair of Nike running shoes for my spring/summer running goals. Colorful and full of flair just like me. I guess you can see I am not your simple, basic girl.

My goals are big. My shoes are expensive. I work hard to afford my shoe fetish. #kt.247

I also have a t-shirt problem but I will save that for another post. Chick 2 may contribute to my delinquency in this arena. To the extent I probably need to open a t-shirt company. (Enter a big sigh.)

fitness and nutrition, hustle

My Why or Why Not

2chicksandapen

I was asked for my favorite CrossFit quote today and boy did that set my mind on an infinite loop for words.

Why is that such a hard quote to put on paper? Because my CrossFit story has a beginning or an initial launch, but really I relaunch or a reset happens each day at CrossFit thanks to the constantly varied programming. Also, what I think is somewhat in the middle of my CrossFit journey is still really undefined since I have no end date in mind. Why no ending? Simply stated, I want to do CrossFit for as long as my body will allow and I hope that means into my 80’s. All of the above translates into the fact that my quotes can change daily, weekly, etc. based on where I am in my CrossFit story. Also, did you catch me on a high success day or an I need to work harder day when the quote question was asked?

Well, today this was my answer:

Snatchy, sweaty and sometimes sassy is part my CrossFit story. I love everything about CrossFit and how my story continues to evolve.

There are many highs, lows and everything in between when I reflect on my CrossFit journey, all of which has made me stronger, leaner and wiser.

I have thick and thunderous thighs. Some will say CrossFit makes you bulk up. Why do you do that?

I have strong shoulders, arms and back. Does that mean I’m not feminine? 

Nope. My gait, my confidence, my aura reflects how I start my day. I start my day grinding with a diverse group of insanely competitive, motivational and overall badass-type people at CrossFit. Together we sweat. Together we push to limits beyond initial reach. Together we document our stories. Collectively different stories but each story packs a punch. Living a great story is part of my love for CrossFit.

Each new day brings new adventures, challenges, and friends. Embrace today. Build for tomorrow. Say goodbye to the past by leaving any negative vibes in the rear view. Live like today is your last day on Earth. Make that difference in you.

Hard work requires dedication. Dedication requires time commitment. Time commitment requires prioritizing. Prioritizing means investing in you. You make the difference you want to see. Only you!

No matter what doubt others may cast on you, they have no direct impact on creating change in you. Motivation to prove others wrong? Maybe, but the reality is the power is all in your hands. You can choose to harness the power however you want to.

Remember the mind is a powerful tool. Your should only focus your mind on what matters. Don’t get hung up on what matters to others. #goalgettermindset

fitness and nutrition, friendship

We Battled the Mountain!

2chicksandapen

What do you after the CrossFit open ends when you are a diehard CrossFitter? You battle a flipping mountain!

And so the story begins with a sign up for a CrossFit competition. Competing makes sure you continue to train hard, push limits and compete with like-minded nut jobs like yourself.

Oh what fun! My partner this competition is Tasha, or Tashi to me. My sweet, sassy, saucy little amazing Asian friend. She might weigh like 105 pounds soaking wet but she is a beast in the box.  This is my first competition with her and I have been super excited to compete with her as a dynamic duo. And we added a plus one. Caitlyn, our fabulous professional cheerleader. She is the cherry on top (literally) for this competition. Caitlyn is preggo so she isn’t competing, but she is being the best friend to all of us and cheering us on all day which is just amazing in itself.

Our team name is Katashi which is just a fusion of our names but we are seriously a hot mess in more ways than one. Both are competitive. Both speak our minds freely. Both don’t take shit from anyone. All of which can lead to craziness in the heat of any battle or competition.

We have been practicing for a couple weeks here and there when our schedules align. Nothing major, just timing on transitions and focusing on strengths vs. weaknesses because let’s face it, we have them, and I may have just a few more weaknesses than her?!?!

To make it even more fun, there are about 5-6 other teams from our box competing making it a competition to remember. And I almost forgot, there is a cash prize so who really doesn’t want to work hard to maybe win some cashola.

