Be A Bond Girl

The BEST and EASIEST roast chicken recipe in the UNIVERSE!

Posted on January 28, 2014March 17, 2026 by Sandy

You will need:
2 cut up chickens (It’s so good, you’ll want to make 2. Trust me on this one.)
2 seasoned cast-iron skillets (Don’t have them? Go get them. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.)
An oven (duh. Preferably a convection roast one, but any oven will do.)
Seasoning (I use Andy’s Rub, you do what pleases you.)
Oven mitts (cast iron gets HOT!)
a Cookiesheet
some paper towels
Hand soap (it’s CHICKEN silly)

Here we go . . .

1. I get the butcher at my grocery store to cut up the chicken for me. Hopefully you have a friendly butcher who will do this for you. They don’t even charge. I ask them to roll up the back and the “gizzards” into a separate butcher paper, since I throw that into the freezer to make soup later. (I also throw ends of celery, wiggly carrots, ends of onions, etc. into the same bag with the chicken . . . when it gets big enough, I make soup. But that’s another post.) Have her cut the chicken into 8 pieces. What this means is that they cut the thigh from the leg. Otherwise, they will cut it in 6 pieces – which leaves the thigh and the leg together. I personally get the Organic, Free Range, They-All-Had-Names-And-Were-Massaged-Daily-Until-We-Snuck-Up-Behind-Them-While-They-Were-Doing-Meditation-And-Cut-Their-Heads-Off chickens, but you do what suits you. And while we’re talking about chicken, click HERE if you haven’t seen Julia Child’s episode about chicken. She does her chicken differently than I do, but it’s important to know the difference between a “fryer,” a “broiler,” a “roaster” and all the rest. Give this video a peek. It’s fun, anyway. Love Julia. (If you’re new to this blog, go Search on Julia Child to see some of my previous posts about my relationship to the great French Chef.)

2. Come home from the Market. Put your two seasoned cast-iron skillets into a COLD oven. If you don’t know what seasoning is, click HERE. Cast iron needs to be seasoned. And it doesn’t matter if “they” say on the label that it’s “pre-seasoned.” When did you pay attention to what “they” say? (smile) No, seriously, season your skillet. And if you don’t HAVE a skillet, then start rummaging around thrift stores. You’ll find one. Go for the deeper one if you can – it gives you better “sides” for cooking. Even if you find one that’s rusty, you can usually scrub it up with steel wool and season it and it will be totally fine. BTW, in this link they say “never” to wash cast iron with water . . . I do, but I dry it thoroughly after. And ONLY if it really needs it. (Best to wipe it out and leave the oil, etc. “in there” to continue seasoning the pan.)OH, and be SURE that you have the BOTTOM OF THE OVEN lined with aluminum foil. The way that you will make this chicken (particularly the wings) will make fat “drip” down off the pans and onto the bottom of the oven. It’s a MESS but super duper easy to clean up IF you take the SECOND to line the bottom of the oven (under the heating element) with foil. ‘Nuff said. If you make a mess, don’t blame me. 😉

3. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. If you have a “convection roast” setting, use that. If you don’t, bake is fine, but the cook times might not quite work as they do here – it’s really best to try to use a “roast” setting. But if you have a super old-fashioned oven where your choices are basically Bake (on the dial) or “High” for the top coil, go for Bake. It’s safer. Remember RECIPES ARE FOR TWEAKING! 🙂 Oh and before you ask, YES, you are heating the cold oven up to 425 degrees with your skillets in there.

4. Open up the butcher paper wrapping, using it to shield your countertop. It’s CHICKEN, remember? Chicken contains all sorts of ugga-bugga germs. Even the aforementioned Massaged-Meditated-Named chicken. Keep your countertop shielded.

5. Arrange the chicken on the paper. Wings with wings, and so on. You want the wings and legs together, the breasts and thighs together. (The back and insides are in the freezer, remember?) Arrange them “skin side down” and pat them dry with a paper towel. YOU HAVE TOUCHED CHICKEN – GO WASH YOUR HANDS!

6. Wash Your Hands! This needs its own number. When you touch the chicken, you aren’t getting down and rolling your bad self all over it. Parts of your hands will touch the chicken, parts will not. TURN THE WATER ON IN YOUR SINK WITH A PART THAT DOES NOT TOUCH CHICKEN (like, the side of your palm where your thumb attaches to your wrist). This is one of the biggest issues in kitchen cross-contamination – you are careful about “washing your hands” but you turn the water on with the part of your hand that touched chicken, and then you don’t wash the handle. REMEMBER which parts of your body touch the chicken, and which do not. Use accordingly.

7. Season the Chicken. I use Andy’s Rub. I love it. Use whatever you like – I think the first time it’s best to use a “seasoning” mix that you’re familiar with (Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute is another suggestion), then you can branch out and make Cajun chicken, etc.

8. Flip The Chicken Skin Side Up. Flip the chicken on the butcher paper so that the skin side is now up.

9. WASH YOUR HANDS! (Did you go to grab the seasoning bottle with your ugga-bugga microbe’d fingers? NOW you have to wash the BOTTLE AND your hands…)

10. Season the Skin Side. Your oven should be pretty close to 425 degrees by this time.

11. Cut off any extra skin that isn’t attached to the Meat. When the butcher cut the chicken into pieces, she will have whacked on through the thigh, breast, etc. connections. On the “edges” of these pieces in particular, there will be skin that’s not really “attached” to the meat – it’s “loose.” Get some scissors and cut all this “loose skin” off. NOT the skin that IS attached to meat – just this “loose” skin.

12. Wash Your Hands. Wash Your Scissors. Did you think I wasn’t watching you??? In case you care, I use an organic soap that kills all the bugs and then some, by Young Living based on their “Thieves” brand. If you’re taking photos, don’t touch the cell phone ANYWHERE that you have put your ugga-bugga fingers. And yes, I know these photos are crappy resolution. Sorry, my bad 🙁

13. Put The Chicken In The Pan. This is important . . . pull out the top pan. It’s HOT! (Note in the picture I have these little “mitts” that fit on the end of the cast-iron skillet? They’re awesome.) BE CAREFUL! Put the breasts into the pan “thick side up” and as many thighs as fit into the bottom of the pan (usually two). Look at the picture, you’ll see what I’m talking about. Put this pan back in the oven, with the pan part as far back and left as it can go (so the handle will be pointing towards the front right corner of the oven). Take the 2nd pan out (BE CAREFUL) and – this is IMPORTANT – drape the wings over the cast iron like you see in the picture. Then take the legs, and arrange them like the picture, PRESSING them into the cast iron “side” of the pan. Last, put the thighs that are left in the bottom of the pan. And…what’s wrong with the picture? Yes, there are 5 legs. I started laughing so hard as I was taking this photo I nearly let the oven temperature drop! I don’t even WANT to know what the poor soul who took his chicken home after getting it butchered thought, opening up the wrapper to find just one leg . . . Put this pan on the lower rack, with the pan as far to the RIGHT FRONT as it will go (so the handle will be pointing toward the “back left” of the oven). Why? Because you are trying to have as little “overlap” between the bottom and top pans as possible. If you don’t get what I’m talking about, it’s not that big of a deal, but hopefully you understand where I’m going with this. When you take the bottom pan out you’ll need to roll out the rack so you can grab the handle – which WILL BE HOT . . . OH, and the reason you are pressing the legs (and wings) into the “side” of the pan is that these pieces have skin on two sides. You want both sides to get crispy, and the only way is to have them up against the side of the pan. It will “sear” them when you put them there. The fat and “chicken juice” will leak out of the pieces as they cook, and if you have the legs or wings anywhere else in the pan, they don’t crisp up, they just lie in the juice at the bottom of then pan. But the thighs only have one “skin side” so it’s fine that they don’t “crisp” on the side down in the pan – because it’s just meat, not skin.

