Category Archives: Think Well

Dating…FOR TIME!

Posted by beautifullystrong in Think Well and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Okay, this post is for all you single Crossfitting hotties out there…

Did you know this existed?!…

…
http://www.datewod.com/
 

…which has a tag line of “If you Snatch…we MATCH!”…which reminds me of the latest dirty bird shirt that I saw at the CF Games (“Snatch is Paleo” dirrrrty…but true, is it not?)…

…but seriously…how much are you kicking yourself right now for not coming up with this idea first?? A bunch of growth oriented, hot bodied, sweat machines (well, that may not be super sexy) looking for others of the like. Uh DUH…how has there not been a site like this sooner?

 If you Crossfit, and you aren’t finding what you want at your own box…(he he..box, sorry)…get on datewod.com :) Just helpin’ a fellow CF’er out :)

This could be you!

Much love,

Jen

Learning to say “No”

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I wrote this post for Santa Barbara Family Chiropractic’s blog months and months ago…but based on a recent conversation I had with a friend, I thought it would be ideal to repurpose this little gem of advice that I, myself, should take a listening to…

 

 

I’ll admit I have a deep-rooted need to make sure that everyone is happy, even if that sometimes means I’m not. It can be regarding anything from where we go to dinner to which channel is on the radio. I know…crazy!

In the last couple months I have been working really hard to strengthen my “no” muscle, and realizing that I need to take care of myself, even if that means that someone might not like my decision. Since moving here to Santa Barbara, Nick and I have been on a crazy rollercoaster of events, work (for me, two jobs! I just started working at Lululemon part-time!!), and socializing. Don’t get me wrong, I love all of these things, and it’s been super fun (and never once have I regretted any of it), but there are definitely days where I “feel it” and so desperately just want to say “no.” Doesn’t seem super difficult does it? Well for me, it (was) nearly impossible…and I still presently struggle from time to time.

What I’m learning is that when I say “no”, and take some time to just be alone or just do what I really want to do, I come back better than before, and completely recharged. I was reading an article from Marks Daily Apple today about the benefits of solitude (read full article HERE!) , and it just rings so true for me right now. How often do we TRULY take time to be present with ourselves, and ONLY ourselves? When you think you are taking time for solitude, does that mean no laptop, no iPhone, no TV??? While we were designed to be in “tribes”, absolutely, even hunter/gathers took plenty of time in pure solitude. Mark Sisson writes, “We use alone time to process our relationships and recalibrate our sense of self. Solitude confirms that we’re more than the sum of our reactions to other people and encounters. In solitude, we return to center.”

I’m learning that not only is it better for ME to have some time alone, and make sure that I’m doing what I truly want to do (of course sometimes you just need to suck it up and take one for the team), but it’s so much better for my relationships. I come back to the relationship as a more whole person, and with more to bring to the table; I feel more excited about my life, and have more to share with Nick (and friends and family!) when I see them! I appreciate everything more, and never feel resentful for doing something that I don’t really want to do. While this may seem like a no-brainer to so many people, it’s really something that is taking a lot of growth for me…but the more I do it, the easier it gets!

This week, either take some time alone without any technological distractions, and just be present with yourself; give yourself that gift! Between work, and meetings, and running your kids to school and their activities, don’t you think you absolutely deserve that!?

I do :)

Yours in complete presence,

Jen

Yay, I was nominated!!… →

…for VERSATILE BLOGGER by the one, the only, the LOVELY…SheShredss!

Thank you lovely :)

To continue this fun little game and properly follow the rules, I need to, and will GLADLY answer 7 random facts about myself:

1) I can make three loops in my tongue!

2) I have my motorcycle license, and used to own a Kawasaki Ninja 250 with a hot pink helmet ;) Anything with a small engine pretty much, I can tear it up on. I prefer four wheelers and snowmobiles though. I’m from Northern Maine…I’m a country girl :-p

3) I love brushing my teeth in the shower…there is nothing better than an icy cool mouth in a hot steamy shower :)

4) I love reading marriage books…specifically Christian marriage books…couldn’t tell ya…

5) I, at one point, had FIRE ENGINE RED hair and BRIGHT GREEN contacts…it was in college, during my “punk phase”.

