Weebles wobble but they don't fall down!

So maybe we fell down quite a bit, but my snowboarding/romantic vacation last weekend was AWESOME. Definitely blog and photo worthy. I've been feeling in a bit of a rut lately, so my boyfriend and I literally googled "cheap new england excursions" and it worked! When does that happen? We found a link through the New England Inn Crowd (I highly suggest signing up for discounts) that allowed us any room in the 1785 Inn for $69!?!?! So we got an amazing suite with a tub and gorgeous view. It was a sweet room - exactly what you wanted for a B&B. Breakfast both mornings was amazing. There was a great common room with games and movies (who kicked butt at Scrabble first time ever playing - THIS GIRL). I would definitely recommend the Inn even at full prices.

The 1785 Inn, our lovely home away from home.

We arrived Friday afternoon and checked in. The staff was great and let us switch rooms so we could have a tub - when you live in an downtown apt, this is a MUST on vacation. Hung out for a bit and settled in before heading over to Moat Mountain, a local brewery and BBQ suggested by a friend of mine. There was a solid beer sampler (nothing amazing, but good beers for sure). Then we foolishly decided to order the FULL rack of ribs. Now these ribs admittedly weren't the best I've ever had, but the meat was tender, the rack was HUGE, mashed potatoes were amazing and it came with toast! I was super happy to say the least. Even the two of us combined and hungry couldn't finish it, but it was a great snack later.

Mmmmmmmmm, ribs.

Finally we decided to top off Friday night with some late night tubing at Cranmore. Neither of us had any idea what to expect, but were glad we ended up being wimps and wearing our snow pants. It was cold flying down that hill! We did the last hour discount package and that was perfect. Not too many people there and we could pretty much continuously go up the carpet and down the hill. Nothing like giggling like school girls together with your significant other. It was definitely worthwhile.

Saturday morning was the big shabang - snowboarding at Wildcat Mountain. I've taken a lesson at Mt. Sunapee once earlier this year but haven't gone since then and TJ hadn't done it since he was maybe 8, but had skateboarded. So we decided to do the beginner lesson package - lift ticket, rental and 2.5 hours lesson for $65. Seemed like a great deal to me for people still trying to learn. TJ had a little trouble on the bunny hill but as soon as we moved to the slope, he went flying. I was super impressed. I got much more comfortable with my heel edge and tried to push myself on that toe edge as much as I could. The lesson was pretty hard work with a good instructor, but after we were done we just kind of took it easy and had fun. We were both beat and wanted to have fun. Hopefully next time I'll keep pushing myself to try to get my skills even better. I've learned I have a "strong falling leaf" and that I can avoid wacking my head even when I fall off the chair lift. So yay me! No injuries and much fun had by all.

Not exactly flattering but us on the chair lift!

After snowboaring, we were both beat so it was relaxation time. That meant a nice bath and a movie. Then it was "fancy dinner time." There was a great restaurant downstairs so we just went with that. We shared awesome elk sausage for an appetizer and I had duck for dinner. I definitely mentally blocked out that section of the menu that said "Rabbit Prepared Two Ways." Finally we topped the meal off with an amazing bananas foster prepared table side of course! AWESOME. Dinner was excellent overall and I would definitely recommend it for someone looking for a nice night out.

And that was about it. Sunday we did a little exploring around town. Went into the Penguin Gallery to look at the beautiful gifts. We also went into Zeb's General Store and got some "Northern Comfort" to thank my lovely friends for bun-sitting for me! I got some wonderful candy for the ride home and just generally explored. Cute little store. Reminded me of going on vacation to Cape May, NJ. And of course we had to spend a few minutes at the infamous Settlers Green Outlets. Didn't really do too much shopping, but couldn't resist some Yanke Candles, which I'm burning now of course!


At last, it was time for the ride home. It was an amazing weekend and perfect timing. We had a really fun time tubing, snowboarding was a blast and it was nice to throw in some romantic dinner. Fortunately, this was the only moose we saw! Can't wait to go again!

Moose crossings everywhere scaring the crap outta me constantly!

A Photo Worthy Update

So one of my resolutions this year was to do something photo-worthy every month. So far, this year has been of to a good start, so I thought I would do a little update! With a few photos of course.

