Tough Mudder aka...Hah! We fooled you!

Jason and my Tough Mudder experience started last August when he heard about the race. He showed me the videos and pictures as a joke and I thought that it would be fun to do. Fast forward till today and all of the excitement came to fruition.

We left our place way too early and made it to the raceway while it was still dark. We had an hour or so to roam the main area, stretched and admired everyone's costumes. The race started out mild enough, we had a short run and then we had to go into a pond and duck our heads under the barrels that were floating. The obstacle itself wasn't bad because the water wasn't as cold as I thought and I'm a good swimmer. The only issue was that there was someone in front of me that wasn't going under so Jason and I ended up treading water for awhile. There were a whole bunch of obstacles and we got to the point that Jason and I lost track of them.

The easier obstacles were in the beginning of the race and they got harder as we went on. However, everybody helped everyone else and it was actually quite fun. I wasn't expecting so much mud though. I know that it was a mud run, but it seemed like once the mud was drying off, they made us go into some ore mud. My shoes were not up to par, which made it harder and I ended up getting rocks un my shoes every time there was mud and then I slipped and slid for at least 100 yards afterwards. I was actually having lots of fun!

However, towards the middle of the race, my legs started cramping up. I would occasionally stop to stretch and be good to go. Jason and I actually brought a camelbak and some larabars for snacks and they were very helpful. Unfortunately, around mile 8 or 9, my legs cramped up majorly and I almost thought that I was going to have to give up. I did appreciate how everyone that passed me asked if I was ok and volunteered to get the medics. Jason helped me work through the pain and we moved on, albeit a lot slower. I also decided to sit some obstacles out so that I could finish the race. I ended up sitting out the most physically draining obstacles. As much as I would have loved to do all the obstacles, I didn't want my legs seizing up and having to quit. Plus, the electric eel (crawling through mud while trying not to get electrocuted) looked scary and Jason got zapped 5 times. In the end, I finished the race and was even able to go through the last obstacle which was running through live wire. I actually army crawled under the wires and was able to not get zapped. However, according to Jason, I had a wire tough my bun but it didn't zap me. Thank God!

My favorite obstacle was probably the mud mile where they had hills of mud that you climbed up and then slid into ponds. It was actually lots of fun!

My proudest moments were when I went through the two sets of tunnels. I'm claustrophobic so that was definitely my most mentally challenging obstacles. One set even had water halfway up the tunnel and I had to try to not freak out.

My scariest moment was during the arctic enema. It was pretty much a huge dumpster filled with ice water. There was a board in the middle that you had to go under. I wanted to just go in and get in done quickly, however, the board went down much lower than I thought and ended up getting caught up on the board because I had a backpack on. For a split second, I thought I was going to drown, but was able to gather myself and dove deeper to make it to the other side. I quickly got out and froze for awhile. Jason now calls me Casper.

The most painful obstacle was actually this huge mud hill that you had to climb up. And what goes up must come down, so we had this steep mud hill to slid down. Which wouldn't be so bad except for the embedded rocks in the hill. Jason and my backside is still sore!

I was most pleasantly surprised by how easily I was able to do the strength obstacles. All my training definitely helped and I was able to do some upper body obstacles with ease.  I was also pleasantly surprised at the fact that most of the water events were quite warm. It was nice to not get cold. In fact, the weather was wonderful and it was the perfect weather to do the race. Not too hot and not too cold and when we did get hot, the water events cooled us off nicely.

I was most unpleasantly surprised by the fact that it was a 12 mile race and not a 10 mile race. Not only was the even 20% longer, there were a lot more obstacles to conquer. The obstacles weren't so bad but the extra 2 miles definitely was a killjoy at the end of the race when I was barely putting one foot in front of the other. Although I made it to the end and Jason didn't have to carry me!

While I wasn't expecting so much mud, I enjoyed using it as a natural sunblock and now my hair is actually really soft! In fact lots of people used it as sunblock and I ended up smearing a big burly dude in a kilt with mud because he was getting red.

