Hi, my name is...

Hi, my name is Ditty and I am stress eater.

Be Ditty

With 2012 being a year, where I focus on self-discovery. I have been looking at what I like doing, what makes me happy and how I can just be me. Here are a couple things from the weekend that I enjoy and make me happy.

Thursday night and all day Friday I focused on Taxes and Volunteering. 

I know that might not be fun for other people, but I really enjoy it because I like to be able to help others and this program gives me that opportunity.

On Thursday night, I went to the orientation for the site that I am going to volunteer as a tax preparer. I had been doing the program for 4 years and then I took last year off. I really like the program so I am excited that I can participate again this year. On Friday, I took an all day training with a test to be an intermediate tax preparer. I passed! This is the first year I did the intermediate class.

To learn more about the program, check out Campaign for Working Families. It helps low income families file their taxes for free. It helps people take advantage of the Earned Income Credit. It is a really cool program!

Friday Night, I met EVA.

Five rounds for time of:
Run 800 meters
55/70# Kettlebell swing, 30 reps - I used 35#
30 Pull-ups

42:10

I only did 3 rounds, but I did all 90 pull-ups with no band. 

This was my pull-up bar. I was prepared with 3 bands for when it got to hard, but I didn't need any of them. I made a decision for me that doing a little less weight and only doing three rounds was worth it to me to get to work on pull-ups. It was a hard WOD to keep the intensity because it was long. But I kept telling myself to "Be Ditty". For me that means, having fun with the workout, cheering others on, and doing my best and I felt like I did that. 

On Saturday, I worked most of the day, but I  rewarded myself with a manicure and pedicure. I know pedicures are silly in the winter, but I love when toes have a fun bright color. It makes me smile and then my feet look nice for yoga. It was my time to relax!

What do you enjoy doing? What makes you happy?

Happy Thursdays at 4!

Happy Thursday at 4!

Enjoy the Free Hugs video and then take the time to show someone you love them with a hug!

See The Happiness Project agrees with me!

Pizza!

Paleo pizza that is. 

Tonight, I made Prosciutto and Arugula Pizza from the Make It Paleo Cookbook.  

I love this cookbook. The recipes are really easy to follow and there aren't too many ingredients necessary. I get overwhelmed with really long recipes. The pizza was awesome. The crust was pretty sturdy. I could even fold my pizza in half.  When I make this recipe again, I will probably make two pizzas. C. Varied can really eat so he needed a second meal after 1/2 of the pizza. 

Other than that it was delicious and reminded me Italy.  

Here is photo journal from making dinner.

The Secret to the Crust

 

We didn't have flax seed meal, but we had flax seed so I used the nut grinder to make flax seed meal. 

 The hardest part was flipping the crust. It was really hard to pull the parchment paper off the crust to flip it. I don't know if that is because I over cooked the crust or if is just hard. Next time, I might put olive oil on the parchment paper before cooking the crust to make it easier to flip.

 

 The Final Product...Paleo Pizza!

The key to cooking tonight was working to change my mood. It had been a long day at work and then there was a lot of traffic on the way home so I need something to change my attitude. Usually that is what my workout is for, but today was a rest day. So I need to get excited about cooking and put on Taylor Swift Pandora station and danced around the kitchen. I need to do something fun to shake off the day so cooking, dancing and singing was exactly what the doctor ordered.

This is yesterday from my Happiness Project page-a-day calendar.

I really like this saying. Finding sources of feeling good was my goal for tonight as I cooked and sang in the kitchen. I was trying to just enjoy the moment.

P.S. More to come about this book. I am going to try a 12 week program based on this book. I am going to try to use this plan with Paleo and see how I do. Maybe I will learn a thing or too.

Seven Wonders of The World

C. Varied and I want to see the Seven Wonder of the World. So tonight I decided we should write down the official list, but little did we know there are a lot of lists. The original list is as follows:

Great Pyramid of Giza
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus
Colossus of Rhodes
Lighthouse of Alexandria

The only one still standing is the Great Pyramid of Giza.

