Kairo Versus Opossum

There was an attack last night!  G$ was taking Kairo out for his pre-bedtime tinkle and just let him out front unleashed.  As Kairo was doing his business, a possum was trying to sneak by unnoticed.  Kairo said, "No way, not on my watch."  Then pounced towards the possum, grabbed the possum in his mouth, and started to shake it.  The possum fell out a few feet away.  Despite the death shake, the possum survived and started hissing and pawing at Kairo.  G$, knowing that possums are known for being extremely vicious and willing to fight back, swooped in, picked Kairo up, and brought him back into the house.  While not an official kill, we are counting it as one since the only reason the job wasn't finished was because G$ intervened to protect his puppy. 

Hissing opossum via

Fun Opossum Facts
brought to you by Wikipedia

• Opossums are marsupials
• The Western Hemisphere marsupial is technically called an opossum (but is colloquially called possum).  However, the Eastern Hemisphere marsupial is actually called a possum.  
• Opossum fur is soft
• Hissing or squawking is a defensive process that helps the opossum deter other animals from approaching it.
• When threatened or harmed, they will "play possum", mimicking the appearance and smell of a sick or dead animal. This physiological response is involuntary (like fainting), rather than a conscious act. (We weren't so lucky to experience that last night.)

It's snowing here in DC!  Although it's a wet snow, it still looks pretty coming down.  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

<3
K$

Operation: Accountability - Week 2 & 3

Better late than never, right?  Well, get excited!  You are not only going to get the Week 2 update, but the Week 3 as well.  Woot!

The Week 2 measurements were taken after I returned from my trip to Savannah to visit Heather.  I still haven't uploaded the pictures off the camera, but I plan to do a separate post on that.  And although it was a great weekend with amazing company and delicious food, it probably was not the healthiest... So you will see some slight increases.  I also want to add the disclaimer that these measurements were taken with wet hair.  Just saying. 

And the Week 3 measurements were taken earlier this week.  I actually saw some decreases in the actual tape measure measurements, which is encouraging.  I was really trying to make a concerted effort to be healthy this week at work and let me tell you, this past week was not the easiest week to do that -- with lots of holiday treats from cookies, candy, bagels, and even peanut butter filled pretzels.

I recently learned that I have more loyal followers than I thought!  Hey guys!  Thanks for reading.  I will say that knowing more people are reading this does add a little more pressure encouragement to write blog posts more frequently.  I can't make any promises, but I will do my best. 

Anyways, it's Friday night, Christmas is only a few days away, and the kitchen and I are going to be spending some time good quality time together baking cookies.  Assuming all goes well, recipes will be posted.

<3
K$

Migrating South...

...for the weekend.  Saturday morning I'm flying to Savannah, Georgia, to visit one of my best friends Heather, whose husband is deployed to Afghanistan for nine months.  I'm excited for a little girls weekend with Heather and her daughter, Grace, who is one of the cutest two-year-olds I've ever met (check out Heather's blog for the proof).  Oh, and did I mention that Heather is also pregnant with numero dos?!  Yeah, single-parenting AND pregnant while her husband is deployed.  Impressive! 

Heather and her hubby purchased a house when they got stationed in Savannah, so Heather has been on a nesting, decorating, and DIY kick (and as I'm sure you all know, I'm very jealous, since I cannot wait to turn our future permanent house into a home with various DIY projects!).  But, lucky me - I'll get a little taste of what it's like this weekend and I couldn't be more excited to earn my keep for the weekend! 

I'm also super excited about visiting Savannah, which from what I hear is a super cute southern town with fun little shops and great restaurants.  I'm bringing the new camera, so I'm hoping to take a ton of pictures while down there and I will most definitely be doing a weekend update post upon my return.

And since a picture-less post is no fun and you can't go wrong with more Kairo pictures (or can you?), here is one of my cutie pie. 

