I think my blog is appropriately titled. Easily Entangled. Life entangles me so easily. The years go by so quickly, just the days are long. For seven years I have been trying to write a blog and for seven years it has been hit and miss as I get tangled up in the demands of life. Seven years ago I thought this was a good idea, and here I am, a new year, trying again. I like the New Year. I like resolutions. I like fresh starts. I also like things to be neat and precise and accurate. So a New Year's resolution should start on New Year's day, right? Well I think my New Year's Resolution should be to not be so worried about precision and go for the general idea, rather than the perfection of a goal.
With that in mind, I'm still choosing my new year's resolution. Some ideas I have brewing but have not perfected:
1. Read my bible (that's a no brainer, I should do this). So I feel like I already failed on the Every Day goal for 2014 (it's January 3rd after all) but as I think back on the last 3 days I have read something from the bible every day. I haven't sat down and formally "Read My Bible" but I read my Sunday School lesson, I read some stuff on Facebook and I read a couple of blogs, all containing biblical content. So did I read my bible? Well no. Did I read THE bible? Why yes I did! Check! (see how I like things perfect but I'm trying to just go for the general idea here).
2. Write - this scares me. I don't like my voice.
3. Blog (is that the same as write?)
4. Be real, talk about, think about, focus on things that matter.
5. Eat healthier/lose weight - that is so boring and doesn't EVERYONE feel this way. I think a better resolution will be to find satisfaction in the healthy life I strive to live. Can that be a resolution? At the end of 2014 can I look back and say I didn't stress about my weight for the entire year!? That would be cool with me.
6. Find my calling - ooh that's a big one. I want to work at what I love, not work to make money except you better skip ahead to number 8. These may not work together.
7. Figure out what my favourite food is. My kids asked me recently what my FAVOURITE food is. I couldn't answer. So I asked my husband and he responded helpful with, "Carrots??" No! I don't love carrots! I eat them a lot but that is not my favourite "oh-am-I-glad-God-created this" food. I don't like that I am a person who isn't really sure what my favourite food is. I want to spend 2014 exploring this. I think this falls under the umbrella of "find my calling" because it's part of exploring who I really am and what God wants from me. Somewhat like finding my voice. So 2, 6, 7 all belong together I guess. Might as well group 3 in there too since 2 and 3 are the same.
8. Save money/pay off debt (blah blah blah, this feels stressful and overwhelming and I want a new car and I want a vacation and I want......, ok, this one needs some work). As I see it here I have 2 choices: 1. Learn that slow and steady wins the race and work at this OR 2. Win the lottery. So really, I guess I choose #1 since #2 is out of my control.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Monday, June 24, 2013
Starting Strength
I'm starting a new strength program on Saturday and our trainer Tyler is encouraging us to keep a journal. I always write my workouts down but I don't put a lot more than number of reps and time. So I thought I would re-enter my abandoned blog to start recording more about my workouts.
I'm do CrossFit. I love CrossFit. I started in April 2007 when a friend of my husbands discovered this CrossFit thing and I was curious. So I went and worked out with him at the High School gym and that was it. Within a few workouts I was totally hooked. He (my husband's friend who has now become my friend) has since started his own box and I am his original client. I think I am the only one who is still around from those first days.
Generally speaking I am strong. I can do most workouts at RX (prescribed weight) and have a decent time. But I'm wanting to get better and maybe even compete in the CrossFit games next year (in the masters division).
This will be my journey.
WOD - June 24, 2013
Today was a technique day. After doing our standard gym warm up we worked on snatch and clean and jerk.
Standard Gym Warm-up
Row 500m or Run 400m or Skip 200 Double Unders
20 GHD Sit Ups or 20 Hollow Rocks
20 Back Extensions or 20 Supermans
20 Air Squats
20 Push Ups
10 Good Mornings
10 PVC Pass Throughs
10 Neck Rotations
10 Arm Swings (each side)
10 Leg Swings (side to side/front to back)
10 Foot/Hand Rotations
10 Spiderman Lunges
10 Tuck Jumps
Personal Thing 1 (Pull Up Negatives)
Personal Thing 2 (Roll Out on Foam)
Snatch (with squat) + 2 Overhead Squats - 65#
pause 2 seconds at the knee, stay upright, pull bar up close to body, keep pull smooth
Clean and Jerk - 115#
pause 2 seconds at the knee, pull bar back to body, keep weight on the heels, if splitting, work on shuffling front foot back then back foot forward on the finish
I think I'm finally getting the hang of the snatch. It has been a move that has eluded me for years. Finally understanding the pull and get under the bar. Tyler is an excellent coach. He's encouraging me to keep the weight light until I really perfect this move. The OH squat is the limit of my weight as it's difficult to get full depth of squat with the heavier weights. This is definitely a weak area I hope to see improvement in over the next year of training.
