CrossFit, Office Things and Indian Food

Julie couldn't make it to CrossFit this morning, which was understandable given her really late night last night. I went and there were 4 other people in class today. The regular morning coach who just got back from her trip abroad was here for class along with her boyfriend and then 2 of the regulars. Today was push-up day. As part of the warmup, you had to do 6 rounds of plank...on rings...for 15 seconds each. That's a workout just by itself! For the strength portion, I managed 16 pushups with a purple band before I thought I was going to faceplant into the rubber mats.

A few things from work:

• A new girl is starting on Thursday, and she's going to be sitting caddy-corner from my across the aisle and next to Kara. I hope she won't mind all the talk about cats and candy consumption (we're terrible...so much for working in public health!).
• My boss asked me how I was feeling compared to last week when I told her that I could feel my anxiety rising with Sadira departing and leaving me to pick up some of the pieces. Well, this week, I was able to do my part with those pieces and then send them off to someone else, so I'm feeling so much better. It was nice that she remembered and asked. I'm fortunate to have a boss cares enough to ask.
• I got a request from another director this afternoon. "Can you upload this for me?" She basically shuffled along another request from another director. Um, no. We talked about this at the in-person meeting 2 weeks ago, remember? If staff don't get used to uploading stuff themselves and relying on me to do it, they never learn and they won't get in the habit of doing it and they won't take ownership of the content in the database. I went back and forth of what to do because I didn't want to come off like a brat, but I decided to stand my ground and explain the importance of staff doing it themselves. Her answer was "yup sorry."  Whew. 

I had a craving for Indian food tonight, so I gave into that feeling. Don't worry, I saved some for tomorrow! :)

CrossFit Class and Lazy RJ

The strength portion of the workout was back squats and I upped my weight from 65 lbs to 70 lbs. I'm shooting for 80 next time. I hope I don't fall on my butt! After the squats, we did lots and lots of rowing (500 m x 3, around 2:00 each) and jump rope.

March 30, 2015

Today- September 30, 2015

I stayed a little later than usual after work today, which I don't mind usually, but all I did was hear 2 of our subject matter experts bicker on the phone. My boss and I were IMing each other during the call because neither one of us could do anything, but wanted a consensus soon!

BTW, this cat is so lazy! In other news, the sky is blue.

Hey, Mom? I'm really bored.

CrossFit and Another Non-Scale Victory

I mustered the energy to get out of bed this morning to 6:30 AM CrossFit (even though I did Crush60's Day 35: Performance workout basically 12 hours earlier). I had a feeling that Julie was not going to be able to make it because of coming home very late this morning from New Jersey. I knew that Eileen had signed up for class, but she wasn't there when it was time to warm up. I rowed by myself, and then she showed up to finish up the warm up.  The strength exercise today was chin ups, same as last Friday's class. I was about to increase my max reps from 11 to 15 using green and black bands. Grrr.

These coral pants that I was able to put on after many years in the closet...I wore them to work today with a belt. YAY! I also got compliments at work on my new pink sneakers. Sadly it's not really flip-flop appropriate weather anymore, but fortunately, I'm prepared with these cute shoes!

I caught up with Michelle at the office. She told me a funny chat that she had with her kid, D, about a possible housewarming party.

Michelle- "Who do you want to invite?"
D- "...Can we invite Tina?"
Michelle- "Sure, we can invite Tina."

(Pause)
 D- "Can she bring banana pudding?"

Ah, smart girl.

I stayed at the office later than usual, but just when I was going to give up on the contract that I was working on, it was time to meet Sirin for happy hour. Blah, that contract can wait until tomorrow. I have all day to turn it in anyway.

More Pope Coverage and Performance Day

Honestly, most of today was spent on the couch. I can't tear my eyes away from all the Pope coverage. I don't know if it's because my hormones are out of whack because my period's coming up or what, but there were several times during the World Meeting of Families coverage last night that I actually started to tear up. I couldn't stop smiling when I saw all the babies that he kissed during the parade prior to getting to the stage. And I really liked his speech about families, punctuated by some humor. I hope he comes to visit again soon. We could really use his positive energy around here more often.

