Happy Thanksgiving!

Stuck in a ferry line, here's our obligatory awkward family photo...Hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday.

T-Day Plans

I just want to start out by saying Magic Mike is the best movie of all time. That's all.

Thanksgiving week has arrived! I keep forgetting that its this Thursday. Mostly because this year we haven't had to do any planning, shopping, prepping, cleaning, and won't be doing any cooking either, its fantastic! We are headed to a friends house. We will be bringing an appetizer, and that's all. That means no left overs at the house, no repeated spoon tastes as the meal is cooking, and since we aren't making the meal, chances are it won't be all of our favorite things made our favorite ways, hence making the desire to overindulge nill. It is my personal dream scenario!

My gym is having a Thanksgiving workout on Thursday, and I asked the hubby if I had time to attend before we had to hop on a ferry to go dinner, but that idea was shot down as I wouldn't have time to shower and that bothered him (not me). So I said, fine, I'll just run around the neighborhood in the morning and then shower. He laughed at me and said "yeah, run before you eat 800 calories." I said, "exactly." Men. Skinny men at that-they just don't get it.

I have no black Friday shopping plans, the whole thought of facing crowds on my precious day off is unappealing. I've never actually heard of, or seen an advertised deal that was worth waking up early for, and then potentially having to fight crazed soccer moms for it. No thanks. Online shopping is the best thing in the world, especially since I have to ship everything anyway.

I know sometimes I can be sarcastic and snarky, but I do really appreciate everything I have. I've seen it all over the place this month, people stating what they are thankful for. In honor of Thanksgiving week, here are my top 10:

1) My parents/family- they provided me with the best upbringing they knew how and shaped my thinking into what it is today. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be here, and I certainly wouldn't be me.
2) My hubby- he is amazingly supportive of whatever I do, and can make me laugh even when I'm super mad. He is the perfect compliment to all the areas in which I'm deficient (fixing stuff, being nice, laundry).
3) My job- I have a great boss, and we work for a great company. There are not very many (no?) other times in my life I could have made that same statement.
4) My gym- I feel so fortunate to have discovered the CrossFit community, and had a positive experience from day one. There is no going back for me, its the highlight of my day.
5) My friends- I have the best friends ever. I should probably note that when I say I have friends, I mean, real, living, breathing individuals that I see in person, and not just correspond with through various "social" sites.
6) My health- I take this for granted so often, then come down with a minor cold which reminds me I need to stop taking it for granted. I am able to do so much, and I feel good. I need to remember that for some people, that is not the case.
7) My dog- He's the best dog in the world. There is nothing better than coming home to his wiggling, excited butt every day.
8) My home- I love our house. It just keeps improving.
9) My chickens- They are nothing but pure entertainment, and provide us with yummy eggs. I'm so excited Williams-Sonoma now carries chicken coops. Its like they could read my mind! Santa? You listening?
10) Obama- I'm so thankful he won. I know he's had his share of mistakes, but I really believe he has the right mind and intelligence to continue to improve our situation. Nothing happens overnight, let him do his job.

Ok, enough sap for now. Its almost gym time for some deadlifts and hand release push-ups. I love me some deadlifts!!!

"You're Going to Crush This"

I mentioned a few posts ago about my confidence issue/just feeling sort of "off" lately at the gym. I looked up the workout for today and was pretty confident that I was going to beast it. It was right in my wheelhouse, and I was due for a total WOD obliteration. Our workout was a death by Sumo Dead lift High Pulls (SDHP) 65# pyramid, with a 13 rep cap. So, the clock starts, and you have 1 minute to perform 1 SDHP. The remaining time until the clock hits 1:00 is your rest. At 1:00 you have one minute to perform 2 SDHP. Each minute you increase the rep by one, and traditionally in a death by format, you continue until you can no longer perform the number of reps you are on in the minute. But... we had a 13 rep cap, so as we ascended, even if we performed 13 SDHP in the minute, we had to stop, rest, and then work our way back down to one. By the looks of it, I thought, no problem, 13 will not be a problem. I have been decieved before by thinking the written workout looked doable, only to be totally crushed. I didn't get nervous until 3 seconds before the clock beeped 0:00.

After completing 1 SDHP in one minute, and 2 SDHP's shortly after 1 minute, the crazy-fit-would-have-been-NYC-marathon-runner-at-a-8:30-pace-who-keeps-to-himself behind me says "You're going to crush this workout. You are built for this. Man, you are going to destroy this." I smiled. I knew he was right. Then the other two girls in the class say to me "is this even hard for you? This weight? Is it heavy?" I just laughed. For whatever reason, SDHP's are just easy for me. Especially at 65#, it just feels like the bar is weightless.

So, yeah. I made it to 13 (along with everyone else in class with the exception of one guy, I might add) and back down to 1 again. 169 SDHP's total. I barely broke a sweat. It was a good confidence builder for sure. I also think I should have done more weight...