H & M
I hate when clothes are cheap and fall apart after a few wears.  So I buy a lot of my clothes at Ann Taylor Loft.  That was before I walk into this gem of a store.  Before it came to the states I went to H & M's in London and France.  KP and I stocked up on new tank tops because we have been rotating the same few shirts FOR WEEKS.  And then I never went back to an H & M.

Until the other day...
SUCH cute stuff for cheap!  Now, I still like good quality stuff and I'm not completely convinced that it's super well-made but, for tops, I'm ok with it.  I won't buy pants there but cute tanks, shirts and dresses?  Yes, yes and yes!


SFH Pure Whey Protein Powder
I love this stuff!  It's a bit pricey but it's the best protein powder I've never had.   All is derived from grass-fed animals.  Causes no stomach aches whatsoever.  I throw it in my smoothie every morning and wahla, breakfast!


SFH Fish Oil
Since we're on that company I must give credit to my fish oil.  It's liquid.  It's tangerine flavored and it's amazing.  It doesn't give ANY fish burps.  Excuse my crassness but if you've ever taken fish oil you know exactly what I'm taking about.


Tide Pods
I know I've done these before but I just can't get over how much I love them.  I don't understand why anyone would not use these gems.


Sumits Yoga
I've been to Bikram but this is so much better.  They play music and it's still hot, hot, hot.  I feel like I'm leaving lots of toxins in the studio when I leave.  Oh AND, I almost forgot the best part...they're wood floors in the studio.  If you've never read why this is so important, here's an old blog on Bikram.

Baskets
I LOVE baskets...of all sizes.  My favorites are the ones that have a  fabric liner on the inside.  They make organization so cute!

Permission to be willing to stand in line for 2 hours to get the iPhone 5
It's here.  I'm willing.  I'm going today.  This has been the longest coming phone in life.  Would you just get it and shut up about it already?!  Today, Peeps, today.

Permission to wonder where in the H-e-double hockey sticks these bug bites are coming from
On my legs, on my legs...well mostly just one my legs but they're annoyballs.

Sidenote: I always try to find pictures for my blog so I started googling, "Bug Bites."  Seriously?  Why did I do that?  Disgust.

Permission to think my dad is so cute in his new Jeep
After driving the Hewlett Packard issued Ford Tauruses for about 20 years I think he deserves to choose his own car.  He's as excited as a 16 year old in his new ride.  Good job Dad.  If I could have I would have bought it for you.

I forgot to take a picture of him in it :(

Permission to want this tattoo so bad
I want it on the other side of my foot but I'm too scared because:
1.  It will hurt right on the bone
2.  I don't have any tattoos
3.  Will it be ok to have that if I'm trying to be a principal someday?
4.  My feet are not pretty but I can't think of another place I want it.




Permission to really love my house
It's pretty small but I love it.  It's so homey...which is good because it my home(y) Homie.  Oh, I kill myself.  I'm embarrassed for you Katie.  I'm hilar.  Anyway, now that I finally have pictures on the wall...3 years later, I'm so content here.

Permission to judge people who don't get my Breakfast Club references. 


Permission to hate vertical blinds
Oh I already said that?  I still hate them.

Permission to think I have the BEST bosses
I don't know why I always get so lucky.  I came from a boss who was an amazing Jedi TO a boss who is just as fabulous.  I always learn so much.  High five to my great, great bosses past and present!

Permission to think this is beautiful and looks like a ridiculous waste of time all at once
Those are layers and layers of icing in that honeycomb pattern.  Wow.

I'm finally in some much needed therapy.
Thank God Katie.  We've been telling you for years.  

Save your jokes, funny friends.

PHYSICAL therapy.

I learned 5 things while I was there.  I didn't actually learn 5 things while I was there.  I can currently think of 3 but I feel like 5 is a much better number of things to learn so I'll have to do some quick thinking as I type...

