This may be one of my last posts...

IF I DIE THIS SATURDAY IN THE OPEN WATER!!!!
Okay, I guess it's not really THAT bad...But, this coming from the girl that has been both skydiving and bungee jumping, I will say that this was one of the scariest things I've done. Last Friday, Kelli and I took our first shot at an Open Water Swim. I put on my cute little tri swim top, grabbed my workout bag and headed out the door to pick Kelli up..la la la la la...no worries. And then halfway down the road leading to Lake 288 (a scuba diving and sports training lake) something unexpected happened...BUTTERFLIES IN MY TUMMY!! This is VERY different than swimming 60 laps in a 25 meter pool! Will there be alligators? The big know-it-alls say "No Misty, there aren't alligators in there", but HOW DO YOU KNOW?? An alligator can go wherever it wants! At one point I will be 1/2 mile away from shore bobbing like bait...what if I get a hammy cramp? aaaaahhhhhhh!!! We talk the whole drive out and calm ourselves down. Then we arrive and see this:

Yep, it's official, I'm going to die! THIS is where I'm going to die!
The owner of the Lake took pity on us and got his swim instructor to come give us a quick little private lesson. Faking confidence (as to not look as stupid as we know we are) we began putting on our swim caps and ear plugs...only to be told WE HAVE BEEN WEARING OUR SWIM CAPS WRONG ALL ALONG! We were putting them on sideways (which looking at them and minding all of the rules of fashion is how it SHOULD go, but whatever)! How do you fake confidence in your swimming ability when you don't even know how to put on a swim cap! So this process, which has taken us an average of 10 minutes (getting our big fro's all up in a tiny cap is NOT an easy task) only takes about 10 seconds when you do it correctly!
Now that we are one week from the triathlon and just passed level ONE of putting on the cap, we were ready to do a "test" for the instructor! Simply swim out to the boat in the middle and back. Sounds easy, right? Being the show offs that we are, we put on our best swimming form and did his little test. After a couple of quick pointers (and Richard nicely lying and saying that our form actually isn't all that bad) it was time to start! If you hug the perimeter of the lake it is a square, 225 meters on each side. So twice around would be 1800 meters, 200 meters more than the race.
So off I went! No more than 100 meters away from shore, it was like I completely forgot how to swim! I floundered, gasping for air and would have drowned, I think, if I hadn't forgotten how to do that too! I had a quick Come to Jesus meeting with myself and said, "Misty, you have a long way to go...there's no turning back, and you know you'd rather die than quit! So GET IT TOGETHER!" Before I knew it, I'd passed the first buoy, then the second, then the third, and in no time at all I'd finished 900 meters, one time around the lake! And since this whole triathlon is just a big mental game with me, now knowing that all I had to do was do the same distance one more time, I was good to go! Settling into my rhythm, I finished the distance just before sunset! It was a great feeling to be done, and an even better feeling to know that I can do this again in a week and I won't die!
And it really felt good to get out of the water, talk to Kelli, and find out she had ALL OF THE SAME EXPERIENCES in the water as I did!

I was on such a high the rest of the night and began counting down the days to the race! I told everyone who would listen all about this Open Water experience but I don't think you can understand the feeling unless you try it!
A few more pictures of our recent training...

If you look closely, you can see a little dark shadow called KELLI! Yep, we are DUMMIES! We had to start EXTRA early (5:30am) one day because Kelli had to be home earlier and it was a 2 1/2 hour workout, so we meet in our usual spot forgetting that it would still be PITCH BLACK! Good thing I was wearing black shorts, grey tank, and had NOTHING reflective on me! I eventually turned on my iphone and tucked it in the back of my shorts to shine behind me, hoping the cars MAY see us and not kill us! :)

Beautiful morning for a bike ride!



T-Minus 2 days, 17 hours, and 31 minutes until start time...

This just in...a local 28 year old girl has just enrolled in Karate!

Have you seen that commercial? It makes me laugh SO hard!!

Well I've actually been taking Karate all summer! I started going just to hang out with Kristen and thought it'd be a good extra workout in my week...but I've really started to enjoy it! I feel super tough and really like learning the self defense portion...I DARE someone to try and steal my purse...and if you have a knife you are in SO much trouble! I'll send that thing flying out of your hands so fast you won't know what hit ya! :)

Next, on to my GREEN BELT! Watch out muggers everywhere...

