I’m Still Alive

31 Days of Change and dedicating myself to it everyday. I have gone 31 days without caffeine, and I am better. Over the last 31 days I have meditated 24 times, the weekends I’d forget about it-I never punished myself for it, and these sessions have taught me to be patient with myself, and no be so anxious. I am sleeping about 7 hours every night, I want to get to 8-9 hours a night, but I was getting 5-6 so this is a huge improvement. I feel well rested.

I have been doing AltShift since July 5, 2016 I have nailed the minimum calories and Marcos for each shift. I eat so much more than I used to, at least 300-500 calories more a day, and it is all good stuff, no junk. I am losing fat. I had conceived notions in my head that I wouldn’t have enough energy to make it through my lifting sessions. Getting out of my head was the best thing I could have done for myself, and thinking in the current moment not of the past or the future. My workouts are great, I am pushing myself harder and seeing the numbers increase on what I am able to move. I am walking so much more than I ever have, I am averaging 55-60 miles a week. In a month I lost 15 pounds and a total of 13 inches.

Set a goal, even if it is small-and devote yourself to it every day, then it quickly becomes second nature. You no longer have to think about doing it, you just do it. Be consistent. Don’t punish yourself for a mistake like eating something you shouldn’t or forgetting to meditate. And most of all and first-Love yourself. Once you show yourself love all of these things just fall into place and it is just a beautiful site.

My next 30 days will focus on Lift Big Eat Big’s 4 week mass building programming. I am not sure what I am getting into. but it is only a month.

Music!

I can’t stop listening to this song this morning! Hatebreed is one of my favorate bands to listen to when I lift.

Every Lasting Scar by Hatebreed

Seeps in deep below
Cold screams of the city are
Heard through the walls of every home

Most seek for a deeper meaning
Beyond their daily woes
Most see nothing more than black clouds
Its all that they know

We Become
Our scars, if we let them
But all that we truly need
Is out there for the taking

We scream every word
Its brought us together
Every lasting scar
Reminds us how we got here

We scream every word
Its brought us together
Every lasting scar
Shows what its taken to be
Who we are

Some dwell into emptiness
The hurt they claim is real
Been let down now its meaningless
They find ways to conceal

Never to be seen again
Until its all too late
And if we dont learn from it all
Well repeat the same mistakes

We Become
Our scars, if we let them
But all that we truly need
Is out there for the taking

Every lasting scar
Shows us what its taken to be
Who we are!

We scream every word
Its brought us together
Every lasting scar
Reminds us how we got here

We scream every word
Its brought us together
Every lasting scar
Shows what its taken to be
Who we are

We scream every word
Its brought us together
Every lasting scar
Shows what its taken to be
Who we are!

Words of Wisdom

Gluten Free Pierogi Casserole

Ingredients
3 pounds of potatoes
1 large white onion, chopped
1 ½ Bell Pepper, chopped
8 oz of Mushrooms, sliced
3 pieces of Spring Roll Wrappers
1 tsp garlic
½ cup Milk
½ cup cheddar cheese

Instructions:
Boil 4-5 cups of water
Remove the skin from the potatoes and cut into cups/chunks 
When the water comes to a complete boil, add the potato chunks to the water, let cook until soft
In a frying pan add the garlic chopped onions, pepper and mushrooms and saute 
Preheat the oven at 350
When potatoes are soft, remove from water and place in a mixing bowl, add the ½ cup milk and mash or use a hand mixer until they are smooth
Grease a casserole dish, and place one spring roll wrapper on the bottom. Add a layer of the mashed potatoes. Then the onions, peppers, and mushroom mixture, then cheese. Repeat 2 more times. 
Place casserole dish in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes and then Enjoy!

Fried Chicken (Gluten Free)

Ingredients:
5-8 oz pork grinds
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Pepper
Avocado Oil (any oil for frying)
3 pounds Chicken Thighs
4 eggs
1 tsp Garlic Powder
2 ounces of Parmesan cheese

1. Fill the skillet with Oil and heat on stove
2. Add Parmesan cheese, pork rinds, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to a blender/food processor and pulse until they all blended to look like bread crumbs and place in a bowl 
3. In a separate bowl scramble the eggs
4. Take each chicken thigh soak in egg mixture, then coat in the pork rind mixture.
5. Place each thigh in the heated skillet and let cook for 5-6 minutes on each side
6. Consume

Strength

“Strength is something you earn, repetition by repetition. When you lift heavy barbells, you are empowered, both physically and mentally. Your point of view is strengthened. Your voice grows distinct and loud. All in all, a physically stronger you is a much better you. That’s the real lesson of The Iron. It doesn’t matter where you’re starting. Pick a time of day, go to the gym and hit it, no matter what’s in the way. That kind of habit and commitment that will transform your life.” – Chris Moore

Today was rough during my time spent moving iron, I have been pretty tired overall. On Monday I started a week of being caffeine free, day 3 I am tired. I kept my foam and lifted the prescribed amount of weight for today’s workout, and completed every rep. But I was really tired. I like the quote above by the late Chris Moore, as my workout when on-I felt the good vibes lifting brings to my physical and mental being. I felt that, just took a few  extra minutes. I committed to 3 days of lifting a week, and I am doing it. Today was the first day in a very long time my desire to “earn my strength” wasn’t there.

Favorite Quotes

This will be an ongoing post for me. I have always been a fan of quotes, I used to keep a small moleskin book that housed every line from a song, poem, or saying from someone. I thought it would be good start to create a page solely dedicated to quotes.