I'm really happy that Jason and I ran Tough Mudder today. It was a great bonding experience for us since it was our kind of fun. But it was also a great test of my dependence on God. Towards the end, I was really suffering but Jason and I prayed and I was able to rely on God's strength to finish the race. It was a great humbling experience because I couldn't do it without people helping me and I definitely wouldn't be able to do it without God's strength carrying me through.

All in all, I would definitely do it again but I would train more for it. Although I'm not sure that I would do it next year, but then again, I'm still sore!  I would also get some Vibrim 5fingers for shoes since Jason did much better with those shoes. And I would bring the camelbak and snacks again. There were hydration stations and snacks along the way, but it was good to have a snack and water on hand for when I needed it. Plus, it helped us float for the water obstacles!

P.S. Jason was great and he helped me through the race and supported me the whole time. He even spent over 5 minutes stretching my calves out so that I could keep going. He completed all the obstacles and even made some very hard ones seem like a cake walk. He is a rock star!

Life just goes on....

I can't believe I've been away from the blog for so long. But life just has a way of moving on doesn't it. Since I last wrote, I turned 30, got sick, found awesome paleo food blogs and got better! I know, what an exciting life!

Turning 30 wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was a mellow day that was spent with the family. Since we were on the strict paleo diet, we really couldn't go anywhere to get food we can have. Which is ok with me since most restaurants serve overpriced versions of what I can make at home. Plus, paleo has been good for the family. We all have more energy, are more alert during the days and don't have the random stomach issues that plagued Jason and I. I do have to say that the most inhibiting factor of paleo is cost. Nut milks and flours are much more expensive than dairy and unfortunately it costs more to eat healthy in the States than to buy processed junk foods. However, I have found out how to cut the costs by making my own nut milks, nut butters and nut flours. That alone has saved us lots of money and the end product was way tastier. I've even found some desserts that we can have that uses fruits as sweeteners. I can have treats again! Like regular desserts though, we only have them sparingly because they still aren't all that great for us. But they are amazing!

The kids have done well with the change and we have started to slowly add food back into our diet to see if we have any adverse reactions. But Jason and I think that we will probably be eating the paleo way from now on. We will probably modify it so it's not as strict, but it's definitely been treating us well.  A lot of my clothes are loose now and my body is definitely shaping up quite nicely.

I'm hoping that all this extra energy will help me out when we run Tough Mudder next week. I can't believe it's only a week away! While I could have trained more for it, I'm pretty confident that I will have lots of fun and make it though unscathed. Well, that's the hope anyways! I'll let you know how it goes next week!

How Paleo is going...

I have to say that Jason and I decided to go on the Paleo Diet to figure out our tummy issues. We put the kids on it too because we wanted to make sure that they don't have any food sensitivities. While there are a lot of iterations of the diet, we decided to go on the strictest one for about 30 days and then slowly reintroduce foods to see if we have any problems. The diet that we decided to go on consists of meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts , seeds and healthy fats. No grains, dairy, processed foods, potatoes, legumes and most oils.

To start with I made a lot of grilled foods and salads with fruit for snacks. But you can only make grilled chicken differently so many times and the family was getting bored after a couple of days. My breaking point was when I thought we couldn't have sweet potatoes and Audrey's breaking point was dairy. She loves her cheese. But after coming to terms with the fact that we could reintroduce stuff in a little while, we were able to handle it. Since then, I did some research and have put sweet potatoes to the diet. I've also stumbled across health-bent and it's been a lifesaver. The recipes are yummy and it took me out of my rut. I have tried her butternut squash lasagna which is delicious! I've even found a brownie recipe that we can have even on our super strict diet! Yea, we can have dessert again!

I have to say that the hardest part is making sure that the kids understand why we are doing this. I took the kids to see a movie today and Aiden was sad that we couldn't have popcorn and a drink when everyone else around us did. Or that we have to bring a special snack with the kids for Sunday School. But it gives us another opportunity to tell them why we are doing it and how God can help them through it and that they should be thankful for what they can eat.  God is definitely using something as simple as a diet and making it something that we can use to glorify Him. Praise God for that opportunity!

