Twenty Eleven

First semester of grad school is over. Came out of it with a 3.7 GPA, and I am pleased with that. Just three more semesters and I'll have once again beaten higher education.

I had a great Christmas with my family. Got some Lululemon giftcards, so that's always a treat. Ate way too many cookies, and that too was a treat. I ate until I felt sick, and then I kept eating, and then I paid for it. Happy birthday, Jesus.

I'm in the middle of my break now, and school doesn't start until the 10th. Ahh, school. I'm currently registered for 12 hours, with every intention to drop the one that looks the worst. So we'll see. I'm excited about one of the classes, but mostly, they make me cringe and maybe want to curl up and sleep. Required reading is the bane of my existence. I've been reading for fun lately. I'm currently about a third of the way into East of Eden. Steinbeck is a whack job, but he does write some good stuff. I'm a fan.

I also had my first experience with a Keurig a few days ago. Now I want one. Shucks.

I suppose that is all for now. See you next year.

Strength

I love this picture to the left. Taken a few weeks ago at the Heart of America competition, it represents so much to me. I think it's the combination of grit, determination, camaraderie, a lot of things really. Strength too. I've come to the realization that I think a lot. When I am busy I concentrate on the tasks at hand. I make lists. I cross items off. But when the busyness settles down, I start thinking more in terms of the "what-ifs" in life. It's not bad, and I think that it's good to contemplate all that life's thrown at ya. I just tend more often that not to think about the things I can't control or the opportunities I passed up.

I'm pretty sure this happens when you've changed career paths so many times it makes your head spin to think about it. It's the stopping and starting that's so jarring. I had a pretty good chat with my mom today about where I expect to be in a year or two, and I admit, I really like dreaming about what's next. I know I want to work. I'm a career-oriented chick, and that is what's important to me, at least at this stage in my life. I could end up in any array of cities, or right here in Springfield. Doing who knows what. God willing, I am doing something. I will die if I have an MPA and no job. You think I'm kidding. I'm so not.

But that's enough introspection. I don't like it. It bums me out. I'm almost done Christmas shopping. I have a clean apartment. I have a completed stats research project. Now what? I think I'll go run.

I've decided that I need to come up with a project for the 3 weeks I'll be on Christmas break. I cannot be left to mull around and eat holiday treats. Good Lord. Right now I'm thinking it'll include leisure reading (hello, Salinger!), choreography cramming (hello, RPM!), and self-inflicted happiness rays (hello, tanning bed!).

I can't wait.

Gobble gobble.

Turkey Day 2010 has come and gone. I love the holidays in general, but I had an especially awesome 5 days this time around. My brother and his fiance came over to my parents and we all ate delicious food. Yum! Then on Friday I had a movie date with my mom and we watched Toy Story 3 and Christmas with the Kranks. CwtK is an old reliable. We break out that puppy every year. Because it's awesome. And we threw in Toy Story 3 just for good measure. Although, I have to say, that movie is the saddest thing ever. They expect children to enjoy it? I was bawling like a baby. Something about growing up and leaving your beloved toy friends is just too much for my brain. Good grief.

Saturday I finished up LOST season 6 with my pops. We had watched 14 episodes in one day earlier this fall, and we needed to finish up. Then yesterday my mom and I traveled to see one of her friends direct some good old-fashioned community theatre. Then I watched Jewel Staite in a Hallmark holiday movie. Some Christmas ham is a-okay in my book.

See why I had such a good break? Note also the non-existent mention of grad school. Or homework. Cue the hallelujah chorus.

I'm pretty much on the downhill slope from here on out. I have 3 finals and a stats research project standing between me and my first completed semester of grad school. Boy, oh boy.

So that's what's been going on. Oh, and I caught up on all my television I missed. Whew. That was stressing me out more than anything combined.

And that's how Sue C's it.

Grit

What a weekend. The Heart of America CrossFit Affiliate Challenge came and went. I knew going into it that it would be memorable, exhausting, and amazing. But I think I underestimated how rejuvenated and inspired I would walk away from it all. Yes, it was physically some of the hardest stuff I've ever had to do. But more than that, I saw pure grit and determination from not only my teammates and myself, but from every single athlete out there competing, especially my comrades from CrossFit Springfield. It is that drive, that will to finish what you came out to do, and to lay it all on the line that is the very essence of CrossFit. That is so much of what I love. I have done things that I never thought possible, that I would never have dreamed I could do. And I have met so many amazing life-changing people because of it. It isn't about how much weight you lift or how fast you move, but it is about channeling what is deep inside a person that is so admirable and amazing to me. I strive every day to be half as inspiring as some of the people I saw this weekend.

That would be totally sappy if I weren't talking about some of the most bad-a people around. Seriously. How many people can push and pull a prowler sled, load up a crap ton of weight in a wheelbarrow and push it, and then do a buddy carry? Buddy carry. I kid you not. But it's all over. And now we look to next year.

Until then, I'll be chewing Advil and bathing in Biofreeze.

Hiatus apparently.

You know how they say that you really can't do it all? That something's gotta give? I suppose for me, it's my commitment to blogging that gets pushed aside. But here I am, sparing a few hurried minutes to update the masses. Or rather, the 2 peeps that read my ramblings.