This year I went snowboarding for the first time ever! Actually, first time I did a winter sport ever. My friends and I had purchsed a group-on to Mount Sunapee. For $40 we got all day lift tickets, rentals and a 2hr lesson. None of us had ever snowboarded before, so we decided to go with that. Our instructor was an adorable youte who was super nice and helpful, and thank goodness! That is some tough stuff. We started at the base of the bunny hill, learning simple things like strapping in, how to stand and how to awkwardly hop of the hill (which we were all pretty kickass at). Then we moved up to the base of the magic carpet and started to learn how to do some turns. I was doing fine when we just had to do one way at a time. But then.... then we moved onto the full height of the bunny hill and tried linking turns together. Well, I can go heel in, but digging in my toes has turned out to be nearly impossible. So I can really only go in one direction. After years of squatting and drilling it into my body to put the pressure on my heels, it's just so unnatural to move to your balls at all. Not sure I'm ever going to get the hang of it.

 Snow Bunnies!

That didn't stop me from attempting a trail though! My friends were much smarter and stayed on the hill, getting more comfortable with things. Meanwhile, I decided to plummet, bump and crash my way down in an "appalling" fashion :) Thank goodness I got a helmet!  It was quite intense and I was so sore the next day, but I was glad I did it. Next time I'm definitely going to try to slow down more (I seemed to have amnesia about that concept) and get better at my turns before I get on a run.  It was an awesome day and I was so glad to have gone with such awesome friends!

My next amazing event, that was sooooo photo-worthy I made it online, involved public nudity! But that's going to get it's own post :) So I've had a good January. February is going to be the Passion Plunge with BSOS, where we will run into the ocean in the middle of winter to raise money for the Special Olympics. I'm also supposed to be using another group-in with my Daddy to learn how to and fly and helicopter with East Coast Aero. In April, you all probably know that (assuming I raise the $$$) I will be jumping out of a plane for Operation Freefall! And my friends and I just registered again for this years Warrior Dash. You can read about our adventures last year on my friend's blog!

That just leaves something for March, which is my bday month. Sounds like a good excuse for an adventure to me! Ideas anyone?

Bring on the beans....accountability here I come!

This isn't going to be a particularly long post, but after a huge pigout last night on a lot of cheese and multiple lean cuisines (doesn't sound so bad, but really, I was disgustingly overstuffed and still am the morning after), I've decided I need to make some sort of public commitment somewhere to get my ass back in gear. The ickies are slowly creeping back onto me (even though to those that haven't seen me in a while I probably look pretty good), and I'm not a fan. Granted, I'm eating like crap and haven't really been exercising, so it's totally understandable.

So, I guess I'll be trying to create some sort of section dedicated to my diet/exercise. I'll do my best to update daily, or near daily, with basically what I'm eating. Time to hit the rice+beans again and probably ban cheese from my apartment. Avacado = ok, cheese = piggy me.  

For those that don't know, I HATE resolution time of the year at the gym, so I asked for a TRX for Christmas and froze my gym membership for 2 months. Problem is making yourself actually work out at home. Well this week I'm going at it for real damnit! I want to get in 3 TRX workouts a week and 2 "other" (maybe exerciseTV, a DVD, something metabolic, jumping rope - whatever I'm in the mood for). So I'll try to add that into my updates as well.

I guess for anyone that has asked me "What do you do?" or "What do you eat?", this might give you some idea. Mostly, I just want some accountability because this vague accountability to myself is NOT cutting it. 

• I have a wedding in 4 months that I'm in the bridal party for, so I can't really gain weight. 
• I want to stay healthy and happy with myself. 
• I want to use up my stores of food.
• I want to save some money.
• I want to use my CSA.
• I want to cook more.
• I want to try new things.
• I want to put this TRX to use.
• I want to be active and master my body weight.
• I want to be confident and comfortable and happy.
• I want my friggin back back.
• And I need to be killing those pull ups, pushups and pistol squats. Lordy girl!

So yeah, I guess those are some reasons and motivations to keep in mind. Wish me luck!

Exercising in Small Spaces

::wink wink nudge nudge:: You know what I'm getting at :-o Bow-chicka-wow-wow.

No, but seriously.... One big obstacle for people, myself included, can be getting in the exercise when they don't have access to a gym, have only a very small space, or like me - just don't feel like walking to the gym (how ironic, eh? i'll kick my ass in my apt, but won't do the 10 min walk to the gym). NO EXCUSES!!!!!!!! 

