Boxing myself in

This morning was successful, but I wasn't happy about it. I just didn't want to get up. Last night was my normal stay-up-until-11-watching-a-football-game-I-don't-really-care-about Monday night, but at least Nicole and I ate decently healthily. I really didn't have any reason to sleep in, not to be really tired. But, I drug my unhappy butt out of bed and commenced with one of the few workouts that I enjoy- hitting a heavy bag in a boxing workout. It's good exercise and it helps me get work frustration out.

I may have mentioned this before, but there are really only a few exercise routines that I like. I hate running. I despise swimming. Even road biking sucks. I'm perfectly content riding an exercise bike in my basement, lifting weights, boxing, or playing basketball (which I haven't done in probably 10 years.) This makes a program like Ninja Fingers a little more of a challenge to find something that gets my heart rate up, yet I won't either get bored or get frustrated and quit.

Any suggestions?

The work/exercise balance

One thing that I have realized in restarting Ninja Fingers is that I had a totally different work/life balance the last go around. When we started the first time, I worked for a company that was going out of business. I was still getting paid by them, but we basically didn't have anything in stock to sell. As a result, it was easy for me to either exercise in the mornings, and go into work a little bit late, or to come home mid-afternoon and work out. I'm one of these people that either has to exercise first thing in the morning, or at a time that is a couple hours after eating. I'm also taxed at the end of the day, so I have a hard time working out right after work.

This go around, I work sometimes 12 hours a day. I'm usually at my office between 8 and 8:30 am, so to find the time and energy to work out in the morning is tough.

I'm trying not to sound whiny, or that I'm complaining- it's just tough to drag myself out of bed at 5:45 or 6 am to work out. So, if you see me, please give me a fist bump, and tell me to stop being lazy.

Trying to restrain "Cheat Days"

One of the things that a lot of successful lifestyle eating and exercise plans share in common is the concept that if there's really something you want to eat, go ahead and do it. Just realize that you will have to do some extra work to cover for it.

At the beginning of Ninja Fingers, Nicole and I each allowed ourselves one cheat day per week where the rules were relaxed, and we could indulge those food fantasies that had been following us around all week. We usually set aside Saturdays as the day where she would eat fast food, I would eat buffalo wings, and we would always feel bad on Sunday.

This weekend, I failed miserably. Friday I should just write off all together as the caloric destruction I did to my body Friday night was of epic proportions. Did that stop me from doing it all again on Saturday? Nope. Oh, maybe Sunday was better. Nuh uh.

This week, I will continue to try to make healthy decisions every day, exercise as much as I can, and keep my cheat day to what it should be- one day.

-Kyle

My name is Nicole Harsha, and I’m addicted to TV

As I come out of my six hour movie haze I realize that I’m hungry and thirsty. I get up from my couch bed and make my way past the shoe cemetery, dog hair tumble weeds, dirty laundry dump, clean laundry dump and enter the land of crusty dishes and slimy pots and pans. Never mind that this is the fifth cup that I have had a beverage out of today, creating more dishes for me to clean, I still reach for a clean glass and pour myself some water. Here is what goes through my head as I look around on my way back to the couch.

Man, this place is a mess.
What’s that smell? Is it in the kitchen sink or the trash?
Look at all that laundry.
Why do we always leave our shoes in the living room to step over?
Where did I put my, ooooh, Hanna is now available on demand. I’ll watch that then clean. Yeah, that sounds good.

I love TV. Actually, I love movies and now that we have a million movie channels I find that I can’t pull myself away from the screen. They are my way of escaping the world for a couple of hours. Ever since I was a kid I’ve had this way of tuning out the world and only hearing what was on TV. My sister used to make a game out of it and see how many times it would take me to realize she was calling my name. It never got past five.

Lately, I’ve let television rule my life. Instead of using it as a relaxing couple of hours I’ve been escaping into oblivion. The entire weekend Kyle was gone fishing I watched movies. I could have done so much with my time, but I chose to “rest” instead. Even as Kyle watches football (something I don't enjoy watching all day), I still lie around and do nothing. Well, I’m tired of being a filmy goo on the couch. I say that as soon as I’m done typing, which I’m secretly using as a procrastinating ploy, I’ll clean this house and do the laundry! Damn it, I will be lazy no more.... at least until Cowboys and Aliens is available at red box.

