A Quick Trip to Jackson, Mississippi

My boss and I took a quick trip to Jackson, Mississippi for work (left on Wednesday, going home tomorrow). We are here to serve as facilitators for an assessment. I've gone to these assessments in the past as a notetaker, but with my boss retiring this summer, I needed to have experience as a facilitator. My boss did the first two sessions and I did the two afternoon sessions. I'm not sure if the people were just in a food coma or they didn't have the knowledge to respond to the questions that were in the assessment tool, but they were not as chatty as they were earlier. I was getting a little nervous, which apparently showed because after that session my boss was like "The only feedback I would give you is that you should probably smile more. You looked scared to death." Oh really? THAT'S BECAUSE I WAS! Heh. The last session went a lot better, so whew, I'm glad that's over!

The food here has been amazing. I had scallops last night and I had scallops tonight too. I also had something called a lemon ice box pie, which is the consisitancy of key lime pie, except with lemons. OMG, so good.

While I loved how cozy my king size bed was (I could lay in it diagonally and still have room to spare!), I'm looking forward to going home tomorrow!

(What I found concerning about Jackson was that there were pockets that looked great and other parts that looked run down. It was kinda sad to see the difference in just a few blocks. The apartments across the street from the hotel were run down, but I heard that they were going to be renovated, so perhaps the city is making a comeback.)

My boss's second grandson was born earlier today...and it's also her birthday today!  What an awesome birthday present! :)

International Women's Day

6:30 AM CrossFit, check! 3-second pause back squats today… 3 x 5 at 85 lbs.

WOD:
5:00 Row for max calories
–1:00 REST–
5:00 7 Wall Balls (8 lbs ball) + 7 Burpees
–1:00 REST–
5:00 5 Bear Complex (55 lbs) +15 V-ups/tuck-ups/sit-ups

In honor of International Women’s Day, I’ll be wearing red to work. Truth be told, I’ve had this red dress hanging in my closet for the past, I dunno, year? Never been worn, tags still hanging. Ah, what a perfect day to break this out! I hope all the ladies out there feel strong, beautiful and capable today. Well, any day, really! But especially today.

The new BBQ place near work was open for lunch today, finally! Thank goodness! If I was turned away again like I was yesterday, I would have been super disappointed. I went with 5 of my coworkers, and we enjoyed the good food and company. I got the lunch special: 1 meat and 2 sides (BBQ pulled pork, macaroni and cheese, and mashed potatoes). I’d totally go back!

Lip color: Maybelline Creamy Matte in Nude Nuance.

Birthday Recap

9:30 AM CrossFit, check! I got lots of birthday wishes this morning at the gym, so that was really nice! I had to test my 1RM for my hang power clean because I missed that lift this week. I maxed out at 105 lbs. I tried for 110 lbs, but didn’t get very far.

WOD, 3 rounds:
400 m run
20 2 DB OH Walking Lunge (15 lbs per hand)
10 DB Push Press (15 lbs per hand)
Time: 11:19 As I was huffing and puffing around the parking lot, the owner was shouting, “Come on, birthday girl, work for that birthday cake!”

I met up with Shannon at Dunkin’ Donuts for a donut and coffee. Mmm, Boston cream donut and iced caramel latte. Afterwards, I went to Old Navy and Target and tidied up my place.

Robyn and Julie came over for dinner on Saturday night. One of Robyn's New Year's Resolutions was to make a legit layered cake. She went with a 2-layered chocolate cake with freshly whipped cream and strawberries. Julie made me a yellow cake with chocolate frosting, per my request. She made RJ and Harry cake toppers, how funny are those! Mom made me my usual birthday request dinner: beef noodle soup, yum!

A Trip to the Zoo to Say Goodbye to Bao Bao

Robyn, as a member of the zoo, had access to the National Zoo's panda exhibit on Saturday and could bring guests, so she invited my sister and I go with her to say goodbye to Bao Bao. The giant pandas born in the US are on lease from China, so at a certain age, they have to go back. Bao Bao is set to leave sometime towards the end of February. We were fortunate to see her parents and her little brother Bei Bei out and about too.

After a few hours of walking around the Zoo, we went to get lunch at Open City before heading home. I got the hashbrown bowl, the same thing that I had when Robyn and I went to the Zoo for ZooLights in December. I think this was my first time being at the Zoo during the daytime and getting over 10,000 steps in a while.