14. Cook The Chicken for 15 Minutes. Set the timer for 15 minutes, and go do something nice for a while. Be sure you have your fan on, the chicken will smoke if the fat drips off the pan and onto the FOIL-LINED bottom of the oven.

15. Ping! 15 minutes is up – Switch The Pan Positions Around. This is the only “tricky” part of the whole enterprise. Now, if you are only cooking ONE chicken or only have ONE pan, you can figure out how to do it – just be sure that you know how to position the chicken in the pan, and you can cook it the entire 30 minutes in the middle rack of the oven and be done with it. And when your husband devours the entire chicken before dinner (as I write, we are now down to 2 legs (of FIVE) and 3 thighs, I see . . . “someone” has been sneaking in behind my back), you’ll wish you had made two, BUT I DIGRESS (how unusual). Anyway, so CAREFULLY take down the top pan, and swap it for the bottom pan. Particularly if you’re using Convention Roast, you will for sure see that whatever part of the bottom pan was “under” the top pan while it cooked will have no color on the chicken. It’s not as integral the second time around where you position the pans, but I try to put whatever part of the breasts/thighs that are lightest in the “open” area under the top pan.

16. Cook The Chicken For 15 Minutes. Nurse any burns you have. I told you to be careful . . .

17. Line The Cookie Sheet with Paper Towels. You’ll want to have at least 2 layers of paper towels on the sheet.

18. When the buzzer goes off, take the wings/legs out first. Arrange them on the cookie sheet with the wing tips “draping over” the side of the sheet – then the legs with the bone up. See the picture. Basically you’re not only trying to leave enough room, but you’re also trying to have the “fattest side” down on the towel. Now do the same with the breasts/thighs.

19. “Schmaltz” and Chicken Juice. The pan that had the wings and the legs in it will have very little “chicken juice” and a lot of “schmaltz.” That is a Yiddish word for basically rendered chicken fat. It’s the most delicious part of the whole process. I, in fact, make this twice a week not only because it’s the most juicy, crispy, delicious chicken you will ever have, but I get to eat all the schmaltz. Are you wrinkling up your nose? GREAT! I will be RIGHT OVER to eat yours, too. Anyway – skim off the schmaltz from the juice, and pour the juice from the wings/leg pan into the other pan. It will have a little schmaltz, but not much. What now? Cook greens in it! Beyond delish – pile a TON of greens (kale, collards, etc.) – HEAP them into the pan with the chicken juice in it, and turn them with tongs over and over as you heat them. Once they are covered with the chicken juice, put a top on the pan, turn it on low, and steam until they are done. I happen to have a see-through glass top that I use ,so I can really TELL when they have wilted. But you can use just about anything – if your cast iron pan didn’t come with a cover, use a plate. (BE CAREFUL IT WILL GET HOT!)

20. Send Me A Thank You. The only thing that might “go wrong” here is if you use an ENORMOUS chicken (almost impossible if you’re eating organic) and the meat near the bone in a big piece (like the breast) isn’t cooked all the way. If that happens, and you’re NOT using monster non-organic chickenzillas, that likely means that your oven and this recipe don’t get along. What you need to do is LEAVE THE CHICKEN IN THE OVEN after you turn it off (after the 30 minutes cooking time) and let it cook in there WITH THE OVEN OFF. I have only had this happen at one friend’s house, and we found that leaving it in for 15 minutes (again, oven OFF and closed) did the trick. The idea here of course is that the cast iron holds the heat, and just radiates it back out enough to cook the chicken through. But honestly, if you’re using “regular sized” (organic) chickens, this recipe should work for you unless your oven is odd.

Ta- da!!!

Day 143 (1/28) – EveryMove app, MindValley, & Misc.

Posted on January 28, 2014December 3, 2014 by Sandy

Today H and I will go to Crossfit at 6:30. Workout is:

3 RFT
400M Run
4 Rope Climb

5 RFT
10 Deadlift 100/70kg
5 Wall Walk Up

My max in deadlifts was 45k, so that’s like 30k (66 lbs) more than that. Yeah, not. Of course we also know that rope climbs and I don’t get along. I can do the run, I can see if I can do the wall walk-up. It was weird yesterday how my shoulder acted up in the jumping rope.

Given as the 45k was HARD for me in the deadlift, and I’ve been away for 3 weeks basically, I figure tonight I should probably just start there. That would be the orange bar (15k) plus 2 10k and 2 5k plates. 10 in a row is going to be rough, but it’s only 5 RFT.

I think I mentioned that I did pullups yesterday, didn’t I? Just 10 with the black band. It was too heavy, so I mainly practiced “hanging” with my arms bent – it was still too much (laugh) but all the green bands were taken. Had to do dips in the warmup and a bunch of other things and there were so many folks in the gym (and I was a tiny bit late) that I just didn’t do everything. Candlestick rocks, stuff like that – which I suck at and need special padding to do (due to my tailbone pointing out instead of tucking in, etc.) – with all the “biggies” there, and it being my first day back, I bailed on those parts. Yeah yeah bad me. I’d like to do pullups every time I’m there, but it’s hard on T and Th because H wants to jet RIGHT after we finish the WOD (he’s not “social” in that way).

Speaking of social – it’s interesting to listen to the Girls Gone WOD Podcast – apparently at their box they “cheer” for one another and start with like some sort of “ra” thing – that would FREAK me out. I don’t want to know that ANYONE is watching me! I DO like a thumbs up if we’re passing each other on the run or a “Go!” if I’m finishing something up, but none of this “big cheer” stuff. Can’t IMAGINE! It’s good to hear though, sort of “backwards” – Joy was talking about going to see her inlaws, and how the Crossfit box there worked – and how she “missed” the whole ra-ra aspect they had at their box which she basically discussed as “the norm.” I am now glad I know that is “out there” because if I were to drop into a box and there was that aspect, I’d probably have a heart attack and be embarrassed as crap.

In my standard rambling blog way 😉 a couple other things I’m trying out this week:

1. EveryMove app. FINALLY an app that syncs with the BodyBugg! THANK YOU! This app is super user-friendly, and gives you “rewards” for being active. Of course, I signed up for the $50 off at NakedWines.com – ! (Of COURSE I did!) I actually signed up a week or so ago, but it sends you little “hey are you out there still?” reminders, so I checked it out more fully today. It’s kinda cool….

2. MindValley Academy. Sue put me onto this one. Jon Gabriel has a whole “Body Transformation” mind/body thing that she recommended to me. I was a bit skeptical but I listened to this week’s audio (no time to watch a video) when I was driving to my eye doctor appointment. I am cautiously optimistic. Also listened to his Morning Induction afterwards (and then sat in the parking lot at the grocery store to finish it), and I liked that, too. He has some very good points. He also talks a lot about “set point” – he and Jonathan Bailor should link up.

Did have my eye checkup, and need to go back to doing the steroid 4x/day as there is some “issue” going on. Harrumph. HOWEVER I don’t have to stop working out or working at the computer. Still can’t swim, use a hot tub, etc. – that’s fine, it’s not on the horizon. Not sure why “sweat in the eyes” is okay – probably the whole chlorine aspect. Went from Berkeley to Kaiser to get the new drugs, they had been called in wrong, walked over to get more Quest bars from MaxMuscle (oops, way longer away than I’d anticipated LOL), then back. Hit United – Mary’s Organic Free Range We-Pet-Them-Every-Day-And-They-Listen-To-Mozart-Until-We-Sneak-Up-On-Them-Super-Fast-When-They-Are-In-A-Meditative-State-And-Wring-Their-Necks-Off chickens are half price still, so I got FOUR more. Yeah we eat a LOT of chicken. I keep telling myself I need to do photos and then a blog post about The World’s Easiest And Best Chicken Recipe – maybe this time!

