Dan & I live in our townhouse in Sterling, VA with our maltipoo, Lexi. Dan is a history teacher & coach at Herndon High School, who just got his Masters in Education; I work as a legal assistant at a criminal/civil law firm in Fairfax & I love my job. I am the planner of our little family & Dan is the go with the flow personality. Our schedules are pretty hectic but when we have free time we love spending it with our family & friends.
Thank you for stopping by & reading what's going on in our lives. :]
On Saturday, December 1st, Dan & I went to see the 80's cover band Legwarmers with a group of our friends. We were super excited about seeing them because the other 80's cover band that we saw last year, The Reflex, was fantastic & everyone told us that the Legwarmers were better than they were. I couldn't imagine it getting any better so I was anxious to see if they were right.
Anyway, we all met at Greg's house to have some drinks, eat pizza & watch football before the concert started; they were playing at the State Theater in Falls Church.
A few photos that Dan took of himself while I was getting ready...hilarious!
On Friday I went to class to find that we were doing Muscle Ups (MUs). For those of us that still can't do them yet it was a time to practice technique & get better. After that, Coach Jen came up to me & asked if I had done the Crossfit Total workout yet. Unfortunately, I was sick that day so that was one that I missed. She was nice enough to offer to stay after class to take me through it.
The Crossfit Total consists of 3 moves: Back Squat (BS), Strict Press (SP) & Deadlift (DL). Finding out your total will help you with the Strength Workouts Of the Day (SWODs); for those that compete on a regular basis, they do SWODs every day before the actual WOD.
The first one up was my Back Squat. The key is to only do a total of 5 lifts per move. You'll tire out alot faster if you start low in weight & gradually work your way up. It's best to start at medium weight & jump higher as you go. My max on BS was 200 lbs. Coach Jen really helped with the racking of the weight & calculating totals; she's been doing this for several years so she knows that not telling the person how much weight is being added helps with their lift. Once you have a number in your head it starts to become mental & you can sike yourself out that way. There were several times after my lifts that she would tell me what I just did & I would give her an Elaine shove & say, "No shit!"
My second was Strict Press. This one is much harder because you can't use your legs for momentum to get the weight up. It's from your collar bone & straight up. For women this move is harder than it is for men. My max on SP was 100 lbs. I did attempt 105 lbs. but got stuck right at my chin & couldn't take it any higher. So we marked that as attempted but failed.
The third and final move was Deadlift. I was very thankful that Coach Jen let me borrow her lifting belt through this workout because I don't have one. Christmas present, hint hint! :P Since Jen still had to do her DLs, we switched on & off. Mid-way through she said, "This is what a competition will be like; you & me girl...banging it out." When I first started Crossfit, she came up to me saying "I've been waiting for a girl partner to compete with - I'm waiting for you." It makes me feel good knowing someone wants me as their partner in something that is so physically and mentally straining & has faith that I'm capable of competing. My max on DL was 225 lbs.
After we added it all up I was left with:
A Crossfit Total of 525 lbs.!! I was so excited that I was skipping/running around the gym. Coach Jen joined in. =)
So now that I knew what my total was I could go back to the website & check the class rankings that were posted for that WOD. They are as follows:
I'm in the "Advanced" ranking for women (insert pat on the back). =)
One night while Dan & I were at Target I picked up the Taylor Swift RED CD that I'd been wanting for a while. I've always been a fan of hers & I aboslutely love this CD. I've been listening to it religiously in my car since I bought it. She has such talent with song writing & the one below is no exception - hands down my favorite. Enjoy...
Lyrics:
I walked through the door with you The air was cold but something 'bout it felt like home somehow and I Left my scarf there at your sister's house And you still got it in your drawer even now
Oh, your sweet disposition And my wide-eyed gaze We're singing in a car getting lost upstate The autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place And I can picture it after all these days And I know it's long gone, and that magic´s not here no more And it might be okay, but I'm not fine at all
Cause here we are again on that little town street You almost ran the red cause you were looking over at me Wind in my hair, I was there, I remember it all too well
Photo album on the counter Your cheeks were turning red You used to be a little kid with glasses in a twin-sized bed And your mother's telling stories 'bout you on the t-ball team You tell me about your past thinking your future was me
And I know it's long gone, and there was nothing else I could do And I forget about you long enough to forget why I needed to
Cause here we are again in the middle of the night We're dancing round the kitchen in the refrigerator light Down the stairs, I was there, I remember it all too well Yeah
And maybe we got lost in translation Maybe I asked for too much But maybe this thing was a masterpiece ´til you tore it all up Running scared, I was there, I remember it all too well
Hey you called me up again just to break me like a promise So casually cruel in the name of being honest I'm a crumbled up piece of paper lying here Cause I remember it all all all too well
Time won't fly it's like I'm paralyzed by it I´d like to be my old self again But I'm still trying to find it After plaid shirt days and nights when you made me your own Now you mail back my things and I walk home alone But you keep my old scarf from that very first week Cause it reminds you of innocence and it smells like me You can't get rid of it, cause you remember it all too well
Yeah
Cause there we are again when I loved you so Back before you lost the one real thing you've ever known It was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well
Wind in my hair, you were there, you remember it all Down the stairs, you were there, you remember it all It was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well
I came across these shoes today on a new store's website that my friend Kateri & I visited a few weeks ago at the Reston Town Center. I absolutely loved the store & decided to check out their stuff online...so glad I did because I spotted these:
Twizzle Oxford Heel. Click here for further details.