I survived RPM training this past weekend. What an experience. My second Les Mills program...it still blows my mind if I stop and think about how drastically my life has changed in the past year. To summarize: I had an awesome time. I have lofty new goals to get where I want and need to be. The Race of Truth nearly killed me. Sitting on a bike all weekend makes for one very sore rear. And I owe my life to my 2:1:1 recovery drink.

It was nice to throw grad school to the wayside for the weekend, but now I'm back in it. Fully immersed. I managed to throw together my lit review before I left for the training. So now this week is devoted to my research paper for my public personnel management class. Let me tell you how excited I am about this paper.

That much. Zero.

Anyway, since I have the Heart of America competition in 5 days, I'll be hitting good ol' I-44 for the second weekend in a row. What does this mean? No sleep. Good golly, Miss Molly. I've already given up TV. That alone is killing me. I have a list a mile long of every episode I need to catch up on. It's awful. That is the only word for it. Awful.

If I live to see Thanksgiving, I will have this semester in the bag. For the love of turkey, please let me survive.

She Runs She Walks She Rides She Rocks

I found that saying on a shirt while picking up my race packet yesterday. I loved it. And I now own the shirt. I suppose I'll really have to become a cyclist and get my rear on a bike outdoors to be legit. Soon, grasshopper. Maybe I will count my pennies and see if they equal up to the monies I need to make the purchase. (I'm pretty sure they don't.)

So I ran the Bass Pro half marathon this morning. I just registered for it earlier this week. I was supposed to run 12 miles anyway in preparation for Houston marathon training, so it worked out well. I had a great time! I love that race. The course was different this year, and we ran downtown and through the Missouri State campus, and then a little on the Greenways. Since it was a training run, I didn't care so much about giving it everything I had. Finishing the distance was the goal. But I did run at a surprisingly good clip for a training run, and I finished in about 2:02 unofficially. After today, I'm really excited about Houston. The distance running community is so awesome. It sounds weird, I know, but it's true. I teared up watching coverage of the NYC marathon today. So awesome to watch. And Shalane Flanagan? She's my new(est) hero. Yay runners!

As for my legs, they feel great. I chugged my miracle-working recovery drink post-race, followed by some chocolate chip pancakes, and I feel good as new. Holla!

Bye for now.

I'm chill(y).

Brrr. What's with the freeze out, Mother Nature? Generally, I am a huge fan of a brisk morning, but not when my vehicle dashboard starts telling me that ice is possible. There's been no ice that I've seen, but I feel it coming. I am a human barometer.

Barometers measure atmospheric pressure, correct? I have no idea if that is in any way relevant to ice. I should ask Al Roker.

Obviously it's 7p on a Friday evening, so obviously I am blogging. Which obviously means I'm supposed to be doing something else but I don't want to. Obviously.

After I put in my time at the GA office this morning, I got to have some mother-daughter time. It was nice. We went to Orange Leaf so I could indulge in some pumpkin pie yogurt heaven. Then we went shopping for office supplies. We Ennises live it up. But it really was nice. I'm glad that my parents are close to me. Even if I don't see them for two weeks, I know they're there. And I guess they're finally laying down some roots in good ol' southwest MO, because they just bought a house a few miles north of town. So that'll be nice. I'm happy.

Other items that are making me happy as of late: tamari-roasted pumpkin seeds, fleece pants, and my scuba hoodie

Over and out.

I love a bargain.

This past Sunday my mom brought over a magazine she bought solely because it advertised $70 worth of coupons. The magazine cost $3, so it's a deal pretty much any way you look at it. Anyway, I took some of the coupons and last night I went and took advantage of it all. I only bought the stuff I'd use anyway, else it kind of defeats the purpose of saving money. But GEEZ, I had so much fun. I saved $11, and I still have some more I didn't get to use. It was delightful. I love saving money, because then I don't feel [that] bad for dropping a small fortune on a Lululemon collection. Totally different post right there.

Yesterday I proctored an exam and as a result, I'm home with a stack of blue books to the ceiling and a much higher propensity to blog, cut coupons, and drink my weight in coffee. So, I'm still stressed in case you were wondering.

I went to CrossFit last night, and for some reason, it just wasn't my day. We had 30 minutes to reach a 5 rep max on both front squat and push press. I got 105 on front squat and 85 on push press, both of which I've gotten more on before. It's totally a mental game, and when you show up not ready to play, you're screwed. Afterward, we did a shorter thruster workout, a sort of "pick your poison."

100 thrusters 30lb

or

85 thrusters 45lb

or

70 thrusters 65lb

or

55 thrusters 75lb

or

40 thrusters 85lb

I chose 55 @ 75lb. 6:58. Not great, not awful. Again, it is what it is. Tomorrow is a new day.

Back to grading. See you in a year.

I'm not funny anymore.

I'm alive. I survived Halloween. Gross. The worst holiday ever. I don't know why I hate it so much. Maybe because it still scares the crap out of me, even at the ripe old age of 25. I'm shuddering. You can't see it, but I am.

I'm a blur. From school to the gym to home I go. I'm a car, fueled by delicious coffee. Maybe I am a hybrid. Probably not. I'm not trendy enough to pull that off. School is still burying me alive. However, the big Ozark Fitness launch is over. Thank the Lord. It was a huge success and a lot of fun, but good grief, I was wrecked. Especially after reading and writing papers like a madwoman last week. I actually pulled an all-nighter. Somehow those were a lot more doable in undergrad when I was 18. I have 2 more papers to write, two presentations to give, a stack of blue books to grade, and a myriad of side readings to do before I see Thanksgiving. Oh, and run a half marathon, get trained in RPM, and go compete for Team BAMF at the Heart of America CrossFit challenge. Ambitious, much?