Only one more day on the free 7-day Transformation emails from Diana Nyad. They’ve been very nice. Moddie’s coming over Wednesday night because I got the Diana Nyad documentary on DVD and we’ll watch it when H goes to his class. I have to leave it in its shrinkwrap because I am ITCHING to watch it! I’d sneak otherwise. Bad me 😉

UPDATE: I am now taking the photos whilst roasting the chicken. So the post COULD happen! I’ll also have to do a “yes, you REALLY have to season your cast iron pans” post – can’t believe how many people “believe” that their cast iron is “self-seasoned” when they get it.

Day 142 (1/27) – first Crossfit and Bikram day back

Posted on January 27, 2014December 3, 2014 by Sandy

>Went to Crossfit today, though I usually don’t do Mondays (because I have yoga work trade plus I try to do yoga at least this ONE day, for the work trade hours! Yes, I could go EVERY freakin’ day every freakin’ hour but noooo-ooooo, I clean those nasty floors and drains and never use the trade. MUST CHANGE!!)

Anyway – so today was:
(A) 5 RFT
5 Back Squat 120/80kg
50 Double under

(B) CrossFit Games 13.4
7 min AMRAP
3-6-9-12-15-18-21…
Clean and Jerk 61/43KG
Toes 2 Bar

I did the back squat with the orange bar plus 5 kg each side and the medium box behind me – it was supposed to be a super duper he-e-e-avy squat as you can see from the above, but this was my first day back. I tried going down to the lower box, but that was a little too low, though the medium box is a little too high. I should likely have done a heavier weight to the medium box, or kept the lighter weight I was doing, and go for the shorter box.

My right shoulder really ached – even though it was only 25 squats, I wound up having to turn my grip over and hold it in close to my shoulder. Grump.

I got up to 75 reps on the (B), again scaling – did the C&J with the 10 lb “swirly bar” and then the T2B just “knees up.” That was ridiculously hard. Yeah so I didn’t work out for 3 weeks, and not really for 2 weeks before that. Harrumph.

I could have done the C&J with the orange bar – not sure I could do the jerk with weights on it – but the swirly was a little heavy by the end but mainly I was doing it with good form. T2B sucked. I think I said that.

Oh – and I did 100 single-unders instead of 50 double-unders. Bill told me I had to do ~200~ single unders, and I basically said “yeah, make me.” Not a chance. The single-unders redlined my heartrate and I had to stop and catch my breath a few times. I actually found a good-but-not-Crossfit jump rope when I was cleaning up the to-be tatami room for H (more on that in a second), and I think I have to just bite the bullet and practice at home. I haven’t wanted to use my Momentum rope because there’s nowhere here to do jump that wouldn’t thrash the rope or the floor. It’s either hardwood where the ceiling would be high enough to jump, or concrete (outside). I found today that I also had trouble with my right shoulder when I was putting the rope “up and over” my head on the first of any set of jumps. (Meaning, if I missed the rope, the next one, where you have to get the rope over your head, then after that your hands are by your sides.) That was new, too. Not so happy. Need to make more appointments, obviously, with Kristina and Chappy. Plus my right hip is really tight and hurts. I’m falling apart!

This weekend went to the Cow Palace dog show on Saturday and saw Susie and Izzy – it was a BLAST! OMG I haven’t been to a dog show in like…years!!!! Izzy got Select which got her her 2nd Grand. She’s such a cutie pie. COMPLETELY fell in love with the miniature bull terriers, and a 9 month old harlequin Great Dane named Beau. Did you know Great Danes are from…Germany? Yeah, I thought Denmark, too. Reminds me of the old joke, “What color was George Washington’s white horse?” “Grey” (since it wasn’t an albino, it was actually a super duper duper light grey horse).

My eyes were so tired when I got home just after noon that I had to lie down. Susie and I were discussing how all the sound in the Cow Palace (especially where they were – which has a metal roof) must have been COMPLETELY overwhelming for the dogs. Well obviously my “new” eyes had the same issue with all the “sights” I was seeing! OMG. I couldn’t even watch TV that evening. Usually H and I (bad us) watch a show or two together after dinner but I couldn’t do it. Listened to an audiobook Sherlock Holmes instead!

Sunday was “Honey Do” day. I had done what H asked me to do in the “room that was my office and is now going to be a tatami room” – moved everything to the side that had been in there, gotten everything out of the closet, bookshelves, etc. etc. Well, he needed more room. He just wanted me to basically push everything back more, but we know I don’t work like that! So I spent quite a bit of time and went through everything that was still in the room, sorting, boxing, etc. I remember when I left Petaluma for San Rafael, at the very end, H was so grumpy about me “taking so long in packing” that he basically made me just throw things into boxes. Then those boxes took me like 10 years to unpack (I wish that wasn’t the actual truth.) Everything was, as my mother would say, “cattywumpus” in the boxes and it was impossible to try to sort them out. So I actually put on the Induction that Sue Bird from WayOfTheWhale.com did for Moddie and me (more on that next paragraph) and sorted and sorted. It was very productive, and I really got things down to smaller sections and into boxes.

One of the big things that I did was sort up and box the workout stuff that I had – 20 lb. kettlebell, hand weights, pole, dumbbells, etc. Anything that I”m not currently using. That’s where I discovered that jump rope (which I’d forgotten I had). It’s a good rope, but not the “Crossfit kind” – it is more of a “boxing” rope. I’m going to see whether it’s actually long enough for me, and start using it. What the hell, I totally didn’t even know I had it (it came in a “set” of stuff I got ages ago), so if I ruin it on the concrete it doesn’t really matter.

I got Sue to do an induction for both Moddie and me that is a hypnosis for The Amazing Race. She’s unbelievable – I”m serious, if you have ANYTHING that you want to overcome, she’s your gal. I’ve been working with her now for – wow, like 20 years. She talked out what the induction would be with Moddie and me – what we came up with is that we are on Day 4 of The Amazing Race, running up to the mat, Phil is there with a representative from the country, and we’re super excited, we’ve made it through another day, but more importantly, “everything has led up to this moment.” Both Moddie and I are having some trouble with motivation – when we did the Ironman, you have a “count down goal” to it so you have the “fear factor” that if you do not make it to a workout, you will not make it over the finish line. The reason we set it as “Day 4” was that this means that we’ve made it past being the “first couple to get eliminated,” and of course it means we are ON the Race. Sue talks a lot about having to firmly have your energy “connected” to your goal, and if you are FIRMLY connected, the Universe will “find a way.” So by making it Day 4, it means we are not only THERE but we are already succeeding.

I listened to the induction while I was cleaning/sorting, because I wanted to really HEAR what it said. She can do inductions that you can listen to in the car (doesn’t involve the whole “curl up in a comfortable space” and end with “now float off to sleep”) or sleep – we had her do a sleep one, but of course you can listen to it any time. (Just not in the car!) I had listened to it while going to sleep the night before, but of course, I fell asleep!

It is a MASTERFUL induction. It is SO GREAT – I actually listened to it three times through! Just fabulous. Moddie hasn’t listened yet (well, she has done what I did – listened but as she was going to sleep). I told her she’s gotta do it when she’s like doing dishes or laundry so she can hear how great it is.

She’s coming over Wednesday night – I got the Diana Nyad Documentary, and we’re going to watch it together. I want to watch it NOW, but I left it in the shrinkwrap so I keep my sticky paws off it!

And that’s that – off to yoga! YAY ME!

My Cinderella Moment on Day 137 (yesterday, January 22)

Posted on January 23, 2014December 3, 2014 by Sandy

I was supposed to go to Crossfit today (first day back), but the WOD I can make is at 6:30 p.m. and I realized that will not work. Why you ask? Let me explain!

