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3/15/14

Changes

Well I guess I ought to blog about more then Crossfit, huh?

Life has been pretty crazy the past few months... I keep feeling like I need to update people but I'm not sure where to begin. Which of course ends in me doing this bullet style:

- I quit Jetblue. I figure I might as start with the big one, eh? What it all boils down to is I couldn't handle the schedule anymore... working weekends non-stop for over a year with no end in site just wasn't for me (call me spoiled). Having to miss going to the park on Saturday afternoons, going to church on Sunday afternoons, and just general family time was slowly wearing me down.... so I gave my two weeks notice and just had my first full week Jetblue free, and honestly it was really nice and liberating (no hard feelings JB...). This leads us quite nicely to our next topic...

- I am self employed. The best part of working for Jetblue for me was being able to work from home... it was great when Rose was a newborn to be able to nurse her on my breaks and so forth. This is obviously why I tolerated the annoying schedule for some time. I've been lucky enough for the past year to do a little extra work on the side from home for independent bloggers... basically I help with their social media and run other miscellaneous items (write, photo editing, etc etc) for them. Over the past 3 or so months I've been contacted by more clients and have gotten to the point where I have enough work to no longer need Jetblue.  Yes it's a bit nerve wracking to be self employed... but you guys... it's pretty amazing. I set my own schedule, I still get to work from home, I can stop and start whenever I want, I can watch Brave 500 times with Rose all while working... you get the idea. This is not a decision that Braedon and I went into lightly... there was months of discussion, prayer, and debating back and forth about if it was something I should pursue or not. It finally came down to the numbers so we set ourselves a number to reach and if I reached that point then I could give my two weeks to Jetblue. If I didn't reach that number, then no harm no foul. Well obviously I hit that number (a whole 1 week later) and have actually surpassed it. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to start this new journey and to spend more time with my family while still helping to provide for them.

- Rose is adorable. Not really new or surprising, but it does still need to be said. She seriously is such an amazing kid. I continually marvel at how smart and sweet she is. A few things about her right now:

  • She still loves to give kisses... to everyone. At least at this point she doesn't try to do the open mouthed kisses.
  • She has two stuffed Mini-Mouse animals... and she loves them. She calls them her "mouses" and has to have both of them snuggled up to her face at night for bedtime. She also loves babies and taking care of them and making sure they have socks on (it's apparently very important). She is gonna be a great sister one of these days (not an announcement)
  • She. Loves. Brave. Winnie the Pooh is in second place. But Brave we could watch over and over and over again. Most shows she loses interest in but with Brave she almost makes it through the entire movie without moving a muscle. I tried a couple of other Disney movies (Beauty and the Beast and Little Mermaid) and she was so not interested. I'll take her loving a red-headed independent scottish girl (hopefully she likes Amelia Pond just as much when she gets a bit older)
  • Rose still loves to read her books (or as she puts it Boo-ya). She has three different Dr. Suess books right now that seem to be her favorites. She actually reads them to herself and says words about them that she remembers us saying. For example: The Foot Book, she will turn the pages while saying "feet feet feet feet" over and over again. She really does surprise me with how smart she is!
  • She loves going outside (or 'side') and has Spring Fever like you wouldn't believe. It doesn't matter if is a walk in her stroller or sitting on our deck as long as she is outside she is happy.
  • Her verbal skills continue to amaze me. While her words can be hard to understand at times, she will always at least try to say the word you are getting her to say. We are for sure in that stage where she speaks a full sentence that is clearly of much importance to her... but you have no idea what she just told you. It's fun and frustrating at times, but I love listening to her talk. 
I could go on and on about her and all the things I love.. but I'll stop for now. Basically she is wonderful and I feel so blessed to be her mama. And of course here are some pictures:

Snuggling her Minnie's
We told her to make a silly face.
Bath times are the best times.
Reading books.
I lover her smiles!
Family walks!
Snuggles
She thought this elephant wash glove was pretty funny.
She loves to color - but only with markers...
She loves loves loves her cousin Ari. :)
Cheeeeeeese!
I honestly have no idea...
Even though she was in footie pajama's... she just had to wear her slippers.
Until she noticed that her baby had no socks... 
Reading a story to her baby.
I just think she is so pretty...
Snuggles with daddy.
Late night out...
Rose feeding one single piece of dog food to Spook at a time.
Giving Minnie hugs while going potty.
Love.
Watching her favorite show.
Gotta love Pajama days!

