Forecast Says...

You know how it's been raining here for the last few weeks nonstop? Well it has and the best weather is supposed to be coming for Christmas. It's supposed to be a little bit sunny on Christmas Eve and then Guess what? Snow! On Christmas! It could possibly change so cross your fingers tight!
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas.
~

I cut my hair!

BeforeAfter

This is the shortest it's been since I was six! I think I cut off six inches or so. It's very curly and I love it!!! I'm at least two pounds lighter!

Chaurel's here!

Wise Words

"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next think that comes along.' Your must do the thing you think you cannot do."
Eleanor Roosevelt

I had my first meet on Friday. It didn't go so well, but I'm still figuring out a lot of mental stuff I need to work on. It's really all a learning experience and I'm trying hard to look at it like that. sooooo.
Acacia and Dave Myers arrived yesterday night. I'm very happy they're here. Dave has to leave on Thursday, but I think Acacia's staying through Christmas. Laurel will be here next week, Monday I think.
What I want the most right now is more snow. There's just more rain rain rain. Did I mention it's raining?

The Golden Compass

Having just finished the book two days earlier, Stefan and Aimee agreed to go see the movie with me. My hopes were very high, but I walked out of the theatre very disappointed. I have not watched many movies made from books, and the ones I have followed the story quite decently(i.e Chronicles of Narnia). I guess nothing beats the theatre of your imagination, and the chances are very high that movies won't ever beat it. I have to say, though, it was not all bad. The part where Iofur Raknison(Ragnur in the movie) got half his head knocked off by Iorek Byrnison was almost exactly like I pictured it except that there was a lot more blood and gore in my mind. Also the part Lyra Belacqua was played quite well.

Enough of my ranting.

OH! Why Should the Spirit of the Mortal be Proud?

OH! why should the spirit of mortal be proud?
Like a swift-fleeting meteor, a fast-flying cloud,
A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave,
Man passeth from life to his rest in the grave.

The leaves of the oak and the willow shall fade,
Be scattered around, and together be laid;
And the young and the old, and the low and the high
Shall molder to dust and together shall lie.

The infant a mother attended and loved;
The mother that infant's affection who proved;
The husband that mother and infant who blessed,--
Each, all, are away to their dwellings of rest.

The maid on whose cheek, on whose brow, in whose eye,
Shone beauty and pleasure,--her triumphs are by;
And the memory of those who loved her and praised
Are alike from the minds of the living erased.

The hand of the king that the sceptre hath borne;
The brow of the priest that the mitre hath worn;
The eye of the sage, and the heart of the brave,
Are hidden and lost in the depth of the grave.

The peasant whose lot was to sow and to reap;
The herdsman who climbed with his goats up the steep;
The beggar who wandered in search of his bread,
Have faded away like the grass that we tread.

The saint who enjoyed the communion of heaven;
The sinner who dared to remain unforgiven;
The wise and the foolish, the guilty and just,
Have quietly mingled their bones in the dust.

So the multitude goes, like the flowers or the weed
That withers away to let others succeed;
So the multitude comes, even those we behold,
To repeat every tale that has often been told.

For we are the same our fathers have been;
We see the same sights our fathers have seen;
We drink the same stream, and view the same sun,
And run the same course our fathers have run.

The thoughts we are thinking our fathers would think;
From the death we are shrinking our fathers would shrink;
To the life we are clinging they also would cling;
But it speeds for us all, like a bird on the wing.

They loved, but the story we cannot unfold;
The scorned, but the heart of the haughty is cold;
They grieved, but no wail from their slumbers will come;
They joyed, but the tongue of their gladness is dumb.

They died, aye! they died; and we things that are now,
Who walk on the turf that lies over their brow,
Who make in their dwelling a transient abode,
Meet the things that they met on their pilgrimage road.

Yea! hope and despondency, pleasure and pain,
We mingle together in sunshine and rain;
And the smiles and the tears, the song and the dirge,
Still follow each other, like surge upon surge.

'Tis the wink of an eye, 'tis the draught of a breath,
From the blossom of health to the paleness of death,
From the gilded saloon to the bier and the shroud,--
Oh! why should the spirit of mortal be proud?
William Knox 1789-1825

Very good poem.

and Then it rained...

and now there's no snow.

It's December...

God blessed us with a bucket of Cotton today. Lightly at first and then it just dumped. It's been over seven years--in Leona Valley-- since the last time I've seen it fall. Absolutely beautiful. Wow, I could sit hours on end just watching it snow... snow... snow:) Of course the occasion was marked with a snowball in the face. mmmmmmm... Excuse me please. I need to go look out the window again
~

I got Vans and I'm finally reading something

Hi.