5.  I sprained a part of my ankle that is virtually impossible to sprain.  
What can I say?  I've always been something of an overachiever.  Umm, that's not what your high school GPA said.  <---Sidenote: Do you think it's funny when I "talk for you" in italics or do you think I'm displaying some schizophrenic tendencies by having pretend conversations with noone?

4.  Your tendons are the ends of your muscles..
They're like little tiny snakes coming off the end of your muscle.  That's what the very smart, smart physical therapist taught me.  If there are any actual doctors (or anyone who knows anatomy) reading this and knows I'm super wrong, I'm embarrassed.  Until then, that's true.  Tendons or the little legs at the end of your muscles.

3.  ASTYM hurts so good!
It's this hard plastic tool and they dug into my skin (just on the surface, they didn't make me bleed or anything) to break up all of the scar tissue that has formed during my past 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ankle sprains that were not properly cared for.


Anyway, they dug and it HURT but it was a good hurt.  Come on baaaaaaaby, make it hurt so good! <---- I love me some John Mellencamp.  Ahh, memories of dancing in my living room with my mama.  Ok, I'm leaving Memory Lane now.  Back to our regularly scheduled program.

2.  Picking up marbles with your toes is harder than it looks.  
I also had to do this exercise where I scrunch up a towel over and over with my toes.  Ouch!  It was muy dificil.

That's not me but that's what I did.  Try it.  It's tricky!

Saving the best for last...

1.  Crossfit is GOOD for my ankles. 
Oh yes, you read that right.

Here's my conversation with my physical therapist as I was giving her my history.
"So, I've sprained my ankle several times.  Actually both of them.  Every morning I used to walk like I was 90 years old for the first 10 minutes of the day because my ankles were so tight and in pain. However, after I started Crossfitting the pain almost went away completely."

"Really?  You know why?  What you were doing is probably naturally breaking up that scar tissue and getting blood flowing to there.  Keep Crossfitting.  It's really good for you!"

So...what did my Doctor prescribe?
Crossfit


What did I learn?
Ongoing aliments shouldn't stop us.  We have to move it or lose it (and when I refer to "it" I mean the function of our bodies).  You may think I'm being dramatic but put the cookie down and move it Friends!

You'll thank me some day!

Wow, Katie, you're really on a high horse right now.

Yeah, I almost 1/2 way through my current Whole 30.  I feel amaze balls.  And I went back to CF480 for the first time in days weeks month.  So, yes, I'm on my high horse and the view from up here is fabulous :)

This is a great quote about Using it or Losing it.  That's why I posted it...ish.

She's a strong woman whose love is boundless.


And I, in turn, have been blessed with a sister and a best friend for the rest of my life.  Danielle, my sister, has enriched my entire life.  She is the most kind-hearted person I know.  Her heart breaks for people who are having a hard time.  She goes out of her way to do little things to let the people in her life know they are important.

Her care for other people, even total strangers, is boundless.  She'll see a story on the news and the next thing we know she's rummaging through her house to help a family who needs baby clothes for their newborn.

And, I find it completely amazing, but she still doesn't know how beautiful she is but anyone who knows her knows.  Inside and out she is gorgeous.  Sometimes I have to stop and remember that I really get to keep her, as my sister, forever.  How lucky am I?


I love you 1/2 D, my sister, forever and ever.  I can't believe we've known each other for 12 years.  It feels like a lifetime.  I can't imagine one day without you in my life.  You are everything good.  And 30 looks fabulous on you.  

I'm ready to start.  Why?  Because I'm too far from the very healthy lifestyle I was living for a while and need to get back to it.  Time to make some changes!
But...before I do, time to do some things I hate.

We all knew that this was part of The Whole 30 Challenge:
1.  Get weighed
2.  Test Body Fat
3.  Take Before Pictures
4.  Do the WOD-Pre and Post

In fact some of my girlfriends and I had already e-mailed back and forth about it, "I don't want Derek testing my body fat.  That's making me not want to do it."  "The Before pictures, alone, are enough to make me stick with it."

I wasn't crazy about doing any of this either.