  Suck it up princess.

That's just no reason to not get a workout in.  This is going to be a hopefully massive list of ideas, link, pics, information and challenges that help me help yourself PUMP YOU UPPPPPPP. So here it goes! So much more interesting and challenging options than running around the block a few times. I'm not really going to go into the "why's" of each recommendation (that would be even bigger!) but you can probably find your answers in many of the links here.

Circuits

So one of the easiest things to do are circuits, and circuits that don't necessarily need a lot of space. And trust me, they will kick your ass! You might need minimal equipment for some of the things I list here, but you can always mix and match these ideas to make it work for you.  Typically, you're going to pick a few exercises (at least one you hate- if you hate it, you probably need to do it) and rotate through them for one, two, three or more rounds. Usually you can start with something like 30 sec on (aka as hard as you can) followed by 30 sec rest, and work your way up to something like 45 on/15 off and eventually just 60/0. Be careful when you add things like box jumps to your circuit, or you might end up like me!

My biggest inspiration and challenger when it comes to circuits is definitely Rachel Cosgrove. She's the master and the ultimate masochist. LOADS of exercise choices here. There's no way you can't find some that will work for you. So here's my list:

• Rachel Cosgrove's Get Off the Treadmill - I can vouch that this melts the fat off ya
• Rachel Cosgrove's Get More Metabolic
• Women's Health 7 Minute Workout - a quickie but goodie
• Jen Heath's Metabolic Blasters
• A Cosgrove/Waterbury's Real Fast Fat Loss - if you're sadistic
• Berardi/Prohaska's Indecent Intervals for some motivation
• Ian King's Death by Bodyweight
• Ballantyne's 7 Min Circuit c/o Skwigg

Tabata
If you've never done this, well, you're a lucky SOB. Tabata is some of the most brutal shit on the planet... if you're doing it right. Basically, it's supposed to be the ideal circuit timing for fat loss, in both overall and interval duration, assuming you're pushing yourself. It's got to do with technical mumbo-jumbo like VO2 max etc (if you wanna read more, look here for some preliminary explaination). If you really want to maximize your time and have the balls to REALLY push yourself, then this is your spot:

• Dan John's explaination of  Tabata
• Nick Tuminello's 6 New Tabata Ideas
• Stumptuous' Explaination of Fartlek (not quite tabata but I liked it here)

Final note: make sure you have a puke pail ready if this is your first time. You might need it.

Equipment
Now there of course are definitely some good options that include minimal or moderate amounts of equipment.  So depending on how much you want to stock up on, where you're going and what you like, there are tons of options!  One basic but KILLER option that most people forget is just the good old jump rope. Try jumping rope for 10 minutes. Just try.  (or even better, throw in some intervals or circuits with burpees or pushups.... you get the idea).

I'm not a huge fan of them, but I know many that have had success, especially in the beginning, with using resistance bands for their strenght training.  One great thing about these is their portability. You can easily google workout ideas for these (many more mainstream magazines will have simple ideas too), but here's a starter from bodybuilding.com. Just remember, make sure you're really using the appropriate resistance! They're not a bad workout tool - just people have a tendency to go too light. Or you could try something like this workout on your lunch break at the park (not the exact workout I was thinking of, but you get the idea - walk, then do an exercise, then walk, repeat) or this workout from Women's Health at your local playground.

Now if you're at home and want to get a little more fun/intense, then here are some other GREAT ideas for you. The equipment here starts to get a little more intimidating I supposed. Things like kettlebells, sandbags, cars - whatever you have lying around really.

• Steven Morris's Triple Threats - LOVE the sandbag stuff
• Stumptuous' No Weights? No Problem! - you know I'll totally do car pulls when I have a driveway
• Nate Green's Kettlebells 101
• Weller's Third World Workouts for inspiration
• Waterbury's Rope Revolution
• Even-Esh's Old School Training
• Women's Health Create Your Own Workout 

And finally I would feel wrong if i didn't at least mention suspension training. It's a bit of a new craze right now, but there's a ton of great potential here. Plus it's totally portable (really, all you need is a door frame). A bit of an investment at first, but pays for itself fast when you compare against a gym membership. The most popular of brands would definitely be TRX at the moment (take a look at them here). But I'm sure there are others out there and really crafty people out there could easily make their own. This isn't something I've tried out yet (we have accordian doors at my current place!!! hahaha) but it's definitely something I want to try! It's supposed to be amazing for your overall core and stabilization. Now for the ass kicking ideas:

• From Mr. Berardi's experiements The Infamous TRX Workout
• From T-nation Chris Bathke's Timed Circuits
• Rachel kicking ass on vacation Vacation Workout 
• Beyond that.... just google baby. loads of ideas out there.