Fasting Friday #9

This week was actually quite enjoyable. I've gotten a lot better at planning ahead and I'll make a larger meal on Thursday for dinner and just give the kids leftovers for lunch. Since the rest of the family gets up before me, Jason usually gives the kids something for an early breakfast and I'll make something more substantial when Jason kicks me out of bed. I make a lot of eggs and the whole family has come to love frittatas. It's a quick and easy breakfast to make.

Fasting on Friday has actually become a normal routine for the family which I'm thankful for. I really thank God for getting me through the first couple of months because they were rough. I'm hoping that from now on I can focus more on God during the fasting and not on how to make it through the day. I've learned a lot about myself and now it's time to see how God is going to show Himself to me through fasting! I'm so very excited!

Crocodile pushups: when a normal pushup isn't hard enough!

There was a lot of strength training this week. I'm sore for the first time in weeks. Oh well, it'll be worth it when I can rock Tough Mudder!

Me: Day 1- 50 sec. on, 10 sec. off, move to next exercise, repeat 3 more times, record first set

Crocodile Pushup- 11

Deck Squat Jumps- 8

1 Leg Wall Squat- 22

Jack Knives- 6

Day 2- 20 sec. on, 10 sec. off, repeat 7 more times then move to the next exercise, record lowest score

Crocodile Pushup- 1

Deck Squat Jumps- 6

1 Leg Wall Squat- 1

Jack Knives- 3

Day 3- (Day 1 score + Day 2 score) x 3, Do in shortest time

Crocodile Pushup- 39

Deck Squat Jumps- 33

1 Leg Wall Squat- 90

Jack Knives- 21

Time: 13:30

Jason: Day 1- 50 sec. on, 10 sec. off, move to next exercise, repeat 3 more times, record first set

Crocodile Pushup- 18

Deck Squat Jumps- 13

1 Leg Wall Squat- 40

Jack Knives- 15

Day 2- 20 sec. on, 10 sec. off, repeat 7 more times then move to the next exercise, record lowest score

Crocodile Pushup- 5

Deck Squat Jumps- 3

1 Leg Wall Squat- 15

Jack Knives- 3

Day 3- (Day 1 score + Day 2 score) x 3, Do in shortest time

Crocodile Pushup- 69

Deck Squat Jumps- 48

1 Leg Wall Squat- 200

Jack Knives- 54

Time: 14:44

Yes, Jason is a rock star and I am a pansy. 

Training's not fun.

Last week Jason and I did the timed exercises again.  Let's just say that it wasn't fun at all but here are our scores anyways.

Me: Day 1
Jump Squats-84
Indian Lift- 57
Alternating Splits- 87
Dips- 42
Time- 11:55

Day 2
Diamond Push ups- 34
Wall Squats- 186
Side Tri Rise- 45
Mountain Climbers- 234
Time- 14:37

Day 3
Snowboarder 180- 96
Plank In & Out- 51
Jump Kicks- 138
Dive Bombers- 28
Time- 13:36

Jason: Day 1

Jump Squats-99

Indian Lift- 102

Alternating Splits- 126

Dips- 111

Time- 13:06

Day 2

Diamond Push ups- 93

Wall Squats- 200

Side Tri Rise- 60

Mountain Climbers- 258

Time- 14:20

Day 3

Snowboarder 180- 117

Plank In & Out- 78

Jump Kicks- 150

Dive Bombers- 36

Time- 14:00

Jason and I both agreed that the worst exercise to do last week was the Snowboarder 180s. It wasn't the hardest to do, but we didn't like them because it messed with our equilibrium and I was getting dizzy and it made Jason's knees hurt.

This week's training was not any better. The program threw us for a loop and had us do the same 4 exercises all week long. Not Fun! It was a very arm intensive week and after the last workout my arms felt like they were rubber and about to fall off. 

Me: Day 1                              Day 2 (lowest score)                           Day 3

Burpees- 10                            1                                                          33

Cross Hops- 11                       6                                                          42

Cliff Scalers- 5                       1                                                            18

Incline Dips- 6                        3                                                           27

                                                                                                      Time- 13:40

Jason: Day 1                           Day 2 (lowest score)                           Day 3

Burpees- 12                            3                                                          45

Cross Hops- 12                       9                                                          63

Cliff Scalers- 8                        3                                                           33

Incline Dips- 18                       14                                                         96

                                                                                                      Time- 14:20

As you can see,my numbers were pretty pathetic. But this week I worked so much harder. I thought things were going to get easier, but boy was I wrong!

