Old School Xbox, DDR!!!

Some of you might remember the game Dance Dance Revolution, those of you born before the Wii anyway. I was wandering randomly in my basement and there is my ancient Xbox. I have no other games for it, but Dance Dance Revolution 3 was still in there from who knows how long ago!!!

It was an exciting moment :).

So I enlisted the help of Teen Muddy who, alas, couldn't figure out how to hook up old school Xbox to our Smart TV. Who would think you need anything special? Well, Mrs really old MudMom figured it out. I managed to find this adapter thingey (yes I like to spell thingey with an ey. Deal). AND more importantly I figured out how to use it!!!! And that I needed to put the TV on channel 4. Not 3. It was always channel 2 or 3 when I was a kid.

So then I put on the awesome jean print leggings and the non slip socks (Teen Muddy says they're cute) and got to moving. And OMG!!!! I SUCK!!! I have my old scores and I was getting awesome A's and B's and some double AA's even in the Heavy Mode. I barely made it through light! 

So about those (awesome) grippy socks, you can do this barefoot. It is not recommended to do this wearing socks because you can slip and fall. But my feet sweat on this plastic mat so then my sweaty feet stick to the DDR mat. Then I broke out these amazing socks of which I have multiple pairs, one pair is barbie or something like that and another is this black and red pair. I originally used them for yoga (which I also haven't done for a couple years). 

So tonight when I get home from work at midnight I'll probably hop on that dance mat and attempt to be as awesome as I was 10 years ago. Or, with any luck, even more awesome :). 

Power Tower

Power Towers typically include a captains chair, dip station, narrow and wide grip pull up bar, and a couple extra’s such as something to hold your feet for sit ups and usually grips for push ups. I am a big fan of these, if you use it! Like anything, no equipment will help if you don’t use it.

Routines on a power tower are mainly for upper body, but it could be broken up by bodyweight lower body exercises.

A sample routine-

Chin ups,
Lunges,
Dips,
Single or Double Knee to Chest using captians chair- Double straight leg raise with chair, or progress to hanging from pull up bar doing the same.
Push ups,
Prisoner Squats,
Pull ups

Doorway chin up bars are also great if there is no room or a power tower is too costly. Power towers are about 100 dollars. A doorway chin up bar can be bought for about 10 dollars. With a doorway bar the leg lifts would have to be done from a hanging position and dips would not be possible without some adaptation.

Problems- low ceilings. If the ceiling is to low for a power tower to use the chin up bar, then the doorway bar is a better option unless you’re really set on the captains chair and dip station.I have a low ceiling in my basement and to make it work I have it set between the rafters.

Last Years Tough Team

I was doing pretty good not missing workouts for training for this years Mudder, and I have to stay in good shape because, well, look at that team! We're all pretty fit. I'm the one in the center of the back row. And my sis (second from the right standing) and her running partner (kneeling on right) are already doing 7 miles plus quite often!

Then my back last week Wednesday got bad. I did my workout that morning but haven't since. Moving hurts :(. Not moving hurts :(. Hoping that this will pass quickly so I can get back on track. And I'm hoping the winter will be short lived. I really need to get outside and start running! Those two are going to kick my butt otherwise!

Last year I had an excuse to not train, being pregnant and all. Did that Mudder 7 weeks after having my lil guy. He laughs when he watches me lifting weights. I get all dramatic about it :). I have my own home gym so I can make all sorts of weird noises to entertain Baby Muddy.

My sis has an extra running stroller and Baby Muddy is sitting fairly well and can sit good in a stroller. I really should just get over to her place and pick it up and get it ready to roll. One day I will wake up and the streets will not be covered in brown icky snow. Yes, snow is brown here... see this post...

I cant wait to run it again this year! And be in better shape than I was last year :).

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes!!!

They're so easy! I'm a lazy baker so I use mixes. I used the strawberry cake mix and then poured it into a bunch of ice cream cones. I used a muffin pan to hold up the cones but when I checked them near the end, some of them did tip. It wasn't a big deal because they were pretty much done except a tad in the center.

After I let them cool, I put on the frosting and sprinkles! They were so cute. I ate way to many of them.

As for baking them, they do take just a bit longer than what was suggested for cupcake cook times. I filled them each about 2/3 of the way up and probably could have put just a bit more in so they had more fluff on top.

Mr. Muddy said they were just a bit too sugary but Teen Muddy and I ate like there was no tomorrow :). We will definitely be making these again!

Food, Inc

A really LOOOOONNNNGGGG time ago I watched this movie. This past weekend, I rewatched it. It just makes me angry!

