hands down

my hands hurt. no really, they HURT. i'll explain why in a bit but first:

i painted my fingernails for the first time in a lot of years. i had an aversion to painting my fingernails because i hated that they always chipped the same day i painted them or the next day. but i bought some new gray/silver polish i was dying to try so i decided to go for it. and i'm on day 3 with no chips! yay!!!

so here's the good side of my hands.  

and here's the bad side. this is what 64 pullups at crossfit will get you.

especially with my girlie hands that have not done pullups in a long while due to an elbow injury.

yikes. 4 rips on the left hand, one that was under the skin until today (ouch!)

and one very large rip on the right hand.  

add that to the pain you can't see in the muscles in my hand from gripping the bar that much and you've got some hurtin' units!

sometimes i wonder why i do it but more often then not i'm so proud of myself. i was once told i wouldn't be able to do even one pullup with my body type. and i did 64. 64! that's so frickin awesome!

as a lil extra here's my other phalanges:

i'm so loving socks with boots lately!

the comfort level and look are my favorite!

our wedding via gina's phone

a couple of days ago, i was at gina's house getting some work done and afterwards was able to go through and get some of her pictures of our wedding. she is so very talented and has such a creative eye for beautiful phots that i even loved the pictures she took with her iphone so here are some of them.

these are the presents i gave to my bridesmaids

bride at the bar between the ceremony & reception :)

 my (flanneled) neener and i walking from the hotel to the reception, ready to party!! :]

           tired husband and wife at breakfast the next morning.

she also took hilarious mock photo booth pictures with her iphone but there are far too many of them to email and post. i'm so thankful for gina!!

snippets

i've had a busy couple of weekends and week in between. here are some snipits of what happened:

i survived my first year end in the accounting field. it wasn't as bad as i had anticipated but still very busy.

we got to see and hang out with shane, jodi and their dogs for the first time since our wedding.

relaxing on the couch with boz on my lap is a favorite of mine!! i <3 that dog!

i did my 2 bookkeeping side jobs thursday & friday after work because sales tax is due for them on the 20th. two 12 hour days made me very ready for the weekend!

al and i went to eau claire this weekend for the annual alumni track meet. al threw in the meet and hung out with his buddies while i got to see my trina and hang out with some good friends! it was a very fun time and the hangover wasn't too bad. :) below is the only picture i took all weekend. rocking the party store sunglasses.

trina is awesome-sauce and she just started a blog/vlog here where you can see how cute she is and her crazy-cool sense of humor. (the extras at the end are my favorite part; she cracks me up!)

 

2012 goals

happy friday the 13th! :]

this year i am shortening my goal list. (near 100 last year was a lot) and i'm going to focus on getting them done. i will be writing some of them out on one of our wedding chalk board frames each month and trying to conquer them! i want these to be real things that i really want to accomplish this year! i think it's going to be a good/big year for us!

here's my 28 things for my 28th year:

1. push my wardrobe/develop my style

2. shoot hoops

3. improve crossfit/lifting skills

4. try new recipes + cook/bake often

5. read: books, magazines, kindle

6. use our weekend at superior shores from lou

7. sew: dress, shirt, repairs, cards

8. be healthy: physically, emotionally, mentally

9. listen + learn

10. smile + laugh lots. learn a new joke each month

11. try wines. drink less alcohol

12. monitor sleep effectively

13. visit dad + papa often

14. swim in lakes often

15. go ice fishing and/or regular fishing

16. use my rollarblades

17. ride my bike + take spin classes

18. be kind to my hair

19. run + push myself

20. spend less $ on food + shopping, pay off loan

21. spend as much time as possible with friends + littles

22. craft. a lot!

23. take pictures. lots. with fancy camera

24. make some videos + learn to edit them

25. try yoga

26. own something together with al

27. keep a positive attitude in everyday life, at crossfit, while driving, etc

28. send snail mail

friendships

when i was little friendships were easy. i was friends with people who lived near to me, who went to school with me and who i played sports with. and that was enough. having common likes and whereabouts was enough of a base for a friendship. there were laughs, smiles, games, phone calls, birthday parties, etc. there were also fights but they weren't vicious and they didn't last long. it was fun and i felt included and at ease.

but truth is: friendships are hard. living near someone doesn't cut it. attending the same school doesn't cut it. enjoying the same hobbies doesn't cut it.

this conclusion has been bulding in me for a while but as of the last year or so i've been forced to take a deep look into the friendships i have, or think i have.

i have figured out a few things:
1. you can't be forced in to being friends with someone; there needs to be an actual connection.
2. there are some people who just don't need to be in your life. that are just not worth it; now that sounds kind of bad and it's not to say they're not worth anything, just that they are not worth it for you. the negatives far out weigh the positives.
3. you can't and won't be best friends with everyone. not everyone has to like you and you don't have to like everyone.
4. there are all types of friends. you will have great friends, good friends, ok friends and acquaintance friends. and they can all be good people and can all serve their purpose in your life.
5. friendships need to be 2 sided. both people have to put an effort in.

this last one is the one that i struggle with. over and over again in my head.

i take a look at my current and even my past friendships and there are very very few that i can confidently say were/are 2 sided. the majority of them are harshly one sided. and that one side is my side.

if i don't initiate contact; there is none. if i don't go see/visit them; there are no visits. often times, if i don't email or facebook or text; there is no communication.