Fasting Friday #7-8 plus our new diet

It's been a busy couple of weeks. Between sickness, researching new rings, my new class and just life in general blogging got pushed back. However, I would like to say that Fasting Fridays is going splendidly. Jason and I decided that it was important for us to eat at least one meal as a family a day. Which isn't a big problem during the week because lunches and dinners are usually a family affair. Fridays are different though, as much as I would like to just sit there while they eat, I don't have that kind of will power. So now fast until dinnertime, which works out to about 20-22 hours of no food.

I like the new set up a lot more because I get to spend the meal time with the kids and I get to eat sooner! I have noticed that between the fasting, exercise and new diet that my body just doesn't have as much reserves to run on anymore. So in the end, I think it was a good thing that we decided to break our fast at dinnertime. And we might go back to a 30 hour fast later on down the road. Especially on the Paleo diet, I don't think that I will be taking in as many calories as I will need to keep the full 30 hour fast.

As for our new diet, Jason and I decided to put the family on the Paleo diet for lent. The main reason was that we wanted to make sure that there were no food sensitivities with anybody. With Jason's mom having Celiac, which is genetic, we wanted to make sure that gluten wasn't an issue. And then since I have dairy issues, we're just trying to play it safe and test everybody. We're hoping that it will help us solve the random stomach issues that we have or at least give us an idea of what's causing it.

So what can we have? Lean meats, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. No grains, dairy, salt, sugar, processed foods, legumes or starchy vegetables. It sounds extreme and it is, but then again we're only trying this for a little over a month and then we are going to slowly reintroduce foods. I'm cautiously excited about the diet because I want to make sure that we are eating the best things for us and not stuff that our bodies can't handle. But as the main food preparer, I'm racking my brain with how many different ways I can cook chicken. I don't know if we're going to stick with the strict Paleo diet forever, and we probably won't since I love sweet potatoes so very much. But I think that we will have a much better diet in the long run.

Fasting Friday #6

I wish I can say that fasting has become easier with practice. But alas, it would be a lie. While I'm emotionally more prepared for it now, I'm still physically not. Isn't that always the way though. God prepares you to do something and you go out and prepare yourself spiritually, mentally and emotionally. But when it comes down to it, the flesh is always there to keep you from it. In this case, it's the physical hunger that wants to be satiated. But it's so much more important to be full with the Spirit.

While I'm in the midst of it all, I don't feel like I've made much, if any, progress. But looking back on this Friday and past Fridays, I've realized that I have grown. I've become less whiney. I don't do the self pity thing anymore. And I've grown to not dread fasting days and everything that entails including making the kids' meals. 

It may not be a life change but I've found that God likes to work with me a little at a time. And slowly but surely, there is progress. 

An uphill battle

I continued my training this week and boy, was it tough! Not only were the exercises rough, but I had taken a week off. All I have to say is that I'm glad it's done! My numbers were pretty pathetic, but in a way, I'm kind of happy about it since I won't have to do as much next week. :-)

Me: Day 1
Jump Squats: 15,12,10,8,8,8,8,8
Indian Lifts:10,7,6,6,4,7,6,4
Alternating Splits:14,10,10,9,9,9,9,9
Dips:3,5,4,3,4,3,2,5

Day 2
Diamond Push-ups:4,2,2,2,1,3,2,2
Wall Squats:20,15,15,12,12,12,12,12
Side Tri Rise:8,6,6,6,6,6,6,4
Mountain Climbers:31,25,21,18,22,20,18,28

Day 3
Snowboarder 180:15,13,12,11,11,10,10,10
 Plank In&Out:10,7,6,6,6,7,6,6
Jump Kicks:13,11,11,12,12,12,12,11
Dive bombers:3,2,1,1,2,2,3,1

Jason was very sweet and redid this week's workout with me. These are his scores from last week.

