Heavy lifting, ice and snow, and how is that even allowed?! (TOL #2)

Hi there!

Happy Thursday!

What makes it even happier is it’s my Friday! Whoop, whoop! Gotta love a 4 day weekend!

And nope, I didn’t have to take any time off to make that happen! No sireebob. The Commonwealth of Virginia celebrates both Lee-Jackson Day and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. #winning

Thinking-Out-Loud2

So, I’ve been at my CrossFit box since May and I love it out there.  It’s a bit of a hike and I have to pay tolls to go through some tunnels but I’ve made some friends and have been hitting some PRs (stay tuned for Saturday’s recap!!), so the whole time suck has been worth it to me.

Until 2 coaches that I really, really, REALLY like left. 😦

To open their own CrossFit box. (in case you didn’t know, box = gym in CrossFit lingo)

And, I recently learned that it’s practically right next door to where my sailor works. And HALF the distance I was travelling before.

Can you see where I’m going with this?

I thought about changing boxes, and then I stressed about it, and then I tried to think reasonably about it. I was riddled with guilt for even THINKING about changing.

But, once the rational part of my brain took over, the whole thing just makes sense.  I’ll be able to do morning WODs before work which allows me to have my evenings back for making dinner and, now, doing homework. Which is a priority. And, if I decide to do a double, the new box is just a hop, skip, and a jump from my office so I’ll be able to make an earlier class and get home earlier afterward. Makes so much sense! So, they can count me present when they finally open their doors (like, maybe in 2 weeks!!!). 🙂

Well, yesterday, they got equipment delivered and asked for help unloading the truck, etc. So, that’s what I did.  My first workout at the new box. 😉  And, I’ve committed to helping out this weekend, too. I’m really excited!!

image

pretty sure coach said it was 5 tons of stuff. yes, TONS.

So, as indicated above, I live in Virginia. But, where I am, it’s pretty moderate, as far as weather is concerned. We’ve gotten snow before so it’s not a shocker when it happens. I mean, it’s not like I live in San Diego and everyone flips out when it rains. Snow, sleet, ice – it’s all happened here before.

Well, the whole place went bat shit crazy on Tuesday because there was a little ice storm. I mean, I get the school closures and all that because a lot of this area is rural and those roads don’t often get pretreated, are narrow and dangerous, etc and kids can’t be standing outside for EVER in the sleet waiting for a bus to come slipping and sliding down the hill. Too dangerous. But, I was watching the news and there were reporters out in the streets like they were Jim Cantore. For less than an inch of ice. And people were sending in pictures of inch-long icicles hanging from their porch lights, etc. Seriously people. It was not the snowpocalypse.

image

I play Words with Friends. Pretty regularly, as a matter of fact. I’m kind of a scrabble nerd and I just love words. I have games going with 5 people right now. And, I’m getting whupped in a couple of them. Seriously, the luck of the letter draw is not always in my favor.

Anyway, in a previous game, a friend was flabbergasted when the game would not accept ribeye as a word. In fact, I know you can’t see it but, there’s a red squiggly line under the word ribeye in this post. But, unless you’re a vegetarian, you’ve probably eaten a ribeye steak. So, legitimate word, right? No.

But, last night, another friend played this –

image

Hardly seems fair, doesn’t it?

And yes, I do have all consonants. And 2 of them are Vs. Nice.

Talk to me: Have you ever made snow ice cream? When was the last time?

Thanks, Amanda, at Running With Spoons, for hosting Thinking Out Loud Thursdays!

– jennifer

Model trains and spreading the (link) love 2

Hello!

Happy Sunday!

My sailor and I had a great day date yesterday. 🙂

We went to lunch where I attempted to eat a chicken sandwich that was as big as my head.

image

Really, there’s grilled chicken under there!