Bei Bei on the left (baby), Mei Xiang on the right (mom)

Bao Bao looked like she fell asleep off and on while eating her treat.

Dinner with Sister and Cousins

I took the day off today and got a massage! The last time I got one was in 2013, so when I saw a coupon online, I pounced on it! I was going to get it last week, but I wanted to make sure some work stuff was under control before my boss went on vacation for 2 weeks. OMG, I really needed this. The lady really stretched me out, like sat on top of me so she could better move my arms and legs. Maybe I need to stretch more often. Heh.

Erick's birthday was last Friday, so Hugo, Julie and I took him out to dinner. He wanted to go somewhere healthy (uh, what's that??) or somewhere new (ah, much easier). We took him to a restaurant that the CrossFit gym holds happy hours. I got the chicken avocado wrap and we shared some molten chocolate cake and some Nutella bread pudding. Yum! Afterwards, we went to Hugo's house to say happy birthday to his mom (my aunt).

Dim Sum with Coworkers

My coworkers and I have had this dim sum lunch on our calendars for the past month. I was a little afraid that there were going to be too many people because my calendar appointment got forwarded quite a bit, but it turns out that there were only 6 of us that ended up going, a manageable amount. I told Ben to sit next to me since we were already familiar with the menu. I feel like each time we go, we get better and better about knowing how much food to order and not having a ton of leftovers, heh. OMG, per usual, the food was amazing, and I'm already looking forward to going back soon.

Happy Lunar New Year!

To start off the day, my sister and I went to CrossFit for the 9:30 AM class and then we went to Dunkin Donuts with Shannon (one of our CrossFit friends) for some breakfast. Afterwards, Julie and I went to my place to pick up the pet beds that we made a few weekends ago and drive over to the humane society to drop them off. The staff there were over the moon about them and the prints that we chose for the beds (not that the animals would have been too picky.

For Lunar New Year this year, my contributions were dumplings (that Julie helped me make like 10...) and a plain cheesecake (with a blueberry topping on the side). The cousins and significant others went downstairs afterwards to play a Monopoly card game. About half of us were first time players. My cousin Hugo and I were a team so he could help me out. We ended up winning!

Weekend Movie Round-Up

For this long weekend, I spent it on the couch flipping between CNN and movies and making food. I rented Jason Bourne and Suicide Squad on Redbox, and both movies were meh. I'm glad I didn't spend $10+ to see them at the movie theater. Jason Bourne was like all the other Bourne movies with lots of running and car chases. I wonder when Matt Damon's going to get to old to run so much and then they'll have to end the series. With Suicide Squad, I've seen better superhero movies. I did like Harley Quinn though. She was fun! The Joker, on the other hand, what a creep!

Food wise, I made beef stew in the crock pot and a cheesecake in the oven (with blueberry topping). I think I should have waited a little more for the cream cheese blocks to get even softer because the texture in the finished product was a little different than usual. It still tasted fine though! I ate 2 slices just to be sure. ;) I left a little over half of it at my parents' house so that I wouldn't be tempted to eat more than I should.

Last Workout of 2016 and New Year's Eve

9:30 AM CrossFit, check! The last workout of the year was a partner one.

Partner A completes 3 rounds of the following circuit:
10 Thrusters (55 lbs)
5 Pull-ups (with bands)
10 Push-ups (with bands)
15 Air squats
20 Burpees

While Partner A is doing that, Partner B does the following until A is finished and the switch.
400 m run
25 Sit-ups

Oh boy, this was tough! My sister did A first while I did B. She got through almost all 3 rounds before time was up for the people that decided to do A first. I got through 2 complete rounds of A before time was up for me, and the next class was coming in. Whew!
I’m closing out 2016 on a positive note:

• Baked a loaf of chocolate chip banana bread.
• Vacuumed the house, scrubbed down the bathroom, and did a load in the dishwasher and washer. Ah, a clean house to start 2017 with! 
• Tried out my new Urban Decay Vice lipsticks that came in the mail today: Alpha and Moshpit.  
• My sister and Robyn came over to make dumplings and EAT ALL THE FOOD and watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince as we waited for the ball to drop. I could barely keep my eyes open, heh.