I just realized I didn't eat one piece of Halloween candy this year. Seriously? Oh well. I had a giant bowl of Orange Leaf yesterday. One of my secret life goals is to see how much Orange Leaf I can fit in one bowl. And then eat it.

I wore my purple bandana last Friday to a team wod. I guess you could say I dressed up as Miranda Oldroyd for Halloween. It kind of helped. I finished the wod. And was subsequently sore to the touch for 3 days afterward. Recap: Sandy is heavy. 95lb is heavy. I suck at pistol squats.

I think there was a day I used to be funny. Unfortunately, that day is gone.

Live to Fight Another Day

It's been a rough week. I'm physically and mentally wrecked. And the scary part? I'm just getting started. I feel an avalanche of work coming down on me, and my knees are ready to buckle. So I'm giving myself a pep talk. It's sort of working. I've discovered that the major difference between Undergrad Amber and Grad Amber is a sense of self-discipline. Working ahead of time? Unheard of circa 2005. Circa 2010, I know better. Look Ma, I'm growing up.

This week has been crazy in terms of workouts. I taught my ATTACK class on Monday morning, then subbed on Monday night. Then took RPM on Tuesday morning, followed up with a heavy Crossfit metcon that evening. The past three days I've done one Crossfit WOD a day. I bought a purple bandana last weekend, in honor of Miranda Oldroyd. She's the bada$$ in the pic to the left. Unfortunately, the bandana didn't give me any superpowers. But it did make me work a little harder, if only because I didn't want to bring a bad name to the blessed bandana.

This weekend is going to be devoted to writing my second lit review. Of course, I need to finish the actual book on which I'm writing this review. I'm halfway through, and I really needed to cover some ground tonight. But my eyes. They just won't stay open. And I swear to all that is holy, my bed is CALLING me. I can really hear it.

This is going to be difficult.

Moving on. Fruity Cheerios are the best Cheerios. They taste like Fruit Loops, and they are supposedly healthier, although, I still wouldn't tout them as a "health food." But I tried them last weekend, and I'm a fan. They might even beat Team Cheerios. Do they even make Team Cheerios anymore? Geez, I loved those back in the day. And why the heck doesn't blogger recognize "Cheerios" as an actual word? Haven't those little o's been around long enough to warrant dictionary recognition? Where is the justice?

I'm out, peeps.

Weather, you fickle minx.

Seriously, I am so confused. It was 80-something over the weekend. Now it's 50. What am I supposed to wear? I guess it doesn't really matter what I wear since I'm either at school or working out. It's usually some mixture of seasonal clothing. Take for instance right now. Shorts and a hoodie. Weird.

This week has been pretty nice. It's a short week in honor of fall break. All hail fall break. Although I think the university introduced this weird non-holiday break to reduce the number of suicides around midterm. Isn't that right? Urban legend maybe. But still. Now we have one. And I don't have class until next week. Yippy skippy.

Babies are popping up all over. At least at the gym, where I refuse to drink the water. Disgusting. Never mind that it's currently physiologically impossible for me to be with child, I still stay far away from that drinking fountain. You can never be too careful. I guess it's really difficult to see myself in that sort of environment. The maternal environment. Or the spousal environment either. Hmm. I AM only 25, so there's nothing to rush into. But I can honestly say that I think I'd be pretty happy never getting married. Ask me again in 5 years.

There are some interesting things coming up in the next month or so. The big Ozark Fitness breast cancer fundraiser/launch event is at the end of the month. Then November brings the Heart of America CrossFit team challenge in St. Louis. Then there's the 5k Gone Bad CF event the week after that. The sky's the limit really. I'm also tossing around another idea for November, but that is by no means set in stone. Oh yes, I'm also running the Houston Marathon in 16 weeks. And finishing up my first semester of grad school. Busy gal right here.

And on that note...peace out, blog peeps.

Hello October

Since I've last posted, we've gone straight through fall right to winter. Really. It was in the 30s this morning. THIRTIES. Oh well. I'm really not complaining. I love it. I'll take it as cold as it can get but without the frost on my car. I tend to draw the line at inconveniences to myself. But I do love a brisk morning.

Last week really was horrible. Thank goodness for my excellent time management skills, because without that claim to fame, I would have died. Literally died. From brain overload. But I'm happy to announce that I survived, and I also got the grade I wanted on my review and presentation. Whew. It's nice to feel like I'm doing something right.

And on the flip side, I can't dwell on that, because now here's a whole new week and I've got to start on that now. Remember that time management thing I was talking about? Yep. It's golden.

I'm about to jet off to campus. Back to the grind. Monday, please be kind.

Sleepy September

My sleeping patterns have been way off lately. They started out relatively normal. Obviously, by NORMAL, I mean, I was sleeping way too much for the average grad student. I'd go to bed by 10 and then get up around 7. I don't know anyone who does that voluntarily. I figured that I'd eventually hit the wall of needing to get less sleep to do more work. That's sensible. Right? Right.

