the results are in...

I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry. I just
realized that I haven't had a cupcake since
September! (Roya has photographic proof.)
I was hoping I would cash in on my bday.
However, I still haven't had a cupcake.
Nope. Not even one.
Not that I'm complaining... frozen brazo de
mercedes from Tribu Grill is just as yummy.

I celebrated my 35th birthday this weekend. It was fantastic. Many thanks to everyone who sent me lovely birthday wishes. Unlike many people, I always look forward to my birthday. Making it another year is definitely an accomplishment. As each year passes, I am grateful for the wisdom and courage that comes with age. I am grateful to have the wisdom to surround myself with good people and situations. I'm also grateful to have built up the courage to rid my life of useless people and situations. As I get older, my tolerance for b.s. runs thin. It's a long time coming, but I'm glad I'm here. Again, many thanks for the birthday wishes. (Ahem. Pix of the candy tassels to come. haha!)

I finally got my blood test results in. For the last three months, I've been going "as primal as possible". For the most part, everything is fine. My HA1C went from 6.7 to 6.3. With more tweaking of diet and exercise, I think I can keep it at the low six range. Once more weight drops, I'm thinking I can let go of the byetta.

The only other red flag was my cholesterol level.  At my last blood test, I checked in at low cholesterol levels because I was taking Lipitor. This past spring, I decided to stop taking it because I'm trying to just cut the drugs out of my body. (I've also decided to stop taking the flu shot. I didn't take one last year and I'm opting it out of it this year. I haven't seen a difference, so it looks like I'm okay.) My doctor isn't happy about me opting out of the Lipitor. In fact, she logged in another prescription for me. I'm not taking it - especially after reading this post. I think if I just bump up the fish oil, greens, and vitamin D, I'll be just fine.

Okay... so my cholesterol level was at 200 (optimal is less than 200, so that I am at exactly 200 with no Lipitor is to me, a good sign). My triglyceride levels are at 119, which is within range (optimal range is 40-149). The HDL count is also normal, at 60 (optimal range is over 45). Finally, the LDL, at 116, is considered high for a diabetic (optimal range is less than 100; I am at the near optimal range 100-129). Personally, I think 116 with no drugs is a good number and I'm aiming for a better number when I go back in March. Much to my doctor's dismay, I have no intention on going back to Lipitor.

feed your mind

In the spirit of holiday giving fathlete style, I have decided to dedicate today's post to reading material you can share with you and yours. First up is Robb Wolf's The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet. I downloaded the kindle edition and have been reading through it slowly. So far, so good. Wolf is a great writer and he makes the science stuff easy to understand. fathlete confession: I ordered four copies of this to give as gifts. I'm wondering if I should have ordered more. Gah!

As you already know, I'm a huge fan of Mark Sisson and his blog Mark's Daily Apple (MDA). If you don't have a copy, I recommend picking up (and gifting) The Primal Blueprint. If you're extra generous or want to give something to your favorite wannabe chefs, then definitely pick up a copy of The Primal Blueprint Cookbook. I own both and am looking forward to putting them to good use! fathlete confession: I'm thinking that my next health challenge will have something to do with a primal/paleo cooking challenge.

These last two gift ideas come from Balanced Bites, a website run by Diane Sanfilippo. Personally, I downloaded The 21 Day Sugar Detox when we were doing the LBN Challenge. I like how user friendly it is and the lists are really helpful! Sanfilippo just released a new book, Practical Paleo Nutrition Guide Book, which I just downloaded!

Wednesday, December 8th
One hour of yoga. And then...

CrossFit One World WOD
Complete five rounds for time of:
5 hang squat cleans 63#
10 hip extensions
15 box jumps (12")

Joanne's Final Time - 13:20

Notes (to myself) about this workout:
Yoga was awesome. It was harder than usual, but I really loved it! For the WOD, I was really thankful to get some help from Angela. I'm not good at the clean, so to have her watch my form was helpful. (Yeah. I need to do a better job at "bumping" the bar.) I kept it light because my shoulders are kinda wrecked.

Thursday, December 9th
One hour of spin. And then...

CrossFit One World WOD: Blame Brad
Complete the following for time:
10 ring dips (band assisted)
20 pull-ups (band assisted)
30 kettlebell swings 25#
40 barbell push press press 33#
50 med ball cleans 10#
150 jump rope skips
50 med ball cleans
40 barbell push press
30 kettlebell swings
20 pull-ups (band assisted)
10 ring dips (band assisted)

Joanne's Final Time - 24:01

Notes (to myself) about this workout: Spin was really rough this morning. I've never done that many isolations in one class. OMG! There was a lot of buzz about the One World WOD because it was the longest of the week. fathlete confession: It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Then again, my shoulder is quite tweaky and I had to go lighter on some things. The good thing is that I maintained full range of motion in all my movements. The pull-up is still tricky for me, but I am s-l-o-w-l-y getting there. Yea.

Finally, this WOD was workout #30 for me. Yes, I finished my challenge. Thirty workouts, thirty days, hello to the big 3-5!

nerdy things to do

Me and la familia at the Oakland
Museum of California.

I'm not a mom and my biological clock isn't exactly ticking. However, I am a very active aunt and I'm always trying to think of different ways of educating, yet entertaining the kiddos in the family. Yeah. I'm that aunt. I'm not big on giving toys and sweets for Christmas. Instead, I've been known to give books (such as ethnic story books) and movie tickets to the kiddies. I'm sure they hate me now. But when they grow up, they can at least tell all their friends that they had an aunt to tried to keep them informed in the midst of a society that rewards stupidity.