So there ya have it ladies and gents.  A ton of easy ideas for you to get in whatever kind of exercise you want where ever you want to do it. Little to no equipment needed. So get out there and get to it!!!!

Just went from a 9 to a 12!

Woot woot!!!!  First serious lifting scar tonight baby! This is gonna be a goodun. Holy smokes.  So here's the story. And pics of course. Normal workout, just doing some circuits.  First circuit was some lateral squats, step-up and overs, med ball slams and box jumps.  Now I think EVERYONE hates box jumps and now I have a pretty damn good reason. I'm actually ok at them and have been getting better, but I certainly don't enjoy them.  Well tonight I was on round 2 of my circuit and guess who missed her jump???

This girl did!!!

Yup, I totally freaking just missed it and ripped my shin open on the box. Excellent.  This is what happens when swimmers try to do things on land that require coordination. So of course I do this when the pair of guys I really enjoy watching lift (because they're intense, usually doing some impressive oly lifts in circuits with actually good form, push each other hard- they kinda really inspire/motivate me a decent amount honestly) are standing right next to me. They're chatting up one of the trainers when I walk over and say "Sorry to interrupt, but I think this is worth it. Where do I get a bandaid?"  They all look down at my leg and jaws drop as they see the giant gash in my leg starting to pour blood.

So the nice trainer took me upstairs, took out the first aid kit, we cleaned me up, bandaided and taped the crap outta my shin. And then, this part is my fav, I'm actually stupid enough to go back and finish my workout!!!  HA. So I walk back down and the guys are still there, still doing their thing. We chat it up a bit. They ask me if I'm patched up OK and I tell 'em I'm hanging in there.  They're clearly impressed at my badassness as I joke around with my leg pretty much still gushing through the medical tape. Then the extra fun one of the two tells me "You're awesome.  You just went from like a 9 to a 12 in my book!" 1) I'm laughing having a good time. 2) He just called me a 12!!!! 3) My workouts were impressive enough that he's taken notice of me before and mentally labeled me a 9?!?!?! 4) Crap, my leg is still gushing.

Something tells me this will never be me, besides the obvious facts of being white and a woman.

So I guess this is how I'm supposed to impress men? Is that the moral of the story? What do I need to do to get me a husband? Oi. So I went to CVS, got some gauze and tape, went home, showered, sang myself a song about how much showering was gonna hurt, cleaned it up and called my Dad to figure out if I needed stitches lol. So for now, I'm sitting my ass in bed with some elevation and compression and hoping this bleeding stops soon enough that my dad doesn't guilt me into a trip to the doc.  Sucessful night if I do say so myself.

My first good gym scar and a pretty ridic story to go with it. I just straight up missed the box jump.  Good job Katie. Grace and balance always were my talents.

Round 2

Updated pics are posted.

Feeling good and doing good. Just trying to keep the focus going now. Definitely in the grind.

Merry Meathead Christmas

Otherwise known as my surviving the holiday feasts post (filled with lots of goody links so click away). OK so I'm a bit late on this one as much of the season of eating has come to an end, but most of this stuff can really be applied any time of the year. It's quite easey at this time of the year to justify eating all sorts of crap - grandma's pecan pie, uncle joe's stuffing.... or if you're me, a few packages of Pillsbury crescent rolls.

Yes, these most definitely will be served at my wedding - from the doughboy himself.

Unfortuntely, this kind of stuff really adds up fast and is easy to snowball (ha ha ha winter pun intended). First thing is to remember that this is NOT the one and only time you're going to be able to enjoy this stuff. You don't have to eat like the world is ending or Pillsbury is going out of business.  It may be cheesey, but this time of the year really is supposed to be about friends and family and enjoying time together. food is fun, but it's a lot easier to chat it up with that cute guy when you're not shoveling food down your throat.

