Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Strong > Skinny

As a new Crossfit participant, I am intrigued. It's a lot of fun, and a great total body challenge every day. This workout style is not just a gym. Not just a place you go to miserably sweat out every bite of the cheeseburger you had for lunch that day. As I type this, I am reminded of that girl I saw in the base gym last week:

She was drenched in her own sweat, head down as she read a book, just pedaling away on a stationary bike for an hour. She was dressed in a skin-tight underarmor workout top, and some snug workout pants. She was not fat, but the top was not flattering and showed every little lump and curve created as she hunched over the handlebars on the bike. The gym doesn't have air conditioning or a good way to get an air flow- turning it into a sauna no matter what you're doing. The first thing I thought of when I saw her was "Wow, she looks miserable." If you aren't having fun, why do it??!!!

Word.

For me- crossfit it is a lifestyle change. Makes working out fun, and takes the thinking out of it. I'm not creative enough to stick to a plan of my own.
For some, it's a lifestyle of getting healthy and comfortable in their skin as a strong person NOT focused on being a certain size. But it makes you think about yourself and why put garbage in your body when you work so hard? (this group is me

For others, it's a changeup from the iron slinging you see at traditional gyms...

And for a few- it's just a new identity. They wear the shirts, the shoes, talk the lingo, take pictures of their bleeding blistered hands like badges of glory, and usually overdose on testosterone. No matter the reason, we are all there together... sweating, cheering our classmates on [minus the spirit fingers], and getting strong.

There is no prize for bleeding blisters, or for finishing 5 rounds of kettlebell swings and box jumps first. Today for example (week 2), I finished 3rd of 7 folks... and instead of stopping, I jumped up on the box today for round 6- I just kept going so my classmate nearby wouldn't feel like we were all just staring at him while he pushed through his last set. It felt good. And to think that 45 minutes prior to that I felt like a zombie and wondered if I could muster the energy to get through another crazy workout... Martha said to me "You look like you're moving slow" as I dragged in the door at 5:55am. Yep. And at the end, I had so much energy that I rowed 1000m before I stretched and left.

People who make fun of Crossfit for being lame or stupid should try it. If you don't like it, fine. But don't hate on what works for someone else. My point here is not to sell you Crossfit- which is I think what I am starting to sound like I am doing. After reading another blog about it, I felt compelled to share my experience with it which has been absolutely fantastic.

Day 15, Wednesday: A Day in the life


The beach near my home, viewed from the fishing pier... just another beautiful sunset that we are blessed to enjoy!

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Some perk for your Tuesday...

Noted... :)

Day 14: 10 Things that make me really happy


1. God's blessings in my life
2. Waking up next to my husband
3. First cup of coffee in the morning

4. Headbutts from Leo as I sip my coffee on the couch

5. Photography- visit my other page!!!

6. A clean house
(Not exactly a picture of that...yet.)

7. Laying out in the sun

Honeymoon on a yacht...yes, please!
8. A new pair of shoes
Shoe store in Dubai...swoon!


9. Running
Aut2Run 5K

10. A glass or two three of red wine in the evening



BONUS!
11. Making little cartoons of daily comedic events with the husband.
Little Miss Fabulous :)

Monday, May 13, 2013

Day 13, Monday: Issue a public apology.

To My Parents,

     I was a horrible teenager and it was no one's fault but my own. I was young, impressionable, and naturally did not believe anything you said. Ever. But I am older now and it's amazing what I have learned in 15 short years. You were right. My friend Toni was a bad influence. Boys did only want one thing if they called after 9pm. [this is still true, girls. A man respects your beauty rest and wouldn't want to ruin it.] Living at home was good for me and working crappy retail jobs taught me a million things from humility to good budgeting skills. After all, folks:  $5.35 an hour only went so far on 29 or less hours a week.
Breaking up with Mark was the absolute best thing I ever did aside from dating him. That relationship taught me how NOT to let a man treat me. But thankfully, you started letting me make my own mistakes after I kicked that jerk to the curb, and boy-oh-boy was that a learning curve. Long story short, you were right- I was wrong. Mission accomplished. I love you and promise to listen...from a few years ago on :)

xoxo,
Cece

Day 12, Sunday: What do you miss? (a person, a thing, a place, a time of your life...)

