Getting Back to Climbing, Week 15: Pulling People Up

"In life most people want to pull you down.  When you find someone who wants to pull you up, grab onto them."  A quote from my grandfather.

A few weeks ago there were a group of us, all working the same boulder problem at the gym.  It was a good session, and everyone was climbing around the same grade.  I am not a particularly social climber; I shy away from the crowds and the competition.  I am social with people at the gym, just not so much while I am climbing; I am not one of those people who usually get motivated around other climbers.  However, on this particular day, the vibe was right and so were the climbers, so I was really motivated.

Then this guy (who works at the climbing gym) comes up, takes off his street shoes, leaves his socks on, and climbs the problem (the same boulder problem everyone was working on).  He finished, sat down in a chair fifteen feet away and watched.  I assume he thought that he was now a hero, since he was able to climb the problem (in socks) that we had all been working.

This guy was a typical 'want to pull you down' person.  He didn't climb the problem as part of his circuit, nor did he do it to show us 'secret beta'... he did it to make himself feel big, and to make everyone else feel small.  (Side note:  I have no issue when people climb your project when they are actually climbing, we all do that when a boulder problem is part of your circuit; this guy hadn't been climbing before, and didn't climb after.)

It made me think about how much 'bigger' someone really is when they pull people up.  The person who makes people feel small doesn't succeed in making himself bigger in their eyes... just the opposite.  We all view the person who pulls us up as a hero, and the ones who try to bring you down as... well, as jerks.

This also made me more aware of the opportunities that I have to 'pull people up', and it gave me a lot to think about.  I realized that I don't make an effort to pull people up as much as I should; I don't pull them down, but I also don't make the effort to pull others up... at least not enough.

Anyway, we all (John, The Kid, and I) hit the gym on Tuesday, and The Kid and I went on Friday.  My climbing was uneventful... basically it was a plateau week.  This was just fine with me, I was just happy to be climbing.

I would love to know what you think about my blog, or this post, or really anything.  Leave a comment, and let's get a conversation started!
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Getting Back to Climbing, Week 14: The Zen of Rock Climbing, Parenting and Life

The Zen of Rock Climbing
Rock climbing can be like planning a beach day. 
You plan all week, the day arrives, it rains, and you are out of luck.  It rains and there is nothing you can do about it.  You can, however, make the best of your day.  You can decide on the next best thing, and go for it... a walk in the rain, go to the climbing gym, watch a marathon of Star Wars, or look for rainbows.  You don't have control over the weather, it just happens, so why not make the best of it?

The Zen of Parenting
A child can be like the weather.
You can plan that you are going to put your kid down for a nap at ten o'clock, but if he isn't ready, it isn't happening.  You can plan that you are going out for pizza at noon, but if there is a diaper crisis that turns into a nap emergency, it isn't happening either.  With a child, sometimes this is hard; often I decide that I am going to do something fabulous, only to find out that I don't have buy in from The Kid (and I am not talking about him 'not wanting' to do something, more about the uncontrollable issues like sleep, hunger, diapers, or a fall that really hurts).  And just like the rain, there is nothing you can do about it.

The Zen of Parenting has been much easier for me to grasp, than the Zen of Rock Climbing.  When The Kid was an infant, the realization that I couldn't control the eat, sleep, diaper patterns of this little being was a relief.  While I have a rhythm and direction to our day, I also have found that letting go of rigid expectations allows me to find the joy in the unplanned, unexpected moments.

The Zen of Life
The Kid and I made it into the rock climbing gym on Wednesday, and it was an uneventful session, as far as climbing goes.  However, lately The Kid needs to check in with me a lot more.  Before the past few weeks, I had to search him out after my session, but not anymore.  He checks in with me frequently, sometimes every ten minutes, and often gets teary watching me climb.  But like the rain on my climbing plans, I can either get frustrated, or I can go with it.  It was nice to plug into my iPod for two hours and boulder without further interruptions, but it is also pretty damn wonderful that my Kid loves me and wants to check in with me.  He won't always want to do that, so I pick him up, give him smoochy kisses, chat with Brittany, and then climb some more.

