What do you think I should do? Tell me your thoughts!

Sorry for the lack of posts in the past few days... I've just been really busy at work. I was sore on Thursday so I didn't workout and took a rest day. Instead, I got to work super early (like 1.5 hours early) and got a ton done before people showed up.

On Friday, we had a potluck at work; I signed up to bring a dish of course. When you're a bike commuter, something as simple as signing up to bring a dish to a potluck really throws a kink in your plans. After all, I can't very well carry a crock pot on the bike with me can I? So I rode into work with Michael but it makes for another early day to the office again. I showed up about 2 hours early. I don't even tell people at work when I do that b/c they just look at me funny. Like, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Honestly, when I get there at 6:00 and most everyone else starts at 8:00, those two hours are by far the most productive of my day! The office is nice and quiet, I don't even turn on all the lights- just those I need to work. I'm not interrupted every 3 minutes, my train of thought is straight and focused, so I'm able to accomplish so much more! I'm one of 3 supervisors in a department of 31 people so being interrupted even if it's a 2-second question is commonplace.

To say my review went well on Wednesday would be an understatement. It was MORE THAN POSITIVE I'm super excited. I even got a 5% raise! Take that RECESSION!

I'm kind of torn right now... we're scheduled to have our Emergency Fund in place by the end of the year- just two more months. The EF is the next step of Dave Ramsey's baby steps and once that's in place, that's when we start contributing to our 401k and retirement again. Since we started his program, we've stopped all retirement contributions, including the 401k. It was really hard for me to do that.

I'm torn between sticking to funding our Emergency Fund or starting my 401k contributions right now. Since I am getting a 5% raise, if I start my contributions of 5% again, nothing will really change. I won't even notice yet I'll stop losing out on the 3% match that my company offers.

What do you think?
1)Do not contribute to my 401k, let my paycheck increase as a result of the raise and fund my Emergency Fund faster.
or
2)Begin contributing to my 401k, essentially not feeling the 5% raise and continue to fund the Emergency Fund as originally scheduled, having it in place by the end of the year.

Thanks or your input.

Kelsalynn

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What a week

This has been one of those weeks already and it's only Wednesday! Not a bad week, by any means, just CRAZY busy. I realize that weeks like these are when I love working out. It really is my wind-down time, my time just for me, to leave any frustrations at the door, etc. It helps tremendously!

Today I have my annual review at work. I'm expecting it to go well but you never really know. Even if I've had great feedback all year, I always get nervous before my annual review. The company I work for is BIG on feedback and growing their employees, which I absolutely love, but from the employee perspective, that means you learn really quick how to take constructive criticism. It's coming whether you like it or not, so you might as well learn to deal with it.

This morning's WOD looked easy on paper:
4 rounds of 150 feet lunges and 50 sit-ups.

Then I realized, that's a lot of lunges and 200 sit-ups! Yikes!

I measured out 150 feet then started the clock. I ended up doing 46-48 lunges (depending on how far I lunged) each round. So I did almost 200 lunges and exactly 200 sit-ups this morning.

I am very sure I won't be able to walk tomorrow or Friday! This is the week of sit-ups--- 3 days of sit-ups: Monday I did 150, today I did 200, and Saturday's "tabata" workout usually has around 100!

With all these ab exercises I'd say I should have a 6-pack any day now, but with the way I've been eating, that's not going to happen. First, there was my peanut-butter-filled-pretzel disaster on Monday, yesterday I was on the road for work all day so we ended up eating out, and today is my review so we'll be eating out again for lunch.

Yet another reason why I'm glad I workout regularly.

On the financial front, I transferred $2,850 to our EMERGENCY FUND today! This marks a special day because we're officially MORE THAN HALF WAY TO OUR GOAL!

EMERGENCY FUND SO FAR = $6,480
50.4%

Yes, I'm counting that .4% gosh darn it!

Until tomorrow,
Kelsalynn

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Technical Day + Pull-ups

Today's WOD called for 7 weighted pull-ups. It hasn't been that long since my very first kipping pull-up, so I'm still working on just doing them strict (no kipping).

Twice this morning I tried to add 5 lbs to my pull-up but I didn't get all the way up either time. So close though! I'll keep working on it. My strict pull-up is getting slightly easier each time but I was still glad to work on them this morning.

After that I worked on my squats. I randomly chose 95 pounds (two 25# plates were easier to grab then two 45# plates- who knows). I did 30 squats at this weight. Again, 30 reps- totally random. I didn't get there and say, "I'm going to do 30 reps", it just sort of happened. But as I did them, if I didn't get low or my form wasn't perfect (elbows back, head down, etc) then it didn't count.

I feel confident moving on from 95#. I hesitate to say anything is ever "easy", but it kind of was. I had no problem getting low and driving from the hip. Next time maybe I'll do 115 pounds and make sure I'm equally as comfortable at that weight before moving on. I don't antitipcate any problems at 115 but I like going back and ensuring my form is correct... this is serving as a good reminder to check yourself.