I feel so bad for the soybean farmer whose crops are being contaminated by GMO soybeans grown by nearby farmers and then he gets sued! Well, then make GMO soybeans that don't contaminate other farms, don't blame the guy who didn't do anything wrong! Monstanto patenting a food... and not expecting that food to reproduce by itself... weird.

And I feel horrible for the chickens. Though I know I've watched another movie that I can't remember the name of where they show how "free range" the free range chickens are. A tiny door for them to walk out and it's not even opened until they're to the point that they wouldn't walk out the doorway anyway and the beak clipping because they can't be caged and still be considered free range. But even in Food, Inc, you see how huge these chickens get so fast and they can't barely move. I can't imagine eating obese chicken is good for us.

And the cows who stand in their own poo all day long being fed corn, a product that the cow is not designed to digest. And how the runoff from those farms contaminates vegetable farms, such as our spinach :(.

If you haven't watched it, it is available on Netflix streaming.

I almost wish I lived next to Polyface Farms. I would purchase all my meats from there if that were the case. And soon winter will be over and the farmers markets will be open again near me. Right now, everything is frozen over. There are some free range cattle farms, but nothing like Polyface nearby.

Eat healthy and enjoy your food!

Vibram Five Fingers, My Mudder Footwear

If you're going to do a mud run, footwear is an important thing to consider. You might see some people tapeing their shoes with duct tape to help prevent mud getting in through the laces and at the ankles. 

I wore Saucony for my first mud run. And I think Van's for my second mud run. Then I decided I would wear my Vibrams. I love these shoes and this is a pic of them cleaned and worn at work. I'm going to wear these FOREVER for every mud run I ever do again. 

The regular tie up shoes, despite taping, get muddy. And the tape comes off. I felt like I was wearing sandpaper because all the mud in my shoes was really rubbing my feet raw. With these shoes I did no taping. I had very little mud problems with the footwear and they didn't bog me down like the other shoes did.

And I didn't have to go to a professional this time to get the mud from under my toenails. Yes, I really had to do that... My first mud run took me four times of soaking at home and doing self pedi's before I finally went in. I felt SOOOO bad presenting my still muddy toenails to the girl. I did give twice the tip I usually do, but still, I felt bad. 

I never attempted to clean my other shoes, but these come clean easily enough. I brought them in the shower with me. Well, I brought my whole run day wardrobe into the shower with me. I toss all my clothes on the floor and basically pretend I'm wine making as I get clean. I usually wash my hair 2 or 3 times despite the tight bun or braids I do for these events. I usually have to wash myself at least twice as well. Then I get the most of the mud off my clothes that I plan to keep. I use the same bra and undies for each mud run. Yes, I really do. And the compression clothes come clean fairly well after my shower and a run through the washer. Sometimes twice in the washer...

You do need to wear them to get the muscles, ligaments, and tendons in your legs aquainted with them. Go slowly. I walked with them first, then jogged short distances, then finally running and jogging longer distances. Even most tennis shoes and running shoes have a slight lift in the heel. Don't think that if you're running 10 miles you can just put on a flat shoe and run. I used to run in sandals so it wasn't too hard of a transition for me. 

Anyway, if you're doing a mud run, consider Vibrams. They will be joining me this next Tough Mudder too. No, I'm not on their payroll ;). I just really love these shoes! Even if my coworkers think they're creepy...

Liftin' those weights!

I've been doing three weight lifting workouts a week. All with dumb bells.

Each workout is exactly the same except more weight as I get stronger and more pull ups.

All are 2 sets of 10 reps. Rest between super sets is as long as I need. Anywhere from a few seconds to a couple minutes depending on the day and if Baby Muddy let me sleep the night before.

Superset One:
Clean and press from the floor.
Straight Leg Deadlift

Superset Two:
Upright Rows
Squats

Superset Three:
Chest press without incline
Lat pull-downs

Last- as many pull ups as I can do. Currently I'm doing three assisted pull-ups in a row.

I'm pretty weak right now. My pregnancy and back problems have really limited my workouts this past year and a half. It's sad to see what I'm lifting now compared to two years ago. I used to be able to squat at least my body weight, now it's only about half my body weight :(. I'll get there though.

I haven't missed one weight workout yet but I have missed a lot of my cardio workouts. I spun on my pole the other day and barely made it 15 minutes and did ride my bike one day. But I should be doing cardio 2-3 times a week too. I'm hoping the ground outside will get clear of ice soon so I can get running. I have some catching up to do. My other two team members (who run together) are already doing 10k without rest breaks. Since I don't start running for the year till the ground is clear of ice, it might be a couple more months for me before I start running. Our first run is in May. I just hope I can keep up with them!