The Zen of Rock Climbing and the Zen of Parenting have collided... The Zen of Life has been realized.  With everything in life, you can be miserable when things aren't going as you have planned... or you can focus on the positive and find unexpected joy in the experience.

John and I have been spending more days out on the climbing wall in the cottage, since the weather is warm; I climbed at home last Sunday and this Saturday.  (I can't get the workout that I need, not yet anyway... cement floor, not enough pads to cover the area, the holds on the roof line don't ensure that I won't blow a move and crash down to the cement... but I can still get some climbing in, especially if John is there to spot me.)

Getting Back to Climbing, Week 11: Accentuate the Positive

Accentuate the Positive.  Eliminate the Negative... train the negative but don't always focus on it.

There must have been some cosmic alignment that altered the Earth's gravitional pull this week... very low gravity week. 
Tuesday afternoon I went into the gym with the Kid.  I was feeling crummy; like a cold was arriving, and I had zero motivation.  I went in anyway, figuring that if I was climbing really bad, I could always go upstairs and work out with the weights.

Surprise, surprise.  After the sporadic, and almost non-existent, climbing I did over the past few weeks... I climbed great!  I didn't climb a lot, but what I climbed was great.  I finally sent one of my bouldering projects, after months of attempting to link the top and bottom moves.  It wasn't a particularly hard problem, but it had all of the components that I struggle with... overhanging, big moves and a throw, up and around a corner.  I always have found big moves to be a challenge, and after so much time off (and a c-section) the overhanging boulder problems are ... well, a problem for me.  Anyway, I finally sent it.  Yipeee. 

Friday mid-day and I found myself back at the gym with the Kid.  I stacked the pads and jumped on one of my other boulder projects; a higher, more technical climb, with a very nice section where you need to cross-over then unwind.  As I said it was a low gravity week, and I sent it first burn.  This made me very, very happy.

Here's the thing: the second project was about two grades harder than the first boulder problem, and I worked it for maybe 15 minutes during three sessions (versus the first problem which I worked for months).  It was a better fit for my strengths and style of climbing.

It Accentuated my Positive!  And, sending that boulder problem made me feel really good about myself and my climbing.  Often in life we focus on all the Negatives, and bring ourselves down.  I am not saying that we shouldn't address our weaknesses and mistakes, I think that we need to work on eliminating them everyday, but feeling good about yourself is powerful.  Accentuating your positives (strengths or attributes) is healthy, and leads to more successes.

This goes for all areas of life... who wants to hang out with, hire, or love the negative person?  It grows old real fast.  Just to be clear, I am not saying to be a big show off, self centered, jerk who lives in a fairy tale land!  I am saying that feeling good about yourself for the things you do well, and celebrating them, is a great way to travel through life.

Accentuate your positives and let your star shine.  And if you really want to shine... accentuate other people's positives too.

"Accentuate the Positive.  Eliminate the Negative."  This happens to be one of my Dad's many, many favorite sayings.  Thanks Dad!!!!

Getting Back to Climbing, Week 10: Absence Made My Heart Grow Fonder

What was going on this week?  Urgh, I had to cancel the gym on Monday and Wednesday because the Kid was very congested - and as I have said before, we think the chalk dust is not so great for us, especially the Kid when he is a snot factory.  So, I cancelled with the Wonderful Brittany.

However... pause.... for dramatic effect.....  I did get on the 'dreaded' hang board: Monday and Tuesday.

Sometimes it is easier than others...

On Friday, I made it to the gym.... alone.  Can you believe it... alone.  John had taught a class at the gym on Thursday night (ropes, anchors and gear - told you he is a badass).  He texted me on Friday: "you should go to the gym tonight".  I was filled with zero motivation for the gym, but a ton motivation to stay outside working in our gardens (I am very into gardening this spring... but that is a whole other post in itself).  By the time John got home, I still had zero motivation to climb, but considerable motivation to get out of the house... so off I went, alone.

