Howdy folks! Happy Friday! I don’t know about you but I’m counting the minutes until cocktail hour. (PS – Sarah once told me to go out on a limb and try this Pinot Grigio ($6.89 at Costco, WHAT???) and I’m so glad I did. It’s pretty darn awesome!) It’s been a great week around our house and even better on our plates. We’ve been eating super duper clean (I feel GREAT!) and so I think I’ve earned a little Friday night glass of something special. I can’t wait to sink my teeth into some tri tip tonight and coast into the weekend.

I plan to soak up some time at home because I’m going to be in the great state of Iowa all next week for work (and some play!) I’ll definitely be missing Garrett and Buster, but I really like Des Moines and haven’t been there in a while, plus I also get to squeeze in a little visit with AndreAnna! Fun, fun!

What are YOU up to this weekend? Cooking or reading anything fun? Please dish! And now…onto some links:

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*In the mood for a marathon? Uh, TV Marathon that is…I have enough running lately.   Check out The Best TV Shows for Binges

*Mark’s Daily Apple has had some good posts up lately. Not that he doesn’t regularly or anything, but I just particularly enjoyed: Why It’s Important to Cook Your Own Meals and 10 Psychological Hurdles Keeping You From Losing Weight & How to Overcome Them.

*I’m intrigued by this homemade electrolyte drink. Let’s be real, I’m equally intrigued by this recipe for Lava Flows because they make me miss Maui! (Hot damn, we had a fun time there!)

*I’m in a kitchen creating mood – I think I’m going to make these lemon bars this weekend.

*I love this post about resilience. Volatility is the new normal.

*Who couldn’t use a confidence boost? I liked these 10 Rules for Feeling More Confident and these 50 Self Esteem Quotes to Give Your Confidence a Boost.

*This tip about The Magic of Later is something I do ALL THE TIME! So useful!

*Need some web distraction? How about checking out 100 Websites You Should Know and Use.

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Hope you all have a great weekend!

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Don’t bother me. I’m reading.

Seriously, this book is just…I don’t even know what to say about it. It came at the right place and time for me and I’m just loving every word of it. What are YOU reading?

I plan to do a lot of reading this weekend and definitely some cooking. Are you guys as happy as I am that it is Friday? I don’t have any big plans and I am THAT excited about it!!! I’m going to try and catch up on blogging this weekend because my brain is FULL and my fingers just can’t seem to keep up during the week.

Speaking of blogs, let’s talk about some links:

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*The Relay is next weekend. Probably should have read this months ago.

*I would like to be eating these for breakfast right now. PS – Thank you for all your breakfast and lunch ideas! I’m also sifting through this and this on recommendations.

*I finally broke down and bought these (I don’t know why I say “broke down” because they look awesome) and according to UPS they will be here Monday. I am so excited about this! Perhaps they will also help bring my mojo back!

*Check out A World Map of Flavors – 36 Regions, 36 Herb & Spice Combinations. PLUS RECIPES! They aren’t all Paleo, but I love advice on flavor combinations.

*You know I love routines, so I obviously loved How Rituals Can Supercharge Your Productivity (And Peace!)

*I get a lot of emails about troubleshooting Paleo. Paleo Mom wrote a pretty comprehensive post talking about exactly that.

*This caught my eye this week: Fitness + Stress – Some Thoughts On How To Manage Yourself.

*Speaking of fitness, Paleo Parents have a fun giveaway of CrossFit gear and clothing going on until May 1st. Also, Stacy’s post about Sugar + Metabolic Derangement (complete with dramatic photos!) really hit home for me.

*This Thorough Spring Cleaning Checklist makes me oddly inspired to bust out my swiffers and my steam mop.

*Need a little pick me up? Check out these 3 TED Talks on the recommendation of Brene Brown. I would TOTALLY invite Brene Brown to a dinner party. Wouldn’t you?

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Hope your weekend is fantastic and full of your favorite things!

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Happy Friday! Let’s do the happy dance for the weekend!

I survived teaching my Paleo cooking class last night and it was so much fun! Now I have a Next Food Network Star hair up my ass! (NO I DON’T! I tell you what, it’s harder than Giada and her giant boobs make it look!) I have had the longest week ever and tonight I am looking forward to getting in a workout, having a glass of wine, seeing friends, and then SLEEPING THE SLEEP OF THE DEAD! I am literally planning the epic-ness of my bedtime. I’ve already had a pep-talk with Buster and he is on serious orders to not wake up wanting to play before 9am tomorrow. (Ha! We’ll see if that happens!)