Up before 6am to hit the road to get ready for the competition. About an hour drive and it’s a bit chilly and overcast making it hard to wake up fully. First WOD starts before you know it. We worked hard and beat our practice time which was good. A few challenges, but our time should be one of the top 5, we think.

3rd place after round one. Seconds separating the pack. No time to analyze what we missed rather it’s time to strategize on round 2.  We start with a game plan in mind and we finish strong with a few mishaps in the mix. Tasha hits her lip with a dumbbell and I got hit with a moving steel rope in the face. Ouch on both occasions. Breaks in rhythm and concentration can mess you up but we pushed through. 1st place after round two. Small celebration, then for me it was fear of oh no! we have pressure to win now. There was no pressure before. Ughhhhhh!

On a side note, we dressed the part for our competition. Sparkling #Katashi shirts in round 1. Cheetah shorts in round 2 that were pretty revealing and then off for a quick change to lemon booty shorts for round three.

We worked so hard for nearly 15 minutes as a unit. Sometime one partner carried more of the load than the other, but we did it together and came out on top. First place after round 3. We won. We friggin won. Wait, we went back and forth like three times to be sure to the scoreboard was right. Tasha even took a picture of it. We were so excited. Our hard worked paid off.

The podium call came. We ended up in second place. What? Well, there was a tie when the final tally came in. They had to go back to the tie breaker of round 1 and we lost by two seconds. Would have, could have, should have. Those two seconds won’t be the death of us. It will be motivation to push hard next time. A little disappointing at first but back to celebrating that we really did win our own game and we had an amazing cheering squad.

Mentally strong. Physically strong. Committed to competing. All the feels for us.

And then there was our extended team/family. The heart and hustle crew: Sarah and Courtney. They hit the podium in third place in their division. They killed it and had so much fun doing it.

The newbies, Beth and Milagros: First time competing and just celebrating doing the competition together. Each round they finished. Each round they hugged in celebration. It was amazing to watch.

The big boys: Damion and Alex. True competitors in the elite division nailing second place. They did everything as planned and they helped the newer teams plan for each workout. True inspirations.

The coach plus one: Erica and Lauren. 2 strong and fierce women in the elite division. Both injured to a point. A sore back. A sore shoulder. Did anyone notice? Nope! They were so fun to watch and awesome to hear cheering us all on.

My buddies: David and Chris. A shy pair added on at the last minute but two good guys. I didn’t get to watch them as we were in the same heat but they both said they had an amazing time. Love hearing success stories like this.

The 5am crew, Mindy and Heather: a whimsical entry late to the competition due to schedule changes. They challenged themselves to compete in the intermediate group. A stretch for some movements but they dug their heels in and fought like tigers to compete.

There were many firsts, many smiles and even some I should have done this or that different. No matter the outcome, we were competitors and we did more than many on a Saturday before noon which is a big success. And for me, I did it in style with booty short changes for each WOD.

I just adore all of my extended friends and family I have met through CrossFit. Whether it’s the local box, a box I visit on vacation or a competition, everyone I meet is amazing. My love for booty shorts is shared across women in their 20s, 30s, 40s and so on. Conversations at the bathroom include what brand you are wearing? and how they ride or don’t ride your crotch.

Where else can you meet perfect strangers and have the best conversations about snatches, cleaning, jerks, booties, sweat and more? Certainly not at the office water cooler.

CrossFit has many benefits. It starts with a physical transformation and shifts into a mental transformation and somehow in between spurs community and long lasting bonds and relationships.

CrossFit is more than an expensive monthly membership. It’s a lifestyle and an elite club that many are scared to join because of the unknown or fear. Those are the very reasons I love CrossFit.

The constantly varied workouts. The not knowing what’s around the corner. The grit that is required to get to the next level. The crazy people I meet. The boundless opportunities to get better. The drive you witness in people daily.

Now it’s time to let my body recover. Hot tub, swim and a massage coming my way for the day after then back to the grind on Monday. Get after your fitness this week people.

perspective

Are you Broken?

2chicksandapen

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On any given day we are all a little broken. It could be a simple hangnail type of broken, a big breakup type of broken or anything in between.