Perhaps you've read about my total and utter anxiety slight dislike about doing things like telling people all of those things listed above.

I had come to terms with it though.  I was in.  Doing The Whole 30...with my gym...all together.

So...there I was.  I gathered up my courage for Derek to weigh me in and do all the rest of the crap gather the rest of the necessary information.  There are about 7 people standing around, mostly fit fit girls.   This is a medical scale.  It stand upright and you have to physically move the little block over to the next number and then slide the level.  It's not one of those that you can cover the number with your foot.

He says, "Ok, hop on the scale."  I do. And I look over so I can get off real quick and he's chatting with other people and I'm standing on the scale and he's chatting and I'm standing there with my weight displayed for the world Crossfit 480 to see.  I waited for about 8 minutes on that scale...ok it was probably 45 seconds (I may or may not have a slight tendency to exaggerate things when they are negatively affecting me).

Then he yells out, "Ok, what is it?" and gets ready to write it down.  I look at him like, Are you high?  I'm not just going to yell out my weight to you.  So I quietly go over and whisper it to him.

Then he does my body fat testing with some fancy pants device.  He puts this goo on the machine and puts it on my tricep.  Then my stomach.  Then my hip.  Then my quad.  I didn't die.  My body fat percentage is on the high side of healthy but not overweight or obese which made me happy.

Moving on...here's the climax of this story.  Wait for it...
I had worn a white shirt under my regular gym tank because I was going to show the white shirt in my before pictures because it shows more flaws. And in your Before picture you want my flaws.

I'm ready to take off my gray tank and stand in my white one for the before picture.

Derek says, "Ok, do you want to go in the bathroom because I need the before picture in a sports bra."
I literally started laughing.  "Absolutely not," I say with the straightest face ever.
He laughs.  I'm sure because he knew I was going to say that.
"No, I'm not doing that.  What's my other option?"
"That's the only option Katie."
"I'm not doing that," I say in my most firm teacher voice.
He says, "Ok, ok, you can take them at home if you want."
"Done."

Let's take a before picture in your sports bra...shaking my head...umm no Sir.  Granted my before pictures now look better than my before pictures from a year ago, but still, no.

PS.  I went home and took the pictures.  Actually I had my best friend take them.  And I am a HUGE advocate of ongoing pictures...so DO IT.  But you do NOT have to let your trainer at the gym take them.  ;)  Hopefully your before and afters will be opposite of Arnis but I think wearing an animals teeth around your neck always add something to photos, don't you?

A whole bunch of people at Crossfit 480 are starting The Whole 30.  So, of course I jumped on board because:
A.  I'm a little competitive and I think I could actually win this
B.  I LOVE how I feel after a strict Whole 30 so I just needed a little motivation
C.  I'm excited that my whole gym is doing it because we can help commiserate with each other.

So...here's what I have done to prepare for my Whole 30.
Eat everything in sight.  <---True statement.  I don't know what the hell my problem is but I really did that...for almost a week.
Chicken enchiladas?  Sure
Dairy Queen (even with my knowledge of what is in that non-ice cream)?  Yes
Wine?  Definitely
Cookies?
Taco Bell?  Yep, I ran for that Border.

A whole lotta crap? Yes

Boooooo to Katie and her VERY bad food decisions.

How do the rest of you feel when you put garbage in your bodies?   I FELT LIKE CRAP.  My allergies are out of control, stomach issues...so much drama with the K-A-C.

Lessons I know that you don't have to tell me:
1.  Katie, you're starting this challenge to get MORE healthy not sabotage your help and then get more healthy.
I know.
2.  You already know that food makes you feel like crap and you still eat it?
I know.
3.  You type all this information to us about how we should all eat Whole/Real food and yet you spend a week eating pretend garbage?
I know.

I know.  I KNOOOOOWWWWWWW  BLOG READERS!  I feel guilty typing this but I would feel more guilty letting all of you think I was perfect all the time.

What's that you say?  You still think I'm perfect.  Awe, thanks ;)