Wishin' and Hopin' and Thinkin' and Prayin'

Do you ever what would your life would be like if you would have made one decision differently.

Taken the left fork instead of the right?

I don't know why, but I was thinking about that today.

About how everything happens for a reason. About how each decision, no matter how small, leads us to the next.

At the end of 2004, I was offered a job in DC. I clearly didn't take it. I was 23 years old and had spent a majority of that year living in DC at basically a poverty level. The experience had been amazing and I met some friends that I will never forget, but I wasn't ready to move back there. I thought I was a west coast type girl and I had a good job in Arizona and was making pretty good money. 

It was a difficult choice to make, but I made it and here I am today.

I don't regret the decisions that I have made - that would be a waste of time. Though I can say for certain that along the way there were times when I was sitting in the middle of a decision that I made wondering why in the hell I had done it.

But it is all a part of me.

The bad bosses. The long hours. The missed lunches.

As I look back on 2012 - and the years that came before it - I can be happy about the things I've accomplished and overcome.

One of my CrossFit coaches posted on Facebook the other day (in relation to goals/resolutions), "I'm not where I want to be, but I'm not where I used to be."

How true that is.

All too often I think we focus on what we aren't, rather than how far we've come.

New Year. New You.

Wow - even I cringed when typing that title..

How cheesy can I be?

The answer is: pretty cheesy, but that's another story for another day.

Today we are going to talk about the upcoming year.

I have decided that I don't like the word "resolution" in relation to the goals I set for the new year - so I have decided that this year, I will consider these my:

2013 Commitments

write every day: as I previously mentioned, I will commit to writing every day. The goal will be to write here on the blog every day, but some days it may be that I write somewhere else.

one hour of yoga every week: in relation to my fitness goals, I really need to work on my flexibility. As much as I hate yoga, and I really hate yoga, it is the best way to work on flexibility and stretching, so I will commit to at least one hour a week on my off days.

running 7 miles every week: CrossFit has lots of cardio, but I would like to lean out a little more, so I need to burn some more calories, so I will be running at least seven miles every week. I will count any runs that are included in CrossFit WODs, but not warm-ups. And any additional races that I run outside of CrossFit. Whatever is left after those two things will have to be made up on my own time.

For the previous two commitments, weeks will start on Sunday (beginning with today).

As far as CrossFit goes, I have two goals that I am committing to for 2013:

kipping pull-ups: pull-ups were actually on my goal list for 2012 and I didn't reach the goal. But I HAVE to get a pull-up this year and I need to get kipping pull-ups in order to do a lot of WODs as prescribed.

rope climb: I believe I have the strength to do a rope climb, but I have a fear of them. It is totally mental and I need to overcome it and get to the top of that rope.

Finally, I would like to pay off Gus, my car. This is probably a lofty goal, but if I stick to my budget and work really hard, it is totally attainable!

2013 is going to be great!

Boom Shaka Laka! (That one's for you Diddy!)

So I read something the other day from a blogger that said (basically), if you are a writer - you need to write every day. Whether it is a sentence, a paragraph, or a novel - you need to sit down and write every, single day.

So, that is what I am going to try to do in 2013.

Write everyday.

It may not always be in the form of a blog post, but that is clearly my preference.

So, stay tuned, friends. And try to keep me honest.

In other news, I ran a 5K this morning.

A very COLD 5K. I know that I live in Arizona and I am probably a wimp, but it was damn cold out this morning.

Right around mile 2 I came up on a girl - probably in her late teens - and I knew it was her first race because I heard her talking to her mom before the race started. Well, she was crying when I passed her and I could tell she was struggling, so I slowed down and encouraged her to keep going. She was having cramps in her side and I could tell she wanted to give up. I let her catch up to me and kept her going until we found her friend.

I was that girl once. I don't think I actually cried, but I remember my first race and I wanted to die a thousand deaths as I ran up and down the hills of the Phoenix Zoo.

But I finished and I never looked back. And I didn't want her to give up on her first race.

So, once we encountered her friend, I took off again and finished the race in an official time of 27:54!!!! 

Did you hear that?? 27 minutes and 54 seconds! A new PR!

That's an 8:58 average!

I would really like to get my 5K down to an 8:30, but as long as I'm moving in the right direction, I'm happy.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

I believe that I told you all last year that I was proposed to in Vegas last year.