I finally got a hold of the camera, so I could take some pictures of random stuff to post up here...

I got vans

Stefan did too.

And Denali wishes she got some.

oops. I don't know If I was supposed to post that...

Currently reading The Diary of a Young Girl
These are next on my list:

And soon to be a Motion Picture!:

Whoops that's not a book. Yah I watched it... *don't tell anyone* good movie btw

Gym is going OK. I have an Intersquad on Thursday. I'm still very close to being ready, but not quite. I've got hope; Where there's a will there's a way. There'd better be.

That's my uniform. Pretty huh? I do agree.

What I'm thankful for:

Family:Father
Mother
Sister
Sister, Brother
Sister
Sister
Brother
Brotherish
G-ma Carol, G-pa Tom:)
Superman
plus all those cousins and aunts, uncles, and that one distant third cousin's sister's half brother twice removed. I Love you too;)
Nature and Green stuff:
duck!
Tree hugging
bee on flowers
rocks
Fairview

I'm thankful to my Lord for the life He has given me and for my free will and spirit. I'm grateful for all those experiences, good and bad, that have brought me here today. I was given more than I ever could ask for and all that I need. I'm thankful to those who love me and care, and even those who don't. I'm thankful for birth or death, sow or reap, kill or heal, destruct or construct, weep or laugh, mourn or dance, scatter or gather, embrace or refrain, search or give up, keep or throw away, tear or mend, silence or noise, love or hate, war or peace

(from ecclesiastes3:2-8)

I'm thankful Jesus

CFK Article November 2007

Jeff Martin put an article I wrote in the CrossFit Kids Magazine for November 2007. Here it is:

I have been a gymnast for seven years, and I have always been pretty strong. When I look back to the prime of my training it cannot be compared to the benefit of CrossFit. I looked at some pictures of my gymnastics before CrossFit and I was a short stick figure with no muscle definition. When I started CrossFit, my fitness level increased dramatically and my attitude toward training improved. Not only did my gymnastics team struggle to keep up with me in conditioning, my skill levels peaked appropriately. I excelled very quickly. With the help of the Zone diet, my short muscular figure became more toned and defined. Everyday life became easier.

I can barely remember what it was like before training with CrossFit. Everything was more difficult, I'm sure, and I came home from daily practice exhausted. I even competed at the same level multiple seasons in order to acquire my skills. Everything changed when I started CrossFit. I passed my teammates up and progressed more than a level in a season. I started winning more events--including a state title. It was unquestionably hard work, but once I learned to have fun with it and realized the benefits, it was a pleasure to work hard.

CrossFit's ethic of virtuosity completely changed the way I look at sport and life. I realize that bringing your chin up a little more over the bar or going a little deeper in your pushups really makes a difference. I watch elite gymnasts fly through the air to land perfectly in place and always think they must have done the "common uncommonly well" to reach that height. I realize it is always precision in basics before hard skills that contributes to a solid performance. I apply that to my training, and even though it was hard at first, I went that much higher, longer, faster and harder. And it was fun!

CrossFit has also opened up many possibilities for my athletics. I am going places I would have never dreamed of going before. With my fitness level I know that I can achieve my goals and do anything I want with consistent hard work and determination.

Besides gymnastics my dad takes my brother and I rock climbing and backpacking in the Sierras. This is one of the other areas CrossFit makes a difference in. This last summer my dad came up with crazy ideas of hiking the 27 miles from Tuolomne Meadows to Mammoth Lakes in a day. Going with the theme, two weeks later he suggested climbing Mt Whitney car to car in a day.

My dad seems to push me and my brother in a way that proves or shows us what we can really do, so in the end we look back and question "Whoa, did I really do that?" It makes me look at things in a much larger scale. Go big! That's what he was saying to us when he took us to hike the 27 miles in less than 11 hrs. I still question if I really did that or not. The Tuolomne to Mammoth endeavor was great; we only carried 20 pounds at the most between three people. We carried Zone meals (of course) and three liter water bottles which we filled in streams along the way. Traveling over two mountain passages, we made it in 10 hrs and 45 min at an average rate of 3 mph. We arrived in Mammoth just in time for dinner.

