Back in Action for 2012

After being sick for longer than I wanted to be, I decided Monday that enough was enough and kicked off my 2012 resolutions. I figure that if the Mayans are right, I'm going out with a bang... and a 6-pack!

Monday, with reduced lung-capacity and a sore throat, I started it off with an intense 30-min. Jillian Michaels Ab DVD. Somehow, she threw in a ton of planks and some sneaky inner-thigh work, making it hard to walk come Tuesday morning. Silly me, I figured a run for Tuesday's workout would be the perfect way to counteract the thigh soreness.... not exactly the case.

Wednesday morning, my abs hurt, inner thighs refused to cooperate after sitting for more than 30 minutes, and now my glutes and hams burned too. Sure, walking around the office was a challenge, but the worst was showing up at my Vertical Fitness class Wednesday night and having my instructor tell us that we were kicking off the lesson with pole sits (think of crossing your legs as hard as you can, trying to hold your body weight in one position). It was agony!

The rest of the class was fine, but the soreness followed me into Thursday. To keep my body guessing and the variety going, I chose Yoga for the daily workout, and it was just what I needed. By the end of hte night, I was back to normal and ready for the next rounds of daily workouts.

Friday was another round of Jillian Michaels, and today I did the video again, followed by some Vertical strength and skill training. Awesome way to start the day!!! Followed up with a perfectly ripe red grapefruit (no sugar needed) and my favorite coffee, and I was ready to take on the day.

So far, the daily workouts are going well. I've only had to fight minimal resistance within myself, but know the end product will be well worth it. I figure I only have to make it to February and by then it will be a habit, not just trying something new. Couple more weeks and I'll add in the bike, but right now I'm trying to feed my often neglected muscles and allow the overworked ones to recover.

Hopefully everyone else out there trying to make their life better in 2012 will enjoy it as much as I am :o) I told myself once in 2006 that it was up to me to make my life into the life I dream of... I did exactly that, going from an anti-social, pack-a-day smoker, online video gamer to an healthy adult athlete, good job, great friends, and awesome passion for cycling, writing, and enjoying life. So why not keep improving it year after year?

Cheers to making 2012 my b1tc#!

Kristy Kreme

Rockin' in the New Year

Jay and I decided to show 2011 the door in proper form by rockin' out three days straight! Oh, and did I mention we were on the List for all of them? Life is Good!

We kicked it off with a killer show at the Spring Street Tavern in Nordeast on Thursday - 4130, Detroit Roll, The Jones Dickens, and none other than my favorite... DNF!!! Jay and the boys were 3rd of 4 on the bill and didn't hesitate to rock the crowd's asses right out of their chairs. The group moshed and sang along with fists in the air, and beer spilling on to the floor. It was their best show yet, and hopefully just a prelude of what's to come.

Friday night made way for an intimate, at-capacity show at the Cause in Uptown for our favorite lady of rock, Ashley, and her hubby, Ed, rocking out in BNLX! Jay got some sweet shots and the rock was awesome as always.

For our final goodbye to 2011, we headed out to the Myth, through huge snowflakes and sketchy travel conditions to watch Freaky's debut with HAIRBALL!! The smell of sulfur filled the air as the fire works ignited and the crowd's excitement charged the air. Freaky was on fire, sporting some hot leather pants and a KISS t-shirt, trying hard not to blow his load before the show was over.

Freaky, thanks for yet another great New Year's bash! It's hard to believe, but this was the first time Jay and I have ever celebrated New Year's in MN together, but it was fun like all the rest. We broke our routine, but sometimes you have to do that to step into something great. 2012, you better live up to our expectations... I'm looking for greatness this year, and I'll accept nothing less.

Ready to start anew,

Kristy Kreme

A Very Gas Station Christmas and Superior New Year

We kicked off the Christmas celebrations with a Very Gas Station Christmas with Teri, Randy, and the crue. Not only did we all doll ourselves up as mechanics and gas station employees, we entertained ourselves with a sweet gas station Christmas exchange.

Ya never know what you're gonna get when 25 adults are instructed to buy $10 worth of stuff from a gas station to give in the gift exchange....

Al, our resident fitness expert, scored HUGE with some cigarettes, lighter, energy drink, and condoms. Jay got a Heggie's pizza that he later traded for a lighter, some energy drinks, and other random stuff. Randy and Teri randomly got a snake statue and stuffed bunny.

Lhea's first find was a hit - a bobble head Devil that Hwood picked up for the party. Sadly, it was stolen by Izzy later in the exchange. St. Coach surprised us all by giving a stolen window washing brush from the gas station and a $10.... later that night, though, the dark side faded and he asked to have the brush back to return to the store. :O)

Lottery tickets were a huge hit, along with a lot of 3.2 beer, energy drinks, snacks.... but surprisingly no nudie mags. WTF? ha! It was an awesome time! I can't wait til next year! Heck, even the dogs had fun... Smokey & Huma played and posed for a great set of pictures by Coach.

Huma & Smokey by the fire

Smokey smiling all pie-eyed

We kept the holiday season warm and fuzzy by spending time with our families, too. Battling a blizzard to see Jay's mom was hair-raising, but we had a great couple days of relaxing.

I made ornaments with pics of Bob for Dorothy & Jay

Jay got a kick out of his new insulated bib's accessibility features

Jay surprised me with a framed memorial to my Short Fat awesomeness in 2010

One of the best gifts we got this year, though, was Megan's all-clear PET scan! After 4 months of intensive chemo treatments, all of the preceding months' pressures and fears dissipated as we learned the tumors and cancer was 100% gone.

On the other end, it was a bitter sweet Christmas, celebrating some wonderful successes, and yet morning our losses. There was an empty seat at every table this year - Yang Yang wasn't at Dad's house..... Bob's presence was extremely missed in Dorothy's home...... and my lil brother, Zach, was super missed at dinner last night at Mom's house as he's off at Air Force Basic Training. Luckily, though, he was able to call us and wish us a Merry Christmas, and his graduation is right around the corner, so this little ache won't be there forever.

So, how to you send off a temperamental year like 2010? Head up to the Iron Range for some Surly Jones New Years fun! Hwood and I drove up early to beat yet ANOTHER friggin' winter storm (c'mon already Mother Nature!), and tried to get some skiing in before we rocked out all night. Skiing, though, was a no-go since every trail we could find was covered in an annoying layer of ice. Bah humbug!

Instead, we headed to the hotel early for some hot-tubbin' and a nap. We strolled into the bar at 10:00 and readied ourselves for fun. Teri, Al, Lhea, Barb, Kim, Dave & his girl, Izzy and Dan were all there, too, so we had a blast! 2010 wasn't done with me yet, though, and managed to kill off BOTH of Hwood and my cameras so we didn't get a single damn picture! Urgh.... yeah, they were each 4 years old and have taken 10's of thousands of pictures... but C'MON!

Surly Jones played til after 3:00am, but Jay and I planned ahead and started drinking water once 2011 began. The rest of the crue woke with killer hangovers, but we were checked-out of the hotel and checked-in to a diner before the got too far along. We headed south to my mom's place for a warm family dinner of homemade Hungarian goulash and laughs over wine and warm cookies. It was a blast - Mom, I love giggling with you over simple things like trip-planning... you're a hoot!

Today, we've decided to begin the year right with sleeping in and vegging out on the couch. Smokey's sleeping in my lap, Hwood is dozing as he waits for football to begin, and I'm catching up on some much-needed blogging, and designing my upcoming tattoo! Bitch, please! What a day.

Ready for the next chapter,

Kristy Kreme