Pineapple Angel Food Shortcake Take 2

I did it again :). But this time I made it better. I used an extra can of crushed pineapple and a bit of sugar and blended it up. Used it to top the pineapple angel food cake.

So here's how it goes:

Mix one box of angel food cake with a can of crushed pineapple. Nothing else. Then pour it in a pan and bake as the box says to for regular angelfood cake.

Then for the topping, quarter cup sugar and a can of crushed pineapple in the blender.

And maybe a dab of whipped cream :).

The pineapple angel food cake was good, but could be a little less dry so I decided, why not do something like strawberry shortcake but with pineapples? It was amazing and so much better than the cake by itself.

Wisconsin Winter Fantasy vs. Reality

Above is one of the many beautiful scenes Wisconsin Winter has to offer. I was merely driving to work and at a stop light and snapped this Winter Wonderland scene through my dirty car window. Sorry, the cars were starting to move, didn't have time to roll it down. This is the idyllic scene we think of when we think of glorious winters and snow falling. 

This is not the reality of our winters. 

This ^^^^^ is what winter really looks like. 

Glorious glorious snow on the roads. And tires and roads are dirty. The snow turns this brownish nasty color. Those of you living where it doesn't snow might never understand the grossness of winter, but this image above is a start. 

Imagine it now. You're looking out your window and you happen to live in a house along the beautiful scene in the first picture. You sigh contentedly at the beauty that you behold. A warmth enters your heart (despite the subzero and -55 F temps with the wind chill) as you contemplate the scene before you. 

Then, you realize you have no milk, or water, or Doritos. You can't live without your Cheetos, so you have to go to the store. You bundle. Total face mask, check. Ski pants, check. Scarf (yes, even though you have a face mask), check. Thick, preferably lined, boots, check. Thick gloves, check. And make sure you have your wallet... and can actually get to it through all the layers so you don't have to take them off then put them all back on in the store. 

Get out to freezing car, but hey, at least the snow just stopped. Fumble with keys because of the ridiculously thick gloves. But hey, you can still feel your fingers! Drop keys...

Spend 2-3 minutes attempting to pick up the keys, give up, take off a glove, grab keys and open door. Now your fingers are frozen. You can't feel them, but your car, lucky for you, has started. 

Then you partake of the wonderful slushy nasty roads. You might even skid and slide unless you've been here awhile. And even then, no guarantee. Everyone is driving slow and you are too. But you make it to the store in one piece. YAY!!! You now have your snack mix. And maybe a soda and a frozen pizza for dinner because lets face it, good luck getting the pizza guy with a hundred other families staying in and ordering too. You'll be waiting hours. 

Photo credit for dirty snow pile goes to Teen Muddy.

Now a few days have gone by. The snow has been pushed aside into huge piles so people can park. NO, it doesn't melt. It hasn't gone above freezing for weeks, or months... 

These piles of snow accumulate the snow and dirt left in parking lots. They get all shoved and mashed together each new snowfall. At first, it might look sort of not dirty, but it will soon. 

If you're a kid, you might not care about the dirty snow and how it looks, all you know is you get to play King of The Hill!!! And that means you get a free pass to shove kids down the disgusting snow hill!!! These can have slippery paths, random holes so don't sprain an ankle, and big chunks of ice. It's not fun if you're the kid who gets shoved down and manages to fall head first in one of those ice chunks. They're very solid. And if you're an adult, you've grown accustomed to these big piles of poo looking snow. 

This picture, the dirty poo looking snow hill, is what you will see every block. Sometimes multiple times in the same block. And you'll see nasty snow lining the sidewalks of every street big and small. It's not pretty. The glorious snow scene, yes you'll see those, but you'll have to search for them. 

Dirty snow is what Wisconsin is. Not a pretty snow globe. 

Tom Cruise will NEVER be Jack Reacher

My stepdad and I are Reacher aficionado's. We were both generally against watching the Jack Reacher movie because we both felt Cruise was a poor choice for Reacher.

But Netflix, oh Netflix, kept sending me emails that it was available and putting it in my "things you'd like" category. So last night while tightening my boyfriends dreadlocks I broke down and watched it. And I was disappointed.

First of all, Jack is a tall guy. Think like 6'5" or something like that. Tom is short. In fact he's shorter than most the other actors. They could have had him stand on a box or something! Or they could have cast all really really short people.

Jack is broad shouldered with long arms and very fit. Tom... he's just... not.

