January 31

Blah, blah... I know, I know
I leave for the gym at 5:00ish each day. This is what time I usually get home:

Not because I work out the entire time. But because after my class, I try and run a mile or row a 2K, work on my pullups (I'm determined to get that 20 pullup tank!), or mainly just BS with people at the gym for an hour or so. And then we usually go and get (healthy) food afterward.

Reason # 654...

January 30

I love me some firemen...
... and anyone who knows me, KNOWS this. So a friend of mine (and her awesome daughter) posted on Facebook that their neighbor, a fireman, was moving out of their complex on Sunday. And he was kind enough to have his HOT, YOUNG friends help him move. Well, I of course jumped all over these statuses and was like, hook a sista up!

So they took immediate action. But apparently it was too late. :(

 

It looks a little odd at the bottom corner because I had to edit my phone number out. Yeah, they so did. I'm pretty sure this did NOT get posted in their window, but it was definitely the thought that counted. 

January 29

I like big BUTTS and I cannot lie...
Reason #546 why I love my gym... we actually go out and do stuff together. This weekend, a lot of us went karaoke-ing (sp?) at a bowling alley bar (yeah, we're classy). It was awesome to interact with people outside of the sweaty gym and to see people sing (and dance) their butts off. So much fun. I, of course, didn't sing. I need a lot of liquid courage for that.

This is one of the girls that I've actually known before we started working out together. In the background is the owner of the gym and one of the guys who records a lot of our workouts (on what we like to call the Spartan Cam) and posts awesome videos for us.

January 28

I love me some cheeks
I got to babysit my nieces on Friday. I love spending time with them. If you know me well enough, you know that my nicknames for them are Cheeks and Baby Cheeks, because they have/had the most amazingly fluffy cheeks. The nicknames have changed over the years, but the cheeks remain. Anyway, we had fun. We had a dance party (a couple, actually) to Yo Gabba Gabba, I changed a seriously poopy diaper, we played princess dress up and sang princess songs and danced and twirled like princesses, we ate some dinner, and we giggled.

It's awesome because I've never really been a kid lover (weird, I know... I'm a teacher). But these girls are awesome. And they're seriously the cutest kids in all of the land. I'm just sayin...

Here we are resting after our dance party. No wait, we were resting FOR our dance party. Doing the whole, "wait 30 minutes after we eat" thing. Ok, that wasn't what we were really doing... but we had just finished dinner.

January 27

Oh you fancy, huh?
So this would be my third Brazilian blowout that I've had done. They are amazing, if you're considering it.... however, very pricey. Aside from that awesomeness, I've been going to this same hairdresser for the last, oh I don't know, like 20 years? She's watched me grow up, basically. And she rules. Obviously.

We both look kinda dorky in it, but it was a sneak attack shot.

January 26

LOVE!
I seriously LOVE the people that work out at my gym. I know I talk about it a lot, but it really is awesome. I work out in the evening (5:30 class) and it's usually the same people who work out with me. We've even named ourselves the ninjas, (as opposed to some of the guys who call themselves the Spartans in the morning classes) (and because we think we're so freakin' funny).

These are some of my lovely ninjas. I seriously LOVE these girls. And I love that restaurant. We eat there frequently.

One of the girl's 6-year old daughter took this picture. I kept her finger in there because she ruled for doing this for us.

January 25

I love you Adrienne!!
Wow. I suck. But I'm back with pictures to post. Sorry 'bout that.

So Tuesday, for some odd and still unexplainable reason, I woke up with a swollen face. Not sure what happened, not sure what I came in contact with... but I looked a bit like Rocky when I looked in the mirror.

Made a Dr.'s appointment for that day, still didn't know what happened to make me swell up, but this helped.

The good news is, no more swollen face (almost a week later). The bad news is, my face is soooooper dry lately.

January 24

Part one: There's hope after all
A really good friend of mine texted me today. She wanted to share some good news, which I completely appreciated. See, this friend has been in a relationship with the same guy for over 10 years. From the outside, all of her friends knew (and have known for a very long time) that she deserved soooo much more. But on the inside, she struggled to leave. And I completely understand. This is coming from someone who spent 8+ years loving the same guy, even though he didn't love me the same back. But she finally got the strength the leave him and this is the text I got today:

Part two: Birthday loveliness
I would also like to take this opportunity to give a birthday shout-out to one of my good friends, H-bomb. Love her, love her, LOVE her... She's my Dave Matthews Band partner in crime and I've loved her since our senior year in high school. Happy birthday, Pien.