6) I have never been to Europe…in today’s world, this is an odd fact.

7) Je parle en peu francaise :-p

So now I get to nominate 15 versatile bloggers of my own!!

The lucky bloggers are…in no particular order…

KelsalynnFitLog

Sozo Life

Tales of me and the husband

Two red birthstones

Create something out of nothing

150 years young

Jessica Stephen

nomnom paleo

paleomg

everyday paleo

Bonfire Health

The Blog of Santa Barbara Family Chiropractic

Mark’s Daily Apple

The Clothes Make the Girl

Sweet Cheeks

Thank you to all these blogs for constantly providing knowledge, tips to make my (and everyone else’s) life easier, joy and entertainment, beauty, words of wisdom, recipes, and words of comfort and understanding. You all inspire every day :)

Have a wonderful day!! xoxo

Jen

Next Chapter…

Posted by beautifullystrong in Think Well and tagged with , , , , ,

In December of 2009 I started this blog to hold myself accountable; to stick to a lifestyle change once and for all. I wanted to learn how to eat healthy, clean foods; move my body efficiently, effectively and CONSISTENTLY; and think pure, grateful, edifying thoughts. At this point in the game, I feel like I have learned what to eat, and roughly how much of it to eat; and I’ve learned what kinds of workouts work for my body, and how often I need to do it. That leaves us with the category of “think”. Ah “think”, my greatest gift, and my Achilles Heel…

I’ve never been much of a science nerd; I’ve never been drawn to math or biology…I am 100%, without a doubt a right-brained gal. I think in pictures, feelings and talk with my hands a lot :-p I value intuition, relationships and spiritual elements, more than, I believe, I have led on with you (super guilty pleasure and book of choice: anything on relationships…). I want to share this side of me with you, no matter how “out there” you may think I am…because realistically strength is not just how many pull-ups you can do, or how willful you can be against a donut…it can also mean emotional resiliance, spiritual fitness, and evenutally even motherhood… it is ALL part of being “Beautifully Strong”, is it not?

Lately I have been thinking and thinking and THINKING how I can rework my blog so that I can talk more about the “think” category, and even more specifically, relationships and family “stuff”. Well, when you are ready to learn, the teacher shows up (or something like that…:-p), so this morning at breakfast, one of my good friends, Jess, so kindly reminded me that this is all still part of “The Beautifully Strong Project”, and that this is my new evolution; my next chapter of growth…

My next chapter of growth for me is: learning my worth and my place in this world; learning my gifts, and NOT being so scared of them; learning how to take the gifts I have and using them to help others; learning how to let go of fear and live out of love; learning the true meaning of gratitude; finding the spiritual avenue that fits ME and practicing it; learning how to be my absolute most WHOLE self in all my relationships; being 100% authentic and not being afraid of what people think; embracing my “weird” :)

While some of these things I’ve started to chip away at (I’d say I’m PRETTTTY comfortable with my “weird”, but I tend to still have a yearning desire to be “normal” at times…), others I have yet to touch.

So, with that being said, I’m excited to share more of myself with you; the good, the sad, and downright ridiculous. It’ll be the same Jen, just MORE of me…I mean really, how bad could THAT be?  :)

Creation vs Creativity

Posted by beautifullystrong in Think Well and tagged with , , , ,

I’m not going to lie to you, nor have I ever…so here comes:

I have been excited to have kids since I don’t even know when…long before I even met my husband, haha. I came from a smallllllllll town in northern Maine where people have children younger than most (that’s not a bad thing…just different than where I’ve been living the last 6 years of my life) and I’ve been really excited for MY turn! :) Ever since the wedding, it is as if the baby gates have dropped and my little wee baby brain has taken the lead…ugh. It’s against my own will at this point.