I don't think it was a real proposal, I think it had more to do with the fact that I was carrying cherry vodka around in my purse, but that is neither here nor there.

This year, we happened to run into my fiance from last year and his friends.

So, he sits down next to me and I ask him how things have been going for the last year.

He responds, "Unfortunately, exactly the same."

I ask, "why unfortunately?"

And then he launches into a diatribe about how his live-in girlfriend (I told you it wasn't a real proposal) won't make him chicken wings.

That he works hard, and all he wants are chicken wings.

I ask a series of questions, trying to get to the root of the problem.

Things like, "do you want her to make chicken wings every day?" His answer: "Not every day."

"Can she just bake the ones you buy in the freezer section at the grocery store?" His answer: "I don't care where they come from, I just want chicken wings."

So I tell him, in my brutally honest kind of way, "I hate to tell you this, but if she won't make you chicken wings now, she sure isn't going to do it when you put a ring on it."

I probably didn't help the situation...

YOLO in Vegas

I should really be in bed right now in order to get up for 5am CrossFit, but I drank too much coffee this afternoon and I have some requests for blogs (because obviously I have been neglecting all of you), so here I sit.

I will blame you all if I don't get out of bed for back squats and rope climbs in the morning.

In really quick CrossFit news, either my new shoes are magic or I am amazing, because I ran 400m in 1:30 on Tuesday. (See what I did there?)

I'll give you a minute to let that sink in...

...Yes, you read that right - I ran, 1/4 mile in one minute and thirty seconds!!!

Our first run, we went too far so we ran 420m, and I did that in 1:40. Then we found the right line and I did the next five in: 1:30, 1:32, 1:38, 1:40, and 1:38.

Pretty much, I'm a badass. But moving on...

Last weekend was our annual Vegas trip for NFR. And as always, it was a blast!

I'll save most of the details for those who were there, after all, what happens in Vegas...but I'll give you a few highlights.

On Friday night, DVL, Dirty, Diddy, Idaho*, and I went out to dinner for DVL's birthday. He wanted Mexican food, so I took them to the ghetto - that's where the best Mexican food is after all. (Remember that trip in San Antonio? Papa thought we were going to have to fight our way out of that one.)

So after the longest cab ride ever, with the strangest cabby who wanted to take Dirty home with him, we arrived at the restaurant and got a table. DVL was ordering a drink - Crown and water - and the waiter was not picking up what he wanted. 

DVL: Crown and water and a glass of water, please.

Waiter: *blank stare*

DVL: I would like Crown Royal Whiskey and water.

Waiter: I don't know if we have that.

(After going to check)

Waiter: Ok, we have that - what do you want?

DVL: I want the whiskey with ice and water. And a glass of water.

Waiter: So, you want alcohol...in your water?

On Saturday morning, we trekked over to the Venetian/Sands to do some shopping. Before we made it into the shopping portion of the convention center, we stopped at the bar. We were in line when a very interesting lady lined up behind us. 

Diddy: I think I'm dehydrated. My legs are starting to hurt.

Dirty: Maybe you should get some water.

Diddy: I am - orange juice and vodka - there's water in that.

Classy Lady: (leans over to shake Diddy's hand) You're my kind of person.

Then she proceeds to tell us about how she's not as young as she once was and something about drinking too much Pendleton the night before. And I say something to the effect of, "It's a good thing this only happens once a year." Then I kind of zoned out. (Plus my brain wasn't working as quickly as it normally does.) So the next thing I hear her say is, "Try doing it on a first date."

I was like, Whoa, that escalated quickly!

And then I caught on - she was at NFR for the weekend on the first date. I mean really, who ever would have thought that was a good idea.

Totally Random

I nearly cried in the store yesterday when I found these Reebok Real Flex shoes on the clearance rack. In my size.

Seriously, these shoes were basically made for CrossFit and I've been wanting a pair for a long time.

Then I started thinking to myself, Self, why will you spend $50 on a pair of boots that you might wear once a week, but cringe at spending money on a pair of shoes you will wear every day?

Myself didn't answer, but either way, I bought the shoes and I am super excited to wear them!

I have a bruise across my stomach right now from jumping bar muscle-ups the other day. But I'll take it, because a couple of weeks ago, I couldn't even begin to do one.

It's baby steps, people.