Grands and running

spent the night. So fun. Here is one of my favorite pictures of them...they are such great readers!

Running ... last week at CF, we ran 100 m sprints for time..8 of them with 1 minute in between. I am training with some very fit CrossFitters who are going to the Sectionals in March. Anyway, we all started at once... they took off and were at the finish by the time I got half way there. It was like they were Roadrunners and I was ....

I have never pretended to be a runner but have run more in the past six months than I have ever done. First sprint was 32 sec, last was 25 so I did improve!!!

hose caught in a web

First Glance

This is one of the first things that you see when you come into my house....if you look up, that is.

it is one of my favs

My bro...

is staying with me for a bit...makes me smile.

Saints win!!!!

But I did not make a Saints quilt...instead I made this. It is for a Cowboys fan at work who recently got promoted and will be leaving soon. Here it is...

Jay's Cal quilt has gotten me hooked on quilts with a theme.

Three new additions to the drove....

herd, litter, farrow (based upon age) or sounder (based upon wildness) of my collection....

from the members of the fam who live across the pond

from Loli and her mom

from R

I had not gotten any new pb's for a while

so it was fun and funny

that I got three all at once

this holiday

love them all

All things CF - Work Team event, Beast Camp and hanging with C

Thursday, we had an AP v HR CF team event - we actually mixed up the teams. It was fun. We played baseball - run 100 m, 10 pullups, run 100 m, 10 squats, run 100, 10 situps, run 100, 10 burpees. Here we are at the end....

Went to my first Beast Camp last night in prep for the Masters CF Games in May.... I will officially start a week from Monday. The WOD was:

15 min max, 3 rounds

• 10 Squat clean and jerk - Rx for women is 95, I did 53
• 15 ring dips - did them with a band
• 20 kettle ball swings - Rx for women is 35, I did 26

Did it all in 12:23

Today - C and I are going to CF - she is training to join a football team next year so J is coaching her from afar and she will be joining me on Saturdays. I am excited. She is very strong and very fast naturally - altho she would not admit it - so with some training, she will certainly be a fierce beast!!!

Congrats to my thin sis....

She hit her goal weight of 140 - which is incredible, I must say!!!

Old by another name....

gonna do this....
http://games2010.crossfit.com/competitors/masters-competition-update.html

I am thinking...

• why not (coined by Ly, CFV trainer/owner extraordinaire)
• it is just another WOD or two
• how many other 58 yr old women are gonna be there? If a lot, that is hot, if not, that is cool...can't lose either way
• gives me a goal and is certainly a stretch in a lot of different ways
• will make my son proud

http://www.crossfitvallejo.com/

HAPPY BIRTHDAY J!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You're the best!

One for a friend

After seeing the Cal quilt that I made for J, Mary, a friend from the gym, asked me if I finished quilts. She said that a few years ago, a friend made some embroidery patches for her and she started putting it together as a quilt. It was not turning out as she wanted and she stopped working on it. I told her I would take a look. Once I did, I asked her if she would mind if it took a bit of artistic license - I also asked her if she had a deadline. The answer was no to both. She is a local police officer so she gave me some of her old uniform patches as well. I took the quilt apart, used some of the fabric she had, added quite a lot from my stash and reworked it. I gave it to her two weeks ago on a day, her partner told me, that she had just put down her dog. I hope it made her feel better.

a few quilts along the way...

Over the past month, a few quilts were made by the Williams family...

Nyia made one for her teacher and one for her mom.

After Christmas, we held a quilt relay in which we made a rag quilt out of the leftover flannel from years of making flannel pants for Christmas gifts. This quilt will be donated to the local Christian Help Center.

Is it twenty ten or two thousand ten?????

I go for the least syllables possible.

Anyway, been busy, been sick and now back, altho still a bit sick.

Do have to report that J and I did the final 100 burpees on 1/3/10. I did mine in 12:46, he did his in 9:24!!! Crystal timed them, everyone watched and, when it was all over, my dear husband gave me flowers and a trophy that names me Burpee Champion!!!

Recipe for family fun - cookies, gifts and a bit of snow

Cookies on Christmas eve...

Can't do it without some home made chex mix.

Some gifts just bring out the silly....

Trying to open some gifts that dad wrapped with his trusty tape gun.

Then to Truckee and the snow.....

Christmas morning

I am up before anyone....not that I am so anxious to open gifts or to start the festivities, it is because I always get up early. It is almost a lifelong habit - started when the kids were young and it was to get some quiet time. It stuck and, of course, as you get older...it is what you do. Sometimes I sew, sometimes I "puter", sometimes I read. I always drink coffee and can absolutely NOT drink it without this ... only my current fav is vanilla cinnamon.

If I do not have it, I will take a trip in the wee hours to get it before I have my coffee. Another addiction to something that has absolutely no nutritional value...it is probably not even made of anything real except the taste.

Burpees...Jay and I did 90 yesterday am...he did them in 10:50, I did them in 11:30. Both are incredible times. The last time I did them sub 12 min was when I did 70 something of them. Goes to show you what a little competition and encouragement will do. Only 10 more days and I will have done a burpee challenge without missing a day!!!!

On another topic....do NOT tell Nyia the contents of any Christmas gift...she can't keep anything even under dire threat...she is so bad at this, she can't keep that she told!!! Part of the issue is she is a non-stop talker so she is constantly in need of subject matter coupled with her propensity to say anything and everything that is on her mind. A disaster for Christmas secrets.

This pix is from a previous entry but it makes the point. Love her so.

Anyway....

Merry Christmas to all...I hope that you are as fortunate as I am to have such an incredible family and to have this incredible family with me during the holidays.

Only Two More Days

When I was younger and my sis was in her teens, I went back home for a visit. On her calendar, she had my name on the date of my arrival along with some happy faces/doodles. I was so touched when I saw it.

I do so get it, tho. Jay and T are coming home on Sunday - only two days away - and my calendar has happy doodles on it!!!

Here is a pix of when they embarked on their European adventure almost two years ago!

Hurry home!

Not many posts...

been busy at work - but, incredibly, this week I hit my 10 year anniversary at bullseye country. I hate to be cliche...it does seem just like yesterday. Can't have the next 10 fly by so quickly!!!

Work is work, but there are far worse places I could work and I do have work. They seem to like me, I stay engaged and challenged, I have one of the best teams I have ever worked with, I get a great deal of freedom to choose how I spend my time, I get 5+ weeks vaca, and they pay me!!! All in all not a bad way to spend a decade :-)

Personal Best

Today I did my personal best in:

Deadlift - 180 lbs
Back Squats - 135 lbs

AND did 80 burpees

not bad at all.

Busy and Cold

These days it seems like I have more to do, both work and play, than there is day, and the days are short!!!!

They are also cold - colder than we care to think about or be in. It is pretty, tho...

This is Mt Diablo

two burpee stories

One - a blog follower from my guild asked me to demonstrate what a bumpee was.

Two - on Sunday, I asked Ny, my grand, if she would time my burpees with a stopwatch. I showed her how and as soon as she pressed the start button, she started yelling at me with things like....

Come On Grandma

You are going too slow

The time is getting to 100, hurry up

No stopping

She even went so far as pushing me on the back when I paused between # 30 and #31.

and, then my fav... Is that all you got?

She grew up going to her mom's basketball practices. Clearly, my daughter had some sadistic coaches!!! Sorry, O, if I had only known!