Charlie nesting in a pile of dirty laundry.

I am fat, and I am tired

Hello all. Yes, we are back again and I am fat.... again. Here are my problems with being overweight.
1) I have struggled with this my entire life. Realizing that it will be a life long thing sucks.
2) My clothes don’t fit and they don’t make clothes I like in my size.
3) Girls that have a “pooch” are not fat. So please stop complaining about it. It infuriates me.
4) I hate having my picture taken.
5) Its effected my health on the inside. My liver enzymes are pretty elevated and my doctor thinks it’s due to my fat intake.

I have to say that I’m comfortable with my squishy body until I actually see myself. We had our Smashie team pictures taken and I hate the way I look. I thought that they were going to "fix" it by photo shopping off belly pounds. Alas, it did not happen so I’m stuck with it. I look pregnant (which I’m not) and I have to deal with it being my fault. I ate the food, I didn’t keep on top of it, so now I have to lose the weight…again. Here is the pic. Everyone looks pretty smoken, except me. Oh well, I’ll get over it one day.

On a lighter note, our first local bout is on Saturday! I’ve worked for about year to get to this point and I am so excited!!! We are lined up to play the M-80s who are picked to win the championship this year. This was starting to play with my head a little until we scrimmaged against them this week. It was just like playing any other team. We can so do this! We’ve got AMAZING seasoned players on our team and I have been just blown away by their knowledge and athleticism. These girls are awesome and I am so honored to be on a team with them.

These past few weeks have been pretty busy with work and derby. Practice until 10pm and getting up at 5 or 5:30 is starting to take its toll. I've neglected my love and my laundry. So my love took care of the laundry! Big thank you to Kyle for folding, straightening, and washing this week. I really really appreciate it! xoxo

Go Smashies!!!!!

Rest

We need rest.

As a nation, Americans are over-worked and under rested. Just think about it- the term "workaholic" has almost become a badge of honor in our society. We are constantly caffeinated, and even when we aren't "working" we are constantly inundated with a stream of information from our emails, cell phones, Twitter feeds, Facebook pages, Sportscenter, News at 6, Texts, etc, etc, etc.

This has led us to become a nation of people that will die early while being fat, stressed to the max, and with no concept of real connections with people.

We have forgotten what it is like to sit back, relax, unplug, and enjoy the world around us.

This weekend, I decided to change that. I went down to the Lake of the Ozarks with three other guys that I barely know. On Friday, after we watched the end of the Cardinals game, I turned my cell phone off ((GASP!!!)). Not once until I got home Sunday evening did I check my email, twitter, or facebook.

You know what? It was awesome. We spent time as guys fishing, farting, playing cards, cussing, and talking about relationships, God, and how we were going to fix the problems of the world. By the time I got back on Sunday I realized that the information overload that I had unplugged from had very little relevance on my life during that day and a half. My company was still in business, my wife still loved me, and my house hadn't burned down. I was a great combination of rested and exhausted- it felt great.

I would encourage you to do the same. Sometime soon, truly unplug for a day or two, you'll thank me for it.

Gettin Physical

So, today I did something that I haven't done in probably a decade. I went to the doctor for a physical. Let me say from the beginning that I'm not proud of this. The "longest time between physicals" is not a game that you want to win. Especially if you are starting a new health regime, it's pretty critical that you get yourself checked out so you know what your baseline readings are for weight, cholesterol, blood pressure, etc.

You know what? It really wasn't that bad. I had lost 5 lbs since I was last at the doctor's office (in August for a small procedure that you definitely don't want details on), my blood pressure was perfect, and my ekg looked just dandy.

I did have a small problem with getting my blood drawn. Here's the deal- I hate needles. I would make the world's worst heroin addict. It all stems back to me getting freaked out by that scene in Star Wars where they are about to pump Princess Leia with truth serum from that floating basketball-robot-needle-thing. As an impressionable lad, that scene scared me into thinking all needles were bad. Just ask my folks about my various incidents at doctor's offices growing up. So, when the medical assistant stabbed me with the jagged metal, my face turned pale. She looked at me, and said "You can't faint, because I'm not going to catch you." Luckily I didn't pass out.

The doctor said that we are doing the right things- eating better, exercising more, losing weight.

We'll see how my blood work looks next week, but I'm not worried.