January 23

Laces out
After my weekly Sunday cleaning and laundry, I went out to visit my friend who broke his ankle last week. Poor guy. I really do feel for him. Aside from the fact that he can't go back to work (teaching) because his district won't allow crutches or a wheelchair (I don't get it either), and that he has to have surgery on it tomorrow morning, he lives on the third floor in a complex with no elevators. He was a champ climbing up and down those stairs tonight, though. I think I would have cried in frustration at least once each way. And he's an amazing left-foot driver (who wouldn't let me drive, no matter how many judgmental looks I got when we got in and out of the car).

He's worried about going stir crazy and getting fat. I told him to go up and down his stairs at least once a day and he'll not only get out of the house, but also get some exercise. I just hope he concentrates so that he doesn't take a stair to the tooth.

January 22

Today was an old friend's birthday. And by "old," I don't mean hunched over and needing a walker, I mean I've known her since high school. (Shout-out to Facebook for reconnecting me with high school friends!) We went out to dinner in my old 'hood. I lived in this town for almost 9 years. It was where I went to college (undergrad, credential, and grad)... it was home for a long time. I haven't been there in the few months since I'd moved, so it was good to be back.

Another friend suggested a restaurant in the downtown area. You really can't go wrong if it's in the downtown area, you just have to be careful of the age group (mean? median?), being that it's in a college town. And as many times as I had gone to the downtown area, I had never been to this restaurant. It had a great food, awesome drinks, and a rad musician playing (whose album I bought within minutes of hearing him play).

Good times with good people....

January 21

Well, duh
I love working out. In fact, I love the pain that CrossFit causes me so much, I continue to go back each day, even when I know the workout is going to hurt. Isn't that called being a masochist? Yeah, that's what I am. So I did my workout on Friday, cashed out* by rowing 1000 meters, and then decided to make up for yesterday by running a mile after all that. The same friend who broke down yesterday and texted that we were going to Yard House instead, redeemed herself by getting me off my sweaty, tired behind to run that mile that we agreed we'd start doing after our workouts.

So, let's review... 15ish minute HARD workout, 1000 meter row, and then a mile run. Yeah, I deserved Yogurtland afterward. And I love me some Yogurtland for many a'reasons. But on this night it wasn't for the red velvet yogurt, the delicious almonds, or even the sour gummy worms that I love so much... it was this sign that was discovered on the door, leaving Yogurtland:

Yes, kind door sign... I do.

*cash out: a term that our trainers use to just let us know that even though we worked our little behinds off in that day's extremely difficult workout, we're so not done and they want to torture us with one more round of pain before we leave the gym.

January 20

Slacker McSlackerson
Yeah, yeah... I'm slackin... It takes me a bit to get these posts up, but rest assured that the pictures are being taken. I don't want my thousands of readers to lose sleep over it.

 So Thursdays are my days off from CrossFit. However, this particular Thursday, I was talked into going for a run. I'm not a runner. I don't enjoy it. I'm not good at it. I know it's all mental but I'm not trying too hard to break that mental block down. I know I can do it because I trained for and ran a half marathon in 2008, but I am just not one of those people who "go for runs." So in an effort to amp up my exercising for the summer bathing suit weather, I agreed to go for this run on my day off. I'm not gonna lie, a lot of excuses were made after work so that running wouldn't happen, but my friend insisted that we were going to go. So I finally gave in and was about to change into appropriate running attire when I got a text.

 

We went to Yard House instead, where I gracefully mowed down the mac and cheese and a pear cider. Sure, it's not getting me any closer to bathing suit season, but it was delicious and it was my day off, dammit!

January 19

Gumballs
Yeah, I'm 5. I looooooooove me some gumballs. I especially love this gumball machine in my local Wahoo's. I try and get me a gumball each time I eat there, which is quite frequently. The only thing is, the gum is tasteless and hard by the time I get home, which is like a 5 minute drive. But that 5 minutes is full of puuuuuuure deliciousness.