I had the most wonderful conversation with my acupuncturist around this whole topic, and was able to process things with her and it allowed me to figure out why I’ve been feeling the way I’ve been feeling lately. (Ps: she is awesome…and relatively new in Santa Barbara, you should check her out! (http://davidsonacupuncture.com/index.html) Here is what I’ve been thinking:

I was EXTREMELY creative all through my childhood and all the way up until college. I used to spend hours each night in my room drawing, playing piano, or creating stories on the most ancient, ghetto green typewriter you have ever seen. In highschool I was in drama club, the lead in our class play, jazz choir, show choir (glee anyone?), chorus, band, jazz band…etc etc. I was sort of into…stuff :)

Once college came around, I literally put the breaks on EVERYTHING…I wanted a year or two of my life where I wasn’t busy every single second of the day with some activity. Well, one year turned into four, then 11…whoa. I’ve been out of high school for 11 years?…craziness.

Now, as a 29 year old woman, being the BUSIEST I have ever been in my life (thus far, I know it will get busier…) with opening a business, starting a new career as a Crossfit trainer and trying to be a teammate in making our home run smoothly,  I find myself craving those creative outlets more than ever!! The problem is…here is what I find to be available to me:

-knitting

-sewing

-baking/cooking

-scrap booking

…while those are all extremely functional hobbies…I just have NO interest in any of them. Well, I WANT to be a scrap-booker…maybe (??)…but I don’t ever make any effort in that direction, which leads to me think that I actually have no interest in that EITHER!

Whenever I consider taking a class on pottery spinning, or guitar lessons, I think “could this possibly make any other part of my life easier”, and if the answer is no, I drop the idea. I think this is why so many adults don’t take time for themselves…:-\ What I am LEARNING is that in order to be more loving to those around me, I need to care for myself first, so here is what I DO do now as sort of “creative” hobbies:

-Going to see open houses…for fun. Why is this creative? I’m creatively imagining where I would put all my furniture and where I would be snuggling up to drink my coffee while I look out at my ocean view…duh.

-Spray painting. No, not the illegal kind where I spray paint weird little gang symbols all over anything I can find…I’m talking DIY projects that I scrounge up on Pintrest… Pretty much, I’m spray painting every piece of furniture in my house right now aqua blue :-p

- Blogging :) Even thought I have dropped you recently…sorry!!

-Decorating. This is functional! Yay! Efficiency is always good!

I was told recently that there is a strong tie between CREATION and CREATIVITY…if you are blocked in one, it is VERY important to not be blocked in the either. Well, while the logical side of my brain (or mostly I refer to it as “Nick” :-p) says now is not the perfect time to start the newest, most advanced breed of human (our babies may be competing in “the games” at the age of 10…:-p kidding….), I know that I must super charge my creative outlet in the mean time.

Image

I am now accepting applications for my newest creative hobby :) So…what kinds of cool creative outlets do all of you have??

Save the Mermaids!

Posted by beautifullystrong in Think Well and tagged with , , , , ,

 

For all of you Santa Barbarans…

TODAY is the day the Bag Ban will go in front of the SB City Council. Here’s a reminder of what YOU can do to help!

1. Attend the City Council meeting @ City Hall (735 Anacapa St.) TODAY Tuesday 3/13, 2pm (let’s pack the place to show the importance of this issue!)

2. Send a short email to our city council: (cityclerk@santabarbaraca.gov, FHotchkiss@SantaBarbaraCA.gov, GHouse@SantaBarbaraCA.gov, …DFrancisco@SantaBarbaraCA.gov, HWhite@SantaBarbaraCA.gov, CMurillo@SantaBarbaraCA.gov, RRowse@SantaBarbaraCA.gov, HSchneider@SantaBarbaraCA.gov) like this…

Dear Council Members,
I am a Santa Barbara resident and voter and I would like to address the issue of Santa Barbara banning plastic bags. 16% of the California population now has ban legislation and I find it appalling that Santa Barbara an environmentally forward city has not done so yet! Please change your votes to help create a cleaner and more beautiful community!

 
3. Call and leave a message to any of the city council members (found here):
http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/Government/City_Directory/Mayor_and_Council/
 
 
 
Check out Save the Mermaids for more information!
 
 
With love,
 
Jen

Crossfit Trainer??

Posted by beautifullystrong in Crossfit Workouts, Move Well, Think Well and tagged with , ,

I just wanted to say thank you to Nicole for keeping me on my toes and calling me out on my absent ways :)

“How did {the Crossfit cert} go?”