Yesterday was my first LONG day out after surgery. I had lots and lots to do . . . talking to my potential new collaborator on re-doing the Fempowerment workbook for first girls (8-12) and then teens (12-16) – returns returns OMG SO MANY RETURNS (I know H likes to buy things, but I discovered when he’s the sole shopper, the returns factor goes up astronomically!) – then my blessed blessed HAIRCUT. It’d been WAY too long – it’d been “way too long” the week BEFORE the surgery, but I had one of those “sudden realizations” that I wouldn’t be able to drive for a couple weeks after and TRIED to get in, but no chance. So I’ve been in that “longer than too long” space for a WHILE.

ANYWAY, so one of the things that I had said I would do was to sub for someone at the yoga studio I do work-trade at (for free yoga). I got there a little late, because he didn’t text me until 15 minutes before he was supposed to be there that YES, he DID need me – and i was all the way up in Santa Rosa! So I FLEW down (amazingly, no traffic), and busily started working as usual . . .

His shift is 4:00-6:30 (I do 2:30-5:00 on Mondays). So I got there at like 4:20, SPED through all the stuff I had to do to sort of “catch up” (can you say laundry, laundry and more laundry?), then took a bit of a breather because I had to wait for the 4:30 class to get out at 5:30. No big, thinks I . .. puttering around cleaning the bathroom and all that good stuff, hosing down mats, etc.

So the class ends, and a friend of mine was in there, and I’m chatting, waiting for them to clear out so I can get all the towels, etc. out of the room. I casually look outside, and realize that it’s DUSK. And I am NOT ALLOWED TO DRIVE after “pre-dusk.” Also, I can TOTALLY see why, because the globe lights on the fence at the restaurant across the street are on, and they look about 10 sizes bigger because of the HUMONGOUS halos around them.

I grab my friend (who also does work trade – we’re “work trade friends”) and ask if she can PLEASE PLEASE STAY and tell the manager that I had to leave like RIGHT THEN. Manager was on the phone and also dealing with some $ stuff, so I didn’t want to interrupt. She said she would, and I SPAZZED out of there, and that is no mistake. Thank GOODNESS our house is literally like 2 miles from the yoga studio! When I got home I had to turn on the outside lights (BLLLLING!!!! Halo Heaven!) and H came out on the porch with his arms crossed, saying: “Hello? Do you just not know what the word ‘Dusk’ means?” (good-naturedly, mind you, and always super funny in his thick accent.)

And then I watched the BMW melt into a pumpkin and 8 little white rats . . .

Second TAR Video “List” (separate email) – includes videos, quotes, etc. – January 21 (Day 136)

Posted on January 21, 2014January 17, 2026 by Sandy

I posted this in a previous email, but I thought it should have its own post instead of being part of a “litany” I did on the last day before surgery. 🙂 These are “selfies” or videos” that Moddie and I think we need to do for our 2nd video WHEN The Amazing Race folks call:

VIDEOS:
1. Packing up weight plates into our backpacks, going up the hill across from my house. Putting on hiking shoes, etc.
2. Walking up the path, each in our headphones – you hear me counting in Greek (Moddie holding the camera as I trudge by), then you hear M saying phrases in Spanish (me holding the camera, shooting her from behind or whatever)
3. Go to a Ford dealership, be walked through the onboard system.
4. Bay Swim. One of us is already in the water, the other is getting in and ducking under and screaming.
5. Paddleboarding. Oh yeah. Falling down in a water-to-Sandy smackdown.
6. Double kayaking – rent one and do it somewhere that it’s not that deep (e.g., in the Tiburon lagoon, which would be a good spot)
7. Anything we can do in the Crossfit gym – a la doing pullups with the band underneath the feet, etc. – idea being that the first one is with for example me doing it with black (100lb) band, then green band, then on and on until I’m doing it free (yeah baby). Could be for any exercise.
8. Eating bugs! http://www.thailandunique.com/edible-insects-bugs
9. Fire dancing (M has Groupon)
10. Outdoor preparedness (S has Groupon)
11. “Mud” swimming (low tide at McNear’s – auuuugh)
12. Some kind of orienteering or scavenger hunt in the city . . navigating in the city, maybe even with an external shot or two staged, maybe driving to fire dancing class? Need to get MAPS and do it with MAPS, not PHONE.
13. Clips from our Golf Cart excursion in Hawaii
13. Ice Ice Baby NEEEEDS to get in there…it will be hysterical!

SELFIES:
1. One of my USMC ID card.
2. Photos we already “culled” for the first video that didn’t happen. There are a LOT of those.
3. Photo of me after PRK with the “goggles”/”frog eyes” on.

As I mentioned before, already asked Seb at Musync.com to find us a track that we can license from him that’s along the lines of “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” – once he finds it (I have hopes!), put that in the background, and the last or first “shot” will be “Title, licensed by Musync.com” then a little parenthetical fades in “(Sandy’s an intellectual property attorney. She made us license this.)”

Songs for Seb to find something like in his musicians (just a random list – writing them here so I don’t forget):
1. Stronger (Kelly Clarkson)
2. Run The World (Beyonce)
3. I Can Transform Ya (Chris Brown) – for something like the 100 lb help -> no help pullups for example
4. Mercy (Duffy)
I’m sure there are others – if you’re reading this and have thoughts to add, please do!

When I mentioned this to Seb he said most of their music is backgroundish (no words) – you can get it off their website (linked above) to see the “type” of music. Also his partner Randy is an award-winning video director, so Randy threw that into the “mix” for WHEN we get to that point.

Of course, the OTHER way to go with music would be to take “snippets” of music that say what we ant, and on the front say “Do NOT show this video in public because we do NOT have licenses to it! Here is a link to all the songs used” (lol) – that would, unfortunately, probably be a LOT OF WORK (and time).

Another thing that Moddie and I both want to add are the couple of quotes that Diana Nyad uses in her TED talk (HERE). The Teddy Roosevelt quote that she uses is HERE (and a summation of the TED talk).

One way to slice that quote: “Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure … than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”

Another way to slice it:

“You go ahead and sit back in your comfortable chair, and you be the critic, you be the observer.

While the brave one gets in the ring and engages and gets bloody, and dirty and fails over, and over and over again.

But yet isn’t afraid and isn’t timid and lives life in a bold way.”

(I’m finding these on other websites – actually trying to find one that gives the other quote Nyad used – AHA here it is – it’s a Thoreau quote)…

So what ELSE is up with me? I’m lolling around like a big panda, that’s what. I’m not supposed to work out until tomorrow (first day I’m allowed back) but I AM allowed to do things that “don’t make me sweat” – you know, stretching, mobility, walking – but HELL know, I’ll just lie on this couch! Silly me….

Here’s another quote we gotta use! (Pasteur) ->

OH AND, we found the music! Moddie and I BOTH agreed out of the 15 tracks sent by Musync that one is perfect! I will try to post 😉

(I’m going to just add things here as they come to me instead of starting whole new posts time and again) – one thing I mentioned to Moddie is that the blog post I read from the producer/casting director (someone) from TAR is that they want you to dress “similarly” so that the audience can “remember who you are” in relation to other racers. Match you up, as it were. So I said to Moddie, we could have:
1. Day one – Ironteam shirts
2. Day two – Diana Nyad “Never Give Up” shirts
3. Day three – Big Hunk and Truffle Shirts…(LOL)

NOW, I’m not sure this will WORK, but I’m going to try to “paste” into this post the music that Musync.com found for us to make for our second video WHEN TAR calls us. Of course, WHEN they invite us straight to L.A., this will be for our “victory” video a la Jason & Amy’s. 😉

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (8.0MB)

Subscribe: RSS

January 17 (Day 142) – I’m Baaaa-aaaack….