I finally got off the couch around 6:30 PM and marched myself to the gym for Day 35: Performance. Lots of cardio work and sweat, which was exactly what I needed after being a couch potato all day.

Participating in a Coworker's Yard Sale, Italian Wonderpot and More of the Pope's Visit

My coworker told me on Wednesday that she wanted to do a yard sale (she's pregnant with her second child and needs to make some money and room for new furniture items) and asked me if I was interested in doing it with her. Ok! We did one 2 years ago together. We didn't get a ton of traffic, but it was nice to just chat since we sit on opposite sides of the office. Between 9 AM to 2 PM, I was able to sell 1 fleece vest, 2 dress shirts, 1 set of full-sized sheets, 1 pair of capri pants, and 1 bottle of lotion. My coworker also bought 20 of my homemade cards from me at a discounted price.  All in all, I came away with $24. I also sold 2 dresses earlier this week on Ebay for $10.50. Meh, not too bad. Once I get some more boxes from the office, I'll see if I can get more things up on Ebay. Even if it might take a while to sell, these clothes that don't fit me anymore are too nice to just donate. I'm not at that point yet anyway.

One funny moment was when one of the kids that lived across the street tried to put a sweater meant for a teddy bear on her dog. What a patient, patient dog.

When I got home, I immediately turned on the tv to watch the Pope coverage on CNN. I can't seem to turn it off.  They had a segment previewing his visit tomorrow to one of the prisons in Philadelphia, the first Pope to do so in the US. The prisoners showed the chair that they created as a give to the Pope, and they looked really proud of their craftsmanship. They had newspeople covering the crowd that was waiting for his speech at Independence Hall and the Festival of Families, and everyone looks so happy. I wish there would be this positive energy all the time. It's going to be a sad moment when he leaves.

While I was listening to the coverage, I made a batch of Italian Wonderpot from Budget Bytes. Yum yum yum!

My shoulders/back are kinda sore from yesterday's workout, so I decided to take a rest day...back to spin and Crush tomorrow!

CrossFit and Naughty RJ

Busy bee day:

• Knocked a bunch of things off my to-do list at work
• Went to 5:15 pm CrossFit
• Did some grocery shopping
• Stopped by my parents’ house to check in (read: foraged for leftovers)
• Said goodbye to my aunt who’s going back to Taiwan tomorrow

One funny thing that happened at CrossFit this evening…I was doing ring rows and one of the members who was behind me said “Tina, I can see your…”

Oh no. What is she going to say? Buttcrack? Underwear? Please, nothing embarrassing!
“…muscles.”

Oh.

Whew.

YAY! Thank you!:D

RJ was so naughty this morning. He was trying to get the praying mantis that was on the other side of the storm door...while I was on a conference call with my boss. He'd bang on the door to try to get him and then when I shut the big door, he'd meow, demanding that I open the door again. Sigh...

Rest Day and Day Off

Before I left work on Wednesday, I sent an email to my boss with a bunch of things for her to review on her first day back at the office after a week long trip to Switzerland.

And then I sent her a vacation day request this morning. #sorrynotsorry

It was good timing because I couldn't tear myself away from the Pope coverage on CNN. I watched his address to Congress, which was great to see a positive vibe there since it's not always that way with government, especially with a possible government shutdown looming.

My two favorite parts from the coverage today were:

• When he finished his Congress address and went onto the Capital balcony. The sea of people just cheered for him. He had a few words, "I ask you all please to pray for me and if there among you those who do not believe or who cannot pray, I ask you please to send good wishes my way. Thank you very much and God bless America." I just about lost it, sitting on my couch.
• Before I left to go to a family dinner, the Pope was at a school in Harlem and it was so cute to see him interacting with the children. They showed him their projects, and some kids showed him a smartboard. He had a little trouble getting used to the touchscreen, but it was cool to see him try. It was touching to see him light up and see that light reflected in everyone that he met at the school.