Check yourself before you wreck yourself. Yup, that's what I always say :)

KelsaLynn

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Crap

I've eaten like crap today. Total crap.

Note to self- do not buy a bag of peanut butter filled pretzels to "keep at your desk for the week" when you know full well that you will eat the entire bag in one day.

Just don't do it.

Don't even buy it!

I could not resist. Foolish me for even buying them. They were good though. Luckily I'm biking home, I may take the long way!

Kelsalynn

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I hate Michael...

Okay, Okay, not my husband Michael... I'm actually quite smitten by him, I'm referring to the WOD "Michael."

I say I hate it, but I secretly love it. It kicks my booty.

3 rounds-
1/2 mile run
50 back extensions
50 sit-ups

The last time I did "Michael" was May 22nd. At this time, it was one month after my half marathon at Lake Havasu so running was absolutely out of the question... I could barely run 10 feet without my hips and calves hurting let alone 1/2 mile 3 times! I opted for biking the cardio sprints instead of running.

My hips have been feeling really good lately, which is a relief. I was able to complete the 1.5 mile sprints without any problems. Actually, I had kind of forgotten I even suffer from hip problems they felt so good! Woot!

In May, my time was 26:53.
Today, my time was 25:42.

Take that Michael!

I have to admit though, I get really close to barfing at the end of those sprints. Well, not the first sprint, but after the 2nd and 3rd, I'm feeling quite barf-tastic.

This morning I saw I had a new comment on my last post that provided some awesome critique of my form. Her name is "Bacon"... I have no idea who she is, but she's obviously another CrossFitter. That's one of the reasons I love CrossFit- everyone helps each other. I wish we had a CF gym close to us to join, I think we'd do it in a heartbeat. I guess we'll just have to wait patiently until Michael opens up his own :)

I'm excited to get back to the gym and take some more pictures (more accurate this time, we'll take the camera not a phone!). I want to take pictures at varying levels so I can see where exactly my form starts to slack off...that's where I need to get back to. Square 1. I'm totally okay with that- it's not like I'm in competition with anyone but myself right?

I had another person ask me yesterday what I'm training for... why do I keep getting this question?

Kelsalynn

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Booty shots galore

Today was CrossFit Total. I'm super pumped that I went up 5 pounds on my deadlift AND squat, but stayed at 70 pounds for my shoulder press.

So here's where I ended up:
Back Squat- 205 (I considered doing more though! Good sign!)
Shoulder press - 70 (same as the last time)
Deadlift- 205

TOTAL = 480

It's actually a pretty good score! I feel good about my form on my deadlift...



However, I'm not feeling so great about my back squat. I had Michael take these pictures so I could see my form. I really need to work on getting much lower. I think I'm going to add some back squats to my training one day each week and really focus on form, not necessarily the weight. I think it will help me get stronger in the long run.





I came home and did some research and found this awesome video on proper back squat form.




Here's what I learned that I think will really help---
1. I need to widen my stance a bit more.
2. I need to point my toes out more.
3. I need to drive my hips up.

I look forward to working on this move. I love back squats and I know they're an important movement. I could honestly care less what my crossfit total "score" is so if it drops a bit in order for me to improve my form, I think it's worth it.

Sunday is a rest day! Wahoo!

I hope everyone is having a nice and relaxing weekend!
Kelsalynn

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WOD and Personal Finance Rules

Another WOD under my belt--- "Tyler" calls for 3 rounds of 7 muscle ups and 21 reps sumo deadlift to a high pull.

The sub for muscle ups is 3/1 pull-ups and dips--- so for everyone 1 muscle up, do 3 pull-ups and 3 dips

OR

2/1 modified muscle-ups.

I chose the latter-- feet on the floor, knees bent, 14 modified muscle-ups per round.

I was really shooting for under 10 minutes but my time was 10:03. BUMMER! So close!

Oh well...it's Friday, that's my excuse. :P

On the finance front, nothing new to report right now and there won't be until next week when we both get paid. But we're dropping a huge amount to our emergency fund next week so I'm really excited!

Two different blogs I read about personal finance (MoneyFunk and Man vs Debt) did something that I thought was really cool and I wanted to follow their lead. They each made their own set up financial "rules" or "values" to live by. Everyone's lives are so different, it's important to create your own set of values to live by.

Just so you can see what I'm talking about, here's MVD's:
1. Never do anything that requires the use of NEW debt.
2. Never let our emergency fund dip below $5000.
3. Always at least pay the minimums. None of that ‘deferring’ student loan crap.
4. Travel and experience the world as frugally as possible.
5. Build a mobile income of at least $3000/month.
6. Have at least one of us staying home with Milligan.
7. Pay extra on student loans.