<3
K$

Operation: Accountability - Week 1

Well, the Week 1 results are in.  With all things considered (i.e., no working out this past week due to the back injury, plus my holiday party), I'm actually pretty happy with the results.  I more or less maintained with a little forward progress! :)

Drum roll, please:

And I got back on the horse this morning for a doozy of a CrossFit workout:

3 Rounds of:
4 minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible)
 - 10 Jumping Lunges (5 each leg)
 - 7 Kettle Bell Swings
2 Minute Rest
4 Minute AMRAP
 - 10 Hand-Release Push-Ups
 - 10 Ring Rows
2 Minute Rest

So it ends up being 24 minutes of work, 12 minutes of rest.  What a workout to come back to!  I think it's safe to say I will not be able to walk tomorrow due to the jumping lunges, which a few rounds in were switched to regular lunges due to me being so.out.of.shape.  But... it feels so good to have gotten up and worked my butt, rather than snoozing for longer with the K-Man (as tempting as that sounds). 

<3
K$

Happy Friday!

G$ and I actually have a pretty action-packed weekend coming up.  Tonight, we are meeting friends for Mexican (yeah, not ideal for the first week of Operation: Accountability), then Saturday is my company's holiday party at the Hotel Monaco in DC (repeat text above from parentheses). 

On Black Friday, I made a large Banana Republic purchase.  I bought four potential party dresses (each 30% off!) with the intention of returning three.  And sure enough, only one was actually flattering, so the other three are going back.  Phew.  I'll post pictures of me actually wearing it sometime next week. 

Other than those evening events, I'm sure will do the normal routine of hitting up the dog park and hiking...

Kairo pooped after a lot of running at the dog park. 

Muddy, dirty dog while hiking

Also, since I never post frequently, I know some of you may not have thought to scroll down to see if I had other posts... but I had a very productive, couch-ridden weekend due to the back tweak, so check out the other posts if you haven't already:

• October Catch-Up
• Thanksgiving 2012

As for an update on the back.  I think I'm almost back to 100%.  I had no pain yesterday - at all!  I even debated going to the gym with G$ this morning, but thought I shouldn't test my luck.  I'm planning to go hiking with them this weekend and assuming all goes well, will be back at the gym on Monday.  Hurray!  I'll keep you guys posted. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

<3
K$

Operation: Accountability - Week 0

So some of you know that G$'s brother is getting married to longtime girlfriend in April 2013 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico!  Which means... I'll need to be in a bathing suit in front of G$'s entire family in less than five months.  If that's not motivation to get in shape, I'm not sure what is...

This is where Operation: Accountability comes into play.

Over the next five months, I'm planning to post my progress on a weekly basis, in an attempt to motivate myself to keep with it.  I'll be sparing you guys picture progress -- although I am contemplating actually taking pictures every week or once a month to really see progress, but if I do, I most definitely will not be posting them here!  

The biggest problem I'm facing now is... being on the DL because of the Thanksgiving back injury.  To be honest, I really have no idea for how long, which really sucks.  However, starting on Monday, I'm planning to make healthy food choices, since that is 100% something I can control while not working out.

This Week 0 post is more of an introduction to give you guys a heads up of what's coming.  Get excited!  Ha!  :)  Every week, I'll report the change in my weight, body fat percentage, muscle percentage, bicep, chest, natural waist, lower waist, hips, thigh, and calf.  The number column will indicate the overall +/- compared to the Week 0 measurements.  

Anyone else want to get on board with their own Operation: Accountability?!

<3
K$

Thanksgiving

This year's Thanksgiving was again pretty low-key, just my immediate family plus G$'s parents over at my parents' house. 