RJ was not as excited about the Pope coverage on tv.

CrossFit and a Social Media Observation

Today at CrossFit, we worked on push presses (I'm currently at 45 lbs.) and this is going to be tough because it's an exercise that uses your shoulders, an area that I don't have a lot of strength in. We'll see how this goes over the past few days. P.S. My underwear tag rubbed a raw spot on my butt because of the 65 sit-ups I did yesterday. I never knew that could actually happen. #TIL.

I scrolled through tumblr this morning, and someone from the Crush Facebook group screenshotted a thread and was bashing the owner of the advice he gave (I didn't think there was anything wrong with what he said). Like, really?  What part of "private support group" did you not understand?  I'm glad the owner addressed her comment, defended his answer and also removed her from the group. Ugh, gotta nip that in the bud!

I've also seen an increase of nasty comments that anonymous people are leaving in other people's inboxes to the tune of You're fat/You're too skinny/You don't look healthy and other unhelpful statements. Then there are comments that are more like giving feedback, but perhaps were off in tone and then the blogger responds with something along the lines of "Stop being a hater!" Yes, I can see how being bombarded with comments either way would be absolutely exhausting, but how do you draw the line between constructive criticism and hate? Just because the person, anonymous or not, is trying to point out something doesn't mean that he/she is wrong or ill-intentioned. Maybe if you took a moment to tease out any morsel of advice, the statement might actually be helpful.

Perhaps this observation is a sign that I'm getting older...and gasp, thinking more like an adult. I'll get off my soapbox now.

The office was really empty today, like tumbleweed-empty. Because of the Pope's visit to DC, people had the choice to work from home to avoid the traffic and Metro crowds. I had the live feed of the Pope parade on. It was so cool to see the energy from the crowd!

CrossFit Class, an Interview, and the Pope Visits

I think the combination of those front squats and spin class yesterday was the reason behind my sore glutes today. The workout this morning didn't help either. It included 65 sit-ups and 45 burpees.  Ow, ow, ow. Sweat, sweat and more sweat. And this was level B! I had no energy for spin class tonight.
We had an interview at 10 AM, and while she was a good candidate, we didn't think that she was better than the internal candidate we have.

When I got home today, I turned on the tv and the news networks were covering the Pope arriving in DC. I'm not a religious person, but wow, it was pretty cool to see the President and First Family greet him and shake his hand. You could feel the energy of all the people that were there to witness this event.

CrossFit, Cinnamon Rolls and Compliments

I got the workweek started off right with going to CrossFit with Julie. Maria and Eileen were there too. Coach Arielle is on travel for work so the co-owner, Maddie, was there to coach the class. We worked on our back squat (I'm at 65 lbs.) and then we did the timed workout with lunges, push presses, and lateral jumps. I also went to the 6:00 PM spin class to avoid taking a nap on the couch and messing up my sleep later on.
I had a bunch of things that I needed to review for work, so I asked my boss's boss if I could telework (my boss is still in Switzerland for work). I got an IM from a coworker saying that my cinnamon rolls that I order from another coworker's kid came in (she was doing some fundraising for her cheerleading team). Cinnamon rolls and a reimbursement check were enough for me to put some pants on and drive the 3 miles to the office. One of the administrative assistants had a huge Rubbermaid container with candy. Of course, I had to ask her what the story was. Apparently, the course that she was helping with last week was on sampling, so they used candy as props. They gave her the rest as a thank you for helping out. Hah!

Dangerous, dangerous stuff!

One cool thing that happened today was that the spin instructor and my sister complimented me on my progress (my sister specifically pointed out my arms when I stopped by the house after spin class). It's nice to get the feedback, and it just keeps pushing me to work hard.

Arm Workout and Baby Shower

Day 34: Arms, done! This workout takes what seems like forever! You have the weightlifting part, but then a 30 minute max incline walk is tacked on at the end. Your arms will already feel like jello. You might as well have some jello legs to match.