And here's MoneyFunk's:
1.Never do anything that requires the use of NEW debt.
2.Never let our emergency fund dip below $1000.
3.Always at least pay the minimums. None of that ‘deferring’ student loan stuff.
4.Build a mobile income of at least $1000/month.
5.Pay extra on car loan

It got me thinking...what financial values do we want to live by? What have we learned through all of this that makes total sense now and I don't ever want to forget it?

Here's what I came up with for our financial rules:
1. No new debt (unless it's for a house.)
2. Always live on 60% of our income or less (monthly expenses/bills).
3. Always contribute 15% to retirement (leaves 25% for savings to pay for things we want)
4. Only purchase a home with 20% down.
5. Never let our emergency fund dip below $5,000 (it will be there next week! wahoo!)

It may not be anything new but they're in writing now! I'm most excited about the 60% rule. Currently our monthly expenses are less than 50% of our income (and the rest is being used to fund our emergency fund), but I know things could change. If we kept our expenses at 60% or less, put 15% toward retirement, that leaves 25% of our income each month to save for all of the things most people put on credit- a car, vacation, etc. I think it's very do-able and will be a good way to watch that our spending doesn't creep up now that we're debt free.

After becoming debt free, and in looking at the numbers, for the first time in my life, I actually think it's possible to save for a down payment of 20% on our next home (I always heard people say this but thought it was impossible).

Here's an example, if we wanted a $200K house, that means we'd need $40K down. If we put $1,600/month into savings for 25 months (2 years + 1 month), we'd have 20% down or the $40K needed. It's amazing to think about!

What financial rules do you want to live by?

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"What are you training for?"

This is going to be a lot of randoms... sorry.
I totally didn't have it this morning. The workout was 5 rounds of squat cleans and push-ups. Instead I ended up doing 3 rounds and with modified push-ups instead of regular.

On Monday, I noticed when doing my shoulder presses that my right arm wasn't going as high as my left. When I corrected this, my right shoulder hurt and I quickly realized it was probably hurting beforehand and I compensated by shortening how far I raised it above my head. I hadn't even realized I made this decision, but your body makes adjustments like that all the time without you even realizing it.

I thought I was just sore but this morning it was really bothering me. It's not a sore-hurt, it's a bad-hurt. A not-good hurt. I think we all know the difference. I'm so relieved that tomorrow is a rest day. Maybe I'll take a dip in the jacuzzi...

So anyway, my time for this morning for 3 rounds, 65# squat cleans and modified push-ups was 11:51. Not great. Oh well, 3 rounds is better than no rounds. Right?

Even if I felt like a slacker this morning, it didn't stop a new guy from asking me questions about my workouts. He saw me doing cleans and asked where I learned them from, etc. For some reason, guys see a girl doing a clean, and they have to ask why. I don't get it. Once I was done he said, "What are you training for?"

"Nothing. Life."

That was my answer. What AM I training for? I didn't really have an answer for him. It got me thinking how I miss races. I can't run, but I miss the environment of races- the adrenaline, the supporters, the sprint at the end. We had a goal to do 2 adventure races this year and it's not going to happen for 2 main reasons- 1) most of them involve running and 2) until we have our emergency fund in place, they don't really fit into the budget either. They're expensive!

So, maybe this was my year just to train, to be content doing it for me and not for a race. Next year I want to do so some adventure races though. No excuses this time.

I read an article yesterday that said home prices in Detroit, MI (about 1.5 hrs from the house we own) have dropped in value 51.7%!!! As if this isn't shitty-enough news for you, they're expected to drop another 9.1% before making any positive recovery at all. Oh fricken joy.

I can tell you this, our home was valued at $167,900 when we bought it.

Guess what it's valued at today?

$86,557! Yes, you read that correctly... $86,557 compared to $167,900 when we bought it 3.5 years ago. Oddly enough, the drop in price is EXACTLY 51.6%...the article was pretty spot on.

What do you do with a mortgage of $145,000 that wasn't bad when your house was worth $167,900 but now you owe almost $60,000 more than its value?

It makes me sick to my stomach. I don't even like to think about it. Luckily, we have tenants who pay on time every month... sure, we lose $200/month but what is our other option right now?

Kelsalynn

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Two wenches in a row

Normally I workout first thing then blog when I get to work. I don't feel bad about taking 5 minutes to update my blog while I'm at work because I usually get there by 7:15 and technically don't start until 8. I got there and I'm not sure what happened, but I never did update my blog. I've been crazy busy all day!

This morning I did "Elizabeth"- another scrappy bitch that CrossFit came up with.

21-15-9 reps of:
65# clean
ring dips

I can't do ring dips--- that's where you have Olympic-style rings, you jump up and do ring dips holding onto them, without your feet on the ground. I can't do that so I do a modified version- heels on the ground.

They. still. suck.

Big. Time.