12 Days of Strong WOD and Merry Christmas Eve

9:30 AM CrossFit, check! It’s the 12 Days WOD at the box. Last year we had to partner up to share equipment because there were so many people, but this year, the owner asked that you signed up to make sure we had enough space so everyone could get their own equipment. Like the song, you had to do 1 and then 2, 1 and then 3, 2, 1, etc.

WOD, for time, 40:00 time cap:
1 Thruster (55 lbs)
2 Push-ups (on my knees)
3 Box Jumps (18 inch box)
4 Power cleans (55 lbs)
5 Lateral burpees
6 Push press (55 lbs)
7 Walking lunges each leg
8 Wall balls (8 lbs)
9 V-ups (sit-ups)
10 Pull-ups (with red and green bands)
11 Front squats (55 lbs)
12 Barbell step ups (55 lbs)
Time: 39:33

I think I was the last or second to last person to finish, but I finished…and within the time cap! I’m really proud of myself because I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do it as the final minutes were ticking down. Everyone cheered and went to get a snack (Coach Melissa brought homemade Rice Krispies treats and homemade peppermint bark). RJ was in the same spot that he was in when I left the house.

Christmas Eve dinner was at my parents' house. Several people brought dishes, so Mom wouldn't be stuck making everything herself: Mom made fried noodles, Aunt made vegetable and chicken dishes, my cousin brought a salmon lasagna and another cousin brought potatoes and a sticky rice dish. I finished everything off with my plain cheesecake with blueberry topping.

Then it was time to open gifts. The cousins did a white elephant exchange. I ended up with what my sister contributed: a Regal movies gift card and a pack of gummy bears. My cousin's girlfriend ended up with what I contributed: a nice red blanket. The cousins all chipped in for a new tv for my uncle and aunt. This was the year of cat presents for me: Julie and I gave each other cat t-shirts, Mom gave me a cat mug and cat flannel sheets, and my friend Suzie sent me a stamp with cats on them.

Office Cookie Exchange

Last day of work for 2016! I had to make it through a few conference calls and of course, the office cookie exchange today and now, YAY, I'm free!

The office cookie exchange was a huge success. I'm so impressed with the amount of cookies that people brought and the variety: spritz, oatmeal raisin, ginger, orange shortbread dipped with chocolate, sea salt chocolate chip, etc. One of my coworkers even bought milk, as I requested, and not just regular milk, but chocolate milk, almond milk, etc.

One minor thing that happened...I'm not even sure I feel that guilty about it. When I reminded folks last week about the cookie exchange, I was tempted to say "Please please please don't buy anything. If you are not able to bring something homemade, I'd rather that you come and enjoy the treats so that I don't have to bring any of mine home." But I didn't want to come across as a baking snob. At noon today, the treats started trickling into the breakout area. I made an off-hand comment to the few people that were there. "Wow, guys, I'm impressed that there isn't anything store bought here. I was going to mention this during program reviews, but I didn't want to come across as a b*tch." My coworker Michelle whispered to me later to say that the cookies in the glass bowl were store bought and the person who brought them heard me say it. Oh. Wait, what?! (Insert foot into mouth...) A part of me felt badly that I had said that, but the majority of me wanted to be like "I didn't bake my little heart out in my kitchen for over 2 hours to get store bought cookies. Like the ones from Safeway! You even tried to make them look homemade by taking them out of the original packaging! That's SO LAME!" Someone else brought cookies from Potbelly across the street and put them at the end of the table. Like, really? Even if you made cookies from a mix or you brought slice and bake cookies, that would have shown some sign of effort.

Sigh. I guess I am a baking snob.

Anyway, on a more positive note, I'm glad that so many people participated and that there weren't many cookies leftover. Everyone went home with a full tummy and baggie of cookies to share (or not share, ha ha).

Moana and Rolo Cookies

My coworker Jennifer said that she went with her family to see Moana over the Thanksgiving holiday and that it was really good (both movie and music). My coworker Reggie was going to go with me today, but bailed at the last minute because his cousin's holiday party was last night and he was pretty sure that it was going to be a late night. Meh, no biggie. My sister went with me instead. The movie and the music WERE good. It was nice to see a female character that wasn't chasing after some guy like the typical princess movies. The Rock as Maui was the best! I was also really impressed by the way they were able to make the water and everyone's hair look realistic!