Saturday we are starting the real "Starting Strength" program so for the rest of the week I will only record my regular CrossFit WOD. Hope to squeeze in a walk tonight.
Bible verses I am pondering today:
Mark 4:21-25
He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? 22For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. 23If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”
I'm do CrossFit. I love CrossFit. I started in April 2007 when a friend of my husbands discovered this CrossFit thing and I was curious. So I went and worked out with him at the High School gym and that was it. Within a few workouts I was totally hooked. He (my husband's friend who has now become my friend) has since started his own box and I am his original client. I think I am the only one who is still around from those first days.
Generally speaking I am strong. I can do most workouts at RX (prescribed weight) and have a decent time. But I'm wanting to get better and maybe even compete in the CrossFit games next year (in the masters division).
This will be my journey.
WOD - June 24, 2013
Today was a technique day. After doing our standard gym warm up we worked on snatch and clean and jerk.
Standard Gym Warm-up
Row 500m or Run 400m or Skip 200 Double Unders
20 GHD Sit Ups or 20 Hollow Rocks
20 Back Extensions or 20 Supermans
20 Air Squats
20 Push Ups
10 Good Mornings
10 PVC Pass Throughs
10 Neck Rotations
10 Arm Swings (each side)
10 Leg Swings (side to side/front to back)
10 Foot/Hand Rotations
10 Spiderman Lunges
10 Tuck Jumps
Personal Thing 1 (Pull Up Negatives)
Personal Thing 2 (Roll Out on Foam)
Snatch (with squat) + 2 Overhead Squats - 65#
pause 2 seconds at the knee, stay upright, pull bar up close to body, keep pull smooth
Clean and Jerk - 115#
pause 2 seconds at the knee, pull bar back to body, keep weight on the heels, if splitting, work on shuffling front foot back then back foot forward on the finish
I think I'm finally getting the hang of the snatch. It has been a move that has eluded me for years. Finally understanding the pull and get under the bar. Tyler is an excellent coach. He's encouraging me to keep the weight light until I really perfect this move. The OH squat is the limit of my weight as it's difficult to get full depth of squat with the heavier weights. This is definitely a weak area I hope to see improvement in over the next year of training.
Saturday we are starting the real "Starting Strength" program so for the rest of the week I will only record my regular CrossFit WOD. Hope to squeeze in a walk tonight.
Bible verses I am pondering today:
Mark 4:21-25
He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? 22For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. 23If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”
24“Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. 25Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”
I think God is telling me to recognize that all things will eventually be revealed. It's not wise to try to hide the truth. Put it on a stand to bring it out in the open. Deal openly and transparently with people to show them respect. This respect will then be returned as people will deal openly and transparently with you. You can trust others as much as you can be trusted. Rather than concern myself with who I can or cannot trust in life, I should concern myself with how trustworthy I am. Am I honest 100% of the time, while keeping in mind social norms and kindness (opinions don't always need to be shared and don't hinder my honesty)? God help me with this today! Help me to be kind and trustworthy.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
In which I think about parenting and exercise...
I've been really struck recently by my role as a mother to teenage boys. I have one teenager and one tween. I'm trying to raise them to be healthy boys who will one day be productive adults. God willing they will marry one of your daughters and make a life together. I hope that life is as full of joy (and challenges) as my life has been. I hope they are good, kind, and helpful husbands who are both strong and gentle. I hope they provide for their families and love the work that they do.
It was brought to my attention that by age nine most boys have viewed pornography on the internet. That means that both my boys have likely looked at pornographic websites. I think pornography is a plague on society. I think it harms boys before they become men, it destroys healthy sexual relationships and it destroys the lives of both men and women involved in the industry. It is an addiction that causes great harm.
So the first thing I did when I read that statistic is lock down their internet usage. I want them to have happy, healthy sex lives when the time is right for them with a partner who they know and trust. Ideally I think this should be in a married relationship. That's the ideal. I'm a realist but I also think you have to set the standard somewhere.