The cleans weren't so bad. The dips, on the hand, were super hard. I could only do 4-5 at a time and my arms were SHAKING!!!

It's such an incredible workout- much harder than doing them on a bench, which is weird b/c your body position doesn't really change at all.

I have to admit, my arms looked pretty bad ass when I was doing them! I was stoked.

My time = 9:52.

What's fricken awesome is that the last time I did Elizabeth was just on September 1st, so only 6 weeks ago. At that time, I only did 55# cleans (so 10# less) but I did dips on the bench (42-30-18 reps)... my time was 9:24 so only 28 seconds faster but not as difficult! Very cool.

Tomorrow I've got 60 hang squat cleans and 100 push-ups tomorrow! Yikes! My arms are already incredibly sore from Fran and Elizabeth. It already sucks to open doors (pulling motion), applying deoderant, etc... any motion that requires flexibility of the upper body or pulling are tough! Crap...

Now I need to balance the checkbook, I haven't done it in days and I'm going crazy!

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Frannie is a wench

I still haven't downloaded pictures from our camping trip this weekend. I only had the one of the tarantula because Michael took it with his phone and uploaded it to his Facebook. I had nightmares about that little guy last night...

I feel like I need a weekend for my weekend. I'm exhausted. Camping was fun, but it's a lot of work and it was extremely hot so we didn't exactly relax. Actually, I can honestly say there was no relaxing at all, but our next trip will hopefully be much better.

I came home yesterday and took a 2.5 hour nap. I only woke up because I was hungry I think! Then this morning when I woke up I felt like I could have slept the entire day. I have a few random things I just need to get off my chest:

The laundry is overflowing,
Nikki needs a bath after our trip yet it didn't stop her from sleeping in our bed,
Our house is a mess,
It took me 10 minutes to find a pair of socks this morning b/c of the baskets of clean clothes we have everywhere,
I'm not ready for it to be Monday,
I can't remember if the dishes in the dishwasher are clean or dirty-they've been in there that long,
I need to change the sheets on our bed,
Our house is a mess (have I mentioned this?),
We never went grocery shopping like we do on Sundays,
There's still a ton of shit in the car that needs to be cleaned out,
Holy crap, it's Monday already!

yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I'm being a baby. Hopefully tonight after work I can get some cleaning done while Michael goes to the grocery store and still go to bed a little early.

Despite being slightly cranky and a lot tired, I did make it to the gym this morning for an ass whoopin'. I'd say the fight was a "draw"--- Fran is scrappy just like most of the chicks CrossFit comes up with but I'm proud of my time.

"Fran" is 21-15-9 reps of:
65# Thruster
Pull-ups

First of all, if you've never done a thruster, try one! It's one of my favorite exercises. You hold a bar across your chest, go down into a squat, and as you come up, thrust the bar over your head much like a shoulder press. As you lower the bar, go into the squat and repeat. It's an amazing workout for your legs, core, and upper body.

I have not done this workout since February 14th! That's a long time ago! One of the reasons I love keeping a blog is that it makes it so easy to track my workouts and this is a perfect example. My label is "Fran" so I can search by that to see when I did it last. You can read all about it here, but here's the summary:

45# thruster (today I did 65#)
level 13 assistance on the pull-up machine (today I did them without assistance)
My time = 6:57
Back in February, I also wrote about how Michael did this workout with unassisted pull-ups and I was completely amazed! It seemed incredible to me that he could do 45 pull-ups without assistance!

And here we are today, 8 months later and I'm doing the workout with pull-ups on my own! Pretty extraordinary right? What an improvement...

Anyway, my time today was nowhere near 6:57--- it was 14:25, but considering I added 20# to the thruster and did the pull-ups on my own, I'm really proud of that time!

I hope everyone has a great week-- anyone want to come clean my house for me? =]

Kelsalynn

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Eeew!

Just returned from camping for the evening and we had a nice time. I'll post more about it later but first I need to get some dinner in my belly.

This "little" guy was right outside our tent...I almost stepped on him (I had shoes on) then started screaming for Michael! I'm pretty sure had I not been freaking out, he would have asked if he could keep it.



Kelsalynn

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So easy even if KelsaLynn can do it...

It's no secret to those who know me that I am not a chef.

My good friend Lexi likes to remind me of the time I tried to make macaroni and cheese and was a hot mess in the process. Who has two thumbs and panics making mac n cheese? This girl.

Plenty of things have changed since that evening so long ago, including my comfort level in the kitchen. Luckily I married someone who loves cooking and he's a great teacher so I've turned into a good little cook. I'm still not very creative but it's a learning process... I've graduated to high school but creativity is like a master's program.

I thought it'd be fun to document one of my cookscapades!

Tonight I made stirfy with turkey sausage, broccoli slaw and mixed vegetables. It's super simple!

First, turkey sausage cut up. Mmm...