- Braedon left me. But just for the weekend. He is off in Meridian Idaho getting himself another Crossfit Cert. We have only slept apart from each other one day since we've been married... and that was before Rose was born. I'm not sure how I'll handle myself this weekend and realize I sound all sorts of spoiled and pathetic saying that... but it's true. I love Braedon with all my heart and love spending as much time with him as possible. I realize we are a bit of an oddity in the fact that we don't really enjoy going off and doing "boys nights" and "girls night"... we like "together nights". Our likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc etc are all so similar that it doesn't really make sense to do things apart. I love it and wouldn't have it any other way.  And my hat goes off to those that are single parents, whose partner is in the army or some other service that causes them to be away from their family for periods of time. I really am spoiled.

- We went to Disneyland. It was a few weeks back... but Braedon's family had already planned on going and had asked us weeks prior if we wanted to go. We declined thinking it would be too hard to coordinate getting work off, and with out knowing how busy the flights were I didn't want to plan on it and get work off for nothing. Well the week of they asked/begged us again to go with... so I told them I'd look at the flight loads and if they were open enough we would do it. I at this point had an idea that I was going to be quitting soon so I wanted to use my benefits and also knew I could use up all my PTO since I wouldn't be needing it in the future. Well everything work out perfectly... the flights looked great, Braedon only have to get two days off, and I was able to use PTO to get the whole weekend off. It was such a fun and relaxing trip and Rose loved Disneyland! I didn't know if she would care so much but she loved going on rides, seeing Tigger (Tiyo), and dancing to all the music. I know she may not remember the trip when she is older... but I will remember it and I'm so glad we were able to go. Here are just a few pictures from the trip, most are on facebook if you really want to take a gander:

How we found her sleeping in the stroller on one of her naps. Love that little bum!
She loved the fishies and carousels!
I found this to be very creepy and a bit disturbing...
Yay Disneyland!
Sometimes when you forget a bib and Rose wants avocados the
best thing is to just strip her down.
She made this face quite often... everything was "Woah!!" Loved it!
Snuggles and hugs!
So excited when we got into the park.

So basically life is pretty good right now. We are both enjoying doing the Crossfit Open, spending time with each other and Rose and the warmer weather. Here is to Spring! :)


Loves and hugs.




3/6/14

Open WOD 14.1

We just finished the first week of the Open (which is basically the qualifiers to get to Regionals which is the qualifier to get you to the Crossfit Games).

While each week of the Open is just another work out... I can't help myself as I get clammy hands, butterflies, and nerves like none other. Don't get me started on the panicky feeling I get before the actually work out is even announced... I feel like a kid the day before Christmas wondering what gifts they are going to open the next day. Except these gifts usually bring burning lungs, complete exhaustion, and muscle soreness for days. Yes it's just another workout... but for some reason it's just... different.

Especially this year.

This year I have a goal... I'd even call it a dream if I'm being honest with myself. I would love more then anything to go to Regionals. For some reason I have a hard time saying that out loud... I guess I still feel very inadequate when I look at all my fellow athletes and see those I'm competing with. I suppose it's also insecurity that if I do say it out loud others will scoff or laugh under their breath because it's just not attainable for someone like me. But I've decided (like I do in most aspects of my life) that I don't care what others think. So I choose to say it out loud now: I want to go to Regionals.  And even if I don't come anywhere close to placing, what's wrong with setting my sights high and doing all I can to reach it? We will see how things go... but no matter what, as long as I give it my all, I'll be happy with myself (and ya know... maybe just train harder next year).

Regardless of scores or workouts or if I make Regionals - this first week of the Open was a pretty amazing experience for me. The reason being is I was honored to be able to do 14.1 side by side with one of my trainers Hillari Eaton. And honestly me calling Hillari "one of my trainers" feels like an extreme understatement  for what she really is to me. Not only has she welcomed both Braedon and I to Crossfit Draper like we always belonged there, she has changed our family in so many ways and I don't know if we can ever repay her. Beyond her kindness and amazing example as a person she is also an incredible trainer and athlete. This is a woman and an athlete that I have looked up to since day one of my Crossfit experience.

And here I was... working out with her during an Open WOD... side by side... rep for rep (ya know until she passed me up of course).

Talk about empowering.

The fact that this program allows you to be able to work out with people of all levels, people that push you and people that inspire you is just pretty dang incredible.

I am nervous and excited for the weeks to come, and especially for the announcement for 14.2 tonight... but no matter what happens - no one can take that moment away from me. I love what Crossfit has done for me and my family and I am so grateful to be part of the Crossfit Draper community. And want to publicly thank Hillari (even though I know it will embarrass her endlessly) for being such an inspiration to me (and to so many others).

2013 Regionals
Loved cheering her on!
So amazing. 
14.1
14.1
14.1

Nothing like someone like Hillari to push you to your limits. Thanks for the awesome workout Hill! Can't wait for 14.2!