Until then, have a great weekend- I'm going fishing.
Kyle

Version 2, day three

This is kind of the first "real" day of Ninja Fingers. Monday I ate healthily, but had a big dinner at the Dorm Room. Yesterday I made my first sophomore mistake by forgetting to bring my lunch, resulting in me having to buy lunch (actually not too bad- a wrap from Chick-fil-A, no sauce, no fries, and an unsweetened Iced Tea.

Today, I woke up feeling hung over even though I had zero to drink yesterday. I have a headache, my ears are ringing, and I have cotton mouth. It's weird, I remember this happening a lot at the beginning last time.

That being said, if you are trying to start a new, healthy lifestyle- don't worry if you feel like crap the first couple of days. It's just your body adjusting. The best thing to do is just try to make one healthy decision each day.

Today- Protein shake for breakfast, sandwich and water for lunch, and some glazed pork chops from E-Mealz.com for dinner.

Tomorrow will likely be more expletive-laden, as I'm going to a doctor to get my first physical in about 10 years. Great.
Kyle

Ninjas are back!

Okay, so many of you have followed this blog since its inception a couple of years ago as the original Ninja Fingers health program. At the beginning of 2010, we decided to try to eat better, lose weight, and be generally healthier people. It worked really well for a while. Kyle dropped about 40 pounds, and Nicole lost around 20. Well, as often happens, life got in the way. No excuses, we just quit paying attention to our eating. As a result, we are both back to the weights that we originally started, and need to start over.

We will do the same plan as before- portion control our meals, eat less carbs and fat, drink less alcohol and soda, and exercise a lot more. Saturdays are our "Cheat" days where we can let loose a bit. It's really not rocket science, and there's no pill/dvd/website/monk chant that will do it for us.

If you are new to this thing, check out our trials from early last year- it's a fun ride.

This blog took a slight hiatus as Nicole documented her rolly derby experiences- those will still be posted on here, as that is how she will be exercising. As for Kyle- who knows. It will likely be a lot of boxing, lifting, and exercise biking in the "dojo".

Glad to have your support- don't buy us beers during the week.

Balancing Act

Okay, so last week was the derby draft and I didn't get drafted. Whaa whaaaa. So the process of the draft is that teams scout for months and then on the draft night the rookies scrimmage and then the captains decide which ladies they would like on their team. Let me preface this with since February I have had tickets for Kyle and I to go see Jimmy Buffet. It was Kyle's birthday present and the concert was May 3rd. Aaaaannnnnddd the scrimmage draft… yep, was May 3rd. When I realized what was happening I of course flipped out because 1) I have been crazy stressed at work with a new position and 2) I have been a little overwhelmed with my new schedule of working and derby practice. So what did I do? I cried on Jezebel’s shoulder (a vet skater whom I love), then I cried on Brandie's shoulder (a rookie whom I love), and then I cried on Romo's shoulder (my coach whom I love). When I finally got control of the flood gates and had let all of my frustrations and fears out, I followed all of my derby ladies advice and went to the concert with my hubby. I'll admit it, I'm bummed I didn't get drafted. BUT, I'm also super happy that I got to go spend time with my love. I got to see Kyle truly enjoy a night of crazy, grass skirt, coconut bikini, dancing in the street, parrot head shark fin wearing nuts. Even though it was freaken 30 degrees outside and our faces were frozen, they were at least frozen with smiles.

The night before the scrimmage Jezebel told me to decide what was more important, and I feel that I did just that....

Bobby Blizzard

Today at work I probably drank eight gallons of water and as a consequence had to pee about 20 times. One of these times hit me hard and fast and as I was part skipping and run walking to the bathroom I was reminded of the time I met a football player named Bobby Blizzard.

When I was in college we all decided it would be a grand idea to have some drinks before we went to a party. This way we were guaranteed to be smashed by the end of the night even if nobody had anything to drink at the party. So being the responsible 18 year old that I was, I used my handy dandy older sister’s license and bought us all alcohol to enjoy.
When we had a good buzz, we all piled into the cars, with our DD’s, and headed out to let the shenanigans ensue. As we were driving, our friends behind us flashed their brights and one of the boys in my car thought it would be funny to flash them back with giving them the bird. Well…. come to find out it wasn’t our friend behind us, and it wasn’t funny.