Throw the turkey sausage in a wok with a bit of olive oil and let it cook up!



Broccoli slaw is super cheap, yummy, and healthy for you!



I take the sausage out of the wok and put it to the side. Throw the broccoli slaw, cup or so of mixed veggies, water chestnuts, bit of water (so the bottom doesn't burn) and seasonings in the Wok. Cover it and cook until the vegetables are heated thoroughly, stirring occasionally. For seasonings, I use cajun seasoning, red pepper flakes, and a dash of soy sauce but you can use anything!



For the last few minutes, I throw the sausage back in the wok and mix it all together.



We serve it with half of a peach each! YUMMY DELICIOUS! And super easy!



Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Kelsalynn

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What's happening?

Well, howdy dowdy ... not a whole lot going on here- I didn't workout this morning because I had a dentist appointment scheduled for 7:10 AM. I got to sleep in an extra hour AND got my teefers cleaned. Pretty good morning.

Last night after work, I started getting a sore throat. Today it feels better so I'm hoping my body will fight off the cold going around. It seems everyone at work is sick right now so it's only a matter of time. We're planning to go camping this weekend so hopefully our plans don't get spoiled.

I sent some moola-moola to our Emergency Fund today- $625 to be exact.

SAVINGS TO DATE= $3,628
28.2%!!!

Honestly, the savings portion of our money makeover could not come at a better time. There are some things happening at work that I can't really talk about, but they make me nervous. I don't think I have anything to worry about, but then again, most of the people I've seen get laid off in my 5 years with the company thought the same thing.

It will probably be 3-4 months before I know anything specific and things play out so right now I just have my speculations...since I'm a worrier that's probably the worst case scenario. I tell myself not to worry, relax, don't freak out, it will all be fine, but my mind tends to go a little overboard with the "worst case scenarios".

Until tomorrow,
Kelsalynn

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A Pistol I am not

It's 7:23 AM and already I'm thinking today will be "one of those days." First, I slept an extra 10 minutes after my alarm went off b/c I couldn't get out of bed. You know when you're lying there and you are convinced you have all the time in the world? Then you shockingly realize you have to get your ass out of bed and start getting ready? That's how I woke up this morning.

Then I biked to the gym and should have done the workout for Wednesday as you can see by the sidebar...except I realized two things:
1. I didn't feel like working out
2. I can't do a pistol nor could I even complete a modified pistol with my back on a ball against the wall.

A pistol (that's what CrossFit calls it) is really just a one-legged squat.

Here's a video of a "pistol":


I saw this video last night even before going to the gym this morning. It looks fairly doable, or so I thought.

But nope, add it to the list of things Kelsalynn can't do, right up there with double unders.

After my two realizations, I opted for a 1 mile run and 50 sit-ups followed by some stretching. Then I headed to the locker room to get ready for work.

After yesterday's WOD of 50 thrusters, 70 cleans, and 100 sumo deadlift high pull's, my legs and shoulders are killing me...but in a good way of course.

Wish me luck on another day of eating right. Yesterday I ate one of the pink ribbon sugar cookies I told you about. Someone bought it for me this time so how could I resist? :P

Kelsalynn

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Miscellaneous

My workout this morning was hella tough-

as many round as possible in 20 minutes (AMRAP20):
5 thrusters
7 hang power cleans
10 sumo-deadlift high pulls

The last time I did this workout I completed 8 round + 5 thrusters and 7 cleans so almost 9 rounds. That was on August 31st so about 6 weeks ago.

This morning I beat that with 10 full rounds and 20 seconds left on the clock. I know, 20 seconds--- I should have kept going, but I couldn't. I was pooped and my forearms were killing me. The worst part about this workout is afterwards when I'm doing my hair and I have to use the curling iron. My forearms are so tired that even curling my hair is a chore. Note to self- next time I do this workout, the hair is going in a ponytail.

The next time I plan to bump up the weights a little bit. The scale higher than my current one calls for 65# (I did 45#). I'm not sure I could do 65# but maybe 55#. We'll see...

Another workout in the books...

So, remember how I said I'm trying to not go crazy with food this week and actually show some restraint?

Let me tell you that by 9 AM yesterday, someone had brought in donuts AND (get this) someone made pink ribbon cookies for the 2 ladies who walk in the 3-day (60-mile) event for breast cancer. She even took the time to write inspirational messages on each one! She was selling each cookie for $2 and the money went to our two walkers. What a great idea right? I only wish I had thought of it. I did end up buying a cookie but I gave it to one of my employees as a "thank you for your hard work" gesture.

THEN--- in the afternoon, someone brought in apple cake!

Argh! Seriously people? No wonder I have a hard time sticking to a diet... can't someone bring in fruits and veggies?

