Shut Up And Give Whatever You Got

I have been crossfitting for just over 4 months now and even though I saw the changes on my back and arms spectacularly quickly at first, the changes I was so looking forward to see on my hips, thighs and stomach have yet to show up. I have now reached a plateau and I don't know how long it's gonna take for me to see any more changes. Obviously, going to my parents or my in-laws every second week-end is NOT helping (they tend to stuff ourselves every time with gigantic but delicious meals!!)

What I really like about crossfit is that it's not a competition. Well, it is for some people but for normal folks like myself it's not. Well, it is. But not against someone. It's against my own worst enemy, a.k.a. MYSELF. It's about finding the time but above all, the WILL to do it and outdoing yourself. And that, for me, is the hardest.

My man is also my coach. And let's be honest, if he hadn't pushed me at the beginning, I would never have gone that far. I don't need his cheering to get off of the couch anymore. He still does my program but I find my own willpower to get in my outfit and give my all. I believe that's the hardest to deal with. Finding the willpower to START. Once you've began, it goes down easily. Well, some days more than others!!!

My motivation is the picture I built of what i'll look like some time in a (close I hope) future. And THIS, is gonna be me soon:

When I do squats, I picture this:

When I do abs, I picture this:

When I do push ups or bench press, I picture this:

Trust me. It's a hell of a motivational silent speech.

But let's be honest. I do it 5 days a week for a maximum of 30 minutes a day. And most of the time, my actual workout doesn't go over 15 minutes. The rest is for stretching. I've done it in the morning, I've done it in the evening. Sometimes, I had to DRAG myself out of my comfy sweat pants or PJ to do it but I've always done it. And I've never regretted it. Even the days I was feeling heavy, or sick, or exhausted, I did my workout. Slowly but surely. The competition is only against yourself. I've read before that it takes 4 weeks for you to notice your body changing and 12 weeks for the rest of the world to notice it. I'd say it takes 4 weeks to get used to it and 12 weeks to get addicted to it. After 17 weeks, I don't question it anymore, I do it because it has to be done.

And I love every second of it.

There's A Monster In The House

My cats are scared of the vacuum  And when I say “scared”, I mean TERRIFIED. The second I pull it out of the storage closet, all 3 of them vanish in less time than I need to actually write it. It's like the vacuum was this gigantic 3 headed cat-eater monster spiting fire from every single one of its pore, with teeth the size of a samurai saber and blood-injected eyes.

The funny thing is that I don't even have to turn it on. So I think it's actually more the actual object than the noise it makes. Obviously, the noise does NOTHING to help them accept it any better. It's loud. It's high-pitched. It sucks stuff up it's trunk. And to top it all, it has wheels.

As I probably mentioned before, I live in a 20m2 flat so needless to say, vacuuming doesn't take a lot of time. But it seems to be way too long for them!

So today, as it was vacuum cleaning day, I (as expected) witnessed my three cats running into hiding (normally, all 3 of them under the couch) the nanosecond they saw me grab the evil-reincarnated object. Which, in a way, is cool. I don't have to push them or move them to vacuum under where they're sitting or laying. But what I always find hilarious, is when I'm done with the hoovering. They always wait a few minutes, just in case I turn it on again (you know we all do it, because you see a spiderweb on the ceiling, or the pair of shoes you dropped on the floor left a stain of dirt on the floor, or whatever crap you didn't see the first time and you see so much better now that you've almost put it all away!!). Once they realize that you're finally done with that thing from hell, it's like they have this silent cat reunion to decide which one of them is going to be sent as a scout to check if all danger is now gone. In our family, generally it's the oldest who gets stuck with it, the biggest, oldest, fattest cat of them 3: Psycha. And I must say, she's quite THE scout.

She pulls out of behind the couch, slowly, checking from afar and then very very slowly, starts to go around things and sniffs everything she normally hangs by, just like if she wanted to make sure the things she knows and the smells she's used to are still there, intact (probably not but hey, I do have to clean from time to time!). It's only when she's done patrolling that the other 2 dare to show the tip of their nose. And they do just like her: sniffing everything around, investigating like we've just made it to a new place.

Needless to say I can't wait for the day we'll have a garden and the day they'll see (and experience) snow the first time. I promise i'll videotape them!

I Work With Buggers

By buggers i mean i'm working with kids. Yes, me. With kids. Between 8 and 10 yrs old and sometimes, with younger shrimps as well. What do i do? I supervise them on their lunch break – which is divided into 2 parts: playing time and lunch time. At the canteen.

I've applied for the job not too convinced i'd get it but the City is looking for staff like this so badly (they told us they needed about 300 people) that they didn't have much choice than to take all the candidates who actually showed up. And that included myself.

I don't mind kids. Well, let's put it this way: i don't mind kids when i don't have to take care of them. So me being responsible for a dozen of crazy hyper active 9 years old can seem totally surreal. And trust me, it is.

I've only done 2 days so far. It's 1h30 only and 4 days a week. So i'm not gonna break my back over it.

Kids that age are fun. They want to show you what they can do. I already had a hula hoop show (i was actually quite impressed)!! But what kinda shocked me a little is the attitude of the other women doing what i do. Yes, cuz we're 6. Since we cannot legally be responsible for more than 12 kids each, there are 6 of us. And i'm thinking i'm either being overcool when it comes to authority or they may be some sadistic power-tripper bitches.

I understand kids can be draining. And tiring. And that they run and scream and shout and laugh loud and cry and shit but i mean they're not monsters and i don't think you get much by screaming at them the way they do. Or make them stay perfectly still in silence before they could get out to play after lunch and before class.

That's my point of view anyway. I refuse to be a sadistic bitch. I'll be their favorite. And even if they put hair in the waterjug again, i'll just tell them it's disgusting, go clean it and change the water and i'll move on with it all. In the meanwhile, i get some serious hula hoop training to do if i don't want to be laughed at again tomorrow!

My Man Makes Me Tea

I started drinking tea when i was 20 and god knows i drink a lot of it. One liter in the morning and then some in the afternoon, depending. When i used to be in Mexico, it had become a ritual with a colleague of mine and myself to drink cups and cups of tea all day long. He couldn't handle drinking coffee any longer and i was only too happy to oblige and accompany him on his tea drinking.

When i was a student, i always enjoyed drinking tea in the afternoon, or before going to bed. Even when i was younger, it was part of a ritual at my aunt's, to have a cup of chamomile tea before bed.

So tea goes a long way back in my life.

And a few days ago, my man offered me tea after dinner. I was so pleasantly surprised that i said yes, of course. There is something sacred about drinking tea. Even if it's in a Homer Simpson mug :/

He's been making me tea after every meal ever since. It's been 3 days already. I feel special. I know it sounds stupid but i really do. Not only is he cooking for me every single day of the week (lunch and dinner) but he's making me breakfast as well and now, he's also making me tea.

One thing is certain ... he's a keeper.