when did my friendships become this way? did i allow them to be this way? were they always this way? is it my choice of friends? when did i become the girl with so many half relationships? do i do this to myself? is this intentional for me? are these people my linking puzzle pieces because i am this way and they are that way? and i need to deal with what i've got?

i am thankful for my friends, i am. but this is weighing on me.

i am very understanding to people's busy lifestyles. i have constantly chalked up this lack of commincation on the other end to their lifestyles, their kids, their jobs, their sports, etc. but those excuses can only last for so long before i begin to see the light. i see my friends doing things with other people. i see them texting other people. i see them calling other people. i see them going to visit other people. i see that innitiation for other people....

friendships are hard.

and i need to grow: stronger, more compassionate, better. i need to work on myself.

new years eve!!

the main part of our new years eve was spent at our good friends amand and johnny's (and their little birthday girl's) house along with johnny's sister jaci, her husband craig and their 2 girls. there was good food, good drinks and good laughs. we played card games and then jsut before midnight went outside to play in the fresh SNOW!!! we popped poppers, sipped champagne and had the best snowball fight! it was a blast and a perfect way to ring in the new year!

here's manda tucking in the little girls for a movie.  

games!!

"take a picture of my snowflake" :) she comes up with the craziest, funniest lines!!

my manda and me! :)

al and i got keys cafe omelets the next day; my favorite!! they're huge and sooo good!

new year craft #1

i started out the new year of wanting to do more crafts with a craft :) we had 2 houses to visit on new years eve and i had been craving puppy chow for a while and had purchased the ingredients prior. al had to work until noon so with my morning alone, i made the puppy chow. i wanted to serve/bring it in a cute way so after i thought a little bit i realized i had left over jars from the wedding decorations and had left over chalkboard paint. here's what i got.  

i hope to do lots of crafts and give lots of cute little homemade gifts like this in 2012! :]

a foodie 2012

 along with the new year and along the line of a new year's resolution, al and i have both commited to eating to fuel our bodies rather than eating for pleasure. we both have wants and goals to be our fittest selves by june of this year. having him by my side changing our eating habits is immeasurable! we hope to establish healthy eating by means of what we put in our bodies, why, how much and how we think about food, before having children so that our good habits can be passed on, led by example, and not have to be learned as we go. i'm so excited to do this and hope that we can keep our drive, motivation and determination to do this going! these first couple of weeks are going to be the hard ones. my vice: snacking, al's: sugar.

we have in the past sort of set the tone that sundays will be our grocery shopping and cooking meals day. we've done this on occasion before but never on a consistent basis. so today went got our grocery shopping done (at sam's club, trader joe's, vitamin shoppe and target). and then we came home and made everything... it took a while but it feels good to know that we have already-made options to take to work and eat at home.

here's what we got: 12 pack of greek yogurt (sams), 2 packages frozen broccoli (sams), 3 bags brown rice (trader joes), bacon (target), yellow squash(tj's), zucchini (tj's), 2 packs of 8 extra large chicken breasts (sams, al's favorite!!), 2 cases of eggs (sams), bag of sweet potatos (tj's), avocados (tj's), 5 lb whey protein (vitamin shoppe), bananas (sams). this, along with some things we already had at home will easily feed us for the week!

 here's what we made from it:

i cut up the squash, zucchini & sweet potatos and added in some carrots, mushrooms and brussel sprouts that we already had and roasted them all. these smelled fantastic but i don't think i'll do the zucchini and squash this way again. they burned really easily and they taste better steamed. i'll eat these with a protein source and if it's in the beginning of my day or my meal before a workout i'll eat it with a little bit of brown rice too.

 my wonderful husband hard boiled the eggs (my favorite source of protein followed closely by tuna)

 and he made the brown rice. he made lots because this is our main source of carbs and therefore we go through a lot of it.

i also made the chicken taco chili recipe i've made in the past from pinterest that is chicken, beans, corn, onion, tomatos & taco seasoning. that's still sizzling away in the crockpot but we'll eat that over a little brown rice for a complete meal deal.

al also cooked up the remaining 2 chicken breasts and the bacon (that was our lunch today) and we have a bunch of raw veggies in the fridge as well.

for these first couple of transition weeks, my main focus will be to cut out my snacking and only eat at the times that i'm alotted:

my eating schedule:

meal 1: 7 am

meal 2: 11 am

meal 3: 3 pm

meal 4: 7 pm

i'll throw in an occasional protein shake depending on when my workouts are.

so for these first few weeks i'll be having my favorite meal replacement shake from isagenix for the first and last meals of the day and eat what we cooked for the 2 middle ones.

i'm also excited to get a workout routine down too. with the last week of having the crossfit gym closed and going lifting with al, i realized that i enjoy lifting (as long as it's super sets). so i will be using a 12 week lifting plan for women that i got off bodybuilder.com. so my workout schedule will be: crossfit 3-5 times per week, lifting 4 times per week, and cardio 3-5 times per week. i have my crossfit gym, i belong to our local gold's gym (where i would like to get back into doing some classes) and there is a free mini gym at my work. i usually do crossfit 2 mornings a week and the other mornings i'll get in my cardio (hiit) at work. then after work it'll be to golds for lifting and/or classes/cardio. i'm excited to try this and get into shape for the summer and softball!