I have to say, I did not eat any of them! It was tough... I even had the knife in my hand to cut a piece of cake but then set it down and walked away. Hells yeah! It was not easy! I wanted that damn cake... lol

Last night I made the grilled tuna patties with zucchini and we'll be eating them for lunch today. Hopefully they taste yummy (I already stole a bite while making them, and they were yummy). They totally fell apart and were not in the shape of patties in the least bit, so I'm actually calling it grilled tuna mush, but it's going to be good anyway!!!

Until tomorrow,
Kelsalynn

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Workout Uno Done

I'm pretty stoked right now... I headed to the gym this morning to do a max rep of the shoulder press (SP), push press (PP), and push jerk (PJ).

The last time I did this was on July 5th. Below are my max reps from that day:

SP: 65 (attempted 70 but couldn't get it)
PP: 75
PJ: 75

Today I got the following:
SP: 70 (+5!)
PP: 85 (+10!)
PJ: 85 (+10!)

I really hate how badly this WOD makes my wrists hurt. Not cool.

Everyone is sick around me right now- most people at work and a lot of our friends. I'm really hoping I don't catch it. I realize my diet and eating right is probably pretty important right now so that's what I plan to focus on this week.

My lunch is packed and so are my two snacks of the day. I have no reason to stray except lack of discipline!

Until tomorrow,
Kelsalynn

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Week Ahead #2

In my post just before this, I talked about the week ahead- money plans and workout schedule. I also mentioned how I want to reign in my unhealthy splurges in diet that have been sneaking their way in the past two weeks.

Kelly kindly encouraged me in her comment to start a meal plan. She's one smart chick and as most of you know, this is something my hubby and I do every week. On Sunday evening, we create a meal plan for the whole week then head to the grocery store based on what we need. On Sunday nights and Mondays, our pantry and fridge look amazing! Stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables and whatever else we needed for the whole week. But by Friday or Saturday, it's bare bones! It looks as if we don't eat and if my mother-in-law ever swung by, God forbid she'd accuse me of not feeding her son.

Since I listed my workout schedule for the week, I thought I'd list my meal plan too!

MONDAY
B: Egg bake
L: Leftovers
D: Cheddar chicken soup

TUESDAY
B: Egg bake (we make it on Sunday night and it feeds us breakfast for 2 days)
L: Grilled tuna patties
D: Turkey Meatloaf

WEDNESDAY
B: Smoothie
L: Meatloaf leftovers
D: Turkey sausage stirfry

THURSDAY
B: Egg wrap
L: Chicken & ranch wrap
D: Ham & pineapple

FRIDAY
B: Smoothie
L: Ham & pineapple leftovers
D: Chicken & veggies

SATURDAY (we'll be camping Saturday night)
B: Protein pancakes
L: Turkey wrap
D: Brats/hotdogs/on the grill

Until tomorrow,
Kelsalynn

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Week ahead

Well hello there! It's been a few days, mainly because I didn't have a whole lot to blog about.

I didn't workout on Friday. Instead, I got to work around 6 AM and worked until 7:30 PM. It was a long day but I always remind myself how much I truly do enjoy my job, the company I work for, and what I do so spending that much time at work isn't all that bad.

I've planned my workouts for the coming week but I want to focus on eating better too. I've had two terrible weeks in a row of eating junk food more often than I should be, so this week, I need to reign it in.

Here's my workouts for this week:
MONDAY
Shoulder press 1-1-1-1-1 reps max before = 65
Push press 3-3-3-3-3 reps max before = 75
Push Jerk 5-5-5-5-5 reps max before = 75

TUESDAY
AMRAP 20 minutes:
5 Thrusters
7 Hang Power Cleans
10 Sumo Deadlift High Pull
all @ 45#

WEDNESDAY
Run 800 meters
15 left pistols
15 right pistols
25 sit-ups
12 left pistols
12 right pistols
25 sit-ups
9 left pistols
9 right pistols
25 sit-ups
Run 800 meters

THURSDAY
Day off – Dentist Appt

FRIDAY
Thruster 7 x 1 reps
30 muscle ups

The first two are workouts that I carried over from last week because I never did them.

We also get paid this week so we'll have some emergency fund updates toward the end of the week. We're planning to send over $600 to our savings so keep an eye open for that.

Now I'm going to take my routine Sunday nap after a morning of watching football... I love Sundays!

Kelsalynn

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Toughy but Goody

Today's WOD was a tough one, but a good one. It called for:

21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps of:
Power clean, 65#
Sit-ups
Back extensions

My time was 18:24.

It was much harder than I thought it looked- those cleans killed me man.

I am still completely amazed at how sore my calves are. WTF? As much as we workout, sure, being sore has become normal for me- but not like this. Holy crap I could barely step when I got out of bed this morning. I feel like I just finished the PF Chang's Marathon with calf cramps the whole race again. It's insane.