Well, I've found myself getting less sleep for sure. I'm probably down to 7ish hours a night, which I realize is still quite a lot, again for the average grad student. But it makes me cranky. I require a lot of sleep to be a functioning human being. Non-functioning Amber is a lot like messing with a very short fuse. One wrong move...KABOOM! That was me this week. Anyway, to add another piece to my sleeping puzzle, I've been sleeping away my Sundays. Last week I took 3 naps. I kid you not. And today I slept until 11:15. So my body realizes I need to function on a longer fuse and therefore attempts to catch up on the Lord's day. My body is smart.

And that lit review that was ruining my life last week? It's done. Well, a very rough draft is done. I can't look at it again for awhile, so it's just sitting right now. Ugh. My brain. My poor, poor brain.

But in happier, non-school-related news, it is the perfect fall day. I'm sipping coffee and thinking about how if I don't take advantage of it and go for a run, I'm an idiot. So, in a bit, I'm gonna suit up with Glenda (my Garmin) and go enjoy it.

Fall has sprung.

Or something like that. It's the second day of fall, but the temperatures around here haven't really gotten the memo. At least not yet. Tomorrow morning it's going to be crisp, and I can't wait. I think my favorite days are when it's cool enough for a jacket in the morning, but you can shed it by noontime. Love love love. And I just purchased a new fall hoodie from Lululemon, which I already ADORE. I will most likely live in it. And die in it. And be buried in it. And...I think I just grossed myself out. But whatever.

And is it really almost October? This baffles me. I don't get baffled easily, other than when I say I'm baffled but I'm really not. This isn't one of those times. October means it's REALLY fall. It means pumpkins and leaves and cinnamon. I mean, it's practically Santa time. For the record, this is going to be the year I finally invest in a giant inflatable holiday character for my balcony. I'm turning it into a freaking wonderland. It will be epic.

I'm supposed to be writing a lit review right now. I obviously have something useful I'm supposed to be doing; hence, this post was born. Something else that's baffling: how I can type so fast on blogspot but not in Microsoft Word. Must be a programming glitch. Mr. Gates?

I burned my arm last week trying to pull a spaghetti squash out of the oven. Instead of pulling the rack out of the oven, I instead tried to shimmy my arm in there and grab the pan. Big mistake. The burn swelled up and made a mark, and now I will surely have a disgusting scar on my forearm for the world to see forever.

I suppose it's time to get back to the paper. I now remember why blogging was so popular in undergrad.

This is the story of 8 strangers.

Not my most fabulous week. I've felt more than a little overwhelmed this week by all the tasks I have coming up. So much to read, so much to study. It never ends. And a Sunday where all I want to do is sleep is NOT conducive to me accomplishing any of those said tasks. I took about 3 naps today. Seriously. Three naps. Who does that? Probably someone whose brain has pretty much reached capacity I suppose. Or someone who had a little too much Patron last night.

I did enjoy the season finale of the Real World New Orleans. This is the first season I've ever watched, but man, I loved it. For some reason, I took a serious liking to those people. Well, save a few, but that's to be expected. Lucky for me, I can still follow all of them on Twitter.

Speaking of TV, all my fall shows are coming back this week. I took a few minutes out of my day last week to confirm the start dates and times of all of the winners I have decided to keep up on this season. Glee, The Office, Desperate Housewives. Anything else is icing on top of the cake.

And...I should probably go study. I need to get that printed on a t-shirt.

Squashes

Going into the 4th week and I think I finally see some routine in the chaos. I really can't believe I'm almost a quarter through the semester. Time flies when you're having fun. Read: Time flies when you have your face in a book for 23.56 hours of the day. I really am enjoying it though. And I'm finding that I'm becoming more interested in public administration/politics too. I realize that's backward. Aren't you supposed to pursue a career in something you already like? Well, probably. The point is, I was watching the Today Show this morning, and they were talking about Keynesian strategies and the state of the budget. And I didn't mute it. I find that the more I learn about something and understand it, the more vested I become.

Enough about that.

The weather today is a huge downer. I was going to hit up the 8a CF WOD, but I had no desire to go out in the rain. Although, now it's kind of died down. What a lose-lose situation. Because now I have to go run.

Win-win situation: Me making friends with the squash man at the north side farmer's market. Every week, I go see him, because he gives the best deal in town on winter squash. He charges not by the pound, but by the whole squash. $2 apiece. Squash peeps, you know how awesome this is. Butternut, acorn, spaghetti. You name it. Last week I bought 5 squashes. (Squashes? Really, is that how you write it?) Then he went on to tell me that at the end of harvest season, he's going to unload all he has left on me if I want it. This probably means I'm going to turn my balcony into some sort of cave-like squash menagerie. Hell, I might do that even without the squash Christmas that's about to come to me.

With that, I'm out.

Bring it, Tuesday.

2 for 2.

Two posts in as many days. Shut the front door. It's true.

I've had a really great day today. I woke up on my own at 7:15. This tends to happen when you're in bed by 10:15, but whatever. I am going to rejoice regardless. I got up and made a pot of coffee and then started doing some homework. That simple. It's so weird. When I'm on a mission, there really is no stopping me. It's just the getting onboard that mission that's the problem.

Anyway, I got a decent amount done before I headed to church with my parents. That was nice.