I have the same doubting thoughts even after climbing Mt. Whitney in a day. After a long week of backpacking at high elevation, Stefan and I agreed to climb up to the highest point in the U.S. mainland. At 14,497.68 feet, Mt. Whitney was a little intimidating, so to train my dad and I hiked up to Mt. Langley, another 14,000+ ft peak, the week before just to get into the groove and adjust to the elevation. To climb Mt. Whitney we camped at Whitney Portal and we were on the trail by 0517 hrs. It was a five mile hike through meadow, over talus and up the gravelly mountain side to reach the first pitch of the East Buttress. We reached that point about 1000 hrs after a brief water and food stop at Iceberg Lake which lies in little valley below the climb. From here we summited in 5 hours, after 13 pitches, and 2 liters of water later, extremely dehydrated. As much as we wanted to hang out at the summit and relax, we had to start hiking if we wanted to get back to the car before dark. We snapped a few photos and carefully scrambled and slid down the mountaineer's route. When we got back to Iceberg Lake we briefly re-hydrated and refueled, then powered down through gravel, talus and meadow and we were off the trail by 1949 hrs. We made it car to car in 14 hrs and 32 min, ascending and descending 6,100 feet of elevation. When I look back at photos, I still ask myself "Did I do that?"

I went to the First Annual CrossFit Games a few months ago and it was by far the greatest experience I've had with CrossFit in the 2 or more years I've done it. Because of my weight I really had no expectations to win anything, so my main goal was to go there, perform like in practice, and enjoy the community.

The first event was the hopper WOD: Row 1000 m, 5 rounds: 25 pull ups, 7 push jerks. For women the prescribed weight was 85lbs. Weighing just under 100 lbs, I had some question of whether or not I should go as rx'd. If I didn't go as rx'd I would place lower than those who did, and if I did go as rx'd I would still place low for taking my time. As you can tell this took a little strategy. I ended up deciding that even though it would be worth the hard work to go heavy, by scaling the weight I would be a lot more satisfied to finish the workout under the 20 min time cap. I stuck with 65lbs. I finished in 17:21, being one of the lucky few to escape losing skin from my hands on the pull up bars. I placed 8 th.

The second event, the run, was scheduled for the same day as the WOD. I had been nervous about the run from the beginning, because I had barely done any training for it previously. I just kept in mind that my goal was to have fun, and once I got out there I realized that it wasn't that bad. I heard people say that it was about three miles; three miles of really steep ups and downs that you have to walk sometimes. I finished in 27:15, placing 5 th among the women.

The CrossFit Total was held on the second day of the Games. I was a little tired from the previous day, so it didn't go as well as I expected. At the time I weighed 97 lbs, and I totaled 363 with 125 lb squat, 173 lb deadlift, and 65 lb press. This was not my PR but overall I was satisfied with my performance. I was at a little disadvantage because I was the lightest of all the women so I ended up only placing 11 th.

Every moment of the games was a highlight. Being around the people and watching everyone perform was a great experience. I love this community and all the people who make it possible. Among all the excitement of watching great people workout I was flattered and honored to receive the Spirit of CrossFit award in the form of an 8kg kettlebell. Of all the awards I have received, I have the most appreciation for the Spirit of CrossFit and I cannot express how honored I am. CrossFit has inspired me to go the distance and continues to make all my goals possible.

Gymnastics is awesome

But dude... what did I get myself into? It's different out there in the world of gymnastics. Just the other day when my coach was stretching me, she pushed me close to the farthest over split I've been in before. I was trying not to cry and she said, "Oh Oh Life is so hard.... In America!" Can you imagine! So I was in this world and I didn't even know it. My coaches are the same coaches that create Regional Champions and can get people to the National Team. In a way, I'm proud, but then I think that I have nothing to boast about... nothing. Well maybe my level 6 State bar champion means something, but my score was a 9.00, so there were at least ten mistakes in that short routine and California competition means nothing.


So with my humble resume I'm thrown into a world that is nothing like normal people. I'm at a point where I can either push through to perfection or stop. Quitting has never crossed my mind until this point when I realize it's so much more than I expected. But I want to tell you people out there that I didn't work in the little San Luis CrossFit gym for nothing. I worked there for whole month with no knowledge of this gym or these coaches. My only motivation was a little hope, a little fire that kept telling me to do what I loved to do. So I kept working with that vision in my mind of level 9. Where do I want to go? is what I kept asking myself over and over again when I was standing on my hands five minutes a day and doing CrossFit. So no matter how intimidating this certain way of life may be, it's what I love to do and I know I worked to get here. I will keep working. Sweat Blood Tears, whatever it takes to get where I want to go.


