Let's Get the Ball Rolling

Hello there!  It has been way too long.  The busy in Busy Bold Blessed is no joke and the blog definitely takes a backseat when life gets crazy.  It's funny though, I've thought about posting a few different times, but I always end up not sure where to start.  So much has happened since I last posted, so I feel like should write an extremely long catch up or post a ton of pictures but ain't nobody got time for that... so then I end up skipping it all together.

So here we are, I'm trying to get the ball rolling with a little something of a post.  So what's new?

In the beginning of December, I went to Disney World with my cheer squad for Pop Warner Nationals.  Our trip had a rocky start when our flight was canceled by a snowstorm and everyone scrambled to find a place to stay for the night.  We just barely got out the next day, our flight was delayed and apparently the airport closed just a few hours after we left for ice and wind conditions.  By the time we arrived at our hotel it was close to 9 pm, we got dinner around 10, and then stayed up till midnight putting the everyone's hair in rollers (for competition curls, obviously :D).  We missed our scheduled practice time, so we ended up practicing at 7 am the morning of the competition.  After practice, the girls all took naps and rested while I soaked up some rays at the pool.  We competed around 2:30 that afternoon and the girls looked amazing!  I have coached the Souderton Braves since I was in 9th grade and finally, in my 14th season, we earned the title National Champions!  Not only did we win our division, but we also won trophies for high score of the day and best choreography!  Talk about icing on the cake!  We beat out squads with much more difficult routines and hired choreographers for those categories.  It still seems surreal!

Everyone was taking pictures of their kids with the trophies, sooooo this happened lol.

The rest of the trip was just as glorious.  It was in the 70s and 80s without a drop of rain the entire time we were there.  Apparently Disney is empty in the beginning of December (since most people take their kids over Thanksgiving or Christmas), so we barely waited in line for anything.  It was a wonderful week with some wonderful people.  Confession: we're already dreaming of next year!

 

 

Wedding planning is full steam ahead, as it should be since the big day is only 107 days away!  We had our tasting at the DoubleTree just before Christmas and we felt like royalty.  The service was over the top, the food was delicious, and we're even more excited about the venue.  Our flowers are going to be done by Jenny Greenwald, a woman who's friends call her "Knockoff Jenny" because she does expensive things for cheap :)  We finally registered (and by we, I mean mostly me with the help of my bridesmaid Leah since Dave thought Bed Bath & Beyond was slow torture).  We started our premarital counseling with our pastor.  We just picked out our wedding bands at the fabulous David S. Diamonds on 5th Avenue during an awesome long weekend in New York City.  My first dress fitting is this Saturday and the guys are going to pick out their tuxes on Sunday.  Oh and our luxury treehouse overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Nicaragua has been booked!  Next up: ordering invitations, booking either a party bus or a trolley, and cake tasting!

Our treehouse with a private plunge pool at Aqua Wellness Resort.

I'm still loving (and simultaneously hating) CrossFit.  Two or three months ago, we did a workout with a lot of pull ups in it and I was struggling hard with two resistance bands.  I realized how much of a weakness pull ups were for me, despite being such a typical move in CrossFit.  Since then I've been spending extra time working on them and I got my first unassisted kipping pull up!  And then I did three in a row!  (And then I ripped my calluses open... good times.)  I love seeing progress in the gym.  I also hit a 15 lbs deadlift PR yesterday morning at 190 lbs!

What else?  Well I'm taking an 8 hour exam in April to hopefully obtain my professional engineering license to further my career.  I joined our church's choir.  Cheer has been on hiatus since Nationals, but we just started our once a week off season practices on Tuesday.  I'm also starting a Whole30 on Monday!  I guess it's not technically a Whole30 because I have some cheats planned, but I want to start getting serious for the wedding and I know the plan works for me.  I won't be blogging much about it (if at all) and I won't feel guilty when I'm enjoying my planned cheats.

So that's that!  Things are busy, but they are great.  I continue to feel so lucky that I've been blessed with such a full life.  Don't forget to like my facebook page if you want to hear from me more frequently!

What's new in your neck of the woods?

Lurong Living Paleo Challenge - Body Results (Before & After Pics!)

I already wrote about how excited I was about my workout results and now for the part that always seems to draw a lot of extra readers... half naked pictures of me on the internet!

The 8 week challenge involved following a strict Paleo Diet, similar to the Whole30, consisting of lots of veggies, meat, healthy fats (avocado, coconut, olive oil, etc), fruit, nuts, and seeds.  To be honest, we did a lot of cheating.  If I cooked it, it was compliant but we also went to parties, restaurants, and even a beer festival during the 8 weeks.  We were pretty strict during the week, but we let loose a little on the weekend.  Like I said before, I think this is pretty much how I want to eat on a regular basis.