Despite slacking off the past few weeks, I climbed alright.  Not great, but alright.  The gym was generally quiet, which I love, and I was able to just zone out with my iPod.  The thing is, I missed John and the Kid. I missed them.  I have heard my friends talk about feeling 'guilty' when they are away from their kids; that wasn't how I felt, I just missed them both.  When I got home and pulled up to the house, I saw the Kid standing half naked at the window waving to me, with John in the background, my heart just swelled.  I love my family.  I love my life.

Even though I missed John and the Kid, it was good that I went to the gym by myself.  It is good to miss your family; it is good to feel like that, and good for them to feel your renewed love when you get home. Also, I came home with stories to share with John, and they were not about diapers, snot, or stress; just like he had come home the night before with gym stories to share with me.  There is a tendency, as a mom, to always be there - and not only do we need a break from our family, but sometimes they need a break from us (as hard as it is to admit that).

This brings me back to my belief that taking time to be 'me' makes me a better mom, and a better wife.

Another quick observation... I used to hate, hate, hate the gym.  Hated it, but I had to go there to train, and I bitched the whole time.  Well, I was away for so long that... dramatic pause... I like the gym again.  Yes, plastic sucks, but I enjoy my times as a plastic princess.  See, absence does make the heart grow fonder.

Getting Back to Climbing, Week 9: Memory Lane

On Sunday we went bouldering... outside.  I haven't been on real rock in two and a half years, and it was fantastic.

My brother was visiting from Arizona; so John, my brother (aka Unc), the Kid and I went out and bouldered.  There are some excellent boulders here on Long Island.  We went out to Wildwood State Park; there are some terrific boulders both on the beach and on the hillside.

The hillside boulders are one of the first places I ever bouldered outside, and they are loaded with great memories.  When John and I were together during our first summer, we spent the entire summer at this boulder in the evenings after work.  There is a problem on the corner of this mammoth boulder, that I worked, and worked, and worked.  I know I fell off of the opening move at least 500 times; really I am not exaggerating.  We have all been obsessed with something new... we dream about it (while sleeping and awake), spend our time doing it, and feel our spirit grow and soar while we engage in it.  Maybe it is surfing, knitting, gardening... or, in my case, rock climbing.  You know what I am talking about.  Anyway, that summer I worked that opening move over, and over.  We had just gotten a video camera, and John videoed me endlessly, so yes, I have video documenting me, blowing those moves repeatedly.  I felt so happy to be back there, and back on that problem.

John is a badass

Again, this isn't really about rock climbing.  It is about re-connecting with who I was before I was a mom, and who we were pre-Kid.  As John and I walked to the boulder, we told my brother some of the stories and adventures we had there.  We weren't just parents anymore, we were the same people who bouldered out there seven years ago when we first met.  Talking about climbing friends, some are still big parts of our lives, and others who faded away into different lives.  Remembering the other couples who were also just starting their relationships... none of them made it.  

I think it is critical for couples, with or without kids, to go back to those places where they fell in love.  To do those activities that you love as a couple.  To remember why it is that you chose this person as your mate.  Especially as parents, we tend to get bogged down with the mundane day to day stuff in life, and forget to just be joyful and grateful and have fun.

Climbing outside reminded me of two very important things ...

#1.  Real rock is sharp.  Ouch.  Crap it hurt.  But the friction was freakin' fantastic!

#2.  Plastic sucks.

But, alas... I returned to plastic on Wednesday at the gym.  It had been a while, and I climbed like sh*t.  But who cares about the blue problem at the gym... Plastic Sucks!

The Kid had a great day too.

And in case you were wondering, that problem that I worked that summer?  Yeah, I sent it... as a warm up.