Then there's the bar scene. First, Jack I think is a generally nice guy. He would be kind in turning down a woman. At least in my mind. He tells the girl she's a... well, it's not a family friendly word. And then the fight that ensues. He tells them to go pay their bill first. He just DOES NOT look imposing! AT ALL!!!

And YES!!! I'm YELLING!!!

I'm so irritated with that whole fight. He barely reaches the height of the guys who's butt's he's supposed to be kicking. Again, he is just not an imposing figure. He kicks their butts, but only because the book dictates he's supposed to. A few well placed hits and everyone is down or runs off. They show him hitting those perfect spots. But part of the reason Reacher can take down his opponents so well is his height and long arms, not just knowing where to hit.

Then, the absolute worst scene in the whole movie, the hotel. The lawyer and Cruise (who is not Reacher) are in the hotel together. If you've read the books, then you know that there is supposed to be an underlying current and attraction between the two. It is sooooo not there. The lawyer says "put your shirt on" and she's supposed to be saying it like "oh Jack, you're so super sexy and I can't concentrate so put your shirt on". But how it's really said is like "Mr. Cruise, you just do not have an attractive body and it's kind of gross so just put a shirt on". They next attempt to salvage the scene. Tom tells the lawyer that he needs sleep and so does she. She says something like "you don't expect I'll be sleeping here" as he indicates he means for her to drive off. It just comes across as awkward.

So if anyone is wondering why this movie didn't make it big, blame Tom Cruise. And I'm not sure how much input the author had, Lee Child, but if he agreed willingly to this fiasco of casting Cruise as Reacher, well, he should just have known better.

Deep Freeze!

So, it's been pretty busy at work the past two nights. Surprisingly. It's a deep freeze out there right now.

Monday was hitting -55 with the wind chill in my area. My friend posted a picture of her door frozen... ON THE INSIDE!!! Another facebook friend posted her shower dripping and icicle. It's just insanity! Burst pipes everywhere!

Thankfully no burst pipes for me. But I was driving a borrowed car yesterday. My car decided that -55 was just to cold and was going to take the day off. My mom sent me off in her car. I was on call so I had spent the night at my moms... My car sat there, dead in the water. My step dad tried just about everything to get it going.

What he did not try? He did NOT try putting hot coals under my car to unfreeze it. Someone did that somewhere. I applaud the creative thinking to a degree, but really? That was a disaster waiting to happen. I was thinking more like putting a heated blanket on my car or something.

Eventually he found someone to help push my car into his garage while I was busy working second shift. He got a couple space heaters going and eventually thawed out my car. It started and drove horribly last night. It's doing much better today. Started it halfway through my shift and hope it starts again at the end of my night.

The office I sit in was 56 degrees last night. I had to move to another location just to stay warm at work! I came in to work today and everyone was wrapped in blankets and had their hats or mittens on. Even here in the hospital we're about to get hypothermia!

I hope you are all staying warm and safe. Don't try anything crazy to heat your homes or cars. Fires are not a fun way to warm up the neighborhood!

First Few Days of Raw

I'm feeling pretty good. I was expecting flu like symptoms by now and I don't have that at all. I had headaches from caffeine withdrawal at first but still feeling pretty good :).

Yesterday, not everything I ate because I didn't write it as I went, but I did have a whole personal watermelon, a few oranges, a huge salad again with some seeds. Apparently they sell raw sunflower seeds at a store near me so I'm going to try to find them next time I'm there. Otherwise for now, I've been pretending seeds are raw ;).

What else? I can't remember but I  know that's not all I ate.

Today I had half a melon and a couple oranges. I have a pineapple set up for dinner and soon I'll be having my salad for lunch. I work second shift so breakfast is noonish, lunch is around 4 and dinner is closer to 7 or 8 and then I usually eat again before bed around 11 or midnight.

I'm pretty excited for tomorrow though. I've a few kiwi's that I'm planning on for breakfast with some bananas. Hopefully the acidity of the pineapple tonight and kiwi's tomorrow wont kill my mouth. I was planning to separate them by at least a day but Grandma Muddy bought me a pineapple and now I have two so figure I'll get one done tonight and the other one in a couple days before it goes bad.

Just in case anyone is wondering what the benefits of a raw fruit diet are...
In no particular order...

1. No food preparation time. Just rinse and eat.
2. No artificial flavors and preservatives. All natural.
3. Very little dishes and certainly no dishes to prepare the fruit unless you like to chop everything up.
4. My body feels clean on the inside.
5. No waiting for dinner to cook.
6. So very simple to do!