Posted on January 17, 2014December 3, 2014 by Sandy

Yeah, I couldn’t help myself with that photo. LOL!

I can’t believe it’s been 10 days since I last blogged. Okay – well, yes I can. I had the eye resurfacing done (I have some photos, will try to add when I have a bit more time on the computer). It went like this:

Last Thursday (a week and a day ago): Surgery. Not that much pain, though some weirdness, etc.

Friday (a week ago): Came back for post-op surgery. Had been assiduously taking the pain meds, drops, etc. – and my vision ROCKED. I mean REALLY rocked. It was unbelievable. Dr. Kathy said “yeah, this is the best day. For the next 2-3 days, your vision will cloud back over, and you’ll be in a lot of pain. Here’s my cell phone, but don’t call me if you’re in pain or you can’t see. Because you will be, and you won’t be able to.”

They’d put a big contact over both eyeballs (most people do this one eye at a time, but I wasn’t sure I could take that – mind you, then you actually “see faster and hurt less”). The big contact basically holds your eye together. Then, it heals “underneath” it. As Dr. Kathy explained, it heals “like a peace sign or a Mercedes logo” – from the outside, in. So as it heals, you are ultimately “seeing through” the seams, hence, the “worser and worser” vision. As for the pain, well, yeah, deal with it (laugh).

Saturday: Pain is bad. H starts setting alarm so that he can get me up to take a pain pill and put the drops in my eyes. Lots of crying and trying to be brave.

Sunday: Feeling a LOT better, though can’t really see. Saturday H has been gallivanting and needs me to “approve” a couple of purchases he wants to make, one of which is a big oryx head. So we go off to Petaluma, and this was REALLY silly of me to do. I can’t really see, I have no depth perception, and even with sunglasses on, etc. etc. it’s super duper painful. Funniest thing in the day is he hands me a bill to go nextdoor and get us 2 coffees, I order them and barrista says “um, we can’t make change for this…” – I thought he’d given me a $10, it’s $100. It strikes me as VERY FUNNY. And we got free coffee. How’s about them apples.

Monday: Not so great. Pain is lessening, but eyesight is definitely at its worst. Lie in bed most of the day. Find chocolate stash that I swore I was strong enough to resist, and Christmas macaroons I had literally piled the ENTIRE freezer’s contents on top of. I might be blind, but I can dig. In the evening, could really “see myself” in the mirror for the first time and after washing my face found myself reaching up to TAKE MY CONTACTS OUT! OMG! I could just see myself saying to Dr. Kathy the next day “um, yeah, no, the contact didn’t fall out, I actually TOOK it out” (pulling all the new skin with it…….aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh!!!) Made me realize that for the first time in about 42 years I can see “well enough” without glasses or contacts. Every night when I have brushed my teeth and washed my face since I was like 8 years old I have then either taken out my contacts, or taken off my glasses. OLD OLD OLD habits die hard! Amazing.

Tuesday; Dr. Kathy says I am doing great, removes cover-contacts. To do this she uses a tiny tiny (dollhouse sized) “broom” to “sweep” them off from the bottom. Yeah there was a bunch of stuff like that to say about the surgery but never mind. (The worst part about the surgery wasn’t so much all that but the SMELL of BURNING FLESH EYEBALL – ack! That is the ONE thing they hadn’t warned me about!) Dr. Kathy told me that the “seams” were closed on the left eye, and you couldn’t even see them any more. On the right eye, they were there, but closed. She said I didn’t have to sleep in my sexy steampunk goggles any more. Whoot Whoot! Mom took me to this visit and it was fun to have some time together. Funniest part about that – I put my hand on the release lever to put my seat back down in her car (to put eyedrops in) just as she did one of those “quick starts” she seems to like to do – and as the seat lever was released, I literally went from straight backed UP to dead flat DOWN in a second. I started laughing and she looked over from the Driver’s Seat and said “Where did you GO?!” Yeah she’s having cataract surgery in a few weeks. It was pretty hilarious . . .

Wednesday: Went to see Alex down the street because I had cabin fever. That was great. Still no computer until Friday (then, only 15 minutes on, 1 hour off). Dr. Kathy had said “driving likely” by Monday, working out against by Thursday, but no real “stress” until after I see her again (which is like the 28th I think). I’m not quite sure what that means. Oh and no makeup, face lotion, swimming. The face stuff sucks, My eyes are all weird because of the drops. The skin under them has a dried drop film on it. I try to “dab” it but it’s like cement. Can’t WAIT until I can really WASH MY FACE and PUT ON SERUM! Had my second experience of “reaching up” to “take out my contacts” in the mirror. Funny -habits die hard!

Thursday: My friend Tracey from the Crossfit box took me to the Farmer’s Market and to Andy’s. I still couldn’t see the numbers on the bill denominations. She also had to work the ATM for me. It was GREAT to get out and GREAT to see her. Sheila also was down (broke a tooth) from Nevada, so I got to see her, too, that morning. GREAT day! Exhausted at the end though,and couldn’t see particularly well. I think my eyes were just tired.

Friday: Today – first day back at the computer! Cleaned out email – had posted a few selfies to Facebook in the week interim, but that was basically it. Tried to keep it to the 15 minutes on/1 hour off but yeah, THAT Happened. I gotta get off now because I don’t want to be at that “tired eye” stage. Can see $ denominations – so that shows you, I’m healing FAST. Even forgetting to put in drops which would have been IMPOSSIBLE even up to yesterday – but i must remember because i can’t get “behind” on that. (Have to put in drops every hour at a minimum.) DEFINITELY feel better today. I still can’t see super great, but I could TOTALLY drive. The itch being gone is SO NICE!

So, in sum, I’ve gained MORE weight, and now have on the “front burner” to try to follow up with the new endocrinologist that Willie suggested. Yeah okay, fine, and since now all the chocolate and macaroons are GONE (dot dot dot)…will be able to exercise starting next week. Need to put the chin-up bar together so that we can start the “eccentric” exercises from The Calorie Myth.

Also went through an ENORMOUS pile of mail, bills, etc. today. They said that I will need reading glasses, but not as strong as before. I can definitely see without them – the ones I’ve been using are way too strong. Things are still cloudy, but in super bright light I could at least see enough to get the bill amount into billpay 😉

I think that’s enough for now. Also re-organized my Pinterest page today, which I’ve been meaning to do for FOREVER. Put some great new videos and such there.

January 7 (Day 132) – Our “List” – PRK – et cetera

Posted on January 7, 2014December 3, 2014 by Sandy

This is likely to be my last post for a while. I’m having PRK (it’s like LASIK for super duper bad eyes) on Thursday. The doctor told me at the “pre-op” that my eyes won’t be better “all at once” like LASIK. Rather, it happens gradually over about 10 days – and the pain is more on day 2 and 3 than at any time for LASIK. PRK is actually a “better procedure” (medically) but most folks opt for LASIK because it’s immediate and doesn’t hurt as badly afterwards.

Me? I have to get PRK, because the surface of my eyeball is “thin” (grossed out yet?) and so that’s the only choice I have. I won’t go into the whole procedure of LASIK v. PRK, but basically what I’m getting is a “re-surfacing” whereas with LASIK they cut a “flap,” do some stuff in there, then peel the flap back on. Eeeeee-yew! Mine needs a protective contact on top, which is removed after a week – but also is the most “personalized” thing you can get done and also there’s no potential issues like there can be with the (ick) flap.

Okay, that’s really enough of that.