Getting Back to Climbing, Week 8: Be Here Now

Be Here Now

Drum roll....... we made it to the climbing gym ZERO, yes zero, times this week.
Zero point Zero.
What happened you ask?  You were doing so great!
Well, the wonderful Brittany (and I truly mean that), who watches the Kid, was sick on Wednesday.  And today, Friday,  I started to hear some congestion rattling around in the Kid's lungs.  He sounds like a growling bear cub when he breathes.  John and I imagine that a chalk dust filled gym isn't the best thing for his lungs.  Ho, hum.

You know I am always feeling like I have to do everything this moment.
I need to get back to the gym and train ASAP, so I can climb hard THIS spring.
I need to get back to the pottery studio this session, so I can get back to creating pottery RIGHT NOW.
I need to go out to my glass studio, so I can finish my stained glass panels IMMEDIATELY.
I need to get upstairs to my jewelry workshop, so I can make some new pieces to list on Etsy THIS MINUTE.
And this train of thought, or list, goes on and on.

I have this sense of urgency that I NEED to do all of the things that made me "me", before motherhood, right now.  There is a feeling that, if I don't engage in them right now, they will slip away.  I wonder do all moms feel like this?  Am I scared that I will never have these parts of myself again if I wait too long?

The thing is, while I am busy worrying about the things that I feel like I NEED to do, I am missing out on enjoying what I am actually doing.
I am raising a child.
I am teaching a human being how to live.
I am exploring life with my husband.

And I am doing these things RIGHT NOW, TODAY, THIS MINUTE.

So, when I am beating myself up about missing the rock climbing gym this week, I need to focus on what I have, and what I am doing.
I need to 'Be Here Now"... borrow a phrase from Baba Ram Das



All that said... I can't wait to get to the gym next week (or maybe tomorrow getting outside to boulder).

Getting Back to Climbing, Week 7: Good Style

Soooo, after many weeks of hitting the climbing gym twice a week, I seem to have hit a speed bump.  We made it in one, yes only one, day again this week.

On the plus side... I made it to the gym.  We went in on Wednesday and overall climbing was good.  Sent a project, and fell off of two boulder problems that I had recently sent.  Somedays that is just the way things go.

Talked to a friend about style.
Uhhh, no not fashion, but climbing in good style.  Many years ago I was frustrated watching some guy send one of my projects... in total cockroach style.  Total cockroach.  Kicking the wall.  Feet popping.  Desperate.  Flailing.  Groaning.  Grunting.  Huffing and puffing.  All aquiver.  It was painful to watch, but that dude finished my project and I was so pissed.  I ended up seeing him again years later rapping off a climb in the same manner... but that is another story.

Anyway, after watching this guy, I started thinking that good style is important.  I would rather work a problem in good style, than send it in absolutely horrible style.  Both John and I think that climbing in good style is part of what makes a good climber.  And it is not just about being strong; we have all seen the strong guy who butchers a really hard climb, but sends, and it just isn't enjoyable to watch.  Then there are the climbers who you stop and watch climb, regardless of the grade, just because their movement is beautiful.  When I describe their movement as beautiful, it has nothing to do with gender, men can be beautiful climbers.  Fluid.  Controlled.  Balanced.

So I guess the point is, that I would rather be the one who works the project in good style than send it like a cockroach.  And, yeah, I felt this way even when I was climbing at my peak.

'Good style' isn't only in related to rock climbing;  going through life in 'good style' is rather important.  We have all been witness to the people living their life in 'bad style'... the strong guy who picks on the geek, people doing a task 'half-assed' just to get it done poorly, the beautiful bride who doesn't look so beautiful because she is a total bridezilla, the boss who puts people down just because he can, or the parent who is annoyed by their child's quest for knowledge and zest for life.  I hope to live my life in good style; I am not the best at anything, and I don't live in a big, fancy house and drive an impressive car.  But, trying to live life the best that I can, for me, my family and those around me, is what is important to me... in good style with fluidity and balance.

Goal for next week: get in the gym twice.
Goal for the rest of this weekend: get out on our climbing wall, it is just warm enough.

PS.  Just after writing this, I did get out on our wall. 

