Busy life, forgetful mind

Ok, so life just got super busy super quick, which means that my intention to blog after every crossfit session got forgotten. But have no fear, you still get to hear all about session number 10! 

Thursday was the tenth and final personal learning day of my crossfit beginnings! Definitely doesn't feel like I should be done with day 10! Day 10 was a review of movements following by amraps. (As many reps as possible) it seriously felt like a final exam that I was failing. Even afterwards telling Kristen about the work out, I had to describe movements instead of name them, kinda annoying that I can't remember the names! On Monday I start the group classes, which is exciting but also oddly terrifying as well, up until now I have had a person right next to me, telling me what to do, helping me, cheering me on. I was told to never be scared to ask anyone around me questions, which is way easier said then done when it comes to teachers... Teachers becoming student. Should be interesting...

Also, here is a picture of the yummy breakfast we had this morning, even if it wasn't whites free! 

Cheating...

Ok, so last Friday morning my post was titled: crossfit in te morning. I had every intention of doing a "graduation at night" post Friday night, however things du not play out that way (obviously...) 

Reason number one: we failed to confirm with the hotel that the advertisement of "free wifi" applied to the rooms... Not just the lobby. (Which for the amount of money we paid, kinda makes since, cause we are cheap cheap cheap!) 

Reason number two: I got kinda mad and anything I posted would not have been very nice, so I just stayed off the internet. 

One thing I did learn from this trip? It is now glaringly where I learned some of my unhealthy habits. From the snacks my dad filled his car with, to the run through mcdonalds for breakfast instead of eating the free continental one provided... This weekend was a bust on eating as close to paleo as possible. The trip Friday was good, driving my own car and having my cousin Michele, who is on the same journey as me, was a big help! 

Everytime we went to eat, I had to search the menu for good options (which come on, why are there more of these?!?) and without fail,the "it's vacation, you can cheat" mentality kept being thrown around. Which is something I hear all the time, but when has cheating ever been an ok thing? Cheat at school? You fail. Cheat in a relationship? You lose that relationship. Cheat on a job? You suffer consequences. Why should cheating on a diet be any different? Shouldn't I be making life style changes, not "going on a diet?" Cause a life style change means that the hamburger I ate Saturday for lunch, complete with fries and fried onions and mushrooms, is ok. It's not a dirty little secret I need to hide. If I look at that hamburger as a "cheat" then it becomes a bad thing, and trust me, that hamburger was not a bad thing. It was a very good thing. That hamburger was one meal throughout my weekend, it was a choice I made, not a mistake or a cheat. One hamburger will not determine my health in life. A hamburger like that everyday for lunch? Not a healthy choice. If I deny myself every foo that is not strictly "healthy" then one day, I will end up completely giving up on my changes. So, I'm not on a diet, I'm actively making lifestyle changes. 

Alright, so on from that to some crossfit talk... Didn't make it to crossfit on Monday, thanks to a nasty stomach bug, but Tuesday I was ready to go. (Note to self: eat more then a banana during the day leading up to crossfit...) i started the workout with a lovely little headache (brought on by the child who screamed for the entire hour of nursery.)  that never seemed to leave, actually seemed to get worse... And hat headache made the learning portion a little difficult, but I made it through, learning about snatches. Which is another example of me trying to do two things at once and failing by thinking way to hard! After that, WOD: 8 to 1 snatch squats, and 1 to 8 burpees. (Meaning I do 8 squats and 1 burpee, 7 squats and 2 burpees, all the way until I did 1 squat and 8 burpees.) it was killer, by the end I pretty much wanted to walk out and never come back. But I didn't. I finished! I did walk out fairly quickly, don't even look to see my time. Just left. No looking back,  even left my scandals sitting in the nursery. But I gotta say, finishing is the best feeling in the world! 

Also, here is an awesome shot of my entire family at graduation! 

Oh, and here's my yummy hamburger: 

Crossfit in the morning!

So, 8:30 crossfit is awesome. Love starting my day with a good heart pumping Fran Workout in 11:36! 

Now, onto a road trip to Knoxville! And in case you were wondering, this is what a healthy road trip snack cooler looks like: 

Water, apples, bananas, coconut bars, fruit and almonds! So ready for this trip! 

Triggers...

So the past week has been stressful, between my mom, school, and preparing to go on a weekend trip with my family, I've been on edge since Sunday. With that stress many things have become clear, my diet, my sleep, and my focus all suffer when stress takes over. 