So far I haven't let either of my kids go on Facebook. I'm a bit of a hypocrite on this one because I am on FB almost daily. However today I decided I was doing the right thing. More than one of my "friends" posted a link to an exercise video/website/challenge with a picture of a woman that did not look fit to me. She looked like a porn star. These everyday moms and housewives were encouraging and challenging each other to a fitness program that held up a "porn star" look as the ideal. Now I don't actually look at porn so I am hardly the one to decide she looks like a porn star. If you look at porn then perhaps you will disagree and tell me that porn stars look nothing like that but in my mind the fake boobs ballooning out of her "fitness top" and the overly accentuated crotch in the tiny "boy shorts" with the excessively skinny thighs did not look real. Nor did the dark tanned and oiled skin and the pouty, am I sexy lips. I am not inspired. I am disgusted. What about the poor teenaged boys who will click on that link and watch that work-out video. If my son was on FB he probably would click on it too. I'm glad he isn't. But he will be in the future I'm sure. Protecting our kids from porn is not possible. We have to talk about it. But now I realize that we have to talk to our friends and our colleagues and our kids. We all have to say no to this. What if your son became addicted to porn? What would you say to his wife in the future when she tells you that they don't have a healthy sex life because his brain has been re-wired to only be turned on by the sexual images he grew up with on the internet. What then? I think it was John Mayer (who was dating Jennifer Aniston for a while) who would rather watch porn than be with a woman. His brain has been re-wired to find satisfaction in something that isn't even real. Do we want this for our young men? I don't. I want my sons to grow up and have a real relationship with a real woman who loves him unconditionally and who he loves and treats as the most precious gift in his life. Even if she doesn't look like a porn star. Which, let's face it, she likely won't. Because not many of us do. Nor should we want to.
I want to be fit and healthy. I want to be able to go for a hike in God's great outdoors and enjoy my family. I want to put on a bathing suit and swim with my kids in the lake in the summer because it's fun. I also want to be able to deadlift over 215 lbs and keep my gym wall ball record (100 wall balls in 7:12 since you asked). And I want to look good doing it.. But looking good to me is looking real. Having the skin, hair and boobs that God gave me. With wrinkles and stretchmarks and scars and blemishes. And I want my husband to look at me like I'm sexy and healthy and beautiful. So let's stop looking at porn stars for inspiration and start looking at the real women around us who live real lives, squeeze in their exercise on their lunch breaks or while their kids are at dance, rely on a bar of soap to take off their make up and hope for a decent night sleep at least once a week. That's the real 1000 rep challenge.
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It was brought to my attention that by age nine most boys have viewed pornography on the internet. That means that both my boys have likely looked at pornographic websites. I think pornography is a plague on society. I think it harms boys before they become men, it destroys healthy sexual relationships and it destroys the lives of both men and women involved in the industry. It is an addiction that causes great harm.
So the first thing I did when I read that statistic is lock down their internet usage. I want them to have happy, healthy sex lives when the time is right for them with a partner who they know and trust. Ideally I think this should be in a married relationship. That's the ideal. I'm a realist but I also think you have to set the standard somewhere.
So far I haven't let either of my kids go on Facebook. I'm a bit of a hypocrite on this one because I am on FB almost daily. However today I decided I was doing the right thing. More than one of my "friends" posted a link to an exercise video/website/challenge with a picture of a woman that did not look fit to me. She looked like a porn star. These everyday moms and housewives were encouraging and challenging each other to a fitness program that held up a "porn star" look as the ideal. Now I don't actually look at porn so I am hardly the one to decide she looks like a porn star. If you look at porn then perhaps you will disagree and tell me that porn stars look nothing like that but in my mind the fake boobs ballooning out of her "fitness top" and the overly accentuated crotch in the tiny "boy shorts" with the excessively skinny thighs did not look real. Nor did the dark tanned and oiled skin and the pouty, am I sexy lips. I am not inspired. I am disgusted. What about the poor teenaged boys who will click on that link and watch that work-out video. If my son was on FB he probably would click on it too. I'm glad he isn't. But he will be in the future I'm sure. Protecting our kids from porn is not possible. We have to talk about it. But now I realize that we have to talk to our friends and our colleagues and our kids. We all have to say no to this. What if your son became addicted to porn? What would you say to his wife in the future when she tells you that they don't have a healthy sex life because his brain has been re-wired to only be turned on by the sexual images he grew up with on the internet. What then? I think it was John Mayer (who was dating Jennifer Aniston for a while) who would rather watch porn than be with a woman. His brain has been re-wired to find satisfaction in something that isn't even real. Do we want this for our young men? I don't. I want my sons to grow up and have a real relationship with a real woman who loves him unconditionally and who he loves and treats as the most precious gift in his life. Even if she doesn't look like a porn star. Which, let's face it, she likely won't. Because not many of us do. Nor should we want to.
I want to be fit and healthy. I want to be able to go for a hike in God's great outdoors and enjoy my family. I want to put on a bathing suit and swim with my kids in the lake in the summer because it's fun. I also want to be able to deadlift over 215 lbs and keep my gym wall ball record (100 wall balls in 7:12 since you asked). And I want to look good doing it.. But looking good to me is looking real. Having the skin, hair and boobs that God gave me. With wrinkles and stretchmarks and scars and blemishes. And I want my husband to look at me like I'm sexy and healthy and beautiful. So let's stop looking at porn stars for inspiration and start looking at the real women around us who live real lives, squeeze in their exercise on their lunch breaks or while their kids are at dance, rely on a bar of soap to take off their make up and hope for a decent night sleep at least once a week. That's the real 1000 rep challenge.