January 18

Epic fail
At my gym, there is something called, "earning your wings." When girls can hit the 20 and 30 pull-up milestone, they get a tank to display their hard work. Here's what the 20 pull-up tank looks like:

Last time we had to do "max pull-ups" during our workout (probably 2-3 weeks ago), I was pumped because I knew I could FINALLY do pull-ups without a resistance band. The time before, I posted a big, fat ZERO, so I was really excited to finally post a number this time around. I got up to the bar and knocked out 11 pull-ups. I looked at my coach and he gave me the "I'm reeeeally sorry" look and told me that I didn't get any. My chin never went above the bar on any of the pull-ups.

Thank goodness the coaches took pity on me and said we'd post "11(ROM)", which means that I need to work on my range of motion. Whatever, I'd take it. But it's not getting me any closer to the 20 pull-up mark. Well, maybe it is, but now I can't help but be really critical of my friggin chin going over the bar.

So when we had the "T-shirt ripping party" the other weekend, one of the girls who is also struggling with the 20-milestone suggested that we make our own max-number pull-up tank. In the end, I was the only one who did it. I gotta thank a real pull-up champ on this one... the only girl in our gym to get FORTY pull-ups. She bought the numbers and ironed them on for me. I think she just took pity on my weak arms....

Yeah, I added the ROM because it's freakin funny. And I like to laugh at myself. I will rock this tank with PRIDE!!

January 17

Make me up, before you go go (I had to..)
So I've heard some disturbing things about the line of make-up that I've been using for like the last 10-15 years. It kinda bummed me out, but I knew I had to change so I posted on Facebook asking for recommendations. I got an overwhelming response for BareMinerals, so I bought the starter kit on Sunday. Yeah, how genius is that? A friggin starter kit for make-up tards like me.

I'm not really sure how I feel about the make-up yet because it's so different than what I used to use. I honestly feel like I'm not putting anything on, it's so light, which I guess is the point. I think I'll have the final verdict when I see my mom. She knows all.

Anyway, here's my new make-up drawer. I feel very excited to have real brushes and such.

January 16

Pure awesomeness

I can't just go with one picture for Sunday. There were too many fantastic friggin things that happened. So instead of pictures, I'm going to go with videos.

First, one of my awesome friends went skydiving. She invited us all out to celebrate in her awesomeness (and fearlessness). This video was when we all breathed a sigh of relief that A) she didn't chicken out or pass out from fear before the jump like I would have, and B) the parachute worked.

Second, it's been a few years, but I got to see one of my favorite singers again last night. I've loved this man from the moment one of my old co-workers introduced me to him 10 years ago. It's very rare that he plays without the rest of his band, but when he does and I know about it, I'm there. And as a side note, if it could happen, I would marry him.
Here's part of one my favorite Dashboard Confessional songs from the show, Saints and Sailors.

January 15

Snooty? Snotty!
Today I tried a neti pot for the first time. It burned like I got water up my nose while swimming, but it cleared me out and I can breathe better. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of that because all you'd see is a water/snot mixture coming from places that look painful. Instead, this picture is one from my night out where I got schmammered! On lots and lots of water. Yeah, I'm a badass.

January 14

Here it is
... The sleep didn't work so much. I woke up, still feeling like poo and knowing that I was sick. Thank goodness I had antibiotics from the last time I was getting sick.

Yay for Z-pack!

January 13

Here it comes
I suck because I haven't posted in a bit. Well this is why.
THIS is what time I went to bed on Thursday night. I thought it would make me feel better to sleep more.

 

It didn't work so much...

January 12

Max weight pull-up
On September 1, 2010 I joined a CrossFit gym. My upper body strength was nonexistent. I had never done a pull-up in my life, not even when I was a kid during those stupid Presidential fitness tests. I was always the most athletic girl in the class, but I couldn't pass that part of the test. (Bittermuch? Yeah..)

So, at my gym, there are 5 levels of resistance bands that help push you up when you attempt a pull-up, with level 1 being the most help and level 5 being fairly close to doing a real pull-up. I started on level 2 and by December, I was off the bands altogether. My next goal is to do 20 pull-ups so I can be part of that club (yeah, we have milestone clubs).

Tonight, part of our workout was to do a pull-up with as much weight as possible. For the pull-up to count, our chin had to go above the bar. Tonight, I did a pull-up with my own body weight, plus 17.5 lbs (the vests that we're all wearing below have the added weight). These were some of the + lbs. girls in the workout tonight.