Me on the woody.  The Kid in his homemade hat.  John taking the photo.

Travel Journal... Joshua Tree, California

Joshua Tree, California is one of my favorite places; not only for the rock climbing, but also for the desert beauty.  I haven't been there in three years... one year I was pregnant, last year the Kid was just beginning to walk and it would have been a challenge, and this year we just don't have the extra money for a road trip.
But, I try to write about our climbing trips so I remember some of the little details.  When I go back and read my journal, I realize how much I would have forgotten if I hadn't written it down...

February 11, 2007
8:58pm local time
Joshua Tree, Ca
Safari Motor Inn, room 105


Ahhhhh yes - returned to JT yesterday.  As I said in my last entry, we booked this trip during our last trip here.  We walked out to Slashface yesterday when we got into the park.  It is is pretty crazy highball, and we only had one pad.  John got on it, but it was dicey with only one pad.  The walk to the boulder was at least 20 minutes off the geology road, which would have been a long walk back if one of us had a busted up ankle.  I chickened out and didn't get on it.... I'll save that one for when we have like four pads.


We walked out to Ionic Strength today.  


When we started out for it, I asked John how far it was... 'like 20 minutes'.  We found it two hours later.  I was a little pissy because I didn't bring much water or food, and I was hungry and ended up getting really thirsty.  I got really pissy when I saw the climb.  I knew the grade, 5.12a, when we started out, but what I didn't know was that there aren't other more moderate climbs nearby.  I am not a 5.12 climber; yeah, I'll get on them and work it, but I had never finished a 12.  


Ionic Strength is a very intimidating climb.  Very Intimidating.  You climb the arete and the face is just blank from the ground, and then it gets vertical.  It isn't even an easy climb to start;  you have to walk out over this void with hands on one rock and feet on the other.  Throw up a heal and pull over a lip, then you start the climb.  Climb the arete, and the 'holds' (really potato chips) run out just as the climbs gets vertical.  Sh*t!


John turns to me, and tells me that I need to climb it first, since he may not be able to do it twice (like if he went first, then me, then him to clean the anchor, and the anchor situation was a whole other thing.)  So I climbed it, not clean by any means, parts were in good style, parts were total cockroach style, and I finished it.  The hardest climb I ever finished.  


Tired.  More tomorrow.

              

Getting Back to Climbing, Week 6

Oh Blah.
I only made it into the rock climbing gym one day this week; Wednesday.
And, no, I also did not work out on the hang board at home.  I did not even Look at it.
The Kid's sitter at the gym couldn't make it on Friday, and that gave me an excuse not to go in a second day this week.
Oh Blah.  That is all I can say.  Even at the gym on Wednesday night, I felt Blah.  I stood there yawning between burns despite Kid Rock screaming through my iPod.  As far as my climbing... well, I am stronger than I was six months ago!  I have never been a strong boulderer, but it is that power that I have always needed to train.  It feels like I am in one of those times when one's climbing is in a holding pattern.  You know, you climb and then you just plateau for a bit, and then suddenly something magical happens and you climb harder.  The optimistic side of me says that I am on a plateau and soon I will be stronger.

All of that aside, going back to the climbing gym has been one of the very best things that I have done for our family.  I know that it has made me a better mom and wife, and engaging in something that I had before I was a mom, makes me a better 'me'.  Talking to people about something other than the Kid, or being a mom, is so freaking fabulous.  It is a reminder that I am still a real person, I am not just this person who is responsible for the care, education, and well-being of a child... I am also responsible for my own well-being.

John and I met at the rock climbing gym, and we have spent countless hours there training and hanging out with our friends.  Watching him climb and giving him sh*t when he blows a move is energizing for us.  Something that we took for granted, is now cherished during those four hours a week at the gym.