By the time the mid-afternoon rolled around, I decided I wanted to head downtown to check out the Bistro Market that I've heard so much about. Oh my gosh, that place is amazing. A Godsend if you will. If that means that God sent it. Does it? Anyway, God sent that place to make me happy. If you haven't been there, it's on the corner of Walnut and South, and it has this wonderful big-city feel. There's a hot food bar and a salad bar, a Starbucks, a gelato bar, a wonderful glass case filled with treats of all kinds, and then a grocery store on the other side. The actual grocery store part is filled with a huge selection of organic and locally grown produce, which is pretty freaking sweet if you ask me. And the meat counter. Holy mackerel. Fresh fish and seafood. Free range meats. It was beautiful. I ended up a beautiful pecan-crusted pork chop and a bacon-wrapped turkey filet. I also bought some grass-fed beef that I'm pretty stoked about. The pork chop was delicious. I had it tonight for dinner.

Going primal really is delightful.

I liked it so much I made my mom go back with me for a second trip. No kidding. Then we played a little show and tell, and she showed me her downtown office, and I gave her a tour of the poli sci department and my GA office. Overall, a fun day. Now I'm back, with a tummy full of pork chop, and I'm about to start in on round two of Study Sunday. God bless three-day weekends. I teach Attack tomorrow morning, and then it's more downtime. Holla in the streets of Springfield. I love downtime.

Peace out, peeps.

I feel fall.

I just might live in my VS sweats this year. I'm in some right now, and it is the best feeling ever, although the lounge effect may be working too well, seeing as how my studying has gone from not-so-motivated to not-at-ALL motivated. I went to bed at 9:00 last night and slept through for 10 hours. That said, I just woke up from a 1.5 hour nap. I'm totally living up my Labor Day Weekend.

My blogging regularity is non-existent. This makes me sad, but it's also nice to be busy again. I don't remember the last time I was in this sort of frantic schedule, when I was planning every hour and wondering where the hell I was going to find one more. Wait. TEN more. I love it and I hate it. Go figure.

Focusing on the best part of today, the weather is absolutely gorgeous. It was probably just under 60 degrees this morning when I headed out to Crossfit. I adore the beginnings of fall so much. Really any transition into the next season. It just makes me feel like I can move on, from what I once was to what I'm about to be. Whoa, Amber. Deep. But true.

Maybe I've watched Inception too many times. I went 2 times in 5 days last week. Once with friends, and then once with my parents. I liked it. I like thinking.

But not about public administration obviously.

All The Small Things

Week 1...check. I've made it, peeps. I'm down one week of grad school. I'm also down one week of Paleo. I'm happy to announce that both are going just swell.

I think I'm really going to enjoy my classes. One is a stats class. The other is is a seminar in public admin. And then the third is an online human resources one. A good mix of practical coursework and then some classical studying. I know it's just week one, so I these outlooks are subject to change. Duh. But it is definitely nice to be back in the swing of a schedule.

And Paleo? I love it. I've always been a healthy, whole food eater. But since starting this challenge, my energy has been through the roof. I'm not hungry at all. And if I do get hungry, I can eat. There's no restrictions on quantity, which for a growing girl like myself, is AWESOME. I really think that if I could choose a career and know without a doubt that it would be a success, I'd be a natural foods chef and open a restaurant. But I'm a chicken. Still though, I encourage anyone else to go start one. I'll be your first patron.

What have I eaten this week? Lots of eggs, chicken, and fish. Broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, winter squash, carrots, apples, grapefruit, cherries, bananas, blueberries, raw nuts, and anything else that's of the earth. No dandelions though. Or rattlesnake, which are both on the list of "approved" foods. Not kidding.

Anyway, after today's wod, I went to the farmer's market with my ma, which has very quickly become my Saturday morning tradition now. I love the farmer's market. No. I absolutely ADORE the farmer's market. It is like a street fair and grocery store all rolled into one. Today, however, I hit the jackpot. As I was picking out cucumbers, the vendor told me I could have all of them for $1. ONE dollar. Then he threw in all his bell peppers for another dollar! I walked away with two bags full of vegetables for two freaking dollars.

Shut. Up.

At the next place, as I was paying for my spaghetti squash, a man walked up to me and offered me a free seedless watermelon. I will give you three guesses as to what my response was to that, which really is two guesses too many.

I friggin' cleaned house. Holla. And yes, this was a highlight of my day.

It is totally the small things in life. I love it. I love today.

Stone Age Blenders

A few posts ago, I wrote about this Paleo challenge I've decided to take part in at our Crossfit affiliate. It started yesterday at 3:00. Saturday evening was epic. Arris pizza, Orange Leaf, and grape martinis, lovingly dubbed "grape time." It really doesn't get any better than that. Well, until I started feeling sick. Regardless, I've hit Paleo hard and fast and I've stayed strict. Yesterday and the majority of today I stuck to the basics: chicken, veggies, a piece of fruit here and there, raw nuts. However, tonight I came home and for some reason spent a great deal of time in the kitchen working on some Paleo banana muffins and a winter squash soup.

Yeah...it is absolutely delicious. All of it. So I called my mom.

"Mom...?"
"Yes, Amber?"
"What are you doing? I don't care. I just made caveman food. Come taste test."