Jason: Day 1

Jump Squats:16,16,11,10,10,10,8,8 

Indian Lifts:20,18,16,13,11,11,12,9

Alternating Splits:21,15,12,12,11,12,11,12

Dips:13,10,10,10,9,8,8,8

Day 2

Diamond Push-ups: 17,9,6,5,5,4,4,3

Wall Squats:20,20,20,17,16,15,13,13

Side Tri Rise:8,8,8,7,7,7,7,6

Mountain Climbers:49,30,24,22,20,18,18,16

Day 3

Snowboarder 180:17,15,15,12,10,11,10,7

 Plank In&Out:11,8,9,8,8,8,7,6

Jump Kicks:17,14,11,11,11,11,10,10

Dive bombers:6,5,5,3,3,2,2,1

Fasting Friday #5

Wow, we're over a month into the fasting challenge. Only 23 more months to go! This last week wasn't so bad. I was sick so I ended up not eating very much the beginning of the week. Something about throwing it back up made me not want to eat. So by the time Friday came around, I was starving!

We ended up breaking the fast at dinnertime and it worked out for me. I did realize that I tend to be less cranky when I'm not thinking about myself. I was so busy with the day to day activities that I didn't have time to feel sorry about myself! I guess I'm just going to have to keep my Fridays busy from now on.

Training or not.....

I was sick with a stomach virus last week so training was put on hold. As much as I enjoyed the rest, this week has been rough. Not only are the workouts hard anyways, I'm working on building up after a break. Let me just say that I should have just trained las week even if I threw up afterwards. Oh well...hindsight is 20/20.

A sweet moment

We have a nice little courtyard in our complex that the little kids like to convene at. Jason took the kids downstairs to play tonight and some of their friends showed up. The kids in our complex love Jason because he will throw them up in the air and swing them around. There's been a line of little kids next to Jason on more than one occasion.

When they came back in, Jason remarked that one of the little boys loved being swung around and said that he (Jason) was probably now the boy's best buddy. After a couple of minutes, Aiden asked if Jason didn't like him and Gabe anymore. At first we didn't quite understand what he was saying because a) he's 3 and b) he was about to cry. He even started tearing up. But as soon as we realized that Aiden was concerned about Jason's affection, Jason scooped him up to talk to him.

Jason affirmed his love for Aiden and told our booboo that he would always love him. It was a very sweet moment that they shared.

What really struck me was the fact that Aiden understood the concept of best friends/buddies. He realized that there can only be one best friend and because he thought that Jason had another best buddy, Jason's feelings for Aiden could have waned.  The kids usually amaze me with what they understand and tonight was no different.

Fasting Friday #4

This week, we didn't fast on Friday again. If we keep this up, I'm going to have to think of a new name! I actually learned a very good lesson this week. I learned that there is a fine line between being disciplined and legalistic.

As you know from before, I usually do fine with the fast until about dinner time. I really have a hard time with making food and not being able to eat it. All the yummy smells that waft into my nose as I'm preparing the children's food just take a hold of me. But at the same time, there has to be some sacrifice on my part. You really can't grow closer to someone or God without giving yourself up to some degree. In this sacrifice, we find that we are not only stronger in God but a stronger person in general. So I knew that I had to suck it up and deal with it. But where does it go from a sacrifice to a legalistic action that has to be done?

As a Christian, we are told that there are so many things that we should be doing to draw closer to God. But if we do them just because we have to, we are not getting to the core of the issue. God does not want us to be robots, that's why we have free will. We need to also have the right attitude about it. I'm reading Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas and I think he hits it on the nail when he says; "We're not just after the imitation of Christ's actions in our home. We also want to model Christ's spirit and attitude."( pg. 191).  Our heart has to be in the right place when we are doing our acts of worship. What is the point of fasting if you are grumbling the whole time?

After the kids went to bed, I decided that it was not worth it to continue fasting for the rest of the night because I was definitely starting to grumble about it. And therein, I learned my lesson. I could've continued my fast and and be upset that I had to do it. But instead, I choose to end it early and be thankful to God that I was able to last as long as I did and appreciate God for carrying me the whole day. Because in the end, there is nothing that I can do apart from Christ. (John 15:5).