This afternoon's activity was going to my friend Jessie's baby shower. Jenny was there as well as some people I recognized from some of Jessie's middle school career panels. We had our choice of fajitas, played some baby shower games and had some fantastic pineapple cake (it was like 2 layers of yellow cake with a pineapple bit layer in the middle). YUM!

Kensington 8K and a Flat Tire

I woke up bright and early today to do another round of volunteering at the Kensington 8K packet pick-up (Volunteer Activity #6 of 2015). There weren't as many bibs left, so I'm assuming that many people came to pick theirs up after work last night. I went down to the start line and wow, you could feel the energy in the air. The race benefits 3 schools in the area so there were lots of kids and strollers and pets running around to cheer the runners. I went looking for a childhood friend's father who was going to be running in the race (Cait- are you reading this? Ha ha), and I was successful! We caught up for a little bit and then it was time for the race to start. He mentioned the Turkey Chase that's happening this November, so I'll probably see them at packet pick-up again.

One funny moment was when the volunteer coordinator asked me if she needed to sign my SSL(student service learning) form. Students in the county have to do a certain amount of community service hours prior to graduation. Aw, she thinks that I'm in high school.  Hah. I told her "No, thanks, I'm good" but didn't explain why.

The rest of the morning/afternoon didn't go as smoothly. I noticed my tire pressure indicator go off as I was driving home. It was weird because it had gone off on Monday and I addressed it before work. Why is it going off again? When I pulled into the nearest gas station, I realized my front passenger tire was almost flat. I could hear the air hissing out of the tire! I eventually got a tow truck to drive it to a tire store and since they were backed up, I didn't get my car back for another couple of hours. So much for going to CrossFit this morning! Sigh, oh well, good thing I didn't have anything pressing to do today, and at least the car is back to its regular self!

Robyn came over to eat dinner and hang out...mmm, Pacci's!

Day Off with Cinnamon Rolls and Meet the Patels

Hooray for a day off.  The first order of business was going to the 10 AM CrossFit session. I'm glad Maddie revised the workout because 75 burpee box jumps or 100 burpee box jumps sounds just about impossible. Instead we did running, ring rows and burpee box jumps (but not so many).
When I got home, I made these pumpkin cinnamon rolls that I found at the grocery store last night. I wasn't looking at the clock too closely, so they came out a little browner than I'd like, but they were still delicious!
I went to volunteer at my neighborhood's 8K race's packet pick-up (Volunteer Activity #5 of 2015). I was hoping I'd be able to run the race this year, but I did more lifting this summer than running.

After doing my good deed for the community, I went to hang out with Michelle and Surili this evening...dinner and a movie. We went to Cava for dinner and then went to see the movie Meet the Patels. MEET THE PATELS is a laugh-out-loud real life romantic comedy about Ravi Patel, an almost-30-year-old Indian-American who enters a love triangle between the woman of his dreams ... and his parents. Filmed by Ravi’s sister in what started as a family vacation video, this hilarious and heartbreaking film reveals how love is a family affair. I wasn't sure what to expect, but there was lots of heart and humor. While I'm not Indian, I could relate to some of the things the guy was going through.

Sumo Deadlift PR

At today's CrossFit class, we were doing one rep max for sumo deadlift. I managed 175 lbs, a PR for me. This is huge considering I started at 80 lbs. on August 24 and 110 lbs on September 9 (both 5 x 3 reps). YAY!

One funny thing that happened was that one of the coaches there was like "Tina, every time I see you, you look tired." Well you see me at 6:30 AM on some days and then after a day of work. Yeah, I'm gonna look tired. Plus, I'd have wipe off all my makeup. At least I'll feel more awake after being in class!

One sad sad sad thing that happened today...Michelle from work asked me "Hey, did you know that the FrozenYo closed?" WHAT?! No! I went to get Jennifer so that we could go out to get some lunch. She literally gasped when I told her the bad news. Wah!