A black SUV of very large men pulled up beside us and rolled down the windows. One of the boys in my car yelled, “Oh my God! That’s Bobby Blizzard!” in a, I love that guy, slash, I’m terrified, sort of way. For those of you that don’t know, ol’ Bobby was a Wildcat football player who had many football friends. So, It was at this point, through the yelling, screaming, and cussing, that we realized all the boys in my car were about to die because there was a red light up ahead. We all start screaming at our DD to step on it! Through all the mayhem the driver made the only sober decision he could think of and floored it through the light ahead leaving Bob and his buddies behind. Win! However, what we didn’t see was the lovely lady cop sitting at the same red light. She of course did her duty and pulled us over. Lose! Now, I've had copious amounts of drinks by this point in the night and I’m holding my boyfriends open container and I have to pee, really, really, reeeeeeally bad. Our driver explained that we were being chased by large angry football boys and that we HAD to run the light or she would have been picking up the pieces of our bodies from the side of the road. She listened, talked, gave our DD a sobriety test, talked some more, and then made us wait for about 10 minutes while she checked on some stuff in her car. Did I mention that I had to pee? Yeah, so by the time we had been sitting for about 30 minutes I was in tears. Oh, and while I’m holding it, I have a beer bottle pushed up against the car seat behind my calf and my leg is cramping. The boys were great and kept telling me to hang on we’re almost in the clear, it’s going to be okay, you’re not going to jail, and please don’t pee in my car. The lady cop reappeared and blessed our DD with a ticket for running the red light and then let us go to continue our night. The boys cheered and I cried and laughed from relief. Once we finally made it to the party we became heroes because we escaped Bob Blizzard, the lady cop, and I got to pee behind a bush. Phew!

Spectacular Spills

I had the most spectacular spill last night at derby practice! Actually, it was a couple of spills. We were introduced to blocking and they had the Bevo Kill just lay us out. The first hit I took really well but because I didn’t stick my butt out enough I tripped on her skate and literally landed on my shoulder then head. It was awesome! Then we were doing another blocking drill and I took the hit again but when I went to do a turn around toe stop I was all of the sudden floating. You know how wrestlers jump in the air and then land flat on their backs? Yeah, I had slipped backwards again and was on my way to land on the floor into a full on body slam. I think I was so scared that I would hit my tail bone again that I tucked my butt and straighten in the air. Thank God I had a helmet on or I don't think I would have remembered how to type this morning! It didn't hurt, just jarred me a little. I laughed so hard! It must have looked something awful because even my coach asked if I was okay. I had so much fun! My shoulder is a little sore and scratched from doing a half summersault on it, but nothing that a little ibprophen won’t fix.

We have a skills test we will have to take eventually to get cleared for scrimmaging and we’ve been practicing 20 laps in 5 minutes while in a pack. Endurance right now is not my strong suit so by lap 13 I can barely move my legs or breathe. One of the newbie’s, Sherry, saw that I was really struggling so she got behind me at number 17 and started pushing. I was a little embarrassed at first but then oh so grateful that she helped me out. I didn’t want to be the reason we didn’t make our time and my teammate didn’t let that happen.

I know what I need to work on personally and am trying really hard not to compare myself with the other girls that are much faster than me. I always feel so bad for the people that have to partner up with me when it comes to the endurance stuff, cause we’re going to go slow when I’m pushing or pulling. I still love the challenge and I still really love derby!

Week One…

Last week was my first full week of practicing with the vets. Whoa, what a freaken learning curve!!!! Mondays are just dedicated to teaching NewBees basic skills and I sucked bad that night mainly because I didn’t eat or drink very much water during the day. Big mistake. Huge…. I have to go shopping now… wait… sorry, lapsed into movie quote mode. Come Tuesday I had learned my lesson and rehydrated, but then subjected myself to 30 min of off skates conditioning led by Artemischief. The most amazing kick ass 30 minutes of work out I’ve gotten in years, BUT, oh my, can I die now please? Thursday was a power practice from 6 to 7 that I couldn’t make, but I really enjoyed regular practice from 7 to 9. On Friday I went to visit our coach Romo at her derby store Rockstar Skates and bought some laces, new ball bearings, and toe guards to protect and dress up my skates a little. Sunday brought the All Star Traveling team practice. Advice to those who are new to derby… when you switch out your ball bearings, you go much faster. In fact, they are so much faster that I fell backwards again and hit my tailbone… again. I’ve never hurt myself so badly that I wanted to throw up until yesterday. The pain that shot through my body did not go away until I took one of Kyle’s pain killers left over from his hernia surgery! But there’s more!!! Not only did I fall, but the muscle next to my right shin was balling up and starting to pop out. I was only an hour in and really embarrassed that I couldn’t finish. What I was feeling can only be described as like a Charlie Horse, but on the front of my leg. Because I was skating faster I was leaning forward and gripping for dear life with my toes therefore overworking the muscles in my legs. Chewblocka was awesome though and could tell I was in a lot of pain and told me to stay off skates for the rest of the day. So I went home with my head hung low and all embarrassed that I couldn’t finish.