I was wrong.....

So training this week was not fun. We started a whole new set of exercises to do and I think that the guy who thought it up is evil. Some of the stuff we are doing is not only outside of my abilities, I didn't even know some of them existed before. All that to say, the scores are pretty pathetic to say the least.

Me: Day 1
Jump Squats- 20
Indian Lift- 35
Alternating Splits- 20
Dips- 12

Day 2
Diamond Push ups- 11
Wall Squats- 50
Side Tri Rise- 11
Mountain Climbers- 60

Day 3
Snowboarder 180- 22
Plank In & Out- 11
Jump Kicks- 35
Dive Bombers- 6

Jason: Day 1

Jump Squats- 25

Indian Lift- 50

Alternating Splits- 31

Dips- 29

Day 2

Diamond Push ups- 28

Wall Squats- 50

Side Tri Rise- 10

Mountain Climbers- 70

Day 3

Snowboarder 180- 32

Plank In & Out- 20

Jump Kicks- 40

Dive Bombers- 11

Fasting Friday #3

This week we fasted on Thursday instead of Friday. We had a sleepover planned and decided to get our fasting out of the way. I appreciate the flexibility of what we are doing and that it isn't a hard and fast rule that Fridays are fasting days.

While I still have lots of room to grow in both my relationship with God and Jason. I am feeling like we are closer. I feel closer to Jason because we now have a common goal. It might not be life changing, but it's good to know that we are on the same page in at least one area of life. Now Jason and I agree on most things and we don't fight much. But it's comforting nonetheless.

As far as my relationship with God goes. It's nice to know that I'm doing something for Him. It's so easy for me to do something with the expectation of getting something back. But knowing that just by going out of my comfort zone in this one area of life is pleasing to God is a reward in itself. It gives me a deeper appreciation of all the wondrous things His done for me without expecting anything in return.

The pain is subsiding....

This week for training it is different again! The workouts are more of a battle against yourself. You take your scores from week one, add it to your week two scores and then multiply the sum by 3 to get the number of reps that you're doing for the week. The point is to do it as quickly as possible.  I have to say that when I calculated my numbers, it seemed very intimidating and almost impossible. But I surprised myself by not only finishing, but finishing in a good time. (The goal is to finish the workouts as close to 16 minutes as possible.)

Here are the scores everyone is waiting for!

Me: Day 1
Squats- 111
Push-ups- 54 (Yes, I did them all! And not on my knees either! I'm so proud!)
Lunges- 78
Plank Bridge- 186 sec.

Total Time- 16:45

Day 2
Elevated Push-ups- 36
Bird Dog- 114
Squat Pulses- 150 sec.
Superman- 165 sec.

Total Time- 14:10 (Woot woot!)

Day 3
Squat Touch Reach- 132
Reverse Lunges- 66
Drop Squats- 51
Straight Plank- 210 sec.

Total Time- 13:14 :-)

Jason: Day 1

Squats- 150

Push-ups- 96

Lunges- 108

Plank Bridge- 210 sec.

Total Time- 19:00

Day 2

Elevated Push-ups- 114

Bird Dog- 150

Squat Pulses- 168 sec.

Superman- 210 sec.

Total Time- 16:26

Day 3

Squat Touch Reach- 138

Reverse Lunges- 105

Drop Squats- 72

Straight Plank- 210 sec.

Total Time-16:29

As you can see, Jason's more of a rock star than I am. But he was able to do pushups 2 months ago and I couldn't even do 1!

We also did a fitness test at the end of the week to see how much we improved. We did on set of the workouts from Day 1 and compared the numbers. Here's  how we improved:

Me-  Day 1- Fitness Test-  % improved

Squats- 26- 50- 92%
Pushups- 15- 22- 47%
Lunges- 20- 26- 30%
Plank Bridge- 50- 50- There was no room for improvement because I did the max on Day 1.

Jason-  Day 1- Fitness Test-  % improved

Squats-  37- 52- 41%

Pushups- 37- 50- 35%

Lunges- 28- 38- 35%

Plank Bridge- 50- 50- Jason did the max on both days. 