When we go to the gym, this wonderful girl comes in to watch the Kid.  She dates one of our friends and also works at the gym, in addition to going to school.  I can't thank her enough for her time with our son.  My heart is just ready to burst when I scan the gym to locate the Kid, and find him with a wrench in hand trying to put up holds.  There are days when he will sit and watch the route setter (who is actually partially responsible for John and me being together, but that is another story), and other days when the Kid is on the move for two solid hours.  It is the perfect situation for us as a family; John and I climb, and the Kid can check in with us whenever he needs to.  Some days he checks in a bunch, and other days I have to go find him... usually hanging out in the office with our friends.  I love it that he has the opportunity to spend time with adults (like early 20's) who aren't parents.

I guess the point is, that maybe it doesn't matter how strong I am right now.  What I am getting out of climbing is so much greater than sending the 'blue problem' in the boulder cave.

Oh, and one last comment.... when I said that I give John sh*t when he blows a move, well, that happens like once a month.    My husband is a really badass climber.

Getting Back to Climbing, Week 4

I made it to the gym on Wednesday evening with the family, and Friday just with the Kid.  No hang board this week!  My plan is to do one week on the hang board and one week off (uh so this week coming up I will have to get on it).  On Wednesday, I sent the long traverse that my husband set a few weeks ago.  Got it first burn, and thought "why were the final moves so hard last week?".  I even went upstairs to the weight machines Wednesday night, which is always a good thing.  It seems as though I always run out of time by the end of my session... gone are the days when I could go the gym for 4-5 hours without a care.  The Kid has fun at the gym for about two hours, and then he is shot.
By Friday, I still felt sore from Wednesday night, and that is the way it should be as far as I am concerned.  Friday didn't boast any new sends - but it is plastic, so who cares anyway.  It is only a measure of improvement.

It is mid-February, one of the times during the year that John and I would road trip to Joshua Tree for some desert climbing.

Although we have planned to return the past two years, it just hasn't worked out for us.  Last year the Kid was just learning to walk, and it would have been too much trying to contain him on the plane, and then keep him away from all of the sharp things found in the desert.  The first time I went to J.T. I realized that everything in the desert was sharp... except for coyotes.  This year, a trip would stress us financially.  Being a single income family adjusts priorities, and our top priority is for me to continue to stay home and raise the Kid.   Perhaps I will post some of my travel journal entries from our last trips.

On the bright side... unlike plastic gym problems... real rock boulder problems will still be there, whether I return this year or next.  Gunsmoke will still be waiting for me.  So will Slashfash and Fist Full of Walnuts.

Getting Back to Climbing, Week 3

Saturday: rest day
Sunday, Monday and Tuesday: hang board
Wednesday: Family Gym Night
Thursday: rest day
Friday: Family Gym Night

Yes, I am feeling motivated.  Finally.  Not only did I actually make it to the rock climbing gym twice this week, but I also got on that damn hang board three days.  The weird elbow tendon issue from last Friday night resolved itself in about two days, which is fabulous.
I am trying to find some success and peace with the hang board... I think I am getting closer.  The thing is, I am not strong enough yet to rip through a bunch of pull ups on it, so I need to find focus on another activity up there.  What I decided to work on was my core; core strength was one of my strengths as a climber... before having it blown out while pregnant, and then really damaged with an emergency c-section.  So, I have been doing 'crunches' while on the hang board.  This seems to be a good system for me, it works my grip strength and core.
Last weekend, John set a sweet boulder problem.  Long traverse with a strong slightly overhanging finish.  I worked this on Wednesday night.  As usual, the delicate traverse was easy for me, and the overhang finish with big moves was more challenging.  By the end of the night, I got to the finish hold, but didn't stick it and went crashing down to the pad 15' below me.  The good news is that the flapper I got is almost healed already.  It will go next week.
Friday at the gym was chaos.  A college class was there and two birthday parties.  The cave was crowded and the whole gym was just noisy.  I am not motivated by crowds, or even other people.  When I was still working, before I got pregnant, I went to the gym straight from work.  I would get there by three, when I had the place mostly to myself.  Me and my iPod.  Made it out of there before everyone else came in.  So, the crowded gym on Friday was not my ideal.  I am making progress on the new big move overhanging boulder problems I started to work last week.
It seems like my grip was weak on Friday.  My hands seemed to be pumped out by the end of some of the problems.  I am thinking that it could be from the hang board.  That is a great thing... making me stronger.
Lately, I have been dreaming of Joshua Tree.  Before the Kid winter road trips were to JT, spring was Yosemite, and then all season at the Gunks.  No road trips this year, money is tight... so I am counting the days till the Gunks.  All of my old projects are there waiting for me.