On to some links, yes?

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*I’m running a 10 Mile race on Sunday and I’m so freaked out about it I can’t think about it, so I’m not. But I am wondering if these pants would make it more pleasant?

*I realized this week I need a little more of this “Magic” in my life.

*Rachel’s post about Lifting Heavy made me do a slow clap.

*On putting your actions where your intentions are: The Power of Goals. Simple, but powerful.

*Discovering Truth in the Silence. I need to tape this up to my bathroom mirror. I am not above that kind of dorky reminder.

*Here is some super awesome basic style advice: 8 Tips for Developing Personal Style

*I could really relate to Andrea’s thoughts on learning how to change behavior. And then, like a lightbulb going off, I thought about this post I read last week on Identity Based Habits.

*I want to make this guacamole STAT. Guacamole just feels like summer to me.

*There is no such thing as a calorie! Shout it from the rooftops, please.

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And that’s all I’ve got for the moment. Knock this weekend out of the park, friends!

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Hola, friends! Thank you for all your kind words, suggestions and emails after Monday’s post. Over the past few days, instead of writing here, I’ve spent my time getting my head together, cuddling my dog, accomplishing tasks that have been stressing me out, and going to bed at like 8pm. SENIOR CITIZEN ALERT! As you can see, Buster is completely ok with this idea of getting more sleep. I don’t care if it makes us senior citizens or not, sleep is amazing for getting your head together. It works miracles, actually.

I wish I could say I also spent that time revamping my fitness and correcting some of the sub-par food choices I’ve been making, but I’m saving that for next week. Also on the docket next week? I’m teaching a Paleo Cooking Class and running a 10 mile race. BOTH HAVE ME PANICKING JUST A LITTLE BIT. Oh what would life be without a little self-imposed panic. OY!

Since I’ve been MIA around here (and clearly reading the internet more instead) (ok, and also playing Candy Crush – a bad habit I picked up from one of Garrett’s friends while in Tahoe) I thought I’d leave you with a few extra links for cruising into your weekend. Lots of good stuff around the internet this week!

*I CANNOT get over this. And while we’re at it, this either. Both made me do some serious head shaking.

*But let’s move on to some good stuff! Friday is for fun – and to me LISTS ARE THE MOST FUN! Here’s a few good ones:
-17 Things To Do Today That Will Make You Proud of Yourself In A Year
-4 Secrets to Being A Shining Star in Business + In Life
-13 Ways to Bring More Mindfulness to Your Life
I needed to read ALL of those this week.

*Amy’s post about deciding what to read next is basically a map of exactly how I keep my library queue full. Too bad I’m hardly finishing any books lately so I mostly renew and return….but it’s exactly how my brain (and my reservation situation) works.

*Are your Facebook Statuses Costing You Thousands? I wanted to fist bump this author of this! We are all smart enough to not be slapping up drunken photos on our Facebook pages, I’m sure — but this was AWESOME food for thought about how the world’s largest social network may just be affecting your…ahem…networking.

*I loved this little nugget from Thomas Keller on Passion vs. Desire. I thought about it again while I was reading about “intrinsic motivation” in this post about Addressing Your “WHY” and Your Fears. PS – The CrossFit Invictus blog is always full of good stuff!

*Are you reading Hollywood Housewife? She’s a great writer and talks about so many different things (kids, makeup, LA living, spirituality) and honestly I can’t remember how I even stumbled across her, but I’m so glad I did. Anyway, this week on she did a little house tour on Design Mom’s Living With Kids feature. It was fun to see a little behind-the-scenes.

*Speaking of CrossFit, 10 Things I Learned At The Open has been floating around since the final workout was completed and I just LOVED it. The Open is always a bit of a transformative experience. I am in a such a different place this year compared to last year (DON’T COMPARE, HOLLY. DON’T COMPARE!) (EASIER SAID THAN DONE.) but regardless, it is a really motivating time. Garrett + I are about to make some major life routine changes (more about that next week!) (why do I feel like I need to clarify that I am NOT pregnant) and I’m really marinating on how I want my fitness to fit into that. (Hint: I WANT IT TO BE A VERY HIGH PRIORITY.) Every once in a while I just think to myself how glad I am that I found CrossFit. I’ve been doing it regularly for TWO AND A HALF YEARS, which is just crazy to think about. My life *always* feels out of balance when I’m not in that gym regularly, which I don’t think I ever said once when I was doing spin and yoga and kickboxing at 24 Hour Fitness. <3

*So I've seen a ton of "healthy living" (GAG. Can we come up with a new term for this? Suggestions welcome.) bloggers posting lately about participating in DietBet and it has just really nagged at me. Jennifer over at Wine to Weightlifting (two of my favorite things!) did a great job articulating why the whole concept just rubs me the wrong way.