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Thursday, October 14, 2010
A gift for a friend
So my good friend's birthday is coming up and I've been madly trying to make her something by hand. Time is precious these days but knitting is my down time so I don't mind doing something. I hate the pressure though and I often worry if people will love a creation as much as I do!
Here's my options so far.
A scarf perhaps (Silk Ribbon Yarn by Mango Moon):
2. Or this cowl I made last year with silk roses in the yarn (mixed with Malabrigo).
Or maybe some socks made out of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock:
Or maybe something out of this lovely cashmere/silk yarn from Tanglewood Fiber:
I just can't decide what she would like best. This is what I know about her:1. She's beautiful inside and out.
2. She can knit but doesn't so she can appreciate hand knit gifts.
3. She likes things soft and casual...not buttoned up.
4. She loves her birthday so much she's instituted "Birthday Month" therefore a wonderful gift is very meaningful.
What do you think?
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Sunflowers
Sunflowers.Love them.
Love the colour.
Love that they grow without fuss.
Love that you can look up at them instead of down at the weeds.
Love the autumn when they grow and flourish.
Love them.
Sunflowers.
Monday, September 14, 2009
A woman in denial who is too old for cyberbullying
So I logged onto facebook today to discover a great and fantastic friend had posted pictures of me in my bathing suit. And tagged them. So everyone on facebook who is my friend or her friend got a notification that there are new pictures of me on facebook. Pictures of me in a bathing suit. Unflattering pictures of me in a bathing suit. I am not happy with my weight and my body but I hadn't really thought about how REALLY unhappy I am until I realized how many people who know me have now been alerted to the fact that there are pictures of me in my bathing suit. I lost it. I cried. I wrote nasty e-mails to my dear friend in my head. I thought about eating. Junk food. (but didn't...yet). Then I just wrote a nice polite message that said, "Great pictures from yesterday. Could you kindly remove the pictures of me in my bathing suit." And they were gone. This has given me great insight about cyberbullying and how such an innocent move can be so hurtful. The most harmless intention can be taken as meanness when written out of context or done thoughtlessly. Our kids don't have the maturity and ability to deal with their feelings. They may retaliate against their friends rather than ask politely. I could have gotten angry and posted an unflattering comment or picture about her, if I was 15. Or I could have talked to all our mutual friends about it and made them pick sides. Glad I'm not 15. And, I'm going on a diet. Yikes! Is my butt really that big!? Also, I think I'm done with facebook. I don't need this turmoil in my life. I'm simply too old.
Monday, February 16, 2009
I guess I got busy...
I haven't written a blog entry since June 2008! I don't even know why. My life has been crazy, busy and fun in the last 6 months. My biggest change has been CrossFit. I have been a CrossFitter since about April 2008 but I really got into it in July 2008 and have been doing WOD's (Work Out of the Day) on average 3x week. I am stronger, faster, fitter than I have ever been!
I'm still knitting, running and hanging out with my family...not much is new. Valentines Day this year was a highlight! I decided that I really didn't want to go out for dinner and spend tons of money so I made a gourmet dinner at home. I planned the menu and shopped and the whole family pitched in to make it nice. My husband and the boys set an elegant table using all our finest, or at least, all that we had and filling in with regular stuff if we didn't have enough. We have 5 place settings of my nice Denby pottery and 3 place settings of silverware (that isn't silver but stainless steel). Funny! They boys even dressed in matching outfits. No body ironed their clothes though because we were just staying at home, and no one felt like ironing. That's the difference between going out and staying in.
So now I begin a new attempt at being a blogger. Only I think from now on I am going to keep this as my CrossFit, Knitting, Family blog. Hope my life is interesting enough to read about.
I'm still knitting, running and hanging out with my family...not much is new. Valentines Day this year was a highlight! I decided that I really didn't want to go out for dinner and spend tons of money so I made a gourmet dinner at home. I planned the menu and shopped and the whole family pitched in to make it nice. My husband and the boys set an elegant table using all our finest, or at least, all that we had and filling in with regular stuff if we didn't have enough. We have 5 place settings of my nice Denby pottery and 3 place settings of silverware (that isn't silver but stainless steel). Funny! They boys even dressed in matching outfits. No body ironed their clothes though because we were just staying at home, and no one felt like ironing. That's the difference between going out and staying in.
So now I begin a new attempt at being a blogger. Only I think from now on I am going to keep this as my CrossFit, Knitting, Family blog. Hope my life is interesting enough to read about.
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