I even took some Aleve this morning. That's how you can tell I'm really in pain and not just being a bitchy, whiny woman- if I take a pain reliever. I hate swallowing pills, I tend to do the gagging thing two or three times before I actually swallow it (although I'm getting better in my old age :P ) so I tend to shy away from pills in general. Plus, in my crazy head, it makes sense to let your body do it's thing by fighting whatever it's fighting... I don't know, I guess I just think it's a natural thing.

With my breakfast, I took one little Aleve pill and it's made my calves at least walkable.

Anyone else excited for The Office wedding tonight? Ooooh I am!

I have no idea what pictures I can use from the internet and which ones I can't...so in an effort to give credit where credit is due, here's the NY Post link where I got the above picture.

Until tomorrow,
Kelsalynn

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Ouch

I'm sore.

Sore as F*CK!

My calves are sore from the jump roping.

My hamstrings are sore from kettlebell swings and squats.

My quads are sore from the squat cleans and lunges.

My chest is still sore from Saturday when I did the bench press.

Shoulders hurt from --- not sure what actually, but I can't even touch my shoulders they are that sore.

Actually, I'm thinking my upper body is a result of all the pull-ups I did between Monday and Tuesday.

And I have to walk around in high heels all day so I will have the constant reminder of how my calves are burning.

I'm not complaining though... well, I totally am, but I secretly love it :) Don't tell anyone.

Instead of working out this morning, I biked to work early and got some much needed catch up work done. I swear, I do this probably once a week. I'm not sure how I would get everything done without coming in early or staying late at least once each week.

I updated my emergency fund bar on the right to be more accurate. Our goal is $12,864. I was rounding up and saying $13,000 but to be more specific, I changed it to exactly $12,864.

Have a great day...anyone want to give me a massage?

Kelsalynn

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Catching up - on workouts and eating apparently

Monday's WOD:
"Helen"- 3 rounds of
1/4 mile sprint
21 kb swings 35#
12 pull-ups

My time? 18:04

The last time I did this workout was March! My time was just under 11 minutes, so it appears I did worse this time around but that's not actually true. In March, I used a 26# kettlebell, whereas today I used a 35# dumbbell and way back then, I did assisted pull-ups (level 13 nonetheless) whereas yesterday I did them on my own!

My torn up hands are proof!

I will always and forever love "Helen" because it was the first CrossFit workout I ever did and the one where I repeatedly almost barf.

Tuesday's WOD:
sort of a hodge podge of everything:
25 lunges
20 pull-ups (level 10 assisted b/c of my hands- see above)
50 box jumps
20 double unders w/ jump rope
25 dips (assisted machine level 10)
20 captain's chair
30 kb swings 35#
30 sit-ups
20 hang squat cleans 45#
25 back extensions
30 wallballs (11#)

When I started, I tried doing the pull-ups normal, but my hands were hurting too bad. It was only 20 pull-ups, but still, I couldn't get myself to hold onto that bar. I did assisted instead on level 10-- the bar on the assisted machine is cushioned so it's softer on the hands.

My time? 29:07

You guys see those "20 double under w/ jump rope" up there? Guess how long those 20 double unders took? 6 minutes!!! That's not good! Not good at all...but this is the first workout where I actually did double unders and not some substitution for them, so that's an improvement. I'm glad I got through all 20 even if it took me FOR-EV-ER.

On a semi-related note, this chick has been eating like I've never tasted food before. It's really quite sad. Every day last week, I ate ice cream. Did you read that? There was not one day last week where ice cream did not go into my belly. What the hell? Yesterday, I was sitting at my desk in the afternoon and decided I wanted a snack out of the vending machine. Again, what the hell? I never do that! (I also never have cash on me and now I do- see $10/week post from before for details)...

So, I go to the vending machine and get out a bag of ActII butter popcorn! WTF? So stupid.

I need to reign these cravings in a little bit... maybe I'm pregnant.

NOT! Just kidding! I'm not pregnant...

Until tomorrow,
Kelsalynn

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Eeek...

Uh-oh, anyone else think Tuesday's workout looks like a bi-otch?

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October budget and Update

Post #2 of the day, but the one before this is kind of boring... just documented a workout.

I realized I haven't posted my budget yet for October, so here it is...

Now that we're debt free, we've made a few changes:
1. I added $100 for shopping this month! I already spent $25 on a new top for work and a new skirt. Pretty good deal if you ask me! Michael and I both need jeans and underwear and I also need some new bras, etc. It's stuff we've been putting off purchasing for a while so I have no complaints finally adding it to the budget. Over the course of 2009, I'm pretty sure our "shopping" or "clothing" budget is close to $100 total and some of that was using gift cards. In the $100 budgeted for October, we're also planning to spend a little bit of that on halloween costumes. :P

2. Our "per diem" (that's what I call it) is essentially our allowance. While we were paying off debt, I did not get any money (my choice, I wanted out of debt more) but Michael would get $10 per week. Each week when we get groceries, we'd get $10 cash back and that was his to do whatever he wants with it. In other words, we had $40 per month in "per diem" for this... but now it's $80 because I am giving myself $10 per week too! It might not sound like much, but you have no idea how excited I am about this little $10!!! It will be nice to go to lunch with co-workers once a week or splurge on a Starbucks coffee if I want to. It's the little things...