My Lord gave me the strength to get this far. I know I can go farther.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Phillipians 4:13

I apologize for the spread out posting, I've been busy in the gym, doing homework, sleeping and eating alot lately. I've got a very routine life, but exciting. Mark my words.
I got an article published in the CrossFit Kids Journal this month. That was pretty exciting. I think I'll post it up a little later. ~


Here's a video my coach showed the team one time. Amazing.

An eye for Evil

Last night I spoke in tongues in my dreams for the first time. That was weird... but cool. I could also see evil as a cloud wherever it was.

There was this long pathway, like a vault runway and I was standing on one end with papa. My coaches, Yulia and Guennadi were on the other end. To my right was a water pump and trough like a scene from a farm, with a bunch of people I know from different parts of my life running around in a mud fight; just like children. To my left was a sort of collage of vehicles, the bus I ride on passing every once in a while and some parked cars. Papa said to me in a wise sort of way "Evil is where you least expect it, like a drifting cloud. Look closely, child." I looked over to the right, just innocence and children. Then to the left I saw fog rising above the cars. Next thing I new I was on the other end of the runway looking at the scene from the other direction with the cars to my right. I was standing among them like I was waiting for my bus. Out of a VW Bug came an old man. His face was clear, but I did not recognized him from any part of my life. He had clear skin but was gray- haired and had a mustache. I was afraid and new he was "Evil." He began to taunt me with words I do not remember, I think it was in tongues. I began saying "In the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, leave me." I yelled desperately. He approached my like he was fighting for something. I repeated that line over and over. I felt very little comfort, but I knew it was working. I fell to the ground sort of in a convulsion and spoke in heavy, powerful tongues. I felt comforted. I remember no more.

I think that was the most powerful dream I've ever had. It's comforting to know God is with me even in my dreams.

He sent this verse to me when I was worrying:
"Don't be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Phil 4:6
Amen

Bus Conversation

Ok so I'm getting used to it. Just a little. The stuffy air, the fake leather seats, crazy/funny people. Papa and I took the bus downtown to REI(the biggest REI I've ever seen). I felt a lot more comfortable with Papa there. Papa and I have a shared interest in people-watching, so this was a great time to do it. There were these people that walked on: a large oldish lady with a dried rose and a pocket dog, and a middle aged man with a transparent plastic backpack.
Lady: Would you put my rose in the bag?
Man: it will get crushed.
Lady: Not if your careful it wont get crushed
Man: it will get crushed
Lady: Why don't you help me out a little. What do you expect me to do holding my rose and my cane, and the dog all day. What do you expect me to get done.
Man: I'm just telling you the truth.
Lady: Why do you always start these stupid arguments when all you have to do is take a little responsibility? Just don't set the bag down on the front.
Man: I'm just telling you what will happen.
Lady: Come on just put it in the front pocket where there's a little air bubble... no not that one, the one behind it... the medium pocket. Yah. Thank you(sarcasticly)
Man(under his breath): it'll get crushed.
Lady(rolls her eyes, sighs, awkward silence): What the Hell! why don't you just try to help me out.
Silence.

Papa and I were doing whatever we could not to crack up at this point. When they got off, we burst out laughing and joked the rest of the day about it. Papa mocked them by giving me a hard time all day. sigh.... those times:)
So we went to REI and looked around a bit on the three stories, went down to the bargain basement where I got a knew pair of hiking shoes for only $20.00. We tryed to look for Mad Bomber hats for Stefan and Aimee for their B-days, but there were only girly quilted ones and they weren't even real mad bombers. That sucked but oh well.
We checked out Seattle's Best Caffe Latte and I got a mocha, but I couldn't taste the coffee. mmm velvet foam:) It rained. We visited Bethany's work, Brasa, but she wasn't there yet. We just said high to her friends and stopped by a patagonia store where Papa got Stefan some Magic Underwear...
Then we took the bus back to Ballard where we checked out a video store. We decided that it's our new replacement for Insomniac Video from SLO. Boone, Aimee and Stefan picked us up from there to go home.

Oh Yah. Yesterday was Stefan's birthday. He's twelve. Happy Birthday stefan:)

Roaming Seattle

Stefan and I took the bus to gym yesterday. An hour and a half on the bus was quite an adventure. Next week we get to start taking it all alone(without Bethany). I don't like it at all.

I'll be going to a Crossfit Fundraiser Fight Gone Bad today just to hang out, because I don't want to workout today. I went to gym with a cold all week, and I improved, so I thought I had conquered it but I think I need to rest at this point.

OH Yah! I got my Floor routine choreography! At first my coach, Yulia, said she didn't like the music for me, and she would have never picked it, but boy did I prove to her that I could dance:) She likes the way I move to it. haha:) Because of my long lines and tight positions she wanted me to do ballet, but I did ballet last year and I got so tired of it. I think I can express myself so much better through this BT.