And this is reason #581 why I love my mom. I played the part of the Next Food Network Star and plated my soup in a small ceramic berry bowl, complete with freshly ground pepper on top. It was picture perfect. And the almond flour muffin was sitting atop a lovely shallow glass plate. Bobby Flay would have beamed. And then asked me what the hell I was thinking. That is the most likely scenario that plays out in my head.

As for the ingredients--the muffins were baked of almond flour, eggs, bananas, cinnamon, vanilla, and not too much else. A fellow primal eater had lovingly passed on that recipe to me. The soup was more an inspiration from other recipes I'd seen. I didn't follow one to the tee, but more just went on my own path and it turned out absolutely swimmingly. Roasted acorn squash, caramelized onions and carrots, coconut milk, fresh pepper, and ginger. All pureed in the blender.

Oh. My. Gosh. I have found the holy grail of the cavemen. Because I know they loved their stone age blenders.

My cooking experience took my mind off the fact that I read ONE syllabus today and immediately wondered just when I lost my mind. Syllabus? What is a syllabus? Or a research paper. These are foreign concepts.

More later. My non-trad brain is tired and ready for my Jersey Housewives.

I hate so much about the things you choose to be.

God bless Toby Flenderson.

I've felt incredibly lazy this week. That's probably because I've BEEN incredibly lazy this week. Knowing that my life is about to get 10 times busier starting next week allows me the freedom to take spontaneous naps and watch all the reality television I want. Long live Bravo.

On a less lazy note, I've been super happy with my workouts this week. The weather was absolutely GORGEOUS on Tuesday morning, so I got up and went for a run. Ever since my injury I haven't really been running regularly, mostly because it's sort of depressing to be so far away from where I was. But sitting around feeling sorry for myself isn't the way to get back to tip-top shape. It'll be hard, but I'm ready to put in the miles. That said, I did a pretty solid 9-miler and felt okay with it. That and a PR on Fight Gone Bad yesterday were probably the workout-related highlights of my week. Oh, and Fran. Can't forget about Fran.

I did make several trips to campus too. I met with Dr. Patel on Tuesday about my GA duties. I'm going to be managing the database of MPA students and moving them from one program over to another. Microsoft Access and I are apparently going to become very good friends. I'll also be assisting with clerical stuff for the program and then doing some editing for the book Dr. Patel is co-authoring. All in all, not too bad. I'll be working 1-5 every afternoon. Class will be on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. I have an online class as well. Still teaching my Attack class on Monday at Ozark Fitness. Training for a marathon in October. And prepping for the Heart of America Crossfit competition in November.

And this is why I don't feel guilty for not being 110% productive this week.

Oh, and my Paleo challenge starts Sunday at 3:00. I'm positive I'll be posting my wonderful thoughts on that soon enough. I've been allowing myself whatever I want until then. Because it's gonna start to get ugly, folks. Real ugly.

So I guess for now it's back to my marathon of The Office. I'm cracking up at every episode. Like laugh out loud, crazy woman laughing. I really do think I'm hilarious.

Fran is not my friend.

After spending the majority of yesterday wondering if I really was too dumb to be a graduate student, I gave up hope of figuring out how to work my school email account on my own. So I drove my butt to campus today to get help from someone who knew what they were doing. Or really just someone smarter than me. It took 2 seconds. Seriously. Oh well. I also got a new student ID and picked up keys. That's really the only reason I feel official. KEYS. To a faculty suite in Strong Hall and to the GA office.

I hope I don't lose them.

Here is something strange. I don't remember the names of academic buildings on campus. It took me about 30 seconds before I could name Temple Hall. And I still don't remember the one by Siceluff. Not Cheek, but the other one. Really.

Something else. Bearmail doesn't exist. Neither do Zipcards. But never fear. We now have Bearpass Numbers and Bearpass Email and Bearpass Cards. Well, technically, Bearpass Cards are coming next fall...but still. It's so weird.

I'll now turn my thoughts to Crossfit, because that doesn't ever change. Today was a "choose your own adventure" day. Three benchmark "girl" wods were on the board: Helen, Grace, and Fran. I chose to take on Fran. 21-15-9 reps of 65lb thrusters and pull ups. So you do 21 thrusters, then 21 pull ups. Then 15 of each. Then 9. It's pretty much a death wish. I finished in 8:09, and I promptly collapsed on the floor. In my 2 years of Crossfit, I've never felt like I did today during that wod. I couldn't breathe and I swear my muscles were spasming out. I had a group of people around me yelling me through the last 18 reps. Not that I can really remember any of it. But it was a PR. Take that, Fran. You dirty, dirty hooker.

Also of note. Last week I gave my underwear drawer a makeover. I threw out every pair that I'd rather not be caught in in case of an emergency. Examples: car wreck, falling in my shower and having to have someone retrieve a pair for me, someone stealing my shorts while I'm taking a nap. The list goes on. I did go buy some new pairs to replace the old ones too. Just in case you were wondering.

Zing!

I feel God in this Chili's.

I'm slowly making my way through The Office again. I don't know why I don't do this more frequently, because I'm seriously busting a gut laughing. I just finished one of my favorite episodes EVER. The Dundies. I actually happen to have my very own Dundie award that a friend gave me for Christmas a few years ago. Dundie. Even the word makes me laugh.

Dundie.

Michael Scott still just hits a little too close to home for me though. Thank you, former jackhole boss of mine who I will continue to hate until the day I die.