I went to the other gym afterwards for spin class, did some grocery shopping next door, and then to my parents' house to check in. It was very dangerous because Mom made carrot cake and there was ice cream in the fridge.

CrossFit and Selfies

I made it to the 6:30 AM CrossFit class this morning. This week is testing week so you had to work up to your 1 rep max on a specific exercise. Today's was the shoulder press. I got up to 55 lbs (PR). I tried 60, but could only get up to my ears, but couldn't push it up all the way. The timed portion of the workout was 1000 m row, 500 m row, 250 m row. However long it took you to do each set was the rest time you got in between. My times were 4:22, 2:10, 0:58, respectively.

There was a 9:30 AM interview scheduled, but when I checked my phone when I got home, it got cancelled. Apparently, the candidate was no longer interested in the position, maybe they already got a new job. Fine by me! I didn't have to rush so much to get to the office. Most of my morning was to get the minutes from the Monday/Tuesday meeting done on my part. The document came out to 9 pages! Well, it's better to be thorough! There was also an interview at 4:00 PM today, but I was feeling kinda meh about her. I haven't decided if I liked her enough to recommend her for a second interview.

When I got home, I left the front door open so RJ could look outside. I could hear children talking to him through the storm door. Oh, she's so cute! Hi kitty! Oh, she's SO big! Come back! Meow meow!  Hah.

Well, he's a boy, minor detail.

Committee Meeting, Day 2

Thankfully, I didn't have to get up as early as I did yesterday and today was only a half day meeting. Maybe I wasn't completely awake because I wasn't sure why the computer wasn't displaying in the conference room. I went to talk to the IT guy and he investigated. It's because the computer wasn't turned on. '

What. -_-

Are you sure? I pushed the button! Maybe I turned it off instead. Ugh.

The meeting was officially over at 1 PM, but I had to close down the room. I would have rather gone home, but I had a conference call and I had to talk to my boss before she leaves for a week-long trip starting tomorrow. I had a thought that I could make it to the 5:15 PM CrossFit class, but my brain was totally fried after work so I went home to take a nap to recharge.

I woke up to a bunch of work emails (it was a mistake to read it). One email ended with "I'm sorry to dump this on you..." That's doesn't make me feel better.

Grrr.

I can't wait to get a restful night's sleep, go to CrossFit in the morning and tackling my to-do list at the office tomorrow. I'm glad tomorrow's pay day and I'm taking Friday off.

Oh, look, Iron Man 3 is on tv. That's a nice surprise. :)

Committee Meeting, Day 1

Ugh, 13 hour day in the books. When I left the house, my low tire pressure indicator went off so I took care of that before I got to the office.  Then it was a mad dash to set up the room and make sure that breakfast was ready to go and wait for the members to arrive.

Then lots and lots of listening and note taking. I was asked to write notes for this meeting because they are currently hiring for the person that would normally have this responsibility. I could feel my anxiety rise when they were talking about all the projects they want to work on for this fiscal year. I had to remind myself that even though I'm taking the notes for this meeting, I don't have to be in charge of getting these things done. I'm working on some of the projects, but it's not additional work.

We took the committee to a new restaurant near the office. The food was pretty good. The director treated me to a happy hour drink (I got the one called Strawberry Fields), the chicken tacos and about 4 bites of the flan. I was so ready to go home, but I experienced some difficulty getting out of the garage. The large steel door wouldn't open, so I had to move my car back and forth to see if the sensor would pick it up. I was so relieved when it opened after 5 minutes of struggling.

I'm so ready for this week to be over! So tired already and it's only Monday...

Day 33: Shoulders

I didn't make it to spin class this morning (Zzzz...).  I debated making today a rest day, but then I remembered that I'm in an all day meeting tomorrow, one that I have to go to the office early to set up and also go to dinner with the members after the meeting is over, not to mention serve as the primary note taker. Tomorrow can be my rest day. I did make it to the gym for Day 33: Shoulders though.