“I have to remind myself that some birds aren’t meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice. Still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they’re gone. I guess I just miss my friend.” Stephan King The Shawshank Redemption

“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” J.K. Rolling Harry Potter

“One thing you can always do to ensure justice, to ensure you are doing Good, capital G good, Always try to come back to something you love daily and to try to make it better just a little bit better a little bit more helpful a little less heavy with mistakes a little better focused any small improvement coupled with the daily effort of just trying again is really the only remedy to the self-doubt.” Chris Moore Barbell Budda

“It’s not you that lasts, its how you change and learn to struggle for what you wanted” Garrison Serious Heavy Drama

“The light that you lead is only a shadow now. But it’s bright enough for me to lead you out, So I’ll take this until it fades, Until it falls. Until it breaks.”~Beloved (US) Kiss it Goodbye

“You have delivered me from fire and guided me through hell.” -Boy Sets Fire, Reason to Believe

“In these bodies we live,
in these bodies we die,
Where you invest your love,
you invest your life”
-Mumford and Sons Awake my soul

“You’ve got to jump off buildings everyday, and build your wings on the way down to solid ground.” -Adapted from Ray Bradbury

“To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself.” ~Soren Kierkegaard

“I want to say somewhere: I’ve tried to be forgiving. And yet. There were times in my life, whole years, when anger got the better of me. Ugliness turned me inside out. There was a certain satisfaction in bitterness. I courted it. It was standing outside, and I invited it in.”
― Nicole Krauss, The History of Love

“Sometimes no length of string is long enough to say the thing that needs to be said. In such cases all the string can do, in whatever its form, is conduct a person’s silence.”
― Nicole Krauss, The History of Love

“Pennsylvania I love you, you keep me safe and you give me a shelter. I dream about my home when i’m away from you. No matter where I roam I will come back to you.”
-Wisdom in Chains, The Land of Kings

“The sound of glass
Speaks quick
Disdain
And conceals
What your eyes fight
To explain” Jim Morrison The American Night

Mediation and taking control

It’s only the end of the morning and I have accomplished so much today. I have been mediating for almost 2 full weeks and the awareness it has been incredible. My morning routine is to pour coffee into a mug and then a mason jar then the mason jar has a lid and goes into my bag. Well today, I didn’t put on the regular jar lid, I used the wide mouth cuppow lid on it. This lid has no cap or away to close the lid-just a sippy hole for drinking. I am about to leave for work, and I pick up my bag and crap-it is soaking wet from my coffee. I immediately started to get mad, but then I caught myself and took control. I have another bag I can use, there is more cold brew coffee, and I can pack another set of gym clothes. I was running early for work as well, so it wasn’t a rush rush ordeal where I had no time which can always make the situation more stressful.

 

I have been using a app on my cell phone that tells me when it is time to mediate each day, and guides me through 10 minutes. This has been the best practice I have added to my life and I want to continue it. 

 

I mediate right when I get home work Monday-Friday. This helps me separate the work day from my personal time at home. I have been leaving work at work, and building a better and happier human for myself.

 

So take 10 minutes each day, close your eyes and concentrate on breathing. I am so much more patient and happier in just applying this practice to my life.

Breathe

I have ignored this site, and haven’t really been taking good care of myself the last few months. I have battled some ongoing injuries and challenges in my weight lifting and running and it has been hard to stay motivated when your body will not move the way you want it to or did just a few months or even a year ago.

I received an email this week that is time to renew the blog, and I have been questioning whether or not to keep it alive for another 12 months. I would lose all my recipes and workout logging I did last summer. I decided to renew it and am going to try to put more effort into it. Even if it is just my ranting and raving about nothing.

I have had a wonderful weekend so far-and it is only 8am on sunday. I hope today just goes up from this point on, because it started out pretty awesome.

This morning was beautiful, as I was walking up to the West End overlook there was a group of people praying together to their God. It was so peaceful and beautiful. I wanted to capture the peace, kindness and essence of the moment. But I thought it would be disrespectful to their morning prayer. When I saw this the first thought that raced through my head is how can we be so quick to judge-that based on skin color or religion people are violent, mean, and full of hate. My interaction this morning was quite the opposite-nothing but peace, respect and kindness between the earth, the group praying and myself. Even later in the morning after they were done they walked over and were talking to us about what time of year it is to see the sunrise and if I had gotten any good photographs. I hope I remember this morning’s encounter for the rest of my life.

Happy Sunday, enjoy your coffee, the peace and rest today should bring before the hustle of a busy work week.

Working Out from Home Gym

I have left the crossfit box I used to go to 2 months ago. I had a hard time coming home from work and having to wait an hour or two to go to the gym to do the work out at 6pm or 7pm. I can’t believe we started learning about Snatches, jerks, and Clean around this time last year. I have had some terrible injuries and setbacks over the last  year. But that is for another time or different post.

The last 2 months I have been lifting 3 times a week at home, we recently purchased some bumper plates and it has been helpful. Also, for Christmas my amazing boyfriend got me a ladies barbell + a plyo box-which he constructed himself-wonderful wonderful christmas gifts.

Anyway in merely 8 short weeks I have increased by back squat by 20 pounds and my dead lift by 15 pounds. I am also battling some mobility issues in my shoulders, chest and calves.  But I am less injured than I have been since quitting crossfit, going at fast paces for the WODs wasn’t for me. The workouts were amazing, but my form wouldn’t even be close to good and I know practice makes perfect, also I wasn’t seeing the weight increase on the bar.

The programming I have written for myself based on what I learned from Crossfit and my previous lifting experience is working for my strength just more time needs to be spent on mobility or stretching.

Also, I really need to get my nutrition back in check.