From left to right, +12.5lbs, +45 lbs (she's a rockstar!), +17.5 lbs (me), and +20 lbs.

January 11

Wall climbs
Yesterday:
Me, to K, looking at the post for today's workout: Wall climbs? I can't climb that wall (there's a 7ish foot wall that some of our gym compadres can actually climb over)... I wonder what the modification is for those.
K: You run as fast as you can and run into the wall until you pass out.
Me: Awesome. Can't wait.


Today:
Me, realizing that wall climbs are when you lay on your stomach with your feet against the wall and then use your feet to walk up the wall, while simultaneously using your arms and hands to walk your body back until you (theoretically) touch your chest to the wall in a handstand: Seriously?? I can't do those!!

After the workout today, at a local restaurant:
Me: Dude! I haven't taken my picture of the day yet!
K: You should have taken a picture of you doing wall climbs.
Me: Too late now.
K: No it's not. You can do them outside.
Me (thinking she's joking, but knowing damn well she's really not): Riiiiiight...

After leaving the local restaurant:

January 10

Deliciousness
So I made that turkey chili today. Cooked it in the crockpot all day. My place smelled delicious when I came home from work... though part of me was hoping I didn't burn the place down. After I got home from the gym, I got to enjoy my chili.

It was amazing. AND healthy. Yay for cooking for myself and for cooking something healthy!!

January 9

Sunday, bloody Sunday
After I spent the first half of the day on the couch watching Jersey Shore, Teen Moms, and I Used To Be Fat (thank you MTV for your amazing reality trash), I finally got up, threw in a couple loads of laundry and went grocery shopping.

Note: I have not gone grocery shopping in almost a month. I had two weeks off where I didn't need to pack a lunch and I spent my mornings last week in a local grocery store picking up random lunch items each day for work. This is how I roll. Why would I spend my evenings shopping? That's ludicrous! I have the gym and such (read: nothing) after work... and really, going to the store is the last thing I want to do.

So this is what my refrigerator's looked like for the last few weeks:

 

Note #2: The milk was outdated yesterday, but I still had some in my cereal this morning. I know, I know...

So I finally went shopping today ($110 later...), came home, and prepared everything for the week. I had to cut my cantaloupe and celery for the week, cook some chicken, and a friend of mine gave me a recipe for a turkey chili that I wanted to try out in the crockpot tomorrow, so I got that ready. While doing so, I sliced my finger open cutting those bastard onions. (A knife, onions, and I DO NOT get along.) This was the mess that created. And who doesn't keep bandaids? Oh wait, me.

So in the end, shopping was done, meals were prepared, onions (and fingers) were sliced, and laundry was done (still have to fold it). Yay for a pretty productive (later half of) a Sunday. I feel like a grown up again. Mom would be proud. (Mom? You are, aren't you?)

January 8

Gettin our bling on
My gym rules. I do CrossFit and the people there are hilarious and fun and we're all like one big family. So a couple of the girls decide that they want to have a "girls only" party to bling and "rip" (cut and tie) some out-dated (2010) t-shirts. I didn't do any ripping, but I did do some blinging. Or, had one of the awesome bling-specialists do it for me.
There may or may not have also been a beer bong involved. Good times.

January 7

Sarcophagi
I do these every year with my kids. We design the pieces throughout the chapter and then at the end we put them together. I ALWAYS have kids who get really frustrated when we put them together. Today (yesterday, really) went amazingly smooth.

Another testament to how much my class rules this year.

January 6

Like Ice Cube said, today was a good day (doo why-ee)...
I love my class this year. That's all there is to it. Here's how a conversation went with one of my female students today.

(We're finishing up our Egyptian sarcophagi.)
Student, to me: Do you dare me to draw a six pack on Amun-Ra's stomach?
Me (not at all surprised by the question): I double dog dare you!
Student (smiling): OK! (and she trots back to her desk)

Five minutes later....

They really are the simple things that make my day...

January 5

HSPU (position)
So this may not be an exciting one for some of you, but it kinda is for me. I have not been able to do a handstand push-up in the 4ish months that I've been doing CrossFit. Not even with the resistance bands to help spring me up. In fact, I still can't do a modified handstand push-up.  
However, I also have not been able to get into this position without the help of one of my trainers grabbing my legs as I kick up to help me lock them in place behind the colored resistance band. Tonight, my friends, I got into that position allllllll by myself. Sure, I still can't DO the handstand push-up, but I can at least get into the position without kicking someone in the head, having them help me.
High five to me.