I've got to be honest, the week before the challenge I was completely out of control.  I was stuffing my face with stuff that I don't even eat normally and I think I gained about 5 lbs that week.  All the processed carbs, sweets, and booze left me completely bloated and swollen.  It's crazy how much I can tell how each food affects me now.

 Yeah, that happened.

Body Results:

Weight:

Measurements:

Before & After Pictures:

 

That first comparison before picture make me cringe.  The Paleo Diet obviously works for me and I don't think there's any way I can go back to eating the Standard American Diet (SAD).  I feel like I've taken the red pill and there's no going back.  Sometimes I wonder if the people in my life are sick and tired of hearing me ramble on and on about Paleo, but I just can't help it.  I feel like my eyes have been opened and I want to share that with the world.  What you eat directly affects your skin, your body composition, your energy, your ability to focus, and so much more, and I don't think many people actually consider that on a daily basis.  Fuel your body with real food and you will find out just how amazing you could feel.  My skin looks better, my nails are stronger, I never feel like I need to take a nap after I eat, my stomach isn't bloated, my workouts improve, and damn I'm going to look great in a bikini in Nicaragua on our honeymoon!

 Don't forget to like Busy, Bold, Blessed on Facebook   :)  

Lurong Living Paleo Challenge - Workout Results

Well, our 8 week Lurong Living Paleo Challenge is coming to an end tomorrow!  I haven't posted much throughout the challenge, but I know everybody wants to hear those results.

Workout Results

I typically made it to CrossFit twice per week during the challenge which is similar to how often I was going before.  I took two weeks off in the middle of the challenge to let my shoulder heal, and oh yeah, I had poison ivy on my face too!

Workout 1:
Wallballs, Deadlifts, Box Jumps/Step Ups
21 of each, then 18, 15, 12, 9, 6, 3
Level III - 14 lbs medicine ball, 75 lbs deadlift, 20 inch box
9/16/13 - 17:08
11/4/13 - 13:23 (that's 3 minutes and 42 seconds off my time, say what?!)

This was the workout that made me hurl.  I really wasn't looking forward to it and my only goal was to beat my original time... and not throw up.  Did I mention that I did this workout at 7 am on a Monday?  I had cheerleading at night and I knew I needed to get this one out of the way, so I sucked it up and started my week with an intense workout.  I felt strong during this one!  I lost my rhythm and struggled on some wallballs midway, but otherwise I kept huffing and puffing along.  I was completely shocked when I finished almost 4 minutes before my previous time (and without feeling sick at all).  I was wiped, but I was so pumped!

Workout 2:
10 hang power cleans, 20 meter sprint
8 hang power cleans, 40 meter sprint
6 hang power cleans, 60 meter sprint
4 hang power cleans, 80 meter sprint
2 hang power cleans, 100 meter sprint
Level II - 65 lbs cleans
9/18/13 - 4:18
11/2/13 - 4:06

My shoulder was hurting before this workout, so again, my only goal was to beat my time.  This workout was the easiest of the three since it was so short.  With a 5 minute cap, this workout was a sprint and a 12 second improvement was enough to make me happy!

Workout 3:
Lurong (Benchmark)
100 Burpees, 100 KB Swings
Level II - 26 lbs kettlebell
9/20/13 - 12:17 (12 minute time cap, didn't finish 17 reps)

11/8/13 - 11:42 (FINISHED!)

Dave had been sick with a cold all week and despite my best efforts, I started showing symptoms on Friday morning.  I also had pain in my shoulder throughout the week that I was trying to heal with some hot tub sessions.  I was seriously debating not participating in this workout.  I didn't want to further injure my shoulder and my sore throat was the icing on the cake.  I sat in the hot tub after work and decided I was at least going to try to do the workout.  I kept my skill lifting light, since I wanted my shoulder to feel fresh.  I was worried the kettlebell swinging motion was going to give me the pinching feeling in my shoulder, but when I warmed up it felt ok!  I went all out.  I felt no pain in my shoulder!  I noticed I was more than halfway at the 6 minute mark and I decided I HAD to finish.  I just kept thinking only a few more minutes, just push through!  The burpees were actually easier than the kettlebell swings (maybe because I haven't done much with my arms lately).  I was so excited to finish!

I loved that we could see our progress by retesting these workouts.  I didn't really think I had gotten much stronger but improving all 3 WODs definitely says something!  I still can't believe how much better I felt during the wallball/deadlift/step up workout.  I'm really hoping my shoulder pain will subside for good in the near future so I can work on getting my pull up!  I'm planning on really resting it for a few weeks.  I took two weeks off before, but I filled in for a missing girl at cheer practice right after that, overly confident that my shoulder was fully healed.  I should've given it more time.  I'm definitely still loving CrossFit and don't plan on stopping any time soon.

Stay tuned for some before and after pictures!

How do you track your fitness improvements?