Well…

WE ALL PASSED!!!

 

I sat down Monday morning (LAST Monday morning) to write about the weekend for all of you, and what happened is I just sat staring at my laptop screen for an hour with TOO much to say…so naturally, I said nothing. To recap the weekend, I’m going to bullet-ize it for you:

- Got to be coached by Katie Hogan and Jason Khalipa! It was so neat to be trained and coached by people who both Nick and myself admire as athletes, so much. Also, it was so great to be able to watch them be coaches (they are PHENOMINAL coaches…) and hear their thought processes while they’re training athletes and learn from them :) You guys rocked!

-We did FRAN the first night…did it in 7:30 (but finished in 8 something…took me a MINUTE to do my last pull-up…). Now, I need to stay on this for a second; this was the first time EVER that I have done Fran WITHOUT a band, and the pull-up bar was FOREIGN to me, and probably twice as thick as the bars at our gym. So even if this was my worst Fran time yet…it was a PR in a way for me :-p  China killed it though :) Something like 5:50!! Animal!

-Met and was coached by the first “kid” to go through Crossfit Kids…: Conner Martin; He is the eldest son of the creators of Crossift Kids,  Jeff and Mikki Martin. Super nice guy, and super impressive coach…he was certified as a trainer at the ripe old age of 12…seriously.

-I met a reader of my blog!! So neat to meet and chat with people who have randomly stumbled across my blog and enjoy reading it :) So nice to meet you Brittany!! :)

-The ride there was interesting…China, Dannielle and I drove down together to San Diego, while the guys left together. They literally left about 10 minutes before us, and got there 3 hours before we did…you do the math… Let’s just say that by the end of the ride, us ladies were completely delirious, and could do nothing but laugh till the point of tears when Nick’s directions led us to the middle of a cemetary…Who knew that there is both a Camino PUERTA and a Camino HUERTA in the SAME zip code…who knew… :-p

-I feel closer to my coworkers than ever before; it was a wonderful bonding moment, and I’m so thankful for the experience with them.

So, that is it, in a nutshell :) We all passed, we are all officially Crossfit level 1 trainers, and I get to start working it now :)

PS: 54 days until Nick and I’s wedding!!!

Love,

Jen

On Getting SUPER “Defined”…

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A few weeks ago I wrote a post about finding my “definite purpose”. In that post I touched upon what my “definite purpose” was, what one IS, and how I came to it; what I did not touch on was what it has done for me since.

The other night I got a call from my good friend, Amanda. We chatted about this and that, and after a while she asked me how things with Nick were; my response was “better than ever”, and I meant EVER! I feel like we have improved and grown even more together, figured each other out a little bit better, and learned how to do this all the while being together 24/7 (work and life :-p). While I was listing these reasons to Amanda, I hear Nick from the other room call out:

“And you found your definite purpose, so you’re not in your head so much!”

Me??? In my head?? Say WHAT?! :-P  I keeeed. Yes, for those of you who do NOT know that side of me, I used to tend to get all up in my own head quite frequently, thinking WAY too much about things that were not important to think about, or that would only cause myself harm. What I FOUND is that when I defined my definite purpose, which was: “To introduce and excited as many people as possible to Crossfit, while being a leading authority in the Crossfit Kids community”, I started searching for tools on how to BECOME this person that I want to be, rather than thinking twice about an interaction that took place earlier that day. Combine all of this with a full schedule of working out, eating healthy foods, taking fish oil, and of course being ADJUSTED!, well heck, I’m feeling pretty darn good right now :-p :)

Other side benefits of finding my definite purpose have been:

~More confidence

~More enthusiasm for what I am doing

~More energy

~Improved relationship with everyone I encounter

~More positive

~Did I mention MORE CONFIDENCE?!