3. Marathon Registration- Michael is again running the PF Chang's marathon this year and registration is $85. No, I'm not running... homegirl still can't run...

4. Renter's Insurance- this is a semi-annual bill that I sort of forgot about. It's only $12.50 per month, but I created an ING savings account just for this bill when it comes and will fund the account monthly.

5. EMERGENCY FUND- When we were paying off debt, I never had extra payments listed in the budget because literally, every extra penny NOT budgeted, went to debt. But I've decided to add in how much we hope to send to savings in the month, after all, it's budgeted. If we can send more, we will. As you can see though, we are planning to send a WHOPPING $5,225 to our EMERGENCY FUND this month!


Our goal is $13,000 (or just less than that actually) and today I sent $1750 to our savings. I updated the bar on the right for our emergency fund and we're up to 23% already and it's only the first week since being debt free! Wahoo!

This whole "pay yourself first" thing really feels good... I'm blown away that I just put $1750 in my savings account.

Until tomorrow,
Kelsalynn
PS: I'm incredibly sore from my workout yesterday- chest and legs!

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Need to get caught up on WOD's

I took two days off last week from working out, which means I'm working out this weekend.

It actually works out better this way because one of those workouts included a bench press, which I hate doing when Michael's not around.

Saturday:
5 rounds, as many reps as possible
85# bench press
pull-ups (strict!)
85# back squat

I wanted to be persistent with my weights for both the back squat and bench press so I had to do 85#. I wasn't even sure if I could do that with the bench press! The last two times I did the bench press I only did 65# so this is a 20# improvement.

It was nice using a lower weight for back squats, I was able to really get deep into the squat and make sure my form was perfect each rep.

Here are my reps:
Round 1:
4,2,10
Round 2:
3,2,10
Round 3:
3,2,10
Round 4:
3,2,10
Round 5:
3,1,13

I'm extremely proud of my pull-ups because they were non-kipping, just strict. Normally I can only do one at a time, but I was able to do 2 before dropping.

Until tomorrow,
Kelsalynn

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4-year anniversary

Tonight Michael and I celebrated our 4-year anniversary by going to dinner and a show at the casino. We had a great time, which is no surprise...we have a great time together wherever we go. He makes me laugh so many times throughout a given day, I don't know what I'd do without him.

I'm such a lucky gal...

I might have consumed a few drinks this evening...



Although, it looks like in this picture, Michael drank too much... haha


And then there's always this one...


Kelsalynn

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Ironic

First of all, thank you, thank you, thank you for all the awesome comments yesterday on our Debt Free post! And thank you to Amy and Megan for giving me my own little post on your own blogs... you spoil me :)

This morning I get to work and log into my Bank of America checking and savings account like I do every other morning when I get to work. It's my way of starting my day... hitting the switch from "workout diva" (since I've just left the gym usually) to "accountant diva".

I have one checking account and one savings account with them. The checking I use to pay bills mostly and our debit card is attached to it. But the savings account is only there because we have the "Keep the Change" program where it rounds your transactions up and moves the change to savings. There's usually only a few hundred dollars in our savings account "just in case."

Ironically enough, today when I log in, I see my savings account balance is at $0... Hmm... I look at the activity and see they have transferred the entire balance from my savings to my checking for "overdraft protection."

Okay... so I go to my checking account activity and sure enough, I see the money sitting in my checking account now with the description "Tsfr for Overdraft Protection."

What's weird here folks, I did not over draw my account.

So I call the 1-800# and speak to a customer service rep. I ask her why the transfer was done and she replies, "to protect your account from overdraft."

Right... I do understand what "overdraft protection" means... I really do... but where exactly is this overdraft you are so kindly protecting me from?

Of course, I imagine this chick gets hundreds of phone calls from people who actually have overdrawn their account and want her to reverse the fees and yada-yada so I'm sensing a little impatience from her.

She looks in my account. "Oh, that's weird."

Right? So Bank of America decided my $2,000 balance in my checking account was too low and they should probably move my savings balance over too and in the mean time, charge me a $29 fee for "protecting" me from... umm... going below $2,000? Not sure there. (there are no minimums on my checking and I take it much lower than $2,000 all the time...)

They reversed the transfer but I have to call back in a few days to reverse any other charges that hit as a result. But it's a little weird to me that this happened, and ironic that the day after I become debt free, someone tried to mess with me... I wonder how often this happens to people who don't check their account regularly... weird.

Until tomorrow,
Kelsalynn

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