In even more couch potato news, my DC Housewives are on tonight. I was amused by last week's premiere, and I'm anxious to see how it all blows up. Early likability goes to Mary and Stacie. On the fence about Lynda. The other two I have no strong feelings either way, although I AM a sucker for an accent. Hello, Caht. I'm also pretty sure Michaele will fly off the deep end so that'll be entertaining. But I don't think they'll replace the NYC gals in my heart. Doy.

Speaking of new friends, I'd like to introduce my pal, Paleo. There's a 6-week CrossFit Paleo challenge starting soon, and I think I'm gonna do it. In a nutshell, it's meat, vegetables, fruit, and nuts. The hunter-gatherer paleolithic diet. No dairy, grains, beans, anything like that. In all honesty, I eat pretty Paleo as it is. I'd just have to give up my oatmeal breakfast. And my cheats. And my booze. Hmm. I'm not gonna stress over it though. If I deviate from Paleo, so be it. But everyone's doing it, so I'll jump the bandwagon. I am easily swayed.

That said, I will take bets on how long I'll embrace my inner cavewoman. I wonder if I get a dinosaur.

August and Everything After

I was right last week when I posted that I felt a deadlift PR coming on. I managed to pull 200 LB's (pronounced just like that: Ell-Bees), shattering my old PR by TWENTY-FIVE pounds. That's insane. I went in thinking that I'd be happy if I just picked up 180. Well, 185 came up. Then 195. Then 200. Yeah...that was a pretty good feeling. I'm trying to really work on strength for the upcoming Heart of America competition in November. My team is comprised of some of my favorite people at CrossFit. I love them. We're gonna have a good time. This year the competition is gonna be at CrossFit Valley Park in STL. So a little road trip will also add to the fun. The fun. And the pain. And the blood, sweat, and tears. I'm sure there will be lots of all of that.

Moving on. August almost makes me think of new beginnings. I suppose it's because for 22 years of my life, it always meant a new school year. After college, I felt a little lost when there was nothing to look forward to. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited about a new schedule, a new group of people, and pretty much a whole new life. I'm still not entirely sure that this is IT, in terms of my dream career, but I do think it's what I'm supposed to be doing now, at least while I figure out what IT is. Things change, I've learned that much in my 25 years.

Pistachio pudding. I'll end with that. I call it my green pudding treat. Really I do.

Green pudding treat.

Bye.

Eat Pray Love

I cannot wait for this movie to come out. Love love love Julia Roberts, but I also love just the premise of EPL. Would the world not be a better place if we all were afforded the luxury of taking a year to regroup and re-evaluate our lives? I think so.

I went to dinner at Touch last night to celebrate my friend's 27 years of living on this planet. For some reason that sounds way fancier than a birthday. Or just weirder. I had the most amazing food I think I've ever put in my mouth. Bacon-wrapped dates, house muffins, fish cakes, lobster risotto, and flourless chocolate cake. Shut the front door. I felt like I was on an episode of "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" and it was absolutely heavenly. There are other things I could say, but they are not all that appropriate for a blog. Or for mixed company. Or perhaps ever. But I am thinking them. I would eat that food every day and not even care if I weighed 500 pounds. As long as bacon-wrapped dates with goat cheese are in my life, I want for nothing else.

Except maybe to win the lottery so I can afford to eat my beloved dates.

In one hour, I am going to go attempt to pick up the most weight I have ever lifted. It's 1RM (one rep max) deadlift day at CrossFit Springfield. I feel a PR on the horizon. It's a-comin'.

Ode to Saturday

It must be move-in day at my apartment complex. I'm having to share the stairwell with massive crowds of people carrying massive loads of the most random crap I've ever seen. Weird. Really weird. I'm keeping my eye out for some potential hot new neighbors, but so far, no luck. Go figure.

It should also be stated that I actually do not know even ONE of my current neighbors and I've lived here for 2+ years.

I've had a pretty good start to the weekend though. Got my ass handed to me this morning at CrossFit.

Today's WOD (workout of the day)
5 rounds for time of:
10 squat snatch 95/65
200m run
10 ring push ups

The prescribed weight for women was 65lb. Funny. I managed to finish Rx'd, but sweet heavens, that was rough. It's really hard to explain my love/hate relationship with CrossFit. I mean seriously. Who DOES this? It hurts. It's painful. It's also 90 degrees in the middle of an Ozarkian summer and the box is sans A/C. Actually, I can't think of any good reasons why I do it right now. Kidding. Sort of. The best part of that workout was collapsing on the floor after I was done. I even left a sweat angel. I did reward myself with a fun trip to the farmer's market afterward. I came away with two bags filled to the brim with produce. Zucchini, tomatoes, banana peppers, and basil. Plus, I got to see some Amish folk, which is always a treat.

I have a great desire to watch Katherine Heigl movies today. I'll see where that leads me.

Fall-ish

I think I'll always be an academic at heart. Not for the obvious reasons, like how I'm brilliant or fantastically NYC Preppy or how I love to carry a stack of books around, but really just for the sense of starting over that it provides. Instead of a daily grind, I get to focus on a week. A semester. A year. It works out fabulously for my goal-oriented little self. Along with being an academic at heart, I'm also completely NOT enthralled with the monotonous. I am the most uncommitted person ever. Or, maybe I'm the most committed person ever, because I set goals, reach them entirely too fast, and then need something else. It may sound like a gift, but it's not. It makes for an anxious, antsy, seemingly flighty girl. I'm cursed.