Some days we break a little, like a small crack in your cell phone. Some days we seem to be broken in a million and one pieces like the shattering of a mirror. Fortunately for us, there are bandaids for little boo boos, bandages and Advil for bigger cuts and bruises and then there is always the gym, counselors and good friends to help you when the heavy kind of broken happens. Loss of a loved one, divorce, mental breakdown, financial losses can all leave one broken which is just part of life but we all need to find coping mechanisms to deal with brokenness.

Remember, everyone can break. It’s not a sign of weakness. One can break at 2 years old resulting in a tantrum. One can break in their teens when social struggles hit hard. One can break as an adult for many reasons and the elderly can even break. Caring for an aging family member takes a big toll on people but many don’t talk openly about it. Being broken offers an opportunity to realize change is needed.

I’m sure we all wish we could sprinkle pixie dust on our brokenness and it all just goes away.  In reality, it’s not that simple. It takes strength, wisdom, encouragement, time and perseverance to realign with what’s important and needed to move ahead when brokenness hits us.

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(photo by @ahborson)

One may find hope with Jesus and the church. Another may exit a bad relationship and find peace in forging ahead alone. Another may readjust financially to a setback with counseling or help from a friend. In each scenario options are visible. Taking a step may be hard but if a step is never taken one will never move forward and may be burdened with sadness and sorrow from the brokenness.

I describe brokenness to my kids as we all have an emptiness inside of us.  And some of that comes from the broken places that we all seem to collect throughout life…  Seeing that things aren’t perfect. Accidents happen with awful consequences.  Humans are messy and flawed. People let us down or fail us. We lose someone we care about, for whatever reason. Each of these leaves us cracked, spilling, a little emptier.

It’s up to each of us what we fill those broken spots with.  Will it be productive or destructive? Some will fill that emptiness with substances, addiction.  Some will fill it with meditation, yoga, religion. Some will fill it with giving.  Some with an empty kind of busy-ness. Some with hopelessness or detachment. Some may write their way through grief to a deeper understanding of themselves. Some will fill their lives with new or deeper relationships, reflection, and a true attempt to find joy in the brokenness.  We each choose how we fill those cracks, whether we choose carefully or consciously or now.  We choose how we mend ourselves and even others.

I read about the Japanese art of Kintsugi. It’s the centuries-old practice of repairing broken ceramic pieces with gold…in this tradition, the cracked and repaired spots are not blemishes, but make the piece more beautiful and unique.  It’s a powerful metaphor for our broken human life. Our cracks don’t mean we are useless. Instead, they are part of what make us precious and ultimately more valuable.

I am broken. I have repaired cracks in my life journey and I have many stage one cracks in my life now. I am content with my brokenness. Life is not perfect and neither am I. I grow through my life lessons. I wander. I encourage. I challenge. I test fate and when I do I risk it all. The risk could be emotional. The risk could be financial. The risk could be unknown.

If I lived in a bubble could I still break? Yes, of course. I can however control my attitude when I start each day. I can manage my emotions when times are tough and I can fuel my body with health and fitness regimens that help me stay the course. It’s all in the mindset.

It may be hard to share, but I find that when I am brave enough to share my broken, I often also get the chance to be closer to people.  So often, others are suffering in ways we don’t know or can’t see, even refuse to see.  If we take a risk, make ourselves vulnerable, show our tender spots to a trusted friend, we will often learn we are much less alone in our broken. Many are fighting battles we can’t imagine, and often they feel they are fighting them alone. The cracks are opportunities to shine a light on others and share a light in what can be a very dark time. Be the light and share your broken.  Be the gold that fills another and reflects their unique beauty.

Be the gold that fills the cracks. Your gold may melt different than mine but it doesn’t decline in value. Gold is precious just like you and me.

If you thought this post was meaningful, please share it. Share the words that speak to you. I know there are some keys phrases in this post that make me smile and work towards being a better person. I am always filling my cracks with gold and trying to help others find their gold to fill their cracks as well.

 

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(photo by @svklimkin)