New Kicks!

I've recently purchased a new pair of Crossfit shoes in order to help with my lifting WODs. My other cross trainers by Reebok:

Reebok Realflex Transition Trainers

 

These have been good so far but I now need something that has a flatter sole. I was constantly tilting forward onto my toes once I had the weights in hand. Because of that, I didn't have great balance & would have to exert more energy in trying to stay in one place. After some research online & talking with some of the people at my gym, I purchased these:

Reebok Crossfit Nano 2.0

 

I bought them in the same color shown here & they're so bright & colorful - love them. You can still see me coming from a mile away. =)

As you can see, the soles are much flatter than the Realflex above & the shoe has more side support & a higher heel support. I'm still going to use the Realflex's for more cardio WODs & then the Nano's for more lfting WODs. I actually wore them on Saturday to break them in & I thought they would give me some kind of foot pain or rubbing since they were brand new, but they didn't - they felt great. I'm so glad I bought them.

Playtime

  A little fun with Daddy...I just love that sweet face. =)



 

War Wounds

Now that I've been doing Crossfit for 4 months, I thought I would post some pics of my war wounds along the way. My Mom's not going to be excited about these photos, but if you look at them the way that I do - as battle scars from workouts that I've completed & made it through & am now that much stronger. I've also fully healed from all of these bumps & bruises....here we go:

 

My first blister from pull ups - I got this in my first month; this was before I started wearing gloves. I've been able to spare my hands since then (knock on wood).

 

 

Popped blood vessels around my eyes from handstand push ups. I realized a few weeks later that GHD sit ups can also cause this to happen. These are due to holding my breathe & not breathing properly through the movement - I've gotten much better at making it a point to control my breathing. I'm proud to say that at the end of my last GHD sit ups I was blood vessel free. =) My coach also didn't have to yell, "Breathe Dani, breathe!" I graduated to "Lookin' good Dani, lookin' good."

 

Jumping muscle ups. This was caused by the fabric straps holding the rings & scraping/rubbing up & down my arm each time I muscled up. I didn't realize this was happening until after the fact.

 

My right thigh after trying to find my 1 rep max on hang cleans. This is caused from the bar hitting my upper thighs & popping the weight back up using my hips. This was the biggest bruise that I've had so far; it was black & blue for a week once the redness disappeared. I was also successful at hiding it from Dan for 2 days - after those 2 days I got yelled at. On the plus side, my 1 rep max on hang cleans was 125 lbs.

 

 

Twist Braid Tutorial

On Thanksgiving & a few times thereafter, I've wore my hair in a type of side braid that had several people asking me, "How'd you do that?" Since I love sharing any new hairstyles that I come across, I thought I would post the video so that anyone who wants to try it can. =) I've posted videos by LuxyHair in the past & since I'm on their email lis, I get the updates from their YouTube channel....love them. I do try & recreate my favorites the best I can, but there are some that I have been unable to do. The ones that I like on me I incorporate them throughout the week/weekend. I like trying different things with my hair; if I fixed it the same way every single day I would probably go crazy - or end up chopping it off. Dan would kill me if I did that.

 

When I tried to recreate this braid I was only able to do 3 twist arounds due to my hair length; obviously Mimi is wearing extensions so she can do more. I think it looks cute with even 2 twists. Since my hair is on the light side, I use the small clear elastics so they blend better. If you end up trying it, let me know what you thought! =)

Christmas Photo Shoot

This year Dan & I were lucky enough to have my sweet friend, Kateri, come to our house in order to take some Christmas photos for our holiday card. I had a few ideas that I wanted to do this year but couldn't really sell them to Dan when the time came to take the pictures. Next year I won't take no for an answer!

So during our photo shoot, Kateri was absolutely hysterical & so great getting Lexi's attention throughout. She held up several squeak toys right by the camera so Lexi would look somewhat alert & a have that excited look on her face. Kateri also helped with keeping Dan & I laughing & I would've felt like I was at Sears getting our pictures professionaly taken if it wasn't for her inappropriate language. LOL! :P

Here are the ones we didn't use:

 

 

 

Cracking us up.

 

 

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year.

 

May 2013 bring you & your family health, wealth & happiness.

  

Movie Review

Last weekend Dan & I rented Pitch Perfect  off of On Demand & we absolutely loved it. I had wanted to see if in the theater, but like most movies, that didn't happen. After the movie Dan was surfing the web & found some videos of Anna Kendrick who was interviewed about the movie; he came across her on David Letterman. One of my favorite parts of the movie is when she is auditioning for the "Bellas." Here's a video of part of the song that she sings, including her very cool background music:

 



Isn't she cute?! If you haven't seen the movie, we highly recommend it. =)

Shoe of the Month ~ January

Happy New Year everyone! Time to post January's shoe & I'm super excited about this one because I just bought it last weeked from DSW. I've been on the search for a comfortable, dressy & stylish new black pump & I've finally found it:

Levity Jalone Pump . Click here for further information & images.

I purchased mine in all black because I already have several nude pumps. I am absolutely in love with these shoes! Not only are they comfortable but the criss cross lace up the back with bow is adorable. Heel height is 3 1/2 inches & the reptile pattern on the toe can be dressy & casual depending on the outfit. They're a little pricier than I usually choose for the shoe of the month but now that I own a pair they are worth the money.

Happy shopping!!

A Little Motivation...