When I'm not out fighting crime with my ninja-like skills I've been a bit of a Susie Homemaker around here! Well let me clarify, I'm way behind on the laundry, my gardens look awful with dead plants and weeds, and I STILL don't know how to work our iron we got 4 1/2 years ago, but I have been cooking some YUMMY dinners! Look to the right...in my profile...it says that when I find something I like I become obsessed with it...well i loooooove finding recipes and trying new meals right now!
It was a fiesta around here this weekend! On Friday I made Mexican Chicken and Avacado Soup:

It was really healthy and tasted awesome!
Then on Saturday I made a Southwestern Skillet! I put it on top of a baked tortilla, drizzled it with ranch, and added a side of salsa! aaaaahhhhh SO good!


Tonight I broke my mexican food streak and made Bourbon and Maple Pork Tenderloin with a side of garlic and onion sauteed green beans

...oh and lookie-loo what I found at the grocery store today...

mmmmmmmm! Tastes like a Flinstones Push Up!

Soooo, by this point have you gotten the idea that I LOVE FOOD!? :) Well I do and I'm proud of it!

I live with a serial killer...

Anyone remember the movie "Sleeping with the Enemy"? Of course I know it well because it has my Julia in it! Do you remember the part where she knows her crazy killer ex husband has been in her house because the towels which were hanging uneven and messy before are now hanging even and neat? Also the kitchen cabinets which looked messy like most of ours probably do, were straightened with the cans in perfect rows.
Well, THAT'S KEVIN!!!!!!!! It's a running joke in our house because he is just a little OCD and I am sooooooo not! It is the most obvious when it comes to the dishwasher. I will load it and he will come right behind me and straighten it up!! So, you'd think I'd learn, and begin doing it correctly...that would be the mature thing to do....but that wouldn't be the funniest way to handle it! :) So what do I do? I DO IT BAD ON PURPOSE to see what he'll do! See? Now isn't that funnier?! So the other day I set him up...ran a little experiment, if you will...

And HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED:

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Creeeeeeeeepy! :)
Now, of course I realize that his way is SO much better, but I have to be honest, I DON'T GIVE A FLIP ABOUT THE BEST WAY TO LOAD A DISHWASHER! But I'll always get that little chill down my spine, and giggle to myself every time I open the dishwasher and see those perfect rows...

Nice buns honey!

Oh.My.Goodness...I know I said I was on a quest to find HEALTHY recipes, but allow me to splurge just one more time! (Okay, nevermind, I won't make promises I can't keep) But this WILL be the last one for a while because my big bootie is feeling the effects of my cooking this weekend!
May I present to you, THE BEST CINNAMON ROLLS IN THE WORLD!

I have to admit I was pretty proud of myself to make these completely from scratch! The recipe takes a while, but oh man, well worth it!
Thank you Pioneer Woman for this fabulous recipe:
1 quart of whole milk
1 cup of vegetable oil
1 cup of sugar
2 packages Active Dry Yeast
8+1 cups of all-purpose flour
1 heaping tsp baking powder
1 "scant" tsp baking soda
1 heaping Tbsp of salt
1 1/2 to 2 cups melted butter
1 cup of sugar
generous sprinkling of cinnamon
Mix the milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a pan. "Scald" the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point.) Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but not hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.

Add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it-overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to splurge out of the pan, just punch it down.)

Sprinkle surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle melted butter over the dough. Now sprinkle sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.

Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam to the roll to seal it. Spread 1 Tbsp of melted butter in seven round, foil cake or pie pans. Then begin cutting rolls approximately 3/4 to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans. Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20-30 minutes, then bake at 400 degrees until light golden brown, about 15-18 minutes.

Maple Frosting

1 bag of powdered sugar
2 tsp maple flavoring
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup brewed coffee
1/8 tsp salt

Mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls. Go crazy and don't skimp on the frosting! :)
Okay, I promise, it's back to healthy...at least until I get my next crazy craving!!

On a different note, my little buddy Cooper Holloman (Kelli's youngest boy) was taken to the ER at the end of last week and his appendix ruptured! Poor baby! He's doing good and may be coming home today...fingers crossed! Kelli has been STIR CRAZY up at the hospital and has missed 4 days of training, which means MISTY has trained the last four days ALONE! YUCK-O! I didn't realize how much I needed my workout buddy until the last four days! I know you can't even talk during a 60 minute swim anyway, but just knowing she's in the lane next door somehow makes it easier! I can't wait for her to be back!!

