So, my carpet smells like puke, my laundry is unfolded and I have two kids home today one whose obviously been puking and the other one whose kind of lost without his brothers creative energies to direct him.   In addition, there are dishes to wash, bills to pay, rooms to clean and bathrooms to scrub…and I still need to write here on this blog, workout and find things to keep me happy like reading!  It’s a weekend so that means that I have two days to work on all of the above and still be a mommy!  Usually what happens is that I wake up, workout, and then (it feels like running on a treadmill) but I run around my house attempting to multitask doing a little here and a little there but never really finishing a job…Argh.  My head is spinning.

How the heck do you balance it all?!

How am I going to remain sane? How does anybody remain sane with this stuff? All moms juggle the same things I am- and many probably have their children in extra curricular activities as well.   Yesterday, my kid wanted pizza for lunch and I couldn’t even remember to check off “pizza” on the sign in sheet!

If I were a superhero, I could just snap my fingers and get everything done all the time no problem, however, I’m just a regular mommy trying to squeeze it all in (all the time).  I realize that maybe I could  just give up a few responsibilities to others or do less, but then what?!

And to add to this nonsense, I’ve been asked to participate in the CrossFit Open again this year.  Just like adding more stress to the already chaotic life!  “Just do it for fun this year…set new goals and use it to judge where you should be next year!”

Thoughts, comments and suggestions welcome!

Check out this old article from Gary Taubes in the New York Times, “What if it’s all been a big fat lie?”
Gary Taubes is the author of Why We Get Fat and has some very interesting, but not new things to say.

Anybody else eliminating white flour and sugar from their diet and reaped the results?

Very cool products, if you love to be inspired!

All the Best,
Rachel

What are my favorite parts of CrossFit?

I love the Olympic Lifts- particularly Cleans and Snatches. I have to say, though, that it took me almost 1.5 years of practice before I “mastered” them and I’m still no expert. These are hard as heck to perform correctly, and my coaches are still working with me on them. But, I love to practice them, I sneak extra practice in my garage and I secretly dream about lifting only someday!

What is the worst part about Crossfit?

Ok, this is very personal, but, I have a hard time when others beat me. I’m WAY too hard on myself and if I have an “off” day or if I just Stink on a particular day, I will feel bad about myself or repeat the workout later in my garage or work on the movement that I stank at later in the week. I don’t like to be beaten even if it’s by girls 15 years my junior, I just make myself practice more. Yes, I know this isn’t healthy and sometimes, I am little too obsessive about it. When this happens to me, I know I need to step back and go back to yoga and just CHILL out for a bit, life is too short to worry about crap like this. And, I do.

So, there you go! CrossFit in a nutshell, I hope you all can give it a try.

I’d also like to share that I’ve been on both sides of the education spectrum, from public to private. In California, the law is still the same, 90 minutes of Physical Education every ten days (I think). Obviously, this is NOT enough and PE has been cut for some schools, but, it is better than nothing. With the budget such that it is at my school, I’m happy to see my kids twice a week.

How would you improve your “gym class” for your kids now? {The term gym class makes me laugh, because that is one thing we don’t have in California is a gym! Everything is outside or in a classroom.}

My kids and I took a trip up to Oak Glen over the weekend, and headed straight for the nearby hiking trails and had a great time, just hiking around.

We spent some time listening for birds and looking for catfish, although, we didn’t see either.

Had a great time though and there are always new questions and new projects to work on for the next visit with my kids!

Happy Monday!

Well, it’s true, since starting CrossFit in November of 2009, I have been at least 3 if not 4 dress/jean sizes.  When I first started CrossFit, I was an easy size six (referenced here) and I thought I was just fine.   I had been running and doing yoga and little bit of kettlbell work prior to Nov. of 09, and I thought I was fairly fit.  Then came three months of 5x a week, and I shrank like 2 dress sizes overnight!

Last Christmas, I was a size 2 Lucky Jeans and thought I was all that! I had squeezed into them and thought I was looking good.  Little did I know that size on me was not going to be long lived!

Now, almost two years into CrossFit my size has changed again.

Yes, it’s true, I have gotten bigger.  Where?! My quads and chest size {not the cleavage department, unfortunately} have both gone up.

Getting dressed in clothes other than yoga apparel had become increasingly difficult and problematic.  The complaints started a few months back when I’d be getting ready for church (the only time I need actual clothes) and I’d end up with piles of clothes on the floor!

Following a discussion with my very favorite, fashionable hair dresser, I finally decided to go shopping.  Ugg.  I hate shopping.  It is so stressful, frustrating, and time consuming.   My genetic make-up is to NOT spend hours in shopping malls.  I make surgical strikes- Find One Pair of Jeans that Fit.  On the advice of a friend, I decided to hit up all the high dollar jean brands in an effort to find one pair that fit.  Today was the day, and I started with True Religion.  Upon walking in, I did get a “hello” but no eye contact and the employees kept on doing what they were doing.  I looked around, looked at the prices, felt the jeans, and attempted to find a pair….but, you know, I walked out of the store!  Second store, 7 For All Mankind, again, a high dollar priced jean and again a greeting, but, no questions of “how can I help you” or even eye contact with me.  I walked around, felt the jeans and again walked out.  All the labels I saw said, “narrow, skinny, skinny leg, skinny or narrow fit….” You’ve got to be kidding me!   What athletic girl do you know is going to fit into skinny jeans?! I tried on jeans in FOUR stores!!!! What was the biggest problem with the jeans I tried on?  They didn’t even go over my quads!  And, several couldn’t get past my calves, either.  So, the problem was two fold- one nobody was willing to help me at all nor could I find any jeans on my own that would even count as jeans- more like some kind of joke!  These are for women, really?!

Finally, by the fifth store, I assumed that there were no jeans that were going to fit me and that I was going to go home empty handed.  For my last ditch effort, I walked into Lucky Brand Jeans, and the first thing I got was “how can I help you” question???  Whoo Hooo… I looked at him and said, “Well, I’m looking for jeans that will fit these very large quads and small waist, you got anything like that?”  He said, yes, and started bringing me pairs to try on!  I must have tried on ten pairs of jeans and on the 11th pair, in a size 26, I found a PAIR!! {Relaxed fit, easy rider with some nice styling on the pockets.  Not high dollar, either}  I literally danced around in a circle!

Moral of the story? Lucky Brand jeans offered jeans to fit this athletic body with great customer service to boot.  Here’s my little kick in the butt, to 7 For all Mankind and True Religion!  You guys aren’t all that.