1 RM Hang Squat Snatch and Birthday Cake Baking

6:30 AM CrossFit, check! Test week: hang squat snatches. We aimed for our 1 RM. After a few failed attempts (one almost had me landing on my butt), I got 50 lbs. I’ll need a lot more practice before being able to add more weight.

WOD: - 4:00 max wall balls (8 lbs). Every time you had to take a break from the WB, you had to do 10 burpees
- 1:00 rest
- 4:00 max KBS (26 lbs). Every break = 10 burpees
I ended up with 45 wall balls and 50 kettlebell swings.

My coworker, Michelle, was so nice to take me out to lunch today. We went to Cava and got rice bowls. She also handed me some birthday art that her kid, my banana pudding sous chef, made for me. I have it hanging up in my cube now along with a thank you card she made. Aw, so sweet!

I tackled my birthday cake tonight after watching Arrow. It's a 2-layered chocolate cake from Add a Pinch. The cake part was easy. I feel like frosting was too runny, but I made it work. I figured my family would be willing guinea pigs and then if it goes well, I'll make it again when Robyn and Meg come over to celebrate me and Meg's birthdays at the end of the month. I felt like I was in some sort of cartoon. The top layer was slightly sliding off the bottom layer because of the icing, so I had to stick a chopstick (and later on, a plastic knife) to make sure that the cake didn't come apart overnight.

Apparently, the green thing that looks like a fish is supposed to be a heart.

Grains and greens bowl with falafel.

We'll see how this tastes tomorrow!

Weird Weather Day and Push Press 1RM

The morning CrossFit session was cancelled due to the icy roads. Thank goodness for OPM’s unscheduled telework option today!

The morning was already a success because I put the final touches on a poster presentation, and my boss sent it off to our federal partners for review and clearance. And I also figured out my flight plans for a June work meeting. Direct flight to an inconvenient airport (BWI) or 1-stop flight to a convenient airport (DCA)? I went with the second one.

What a weird weather day! Ice, then lots of rain, and then sunshine (?!). There was a new food place that was doing their opening today with free lunch and dinner, but even that was enticing enough for me to venture out in the rain.

Anyhoo, 5:15 PM CrossFit, check! It’s test week! We did push presses today. Last week, I did 3 x 5 at 85 lbs. My 1RM from a few months ago was 90 lbs. I loaded up 105 lbs for my 1RM and was able to get it above my head, but then the coach told me it was really a push jerk. By then, my arms didn’t have anymore gas in the tank to redo it. Oh well! At least I’m getting somewhere!

WOD: 30-20-10 DB snatches (20 lbs) and box jumps (20 inches). After all that’s done, 50 sit-ups. Time: 10:58.

And then I went to 6:30 PM spin class because my legs still had some energy. Whew!

A Gross Weather Day Off!

I want a redo! The weather today was gross...like snowy and icy. I was basically forced to stay inside all day and not risk getting in a car accident. There was a Valentine's Day partner WOD at CrossFit, but I ended up not going. What bad timing because it's also test week (today was pull-ups). I'll have to make sure that I make it to the other classes this week so that I can see how far I can get with my 1 RM with the other lifts.

I made a card though. That was the most productive thing I did all day!

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox Chalk Ink in Chestnut Roan, Blackbird
Stamp: Hero Arts- Envelope
White Gel Pen: Uni-Ball Signo Broad White Gel Pen
Other: American Crafts- Botanique 

Happy Valentine's Day!

9:30 AM spin class, check! I was going to go to the 8:30 AM class, but all the bikes were reserved. That's okay though because the 9:30 AM class is an hour, as opposed to 45 minutes. I needed the longer class to burn off some of what I ate yesterday at the anniversary party! When I put my stuff near my bike, the person who had the bike in front of me for the previous class told me that she was taking an intro CrossFit class this week (not at my box, but another one). She had asked me about CrossFit a few months ago, so I'm glad to hear that she's taking the plunge...at least dipping her toe in the pool.  Ha ha.