And those foods that you do decide to indulge in, remember there are bad, good and better choices and it's ALWAYS a good idea to have a snack BEFORE whatever ugly sweater party you're going to if you wanna fit in that naughty santa costume later. Going to a party hungry is no different than grocery shopping when you're hungry - a very very very bad idea. And when you do find your plate full of wonderful, delights, remember to eat slowly and really enjoy what you're tasting (again, much easier to do when you're not hungry!). My favorite trick is always to bring a healthy "safe" snack myself that I know I can dig into guilt-free. Double win there - you look considerate and like a good guest while you're really taking care of yourself.

If you're like me, I find it much easier to enjoy myself when I know I've earned it and will be putting that food to good work. with a solid pre-party workout, a post party (usually the next morning) workout or even better, BOTH. One bit issue (aka excuse) with this is travel and being away from home during the holidays. With a little research, even people like me who live in the middle of nowhere CAN find a gym to go to. And even if you can't find a gym, most people can find a staircase and some empty space. Most important thing is to get that workout in, even if it means strapping a car to your back and getting strange looks from the neighbors. And if you're lucky enough to have a prowler and the space, you can always make pretty christmas patterns in the snow.

So not really the most personal post in the world, but definitely some good strategies, good workout ideas and nutrition ideas to keep you going and stop you from turning into one of the Bobs of the world. And really, it's not what you eat between Christmas and New Years, it's what you eat between New Years and Christmas that counts :) So don't be afraid to indulge a little. But remember that challenge.....

"What do you say, Bob? Monday, Christmas morning, 6am, my house. The ball's in your court."

To Trainer or Not to Trainer

If you've spent any chunk of time talking with me about fitness, then I'm sure you've heard my opinions about trainers at least once... and probably in a quite irritated tone. After a few encounters with some trainers in my gym (posts on this to come!), it finally occurred to me walking home, "Hey! I should write about trainers!"  To trainer or not to trainer.... that is the question indeed.

To be or Not to be

If you ask me, it's more like a Catch-22.  Many beginners assume that 1) they need a trainer, 2) that all trainers are knowledgeable and 3) the trainer is going to be a good use of their time/money. This struggle is usually even worse for women, who thanks to society, stereotypes, so-called "fitness" magazines and the crap crap information out there, have an even higher tendency to be intimidated in the freeweight area. Even worse is when they're told a squat rack would be wasted on a woman!?!?! Their usual solution - hire a trainer.

And here comes the catch: people who don't know what they're doing hire trainers BUTTTTT to tell if a trainer is worthwhile, you kinda really need to know what you're doing yourself, in which case you wouldn't need a trainer.

Great, huh? In my opinion, a lot of the problem comes from the variety of certifications available. It makes it extra difficult to judge a trainer's competence unless you're really familiar with these differences.  I've heard of online programs you don't have to pay for until you pass the test up to real, legit, intense programs where you're actually learning about form and function and nutrition.  Even better is when you can get someone who has a degree related to diet/fitness/physiology - then you know their life is really about this.  So many many trainers can say they're "certified" but what that really means, who knows.

On the other hand, EXPERIENCE and interest deserves a lot of credit as well. I'd much rather be trained by someone who has been there, done that themselves, spends time reading and educating themselves and may have less impressive certifications than by someone with all the certifications in the world and little experience to back it up. I've learned first hand how oh-so important actually testing a lot of this stuff (diet and exercise) out on yourself is and how much you can learn from that.

Ugggh SOOOOO many things wrong in this picture.

Then I have some gender-specific griefs as well. For men, using a trainer on a regular basis is typically more like paying for a spotter and someone to chat with and distract you. Much better off just getting someone to design a workout for you (better yet, finding one yourself), check your form and then do it on your own.  For women, most "strength training" is totally fucking bogus. For the most part, I see more of a plyometric/metabolic bodyweight circuit, and it rarely progress past this. 

Ok, I totally understand that some people need to start there, but THIS ISN'T STRENGTH TRAINING. You might be getting stronger and more fit in some aspects, but you will NOT build muscle like this (and thus not raise your metabolism or improve your body composition, which means you might lose fat, but you might end up skinny-fat and still unhappy).  On the occasion I do see a trainer actually lifting with a woman, the woman is usually asking unquestioningly "what weight do you think i should use" and is never taught to really try to push themselves and their limits.