Poor Julie. Her work sent her back to San Francisco. She only came back on Tuesday and is currently on a plane to go back. :P

CrossFit and New Dress

Julie couldn't make it to CrossFit this morning because she had to go to work, so I went on my own. Today's workout involved pull-ups and 3 rounds of the following: 20 pistols (basically one legged squats. I used a bench so that I wouldn't accidentally fall on my butt), 20 snatches and 20 burpees. The cap was 12 minutes, but since there wasn't anyone waiting for the 11:00 AM class, the coach let us go until we were done. My time as 13:20. Whew!

I went to the mall this evening to get some steps in and get some dinner. Some of my clothes are fitting so well anymore, so I also went to JCPenney armed with a coupon. I found a pretty fall-ish dress, size 8P (starting point size 10/12). I haven't been in the single digits since, like, high school maybe? YAY! I'm hoping to sell some of the old clothes on Ebay to fund my new clothes fund :)

I went to Chipotle to get some dinner. The person making my chicken burrito totally overstuffed it so much that the tortilla burst. They had to double wrap it. At least I'm getting my money's worth, right?  Heh. I parked myself in front of the tv and watched some episodes of Daredevil on Netflix.

Home and Burgers

It was a trying telework day. The coworker that I complained about last week still doesn't have his act together. The consultant that we've been working with seems to be taking forever to address the changes that we requested about a month ago. And the call to discuss that project went over by 30 minutes. Not something that you want on a Friday afternoon. We all want to start the weekend, hello?

I wanted to go to the 5:15 PM CrossFit session to workout my frustrations, but I got about a mile or two down the road and realized that traffic was going to be too bad to get to class on time. I turned around and took a nap instead when I got home.

Julie came over with Five Guys burgers, fries and a strawberry milkshake. We watched Home, which my coworker Jennifer let me borrow. It was an odd movie...some cute parts, but mostly odd. The best part of the movie, I thought, was the cat (of course).

Always Remember.

Crush60: Day 31

I'm so ready for coworkers on my side of the office to come back from their week long meeting. It's too quiet. Not that I'll be able to hang out with them next week, or at least Monday and Tuesday, because I was asked to be a notetaker for an in-person committee meeting. Sigh. -_- It's tough to take notes for a meeting that's not your committee on stuff you don't even work on. Like you actually have to pay attention.

At least they'll feed me.

I bolted to the gym to do Day 31's workout, which involved lots of sweating (nothing new) and cardio. I was hoping that I could go home and feed RJ in time to go to the other gym for spin class, but the traffic was really backed up. Meh, at least I got a workout in!

Head boop = cat equivalent to a fist bump.

Good News at the Office

Today was my boss's first day back from vacation. Our 1-on-1 call was basically me listing off all the things that I did while she was out for 2 weeks and things I needed her to do before she leaves for a week long trip next week. At the end of the call, she said that she had some good news for me.  Because of my "exceeded expectations" performance rating for this past year's work, she's rewarding me with a raise! I wasn't sure if this was going to be possible given the budget cuts, but I'm so thankful that she (and the leadership at work) sees the value in my work. :)

This is perfect timing since that extra money can go towards my CrossFit gym membership. Which I used this morning for the 6:30 AM session. The coach for this class was one of the co-owners. He was nice, but super chill. I miss the regular coach's energy. I need it so early in the morning. "COME ON, SISTERS!"

PM CrossFit Session and Curry Rice

I could NOT get out of bed this morning for the 6:30 AM CrossFit session. I IMed Julie to tell her that I didn't go, and she goes, "tsk tsk." Oh, the shame! (Hangs head)

I got through the work day and on the commute home, I decided that I'd go to the 5:15 class. I knew two of the people that had registered already. The third person happened to be someone that my sister went to school with. I was familiar with her name, but I knew her by her maiden name, but she registered for the class with her married name. Even though I was sweaty and beat from that session, I went to the 6:30 PM spin class since that gym was just down the road.