*You know what rubbed me the right way? This video over at Marie Forleo about creating a vision for your life. She is speaking my language.

*Last but not least, I found Kristen’s post titled My Vegan Diet Caused Health Problems quite courageous. Kristen has been a raw, vegan blogger for a long time and her transition to Paleo is getting some flack on the internet. (Flack on the internet over food choices? SHOCKING, right? HA!) But what I really appreciated about this post though was her honesty about her choices and her openness to re-examining everything she thought to be true. I think it takes a really mature person to admit that something that you have been attached to for so long, may not actually be working like you thought it did. On top of the post was incredibly informative and well researched and connects the dots on a lot of food related problems that people don’t always realize are food related. It’s a long one, which is why I left it for last, but a worthwhile read no matter HOW you eat.

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Have a great weekend, friends! What is in your plate?

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I would like to know where the expression “Working like a dog” came from because in Buster’s world this means laying on the couch a lot, demanding we pet him and throwing tantrums if he can’t eat salami and cheese for dinner.

Let’s celebrate making it to Friday by reading some fun things, shall we?

*It’s so weird to me that people still think this is such a radical idea, but I love it: Butter is a health food. It would be REALLY nice if butter slathered on sourdough bread was a health food too, but the butter alone is a good progress.

*Kathleen’s Forever Young manifesto made me so ready to go to Lake Tahoe this weekend. I want this weekend to be restorative because I need that so bad in my life right now. And when I get home, I feel some lists coming on. I need to get a little more focused on managing how I feel and my stress levels because lately I am feeling like a crotchety old lady (a little bit physically but mostly emotionally) and that is NO BUENO.

*I love seeing how other people organize their email inbox. It’s like medicine cabinet snooping in this modern age.

*If you have ladyparts, you should TOTALLY listen to these two episodes of the Balanced Bites podcast. (Hey, maybe next week I’ll talk about some new podcasts, eh?) Super great info!

*You know what you should do this weekend? Get some sleep! I hope some of you find space to write Take a Nap on your To-Do List.

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Speaking of lists, I have to go write my packing list! Have a fantastic weekend you guys!

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Well would you look at that? Another week down and another weekend on the horizon. This household is might happy about that. Last weekend was the first in well over a month that made me feel super rested and rejuvenated — I’m looking to do the same this weekend!

As usual last night we headed to the gym to Open Workout 13.3. The big news this week was that Workout 13.3 was the same workout as last year’s 12.4 — meaning we had all EXPERIENCED THE TORTURE BEFORE. I have to say, I much prefer NOT knowing how the workout is gonna feel because I was so anxious about re-doing this. I HATED it last year and my quads were sore for almost a week afterward. Knowing that going into things did not excite me. The workout was as follows:

In 12 minutes, do as many reps as possible of the following:
*150 Wall Balls
*90 Double Unders
*30 Muscle Ups

Last year I barely eeked out 150 wall balls in that time and got a few double unders for a score of 153. (YOUR LEGS FEEL LIKE JELLY WHEN YOU ARE JUMPING ROPE.) The honest truth though  is that I was in better shape last year – so I was fairly certain that I would struggle just to get through the wall balls this year. I tried to push out all the crappy negative self-talk though and just give my best in that moment though and I ended up not only completing the wall balls but also 23 double unders for a score of 173. HOLY CRAP ON A CRACKER, I was happy. So obviously I celebrated with a little champagne afterward! But don’t worry, I also hydrated with some coconut water too.

Anyway, let’s talk about some fun things to read, shall we?

*First, a truth bomb. That term is completely stolen from Danielle LaPorte, but yesterday when I read the quote at the top of this post I thought to myself: BAM! THAT IS THE TRUTH! So, you know, truth bomb is appropriate.

*Life Before and After Cell Phones – HA! How true is this? So true.

*Loved this reminder about habits.

*So here’s an interesting story: The Professor and The Bikini Model & The Suitcase Full of Trouble Doesn’t it just sound juicy?

*Watching the news all day long? Here’s how it is affecting your health.

*But what will you do when you turn off the news? How about some reading: Proof that good books can change your life.

