drammatical

So we have decided to keep the dog. [after spending a gazillion dollars on her] OMG is she a handful. She’s great and very well behaved but she also has issues staying alone and well we work! Plus I’ve been skipping xfit just so I can take her out on runs. I wonder if I can even bring her to xfit on days that I do go… you know just tie her up in a corner outside?

So this new addition is a big change into our little world. We are now faced with questions we didn’t have to ask before. Can we go to dinner, alone? Not until her alone issues are resolved. Is Vegas going to happen? Probably not. What are we going to do about our chewed up front door? Aye. Geez Louise. This is worse than a baby…

-need to find a decent watch for A.

-need help with dad’s gift. A Stetson is outta the question.

-have ideas for n’s gift, which always come way too late to pull off.

-thinking too much of pending anniversary of (my) year. And next’s too…

-I want to move. We may have an opportunity to move closer to parentals, even if it’s for a short time.

-need to call brother from another mother and reconnect. This relationship needs some love, from both ends.

-don’t want to celebrate bd, so please don’t bother people. Not being negative nancy but my bd sucks since well it sucks because of its timing. Bad economy and all, so nada! I’m only accepting home made scribbles.

-must practice my spanish skills as they are clearly deteriorating.

-make time for reading. Out of the 24 books I set out to read this year, only 14 have been finshed...

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I’ve been keeping track of all the days I’ve been working out since we got back to it. I did this back when I was training for Mt. Wilson, two months I logged everything I did and ate. What I didn’t do was log how I felt, physically and mentally. These past weeks I’ve been taking mental notes of everything and I think I’m ready to start putting stuff down on paper, again.

What triggered this? Well on Saturday N suggested [forced more like it] I go for a 5K. Ugh. I knew this was coming and well wasn’t looking forward to it. Recently I’ve decided that I’m going to push myself to the max when running, puke and everything, so yeah. Plus this route is tough, 50% upgrade. Did it…. in 29 minutes flat! That was a personal record for me. Plus, I really haven’t put in any mileage since, well since the ½ marathon. This really shocked me. Not that I could run that fast, for me anyway, but that I had improve my speed by not really focusing on running. Immediately I went over to the fridge to check out my workouts, three days of crossfit and one day of bootcamp every week for the past four weeks. Very promising indeed.

So apparently N has earned the right to chant “I told ya so.”

In the last three weeks that I’ve been back to xfit I have –
- Blistered my hands (still healing)
- Almost eaten sh!t while box jumping. Luckily my mad skills saved me… It was all luck that my had reached out and stopped me from eating it big.
- Hit my chin with a 45lb bar which hurt like hell for a week.
- Bruised my shins and thighs while dead lifting. If that’s not proof enough that I did em right I don’t know what is.
- Have not had one day without soreness.
- Have felt great physically albeit tired.
- Really enjoyed spending/suffering with friends/family.
- Really, really, I mean really enjoyed my rest days.

Funny moments shared –
- N was really proud of my hand and was showing it off while I was trying to hide it.
- While looking at the Muddy Buddy brochure I was saying how Shannon said it was a really fun race and how we should do it too. N said “that’s what she said about the AR you did right?” Right, five hours later…
- N doing the running man all over our place making fun of me.
- Both of us trying to out due each other in how sore we are.
- Watching/listening to N trying to get new people to come out and join the pain.


While in Huatulco, N came up with the best idea. Since the beach was a walk away from the hotel itself, all stairs, he proposed we run up them four times in the morning. We did. Three mornings. I wanted to die. The staff was really good about it though. After the first morning they made jokes about us getting lost. Then on day three they were pretty impressed. I was impressed I didn't faint!

What a weekend. Lots of family, friends and food.

Thanksgiving morning was started with a 5K. Even though it was like climbing Mt. Everest it was a great way to start the day. Lots of Red cult members there including the ringleader. It was my first time running since I can remember. Sometime before our vacation.

We hosted a brunch for my in-laws. Afterwards, we headed to the valley of the dirt to spend a lovely Thanksgiving dinner at my sisters’. Of course we ate too much but we did make it out to xfit the next day. Little A was taking us all with his newfound poker skills. Punk.

We DID wake up and make it to the sales. What a waste of time for us. Nothing we needed or wanted. I’m so over doing this to myself. Must remember to read this post next year.

Reflecting on all the changes we’ve made over the years I’m very happy that even though we know we eat (drink) too much during the holidays (and other days) at least we make an effort to work off some of it. I can’t say that for everyone, and I don’t mean that in a negative way either. It’s just something that I’m happy we have incorporated into our lives. After all, we’re the ones that have to live with these bodies and well its kinda hard lugging ourselves around as it is. Every year we seem to be making better choices and decisions, maybe next year we’ll cut out the pies. Maybe… Babysteps.

We also visited N’s granny. It’s always inspirational to see her. She’s an 80+ year old woman that is as strong as can be. She has no health issues and her mind is better than mine. She has such a strong and powerful will it’s unbelievable. She’s what I want to turn into when I grow up.

Yesterday was a day filled with great friends. Sometimes you don’t realize how important friends are and how much they really are part of one’s family. I’m very fortunate to have them in my life and to be able to pretty much say, do, and act anyway I want and they’ll always be there. They always have. It also amazes me how much we have all grown up and keep on growing. Yikes!

Leaving you with one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. Diego Rivera’s murals at the Palacio National. Amazing!

with my report! Phew, all in record time too. Now I can enjoy the holidays. Hope no more work makes its way round my inbox.

Off to watch Viva La Vida [loca]. Hope its a good show and hope traffic isn't bad on the way back.

Here's to hope in 09.

Goals. Lots of talk about these lately. Guess I better start too.

Well, after some talking with N I’ve decided (have been tricked) into focusing on strength. My strength sucks, always has. I hate strength training. I hate feeling like I’d rather die than complete another round of some CrossFit WOD. I’m so that person. I don’t mind running, even if I feel like puking, that’s okay. It’s the pain from lifting, my own body even, that’s not.

During this year’s Mt. Wilson training, Ranger-man opened up about some of his experiences during his stint in the military. It was really inspiring and it helped me get through that month I did nothing but CrossFit. Then, I forgot all about it. Well Monday’s session really kicked me hard. I wanted nothing more than to stop after the first round. Of course I wasn’t willing to quit, I don’t quit. But I was willing an injury, small one, to help end the torture. I know this is wrong, I know I shouldn’t think like that, but I’m being honest here. What helped me get through it was my team, Coach Eric and the assistant coach (sorry, forgot his name!). Also, the warrior board helped too. It’s amazing to see how strong people are! Also, reading some definitions about pain and how it means its good was also reassuring.

Sure my legs feel like they’re going to give out on me. Sure I can’t raise my arms above my chest. Definitely screaming inside when having to get up and down. Forget about climbing stairs. But other than that I feel good. This is a reminder that my body needs more torture. So needless to say I’m looking forward to handicap rail assisted bathroom breaks, having to wash my hair in increments of 5 seconds, squealing when getting up, and walking in flats. I may have to get N’s cane out of the closet too.

Goals for next year:

- Get to standard pushups.

- Finish Mt. Wilson in 2 hours.

- Finish sprint adventure race within allotted time with team tres! I can’t believe we’re doing this again.

- Run another ½ at 2:30 w/o bathroom break.

- Maybe, maybe do a mini tri w/ Shannon. I said maybe!

from our amazing vacation. el sigh

Will post pictures, experiences, stories later. So much fun was had.

Happy to be back though. I didn't realize how much I really did miss you all.