The thing is, when I was in the pre-op, I realized that – um, DUH – no WAY would I be able to ‘drive myself’ as they had sort of talked about, to my visits at the week mark, etc. It’s possible, but not probable. Why? Because my eyes will be going from 20:500 slowly, ever so slowly, to 20:20-40 or so, instead of like LASIK where ~boing~ you go from bad to good in a day or so. As such, on my 2nd visit (the first after the surgery is the next day – and they make you sign that you will have a drive for that) will be at a week. And I’m likely to be 20:200. More than 1/2 better – but . . . I won’t have ~glasses~ with a ~prescription~ for 20:200. Oops. I really hadn’t thought about this much, because all my friends have had LASIK – so they drive themselves at the week mark.

We’ll see. (No I did not mean the pun but now that I’ve typed it, might as well leave it!)

Didn’t go to Crossfit yesterday – did yoga (YAY ME, I came SO CLOSE to not going!) Did a LOT and I mean a L-O-T of computer work yesterday – catching up QuickBooks, all that jazz. Oy. As I”m going to have to be off the computer for at least a week, I need to get a lot pre-done!

Today, going to Crossfit with H this evening. Here’s the workout:

CONDITIONING
8 RFT
3 stations 1min each
row for cal
burpee snatch 40/25kg
rest
note: burpee snatch is a burpee followed by a snatch

I’m likely to go tomorrow morning too, since it will be my last time before the surgery. Personally, I’d like to go Thursday morning, but as the surgery is over in Berkeley and H wants me to look at the new clay/plaster he wants to use for the new tatami room, we would have to go early (no good my “looking” at the stuff once my eyes are scalped 😉 )

Oh yeah – so that’s what we did this weekend. Holy cows, Batgirl. He’s decided he wants my office to be a tatami room, and the guest room to be my office. The guest room is really a NICER room for an office, because it has the fireplace and all. But this entailed me going through the ENTIRE closet in the office, plus all the bookshelves, etc., and “swapping” all that stuff into boxes, then into the guest-now-office room as best I could. For goodness’ sake! He said that I would “only have to move things out of the closet,” but he “realized” Saturday morning (when I’d already planned out what I had to do with that day) that in “reality” it had to be the closet and the front 1/2 of the room (where the bookshelves are/were). And, as he is who he is, I was to do it THEN. I wasn’t really prepared to do that, because I wanted to sort through everything, etc., which made him cross. We sort of “met in the middle” in that now the “old office” is just a DISASTER of boxes and then stuff that we didn’t have boxes “for” (workout stuff, which was in the office too), but we did move the big bookshelf from the office to the guest-now-office room – and I was able to go through all my office books, CDs, DVDs, you-name-it, and get them back UP on the bookshelf. I took 3 huge boxes of books to Hospice-By-The-Bay today – today being my (hopefully) last BIG “chore” day before surgery.

I should probably have taken a photo when the rooms were at their worst, but I couldn’t face it.

The other thing that is going on is Moddie and I started a “list of things” that we need to start either doing selfies related to, or videos, for WHEN we are called back to TAR. This is our list so far:

The “good” thing is that if we are asked for another 3 minute video, we “already” told PART of the story in our first one. So they would have theoretically SEEN that and know that “backstory” – so this one could be a lot less “story” and a lot more just quick snippets with comments on them.

Already asked Seb at Musync.com to find us a track that we can license from him that’s along the lines of “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” – once he finds it (I have hopes!), put that in the background, and the last or first “shot” will be “Title, licensed by Musync.com” then a little parenthetical fades in “(Sandy’s an intellectual property attorney. She made us license this.)”

Whoa – January 3nd (day 128), how’d THAT happen???

Posted on January 3, 2014December 3, 2014 by Sandy

A few random things here:

I went back to see what I wrote last year about “the new year” and all that “resolution” jazz, found these:

Start 2013 fast, focused and fired up!!!

Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Don’t Let People Who Don’t Matter, Matter, plus Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement video.

There are some great things over on the DreamChoosers.com blog – I just can only keep one blog going!

Let’s see – what’s happened. Holidaze. Did “12 Days of Christmas” (photos above) on Christmas Eve, then didn’t get back to Crossfit until the “Epic Bridge Run” on New Year’s Day. That was a team WOD of 3 heros plus the run-and-back on the bridge. It was Ryan, Murph and Randy. I showed up with ALL the chocolate from our New Year’s Eve party, and basically ho’d it around the Golden Gate Bridge parking lot to unsuspecting hikers, etc. LOL (that was actually pretty fun).

Most folks were teamed up and I was supposed to team with Kaela who said she was bringing 2 friends, but only 1 showed up so they were a team. That’s okay anyway because she is SO much better than me. I paired up with two gals who came together, but one couldn’t run (leg injury) but she could walk. So we sent her across the Bridge at the 3-2-1-GO, and we went down to do the first WOD.

It was 5 x (7 muscle ups, 21 burpees). Had to be done that way, though anyone on the team could do it (e.g., couldn’t do them consecutively, like you can on a team Murph). Because I can’t do a muscle up to save my life, but we were allowed to “scale however we wanted,” I had the gal bend one leg and I literally lifted her up into the muscle up. Then we traded off the burpees in sets of 7 – and we all know that burpees and I don’t get along (I have to do a “one hip down” thing to get back up) so I did 2 rounds the first set, then the middle round the 2nd, etc. I thought when I started I was going to have to do the double sets of the burpees because “she was doing all the muscle ups” but in actuality I realized she was just straightening her arms – so I didn’t feel bad that we swapped who did 1 and 3 and who did the middle set of 7.

Then we ran across the Bridge – she was my speed (in that 11-12 minutes/mile range). We got down to Crissy Field and the other gal had already started Murph (go girl!) – I can’t remember how many she’d done, I just know I had to do 150 of the 300 squats, then 14 of the pushups. (She and the other gal did all the V-ups.) Then the other gal said that she really needed to walk the Bridge back, so I said I’d start the final hero and they could get there when they did.

We were dead-*ss last, but that was okay, it was super fun. It’s basically the hard core folks who do this – not scalers! Kinda funny.

I got to the beginning and the hero was 75 snatches to overhead. Well, I can’t go overhead, and the lightest thing they had was the 15kg bar, so Roger said to just do to the shoulder. (The good part was that once the other girls got there, THEY couldn’t do overheads EITHER.) I did 60 – yes, 60 – then I saw the gals – had the first gal do 13 (she arrived first) and when the 2nd gal got there, she did the final 2.

Lots of fun on New Year’s Eve – the usual “crew” came – Rosemary and Eric (he TOTALLY “party crash” pranked me – if I have time I’ll tell the story), Brian and Farrah, Claudia & Phil, Mom and Dad, Sharyn & Carl, etc. Great additions were Dave Greno and his wife, Nancy Mimms, Tim Walsh & Jo, Mia and Andy (the new folks from 32 Moody), Susie Abel from Ironteam (yes! she FINALLY got New Year’s off, has her “seniority” at the station!), Brian the landscape contractor, Carol the artist, Allison and Brent and the kids (they are SO CUTE – I mean, honestly, that family should model), etc. REALLY missed Tom and Jan – we had a little “snafu” in that Olivia, the new next-door neighbor 12 year old cellist, was supposed to come and play, but as H had “stolen me off” to Sacramento for a holiday from Christmas through December 30 (though I had a rotten head cold so wasn’t so much fun unfortunately), we didn’t quite get the timing and such down so that didn’t happen. Phil and Susan are away, so they couldn’t come – the Burnses had said they might stop by and Bob and Kathleen, but there’s a cold going around 😉

Funniest part was by 11:20 everyone was gone. H and I teased that we are all sure GETTING OLD!

Yesterday (January 2) we started the ketogenic diet. I haven’t figured it quite out yet, because I know we’re not getting enough calories in. Yes, yes, I know, “calories don’t count” but they DO in the way Dave Asprey mentioned to Jonathan Bailor – e.g., you have to get ENOUGH in! If you get like 5,000 calories a day because you’ve way upped your fat, it’s not likely a problem, but if because you’re eating clean you wind up like eating only 1,000 calories a day, THAT is a problem. H is having an issue tolerating the fat – he feels sick – I think he’s more of a sugar burner than me.