So that's life in this beautiful raining Saturday morn of Seattle;)

The days are too short especially when you can't wake up earlier than 10:00.
Maybe 9:00 but still the days are too short.
Now that school's started I practice in the evening, 3:30- 8:00. It's too bad because then I wake up late but I guess that's got to stop. I do school for four or more hours before I have to go the the gym. calculus physics anatomy hopefully start writing something soon. I've decided that I really like physics, even though all the illistrations make it intimidating. So my day is just routine and I'm adjusting to it little by little everyday. school gym shower sleep. I guess that's a normal day.
I just realized I stress alot about stupid things that always turn out fine. It's starting to bug me because I can't enjoy the adventure and challenge to let God's will play out. So I've decided to change. I don't know how it will happen, but I've just decided it will. I've got to take charge. sigh. I hear the words "chill out" too much:)
I finally got my floor music. It's BT's Forbidden Fruit all remixed and switched up to fit the time requirements and my taste. I can't wait to dance to it. Papa put a lot of effort into it so he deserves lots of really big hugs.
My wrist hurts because I tripped and fell on it when I was vaulting. It's a little ridiculous, but it was an accident. It's hurting, so I could use some healing prayers. thank you
Sorry I don't have any pictures. I would post some if I had a camera.
Random thought: The climbing is really good around here. I lead my first climb last weekend on a 5.5 bolted wimpy climb. it was cool
~

Aimee's here! yayy. She arrived at the Sea-Tac airport about a week ago in her bouncy Aimee manner. it made me happy:)
Anyway...School's started and Weekdays are loaded with stuff to do, weekends are empty, so I guess that's a cue to get that stupid Missouri Pictures disc out of my pile of stuff and get to blogging. I'm sure it will happen one day. I feel kinda mean not posting about the road trip since it happened four months ago. I won't have the same fresh memory, but it's still a story.
Papa just got back from Cali with practically our whole apartment in the back of the truck. We're still far from being organized as is everyone in this house, but we're getting there.
It's been almost exactly a month since we got here. I can't complain at all.

300

I saw 300. I know I'm fourteen and I'm not supposed to be able to. but hey, my ancestors could've been Spartans and I'm proud of it! phoo:) yah.

New Life

Life just changed really fast. It's just like what I dreamed of.

I'm in Seattle right now. Maybe permanently. I'm staying with Bethany, Boone and Caden in their new house. The area's really pretty and I'm sleeping in a really nice basement. I seem to be so much more relaxed these days. I've got a very tight schedules on weekdays: Monday through Friday I wake up at 6:30 and go to gym at 8:30. I'm in the gym until 2:00 pm with a good team and Russian and Byelorussian coaches. I come home and relax and mosy around the thought of doing some math and writing(don't worry I'll start strictly in September). I'm able to be in bed by 9:30.
Regardless of the tight schedule I'm still really relaxed. I just finished my first week of this and I feel great. Tomorrow's Saturday, so I might sleep half the day.
I love the weather, the people(got to admit much nicer than Californians), the city, the view of Rainier, the climbing, the trees, the life. deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep breath...

...Fantasy...

This is His will.

~

Another(crazy) Quest: A Sequel

Whitney in a day was another one of papa's crazy ideas to test out our CrossFit Reallife. "Yayy Yayy, he's nuts" we say:) So after we drove out of the trailhead area from Cottonwood Lakes, we went to Lone Pine Pizza Factory for some calzones and pizza and watched Little League World Series on a big screen. What a treat.

Then we drove to the Whitney portal campsites, organized gear and clothing, set up camp, and crashed...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. The stars were really pretty that night...fyi.

At 0400 my watch alarm went off, but I ignored it and went back to sleep. Don't tell anyone:P We woke up at 0500, drank clif shot in orange tea(which gave me a stomach ache), hopped in the car, drove to the trailhead and we were on the trail by 0517! zooooooooooom! about 200 yards down the trail I bent over and barfed:P Great way to start off the day!
UP UP UP

There SHE is!

Iceberg lake, 1000 ft below the first climbing pitch.
The first pitch. rockin it
Sky Pilot!!!! the most beautiful flower in the world!
some cool people who passed us
I like this little series of photos because, though it's embarrassing, it portrays how very important it is to be hydrated. I was emotionally crashing.

finally a smile:)
The Summit! "It's not over till you're down."
yes we climbed that! Wow

We were back by 1949 hrs. Another CrossFit success!