Whew! I'm tired just typing it all out!

A challenge

When Jason and I realized that we were moving to Dallas, we started doing a lot of research. Where were the grocery stores, where our favorite stores/restaurants are, etc.. But the hardest research was where to go to church. I always hated moving growing up, but what made it worse after I became a Christian was having to find a new church. It's such a tough process. You have to leave behind the people that you've formed a relationship with to find a bunch of new people to start over. Then there is the teaching, is it biblically sound, is it thought provoking, do you agree with it? And most importantly, is it where God wants you?

After visiting a couple great churches in the Dallas area, we landed at Lakeview Community Church in Cedar Hill. The church isn't as close as we would like (it's about a half hour drive) nor is it big and flashy. In fact, it's in the middle of a reboot with a new pastor. But the day we visited, it felt like home and Jason and I knew right away that we found our church. The pastor, Dan is a DTS grad and has the same sense of humor as Jason. Which works great for us and it's been a pleasure getting to know people in the church family. 

Dan is an Old Testament guy and even named his daughter Eden. So it was with lots of enthusiasm that he showed me a hat on Etsy. It was an Assyrian war helmet with beard.  He said that he'd been wanting it ever since he saw it but wouldn't spend the money to buy it. (It was kind of pricy). So I took it upon myself to try to figure it out. As I sat down to look at the picture and try to make a pattern for it, I actually found it online for free! SCORE! 

So I sat down with crochet hook in hand and started making it. I think an hour or so into it I was muttering that I realized why the lady charged so much. The pattern was definitely harder than what I was used to. Long story short, after lots of muttering I finished it and it was awesome!

Dan's look when he got it was like seeing a 5 year old get a new bike for Christmas. It was priceless. All that to say I'm glad we're done looking for churches.

Fasting Friday #2

This last Friday was a lot easier for me. A big part of the reason is that we didn't work out on that day. Plus, we ended driving down to Killeen to visit Jason's sister for her birthday. With the lack of a hard workout and a long car ride, we didn't think about food as much. I found that my stomach was more adept to the lack of food too. It didn't protest nearly as much.

Meal times were also easier because Emily made dinner for her and the kids so I didn't have to prepare all three meals. Although, we did spend dinner time looking up food recipes. But I guess in the end, it was a much more successful fasting experience and we were able to abstain until Saturday morning!

A new kind of Pain Part 2

So while I thought that the second week of my new training would be the same as the first, 50 sec. on 10 sec. off, Jason and I were saddened to see that it changed. For week two, it was 20 sec. on 10 sec. off for 8 reps. The only thing is that you do all the reps for one exercise before you move on to the next. It was a bear! Your muscles quickly turn into putty and you find yourself laying on the floor in pain. The interval training is based off of the Tabata Method and is shown to be a great way to increase your performance and increase weight lose. So here are our numbers, it got pathetic pretty quickly but don't judge!

Me: Day 1
Squats- 14,14,13,12,11,11,11,11
Push ups- 10,8,5,5,5,3,3,3
Lunges- 10,10,10,8,6,6,7,8
Plank Bridge- 20,20,12,12,12,12,12,14

Day 2
Elevated Push-ups- 6,3,1,1,1,1,1,1
Bird Dog- 16,12,10,10,10,10,10,11
Squat Pulses- 20,20,15,15,15,15,19
Superman- 20,20,20,20,20,20,15,15

Day 3
Squat Touch Reach- 12,12,12,12,12,12,12,12
Reverse Lunges- 10,10,10,10,10,10,10,10
Drop Squats- 13,10,10,8,8,7,8,8
Straight Plank- 20,20,20,20,20,20,20,20

Jason only recorded his low scores since that was what we needed.

 Day 1

Squats- 10

Push ups- 5

Lunges- 9

Plank Bridge- 9

Day 2

Elevated Push-ups- 3

Bird Dog- 14

Squat Pulses- 10

Superman- 14

Day 3

Squat Touch Reach- 12

Reverse Lunges- 11

Drop Squats- 9

Straight Plank- 20

This week we take our scores from the first 2 weeks, multiply it by 3 and have to do all those reps! I'm so not looking forward to it!