We’re off to Crossfit though in like 5 minutes so that’s a quick wrap-up from “last blog to now.”

CONDITIONING
For Time
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 HSPU
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 Power Clean 85/55KG
start each round w/ 100M Run

OH, one thing that we did – I paid for Moddie and me to do a full part of the New Moon (plus hypnotherapy CD) with WayOfTheWhale.com – Sue Bird, who is unbelievable. (Also my best friend!) Anyway – we did a whole TAR “induction” on the new moon and a full “intake” with her on January 1st (she did the ceremony at 6 that night). Then I sent her a BUNCH of TAR videos because she’d actually never seen one – and she has to get the language right for the CD. She sent us back an email that basically said Oh-My-God, WHAT?!?! She is an EXPERT (world medal holder) swimmer, cetacean diver, National Geographic diver, Stanford distinguished grad, blah blah – so this woman is NO slouch – double black belt in karate and judo – it was funny seeing her reaction!

Okay so that’s the catch-up. Feng shui seminar today online – also have to get my CLE done! It’s due in like 2 weeks and I still have about 12 hours’ worth! Oooops….

I’m sure there is more – OH – today is my pre-op for the PRK! So I will be offline for a couple weeks after that (surgery is next Thursday). WISH ME LUCK!

AND – I think that the fact I found Jason and Amy’s tape AFTER Sue had done the induction (Moddie and my only “concern” being that we hadn’t heard “yet”) means…it’s working…. 😉

==================

TAR TIPS (while watching some old videos): MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALL THE COCONUTS (Laugh!!!) – watched as team after team “drove an ox cart away” from a pile of coconuts they were supposed to get every one into a cart – and a coconut was under the cart, behind a tree, etc. – literally all but ONE of the teams had to go back. MOVE THE WAGON, then DO A 360 walk around!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CROSSFIT WEIGHT MAXES:

Today did the power cleans at 25kg (15 kg orange bar plus 2x5kg plates). At the Hero WOD, did it with the 20kg bar – need to check what I’ve done it at before. This was a killer WOD though it looks so “simple” 🙂 By the end Tracie and I were yelling and groaning, good thing we did it outside 😉 Maybe go from orange bar to red (up 5kg?) Need to go back and check to see what I’ve done before.

Today instead of HSPU did dumb bell lifts from shoulder to overhead. Did with 15 lbs each. It was SUCK-HARD! I am fairly sure that’s a new max for me. I had put the 10 lbs out “just in case” but with lots and lots of grunting and groaning and pushing “up” with my legs too I could do it. Sometimes I feel so pathetic – that’s not a lot of weight – but I keep at it! STAY

Jason and Amy’s “journey” to The Amazing Race 2013

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Sandy

Yeah well this is frickin’ amazing . . .

I was just noodling through YouTube, and came across this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EEYgJYdkYc

It’s made by Jason and Amy – who actually just WON The Amazing Race. It shows their journey – their initial 3 minute video (that they sent in the day before the deadline), and goes like this:

1. They met in March of 2012. Within 30 days, they were on their way to Paris. They filmed a video climbing up stairs of the Eiffel Tower.

2. They sent in their video, getting it in the day before the deadline (sounds familiar!) Presuming that they were climbing up the Eiffel Tower in April of 2012, and also presuming that their deadline to be on TAR was the same as ours (November 5th), they got it in in November (on the 4th). It’s very off-the-cuff, very cute, but doesn’t have a lot of info that’s for sure! (You can see it, first few minutes of the YouTube.)

3. EIGHT MONTHS LATER, they get a call, saying “Are you guys still together? Because your video caught our eye, and if you are, we want another one, a ‘real’ audition tape.” So, presuming that their deadline was the same as ours, that would mean they got a call on July 5th! (That doesn’t quite seem right, frankly, since our information said that the episode would be filmed “around April or May 2014” – but let’s just go with it!) The good part is the EIGHT MONTHS LATER call!

4. So THEN (minute 2 of the YouTube), they sent in a “real” audition tape. The thing that makes me think that their submission deadline was more like April (almost right as they came home from Paris) is that they say “8 months later” they get a call, but in this tape, it says “we met in March of this year” – meaning it is STILL 2012 when they send in their “audition” tape. So presuming they sent it in the April, that could be that they did this one in December. That also lines up with the fact that at one point, they are sitting in chairs with a Christmas tree behind them. It’s very professional – WOW, there is a LOT about Amy that didn’t come out in TAR, she’s a superwoman! – and in fact . . .

5. “After a long call-back process” (per her captions), they did NOT get picked – the person they were talking to said that their “Boss” didn’t buy them – and from something Amy says, they looked “too polished” in the video. My guess is that the “call-back process” includes the background checks, etc. that I have read about before. Anyway – so they were NOT picked. So, they send in ANOTHER video, for the Boss. You can tell from this 3rd video that they’re just sitting there talking to the camera, and Amy doesn’t even have any makeup on. (That’s at 6:30 in the YouTube).

6. They got ANOTHER call – and had to make a FOURTH video for consideration. (That’s at 8 minutes in the YouTube).

7. They GOT the call this time, to come to L.A. for the “Finals Week pick.”

8. If you watch ANYTHING you HAVE to watch this part (starts at 9:49) – SPOILER ALERT – they literally had to PLOW THE FREEWAY OUT OF RHODE ISLAND TO PHILLY (remember, Jason owns a snowplow company!) because it was the biggest blizzard on RECORD in the North East – that was February 9-12, 2013. This really is unbelievable. They make it to the plane with honestly MINUTES to spare – and basically the rest is history (and they WON!)

So now, I’m SUPER DUPER excited about the whole “timeline” thing – because though of course you “don’t hear anything” if you’re NOT picked, this gives you SOME idea of how long it took for Jason and Amy to get on. This is a GREAT GREAT VIDEO to have found! I’m SUPER DUPER STOKED about it – and today, I started H and my new eating plan, yesterday Moddie and I did a New Moon with Sue (who is also doing us a CD) – I did that freakin’ triple hero WOD AND running back and forth over the Golden Gate Bridge – I’m PUMPED that “though we haven’t heard anything yet” – that it took Jason and Amy from (SOONEST – again, taking my cues from the “clues” in this video about timing) from April 2012 to FEBRUARY 2013 to get to the “Finals Week.”

Once again – the BEST PART? Took them EIGHT MONTHS to hear on their initial video.

I am super interested, too, in what Amy says on the “Boss” tape – that their video was “too perfect; too pretty” to get chosen. I honestly feel that if Moddie and my “first” tape -the one we were sending in to Prashant to “video edit up” – but then he had the death in the family, etc. – would have been a “too perfect/too pretty” video. That’s why I feel that the TAR Gods “made” it that we had to really switch gears, knuckle down, and just send in what we sent. It’s totally us, it’s not too “done” as it were, and WHEN they call us (HEY, we still have 6 months, what? LOL), we could do ANOTHER “audition” tape if that’s what it’s going to take – not too pretty though 😉

Here’s our video, just in case you haven’t seen it 😉

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErQ8B6LZdK4

So . . . did I talk about the “waterboarding” a/k/a Body Composition Analysis? And the Chippen-Fro-Ryan-Spice “How cookies are like men in your fridge” rant . . .

Posted on December 18, 2013December 3, 2014 by Sandy

I think that I did. I think I already talked about this – but I’m back on it again. (Maybe because I was just telling my friend Francine about my experience, and it got me back thinking about it.)