My evening's activity was making Rolo cookies for the office cookie exchange that's happening tomorrow. Initially, I was going to start my Christmas break tomorrow, but with the program review presentations last week, that wouldn't have been a good time to do them. Since I was the one that organized this event (aka sent out a calendar appointment to the office), I figured I had to show up with goodies. The Rolo cookies got quite a few compliments the last time I made them, so here they are again. I made 2 batches so that I could bring some for the coaches at CrossFit tomorrow. I know that sounds counterintuitive...CrossFit and cookies?  Yeah, we're not that kind of gym. For example, when I posted a picture of these cookies on Facebook, the owner commented "Drool" on the photo.

Zoolights 2016

After CrossFit this morning, Julie and I went to Target (came out with 2 tubes of wrapping paper, some fast food ornaments for the tree and chocolate for my office). I came home to shower and then start working on making my Christmas cards.

Tonight. Robyn and I went to ZooLights at the National Zoo (2010, 2011, 2012, 2015) and because she's a member of the zoo, we were able to take advantage of some of the perks. Metro was having issues on Robyn's end so I hung out at McDonald's to stay warm (and use their wi-fi). And then I started to get hungry so I bought a 10-piece chicken nugget box. When Robyn arrived, we munched on them as we walked up the hill to the zoo. The first stop was the Elephant House were the members and their guests could walk through and get snacks and see 2 of the elephants. Some of the freebies we got were a fun size bag of plain M&Ms, apple chips, fruit juice pouches and Nando's Peri-Peri Chicken was there to give away sangria, brownies, and small bottles of their sauces (garlic or hot). Then we went to the carousel. We were lucky to be the first in line when it was our turn, so Robyn took the ferret and I took the bison that was next to it (animals not to size...).

Then we went to the tubing hill. And then it was time for dinner at Open City. I got the hash brown bowl. OMG, it was so good. Nice and filling and warm for this cold night. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Whoo hoo, one of my favorite holidays of the year is here! We had a total of 15 people at my parents' house, and fortunately everyone pitched in so that no one person had to slave away in the kitchen, making all the food.

Per tradition, Mom made a turkey for us to eat and my cousin Hugo made a turkey (and flan) so that we'd have some for leftovers. Hugo's girlfriend made some green tea/red bean cakes for dessert. My cousin Peggy brought pies and salad. I brought the pumpkin cheesecake that I made last night. Julie made stuffing. My cousins Emily and Andrew and Andrew's girlfriend brought rolls, mashed potatoes and drinks. My cousin Erick and my uncle and aunt brought green bean casserole and broccoli salad and a cranberry sauce. Yum!

The tripod that I bought at a yard sale a few years ago has really come in handy!

A Blustery Unproductive Day

I took a shower and put on makeup with the full intention of going window shopping and getting bubble tea and Potbelly, but it was so windy outside! Mmm, nope, no thank you!  Hey, at least I looked good in the comfort of my own home. I did some window shopping online instead. Hooray for the internet and a Harry Potter marathon on tv, bah ha ha.

By dinner time, I figured I should put my best effort to do something productive today. I baked some Rolo cookies to bring to the office tomorrow (I'm glad that I bought a few bags during the post-Halloween clearance sale at Target), cleaned up my kitchen and ran the dishwasher.

Food Prep and Flannel Sheets

My sister found this Balsamic Chicken and Veggies Sheet Pan Dinner recipe online. She shared some with me the past few weeks, and I wanted to make a batch for myself for the next few days. Super easy to do since the oven does a lot of the work for you. This would have been perfect for the fall CrossFit healthy eating challenge except the sauce you pour on top has honey in it. Anyhoo, yay for not having to cook for the next few days. :)

I caved this week and turned on the heat in the house. I also switched my comforter and my sheets (from regular to flannel). It felt so cozyyy! RJ approves.

Life Update

Oh boy!  Whew, wow, is it dusty in here!  (Takes a Swiffer cloth to the blog). 