In case you were wondering, I didn’t succeed. It was too much. I ate about a third of it and then “deconstructed” it. Meaning I pulled the bacon off and ate it. And I ate the rest of the lettuce and tomato. Okay, fine, I ate a couple more bites of onion ring, too. I don’t usually do onion rings but that one was good! 🙂

Then, we went to a model train show!

image

My father-in-law worked on the rail road so my sailor loves him some trains. And, so do I! Always have. Some of my best memories involve running across the street from my Grandma’s house to watch the trains. She lived just off Lake Michigan and there were train tracks between her house and the lake. I could sit on that grassy knoll for HOURS watching trains and counting cars. I even got a model train set for Christmas one year when I was a kid! It was destiny for us to end up together. 🙂

image

miniature park complete with a drunk person. see him there in the corner? 😉

We’re talking about building tracks that go around the ceiling level of our living room. We’ve got window cornices that are the perfect height and we would go from there. Yes, we are big kids. 🙂

image

We also want to add in some tunnels so we’re going to have to figure that out. That may equal punching holes in walls. Not with our fists! But, there really is something cool about a train coming out of a tunnel……

image

Anywho, enough about trains – it’s time for some link love!

For Your Tummy

Build Your Own Green Smoothie + 10 Recipes to Try – FitFluential

Chocolate Chip Pecan Banana Bread Bars – Taylor Made it Paleo

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken – the Lean Green Bean

Oatmeal Breakfast Pie – Nutrition Starring You

How to Pack the Adult “Lunchable” – Hungry Hobby

For Your Body

Fitness Experts Tell All: “Exercises I Ditched and What I do Instead” on Fit Bottomed Girls

Staying Fit on the Road – Blonde Ponytail

14 Office Stretches that will make you feel better in seconds – the Muse

Chair Exercises for the Chronic Sitter – Be Truly Nourished

13 Ways Endorphins Make You Act Tipsy – Buzzfeed

For Your Life

Maximizing Your Budget: Debt Payoff – Our Freaking Budget

Transforming Your View of New Year’s Resolutions – Enjoy Every Bite

For Blogging

Best of SITS 2014: Social Media, Photography, and Blogging Tips – the Sits Girls

Talk to me: Do you love trains? Have you ever had a model train? What’s one thing you’ve loved since you were little?

– jennifer

Friday Favorites

Hi there!

Happy, happy, blissful Friday! 🙂

Friday1love

We don’t have any big plans (I’ll be doing homework – yay) but I’m so ready for the break. I might also do some cleaning on what once was Thing 2’s room. Boy, did that girl leave a mess! Sounds exciting and fun, doesn’t it? Hey, there will also be wine so …. wine = fun. 🙂

Anyway, it’s time for me to share some of my favorite things from this week.

image

I love kisses! They are perfect little nuggets of chocolate that satisfy my sweet tooth in small quantities. These happen to have come in a box from my sweet, sweet friend, Lena. They’ve been in my lunch box all week. Pretty much my reason for smiling. 🙂

image

I’m back to wearing 2 shoes!!!  While the boot was definitely necessary for healing, there’s something quite liberating about wearing shoes that match. 😉

image

This.

I saw this on Pinterest (who doesn’t love Pinterest?!). It originated in this blog post from Wonderfully Women. You should read it. It (both the image and the blog post) really spoke to me. I’m definitely not a complainer but once upon a time, I was.  Remember, I’m an ISTJ? J = judging. Being judgemental can result in complaining. I’m not sure exactly when my mindset changed (okay, probably in 2008 when I started running long distances and my self-esteem started to grow) but I don’t really let too many things get to me these days. Stress is overrated anyway – it’s so much healthier to find the positive in something than to worry and complain about it.

I have realized, though, that some of my friends complain ALL. THE. TIME.  A couple of them have to be the most miserable people on the planet.  Thanks, Facebook, for pointing this out to me! Their complaining is absolutely exhausting!  I shared this image to my own Facebook page in the hopes that they would see it and take the challenge. I don’t know if anyone did but my fingers are crossed. Imagine how much nicer the world would be with less complaining! Plus, thinking smaller than global effects, think of how much nicer your own LIFE would be without the negativity. Try it! It’s just a day. If it doesn’t make you feel better, then, by all means, complain about it. 😉

image

*swoon*

#bestChristmasgiftever

My sailor rocks. That is all.

Talk to me: What are some of your favorite things from this week? Do you love purses like I love purses?

– jennifer