A decade is a long time

This was me 10 years ago, sitting with my neighbor Lynelle, outside of our lovely little apartment complex. I'm the blonde, age 18. This was before I cut my big city teeth in Chicago. I was still sowing my stupid oats in the comfort of an apartment a stone's throw from the university here in Austin.

Crazy. Times.

Happy New Decade!!!! Be safe and be kind... to everyone, including yourself.

Well hey there stranger!

I hope everyone had a great holiday and was able to emerge unscathed! I had about two days of gluttony before my body pulled my privileges, and by that I mean make me whimper with belly pain and seek an early bedtime. One of the major downsides of not eating sugar on a regular basis is that when you finally give in, the body just doesn't know what to do with it.

"You never know how many lives you get, so you may as well live this one how you want." I used to make that statement often as a means to justify my unhealthy behavior. For the most part, I believe in that statement. There is no empirical evidence as to what happens after we go and so I fully endorse going full throttle, with one small caveat: We should strive for quality while living how we want to.

The importance of quality has been lost over the years and replaced with convenience. Quality takes time and effort to produce. If you buy a quality item/food/service, it will be more expensive, however, promises to be more enjoyable in the long run compared to its lesser counterpart. Quality requires that people care about the final product, plain and simple.

Quality of life is no different. It doesn't just manifest itself and continue to thrive without effort. As we age, the way in which our bodies break down is contingent on the amount of effort put into the quality of each day prior.

There are some things that you simply do not half ass. Living is one of them. What better source of joy than knowing you have handcrafted a near perfect day, or at the very least, attempted to? My grandfather told me over and over again, "self respect and in turn happiness, starts with a job well done."

A new DECADE is rolling in! How exciting! This is more than just a new year, it's a new, big chunk of fun waiting for you to jump in and own it. I challenge anyone reading this to forego the massive quantities of alcohol on New Year's and wake up sans hangover on the first day of the new year. Take that day, feel good, and do something that you have never done before.

For me 2010 is the year of the run, the year of quality and the pupa stage of my bona fide adult decade. Adult! Shit!

Be safe and have fun this week!!

Reluctant Rest

I played hookie this morning from my workout (which looked like a damn blast). I don't feel very good about it, but I'm fighting a rogue illness that has been gaining speed for the last week or so. I had been craving Tex-Mex slop enchiladas for days, and after a conversation about appeasing illness related cravings with my Team Phoenix ladies, I went for it last night. Dario's made the poison and it was damn good. Combined with the extra rest this morning, I think I may have beaten it.

I still feel like I missed out on a party this morning. Bah.

Rest was absolutely needed and judging by how many people keep dropping like flies around me, I'd rather my rest days be taken by choice instead of by force.

As this morning continues my cravings have gone from food to workouts, and I can't get box jumps and kettlebell swings out of my mind. I always crave burpees, because obviously I'm filled with self hate. I think I'll throw all three together tonight; rounds and reps will depend on how my guilt grows by the end of the day....

*******

Please take a moment to review this infographic on the environmental impact and monetary cost of consuming bottled water. There are other methods for obtaining clean drinking water which are cheaper and better for our planet. Don't fall prey to fancy marketing.

Santa Terror

I was terrified of Santa Claus. Ter-ri-fied. I thought that the way he operated his "business" was HIGHLY suspicious, and I was very distrusting of his intentions. I didn't care that he brought presents. That did nothing to lessen the reality that he entered someone's house without introducing himself, and we were just supposed to let him in because he brought us stuff. Instead of hiding and waiting to catch a peek of Santa, I would bury myself beneath a mountain of blankets, booby trap my room, and shut my door.

I once drew him a map, with the wrong directions to keep him from finding us when we had Christmas with my dad's family in Dallas.

I can't begin to describe the terror I felt the day that I rearranged the letters in "Santa" and realized they spelled "Satan."

I was beyond relieved when my mother told me he was fictional. As in, my nemesis wasn't real, and FINALLY I CAN ENJOY THIS FREAKING HOLIDAY. I was in second grade.

Dear Mom and Dad, thank you for your patience.... Truth be told, I felt the same way about the Easter Bunny and the Toothfairy.

Torture du Jour:
Nicole
AMRAP
400m run
max pull ups (42, six rounds)
Tabata squats

Signs of the Apocalypse: Chianti

....it was Shee-an-ti, not Kee-an-ti.

"Um, my name is not that hard. Can't you read right?"

*sigh*

Summit Sunrise

The most frequently asked question since divulging my desire to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro has been "where did that come from?"

A couple of months back Kito and I were watching a documentary about a young man who set out to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and watch the sunrise from the summit. The footage was staggering in its beauty and I was amazed at how "normal" all the people on the expedition looked. Old, young, fit, not so fit, the adventure appealed to all different types of people. Some were on their second and third trips up the mountain. I had my old-school knee-jerk response of "wow, wouldn't that be amazing to do" and moved it out of my mind. It didn't stay out of my mind for very long.

One of the side effects of massive personal change is that all preconceived notions about what you are and are not capable of kinda fly out the damn window. All those years spent dismissing opportunities with "oh, I could never do that" start to seem ridiculous next to the growing list of accomplishments and multiple occasions of proving your old self dead wrong.

I'm going to climb that damn mountain. Partly to say that I will, partly to say that I did, but mostly because I want to know what it would feel like to look down on this:


I keep discovering more and more pictures taken from the top, and with each new photo the goal becomes more and more solid. Just like a really long and daunting Crossfit workout, the steps and tasks to get to Africa will be broken up. Collect the gear, save the money, one little step at a time.

I've decided this kind of thing would be much more enjoyable in the company of friends, who wants to join up?

Life changing experiences, as RX'd, AMRAP in a lifetime. I'm down.

Shameless

Opportunity

This morning an entire thermos of coffee spilled out onto the floorboard of my car, after a morning of dwelling on negative memories.

Universe says: "Want something to complain about, do ya?"

Back a few months ago I was having a bad day. A really, really bad day. I can't remember what was so terrible, but bow howdy was I wearing an epic frown. While in the grocery store a bird took a shit on my head. Yep. INSIDE the store.

Universe says: "Feel like the world is shitting on you?"

Mr. Universe has a wicked sense of humor, and I beseech you to avoid giving that dodgey bastard a reason to dole some of it out at your expense. Sometimes the best defense against a bad day is laughing in the face of misfortune.

*

Not to change the subject, but I really need to go on an adventure in the next year. I'd like to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and I'm looking into what I need to do to make that happen. I always get turned off by money, and when something starts to venture in the thousands of dollars, I tend to dismiss it. Plus, it's slightly terrifying to me to be in a plane for that long and completely alone.... Whew. But the idea of hiking to the summit of a mountain to watch the sunrise is so intoxicating to me, I just may pull it off.

This is what I would see.