Well, I hear kids screaming wild in the gym, so I'm off! :) I leave you with this...just a glimpse of the fun days of Summer 2010...which I'm sad to say is slowly coming to an end...

The Good and The Better...

I was going to say that I had a "good choice" recipe and a "bad choice" recipe for you...but at the last second I changed my mind and decided that no matter how bad it is, it is even BETTER! :) Make sense???
The other night I made Chicken Spinach burgers. I used a super extra lean ground chicken so it was really healthy! And since I'm trying to limit the amount of bread carbs, I didn't actually make it into a burger. I just topped it with some sliced tomato and a sprinkle of feta cheese.
I roasted butternut squash drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with a no-salt seasoning (also trying to cut down my sodium, which has made a HUGE difference for me!).

And of course in Misty fashion I had a giant Claussen pickle on the side, a cup of salsa for dippie, and a diet coke and I was a super-happy girl!
So we'll call that a good day...got some good workouts in and a nice healthy dinner....
THEN THERE WAS YESTERDAY...
I'm sitting at my desk, minding my own business, and what thought came into my head?? CUPCAKES!
I have no idea why! Cupcakes actually don't even usually tempt me that much, but I had an idea in my head and I couldn't focus on anything else. I made myself finish working on my Fall paperwork for Tumbling Stars and then cut out early...
I ran to WalMart and got my supplies and I was ready! I was kind of making the recipe up as I went along (a mix of about 5 recipes I'd seen), so I was just praying they'd turn out ok. I was pretty happy with the results!


The ones with chips on top are what I named Cupookies!! They are a chocolate and caramel flavored, but have a surprise ball of cookie dough baked right in the middle! :) YUMMY!! The others that have crushed candy bar on top are Snickers Cupcakes and have a miniature snickers bar in the middle!


So about 3 hours worth of work all so I could satisfy my craving for ONE cupcake...but it was TOTALLY WORTH IT! I'm finding that I really love cooking or baking, especially when I have someone or a group of people in mind that I think are going to enjoy it!

Randomness

Not that my "semesters" don't all blend together right now, so like it makes a difference, but I had the huge urge to do ONE LAST fun trip before "summer ended"! So Linda Lu and I packed up to head out to a wedding that we were supposed to be going to...but plans quickly changed! We were headed to the river! We threw a tent in the car, packed one small bag each and hit the road! It was so much fun to not overthink it, not overplan it, ...just DO IT! :) We found an amazing little camping spot that was far enough away from other campsites that we only had one drunk guy run directly into our tent in the middle of the night while we were asleep (yeah, THAT was fun), but not so far away that we were those stupid girls that get killed in every horror movie!

We ate a yummy dinner at Adobe Verde, caught a couple hours of sleep, and hit the river bright and early the next morning for a 6+ hour float!


OH we laughed SOOOOOOOOOO hard on this trip!




It was a quick trip, but we had sooooo much fun and I came back refreshed and ready to tackle things at work!
I had to tweak our training schedule just for one day, but don't worry we made it up on Sunday morning and didn't miss a beat! Speaking of training, we are officially in our "light" week after our PEAK week last week! I laugh that we now consider a 1200 meter swim a light swim day, but after many 2000+ meter swims, this feels like cake! My body is definitely starting to feel the effects of the rigorous schedule as I'm having a lot more aches and pains starting to pop up everywhere! Nothing a quick ice bath in the morning and HOT baths every night can't fix! ...and don't forget the ibuprofen!
For weeks I've been SO excited because my appetite just WENT AWAY! So, burning more calories than ever paired up with no appetite= good results for Misty! :) But don't you worry, it came back this week and it came back with a vengeance! I seriously CANNOT eat enough to be satisfied...I am INSATIABLY hungry! I wonder if a "healthy snack" of a spoonful of Peanut Butter or a small handful of almonds is still healthy when you eat 7 spoonfuls of PB and 2 lbs of almonds...because that's the kind of day I had yesterday!!
I'm walking a little funny today because of a KILLER crossfit workout from Monday!
Here it is:

Part A. Three rounds for time of:
30 Push-ups, release hands from floor at the bottom
12' Wall climb
95 pound Overhead squat, 21 reps
12' Wall climb
Seven minute time cap. Score time of completion or reps completed within the cap.

Rest 30 seconds.