Mom left me a voicemail saying that there was curry rice at the house. Great timing! I definitely earned it. I was going to go the house anyway to go with Dad to pick Julie up from the airport (she's been in San Francisco for the past week).

 

Crushing Self Doubt and Legs (Day 32)

That nagging voice of self doubt seeped into my head last night as I revisited the feelings that I was having at the end of yesterday's workout.

Why are these push-ups so hard? Sh*t, I'm doing them on my knees and they are still hard. OMG, my arms are literally shaking.

Don'tfaceplantDon'tfaceplantDon'tfaceplant.

It had been a while since I took some progress pictures, so that was the first thing that I did this morning. After scanning through the other pictures on my phone, I felt better. Perspective was something I really needed this morning.

That horrible evil nagging voice can go kick rocks. The mind is a powerful thing, so I think it's important that you say kind things to yourself.

June 29, 2015	September 7, 2015
A calf muscle, yay!	Let's cuddle! No, I don't mind that you're sweaty from the gym. Your boobs make a nice pillow. Kthx.

I went to the gym to do Day 32's workout (Legs). I'll backtrack and do Day 31 tomorrow, hopefully after work.

Other wins for today:

• Made a batch of sweet potatoes and butter chicken
• Cut up the 2 lb container of strawberries I bought from Costco the other day
• Washed 2 loads of laundry
•  Scrubbed down the bathroom

Day 30: Chest

I went to bed last night with a pounding headache. It was tough to fall asleep and when the alarm went off for me to go to spin class this morning, I said "no, thanks!" and went back to sleep. My quads were sore from yesterday's CrossFit session anyway.

After a few more hours of sleep and breakfast, I went to the gym for Day 30: Chest. OMG, those tabata push-ups at the end are so hard! They didn't get any easier than the last time. But that aside, I'm at the halfway mark! This is SO exciting! After the gym, I did some grocery shopping and then went home to shower and take a nice nap. Now I'm vegging in front of the TV.  Yay for no work tomorrow! :D

CrossFit and New Booties

CrossFit class #4 of the week! I used up my 10-session punch card, so in order to go, I had to either purchase another one or go ahead and purchase the membership. I purchased the membership and signed up for class.

I added 5 lbs. to my front squat, so now I'm at 70 lbs. My thighs were killing me towards the end.

Then there was the timed portion of the workout:
400 m run
15 burpees
400 m run
15 push press
200 m run
30 burpees
200 m run
30 push press 

There was a 15 minute cap, and I was able to get it done in 14:13. Dropping the barbell (40 lbs.) at the end of the 30 push presses was like "BOOM, I did it!" That felt so freakin' good! Not just because the workout was done, but because I really pushed myself and made it under the cap when I thought I wouldn't be able to when the coach listed out the workout.

After class, I sent Julie a text to let her know that I did make it to class AND I purchased the membership. She was probably grinning from ear-to-ear in San Francisco. After 2 months, she finally wore me down. This CrossFit experience has been awesome so far, so sure, I'll keep going.

I went home to shower and then I went to the mall. I got some new booties that I can wear for the fall season ($10 off coupon, $10 off certificate, double points, muah ha ha). I wanted to find some new skinny jeans, but nothing was really fitting right so I gave up on that front. I then went to Costco and bought some peaches and strawberries. I'll do some real grocery shopping after spin class tomorrow.

Finally Friday

The day did not start off on the right note.

Well, actually, let me back up. It did because I got to sleep in a little bit, and because it was my telework day, I didn't have to worry about what I had to wear. I just rolled out of bed and went downstairs to turn on my work computer.

And then it was a grumpy morning.

My boss, who's been on vacation this past week, sent me an email to check on the status of a request. At the beginning of the week, the person responsible for the request said that he'd take care of it. He's been saying this since June (and it's now September!!). It's one thing if it was an internal issue, but when our external partners are wondering what's going on, that's not a good look. I IMed one of the directors to vent because I knew she was experiencing similar issues. She advised me to write an email with documentation to our senior director and cc my boss and her. UGH, gee, just what I want to be doing on a Friday morning. Tattling. Lovely.  On the other hand, don't keep promising me things for months and not do anything about it.