STEP AWAY from the purty wainbow

And don't get me started on the trainers standing next to their client deadlifting with a totally rounded back (hello injury central) or doing quarter squats or freaking tricep kickbacks (for the love of god, at least do some skull crushers).  So really, these women who have no idea what they're doing and think they're going to right source are usually getting screwed over at quite a high pricetag, and even worse, are getting no closer to their goals, despite the time, money and effort they're putting in. It's really quite infuriating to me actually.

So what should my beginner friend do when looking to start on this journey? Don't get me wrong, I don't think hiring a trainer is the worst thing in the world, but I think educating yourself is the biggest key. It's much more effective to spend an hour learning about proper nutrition and fitness than to spend another hour mindlessly running on the treadmill. But like I said earlier, there's such a crapton of crap out there when it comes to this stuff. How does one begin to sort through this?

Stay tuned for part 2 to this article, where I will give my opinions on where to start, how to progress and some great links about diet (the dreaded 80% of the equation) and exercise (that remaining 20%). In the meantime, there's tons of great links already listed on one of my sidebars. I find skwigg's blog and stumptuous to be particularly good places to start.

/rant

(that means end rant for those that don't spek nerd)

Progress Pics

First round of progress pics are up, and I'm doing great if I do say so myself :)

Musical Motivation

As much as I love hitting the iron, some days I just don't feel like it. Really who doesn't? So what does one do in this situation?  What helps me the most is having a mental image that really fires me up. Might be something positive like the future fit you, or it might be something that gets you angry- like an ex or the office bitch or if you're me, your f*ing pig of a sexual harasser.  Usually I like to save these extra-motivating images for the really tough moments (like the last few reps of a set of the evil bulgarian splits squats). So for the remaining 98% of the time, it's usually just some good tunes for me.

"So Katie, what kind of tunes pump you up?" you ask.  Well, here is a random sample of some of my gym favorites - motivating, fun, and embarrassing - and some hopefully entertaining explainations of why.

Lunchlady Land - Adam Sandler "Sloppy joes....sloppy sloppy joes." This is usually when I get stared at for chuckling to myself for no apparent reason.

Punk Rock Academy - Atom and His Package You just need to hear it.

Brass Monkey - Beastie Boys  No 'splanation needed.  But I will say, this always makes me think of the boys at our middle school dances.

Bitches Ain't Shit - As covered by Ben Folds I can't think of a more perfect song to be covered by a man and a piano.

Mortal Kombat - Techno Remix "Test your might..... Test your might." Probably my most embarrassing but also probably the most motivating.  How can you not try to push yourself that extra bit when you have Kano and Johnny Cage by your side?

What Would Jay-Z Do? - Ben Lee Because the lyrics are just amazing and the tune is just so damn catchy.

Gimme More - Britney Spears I can't help but think of Billy Tank Guns when I hear this one.  Again, people staring as I chuckle at myself.

Machinehead - Bush This is one of those motivational ones. It was used at most every championship meet I swam at, and a few times it was the song I got to walk to the blocks to. Just one that really gets me in the zone.  I know, I know, kind of cheesey nostalgia, but it just reminds me of how empowered I felt walking up there, KNOWING that I was pretty good at this and I was going to do well and kick some ass. I don't miss 5AM practices, but I do miss that feeling.

You Gotta Be - Des'ree This one is the girl in me coming out. Again, really the lyrics on this one are honestly kind of touching? Wow, i'm such a sap.

Change - The Lightning Seeds This is an obscure one, but from one of my favorite movies of all time - Clueless- which I think it's just the most perfect representation of the 90's ever... but anyways, the cheeseball lyrics (specifically "Don't ever chaaaaange") of this one just make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and I get that mental dialogue going where I'm telling myself "You're great! You're wonderful! Don't ever change!!!!"  Yes, embarrassing, girly, but true. This usually gets the speed up another 0.3 mph for me. (hey, i'm a swimmer, remember????).

Popular - Nada Surf  Just a classic that I actually didn't know when it was popular (hahaha pun intended). I got into them through some list of "If you like Ben Folds, you'll like...." and then discovered the song several years after it was cool.