Part B. Three rounds for time of:
30 Toes to bar
95 pound Ground to overhead, 21 reps
Seven minute time cap. Score time of completion or reps completed within the cap.

Rest 30 seconds.

Part C. Three rounds for time of:
6 foot Wall jumps with burpee, 5 reps
20 ft Rope Climb, 3 ascents
Twelve minute time cap. Score time of completion or reps completed within the cap.

UUUGGGGHHHHH!! I should have known it would be bad.... it's hard to even read!

I just cannot explain what it is about CROSSFIT that makes it so amazing! Seriously, if you haven't before, go to Crossfit.com and check it out! I've seen the results in people around me! I'm working on a video that I like to call "Ode to Crossfit"...watch for it coming soon!

Cooking, Running, Puking....actually in that exact order!

So I'm obsessed lately with finding recipes that are AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS as well as healthy...IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?! Listen, I am a lover of food! Eating is a social event for me, food makes me happy, and if you ever want to see me rebel in a big way tell me I absolutely can't eat something. I don't care if it's something I don't even like...if you tell me i CAN'T have it, I will WANT it even more! :) I pride myself on having a stomach of steel (well, this morning was an exception, but more on that in a minute). Typically, I could eat mexican food for every meal of the day. Heck, I can walk straight out of a mexican food restaurant and go for a run and I'll feel just fine! I can hang with the big boys when it comes to eating and there's just really nothing dainty about me! However, you can see how all of this does NOT go well with a crazy/rigorous training schedule. So...I'm changing my mindset...food is FUEL. It's a necessity to live! EAT TO LIVE, don't LIVE TO EAT! If you know me at all, you know this new thought does NOT come naturally to me. So I repeat it to myself 1,000 times a day hoping that one day I'll believe it.
On my quest to find new and exciting recipes that are healthy AND yummy, I've found tons of blogs, websites, and discussion forums FULL of recipes! Some of them are SURE to end up being disgusting, I'm sure I'll ruin a few with my less than great cooking skills, but I'm hoping to come across a few "diamonds in the rough", if you will, when it comes to DELICIOUS, HEALTHY meals! And of course, I can't wait to share all of them with you...the successes and the failures!
I'd say last night's was a success. Don't get me wrong, I didn't lean back in my chair moaning with miserable satisfaction like I do after a meal at Pappasitos (you think I'm kidding? I know that sounded dirty, but THAT'S HOW MUCH I LOVE FOOD!), but it was good!
I made Chicken Roll Ups with a side of garlic green beans.

Flatten out some lean chicken breast, rub with spicy mustard, add one slice reduced fat cheese (whatever kind you like), celery and carrots, roll up and secure with toothpicks...

...spray with Italian Vinegarette Dressing (salad spritzer) and place on a greased pan/sheet and VOILA!

The green beans were just cut green beans sauteed in a skillet with some hot EVOO (as Rachel Ray would say! Extra Virgin Olive Oil) and some browned garlic! MMMMMMMMM!

While my dinner was cooking I decided to try one more recipe. I keep hearing how you should just AVOID the center aisles of a grocery store...if it has enough preservatives in it to allow it to sit on a shelf that long, it's not good inside your body! Well, I guess that does make sense! However, all of these protein bars, energy bars, and other things I supposedly should be taking in during a 2+ hour workout are on an aisle! So, why not make my own energy bars?? Like I said, I'll try anything once!

In a bowl I combined:
1 scoop whey protein
1/2 cup natural crunchy peanut butter
2 TBSP honey
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder
Berry of choice (i did mixed berries, but you could do just raisins)
Then I formed them into little logs...ok, I KNOW it looks like poo-poo...

...but most energy bars LOOK like it and TASTE like it too! I think these will be YUM-O! I haven't tried one yet, they are chilling in the fridge, but on my next long workout I'll have one and report back!