*I’m a big fan of dreams and goals, but you know what I’m even a bigger fan of? Action.

*On the other hand, if you ever feel like you are expending a lot of energy but not really getting anything done? Read this, please.

*I bought this hysterical t shirt the other day, but it showed up yesterday in a size XL and it is MINIATURE. Sad trombone. But maybe you are miniature too, so I think you should totally buy it. Hilarious! I may have to order the mens version just because I love it so much.

*I’ve talked before about the importance of being coachable, but here is some great practical advice on how to make that happen if it doesn’t come naturally to you.
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Woo Hoo! It’s Friday! And I’m aaaaaaaaaaaaalmost starting to feel normal again. Just in time for the weekend Garrett and I celebrated the gateway to the weekend last night by doing workout 13.1 of the CrossFit Games Open. How many of you are participating? HOW AWFUL WAS THAT OHMYGOD. But also, so super fun! I ended up getting 126 reps and of course instantly was like “Aw I could have done better.” But you know what? WHATEVER. It’s for fun and I “enjoyed” myself, and I can’t wait to see what the next few weeks of workouts bring!

Plus the glass of wine I had after the workout tasted super great. Have I mentioned how much I love my gym? Now…onto some links.

*Since we’re talking about it, here are Four Reasons Every CrossFitter Should Participate In the CrossFit Games Open. I agree with every single one.

*I was really touched by this post about Creating Community After The Lonely Years. I’ve met so many great people and dear friends because of this website and the internet. Sometimes I still can’t believe that because I never really thought I’d be a “find friends on the internet” kind of person, but I feel super grateful that I have.

*I keep thinking I need to incorporate more organ meats in my diet but I JUST. CAN’T. EAT. THEM. I came across this idea for The Easiest Way To Eat Liver recently and I may try that. (OHMAHGAWD. LIVER.)

*I couldn’t agree more with the sentiments in this post. I think a fulfilled life is full of risk taking.

*Garrett is OBSESSED with Campari and I am…well, not. So much. I bookmarked this list of new ways to use Campari, so I’m going to see if I can find a Campari cocktail we both love this Spring.

*My friend Erica wrote about money this week but in the end I also think it touched on more than that. It was a nice reminder to me to not only be grateful for Garrett, but for our partnership. My mom has said many times that the thing she misses most about losing my dad is losing her partner. When you are bickering about the right way to do chores around the house or how to spend money it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that it is an absolute luxury to have someone to argue with about these things.

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Hope you all have a great weekend!

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Yep. That’s just about how I feel about the fact that it is Friday. I’ve had a long, stressful week that has caused me to dive headfirst into crap food over the last 24 hours and man I’m feeling the effects. I am so ready for a weekend to hang with Garrett and eat some green stuff. Big plans this weekend, obviously.

Anyway, here’s the highlights of Internet Goodness this week:

*When you are busting your butt in the gym it can be hard not to have an ideal body type in mind. But let’s not forget to keep it real. Here are 17 examples of why you shouldn’t freak out if you look in the mirror and don’t look like a celebrity. They don’t look like themselves EITHER!

*Since we’re making lists, how about 40 Ways To Feel More Alive. I like feeling alive. You know what doesn’t make me feel alive? Pizza. UGH.

*This week bad ass CrossFitter Elizabeth Akinwale made some news talking about CrossFit, Women and Strength. I loved what she had to say. (Also: I love her!)

*I’m totally convinced that Buster tries to talk to us. That dog has things to say! Plus he is so regimented, picks up routines quickly and is just very…ordered for a dog. Sometimes I wish I was better at picking up what he was putting down, you know? I put this book on hold at the library. Have any of you read it?

*Chris Kresser has been writing some AWESOME stuff lately, but I particularly loved this post on Why Eating Only Lean Protein Is A Bad Idea. I feel like “I eat lots of lean protein” is one of those phrases bandied about in that kind of snooty, uppity way when talking about “being healthy” that sort of makes me roll my eyes. So I especially loved this take. EMBRACE THE FAT!

*Well, since I’m already teetering on the line of getting up on a health soapbox, why not just let me get it all out at once, eh? I loved this post about Weight Loss vs. Fat Loss. It reminded of the time someone told me “If you want to lose weight start snorting cocaine. Works every time!” Losing weight is one of those goals that sounds really great in theory, but probably needs to be qualified.

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Clearly I have food and fitness on the mind today. Could it be because I had a serious LACK of that yesterday? Probably. You doing anything awesome this weekend?

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