Holidays are always stressful at the Stewart home,  I believe that memories set in about past holidays, and the differences become glaring. (For those of you who don't know, two years ago my mother was diagnosed with Frontotemperal Dementia, which is very similar to Alzheimer's disease.) every day is a struggle to get through as we watch momma slowly being stolen from us, but holidays pack thier own special wallup. My sisters and I have begun planning holidays and coordinating trips and figuring out details, but remember (and sometimes hear in each other's voices) momma doing all the planning for everything. It becomes stressful, and tempers run high, causing me to leave my family in a stressed state. 

Next came school. Which I only have 4 letters to say about that: CRCT.

And the pinnacle to it all? Planning a weekend trip to go to Bug's (also known as Kaylie) college graduation. Which is wonderful and exciting and makes me so very very happy for her, but trips are stressful. Things like money, when to leave (which has been changed 4 times now) and what to do with the energetic and not so potty trained 5 month old Winchester (which we thought was worked out, but ended up not being worked out...) all add to my levels of stress. 

So, all that to say, with stress come very specific triggers that I never realized before. I don't sleep well at night, causing me to sleep-in in the morning, which means I don't eat breakfast. And when I don't eat breakfast, I snack till lunch. And when I'm in a classroom and didn't have time that morning to pack snacks? I eat what's there, which this week is pretzel sticks and vanilla Oreo cookies. Also, I want nothing more then to drink a nice cold coke. Also, chocolate. And it doesn't help that our lovely art teacher (who shall remain nameless) leaves bags of starburst on my desk... 

So my answer to all this? Paying for a nice long foot massage (which by the way, my favorite indulgence in the world, foot massage) 

Also, crossfit funny of the day: while talking to my dad, I tell him that I'm doing crossfit on Friday at 8:30 before we leave. He responds with "is that something you can do before a long road trip?" His tone suggesting that He thought I was completely insane for even thinking about crossfit before the trip. :) But you know what? I'm kinda excited to start my day with it, last time I did the morning session my entire day jaunt seemed better!

And with that, I'm nearly falling asleep while my feet are being rubbed, so I think I'll stop writing and relax for a while. :)

In contrast...

Here's a photo of a well used gym bag...

Today's lesson: I am really bad (maybe just nervous and not that confident) at doing two or more motions at once.... 

But no really, I learned a series of "clean" movements... Which Nic told me what clean refers to, but that was almost an hour ago with loads of other information in between. I learned how to do a hanging power clean, a hanging power clean squat, cleans and clean squats (maybe I'm forgetting a word in the last two...) basically hanging ones start with my arms hanging and the not hanging one start with the bar on the ground. 

WOD (which, by the way is my favorite abbreviation of all time... It's kinda fun to say): 30 clean and jerks with (let's do some mental math here... 15+15+15...) a 45 lb bar. Time: 8:50 (hey- I actually did remember my time by the time I got home!) 

Another lesson from today: when I stopped over thinking the movements, and just did them, one of two hinge happen: 1.) I jump my feet in the wrong direction. 2.) I do it perfectly and much quicker. (I wonder how I can apply this to life outside crossfit... Cause I maybe tend to overthink things...)

Today's victory: (there are a few, but I'm focusing on just one today) I took my sweater off, and let the arm fat do what it wanted for the last 10 clean and jerks. Doesn't sound like a lot, but I (very) rarely wear tank tops around people that I don't call family...

Note to self

So, I have not been going back and reading old blogs... In all my blogging I haven't really taken the time, cause you know, I wrote it, so why do I need to read it... But after rereading one from this morning, a new note to myself has been made: Always proof read before publishing... 

Now, I'm onto making use of that edit button! 

School picnics = exhausted Melanie

So here's a picture of my poor lonely gym bag that never got used yesterday... At least I didn't have to repack it for today I guess! :)

Yesterday we had our class picnic, which involved walking with around 100 kindergarteners to the park and then spending all day chasing 5 and 6 year olds around. Which was a blast, but left me exhausted and slightly sun burnt. So, needless to say, that gym bag did not get used yesterday. :) But don't worry, I'll still be crossfitting at least 3 days this week! We've already planned a session for Friday morning, which will be followed by a nice long drive to Knoxville for my baby sister's college graduation! 

Yesterday's small victories: 

I walked. A lot. And ran. A little. 

I realized half way through picking kids up and putting them on the monkey bars (which I spent the better part of 20 minutes doing) that I was using my crossfit form. It was kinda exciting. 

Oh! And I only ate a few bites of that cotton candy... Thanks to allison making me put it down after  those few bites, which was actually the perfect amount. :)