Getting Back to Climbing, Week 2

My gym schedule:
Friday.  Just me and the kid (and of course the wonderful girl who hangs out with him while I climb).
Wednesday.  Family gym night.  John, the kid and me; trading the kid, swapping burns.

After last Friday's session I felt great.  Good endorphins.  Abs aching from the gym-style equipment after climbing.  Ate my protein for recovery.
Monday and Tuesday I actually got up on the hang board.  There is no excuse for me not to get on the hang board everyday.  It is hanging in the skylight in our family room... it is right there.  Our coffee table is also right there, so it isn't like I would even have to jump to reach it.  The thing is... I just don't like hang boards.  Maybe it is just that I don't get on it enough and I suck.  Or perhaps they just are not one bit motivating.  Nonetheless, I actually did get on it this week.  The Kid loves it; stands there pointing, laughing, and then wanting to be put up there to hang for the next hour (but that is a whole other post in itself).
Wednesday, family night at the gym, did not happen.  We had snow and ice.  The gym is about 25 minutes away, and it is not worth it to put the Kid in the car when the roads are bad.  Anyway, we did play in the snow Wednesday and Thursday, and getting the Kid suited up in his snow outfit (boots, pants, coat, gloves hoodie, and hat) is almost a workout.
Friday I did make it to the gym.  Going once a week is barely maintenance, but I could still do the problems from last week so I am not beating myself up.  There were several new boulder problems set in the overhanging area of the lead wall; overhanging, big juggy moves... exactly what I do not like, and exactly what I need to work the most.  So I worked on those.

Well, so much for being injury free after my hiatus.  I did something 'new' to one of the tendons in my elbow.  Never had an elbow issue before; have had the usual sprained ankles, biceps tendon insertion pain, pulled tendons in my hands and fingers, nerve impingement in my hip... blah blah blah.  Every climber is always nursing at least one injury.
Anyway the elbow tendon thing is new.  I don't know what I did exactly, but I knew I did something about midway through the session.  And in the middle of the night, I could feel it achy, swelling and painful every time I rolled over.  Oh well not much I can do now.

Protein and Carbs for dinner.  Quinoa bean burgers with bleu cheese and fries.  I burned the shit out of the fries, but the burgers were good.

That is all for now... time to go scavenge some food to eat while the Kid is napping.

Six of Me

If there were six of me... would it be enough?
Let's imagine...

1 - This 'me' would be the Wife and Partner.  I would get to give my wonderful husband the attention he deserves.
2 - The Mom.  Technically there could be two of these "me's" - but let's not be greedy.
3 - The House Wife 'me'.  A semi-clean home, dinners prepared (hummus twice a week does not count), and the yard looking good would be killer.  No, I am not talking house beautiful or Martha; but it would be great to find my clothes when I need them, be able to walk through a room without kicking toys, have a few options for healthy dinners, and not look out into my yard and feel overwhelmed.
4 - This 'me' is the Badass Rock Climber.  My core still needs work (a baby and emergency c-section will wreck your core, in case you didn't know that), actually everything needs work who am I kidding.  I could hit the climbing gym when I want, go out for sessions on our wall, and skip out to the beach boulders... whenever the mood strikes.  Start sending V4 and 5.12.... sigh.
5 - Artist 'me'.  With all of the projects rolling around in my head... there could be two or three of these 'me's'... but again, we won't be greedy.
6 - The 'me' that would actually take care of me.

Yeah, I think six would be enough, at least to start.