I love the trendy twist to the original oxford shoe & I love how that twist is sequin. These would be really cute with the right outfit & definitely paired with skinny jeans. The heel height is super friendly at 3" & it's more of a chunky heel.
Be sure to check out their website when you have a free moment; their accessories are great & so overwhelming when you step foot in their stores . . . Francesca's.
Dan & I took a chance at buying a stuffed moose to add to Lexi's toy collection. The only difference in this toy from all of her others is that it's almost the same size as she is. We thought she would either be scared of it or really like it...
*Note: there are parts of this video that are slightly on the dark side, but Dan's commentary is so hilarious that I just had to share it. =)
Kateri & I usually go to open gym on Sundays to work on our technique & the things that we can't do & things we can't quite do yet, i.e. pull ups, muscle ups, etc. This time I decided to take some videos so we can see where we're at & eventually the progress that we've made for next time.
Before we started Crossfit, Kateri couldn't do one pull-up. She started with a box, then added a band & now she doesn't use either one:
The last time I tried pull-ups was at Gold's with Dan & I was able to do 4. Crossfit accepts strict pull-ups & "kip" pull-ups which are what Kateri & I do. For some reason my pull-ups have completely gone down hill & my form hasn't been good. I started with a band & took it away once I got the kip down a little more - I still need more practice. I wish I could get the kip that Kateri has, mine is more of a knee/foot kick; Kateri's just goes more smoothly:
Doubleunders are a common part of our workout in Crossfit. Before last week, Kateri would have to do single jumps but now she's getting the hang of them; she can almost do 2 full doubleunders!
Muscle ups are an advanced workout in Crossfit, in fact, gymnasts use muscle ups as a warm up to their actual workout. They. Are. So. Freakin'. Hard. The ones that can do them make it look so easy. I'm doing a jumping muscle up below followed by 2 ring rows. I wasn't able to do ring rows a few weeks ago, I had to do negatives, so those have improved for me.
I decided to practice the first part of the muscle up, so this video is just slightly different from the one above.
On November 2nd we celebrated Lue's birthday at our favorite spot, Uncle Julio's. It was a great girls night out & as you can probably tell by the photos below, she had a great time. =)
Li's birthday card included this amazing coaster that lit up hot pink when Lue set her drink on it. The coaster actually said, "The birthday girl needs another cocktail." We all loved this.
We heart each other.
Lue opening her gifts:
My gifts to Lue:
Urban Decay makeup & some blinged out stilettos.
Lue with her cake pops that Li & I had specially made for her. They were so yummy.
Happy Birthday, Lue! I hope you had a day that was as wonderful as you are. =)
On October 27th, Capital MMA & Elite Fitness hosted the Capital Games at their facility in Alexandria. My coach told me earlier that week that I should come out & see what it was all about, so I woke up early in order to get there just after it started, 8:30 a.m. On my drive there, I was trying to imagine what it was going to be like; the only other crossfit competition that I've seen is on TV. Well, when I arrived it was absolute craziness. The DJ was blaring loud music, the MC was yelling over the mic & the section for spectators was roped off & they were all screaming, yelling & cheering for their team members, family members, etc. that were competing in front of them. The comical part of the competition was that some competitors were dressed in costume since Halloween was so close. There were maids, a few dressed as characters from The Matrix, pumpkins, a Hulk couple, nerds, etc. For most of the time that I was there I was standing with my eyes wide & my mouth hung open. My experience changed when I recognized a few people from our box (a/k/a gym); they were competing also. I was able to take some photos of them:
Jen doing split snatches. She was partnered with her husband, Steve.
Lauren & Chris doing their split snatches - they're also married.
During this WOD the MC yelled over the mic, "Does anyone need rotator cuffs? Who needs them? 2 for $5." I laughed.
The day consisted of 5 WODs & I was there for WODs 2 & 3. The 3rd WOD was moved to the back of the gym where they have their rings, bars, etc. & more room to move. The first WOD was extremely cramped & very little room to move. Each team had their own rectangle of space to do their WOD in. With heavy weights being dropped, jump ropes being flung & having to do burpees, there were several people that got whacked with the rope, weights dropped on them or hands stepped on from other peoples feet while doing the burpees. I told you....craziness.
During the 3rd WOD, there were was a lot more running back & forth & moving as a team. As you can see below, one of the moves was a hand stand push up (HSPU); they also did toes to bar (T2B), thrusters (which is a squat followed by a strict press with dumbbells) & a kettlebell hold (KB hold).
Before I left to go home, my coach, Jen & Steve asked me what I thought & if I was ready to compete in March 2013. My response, "I've never been more scared." We all had a good laugh. Shortly thereafter I found this quote online: "Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood."
If you're interested in seeing more photos from the Games, click here.
On October 27th, later that night, we celebrated Ashley's birthday in DC. Everyone was dressed up for Halloween, everyone except us. We had alot of fun:
At Current Lounge/Rosebar. (Left to Right: Katie, Ashley, Mel, Elba & Me). Dan took the photo.
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