Fasting Friday #1

It's a new year and Jason and I have completed our first Fasting Friday. It wasn't as bad as it could have been. We are doing a water and tea fast for 24 hours (well, that is the goal but more on that later).

We woke up and started our day like any other day. The one thing that wasn't planned out as well as it could have been was that we also had our workout to do on Friday. Jason and I did our workout with lots of grunts of pain in the morning and then proceeded to live life as normal as possible. I really didn't feel hungry until after the workout which wasn't a big surprise to me. But we drank lots of water and tea (and since we have lots of different flavors of tea it was quite nice).

Around dinner time was when the rubber hit the road. I still had to cook for the kids and the smell of the food was making me miss eating. I started getting upset that I couldn't eat the food but I stuck it out. I'm going to have work on my attitude next week though.

The kids with their dinner. 

Jason with our "dinner." 

In the end, Jason and decided that since it was our first go and we had a hard workout in the morning to go ahead and eat after the kids went to bed. It wasn't such a bad go at fasting since we abstained from for for about 20 hours.

Conclusion: When you are fasting, it is a lot easier when your love is doing it with you. Try to drink lots of liquids to stave off the hunger feelings. I tried to spend more time in prayer and in the word throughout the day and that helped a lot. Imagine that, when you focus on Christ, your current situation is better. Also, if you have to cook, do it with a smile on your face and make something you don't like but the kids do! I don't have any real goals for the fasting. I just wanted to do it to grow closer to Christ and grow closer to Jason. But I'm leaving it up to God to show me what he wants to. We'll see what happens next week!

A new kind of pain

Jason and I started a new workout routine this week. Let me just say that it is HARD! It's called Max Capacity Training (maxcapacitytraining.com) and pretty much you work hard for 50 seconds on and 10 seconds rest. You do 4 sets of 4 exercises.  I knew that it would be rough but man, was it rough. I did take  some joy in seeing Jason having a hard time. A couple that sweats together,...well, sweats together. Jason and I recorded our scores of the workouts to track our progress. Here they are...

Me:
Day 1- squats- 26  push-ups-15  lunges- 20 plank bridge- 50 (I held one for all 50 secs.)
I was most proud of my push-ups because they weren't on my knees! Although they were on my knees after the first set.

Day 2- Elevated push-ups- 12  bird dog- 28  squat pulses- 35 (how long I could keep it up) superman- 40

Day 3- squat touch reach- 32  reverse lunges- 12  drop squats- 10  straight plank- 50

Jason:
Day 1- squats- 37  push-ups-37  lunges- 28 plank bridge- 50

Day 2- Elevated push-ups- 33  bird dog- 36  squat pulses- 40 superman- 50

Day 3- squat touch reach- 34  reverse lunges- 24  drop squats- 15  straight plank- 50

In review, the first set of exercises are the numbers that we recorded because things started getting pretty rough after that. Especially on Day 3 where both Jason and I were uttering lots of pain sounds. If you don't know what a pain sound is, just head to the gym or come on over and watch us workout. This is a great workout to do because it only takes about half an hour including warm up and cool down. But I would definitely do it with someone else to keep you going. I told Jason that if I wasn't doing it with him I would probably quit. That being said, I can already see results from doing my burpees and this workout. I can climb the stairs all the way up to my apartment (8th floor) without getting winded anymore, I have more energy and I can tell that my body is changing in a very good way. Next week I repeat the workouts above and hope that the numbers improve.

Gifts

Now that the holidays are over, I can show you some pictures of the stuff I've been making. I took on a little too much this last year and have resolved to start presents much earlier this year.

I made the boys some messenger bags because they were getting upset that Audrey had purses. 

As you can tell, they also got guns and have been shooting everything around the house. Audrey got a new skirt. 

All three kids needed belts, so I whipped some up from ribbon and d-rings. The best thing about these belts is that they only took about 10 minutes to make.

What's with the looks?

And I went to a baby shower and made a little bear hat.

And lastly, I made matching scarves for the kids' owl hats but I forgot to take a picture! Maybe next time...