Today was my rest day so after I finished work stuff, I took a nap on the couch and then headed out to check in with my family. I went first to my cousin's house. My aunt happened to make some noodles. Oh, perfect, how did you know I hadn't eaten dinner yet? I hung out there for a while and said see you later to my other cousin that's flying back to Taiwan tomorrow. I then went two doors down to check in with my parents.

Now debating whether or not to go to CrossFit tomorrow morning...that'll be class #4 for the week!

Work Day Victories, Day 29 and Spin Class

I have 3 surveys in the queue at work.  I was able to send out one today and 10 people already responded to it! Maybe I won't have to pull any teeth to get some feedback! Another one will be sent out next week. The third one will have to wait until my boss gets back, but it doesn't really have to get sent out until later on this month. Even if I did it in October, that would be fine too.

I managed to get my butt to the gym after work to do Day 29: Back. I was still a little sore from all the pushups I did at CrossFit yesterday, but I pushed through it. I had to do some of the exercises out of order because of the growing crowd. There was a towel placed on the pec deck, so I thought it was being used. I circled around a few times and then I realized that the towel and water bottle belonged to the lady using the leg press 5 feet away.  Hell-o?! What are you doing taking up 2 machines at once. Unless you're Gumby, I assure you you can only use one machine at a time. -_- Oh well, what matters is that I finished the workout in time to go home to feed RJ and head over to the other gym for spin class. I'm not sure what happened to the speakers in the room, but the songs sounded weird tonight. It was as if one of the speakers wasn't working so you could only hear the beat of the sound by the singing would be very faint.

Currently listening to Justin Bieber's "What Do You Mean" (shhh, no laughing!) and Carly Rae Jepsen's "Run Away With Me."

I'm so looking forward to my telework and rest-from-the-gym day tomorrow!

CrossFit Class and a Different Look

Third 6:30 AM CrossFit session in a row. Whew!  I think out of the 3 days, today's was the hardest. I learned some new moves, the snatch and overhead press. I spent time working on my form with the coach because there are so many things to remember. Chest over the bar, bend your knees, bar close to your body, etc. Then there was an AMRAP (as many reps as possible) workout with push-up burpees over the bar and weighted step-ups. Those push-ups, even though I did them on my knees, were tough towards the end. Tough enough that my arms actually gave out and my body hit the mat. After the workout, the coach said, "Tina, you killed it today." Oh really?  Heh. Because I feel like the workout killed me. Blah!  I don't know how I managed to drive home and actually wash my hair since my arms and shoulders felt like jello.

Since I didn't have anything pressing to do at work, I took an extra 10 minutes and ran a curling iron through my hair instead of wearing it up in a ponytail. I also took out a Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Blackberry Sorbet (this formula is awesome, by the way...) and wore it to work. This was the first time I've worn a dark color like that to work. I wanted to try something different. The results were funny and interesting.

I walked by the policy director's office on my way to the kitchen to rinse out my lunch container. He was in his office already talking to someone and stopped mid-sentence. "Tina!" I backtracked. "Where are you going?" Uh, the kitchen. I don't remember what his response was, but he alluded to the dark lipstick and the hair down. He seemed kinda suspicious. The coworker in his office mumbled something about a date. The policy director smiles, "You can say that, but I can't." Hah. And then it dawned on me...oh, he thinks I'm looking different because I'm going on a date later. Alas, nope.

I was talking to the receptionist as I was leaving the office. She looks at me, "Did you get your nose pierced?!" Um, yeah, a few weeks ago. She's been on vacation, so I haven't seen her in a little while. "It looks pretty. Tsk, Tina, the nose piercing and the dark lipstick. I see you, Tina, I see you getting fly!" Hah, um, thanks? :)

Waiting, waiting, waiting for people to email me back.