“Life is a grindstone. Whether it grinds us down or polishes us up depends on us.”

                                -L. Thomas Holdcroft

If you buy into all the hype and the commercialism feeding into the holiday season, I pity you. If you don’t and instead, embrace the true meaning of the holiday, congratulations! Maturing cleared my perspective very well.

Don’t get me wrong, I buy holiday gifts for my loved ones too. But the gifts that I buy are in the spirit of giving and expressing my gratitude and the genuine love in my heart for my family and friends. My gifts are selected very thoughtfully with each person in mind. I search to find the special gift that will plaster a genuine smile on their faces. Oh gosh, I really enjoy the search.

Before the holiday season arrive, my strategy is already in place. I think about the who, the what, and the how much. Realistically, I think about how much time I can dedicate to decorating, cooking, especially since Christmas dinner is at my home. This keeps the stress at bay.

Look at these lovely treats I picked up yesterday! I brought them from a friend who owns a catering business. She saved me a lot of time.  Thank you Ms. Trixi!   I cannot wait to try your beautiful creations!

Oooh la-la! Chocolate covered strawberries

Chocolate covered pretzel sticks

Chocolate covered pretzel nuggets

Because I knew my Christmas Eve day would be busy, I crawled into bed early last night. Early for me is 9:30 p.m. By 5:30 a.m. this morning, my iPod was in full effect. As my head bopped to the sound of my favorite workout tunes and Beyoncé’s, “Drunk in Love,” I was in my zone. First stop… Kohl’s. It was empty!! Heeeeey! And that’s the way I like it. The sales people are rested and fresh and most folk are in an upbeat mode.

I shopped from 5:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. And then…. CROSSFIT!!!! LOL! That’s right. I planned ahead and wore my workout gear to shop. I had a shake, an apple, and other snacks in the car. I swear, my car looks like I live in there– Several pairs of sneaks (suitable for each workout), shake bottles, towels, iPod, gym bag, locks, supplement, quite a few water bottles, and only God knows what else. I’m a neat freak and the visual drives me nuts, but my workouts are more important than the neatness of my car.  It is what it is!

“Some” of the healthy snacks in my car

Just one pair of the funky crossfit sneaks in my car. Lol!

Gloves, locks, my iPod, and other “stuff” fills my gym bag.

Okay so the WOD!  The WOD!!!  The WOD!!!   Oh my goodness!!

200 Kettle Bell Thrusters (100 L /100 R)  955/35

-Each time you break yields 5 Calorie row or SDHP 55/35)

100 Burpees – Each break yields 10 Pull UPs

100 Abmat Wallballs (20/14) – Each break yields 10 Box Jumps)

40 Min Cap!

Not that 200 KB Thrusters are not a challenge, but to further challenge myself, I did the first 100 (50 each arm) were with a 26-pound KB. For the remaining 100, I decreased to a 16 pound KB. -I didn’t take any breaks during these.

Dem damn Burpees! I’m shaking my head just thinking about them. LOL! I thought I would never finish, but I did and with only one break, so I did 10 pull ups.

Only after one (1) Abmat Wallball (with a 14 pound ball), I rolled over… saturated the floor in sweat, then I got my butt up and attached the box with 10 box jumps. Old tunes by DMX loudly vibrated off the walls and I so wanted to break out into a dance atop the box, but I thought I’d look ridiculous and needed to preserve my energy, so I continued jumping and got back to the Abmat Wallballs.

Thankfully a fellow crossFitter, who already completed the WOD, saw my struggle.

“Do you want me to get a lighter ball?”

Barely audible, I mumble  a grateful, “Oh God, yes thank you!”

Right then and there I just wanted to scrape myself off the floor and kiss her!  LOL!  So I went from a 14 pound ball to a 10 pound ball and, with genuine encouragement from my peeps, completed the WOD within the 40 minute cap.  I forgot to look at the clock, but I think I finished somewhere between 33 and 35 minutes. Woot! Woot!!

I came home, finished wrapping, cooked chicken for tomorrow’s dinner and wrote this post. Soon, the fireplace will be melting wood sipping on… I don’t know yet… probably Cabernet or a Cosmo. Either case, it is well-earned today.

Thank you so much for visiting and for following Lexa’s Journal!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

One of several Santa’s that rests on the staircase.