So we needed another list. Here is the list we are going use for our bucket list goal of seeing the 7 Wonders of the World on: 

Great Wall of China

Petra

Christ the Redeemer

Machu Picchu

Chichen Itza 

Colosseum

Taj Mahal

 Great Pyramid of Giza (Honorary Candidate)

Back in 2001, there was an initiative to pick new Wonders of the World and the list above is the final list. We have actually already been to two of them.

Chichen Itza - August 2009

Colosseum - July 2011 on Our Honeymoon

Photo Courtesy of C. Varied

We were pretty excited when we realized we had done two. We knew when we went to Chichen Itza that we were seeing one wonder of the world, but we didn't realize that the Colosseum was one too or at least I didn't. ; ) I love traveling and seeing new places. I thought it was pretty cool that there were other lists too like Seven Natural Wonders of the World, Seven Wonders of the Underwater World, etc. (Source: Wikipedia). All of these places look amazing and I want to go to every one. A girl can dream.

What is your dream vacation? What travel plans are on your bucket list?

WOD

2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2

45-50-55-60-65-70-75-80-70-65

Shoulder Press with 60 sec rest in between in set

It is amazing how quickly muscle fatigue sets in your shoulders. We did 50 hand release push-ups as a cash out. I did all of them without going to my knees. I definitely might have been snaking and it took me a while, but I did it! Push-ups is definitely something I need to work on. 

Still doing the no sugar challenge, the special treat tonight was I made butternut squash soup on Sunday so we had some as sweet treat after dinner. Love it!

Weekend in Review

My weekend included hanging out with a lot different groups of friends, some good workouts and great food.

Friday night 

We hosted two couples over for dinner. We had one person who was a vegetarian, who ate seafood and another person, who didn't eat seafood, so we had to get creative. Here's what we ended up doing:

Appertizers

Chips and Salsa

Guacamole and carrots or chips

Entree

Stuff Peppers with ground beef or fake ground beef

Broccoli soup

I think it worked out well.  It was fun to hang out and catch up with friends that we hadn't seen since last August.

Saturday

It started with a great workout with the Super Sectionals Training at KOP. We did a team WOD. Within the WOD, I did "Elizabeth" (21-15-9 Squat Cleans and Ring dips). I scaled and used 75# for the cleans and a band for the ring dips. I am working on keeping my intensity up and working within a short time domain even if that means scaling so I keep the speed up in the workout. After the WOD, I stayed for intro to Westside Barbell class. It is a really cool program. I am need to decide what my goals are for 2012. I am strongly considering focusing completely on Strength. 

Picture taken by Aimee during Elizabeth

After the workout, I had a friend date with my friend Sarah from the gym. We so much fun getting to know each other. We went for coffee and were just chatting the whole time. It is so much fun to really get to know a new friend. I told Sarah about this blog I have started reading and book I want to read, MWF Seeking BFF because I felt like we could be part of the book.

After coffee with went to a friends' house for dinner, we had a great dinner of broccoli soup, sweet potato fries, brussel sprouts, and pork. It was delicious. It was a night full of laughter. 

Sunday

Today, I went to the 9 am workout. It was good one and really to tried again to keep the intensity up, but I used the RX'd weights. I tried hard to break it into sets and not take too much rest. I think I did pretty well. I was happy with my performance.

21-15-9
Calorie Row
Dumbbell Thruster 25#/45#
Hand Release Push-up

15:17

I made a yummy breakfast when I got home, No-at Meal (pronunced "Note Meal") or No Oat Oatmeal. The recipe is enough for 2 servings. It was delicious and nice to change it up.C. Varied made me a latte with coconut milk with the new espresso maker. It was so good. I wish Starbucks offered this.

No-atmeal

The rest of the day was spent meal planning, grocery shopping, and prepping food for the week with some football watching. 

How do decide your goals with your workouts? Should I work on getting stronger or faster during workout?

Happy Sunday!

Happy Thursdays at 4!

I thought this week I would share the opening song to the original Thursdays at 4! One Moment in Time by Whitney Houston. Listen to the lyrics!! The video is extra special because it includes the Olympics, which are my favorite. I am so excited for London 2012!! The weekend is almost here.

Happy Thursday at 4! 