Anyway... my cousin and her kids (age 10 and 12) visited for Thanksgiving. Instead of staying in and playing video games, I suggested we check out Pixar: 25 Years of Animation at the Oakland Museum of California. Dude, it was soooo cool! There were tons of kids there and they were totally jazzed at seeing the exhibit. If you haven't been by, I highly recommend you go. It's bart-able too! They also have other exhibits such as the interactive Gallery of California History going on. In fact, I want to go back and see this one in more detail. Again, very educational, cool, and kid-friendly.

Speaking of exhibits, I'm really interested in checking out the Body Worlds Vital exhibit at the San Jose Tech museum. Um, any takers? We can watch Harry Potter on IMAX afterward! (As you can see, I make a great date. Hence, my perpetual state of singledom!)

Monday, December 6th
1 hour of yoga. And then...

CrossFit One World WOD
Complete the following for time:
10 dumbbell press 20#
1 long shuttle (5yd/10yd/15yd)
10 dumbbell push press
1 long shuttle
10 dumbbell push jerk
1 long shuttle
10 dumbbell press
30 yard bear crawl
10 dumbbell push press
30 yard bear crawl
10 dumbbell push jerks
30 yard bear crawl

Joanne's Final Time - 6:07

And then... Tabata Squats. My lowest round was 12 squats

Notes (to myself) about this workout: I like yoga and feel like I'm getting better at it. The downfall is that I've had more yoga "injuries" than CrossFit injuries lately. There's something about the way yoga pulls at certain muscles. At CrossFit, I discovered a little tweak in my shoulder. Boo! For the WOD, I wanted to do 25# as rx'd, but I scaled back because my shoulder was tweaked. Gah!

Tuesday, December 7th
CrossFit One World WOD
Complete seven rounds for time of:
7 pull-ups (band assisted)
7 push-ups (on knees)
150m row

Joanne's Final Time - 12:37 (?)

And then... Stretching

Notes (to myself) about this workout: I was aiming to finish this in 14 minutes and was glad I accomplished that. I also used the band assisted pull-ups which made me the slowest in the class. What took long was actually getting into the band. I still feel out of control in them. I'm going to try using just the large blue band and tough it out that way. Gah!

i sweat CrossFit luv

I have to say thanks to Caleb D. for taking this photo of me. When I was writing my times on the board, he stood behind me and just told me to freeze. I wasn't sure what he was going to do. I thought for sure that I had something on my butt. When he showed me this photo I nearly died of laughter. It is true. I love CrossFit so much that you can see it in my sweat... literally!

Thursday, December 2nd
1 hour of Zumba. And then...

CrossFit One World WOD
Complete the following for time:
Row 250m
25 burpees
Row 250m
Rest two minutes and repeat for a total of four cycles.

Joanne's Final Time - 4:59 / 5:17 / 5:48 / 5:45

Notes (to myself) about this workout: I need to tell myself that Zumba just isn't CrossFit. I like dance classes like Zumba and bellydance because they work the hips and lower back in ways that makes your CrossFit workouts more efficient. However, the sweat is different. I'm used to falling over and dying after a workout. Zumba, while you get a sweat, just doesn't kill me in that sick way I like to be tortured. As for the WOD, I hated it. Two days in a row of a lot of burpees just sucks! However, I was really proud of my times. I hoped to stay within 5-6 minutes in each round, and I did it. Yea.

Friday, December 3rd
CrossFit One World WOD
Complete five rounds for time of:
15 kettlebell swings 30#
6 broad jumps (6'...sort of.)

Joanne's Final Time - 5:30

And Then...
Five rounds:
100 jump rope rotations
10 kettlebell swings 35#

Notes (to myself) about this workout: I was surprised that I did the WOD so quickly. 30# was a little too light, which is why I added another mini-WOD. For my mini-WOD, I wanted to work on my jump rope skills. I'm not near doing a double under, but I'm trying to make peace with my jump rope. We're not best friends. but we're doing okay so far. By the way, I LOVE kettlebell swings:)

Saturday, December 4th
CrossFit One World WOD
Complete three rounds of the following for time:
10 deadlifts 135#
150 jump rope skips
500m row

Joanne's Final Time - 17:04

Notes (to myself) about this workout: I wish I could workout on more Saturdays. It's fun, low key, and I get to see cool people like Angela, Maria, and Mary. I also get to do a Russian Milk Bread run. (Granted, I nearly sacrificed my life to do it, but I did it. haha!) Back to the WOD... I missed doing this WOD on Tuesday, so I went to the box to do it today. I actually liked this WOD. My goal was to finish under 18 minutes and I did:) I also went over on the deadlift. (Note to self: Don't wear booty shorts on deadlift day. The bar will scratch against your legs. Boo!)

paleo find!

Oh Trader Joe's... as if I needed another reason to love you so. The other night I made the most amazing discovery. Trader Joe's carries Zico coconut water. For those of you who are all about your gatorade, I say ditch the stuff and go with coconut water. It's natural, paleo approved, and way better for you. Personally, I get coconut water straight from young coconut. (Yeah. I buy it at the local Asian grocery story and chop it open primal style. It makes me feel accomplished when I do it. ha ha! Besides, I love the coconut meat.) However,  if you're looking for coconut water in a pinch, then this stuff should work. In truth, I haven't tasted the stuff. However, the ingredients are: 100% natural coconut water. If this is true, I'm sure it tastes fantastic.

Today's Small Victories
I'm back on track!

Warm-up
One hour of yoga. And then... a warm-up of jump roping and squats.

CrossFit One World WOD
Complete eleven rounds for time of:
3 burpees
7 wallballs 10#

Joanne's Final Time - 10:42

Notes (to myself) about this workout: Technically, we were supposed to do ten rounds, but Eric miscounted. No big deal. I thought this scaled version was VERY do-able. In fact, I should have agreed to go the rounds until Nate finished (at 21+ minutes). It would have sucked, but it would have been a good challenge for me.