Archive for the 'Off Topic Posts' Category

13
Oct
14

The Flip of Change

By garagegym107 6 Comments
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I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. The one constant in this life is change. It’s been months since I sat down and took the time to spill my guts to my forum readers. It’s taken me that long to get my balance after the huge flip of change I’ve gone through.

Since my last blog, my oldest son and daughter in law have gifted me with the most beautiful granddaughter, I’ve sold my partnership interest in the crossfit gym to my business partner, and lastly, my spousal unit has retired after 30 years on the job.

Let’s start with flip change one, the beautiful granddaughter…she’s healthy, she’s just what I needed to soften up my rough and tumble boy/man filled world.  She came in to this world at 7 pounds and 12 oz on August 27th. I am overwhelmed with love for her.

Piper Hope 8-27

Shortly after the birth of that little bundle of pink, came flip change number two.

Flip change two, I sold my partnership interest in the gym. This has to be the single most bittersweet personal change in the past 15 years. Leaving the athletes I helped to groom was like letting go of part of my soul. This decision was made in part by flip change number three. But let’s talk about the part of this which has impacted me the most. Going it alone. I have spent the past 13 years in the fitness community, either in a regular gym, or a crossfit box. All of which have contributed to the successful change in lifestyle I’ve made. After close to two full years of coaching 3 mornings per week, I suddenly found myself with more time to myself. I’ve never trained alone in my own garagegym107, instead I’ve always thought I had to get up and go somewhere to keep my discipline on track.

After all was said and done with the sale of the partnership, I found myself in need of solitude. I began working out in garagegym107 with earnest. Each morning, I get up and build my new routine. It’s not the same, it will never replace the camaraderie I felt when coaching, or how I felt just being in the box working out. It’s not the same but it’s doable and do I will. I could feel sorry for myself and have a pity party, but I won’t. I will do what I’ve always done, get stronger. Stay the course. Be grateful I have what I need. Be grateful.

GG107 11-5-12

And lastly, flip change number three, the retirement of the spousal unit. A million questions have crossed my mind since he made his decision. My number one concern was “Is he doing this too early?”. Only he could answer that.  Shortly after announcing his submission to retire, he was approached by multiple companies offering positions. He has accepted the one he felt the most drawn to, the one that fits. I’m proud of him and for him. He could have been a crusty old bastard no one wanted around. So we celebrate his part-time position that will help him transition fully in to retirement without being rushed. Now he has more time to make lists, not honey do’s, but instead his do’s.

S3

For me, I’m keeping my consistency, doing what I need to do to stay on track. I’ve added a little swim, bike, run to my training plan and things are progressing nicely. It feels good to be back in the land of the writers putting my junk out there for all to read. Coaching is my passion. And in time I’m sure I’ll be taking on more coaching opportunities, but for now, I’ll coach myself on down the changing roads of life.

Remember, it’s not the change that throws you off, it’s your response to change. Rise to the occasion every change you get!

05
Jan
14

Weekend At The Lodge on Gorham’s Bluff

By garagegym107 1 Comment
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I rarely stray from the topic of my blog but here it is.  This weekend the spousal unit and I went to The Lodge at Gorham’s Bluff a bed & Breakfast.  This was our very first experience with a B&B and we had no idea what to expect.  So here goes…rewind to the booking of the reservations.  This was my attempt to provide him with a brief get-away that didn’t require a four or five hour drive.  This place is about an hour and forty five minutes from home.  That being said, it’s on the top of a bluff in Pisgah, Alabama. Population in 2000 was 706.  Oddly, that was the most recent population I could find.

We arrived just after check in at 3:15pm on Friday.  We walked around and took some pics for as long as we could stand the cold wind and viewed noteworthy sites (see video).  We went back to our room and relaxed until dinner time.  We were a bit surprised to discover the dinning area was more formal than casual but we carried on. We were provided a delightfully rich four course dinner. I’d like to say I handled myself like a champ but four courses later I felt like I waddled to bed.  The food was great, but my poor body was in shock.  We got up Saturday and headed down to a nice and simple breakfast of fruit, eggs, and bacon.  We went exploring a bit more and came back to a boxed lunch, one of which would have fed us both.  A fresh grilled chicken sandwich with spinach and of course more bacon (I love bacon). After lunch we decided we needed to walk more.  We walked around the lovely little neighborhood of Craftsman style homes, past the old original Pisgah School House that had to have been built around 1930 or 1940 and then back to The Lodge.  I imagine during the summer months it’s a divine little get-away, with its porches off of each suite and rockers overlooking the spectacular views.  All in all it was a lovely get-away, but I suspect this isn’t your average B&B.  It has given me the idea that perhaps there is a B&B geared more toward the fitness buff, on a lake in a small town in Guntersville, AL in my future.

Music credit to Chicago.

09
Oct
13

Serious Self-Defense

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I’ve been sitting on this topic for the last couple of weeks.  Not really sure how to actually write about the topic without freaking my readers out.  I decided to focus on the message at hand and not allow the tools to distract from the message.