Menu Plan

During the No Sugar Challenge, I have been planning the meals for the week on Sunday and then going grocery shopping. We try to do all our prep work for breakfasts and lunches on Sunday so their is less work during the week. For lunch, we usually make something in the slower cooker so it is nice and easy.

Breakfast:

3 hardboiled eggs

carrots

almond butter

Lunch:

Roast beef

Frozen veggies

Snack:

Pepperoni

Salmni

Nut (Macadamia nut or pistachio)

Whole peper

Dinner is where the variety comes in. 

Monday - Beef and Broccoli from Make it Paleo

Tuesday - Mexi-Salad with Fresh Gaucamole from Whole 9

Wednesday - Tilapia Fish Tacos from Primal Blueprint Cookbook

Thursday - Out to eat

Friday - TBD

Do you plan for the week or cook on the fly? What works best for you? I am always open to new ideas

Steve's Club

Today C.Varied and I participated in a Day of Service with Steve's Club at KOP. It was an inspiring experience. We got to skype with soliders in Kandahar CrossFit in Afghanistan and do the WOD with them. The WOD today was a Hero WOD.

"Jack"

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
115/75 pound Push press, 10 reps - I used 2 20# dumbbells
10 KB Swings, 55/35#
10 Box jumps, 24/20 inch box

I got through 9 rounds with the help of my friend from Steve's Club in Camden, who counted for me and really helped me push myself. The kids from Steve's Club are awesome.

Huddled around the laptop to skype with Kandahar CrossFit

Group picture of Kids and Coaches from Steve's Club in Camden and KOP.

Photos Courtesy of C.Varied

Steve's Club is an organization connects the youth of the community with Crossfit.

Here is their mission statement:

"Steve’s Club and its participating members provide a national network of programs through which at-risk or underserved youth of any socioeconomic background can join in the CrossFit Community at a reduced, low or no cost structure."

Steve's Club: Saving a Nation One Kid at a Time from Again Faster on Vimeo.

It started as one gym in Camden, NJ and now it is opening up the program nationally. So Crossfit KOP started their own affiliate of Steve's Club in 2011. The coaches running Steve's Club are doing an amazing job. Once a month, we do a team WOD with the kids and it is a great opportunity to bring the two communities together. It is something that I look forward to each month. I don't think the kids realize how much they bring to our community.

If you ever looking for some great paleo snacks, Steve's Club offers a variety of snacks such as paleokits and paleo krunch. 15% of proceeds goes to Steve's Club National Program.

Dessert!

So I got home today and I was tired and hungry or as I like to say "hangry" (definition - a combination of hungry and angry). I just wanted to eat chocolate or chips and salsa or anything quick and easy. C. Varied wasn't going to be home until late so I was on my own for dinner. If you know anything about me, you know that I don't cook very often and I definitely don't cook when I am tired and hungry, but I rallied tonight. I made myself a salad with tilapia and half of an avocado with oil and vinegar, but I knew I need something sweet too. Obviously I can't have a real dessert because of the challenge, but I could fake myself out with something else. 

Here was my reward for making dinner:

Enter Sweet Potatoes to the Rescue!

 I microwaved them and then sauteed them in grass fed butter.

 

Dessert: Sweet Potato with Cinnamon!

I even ate them after dinner so they felt like dessert. It hit the spot.

Here is my silly fashion moment for the day. I was proud of myself with the outfit that I put together today. It was influenced by my family, which I think is why I really like it. Over the holiday, my mom and 3 sisters took me shopping, which is what we usually do when we are all together since I never go on my own. My family is the best! Today's ensemble included the scarf they picked out for me and the cardigan my sister gave to as a gift from being in her wedding. Let me know what you think.

Thursdays at 4!!

As I start getting my blog off the ground, I want to think of things to make it unique and special for me. So I am starting a tradition of every Thursday (or Wednesday night) I will post a something inspirational or uplifting. It could be a quote or a video or a great article. Who knows?!?!

