Stronger, Better, Faster, Happier page 29

[justyouraveragecavemen]

I like the new blog post. You write well. Even if I could write at that level, I still couldn't...I don't like to show emotion like that. My life has been such a constant nightmare of wondering how other people view my words, actions, and body language that when I do get the opportunity to just all out be me, I still have to wonder if that me is actually me. Maybe the only time I can be me is when I'm alone, with no fear of portraying the wrong signals. Anyways, I think you have figured out who you are and that makes me jealous.

[Kakes]

Thank you, sincerely.
I have to admit, my heart skips a beat every time I go to hit the "post" button. It's hard to put yourself out there. I like the saying that goes, "You could be the sweetest peach on the tree and there will always be someone out there that doesn't like peaches." I have to cast aside my control issues over what people will think of me, and move ahead in hopes that something I have to say just might help someone the way that I am helped by others who put themselves out there.

[Kakes]

I'm disappointed. I can't post about it on facebook, lest I make a friend feel bad, but I need to vent a little, so I'm gonna sit in it over here for a minute.
Last night I taught a great class on wellness and essential oils. I included diet and lifestyle information which opened up some awesome discussion. The hostess was a friend and neighbor of mine who have been planning on signing up for a wholesale account under me for over a year. After the class ended she and her sister and I just talked for hours. They both stated that they planned on signing up and even let me know which oils and kits they wanted, they just needed to okay it with the spouses.
Then today she called me to say she was really sorry, but her other sister had signed up the week before without telling them, and her upline was pressuring them to sign up under her, and offering to match my sign up incentives and top it with a free diffuser. I've been gently working on this girl for over a year. If you ask me, that's just playing dirty. But what can I do? I can't be mad at my friend- it is her sister. And I've been guilt tripped enough over the years that I can't do that to other people. This type of thing happened a year or so back and it still stings. I do the work, and other people swoop in and steal my customers. I suck at business. I'm too nice.

[Kakes]

Yay on the yoga training! I'm a huge yoga fan. I'm trying to suck my husband into it as well. Unfortunately, we'll get started and he gets distracted by me in downward dog and it all goes downhill from there, lol

I relate to this well. WLB has gotten more into the yoga aspect and we can get through our asanas pretty well now despite the ogling.

[WarlordBlade]

You can't stop my ogling!!! No way!!

At the same time, I don't ALWAYS have to stop and 'physically interfere' with her practice either. I can enjoy it from afar. (or anearer)

Most of the time...

[Kakes]

I made an awesome dinner last night! I need to document it here so I can remember to make it again.
It was supposed to be a kind of sweet potato linguini, but the spiral slicer and the texture of the sweet potatoes made the "noodles" break up and it turned into more of a thinly sliced hash. Still so yummy.
I melted half a cup of butter into a saute pan, then added chopped chicken thigh meat, chopped mushrooms, some dried onion, garlic powder, sea salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Once that cooked mostly through, I added the spiral sliced sweet potatoes and about 1/2 cup homemade chicken bone broth. I covered it and let it simmer for a while, stirring occasionally until the SPs were tender. Served it with steamed broccoli. It was DELICIOUS. Filling too! We had leftovers and ate those for lunch today.
I have definitely leaned toward safe starches more lately- potatoes (white and sweet variety), pumpkin, squashes, quinoa. I'm not feeling any worse for it, and my weight is stable, so I'm more and more convinced it's just a seasonal thing.
I need to get back into purposeful LHT. I definitely lift children, large boxes of groceries and other random household and yard items regularly. But I really need some leg and butt definition, and I think the way to get that is to squat, lunge and dead lift.
The last two weeks I have been a slacker- other than the 6+ miles of running at the Pony Express last Friday and some very short and random handstand/yoga practice. Gotta get on that!
Feeling well, had a great hair day, ready for the coming week. Except Wednesday.... Halloween candy... gah!

[Kakes]

Well we survived Halloween. I discovered I no longer like 90% of commercial candy. WIN!! I do like milky way and twix blast it all. I've pilfered a few over the past week. Need to get rid of the candy in the house. I didn't want to be Grinch mama and ban Halloween candy altogether. Plus, we love Halloween.
I think the candy intake (though minimal) has played a part in my anxiety and mild depression in the past little while. (When I don't write here or on my blog for a while, it's either because I'm busy being awesome, or because I'm down on myself, overwhelmed and I don't feel like I have anything to say that would encourage anyone.) I've hopped back into exercise in the past few days which has helped the aforementioned emotional roller coaster immensely. Kettle bell swings one day- kept it simple and just did a bit. Then pull ups, push ups, handstand practice, kettle bell squats the next day. Then a day of good hard yoga practice. Then yesterday WLB and I set out to conquer Flag Rock at a run. WLB has done it a few times before. I never had. It was a little goal of mine. Neither of us had run much since pacing Matt on the Pony Express, so it was kind of an ambitious run for me to attempt off a running hiatus. 5.5 miles, 1800+ feet of climb. Crazy. With the last 4 days combined, my legs are pretty trashed and sore. Power vinyasa on Friday made sure I was sore in a billion other places too. It's nice to feel strong again.
Food has been good besides candy. Still a little high on the carbs, but all seems in order. We had my niece and nephews for the weekend. My 12 year old niece is a picky eater- she doesn't like anything but cereal, fruit and bread. Happily they are super polite kids and ate what was given them. They kept exclaiming, "I didn't think I'd like that but it was really good!" and "I usually hate (insert healthy food here), but I really like this!" I had them eating eggs, spinach, red peppers, mushrooms, turkey, ham... all sorts of things they "don't like". It was great.