Because I didn’t know what to expect in practices at the begining of the week my anxiety levels shot through the roof. What if there aren’t any other NewBees there? What if I’m the slowest one? What if I suck so bad that they all talk about me behind my back? What if…what if… Hello!!! It’s my first week and nobody expects me to be perfect. Compaired to the other girls I am the slowest and also the least in shape, but that’s not why I’m doing this. I’m not there to compare myself to other people. The vets have truly been so amazing with encouragements. One point in Tuesday’s practice I thought I couldn’t go another inch and as Trippity skated by she said, “Come on you can do it!”. It was just what I needed to get my head back in and finish strong. Downtown Dallas and the Foreclosure both offered words of comfort when I was last to finish yesterday in a drill. That’s why I’m there, support and empowerment to finish strong! Thanks ladies and yay derby!

I'd also like to send a quick thank you to Kyle. He's been so sweet and supportive through my anxiety, mood swings, and freak outs. Thank you love and I appreciate everything so much!!! xoxo

Love for Derby…. I'm 30!!!

At the beginning of our relationship, Kyle made it very clear that he is NOT a fan of Valentines Day. The poor guy got dumped twice by different girls on this sappy sweet day and has never forgiven it. I figured since my birthday is three days before and if Kyle showers me with love and affection during that time, I could agree to not do the V day. So tonight instead of going to a restaurant and getting tons of candy and flowers from my hubby, I will be going to my first ever practice with the ladies of the derby.

Speaking of my birthday….. I had an absolute blast for my 30th! I took the day off on my actual b-day, Friday the 11th, to sleep in, get a hair cut, and go to dinner with my sister and Kyle. The next day we slept in again, had a huge breakfast cooked by Kyle, and then off to a bout. I helped set up and get ready for the sold out event, but had asked if I could watch the bout with my friends. They agreed and I am so thankful they did! It was the M-80s vs. The Rebel Skate Alliance and because it was the playoffs everything was kicked up a notch! It seemed a lot more violent and exciting! I was so glad that my friends got to see a bout that was awesome till the end. After the Rebel Skate Alliance won we hightailed it out of there to commence the birthday celebration at my friend Cat’s house. I was totally blown away by all the preparations. There was a litany of homemade salsas, guacamole, chips, pulled pork sandwiches, Cat’s awesome homemade pickles, and the cherry on top, a nacho cheese fountain. Oh my!

Thank you to all my friends that went to the bout with me and for also celebrating at Cat’s house. A special thank you to my friend Cat that threw me the best party ever and also to my husband that made my celebrations go from one day to two! Love yall!

I’m an Arch Rival Roller Girl!!!!

I was so nervous last night that I showed up at the rink an hour before we had to be there. I found myself literally walking in circles at home… have to get my stuff together, no clean the kitchen, no get my skates, no change clothes, no wait… where am I going? So I left an hour and 15 minutes before I actually had to be on the rink. Once I walked through the door my anxiety level dropped from “I’m going to lose my mind”, to “I’m so crazy nervous”.

We warmed up and had a powwow with Romo where she told us what was going to be expected of us. I fell with grace, plow stopped with awkwardness, and skated as fast as I could. The one thing they really wanted to see was our passion, so that’s what I gave them. I pushed myself hard and made sure I was sweating! One saving grace was that we were running over time so they had to skip the hopping drill. Thank you Lord! That was the one thing I was really freaked out about because my tailbone is still pretty tender. If I had fallen on it again I might have thrown up. But, we didn’t have to do it so I was in the clear!