I miss my cats being kittens... this was taken in 2009, before I dropped them off at Grandmeow and Grandpaw's House (my Mom) in Florida for a year. (I had to deploy). These little bugs have been SUCH troopers over the past 4 years.  Car trips from GA to FL in 2009
Snoozing the miles away...
, then a plane ride to VA in 2011, a car ride back to FL in 2012, then a plane ride [solo] in 2012 a few months later.
Word has it that they rode next to a baby-Pitbull the whole flight. HA!


Day 11, Saturday: Sell yourself in 10 words or less

1. FABULOUS

Any questions?

Day 10, Friday: Most embarrassing moment (s). Spill

This will be short... and choppy.

New boyfriend [who I later married]... Big party on a Thursday night with our friends... Wore some new boots with a dress... We come home after SEVERAL rounds at the party...and I am at the point that I am convinced that anything I'm doing is sexy. Anything. Including pulling off one boot, tousling my hair, then losing my balance and falling backwards as I attempt to remove my other boot. Yep. It was like a Clueless moment where she went to flip her hair and fell off the bed. Classic, adorable, and I still got the guy in the end. The end.

True Love <3

Day 9- Moment(s) in my day

Ok, folks. I am a liiiiiiiiittle behind on this challenge. Truth? I was overly obsessing about what I should share so I took a bazillion photos and had to sort them. Also I bought Lightroom 4, and had BIG PLANS TO USE IT TO AMAZE YOU ALL....and since just opened it today and realized that I have absolutely no freaking idea how to use it with any sort of savvy. (arrgghhh) So instead of some blow-your-mind-photos for this post, here you go with some iPhoto edited photos. ENJOY!

My alarm clock also has four legs, a tail, and a personality...

FINALLY FED!!!!!


Monday? Pbtthhhhh!!!!!!



Coffee in a hand-me-down mug from my grandma :)

Sooo I should probably be heading to work..

Buuuut not before another snap of a beautiful morning from our balcony in Socal around 9:00am.
I. Love. This. Cat.

Time to go!
Did I mention I figure skate? Yeah- this sticker rocks.

Flowers in front of our home.
FABULOUS sunset around 7:30pm



Handsome husband!!!!!



Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Advice for others...

No matter the occasion, good manners are always welcome. Plain and simple. Oh, and don't ever take anyone's grief. Politely set them straight and move along with a smile.




What I am MOST afraid of...

Water & Heights... period. The usual stuff like dying young, losing my husband, is sort of a gimme, in my opinion. But water and heights are really up there, and have affected recreational activities to a degree. Last Thanksgiving, I even cried during a hike with my husband and his siblings because I kept falling down. It was really steep and there were cactus everywhere AND these giant yellow wasps. Holy crap that was a BAD DAY! Husband gets SO annoyed when my feathers get ruffled- but that's just me. When we met, I wasn't regailing tails of how I scaled the nearby Appalachians. While I enjoy being outside, I like to have fun, and scaling the side of a mountain battling spines and stingers is NOTMYIDEAOFAGOODTIME!!!!

The view was nice though...

What I do...

"If you couldn't answer wtih your job, how would you answer the question 'What do you do?'"

Every morning, I wake up before the sun. Some days it's for a workout, some days it's to just enjoy the quiet before the storm. After a cup of ambition, I pin up my hair, put on my face, buckle up my uniform and get going down the road. The sun is up, and warming the miles of strawberry fields that lead the way to the office. At night, while falling asleep next to my husband and purring cats I hear the ocean crashing against the shore as the cool breeze gently sweeps through our beach adjacent home... sounds like heaven, right? It is. But it hasn't always been.