I’ve recently attended a series of classes on basic firearms safety and self-defense.  When I have broached the subject to friends or acquaintances I’ve received feedback that covers both ends of the spectrum.

This blog isn’t being written to start a firestorm about what you think is right or wrong about firearms instead it’s about the topic of self-defense.

This is being written in the hopes that someone who is on the fence can make a better judgment call about attending a course themselves. If you are considering owning a firearm, I highly recommend you take a course BEFORE you legally purchase a firearm. Notify the instructors beforehand, they will make arrangements for you to use a firearm if need be.  Then you can make a much better informed decision as to whether you even want to own one.

Am I suggesting you go out and purchase a firearm?  No, I am not.  That is a very personal decision and no one can make that decision but you.  Be responsible and educate yourself on every possible aspect from owning a firearm, getting the proper legal permits and please, get some training.

First let me start by saying I am a proactive person.  I believe in taking care of myself, for myself, by myself.  I don’t leave the responsibly of my health, my fitness, and my nutrition up to other people.  I take full responsibility for myself and my own actions. I also take responsibility for the consequences of my actions. I.E.  If I eat cake, I get fat.

Being the proactive person means I will do what I feel like I need to do to protect myself.  This is usually where someone says “are you paranoid or what?” and my answer is no, not at all.

I’m also not naïve either, bad things happen to good people and I’d rather have training and never  use it than to find myself in a situation where I really needed it but didn’t take the time to get it.

So here we are.  I spent three separate days going through approximately 4.5 hours of training.  Two of the sessions were in the classroom, one was at an outdoor range.

This was one of the best decisions I’ve made as an adult female.  I learned what predators look for when targeting a victim (yes, don’t kid yourself, they look in the day time as well as the dark), and even more importantly I learned how not to look/act like a victim. Some is common sense, some is totally not.

I listened to actual 911 recordings and played through scenarios in my mind, ironically, even in a very safe environment just listening to the sounds of the caller increased my heart rate and made me put myself in the callers shoes.

For those who live in my area, the company I chose to work with is called Self Defense Solutions and I paid for my courses and he did not ask me to write this review.  In fact I asked his permission to mention his company here.

There were only 2 people in the classes I attended and all instruction was given in a fashion that made me feel completely at ease and comfortable. In the firearms world women tend to get brushed off, this is sad but true.  This company and it’s instructors never at any point made me feel less capable, less welcome or less valued than the man in the class with me.  The instructors were thorough and attentive and made sure that I was comfortable and confident by the time my course ended.

There are non-firearms related self-defense courses and I will be taking some of those as well, sooner rather than later.

Again, to stress my point, I’d rather have training and never need it than to need it and not have it.

user-training-signs

07
Jul
13

Unsung Hero’s

By garagegym107 Leave a Comment
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At 4:27am July 5th, our family lost a great mentor, father, father-in-law, husband, grandfather and friend.  My post isn’t about mourning the loss, that’s a very private thing for me.

This post is about some things I learned that I never knew about before my father-in-law’s very short battle with cancer.

During the process of his care, I learned some things that I think are of the utmost importance to be shared with the masses.

1)  Never assume your loved ones will get the attention they need.  Stay on top of the daily activity and fight for their needs.  If you don’t they will fall to the bottom of the list, especially as they age.

2)  If your parents are older, go with them to the physician if they are diagnosed with cancer.  Ask ALL of the most critical questions regarding quality of life with and without treatment.

3)  Do your research regarding home care to determine what is best for the patient AND the family.

As I sit here writing this post, I think of the most helpful people of our entire journey.  No offense to my friends who are nurses.

These people are called “sitters” at least in our area.  They come in 4 hour shifts to help the family do things for their loved ones.  They bathe them, change the bedding, clothing, etc. They launder the sheets and will voluntarily do any light cleaning you may need them to do as well. People even in illness have a great deal of dignity, having someone other than a family member to “change them” means much more than you can imagine.

As I sat through the last days and nights with my father-in-law, I realized that these unsung hero’s were the most compassionate and caring people I’d had the pleasure of meeting through this entire process.

I also thought of the people out there who are sick and have no family, or those who do not have the means to hire a service like this to help.

Moving forward in my life, I will give this service as a gift when I can.  I cannot imagine how much more difficult this process would have been if it had only been the four of us that stayed with my father-in-law day in and day out without those wonderful people.  They came in shifts that we chose to split up by four-hour shifts we took ourselves.  If was relieving to be able to step into another room and not leave him alone.

At first we were concerned about “strangers in the house” etc., phfffttt.  Looking back we absolutely were blessed, grateful, and relieved by their sincere compassion and help.

One would say with cynicism “well you paid for a service” and my sharp retort would be “we paid for medical care that was not even mediocre at best” during our hospital stay and rehab stay.

These are very special people and grossly unsung hero’s.  Do your research, find a company that someone can recommend to you.  Give a shift or even better give a week.  Your gift will be far greater than anything you can imagine.

Nurse Cap