If I could be completely honest, I'm scared to death about school. I'm scared that I'll hate it, and I'll have committed to another degree that I really could care less about. RIght now it seems like the right thing to do, and I know I'm so blessed to have gotten the GA position so that I can take some time to really figure out my life. But honestly--public administration?? Who DOES that? Policy analysis, personnel management. Good Lord.

Enough of the freakout. I'm still excited about a schedule. And school signifies fall for me. UGGs. Hoodies. Running without having a heat stroke.

I'd say sweatpants too, but I do enough of that already in the icebox that I call my apartment. I can't help that I like it like that.

Celebrating Fetuses

There must be something in the water at the box, because babies are popping up and out faster than I can keep track of. It's pretty amazing, because most, if not all, of the expecting ladies are still hitting their workouts regularly and still hitting them hard. It gives me hope for the future, in the event that I ever give up my selfish ambitions and independence and settle down and procreate. That was a weird thought.

I went to a shower for one of the trainers this weekend. A baby shower, but that term is used so loosely, that I will refer to it as a baby-blue-gift-wrapped, beer-fueled pool party. Needless to say, I loved it. It was so unlike any traditional shower I've been to, and that simply made it the most amazing experience ever. I know I could talk for years and years about my love of CrossFit, but until you really get in there and experience firsthand all the love and camaraderie that spills out of that place, you will have no idea. We sweat together. We grow together. We hit milestones together. We've seen each other at our worst and our best. It is a family at its very core.

Sometimes we slack a little and let the softer side show out from under our badass exteriors. Again, something I love.

Add in some North Point with the fam and some good conversation with my mom, I had a pretty good weekend. I'm ready to hit this week.

He's a little bit "extra."

I've been watching this season of The Real World. Set in Nawlins, it's a pretty hilarious group so far. I'm not sure if I should be embarrassed of my love of trashy reality television, but seriously, if it's wrong, I don't want to be right. I love it. The drama, the profanity, the self-destruction. Hmm. What a lovely picture that paints of me.

Anyway, I'm drawn to two characters this season. Ashlee, the gorgeous college basketball player who seemingly has her head screwed on pretty straight. And Ryan, the homophobic hair stylist who blow dries his body while laying in bed. Ryan is the guy you love to hate. He has some serious issues, but for some reason, I find him absolutely hilarious. The blow drying for instance. Who does that? As Jemmye notes, "he's what we refer to as 'extra.'"

I'm now getting ready to go hit up the advanced CrossFit wod today. I've never gone to the advanced wod, mostly because the very idea scares the living crap out of me. But this one is off-site, set at the MSU track. Rumor has it that we're going to endure the sandbag stadium wod from the recent CrossFit Games. We'll see. I'm decked out in some Lululemon shorts, and if that doesn't get me fired up and raring to go, I don't know what else will. My body is completely wrecked from this week, but there's no way I'm missing this. Not to mention the fact that I have to be seen in a bikini tomorrow.

Holy Humidity

I do realize it's summer in the Midwest, but quite honestly, I cannot get over how cruel this weather is. What the eff, Mother Earth? In order to combat the heat, I have to get up before the crack of dawn to hit the trails. Even then, I'm still dripping sweat and flinging it upon the poor soul who has the bad luck to cross my path. Good morning to you too, sir.

But it is what it is. And in the end, 6.5 miles were completed. It was by no means a fun run. It was a grueling workout that felt more like a double-digit race than a simple easy training run. I blame this on the temps. But also on my pathetic training thus far for Marathon #3, set to be run this October. I'll do the math for ya. That's approximately 13 weeks away.

I have every intention of beginning a consistent training schedule. It's vital to surviving the race. Really. As simple as that. If I don't train, I am going to fail. I may still finish, but I will have failed myself. I need to rediscover my love of the run. But again--let's cue Mother Earth. WTF.

I blog.

I started blogging way back before it was cool. We're talking 10 years ago. Then I kept blogging through the years when it WAS cool. Then it died down, I took a break, and now everyone is again tapping into their inner J.D. Salinger (may he rest in peace). However, I do fully support this movement.

I realize I have just about 4 weeks left until I re-enter the academic world again, this time as a graduate student. This makes me happy for so many reasons. The main one being that I'm bored out of my mind. I've taken the summer off to completely regroup and get ready for this next stage of my life. It was fun for a while, but my Type-A personality only truly was blissfully relaxed for approximately 2.52 days. I'm looking forward to the endless reading, the campus vibe, the feelings of accomplishment and defeat. However, most of all, I think I'm ready to jump head first onto a completely new ship. Feet first maybe? My interests are so varied. Undergraduate concentrations in technical writing, biomedical sciences, music, and religious studies. Who does that? Apparently, I do. But delving into public administration ? It's something I think I'll excel at, but it'll also be a challenge. But what is worth pursuing if it isn't a challenge? Staying on the beaten path is for the birds. I've been there and done that, and it's not for me.

I'm a loose cannon. I like turning heads.

I'll also be putting in hours with the Department of Political Science since they've decided to fund my studies. Between school, working, and keeping up my grueling workouts, I think I'll have my work cut out for me. It'll bring out the best in me. Or worst. But mostly best.