Fuckin' In the Bushes - Oasis Besides Brad Pitt making it incredibly famous with this scene from Snatch, this song just f*ing rocks.  Cause kids are running around naked fucking in the bushes and that makes me want to move some serious weight.

Peaches - The President of the USA Millions of them. 'Nough said.

Wannabe - Spice Girls No, I'm not joking.   I'm finally comfortable enough with my masculinity to enjoy hot pink, Dawson's Creek and the Spice Girls.

I Wish - Skee Lo LOVE LOVE LOVE this 90's classic. Brings back memories of sneaking into my grandparent's basement to watch MTV. Who doesn't want a rabbit in a hat and a bat and 64 impala? And recently I just found this kinda wonderful remake:

The Sunscreen Song - Baz Luhrman OK OK, it was so overplayed and I hated it at the time... but again, the lyrics.... kinda poignant if you really listen.  Another tear-jerker moment for me on the treadmill. ::sniff sniff::

So that's my embarrassing list, or part of it. Hopefully you got a chuckle out of it or maybe some ideas for your next playlist. And I'm counting on seeing some ridiculous songs of your own. Don't let me down :)

Functional Strength and Foster Frustration

Like most people, I hit the gym for a number of reasons- to stay healthy, to look good nekkid, to check out the eye-candy Adonises, hopefully to make a few friends, the adrenaline rush... all that good stuff. But also for something most women overlook and undervalue- FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH. I don't need no damn man :P  When I bought my piano (I think 40kilos and a very bulky box), I got that shit up the stairs sans men. Screw you salesman that laughed at me when I said I would manage. And when I come home to 85lbs (and no, that's not an exaggeration- I have the FedEx email to prove it) of rabbit food and hay, I can haul that shit up my itty bitty, narrow, windy, north end staircase myself too, mother fucker! (envision Samuel L. Jackson saying that one).  Seriously though, it's really really freaking useful to be able to do this stuff yourself. I can't tell you how many times in my life, whether at work inspecting or loading up my car or carrying huge loads of laundry, that I'm reminded how convenient it is not to be a dainty little flower who is afraid to pick up anything heavier than her handbag. Blech. But I digress again.... so anyways.....

I think the boys are set on food for a bit!

Are they grateful for my unexpected exercise? NO WAY. What do I get but foster troublemakers making more work for me! Toby hasn't been the best with her litter box habits lately, but has greatly improved since I added a second litter box. Great news right?  WRONG. Now instead of her just tossing her food bowl around, she's decided she can toss the litter boxes too!!!  Guess she's built some of that functional strength herself, much to my shagrin. Today, she decided to do this:

Toby the Troublemaker - Trying to look so innocent!

Does it stop there? Of course not! Amy, my newest foster, decided that she would join in on the fun too. Unlike her bitchy neighbor (I say that lovingly Toby.... sort of), I try to give her a break. She's only been here since Sunday and is still settling in to a totally new place.  She was abandoned on the side of the road in a cage with 5 other buns and no food or water. I can't imagine she trusts people too much. But appearently she also doesn't trust shelving!?!?!?! She decided that she was going to somehow manage to flip hers over, pull off the carpet, pull off the waterproofer and tip the plywood off the supports.  I have a hard time removing this cause it's such a tight fit! Not tight enough for Amy.  She may be a really pretty snowshoe bun, but she ain't so innocent either.

So it appears I'm in for some interesting adventures with these fosters. They better watch out... I still need a present for Grandpa and you know how much he loves hasenpfeffer!!!!

Reinventing Yourself

How will you know you've reached your goal? I will be able to fit back into all the damn cute clothes I bought. I wont think twice about wearing a bikini. I won't think bad thoughts when I look in the mirror anymore. Food will not control me. I won't be terrified of gaining it back. I will be able to splurge without feeling guilty.

What sacrifices will you make? I'm ok being less indulgent in social situations. That's a biggie for me. I feel like if I'm paying for food I need to get something really indulgent and that shouldn't be the case. I should be able to (sometimes, not necessarily all the time) go out to dinner and not get pasta.

