And more...

When they asked me what I wanted to be I said I didn’t know.
"Oh, sure you know," the photographer said.
"She wants," said Jay Cee wittily, "to be everything.”

 

- Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

Crossfit for Hope

Just a little crossfit update...On Saturday, my gym (or "box," as the peeps call it) participated in Crossfit for Hope out at a Garland Fire Department.  It's an event held all over the nation (even saw some press on trainer Bob from The Biggest Loser participating in it!) that raises money for St. Jude's research...obvs a great cause, and I'm never one to turn down a fun event for charity, so I signed up, as did my new crossfit friend M.

Our event had nine different affiliates participating, and I arrived at about 9am to a DJ pumping music, kids running around a bounce house, and an all-around great vibe.  I was pretty excited, kind of had that old nervous before a game feeling I used to get back in high school, but in a good way (as opposed to the "my coach is going to kick my ass if I do something wrong way").  Saw some people from my box and chatted a bit, found M and did a quick warm-up and we were off!

The WOD (have I defined terms yet? WOD = Workout Of the Day) is similar to Fight Gone Bad (if you know what that means) (sidenote - record number of parentheses in this post), consisting of three rounds of the following, each movement being one minute:  burpees, power snatches, box jumps, thrusters, chest to bar pull-ups, rest.  So a total of 5 minutes per round, one minute of rest.  Doesn't sound like a lot, right? A breezy 15 minute workout with rest built in? um, 'FRAID NOT friends. After round one I looked at M and said, "I might vomit, carry on without me." She could barely laugh.  But, people were cheering, my coach Donovan was yelling at me "butt down Katherine! Elbows high!"  And, well, I'm competetive, so I kept going.

Everyone had a scorekeeper assigned to them, a nice volunteer who wouldn't mind encouraging you while tallying your reps for each round, and I was super psyched that I PR'd this one!  A few weeks ago when we did this WOD I had 165-ish reps, but I got 199!  I was super excited, even if it was scaled on my box jumps and pull-ups (I'm still on the bands, and the only box left for me to jump on was a shorter one,  even though I'm quite capable of the "as prescribed" 20 inch box).

M and I hung out with our peeps a little while longer, watching the other heats (and by that I mean, staring at all the hot guys sans shirts - gotta love an outside workout), and decided we both have ALOT of work to do to get off the pull-up bands, but overall we were happy with our scores.

I left there feeling super inspired by all of these people putting in great workouts, cheering each other on through the sweat and pain.  Even cheering on the kids who were "lifting" PVC pipes right next to the adults.  Future crossfitters. Adorable. Awesome.

I've read posts and articles about the crossfit community, how supportive it is even in a competitive environment, and while I see that every day at my box, it was so great to see it in my city.  I was standing watching one of the final heats go, feeling mostly recovered from my workout. I turned to Coach Robert and said "I kinda wanna do it again." He gave me a goofy grin and said "Yep, me too."

Etsy Art Finds

After a year or so of living in my house, I've finally started putting up art on the walls. Some of my favorite pieces have been finds on my travels (I make a point to purchase at least one drawing, sketch or painting on any big trip I take, so I can have something on the walls to remind me of my adventures).  Usually I find the best ones from street artists or art fairs. I like the authenticity of buying local rather than a generic gift shop poster (though I have found a few prints at gift shops that don't look mass-produced).  When I get around to it, I'll post some pics of what I've hung, but in the meantime, here are some pieces I have my eye on...

First up, a white birch wall sculpture.  Gorgeous, interesting, and one of a kind. 

Next is one my very favorite artists right now, Michelle Armas. Just look at those colors! And her blog is as unique as her paintings. A good option for those unable (or unwilling!) to spend the $$ on an original would be to purchase and frame a few of her prints and hang them in a grouping.  Her work is also available through her Etsy site.

I'm not sure why I'm so drawn to horses, considering the last time I rode one was literally through the streets of Los Angeles while visiting my brother when he lived there something like five years ago, and I of course had the horse that freaked out at everything, like when the bro decided it was time to Braveheart it up by rallying the horses into running or cantoring or whatever they call it when they go FAST and my horse went bananas.  You wanna know who else went bananas? I did. Anyway, horses:

Kiss Kiss

Majestic

I absolutely adore this gal Brownie. She's all "heyyyy is that camera a carrot?" As an extra resource, check out the seller's monthly online mag collaboration, Lonny. They are all things design, decorating, style and more. 

And lastly, I'll leave you with a few portraits.  I'm often quite fond of the creep and quirky, but there's something lovely, soft and still about this gentle lady named Alida. 

A little bit rocker, a lot glam, this is Cricket. I can see her hanging above a mirrored desk or a white lacquered dresser. 

And while this isn't a traditional portrait, I love the mid-movement of this guy's freestyle swim. Is he in the ocean? A pool? I don't care but I wanna be there too. Summertime fun without the required SPF? Count me in.

Do you have any favorite Etsy sellers for art? It can be such a great resource for affordable and original pieces, especially for someone like me who likes to rotate and change things up to keep it interesting. 

Endorphin Overload!

I'm on a life high right now. Like freaking loving everything.  We had a great crossfit WOD tonight - Hero WOD Erin.  Five rounds of 15 dumbbell split-cleans and 21 pull-ups.  I was on round 4 of pull-ups when my right hand ripped but it didn't hurt too bad.  Round five the left hand ripped and dammit if I wasn't giddy looking down at my palms.  Coach Robert was laughing and clapping at me, telling me to take pics and post them on Facebook because that's what happens when you're finally cool. I was still smiling in the car on the way home and dammit even turned up the radio when Beiber came on.  Something must be going right (either that or I've totally lost it) when Beiber is cause for windows down car-kareoke. Fist pumps and internet high fives for everyone (just not too hard on my blisties!).

Finding Strength

About a month and a half ago, I started doing Crossfit.  As it and the crossfit lifestyle become more a part of my life, I'll be posting about my experiences with it here.  As a bit of background, I grew up playing all sorts of sports and played volleyball, basketball and tennis in high school.  I've run a few half marathons, did a pretty intense bootcamp for about two and a half years, and even completed the Dallas Tough Mudder a few months ago.  But crossfit? It's a different story.

Day one was, ah, humbling.  I had just finished the mudder a few weeks before and was feeling pretty pat-on-the-back good about my physical conditioning.  My gym requires the Elements classes that brief you on all of the crossfit moves.  The squats are deeper than I was used to, the push-ups are chest-to-ground (which for some reason I find a little easier than the typical push-up) and when you (ahem, I) have trouble with technique holding a PVC pipe for a bar, you know you're in for some learning.

But I finished those classes really...excited.  It's going to be challenging, it's going to push me. And from what I've read on other blogs, websites, etc., it's supposed to be. As "they" say, it doesn't get easier, you just get stronger.  And I'm really looking forward to getting stronger.

The Starting Line

Hello! I'm Kat and this is my world... life, love, design, family, health, and everything in between and outside the lines.  I'm passionate about growing, learning, evolving and helping others do the same. Let's chat, shall we?