I want to thank my sweet husband for all of his support and being so excited for me when I saw my name on the list. When I told him I made it he ran around the house yelling that I was a roller girl and popped some sparkling wine for me. It’s a moment in our marriage that will forever stay with me. Thank you also for the support from our friends and family that let me know they were behind me. It means so much to me to feel that love so thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Me after tryouts flashing my tryout number!

Postponed :(

I haven’t posted lately to tell you if I made the league or not because tryouts were postponed. I had all day to work myself up and then was let down by the weather once again. It didn’t even get bad until later that night. My mother in law calls it divine intervention; I call it a pain in the butt. Oh well, better safe then sorry….I guess.

So tryouts are going to be the same time and place next week. Come Monday I will be all sorts of nervous and crazy so I might not post again until I find out on Tuesday if I’m in or out. In the meantime I will be visualizing (per my sister), squatting and lunging (per Kyle) and trying to sit still at work (per my boss).

Tailbone update…
My tailbone has gotten much better, but is still very uncomfortable. I don’t think it is broken, but it is really hard to sit in the car, on the couch, or at work without squirming for hours. Thankfully I don’t have to sit for tryouts. As long as I don’t fall on it again I’ll be alright. Honestly I think it’s helping me stay low and forward while skating because I’m too scared to fall backwards again. Thank you for your concerns and please pray that I don’t drive myself mad with nerves on Monday!

And then there were 20…

Thinking back to information night a couple months ago, there were 58 girls lining up to try out for derby. We all had dreams of smashing, falling, pushing, and pulling our way to the top. Through the weeks of meet and greets we lost a few, but not enough to stand out. Last night I counted 20 lovely bad ass ladies still in the game to fight for the right to wear fishnets in public. It was our last practice before the big tryouts on the 31st. I’m scared, excited, and ready to skate my heart out. But will it be enough?

I do have one set back. I hurt myself pretty bad last night. We were doing a hopping drill and I slipped backwards and landed on my tailbone really hard. It’s pretty badly bruised and I’m not sure how it’s going to affect my tryouts. As long as I don’t fall on it again and concentrate I should be okay. It cracked my confidence a little and when we skated five laps around the rink my time was a few seconds worse than last week. A hurting tailbone is funny because you feel pain, but aside from lying on your stomach, there is nothing you can do to ease it. I’m currently trying to sit on a yoga mat that is intricately folded but it is still really uncomfortable.
Please pray that I heal quickly and that I’ll be able to put up an honest fight come tryout night!

Week 2 of Booty Camp

Last week there was no Booty Camp due to the weather that did absolutely nothing. There was a ton of hubbub in the news about, “The snow! The snow! We are all going to die because of the snow! So hunker down everyone and go to the grocery and by milk, eggs, and bread!” The short of it is that we had maybe a couple of inches and it was sloppy and wet. Damn! (Can you tell I’m bitter about having to go to work the next day?) I digress.

Last night was week 2 of Booty Camp. We learned weaving, hopping, marching, four point fall, skating in a pack, running on our stoppers, and how to skate wicked fast. At one point we had to skate five times around the rink, without instruction on how to do it correctly, and our coach Romo timed us. She said that as a Potential, a minute and ten seconds is a good goal. I heard some girls chicken out to be the first to go and I thought, "screw it, lets get this done". Plus I knew I would be faster than the other two girls skating with me so even if I was super slow they would make me look faster. A little strategy done on my part, sorry if that’s mean! What was my time you ask? 55 seconds! I did cross the line out of bounds a couple times but one of the veterans said that eventually it would get to the point where I would build up muscle memory and learn not to do that anymore. I would just instinctively know where to go on the track to stay in bounds and not get a penalty.
Today I feel pretty good but I know that Wednesday will be rough as far as soreness. My left knee is killing me, but I think that will go away as I lose weight and build muscle. It was really encouraging to see all the vets help the potentials with pointers. They were all more than happy to help and I was more than happy to hear it.

In other news, Kyle had hernia repair surgery on Friday last week. He’s had some ups and downs but came out of it fairly quickly. I’m so glad that he feels better and so happy that the little alien in his abdomen is gone! Yay Kyle!