[Kakes]

It snowed today. Like a huge wet, freezing cold blanket all over everything, all day long. Normally this would throw me into depression and anxiety. Instead I found myself driving to and from the school with a goofy grin on my face and an incredible sense of awe at what a wonderland I live in. I'm gonna chalk it up to primal lifestyle and claim some victory over my SAD here! I'm sure I'll have hiccups, I mean, it's been one day. But I've hated wintry weather with a vengeance for over a decade and I spent hours outside frolicking in it with my girls today. Snowmen, snowball fights, snow angels, the works. Happy as a lark.
I finally completed a 14 hour IF today. Hoping I can get back to doing them a couple times a week.
I spent some time in deep health conversation with a couple of friends this morning. Super duper life-long CW here. Not junk food SA diet, but "healthy" whole grain, sparse meat, low fat types. I respect them both very much. We get along famously. But as the only one in the room at a healthy BMI (one of them is obese, type 2 diabetic with sever neuropathy in her feet), both of them having watched me shrink and tighten up over the past 10 months, I was fielding a lot of questions, and cushioning a lot of resistance. It was good conversation. I think I at least got them thinking. It's funny to me how I get a little internally flustered when people challenge me on this stuff- as if the science is my own, and this is a freak thing that just works for me short term until I go off the deep end and sugar binge or my heart explodes. I forget that I'm walking proof, and that there are thousands of other PB success stories out there. I came home feeling hopeful and inspired, if a little hurried, since my parents had showed up at my door and called to chide me for not being there at the time they didn't tell me they were coming. Silly parents.
Ooh recipe time! I'm putting this somewhere I can find it, because I totally made this up this morning and it was delicious!!
Banana Apple Spice Pancakes
In Blender:
6 eggs
2 bananas
1 gala apple
1 cup almond butter
1-2 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp clove
1 tsp nutmeg
(Give or take on the spices according to preference.)
Blend until incorporated. Pour or spoon onto hot griddle and flip when bubbles in the center of each pancake pop and the hole stays. Let cook for a minute or so on second side until done.
Serve with butter and maple syrup, or apple butter (or yogurt, or honey... or nothing. They are really good on their own!)

I think you could probably even omit the honey if you wanted. It makes a good sized batch, but leftovers disappeared fast!

So yes, the parents- we chatted, played with munchkins, and had lunch and herbal tea. Then as soon as they left, my lonely 71 year old Aussie neighbor came over to talk... and talk... and talk.... and ramble... and gossip... and backbite. I finally had to cut her off, tell her I needed to make dinner, lift her out of my couch, and escort her out the door. Our conversations happen often, and are usually good and fairly happy, but she can be so nasty when she gets going! Normally I go out and talk with her on the porch in the sunshine. That keeps the dog from going mad, and keeps the conversations a little bit shorter and kinder (since neighbors are in line of sight). But with the heavy snow I had to invite her in. That's when she gossips. What a way to depress my faith in humanity for a while. It was a painful conversation with a lot of tongue-biting on my part.
Poor WLB. I was in a bad mood when he got home and it took me forever to finally decide to feed everyone. Once dinner was over I felt a little better. Then we watched Lord of the Rings with our kids, and hid the girls eyes on the scary parts.

[Kakes]

Shoveling snow is an awesome workout. Especially when it's 12ish inches of packed, wet wonderland snow! It snowed all day yesterday, all night and into today. It's gorgeous! I got up this morning and did a lovely little 10 minute sun salutation to warm things up. Then I got dressed and made an warm Apple Cinnamon Quinoa for breakfast. We had it with cream, honey and blueberries. It was perfectly cozy. Then I bundled up and set out shoveling. WLB got knocked in the head at BJJ the other day, so he's nursing a headache and is having a hibernation day. I chatted with neighbors, watched some tree tops crack off due to snow weight, shoveled some more, including the neighbors walk and drive, and watched the kids play. I finally came in because my toes were numb and my lips wouldn't talk normally. 4 year old girl child came in FREEZING. She hadn't put on snow pants, but had played full tilt anyway and was soaked from head to toe. I got her into a warm tub after showering her cold to let the frozen tissue warm up. She whined and cried a lot, but after the shower, the tub, warm dry clothes, and a full body work over with the blow dryer, she's a happy possum again. Littlest girl went in the tubby next and I did pull ups, weak L-sits and toes-to-bar on the doorway pull-up bar while she splashed and played. I am pleasantly sore and tired. Ready to get out and shovel the back patio once I get the kids lunch on the table.
On the list for this winter: Snow Shoeing. I know what's on my Christmas list!

[honeybuns]

Oh, I so want to snowshoe or crosscountry ski. DH and I are talking about moving and I would really like to end up where we will get snow every winter.