Hello out there!  I've recently had some folks (thank you, Louise and June) reach out to me to the tune of "Tina, are you okay? You haven't posted on your blog in a while!" Yeahhh, sorry about that! I guess a part of me wondered if my content was getting stale since my day-to-day life doesn't really change that much: CrossFit, crafting, work, food...RJ. And I was just feeling meh about blogging, but the kind messages I received have reenergized me, so I'd like to get back to posting every now and again (as opposed to dropping off the face of the planet).

CrossFit is still going strong. New news: I did cancel my regular gym membership at the end of October because I found the combination of CrossFit and spin class very draining. The relationships that I've made with the people at CrossFit are much stronger than the very few I've made at spin class. Plus, my sister holds me accountable for going to CrossFit, whereas I didn't have that at the regular gym. I just needed to be honest with myself about where money is better spent, and yeah, it's great having that gym membership money not be taken out of my paycheck anymore.

One of my friends asked me to make some topiaries for her parents' wedding anniversary party. One down, one more to go! It's kinda nice to do something new!

We had a fall potluck at the office this past Monday. My contribution was a pumpkin cheesecake. Other people brought green bean casserole, turkey enchiladas, sweet potatoes, stuffing...yum! I got several compliments on the cheesecake and came home with an empty pan. 

My sister and I went to Target this past weekend. I walked by this shirt and was like "Ok, let's not make an impulsive purchase. Let's think about this overnight and see how we feel about it in the morning." Yeah, heh, I went to another Target the next day and thankfully they had these shirts there too, so I bought it. Harry Potter fan for life!

Payment in Challah

Ugh, first day back from vacation. I got my CrossFit workout in this morning. We worked on our overhead squats and I had to decrease my load by 5 lbs to 50 lbs because 55 lbs was hurting my wrists. For the WOD, we did Fran and even though I took longer than I did when we did the workout last year, I was able to handle more weight.

I had 2 loaves of Michelle's challah bread waiting for me at the office, as payment for watering her vegetable garden the week of August 8. She made two smaller loaves, one for now and one for the freezer, but truthfully, it's so delicious that I don't think either loaf will last very long.

My brain must still be on vacation. I went to CVS to get some candy to refill the communal candy bowl at the office. I had 2 coupons to use, but the self-checkout machine didn't want to take them. What the heck? The CVS employee asked me if I had scanned my card yet. Oh. Um, no.  Heh. Blah.

I had just a good time in Jacksonville, so I thought it would be the right thing to do to send some snail mail to Page, her brother and her father for being such good hosts.

Jacksonville, Day 4

On my last full day in Jacksonville, Page and I wanted to host a dinner. On our way back from St. Augustine yesterday, we stopped at some grocery stores to get what we needed for dumplings. And we spent the majority of the morning wrapping them while watching the Olympics. Her cat provided moral support.

When it was time for dinner, Page's dad, brother (he brought sangria) and grandfather came as well as 2 family friends (they brought a salad). We had quite a feast. Her grandfather had never had dumplings before, but it looked like he really enjoyed them because he kept going back for more! It was a really great way to cap off the vacation. I'll be sad to go home tomorrow.

Jacksonville, Day 3

Layla, Page's part-time cat, was outside to hang out with me and Page as we waited for Brightman to pick us up so that we could go to St. Augustine.

In St. Augustine, we decide that the best way to see everything was to take the hop-on-and-off trolley tour and not have to walk in the oppressive heat. While we waited at our first stop, we checked out the first drugstore, which had all kinds of weird stuff behind the glass. It was cool to hear about the history and the widespread influence that Henry Flagler had in the area.

About halfway through the tour, we decided to hop off and find some lunch. The Columbia Restaurant was suggested by Page's friend, and what made it even better is that they served some awesome sangria, which we had to try of course. Page was clearly very excited.

I ordered the ropa vieja (Page got a salad and Brightman got something with mussels). The sangria was so good that Brightman bought the mix to make some for the family dinner that we're hosting tomorrow.

We went to an Asian grocery store and Publix to get some supplies for the dumplings that we are making tomorrow. I made sure to give Lilly some cuddles when we got home to relax and watch the Olympics on tv.

One cool thing that Page showed me was a Winnnie-the-Pooh box of all the cards that I've sent her over the years, starting in 2008 (I think). It was funny to read the stuff I reported on as I took a trip down memory lane. The bird card in the bottom right is card #50.