A look at the subconsious

For Christmas this year I got a book called A Course in Weight Loss by Marianne Williamson from my sister. Usually giving someone a book like this would be grounds for a beat down, but my sister and I are very open and honest about our weight and she knows I struggle with this subject. (Heeellllloooo, hence the blog.) Plus she wants to read it after me. Each chapter of the book is a different lesson and has a different visualization exercise at the end. So far it’s been a great read. It’s been more about the spiritual side of losing weight and letting go of your fear and worries at God’s feet. The entire concept of the book is that if you are an overeater, which I am, then there is something going on subconsciously in your mind and you are not giving it to God. Ever hear the term eating your emotions? That’s what this focuses on. It gives you the tools to recognize that you are upset and should be praying instead of eating.

The best chapter I’ve read so far is the one on the thin you and the not so thin you. The author makes you picture the thin you actually meeting the not so thin you. I like to call these two people in me, Whippen Dixie (the thin me) and Rolie Colie (not so thin me). At the end of the chapter you have to write a letter from each perspective to the other. In doing this exercise I realized that I am almost afraid of the person I might become when I’m thin. The last time I was really in shape I was immature, flighty, and irresponsible. I’ve worked a long time to grow spiritually and emotionally and on a subconscious level I think that I will turn back into the other person if I lose all the weight. Self preservation is what they call it in the book. Now I’m trying to get to like the thin me so that I wont be afraid to become her.

Whoa, that was deep… I’ll keep you posted on more of my revelations as they come.

Ouch….

This morning I woke up to find that my muscles are really angry with me. Yeah I was sore yesterday, but that was nothing compared to what my legs feel now. Ouch is all I have to say. I think the only thing that will help at this point is lots of stretching and lots of moving around.

On a lighter note, one of the girls that is already in the league, but not on a team, got all of her gear stolen out of her car last week. Sad day indeed because just your normal decent pair of skates is about $100 and that doesn’t even include all of the padding you need. So all the girls she practices with took up a collection and gave her money for new skates! All together now, awwwwe! Everyone always thinks that derby girls are this rough and tumble group of girls, but they have great hearts and big love for each other.

Hearing this story only fuels my passion to get in the league this year. Getting back in the skates tonight to workout those hurten muscles!

Booty everywhere!

First day of high school, first tryout for the dance team and the first performance in front of a crowd are all examples of times I was so nervous I wanted to throw up. I can now add the first night of booty camp. When I pulled up to the Skatium all I could hear in my head was Adam Sandler’s voice saying “They’re all going to laugh at you!” My palms were sweaty, my heart was jumping out of my chest, and I felt so stupid for getting this nervous. Kyle had suggested that I listen to Metallica to pump myself up on the way but I assured him that my heart was plenty pumped.

While staring at the door for a bit I calmed myself down and entered the land of kick ass. Once I found the other girls I noticed that they looked as wide eyed as I did so I was put as ease. We quickly checked in and then hit the floor to start some training. We skipped, lunged, and grapevined the length of the rink and were all sucking in some major air. After a water break we then commenced to learn how to fall, recover, and stop the derby way.

My legs hurt, and my knee is swollen, but I had an absolute blast. The veterans that were there were more than willing to help with pointers and I appreciated any information they were willing to give. There are a lot of girls trying out and the coach, Romo, said that this group was the most prepared group of potentials she’s ever seen. (which could make it harder to get in the league this go round) I know that I’m not the best potential out there, but I’m also not the worst. I’ll practice on my own Wednesday and hope that come Monday I’ll be ready for it again!

2011

This year I am not going to make a grand resolution to do something. I am not going to make this year the year that I will eat less, exercise more, write a book, climb a mountain, run a marathon, pray more, read more, or make more money. All I am going to say about the year 2011 is that I really just want to have a freaken blast. This year the possibilities are endless and I am heading into it with eyes wide open, and a smile on my face. Whatever God has in store for me, I’m game. So let’s get it on!

Booty Camp

Tonight is the first night of booty camp. Yikes! I’m scared out of my mind and also so crazy excited.

Someone asked me last week why I decided to do roller derby and my initial thought was, “Why not? Helllloooo, because it’s awesome.” And then I realized that I want to do this because I’m turning 30 in February. I feel like my 20’s were all about figuring out who I am and the kind of person I want to become. Well I don’t have it figured out yet, but I am much more comfortable with the person I am becoming. I think roller derby will help me find my voice and build confidence. Plus it will work me out like I’ve never been worked out before!

And so it begins…..