So, what a great evening, and I woke up feeling awesome! I got out of bed at 4:45am ready to teach my 6am PiYo (Pilates/Yoga) followed by a quick run (according to the tri calendar). Then I made my big mistake...I took a horse-pill sized multi-vitamin because LaLa (my second mommy) always gets on to me about not taking any. However, DON'T DO IT ON AN EMPTY STOMACH! I KNOW this rule...I actually sat there and debated eating something to go with it, but in a rush left the house and never got around to it. I felt great all through PiYo and even started off one of the best runs I've had in a while. I don't know if it was the new running shorts (a new running accessory always makes me feel fabulous), the new playlist on the iPhone, or the fact that my workout buddy is out of town and I thought if I ran faster I could get it over with quicker, but I started out at a WAY faster pace than normal! I could sit back all day in my lazy pace and run for hours...but I'm talking 2min/mile FASTER than I normally do! Pair this with the fact that it was, I swear, 150 degrees at 8:00am and I was DYING!! Being the stubborn brat that I am, I REFUSE to walk once I've set my workout. But let's just say you are FORCED to stop for just a second when you make a visit to the pukie club...yep, right there off of 518...2.5 miles away from my car. Oh well, what do you do? I popped in the spare piece of gum that I always have in my pocket, cranked the music back up, and finished the run! They say "pain is weakness leaving the body", well a LOT of weakness left my body this morning and now I feel great! It's 9:30am, the kids are starting to pour into the front door of Tumbling Stars and I'm off to start my Tuesday!

I need a weekend to recover from the weekend...

If there was a time to be a fly on the wall in my house, yesterday morning would have been it. I was home alone (Brinkley wasn’t even there) so the house was silent. Perfect opportunity for a long, hot shower to sooth my always-aching muscles (it’s getting to where I’m not sure what muscle hurts more than the other). Halfway through, the water turned scalding hot. After I screamed like a little girl and flattened myself into the far corner, I finally dove to the handle and turned it off. Apparently all of the crime scene investigative shows that I watch affect me more than I thought because my mind immediately went into freak out mode. You see, in my lovely 35 year-old house the water temp changes drastically when someone turns on another faucet or flushes a toilet in the house. So in my mind I instantly had a serial killer in the guest bathroom filling up the tub that he would drown me in. Naked ,dripping, and armed with my Glock, I proceeded to “clear” every room in the house taking corners Ninja-style only to be reminded in the last room that I cleared that I had started the washing machine before getting in the shower. I still have one leg shaved better than the other, but oh well, I was off to start my day!

This weekend has been action packed and so much fun, but exhausting! The Crossfit games in California were going on all weekend and if you ever need a picture of a healthy strong body, check out these athletes! I’ve attached a picture below that is actually my screen saver….i thought I’d share it because this picture motivates me every day and, well, so that if you don’t read this blog but just see the pics you may just assume it’s me in the picture...

Ummmm...I wish.

In honor of the games we had to do some killer crossfit this weekend! I decided this was the weekend that I would be able to do a Muscle Up. A muscle up is on the rings and is a pullup followed by a dip. First attempt...

2 questions, what’s up with my face, and where exactly is my BROTHER’S hand? I know I just looked crazy and spastic but I would not let it conquer me, which I am regretting today! I feel like I did a million and found new muscles in my body that I didn't know existed...and every single one of them hurt.

After a ridiculous amount of attempts at this stupid thing and with arms like noodles, it was time to start the actual W.O.D (workout of the day). I LOVE when people get into Crossfit and it becomes a social event!



And then with the little bit of muscle control I had left, I had to "play" a little with some gymnastics!

But here's the usual look of death when you are done with Crossfit...but it's such a rewarding moment to lay there with your heart racing and face pounding and leave that wonderful Crossfit Sweat Angel on the ground! Aaahhh no better feeling!

And don't worry, you don't have to be embarrassed for me...I'm FULLY aware of how barf I look in that picture, but don't really care! I LOVE the dying feeling after a good workout!
We also worked in plenty of fun and play time this weekend too

Anyway, I’m pretty proud because no matter how far away I was or how little sleep I got, I stuck to our Tri Training schedule! Kelli and I were discussing how when you have a race coming up everything is SO different! No excuses, No whining, just (wo)man up and do it!! Now that’s not exactly true, there is PLENTY of whining, but we do it anyway and whichever one of us is more rested or in a better mood that particular day just laughs at the other!
I got to end this hard, exhausting, but FUN weekend by FLOATING THE RIVER which is one of my most FAVORITE things to do!!

That's actually a picture from last year...I haven't gotten my water camera developed from this weekend yet! But all that to just say I LOOOOOOOVE the river! I'm trying to talk my girl Linda Lu into going with me just ONE more time before the summer is over!
Well back to working on Tumbling Stars Fall Schedule…which by the way I have HUGE commitment issues with scheduling…it’s just so permanent! I don’t know yet what I want to do tomorrow, I hate the idea of my schedule being set for months at a time ☺ Welcome to being a big girl Misty!