Deployment 2010 OEF

After signing the dotted line years ago, I moved thousands of miles away from my mom and dad, dog, & cat, grandma, grandpa, and best girlfriends to answer the call. I spent years growing out a horrendous haircut, working around a smelly environment, months on end at sea- away from all luxuries that most people I know take for granted. I have worked work around men on a power trip, followed rules that don't make sense, workedWAY more than just your typical 9-5, and putting a smile on my face 95% of the time. Every few years, my life gets boxed up and dropped off somewhere else and I start a new job, make new friends, and see something new.


Sunrise at sea...

Why?
So my fellow citizens can sleep soundly in their beds, knowing all is well, and they'll see the sun the next morning.



Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Why I admire Courtney Joseph

Mrs. Courtney Joseph's blog is a recent discovering for me. A few days ago, I was having a tough day- struggling with some personal things... and basically it was making my job nearly impossible to focus on. She has such a lovely way of talking about marriage and what God wants for men and women in this union today. Since getting married, I have struggled to figure out what the heck am I supposed to be?! I was my own person for so long, and now I have a new hat to wear...in addition to Daughter, Niece, Granddaughter, Naval Officer, Friend, Sister, Independent Woman, now I am a WIFE.

     How do I balance that in a loving, Christian way that follows God's plan for me, and makes my marriage strong?? I am tired of just being angry [which I have been A LOT LATELY] that in addition to working full time, and participating in hobbies like figure skating and crossfit, I still wind up coming home and doing the majority of housework (tidying, laundry, cooking, cleaning). No matter how many notes, lists, hints, and fights- it just still ends the same. He will cave in and do exactly what I ask [sometimes half assed just to piss me off. Don't act like you don't, babe. I love you and this is just the truth! :) ], I will angrily cross off my own list all "huffy puffy" as B puts it, and then he will retreat to do something he likes to do, and I will fume on the couch over a glass of red wine and bad TV. Then another fight might follow that, or one of us will just try to press forward and not stay angry at the other. Lather, rinse, repeat.

     Courtney is so so so positive and after reading her posts or following her Bible reading of the day, and turning my confusion to Him- I feel more positive. More ready to hand the day's struggles in a better spirited manner. It's more likely that I will react in a Christ-like way that will lead to a better resolution no matter the conflict. She is absolutely wonderful and makes such excellent points regarding marriage and family. You are probably thinking "Oh, you must be the first of your group to be married". Actually- no. I am one of the last, but as I have reached out to other married friends- some of their problem solving methods just really don't work for my marriage. Guilt, manipulation, anger, passive aggressive, etc... you name it. NO THANKS!

Coming across ugly, angry, and negative just is NOT ME AT ALL and since making the decision to find a group of women who can relate to my struggles, it's refreshing and I feel happier which I'm sure makes my husband very happy as well. Thank you, Courtney!!!!

Favorite Quote & Why I Love It

"In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different." ~ Coco Chanel
I love this quote because it encourages folks to be their own person- no one else. Be the person God planned for you to be! Trust in Him!

Things That Make Me Uncomfortable...

Confrontation.

     Plain and simple. I get flustered, forget what to say [even though I have likely rehearsed it in my head several hundred thousand times]. Often times, the other party's reaction throws me off and then the guilt of how mean I am being starts to creep in and shut down my efforts. See, when I get upset by someone's words or actions I am absolutely not  likely to tell them right away. While I am aware that I should, I just don't and yes I am working on this.

    So then, by the time the issue gets addressed it is MUCH later and recalling specific details, dates, the general timeline of the offense gets difficult. And of course, if I do remember everything specifically and the other person does not- I IMMEDIATELY think that they are conveniently "forgetting" just to deflate my balloon of being angry and try to get away with the aforementioned offense. Is this true? Possibly... but at that point does it really matter? [eew, that was a very Hillary Clinton sort of statement...shudder.]. Shouldn't conflict resoluation and mending a friendship be the focus? And oh yeah, I definitely should have immediately pointed out the offense when it happened. Yep.