Trying to Find the Joy

No lies. This transition has been tougher than I ever imagined.  As my earlier post noted we've been through quite a lot and this week it has continued.  I'm documenting some of these events so one day when we look back we'll be able to see how far God has led us.  He is Faithful. He is Sovereign. He has a Plan.

But, I forget.

Ringing in the New Year CrossFit Style

8am, January 1, 2012.

Is there any better way to ring in the new year than with a group of fellow CrossFitters doing a crazy WOD (workout of the day) just because?

I admit I had my reservations.  I DON'T LIKE TO BE COLD!  Being cold has adverse effects on my body.  The thought of jumping in an unheated, COLD pool in January didn't sound appealing; more importantly it didn't sound like fun.  BUT, jumping in a freezing pool with friends who are in it with you; laughing at our own misery...well, that sounds like fun and more importantly good memories were made.

We did it!

Before

Mr. New Year and My Man...with the 'fro

I don't think I can think of anything better to do on a foggy, chilly, SoCal morning than gathering with 20+ friends, jumping into a FREEZING pool, running two laps of the pool, then heading out onto a cold 400 meter road run, then completing thrusters and ball slams followed up by hitting the cold cement with burpees.

The Polar Dip

OH MY WORD!!  IT IS COLD!!!

My Man in His Cape!

The Run

My Superman

My New Year!

The Prom Queen a.k.a Event Coordinator

Wonder CrossFit Fonda Woman and McEnroe

The Convict and His Neon 80's Girl

The Weights

My Man, Event Coordinator and Fellow CrossFitter

I think a video is in the works...

What a GREAT way to begin 2012!

Thank you fellow CrossFitters for a fun morning full of laughs and a fabulous WOD!

Happy New Year!

Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies

When my mom heard we were baking gingerbread cookies recently she requested I send some back with my Grandma when she returned home.  The problem for my mom in that is she suffers from Celiac Disease.  After years of health struggles, she was finally diagnosed.

The Celiac Disease Foundation states:

The cause of Celiac Disease (CD), also known as celiac sprue or gluten sensitive enteropathy (GSE), is still a mystery. One out of 133 people in the United States is affected with celiac disease. CD occurs in 5-15% of the offspring and siblings of a person with celiac disease. In 70% of identical twin pairs, both twins have the disease. It is strongly suggested that family members be tested, even if asymptomatic. Family members who have an autoimmune disease are at a 25% increased risk of having celiac disease. Celiac Disease is not a food allergy - it is an autoimmune disease. Food allergies, including wheat allergy, are conditions that people can sometimes grow out of. This is not the case with Celiac Disease.

There's a minimal chance I could one day be diagnosed with Celiac Disease.  I limit my intake, not so much in concern with having Celiac, but because I hang out with a paleo-ish crowd.  More and more people seem to be limiting gluten, wheat and rice intake.  I've seen this especially prevalent in the CrossFit world.  Limiting processed foods and eating REAL food is definitely beneficial to the body.  Although this is a bit of a contradiction to the yummy desserts and foods I've been posting lately, we do primarily eat paleo-ish.

Thinking of my mom and her desire to have gingerbread cookies, I wanted to find a recipe for cookies she could enjoy that wouldn't cause her issues.

I found a recipe on noursishingmeals.com that fit the bill.  Granted, many of their recipes have ingredients I do not readily have on hand and I do not want to go out and spend $50 on ingredients to make one batch of cookies.  Consequently, I used what I had and I think the cookies turned out GREAT!  They are soft and chewy and have just a hint of ginger and molasses.  I may increase the ginger a bit next time, but they taste great the way they are.  Appearance wise, they're a bit on the wrinkly side, but I'm a bit on the wrinkly side so, so they pass the test.  

Despite the appearance they are chewy soft goodness!

Nourishing meals recommended using hazelnut flour and provided a link to buy some on Amazon.  I don't have the desire or the inkling to order flour on Amazon so I just used ground almond meal flour found in the grocery store bulk section (Sprouts carries it).  