What I miss most? The first couple days it was soda. Today, bread is probably topping my list. After January is done and I go to a 6 out of 7 day Paleo lifestyle, I still will be rarely having bread. I also have done intermittent fasting in the past with paleo. I will likely either do that or do a three day fruit feast every couple weeks or so.

I hope everyone is starting off their New Year in good health!

Little Liver Pill, aka Carter

This is the Carter that was.

We decided to name him Carter, so Grandpa Muddy has nicknamed him Little Liver Pill. His original name that he probably didn't even know was Tyson. He is not a Tyson. He's the sweetest dog ever. You can put your hand down his throat when he's eating and he wont even try to bite, bark, or growl.

He was a furball when we brought him home, weighing in at just 24 lbs at three months old. He puked all over me on our 3 hour drive home! The lady said, "No, I didn't feed him today"....

Yes. Yes she did... And it was all on my lap.

We bell trained this amazing furball within a week of being home. He is a purebred standard poodle. He had almost no accidents other than the whole new place accidents. He still rings that bell. Sometimes to go potty, and sometimes to go chase squirrels. And he still loves to run over the ice on the inground pool in winter no matter how many times I yell at him not too. Somehow he knows when it's frozen over and when it's not.

Carter then loved to always be with people. He hated to sleep outside our room. He loved to bark at everything that walked past the house, and even the neighbors across the street when they were in their own garage!

 And this is Carter now :). He's still a furball. This was just before a trim. The lady at the bank told me he was too fat for a dog biscuit after winter before he got his spring trim. This is early summer and time for his second trim.

Carter is still an amazing dog. He's learned not to go on the furniture and how to sleep in the hallway without crying all night. He still barks at everything that goes past the house but at least allows our neighbors to use their garage freely without barking at them :).

Carter had also been trained to run up and down the steps instead of go for walks on really really cold, wet, or crappy days. I stand at the bottom and say "upstairs". He runs up as fast as his legs will carry him. Then Carter stands up there waiting for the command... I say "come" and he runs back down. Every 2-3 times he gets a tiny training treat. He inhales them. I'm sure he doesn't actually taste them. 

He gets into the garbage can.

He makes HUGE messes. 

He steals food from the counters. 

He cuddles you when you're sad or unhappy. 

He brings joy to our lives and I'm very glad Carter is part of my family. 

Living the Raw Life

At least for this month.

I was planning on banana's and a pomegranate for breakfast but was unable to locate a pomegranate. So bananas it was. And a couple pears for lunch. Followed by a big salad with pico for dinner. And as I've said I do "cheat" on my raw with a small amount of salad dressing or taco sauce as salad dressing. I left my taco sauce at home so had my salad with a bit of fat free ranch from the cafeteria. 

Yesterday was a huge HUGE headache. My first fully caffeine free day and it was punctuated by lots of advil. I couldn't just ride that one out yesterday. Today, only two Advil. Better day :). Mild headache only. Though I know by the end of day five I'll probably have flu-like symptoms as all the chemicals leave my body. 

I am not primarily doing this for weight loss, more for health, but even when I did the paleo diet for the month of January before I started doing raw instead, I'd lose about 10-15 lbs that first month. I am currently up 15.6 lbs from my "norm". and about 19.6 from my lowest weight. My lowest weight isn't my goal at all. I prefer my norm and maybe I'll head back to that sometime in the upcoming months. 

I was supposed to start my workout plan yesterday as well. The traumatic headache that bordered on a migraine (I used to get those frequently) killed me yesterday. I don't plan to "make up" the day. I will just continue onward. Sort of just jumping back in rather than trying to play catch up when I haven't even started yet. 

Tonights workout for when I get home and after I get groceries is to ride my bike for 20 minutes. 

Tomorrow's meal plan... 

Breakfast- Oranges about 4 or 5. Maybe more

Lunch- Cantaloupe. The WHOLE cantaloupe. Maybe half in one sitting and the other half later. 

Diner- Huge salad with veggies on it. 

Before bed- Some more oranges and a banana or leftover melon.

Snack food- Carrots and nuts.

Planned caloric intake for tomorrow is about 1200. 

Today, day two, I'm not feeling particularly well, probably due to lack of caffeine. But I've been within my goal so far. I still have one more meal left after I get home from work. I'm at about 680 calories now and I'll have at least half a melon when I get home, so another 250-300 calories. A little low for my goal, but really feeling crappy. Hard to eat when I just want to shove an ice pick through my head... Currently I'm at 78% carbs, 11% protein and fats.

After the first couple days it becomes much easier to eat large quantities of fruit and the calories I'll be eating then are about 1500 or more.