January 4

Room 16

My students were on fire today. I know I do my job when I go to review a chapter and they can give me this many key words. After we listed the key words for Egypt, we categorized them and wrote a summary paragraph for the chapter. 
These are the days I especially love... when you can see that they learned. Super rewarding.

In case you're curious (I know you are!), this is the summary paragraph we came up with for the chapter on Egypt that we just finished.

Egypt

Egypt was a very powerful and successful civilization that had many achievements. The gift of the Nile gave Lower Egypt fertility and Upper Egypt protection. Rulers in Egypt wore a double crown with the colors red and white to represent their power. To show respect for the pharaohs, the Egyptians mummified pharaohs and nobles and put them in pyramids to live in the afterlife. Their writing system was focused on hieroglyphics and, thanks to the Rosetta Stone, we can now read what they wrote. Egyptians were masters of art and they painted beautiful works in the pharaohs' tombs so the dead could enjoy them. All in all, Egypt was a civilization full of power and glory, but it eventually fell from its control.

January 3

View from the playground at the school I teach
I notice this view a lot. I grew up with this view outside of our front window. My mom and I used to sit on the couch and watch (a.k.a. spy on) the neighborhood. I blame her for my reality TV obsession.
Anyway, it just rained yesterday and today and it's been freezing here lately (by a SoCal resident's standard). Which means... snow on the mountains! It doesn't last long here and will probably be gone in the next couple of days, but it's still beautiful to look at.

January 2

Highway 1
Taking a road trip up (or down) the coast of California has been an item on my bucket list for a few years now. On our trip home from Monterey today, we drove through Carmel and Big Sur (also on the bucket list).
Here's to two things being checked off today....

January 1

Monterey Bay Aquarium
Road trip to Central California with an awesome friend. This rad picture is from the jellyfish aquarium.

I hate resolutions

I spent the first two days of 2011 on a road trip up (and back down) the beautiful coast of California. It's something that's been on my bucket list for a few years and I finally got to check it off today. As I sat in the passenger seat of my friend's car, looking at the indescribable coastline on our 8-hour drive home, I thought that I needed to do something different this year. Something worthwhile.

I've spent the last 2.5 years being single. Doesn't sound like a big deal to most people, but I'm a 32-year old successful female, who has been described by many guys as a "good catch." I have no kids, I live alone (no cats... or dogs, for that matter), I have a fantastic career, I travel a lot... seems like a great life, right? Well, for some reason, I've had a very difficult time in the last year accepting that I'm not married. I spent my late teens and all of my 20s either in a serious relationship, or in love with someone. Being alone at 30 was something I needed. It was something I embraced wholeheartedly for the first year or so.

But I have to be honest, it's been kinda lonely lately. Dating is kinda non-existent in my life right now. I'm kinda numb to the idea of having a relationship. I want it, but I have almost given up hope. The problem is, the idea of sharing my life with someone is beginning to consume me. It takes over my thoughts, my dreams at night... my life. And I'm sick of it.

I want to learn how to appreciate what I have now and not put all my faith into what might (or might not) happen in my future.

So, as I'm on this beautiful road trip, I decide that I want to take (and now post) a picture a day for the entire year of 2011. One, I'm already taking such great pictures on this trip. Two, I love the idea of taking pictures. I love photography. Three, it will force me to find beauty and creativity in each and every day.

So, here's to the beginning of what will hopefully be 365 pictures to tell the story of my 2011. Happy New Year!

*My blog title was inspired by a Dave Matthew's Band song called Pig*
(an excerpt of the lyrics)

Isn't it strange how we move our lives for another day, like skipping a beat
What if a great wave should wash us all away, just thinking out loud

Is this not enough, this blessed sip of life, is it not enough
Staring down at the ground
Oh then complain and pray more from above, you greedy little pig
Stop just watch your world trickle away

Come sister, my brother... shake up your bones shake up your feet
I'm saying open up and let the rain come pouring in
Wash out this tired notion that the best is yet to come

Dry your eyes, let the love in there
There are bad times, but that's ok, just look for love in it
Don't burn the day away