I was “waterboarded” in BodyFatTest.com’s Hydrostatic Body Fat Testing Apparatus (a/k/a “dunk tank truck”) on Saturday. Today at Crossfit was my first day “back” with the “morning gang” – Monday I did yoga, Tuesdays I go to Crossfit in the evening, and there you go. Many of them also had their fat percentages done. The HIGHEST one was 13%. I mean – for GOODNESS sake . . . Mine is MORE THAN TWO AND A HALF TIMES that at a whopping 29.2%.

each of these bags is 10 pounds of potatoes. So imagine 50 of these...and a few potatoes on the side. — each of these bags is 10 pounds of potatoes. So imagine 50 of these…and a few potatoes on the side.

Today, I (ahem) dusted off my fancy-dancy scale that does BMI, fat percentage, and all that jazz. I have had it for what, 2 years? I used to use it religiously, and in fact made H get this particular one for me. I’ve watched the “weight part” creep up since, but haven’t done the whole “impedence” part to get the fat percentage. Whaddya know? 29.2%. It EXACTLY matched the dunk tank reading (53.1 pounds), which is “as accurate as you can get.”

I did this because one of the morning gals brought her own fancy-dancy scale in, to see if it was doing the fat percentage correctly. She hadn’t done the dunk tank and wanted one of the other girls to step on it, to do the comparison to what she had gotten from the truck dunk. It basically reminded me that I also had one o’them fancy-dancy thangs.

Not sure why that put me over the top – that my own scale could have shown me these numbers any time. Because I should have seen this happening? Because I should have done something about it? I dunno.

For some reason, that fat percentage is a lot more alarming (and depressing) than the actual “total pounds on the scale,” which I have been watching creep up for a while now. I think that I have just been kidding myself about the weight – that it’s muscle, with all the marathons and such, etc. Yup, deluding myself! (Surprise, surprise.)

Again, to give you an idea here, the weight of my body fat is 53.1 pounds. HOLY LABRADOR RETRIEVER, Batman! To get to 20% body fat – meaning, still almost double higher than anyone else in the box – I’d have to lose 20.9 pounds of fat (and lose no muscle in the process). Of course, I could gain muscle and lose fat – that would mean my “composition” would get better. But – SERIOUSLY.

So, I’m back logging food, which I hate, but which keeps me accountable. Francine and I talked about this, too. If I log food, I eat clean. If I do not log food, I go off “a little” then “a little more” then I’m suddenly lying on the couch surrounded by paleo bar wrappers with a smudge of almond butter on my mouth, trying to figure out what happened.

Wanna know where the “obese” line is? 30%. I just missed it.

Now, sure, okay. If you were to look at me, you’d think “she’s not so much fat as she’s solid, and she’s tall, after all.” The thing is, that’s not the “real me.” I’m quite the skinny bunny when I’m “the real me.” I wish I could tell you that I’m curvy (which I certainly am now) – and granted, I never lose my Sistah Booty (even at my slimmest!), but all the rest of me is nearly bird thin. I remember once a doctor measuring my wrists to figure out my body “type” – my wrists are 4″ around. (You don’t gain weight at your wrists.) By this measurement and my height, I was told that the right weight for me was in the neighborhood (plus or minus 3 or so pounds) of 150. In 2006, I was 140, and by far at the most muscular and leanest point in my life. It seems like a lifetime ago. But I gotta tell you, I looked HOT. (I’ve just been uploading photos into Facebook I found, from that exact year.)

I got an email from my endocrinologist – my nutritionist and I did a fasting blood test for leptin and thyroid numbers besides TSH, because he wouldn’t do it, and I sent the numbers to him. Per Dr. Rosedale’s book, my leptin was off the charts (I am pretty sure I HAVE blogged about all this, but just getting it back off my chest). My thyroid values were also elevated. My endo wrote back and said “it’s because you’re old and fat, deal with it.” Oh, you laugh. Just a second, I’ll get you EXACTLY what he said:

“…Your time of life is such that weight gain etc are common and more likely menopausal rather than thyroid. It is very unusual for people to have normal thyroid (tsh and hormone levels) and have meaningful symptoms. The symptoms in that context are usually due to other things.”

To give you some perspective, I’ve gained over 20 pounds in less than a year. During that year, I did a triathlon, 4 marathons, and a few other random things. And gotten jigglier and jigglier.

Now, mind you, my endocrinologist only measures TSH and T3, and doesn’t take into account the other T-measures that the nutritionist and many other thyroid experts say are just as important. Nor does he measure or give any credence to leptin levels. My nutritionist believes that he’s just dead wrong. As she and other experts state, my numbers are in the range that’s called “normal,” but the problem is, “normal” is taken from the “median of Americans now” – which means deathly sick, obese people, basically. I’m on 2 thyroid meds, bioidentical hormones, an estrogen patch, glutathione, glutathione recycler, medical grade Co-Q10, and another 10 prescribed pills morning and evening . . . how did I get to BE this person – ???

Anyway. So I need to get a 2nd endocrinologist’s opinion, which is going to be the 7th Ring of Hell, since my G.P. didn’t even think I needed an endo in the FIRST place. (That endo did put me on 2 thyroid meds and said that I had an issue – Hashimoto’s – so at least I got started . . . now I need someone who will be a little more “new studies from the present research about thyroid” than “oh, you’re fine, that’s enough meds per the charts, even if you still feel like crap and are fat as a tick, and have brain fog.”) Meanwhile, I’m on day 3 of logging food and eating clean. As I said, I don’t like doing it – though it’s not “hard” of course – and “the devil in me” wants to just go gorge on protein almond butter balls and drink champagne and “fuggedaboudit.”

I must admit, however, that listening to a bonus podcast from Jonathan Bailor just now coming home yanked my chain on this a bit. He gave the following analogy:

“What if you’re in a super great relationship. [Me: I am.] Where you’ve been with the person for years, and you really can’t imagine doing all that much without them. [Me: Check, truth.] Where the two of you together are honestly each other’s ‘better halves,’ or when you are together, you are better for it. [Me: Yup.] Now imagine that someone comes up to you and says ‘HOW can you POSSIBLY be MONOGAMOUS?!? When there are SO many hot folks out there?!?! I mean, how could you POSSIBLY not CHEAT????’ Your reaction would be, ‘Um, what? Why? Hunh???’ You can’t imagine doing that, not just that it would be a ‘bad idea for your relationship’ but it honestly never enters your mind.

“This is how you should feel about yourself, such that your relationship to food is like your relationship to your ‘better half.’ “ [Me: Oh sh*t. That totally makes sense.] HERE is a link to that podcast, if you’re curious.

So imagine that you’re sitting around on the couch, your honey isn’t home, and you’re watching TV but kinda bored, or whatever. You walk up to the fridge – and a truly spectacular Chippendales dancer pops out. Or Rich Fronig. Or Ryan Gosling. Or The Old Spice Guy. Or whomever. We might all KID that yeah, we’d SO take advantage, but I personally know that I’d probably be more likely to say “Hey cutie, want a paleo almond butter cup?”

The thing is, to analogize this situation to my “grazing,” it’s not even Chippen-Fro-Ryan-Spice that I’m figuratively popping into my mouth

(shut up . . . dirty mind, you). It’s usually just something that happens to be “there” in the fridge. So that’s like walking up to the fridge, opening it, seeing some random dude that’s, yeah, okay, and you’re all “okay, do me…. yawn….now do me again…yawn…got any other random okay-not-super-tasty-but-crunchy friends in there?”

I like this analogy a lot. It might even make me laugh the next time I catch myself in “graze mode.”

OK I know that is a terrible photo there on the right, but again, it makes me laugh.

Time to get ready to go to class – my last one. I’m glad, because I have to get back to the Nutrition Certification stuff and MUST do my CLE!

So there you go.