Blogging the Menu: Day 67

Something big happened today.  I did double unders.  No, it's not a creepy sex thing.  It's jumping rope, but the rope passes under your feet twice before you land.  I've never successfully done them (or at least I've never been conscious of them).  I was really frustrated beforehand.  I made multiple attempts and was on the verge of tears a few times.  That sounds pretty stupid, I know.  I'm not really a competitive person (in that I don't care much how I rank at races, etc) except with myself, but if I'm being honest?  I'm used to being successful.  Maybe that's because I tend to choose activities at which I excel.  I entered essay contests because I was a good writer (emphasis on the past tense-please don't judge me by this internet drivel) and I won them.  I was a competition public speaker and I won a lot, because I can be very persuasive (and I have an impressive vocabulary, profanity notwithstanding).  I was good at school, so I picked a hard major and just did it.  I was good at music, so I joined audition choirs. I've never been fired, and have been hired for every job I've ever applied for. When you stick to your strengths, you succeed a lot.
It wasn't until I hit my 30s that I realized what it felt like to be a back-of-the-packer.  Running is something I enjoy, but I'm not good at it.  I have embraced my penguin-ness on that score.  Not that I don't chase paces and time goals, but if I don't hit them I'm sort of ah well, win some lose some, there's always tomorrow, blah blah blah about it.  As long as I finish and get my t-shirt, I'm cool.  CrossFit is something I enjoy, and I'm not good at it.  Most stuff I can scale and feel fine about it-I'm still getting an awesome workout and I've had just enough success to make me feel that I'm making progress.  Double unders are something that I've been failing at for damn near 2 years. Two years. Failing at jump rope.  A skill 9 year old girls master and refine to the point of jumping 2 ropes at once in sequences resembling dance.  It is humbling.

I'm also kind of a crap mom.  I don't usually enjoy it, and I'm not good at it.  Still, the kids are still alive and on the growth curve.  It won't be until later when they start wearing all black and writing bad poetry that I'll realize just how bad I am at it.

But today I did double unders.  Lots of them.  It was ugly as fuck, but I finally understand what they feel like.  Me and my jump rope will be hard at work in the weeks and months to come.

On to the menu!
I made breakfast for all of us this morning, knowing I needed to fill up the kids because we were going to be at the gym for a while.

The usual.

I had a little snack before shoving off.

Clementines and leftover "granola"

So we went to the gym and the kids behaved pretty well, and I behaved like a petulant child until a friend gave me the piece of advice that made everything kind of click.  Then I did the Open WOD in a room full of athletes far superior to myself surrounded by screaming and yelling and a wave of encouragement and support that would shock and amaze you if you'd never experienced it.  People who knocked out 200 or 300 reps like it was nothing were as excited for my first DUs as I was.  That's a powerful thing.  It's the CrossFit Kool-Aid, and I'm drinking it.

Afterward I brought the kids home and got them settled with lunch.  I was too hopped up to eat much so I had a coconut milk latte and an RxBar.

It was actually hard to finish it.

This afternoon I was looking at this on the kitchen counter.

So evil.

So I made myself a snack.

Bacon to the rescue!

The kids didn't nap today, so they were grousing around for dinner pretty early.  I cleaned up some leftovers for dinner.  Carne asada and cauliflower mash with a side of roasted broccoli.

It's cruciferous vegetable night!

I washed the spawn, and since they weren't total assholes I let them have "slow baths" which means they get washed separately and get 10 minutes to splash.  Afterwards I greased them up (seriously, this winter needs to go-the skin is practically peeling off these kids) and they were out almost immediately after their little heads hit the pillows.  In fact one of the boy children was just snoring so loud I had to go turn him over and prop his pillows so he can't roll onto his back.  He didn't even flinch, but he did stop snoring.  Hooray for head colds.

So now I'm sitting in the living room, wondering why I'm still awake.  Time to shuffle off to bed and read for a while.  Tomorrow starts another work week...and another count down to the Open workout... and count down to my new position...and count down to the new puppy.  

So many things to look forward to!