There was a new person sitting in the bike next to me. I told her before the class started that she should get a towel. She went through the whole class without water and a towel (?!). Sigh. She also thought the class was going to be only 45 minutes. Oops!

I went to the grocery store next door after class to get some flowers for my aunt and uncle for their anniversary. I thought about buying some for myself, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. (When I went to drop the flowers off later, they happened to be having beef noodle soup for lunch. “Tina, would you like some?” Sure! I'm not going to turn that down!)

I went to another grocery store to get some cake donuts for my sister (ok, and some chocolate iced Bavarian cream ones for myself ), and there was a huge flower display in the front. I had a “F this! Treat yo'self” moment. It’s Valentine’s Day, and my birthday in a few days, why not? So I picked out 2 sets, one dark pink and one yellow. Now they are in a vase in the entryway.

I got cleaned up from the gym after I got home and took a nap with RJ hogging the middle of the bed, as usual. Now I'm waiting for the delivery guy to show up with my Indian food and I'll catch up on the Arrow episode that I missed this past week because I fell sleep on the couch.  Heh.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Anniversary, Uncle and Aunt!

OMG, I had some weird dreams last night. I dreamt that I was in school, taking a physics test and I didn’t know any of the answers! Wow, was that stressful. I’m so glad I woke up!

Most of today was spent with my family as we celebrated my uncle and aunt’s 50th wedding anniversary. My uncle narrated a slideshow of their life together, which was heartwarming and funny at the same time. There was also singing and karaoke. It was fun to hang out with my cousins too. My mom is one out of 7 kids, so I have a lot of cousins on my mom's side of the family. 10/16 of us second generation-ers made it to the party.

The food was great too! My favorites were the chicken and the tiramisu.

Pull-Ups and Poster Presentation

6:30 AM CrossFit, check! We were waiting on one more person before getting the warm-up started. I said the first thing that came to mind. “Do we know them?” Everyone laughed, and I realized that it sounded kinda clique-ish. Oops. Heh. What I meant was "Is this a new person who's coming in for a trial class?" Is #nofilterfriday a thing?

WOD:
21-15-9-6-3
Push Press (60 lbs)
Wall Ball (8 lbs)
Time: 6:27.

UGH, this poster presentation for work is like the bane of my existence lately! A part of me was happy that I could telework so I could put my head on the table to muffle my frustration, but another part of me wished that I was at the office so that I could work off a bigger screen. Julie gave me some of the corn chowder that she made for the office Soup-er Bowl (har har). She IMed me later to tell me that she won (she won the office chili competition a few months ago too!).

Julie and my cousins went out to dinner tonight, but I stayed back. After working on the poster presentation all day and feeling sore from class, I was worn out. :P

Push Presses and New Liquid Lipstick

6:30 AM CrossFit, check! We worked on our push presses. I went with the weight I did on Saturday since I had to stop midway during the third set, rerack, rest and continue. Today went much more smoothly and I was able to do the last set without reracking. 3 x 5 at 85 lbs.

WOD, 5 rounds for time:
5 overhead plate step-ups per leg (15 lbs)
10 plate burpees
Time: 10:00

Oh, and I did my nails last night.

Reggie had a $5 coupon for a nearby Cuban-Latin restaurant so I tagged along when he went to get lunch. The restaurant was nice to let us both use the coupon. He got the chicken tacos, and I got a rice bowl with pork (the meals also included a side dish too). Yum! So much better than Chipotle: cheaper without the risk of sickness.

My Sephora order came in today: Stila all day liquid lipstick in Ricco (a very dark brick red. We’ll see how this formula compares to the Sephora cream lip stain) and a purse spray version of Gucci Guilty. This is my second bottle (Tube? What do you even call it?)...maybe I should just spring for a full sized version next time.

We're supposed to get some snow tomorrow...1-3 inches I think. It doesn't sound like a lot, but we got maybe an inch the Wednesday before Snowzilla a few weeks ago and everything was a mess. I took my work computer home just in case I have the option to telework. I do NOT want to be sitting in morning traffic!