Saturday, March 3, 2012

Final Dance Class

Boy have we had a great time at Dance Class! Miss Lindsay is so amazing with the girls and they seem to love it. We certainly will miss seeing Amelia and her family every week. Next week start music class which is right down the street. But more importantly, Milo can participate as well. Enjoy the videos from the last session.







Post Dance Class Breakfast
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Friday, March 2, 2012

Working on a new ME!

As you all know, I have been doing Crossfit since October. Some might say I am addicted (Angel) but I really do enjoy it.

What is CrossFit?
At CF there are no rows of treadmills, ellipticals and weight machines. There are pull-up bars, kettlebells, barbells, dumbbells, jump ropes and rowing machines. There is wide open space for squatting, running, jumping, rope climbing, lifting and throwing – space to move a body the way it is supposed to be moved. Movements people perform in day-to-day life. But, at CFOTM, they are performed at an intensity designed to elicit the most extensive physical and mental adaptations possible. These “functional movements executed at high intensity” are the cornerstone of CF training.

Boredom is never a part of CF's training program – that’s the “constantly varied” part of the CrossFit definition. The classes are one hour with each day offering a WOD (workout of the day) that is scalable to suit any fitness level and programmed to fit into to the busiest lifestyles (read: one hour classes).

The CF fitness programming aims to improve capacity in ten recognized fitness domains: cardio-respiratory endurance; stamina; strength; flexibility; power; speed; coordination; agility; balance; and accuracy. The outcome is comprehensive physical fitness and restored vitality offering members the ability to achieve revolutionary results.


Since October, I haven't had any weight change which is pretty typical for this type of exercise. When I started hearing about my gym's "Healthy Eating Challenge" I thought it would be the perfect change for me. So I am trying this thing called Paleo. How do you even say that?
I have hear pay-lee-o
I have also hear pa-lay-o
I say pay-lee-o

What does it mean? Well, it's pretty simple. See if you can follow this.
Meat, seafood, vegetables, seasonal fruit, good fats such as avocados, nuts – but not in excess. Plenty of olive oil, coconut oil, and coconut milk. Stay away from all processed foods, dairy, grains (yes even whole grains and brown rice), sugar, artificial sweeteners, fruit juice, and starchy foods like white potatoes and beans. And here it is in a pretty graph...
Paleo Diet Overview

So I started my 6 week journey on Wednesday. As I was telling my friend Manashi, I hope this is a lifestyle change versus just a 6 week diet.

I started this journey in my bathing suit. I had a body fat test. IMG_2523
"Hydrostatic weighing is the method by which all other means of measurement compare their degree of error. This is the best method of calculating your true body composition and is still considered the gold standard!"

We also had our measurements and photos taken. And not the nice photos I take but some shots of me in a sports bra...I will spare you those! So we do the body fat testing, measurements and photos before and then again after this 6 week challenge. It was pretty depressing to see the results, especially after all the hard work I have done since October. Crossfit 4 times a week is no joke. But hopefully with Crossfit + the Paleo diet for 6 weeks, I will see some major changes.

Paleo takes planning. A LOT of planning. My go-to easy meals of pasta/ marina sauce, creole white beans and home-made mexican are gone now. I just need to plan.

So I went to the store. 2 stores. I got everything I needed to feed a family of 4 (well 3 since Mat will be at Park Bar 24/7) for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next week.IMG_2589. Yes, it was more than I typically spend on a week's worth of groceries but I was hoping to freeze several items so I could have them ready for the coming weeks.

You can see my food blog for recipes of any of these items.

So far this week I have made these breakfast, lunch and dinner items. As well as a couple snacks to make sure I am eating enough calories.

Chicken Enchilada Soup which was sooooo easy and so good (Thank you Lauren!)
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I also made the Egg Muffins from the Everyday Paleo cookbook which I got for Christmas (Thanks mom/dad!!).
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I also made this Blueberry dessert/snack type thing. I haven't tried it yet but it looks yummy!
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Another snack called Caveman Cookies
These are quite strange but also strangely tasty!
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Paleo Mayo (from the Everyday Paleo)
I made my own Paleo Mayo which was delicious. With that Paloe mayo, I made the Chicken and Grape salad (see below). IMG_2608

Chicken & Grape Salad (from the Everyday Paleo)
We dumped a glob of the Chicken Salad on sliced tomatoes last night. Milo was unsure of it and didn't each much. Millie not only helped me make it but she loved it and kept telling me it was her "favorite food ever". She told me the same thing about the tuna steaks the night before so I am beginning to think she is pulling my leg!
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Morning Glory Muffins (from the Everyday Paleo)
I made these and immediately threw them in the freezer since I am still eating my egg muffins for breakfast. timthumb

Tuna Steaks
I refuse to make separate meals for the kids so we all had tuna steaks the other night with sweet potato fries. I just lightly browned all the edges with sesame oil and coconut oil. The kids honestly hardly touched the fries and gobbled up the tuna and was asking for more!
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Caveman Crunch
My friend Lauren suggested this. I made it and then brought some in for all my Cross-fitting friends. They all loved it.
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So, so far, it's going well. The true test is this weekend. Weekends are our downfall since we usually eat out a couple nights during the weekend. But I am sticking to my meal plan. We have the food, let's eat it!

I have NOT gotten enough sleep (which is also part of this paleo diet) so I really need to work on that.

A special shout out to all of those great supporters so far! Thank you to Mat, Jackie D., Kelly S., Karla W., Katie S., Lauren K., Leslee H. and Manashi! Your helpful support & fabulous recipes are wonderful!

Monday, February 27, 2012

random pictures

Sleeping on Matder
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The sweetest buns you have ever seen!
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Our friendly lizard
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Some smoothies before Milo's 18th dr. appointment, which yes, was very late. #motheroftheyear
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Sunday, February 26, 2012

Playdate times 6

Remember these kids?
Well, there are 6 of them now!
Trisha has the adorable Bryson and Kara

Jen has the fabulous Jack and Andrew

We mommies met almost 4 years ago and I am so glad that we have remained friends. Jack, Millie and Kara were all born within a few days/weeks of each others. Both families have been sooooo supportive in my photography business and I thank them!

We had a little playdate at our house on Sunday and it was so much fun. Here are some video when all 5 kids got into the wagon and wanted to be pulled. Thank goodness no one was taking video when it was my turn!



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Friday, February 24, 2012

Park Bar Friends & Family

Food was delicious! The staff was friendly! It was clean and very pleasant inside. I think I will be back! Lots of stuff still to do but they had a great first night. PB will be open for a small lunch on Feb 28 and then open for business on March 1. We can't wait!

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Talk talk talking

I talked to Miss Debbie later and indeed she is saying "Spirals". It was something to do with their Mexico series. I can't wait to see these "spirals".







Thursday, February 23, 2012

Juggling

How do you learn how to juggle?


There was an accident across the street from Millie's school and the car took out just the bottom of the telephone pole...very strange picture.
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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

My photog friends!

I might be the only one cracking up about this...but there might be some other readers that might get a laugh too!!



And less that think this is funny (JC & KR) but I am cracking up anyway!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Valentines Day

Millie did a great job addressing her Valentines!

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The Owl's artwork
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Millie's artwork. She would make an "M" and put a "V" on the bottom. That's how you make a heart!
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Moving right along!

Park Bar is looking GREAT!

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Crossfitting Millie

Millie insists on doing a Crossfit workout herself at the end of my class. So here she is doing...uh, some excerises?

Tossing weights
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Push Press
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Kettlebell swings
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ring dips
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skin the cat
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