Also, they recommended using coconut sugar.  I purchased some in the Whole Foods bulk section when I was originally going to make these cookies, but used it for something else.  I ended up using raw turbinado sugar from Whole Foods 365 brand. It's a finer sugar than other raw sugar brands.  I would steer away from using a raw sugar that has granules as large as something like Sugar in the Raw.  The granules don't really break down well in the cookie dough.

I know my mom isn't as crazy about the frosting, so we didn't frost these cookies much.  Unlike my sweetheart and kiddies, I prefer to have cookies unfrosted also. They're much too sweet with the extra sweetness lathered on top.  

Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies

Dry Ingredients

2 cups ground almond meal flour

1 cup sweet rice flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Wet Ingredients

1 cup coconut sugar (or raw turbinado sugar- fine granules)

1/2 cup softened butter

1/4 cup molasses

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix well.  

In an electric mixer combine wet ingredients.  Mix well.

Add dry ingredients.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for a couple hours.

Roll dough out to 1/4" thickness on surface sprinkled with sweet rice flour.  Using cookie cutters carefully cut out shapes and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet or on Silpat baking mat.  If you don't have a Silpat, add it to your Christmas list.  My mother-in-law gave me one for Christmas a couple years back and I LOVE IT!  Thank you MIL!

Bake 12-15 minutes.  If you bake them closer to the 12 minutes they with be soft and chewy.  If baked closer to the 15 minutes they will be crisper.

Ready for the oven

Our Peeps

Best Dressed!

Glamour Shot

This is a GREAT treat to enjoy with a cup of coffee, or perhaps the Christmas eggnog latte!

Mom, watch your mailbox...we're sending some friends your way!  Merry Christmas!

Crossfit Games 2011 Day 2: Summer Catch Up

I think one of the main reasons I blog is to remember what we've done and where we've been.  Some days there is just so much on my mind and so much to complete, I can't remember what I had for breakfast let alone what we did last week or last month.  I hope, through blogging, our family will have some sort of history to look back on and then say, "Oh! Yeah, I remember..."

This past week I heard the 2011 Crossfit Games were aired on ESPN.  We don't currently have cable, so I'm clueless as to what is on television.  We were very fortunate to attend the Games, so I went back to look at the posts and photos I took back in July.  I realized there were some photos and events I forgot to share.

A number of vendors were present at The Games.  One person I hoped to meet and chat with was Mark Sisson.  He's a Primal guy.  What is Primal eating?  Check out Mark's blog at http://www.marksdailyapple.com/  I bought his book, Primal Blueprint, and am working my way through it.

with Mark Sisson

Mark, it was great to meet you!

The next event I was able to attend was the Triplet Sprint.  The women of Crossfit continue to amaze me with their strength and determination.

Here's their workout:
For time:
5 Muscle-ups

165 pound Deadlift, 10 reps

15 GHD Sit-ups

Sprint 50 yards

5 Muscle-ups

165 pound Deadlift, 10 reps

15 GHD Sit-ups

Sprint 100 yards
5 Muscle-ups
165 pound Deadlift, 10 reps

15 GHD Sit-ups

Sprint 150 yards

5 Muscle-ups

165 pound Deadlift, 10 reps

15 GHD Sit-ups

Sprint 200 yards

GHD's

Kristin Clever

Kristin Clever

Becca Voigt

Kristin Clever

The Killer Kage

 The Killer Kage workout was a team workout.  Here it is:

Every team will consist of 4 athletes, 2 men and 2 women.

Each team member completes for time:
20 Shoulder to overhead (135/95lbs)
20 Box jump (24"/20")
50 foot Kage traverse
50 Double-unders
Bike 500 meters
Then, 
Bike 500 meters
50 Double-unders
50 foot Kage traverse20 Box jump (24"/20")
20 Shoulder to overhead (135/95lbs)

All 4 members will work their way through the exercises at the same time, but must start one at a time and may not move on to the next exercises until the member ahead of them has finished it. The entire team must complete moving through the first series of exercises before the first member can begin working through the second series.

This looked insane!

Thankful my sweetheart's shared this experience with me.

What troopers hanging out all day at the Games!  And still smiling!