G$ and I order eggs, milk, and meat from South Mountain Creamery and they were teaming up with a turkey farm in PA to offer hormone- and antibiotic-free turkeys, so we ordered one and it arrived the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  Since it's an au-naturale turkey, my mom reminded me that most store turkeys come pre-brined, so I took on the tasks of finding a brine recipe, cooking up the brine (all 3 gallons of it), and marinating the turkey in the brine in our cooler overnight.  Somehow in my 27 years of life, I had never had the pleasure of cleaning and removing the innards of a turkey.  After pulling out the neck, there was nothing else inside, which confused me.  I actually called my mom to ask where the bag of innards were.  The answer was simple -- check the other end.  :)  Gross. 

Me battling the turkey in the sink

I rinsed and dried the turkey, then plopped all 25 pounds of it into the brine-filled cooler.  I wish I would have taken a picture of the turkey in the cooler -- it was a quite funny!

On Thanksgiving Day, the boys -- my dad, my brother, G$'s dad, and G$ -- went golfing in the morning, while my mom and I prepped the turkey for cooking.  We then met up with Amy and Ally and went for an hour long walk through the neighborhood with the dogs -- a pre-stuff.your.face.with.yummy.food walk, if you will.

After the walk, folks started to arrive for Thanksgiving.  My mom suggested giving the dogs a rawhide bone to chew in an attempt to distract them (and reduce the barking) as the doorbell rang and people entered the house.  Unfortunately, Kairo is a very spoiled dog and prefers peanut butter slathered on his rawhides, so he was ignoring his and trying to steal Abby's and Hunter's pre-chewed (therefore soft) bones.  In an attempt to keep Kairo from their bones, I sat down on the floor holding his collar, while he was slightly pulling, which caused a pain in my lower back.  When I stood up, the pain became more excruciating. 

Having had lower back pain a few times before, I thought I just need to stretch it and it would pop back and I'd be fine, so I went into my parents' room and laid down on my back in an attempt to stretch the back muscle out.  I quickly learned that this was not the little batch twitches I've had in the past.  It.was.extremely.painful.  After laying on my back for a bit, I was able to roll over and get up on all four in an attempt to get back on my feet.  Scott walked past the door to see me half crying in pain and half laughing at the ridiculous image of me on all fours.  He tried to help me up, but the pain was so much that I ended up sprawling out on my stomach.  G$, my dad and mom came in to help.  I spent about 45 minutes on the floor with my face in tears.  The worst part was that laughing made it hurt sooooo much and you guys know G$, he's a jokester, but was very supportive and held in a lot of the jokes/one-liners he thought of while I was lying on the floor.  Isn't he sweet!?! :) 

In all seriousness, G$ sat by my side until the pain subsided enough for me to attempt to get up.  He tried to help me up once, then another spasm occurred, so it was back to my stomach for a bit, while he patiently sat next to me holding in one-liners (which I know was very, very tough for him, but much, much appreciated by me!  Thanks G$!).  From time to time, even Kairo would pry himself away from the appetizer-begging in the kitchen to check in on me. 

 We got this wonderful family photo taken...

We tried again and with G$'s help, I was able to get to my feet.  Hurray! 

I made it into the kitchen for some appetizers, then sat myself down at the table in preparation for the Thanksgiving feast.  Everything was so delicious!  

From the table, I was able to get G$ to take a few cute shots of Brandon and Ally:

I am very thankful for having such a wonderful family, who all came to my side during the back incident.  Seriously, thank you very much for all your assistance, tips, and help to make Thanksgiving 2012 a great one despite having pain throbbing from my lower back.  :)

In you're interested... I'm doing better now, but still not 100%.  I have figured out what position/motion causes the spasm in my back, so I'm avoiding that.  It only happened once on Friday, and so far, not at all on Saturday.  I surprising found a comfortable position to sleep in, so at least I'm not tired and cranky.  I'm most disappointed in the fact that the gym is now out of the question, probably for the next week.  From what we've read, we believe it was a pulled/sprained muscle, which unfortunately means there isn't much that can be done.  Just ibuprofen, ice/heat, and time.  No instantaneous cure?!  Bummer! 

I'll keep you all posted on the recovery! 

<3
K$