What sacrifices won't you make? This is horrible, but I'm not ready to give up social drinking entirely right now. I'm really trying to reach out and make friends and that's a common method. I definitely am willing to nix the booze some nights and go for some Diet Coke instead, but not all nights. I want to be able to cut loose like that when I feel like it, which I guess would be part of my 90% compliance so it should be OK. That's the big one that I feel like will become more of an issue the closer I get to my goals. It's not like I go out a lot, but I do tend to have half a dozen drinks or so and some junk food when I do. I also need to be able to give into my cravings at least some of the time, but again, 90/10.

How will you feel when you're a fit female? This will mean the world to me. It's so frustrating knowing I had it. To know I finally have it again will be a huge accomplishment and RELIEF. I will be confident in my body again and happy with it and love it. Not that I shouldn't do that now anyways, but man, I remember that shock the last time I tried in bikini's and they fit and looked good. I want it. I want it bad.

What makes this a must this time? What are the repercussions of failure? Well, short term, I want to be able to go to the beach and feel great and have awesome pictures and not be worried about what I look like. (I probably don't have time to get quite there, but I'll be a ton closer). The repercussions of that are going to be not enjoying my trip or pictures or adventures. Long term repercussions, well I've kind of talked about them. I don't want to yo-yo anymore. I don't want to be a bad example. I don't want to do this again and again. I want to be stable. I will not waste this energy and stress and unhappiness anymore.

Mission Statement I think this one is going to get it's own post, but I'd love to sum up with two that really stick with me. "Suck it up princess" and "food will not control my mood."

Deciding what you want and Why

I recently finished (and loved) reading the Female Body Breakthrough. There were a couple of questionnaire type sections for goal setting that you're supposed to do. So I figured why not put them out here? All my blogging related to the book will be under the category FBB if you're interested in following along to the book specifically. So here it goes (paraphrased Q's below).

Why did you pick up this book? I picked up the book because I need a change. I've put back on a good chunk of fat, especially post-breakup, and it needs to be gone. I don't feel healthy, confident or good about myself much at all anymore, and I want those things back. I picked up this book because I've done some of Rachel's workouts before, and I know she's an ass kicker. I feel like if someone is going to push me, it's going to be her and I knew I would get results. I also knew she would force me to do things I don't particularly like, but are good for me.

Are you ready to do what it takes? I think so. Not the most confident answer, and probably not the ideal, but it's an honest one. I am definitely ready and eager, but I'm really scared too. I know I have a long way to go and that really intimidates me. That being said, this is as good a time as any and I'm loving the results I've got already.

Why now? Because this is out of control. Because this is the biggest I've ever been. Because I hate this. Because I hate the lack of confidence. Because I need to feel like me again. Because I'm sick of stressing about my body.

What has stopped you in the past? Stress and my love of food have been my usually derailers. I freaking love food and I'm a huge comfort eater. I do fine with exercise. I really love it and enjoy it. But I hate dieting. I hate feeling hungry. I hate limiting myself. And it's always been diet that I've given in on. I'm all or nothing, on or off the wagon, and that's a guaranteed way to put the weight back on.

Are those obstacles still issues? Again, honestly, they probably are. I'm never not going to love food and I'll probably always be somewhat attracted to junk. But I do have hope that it will get better. I'm trying new recipes all the time and becoming a decent cook and I think that if I can make my daily food more delish that will help a lot. As for stress eating, I'm trying to decrease/eliminate stress as much as possible. Really trying to change my mindset and the way I think about things. So hopefully the situations where I want to stress eat can be fewer.

What motivates you? I've been there before. I've felt awesome about myself. I've felt healthy and fit and attractive and it was amazing. I just want to get back there so bad. Short term, I'm trying to plan a trip to South America this March, so looking good for that is motivating me too.

Heads Up for a Good Deal

This week, one of my favorite trainers, Rachel Cosgrove, released her new book- The Female Body Breakthrough. For those that are familiar with The New Rules of Lifting, she's the wife of the main trainer/author, Alwyn Cosgrove.

Rachel is a great author and an amazing author. I particularly enjoyed her series of articles on FA about her ironman training, the fat gain she experienced during this, and the steps she took to get her bod back (phase 1, phase 2, metabolic workout 1, metabolic workout 2).

So tomorrow there's a special deal with some fun free gifts if you order her book from amazon. I know I was planning on getting it anyways so tomorrow is just as good of a day as any other. Thought I would pass on the good news. More info about the book and ordering it here.