The reason that I am calling it Thursdays at 4! is because in college my sophomore year, I had the greatest RA, who with her roommates from the year before, created Thursdays at 4!. It was this awesome time every Thursday at 4 pm where we would meet in one of their rooms and sing a set playlist at the top of our lungs. It was a great way to relieve stress and make that final push to the weekend. We would blast the music, sing at the top of our lungs and dance. The coolest part was my RA and her friend invited me and my best friend to join them. They did not have to include us in something they started, but they wanted to share the fun with others. It was something I would look forward to each week. Hence, why I plan on continuing the tradition of Thursdays at 4!

My best friend and I still try to keep the Thursday at 4! feeling alive, but now with working it might become Thursday at 6:30 pm! or Thursdays at 10 pm!. It just that time where you take a time-out and just jam out. We all need to do that once an while. So here's to Thursday at 4!

I am kicking it off with my favorite YouTube video. Enjoy!

Temptation Alley

This is what I deal with at work everyday. I have to walk by these different locations at least 3 to 4 times per day. Look at all these temptations:

.

Coworker's desk and I know he would share.

 Communal Candy Jars

 Homemade fudge

Then in the break room someone brought in all their holiday cookies to share.

I successfully made it through another day in Temptation Alley eating my whole red pepper as my snack while others were eating fudge. I need to remind myself of my goals: to look good and more importantly feel good. I am excited to see how the Sugar Detox helps my performance in the gym. Sectionals for the Crossfit Games are coming up soon and while my goal is not to make it to Regionals, I am really interested to see how I can push myself.  I almost didn't do Sectionals last year and at the last minute I signed up since they extended the first week an extra week. I ended up really enjoying Sectionals and having a lot of PRs!!

Other than a headaches the first three day, which have been a combination of sugar withdrawal and allergies, I am feeling pretty good. I have good energy and I think I like I am able to take stressful situations in stride. 

WOD

Back Squat
3-3-3-3-3

140-150-160-170-175x1

Cash out:
Max height Box Jump

30"

I have been working on strength over the past couple of months so when a strength WOD comes up I am excited to see how I do. I was really happy with my performance tonight with the back squat. Max Box Jump is such a mental game once you hit a certain height that you don't know if you can.

I made it!

Today is day 3 of the No Sugar Challenge. I was worried about today because I had to go to work. It is easier for me to be good on the weekends because C. Varied is good at keeping me on course. Whereas at work, I am on my own and there are lots of temptations from candy baskets to free lunches. I made through the day! My goal is just to take it one day at a time and be prepared as possible with my breakfast, lunch, and snacks so I don't let myself get too hungry.

WOD

5 rounds of:
Row 250
20 Wallballs (14/20# to 10 feet) - I used 12#
5 Power Cleans (120/185#) - I used 95#

*Complete the round and then rest for the remainder of the round until the clock hits 5:00 minutes (10/15/10/25 minutes until all 5 rounds are complete). Score is total time completed for each round. 

My scores were 3:28, 3:45, 4:01, 4:04, and 4:24

I made an awesome dinner tonight. From Paleo Comfort Foods, I made fried chicken and from Primal Blueprint, I made brussel sprouts. It was delicious. I am starting to feel more comfortable in the kitchen and enjoying myself. Don't tell, C. Varied. ; )

Cutting Vegtables

I started Laura Pappas' Sugar Detox Challenge on Saturday. So far it is going well. I went grocery shopping yesterday and planned out all our meals for the week. Today, we did all the prep work for lunches for the week, which meant cutting A LOT of vegetables. I am definitely eating a lot more real, whole foods I know that because I cut them all up today. It really helps to do all the prep work on Sunday then it is not as much of a hassle to pack lunches during the week.

I am excited to see how the challenge goes. The biggest thing for me during these challenges is making sure I eat enough. I need to always be prepared with snacks so I don't get caught somewhere where there is nothing I can eat and I am hungry. I am miserable when I am hungry. As my husband says "I need to make sure to feed and water myself".

WOD (Workout of the Day)

T&P Adventures, which included sled pulls (50#), sit-ups, air squats, and push-ups. We did 3 rounds with 90 seconds of work at each station and then 1 minute rest between rounds like Fight Gone Bad. I got 366 reps. I did knee push-ups and each sled pull-up counted as 5 reps. It was a good workout. I need to keep working on getting my stamina back since I have been focusing on strength the past few months.