I think gaining more confidence has been the most exciting “side benefit” for me. When I go next door to Innate Fitness to help Andrew teach on Thursday nights, I feel MUCH more comfortable in front of people, I co-taught a WORKSHOP with Nick, I was one of the coaches for the group workout a couple Saturday’s ago, I feel like I’m speaking up more in meetings, and volunteering to take on more and more. I feel like myself again. When I was in Beverly I felt like I ate, breathed, and slept all things CROSSFIT…when we moved here I lost it a little…more than a little actually (but it wasn’t completely gone!). I feel since defining my definite purpose I am back to the girl who wakes up thinking about kipping pull-ups or this morning it was a book idea/seminar tour that I would love to do in the future that means a lot to me (but I’m going to keep that one on the DL for a bit :-p).

How to find your Definite Purpose:

Sit down with a pen and paper and start writing! Write down what gets you excited to get out of bed in the morning, what skills you think that you excel at, where you think your gifts are. Then pick the things that are HIGHEST on your list of values (if you do not pick things within your values, they will not be sustainable. Anything that is not honest, true or good is, by law (of the universe, and maybe the government as well, haha) not sustainable…it WILL break down over time. So, pick only that which is HIGH on your list of values.

Once you have shortened your Definite Purpose down to one POWERFUL sentence, its important to map out a plan of action for reaching that purpose: How are you going to do it? What do you need to learn to become that person? Who do you need to become to reach this goal?

Once you have it mapped out, you want to visualize the person you become who is able to achieve this definite purpose. The Laws of Success by Napolean Hill recommends meditating and visualizing that person in the life that you want for 30 minutes a day! Yes, that is a huge commitment, but ‘the dominating thoughts of your mind eventually reproduce themselves in outward bodily action and gradually transform themselves into physical reality’.

Success demands singleness of purpose.

~Vince Lombardi

Have a wonderful day :) xoxo

Jen

365 Days

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Dear Santa Barbara,

Today marks the one year anniversary of when Nick and I drove across the city limit line. It is BEYOND hard for me to believe that I have already been here 365 days…you’ve taught me so much.

I’ve learned that no matter how hard things seemed when we first got here, a year later, I can’t even remember them…Nick’s experience is not the same supposedly :-p

I’ve learned that it IS possible to laugh THAT much… I have met the most incredible group of ladies here, that pretty much keep me in constant roaring laughter for the entirety of the time we spend together. Kelly, Lauren, Kristen, Sammy, Jessica, Bri, Cris, thank you ladies…thanks to all of you, I feel lighter, funnier, younger and even more full of love and gratitude than ever!

I’ve learned that I am definitely marrying the right person. Let me explain this one…hehe. Over the last year Nick and I have driven across the country, with everything we owned in the back of the Suburban and drove together for two weeks straight….in a car… THEN, we moved to a new town, away from all our friends (and for me, family) and opened a business together (which I’ve heard is like raising a newborn)…To top it all off, we have pretty much spent the last 365 days together, non-stop. The best part is that at the end of the day, I STILL love hanging out with Nick, so much. So, this last year has definitely been a testament to our relationship, and I DEFINITELY feel even more sure that I’m marrying the right person :)

I’ve learned just how much Crossfit means to me. When we first moved here, and I was the first time (since KNOWING about Crossfit) without it, I actually got kind of depressed at times. I missed the community (and I wasn’t quite IN with the Innate Community just yet), the accountability, the movements, the workouts, the coaches, the intensity, etc. I had a SUPER hard time transitioning at first. This has really solidified HOW much Crossfit means to me, which definitely played a huge part in what led me on the path toward becoming a trainer :) Hooray for that!

I’ve learned that I am just as wussy about the cold here in California as I was in New England. I’m just more pathetic in my friends and family’s eyes as far that goes :-p

Celebrity sightings are not as a’ plenty as I thought they would be. For as many celebrities that live within 10 miles of me, I have seen SOOOO few…W. T. H! Who have I seen so far? Kathy Ireland, Tony Danza, Sawyer from “Lost” and Jason Statham (or the back of his head, Nick got a better glimpse). If I sound like a silly little girl from Maine who gets excited about celebrities…it’s because I am! :-P  Forgive me :-p

Amongst all of these things, I have learned that I am SO grateful for everything in my life; great weather, farmers markets everyday year round, a kick ass job!, an adorable little tree house home, family here, the Pacific, Swednesday mornings, having the gym on the other side of the wall, etc etc etc.

Life is good, count your blessings.

What are you grateful for today?