Happy holidays from our family to yours!
Yesterday’s 24 Days of Togetherness was βtake a family photo,βΒ so we had a little fun with the self-timer on my camera last night.
But, no matter what we tried, we could not get Murphy to look at the camera.
He looks like a little Scrooge, doesn’t he?
(I have no idea why Mal and I are leaning like that! It’s like we’re on a boat or something. Haha!)
Our 24 Days of Togetherness has been a ton of fun so far. I hope you and your loved ones decided to join in! Just in case you missed our previous activities, here they are:
- December 1: Write Haikus about each other
- December 2: Bake Christmas cookies
- December 3: Buy each other a small gift
- December 4: Buy Murphy a gift
- December 5: Have a fire
- December 6: Take a family photo
Breakfast
After Murphy and I said goodbye to Caitlin, I ate breakfast, which was reheated Lemon Glazed Sweet Potatoes and Bananas. I’ve made this recipe in the past and absolutely loved it, but I was not impressed with the batch I made the other day. I think the sweet potatoes I used were a little too big, so it took forever to cook and it didn’t really have that sweet lemony flavor I had hoped for. If you decide to make this recipe, go for medium sweet potatoes, not large.
Workout
After breakfast, I headed to CrossFit for a WOD called βSeven Minutes in HeavenβΒ aka βOpen WOD 12.1.βΒ Do you remember this workout from last February?
AMRAP 7 Burpees = Do as many Burpees as you can in 7 minutes (and try not to die)Β
It’s a rough workout, but sort of βfunβΒ at the same time, especially if you love Burpees like I do. Mal and I even made βI Love BurpeesβΒ shirts for this WOD. It’s definitely a workout I will never (ever) forget. Anyway, our box decided to repeat this WOD yesterday, so I was gunning to beat my old score (96).
After doing a warm-up and strength part (front squats + chins ups) of the workout, we found a partner to count our reps. When you’re doing a lot of Burpees and your brain is deprived of oxygen, there is no way you can accurately keep track. Our coach went over the standards for the workout (your chest must touch the ground and you need to touch a target 6 inches above your max reach when you jump) and then the fun started!
I ended up being next to one of the fastest ladies at our gym, so I tried to keep up with her. We were pretty even for the first 50 Burpees or so, but then she started to pull ahead by a rep or two. By the time I got to the 80s, I started to fall apart. I missed the bar a couple of times (no rep), which, of course, slowed me down. I managed to pull it together for the last 90 seconds and busted out a bunch of Burpees, so I ended up with 103ββ6 more reps than February! Woohoo! If you’re curious, the gal next to me did 119!! She’s an animal!
Snack
After CrossFit, I drank a protein shake made with fitmixer, milk, and water to replenish my tired muscles.
Lunch
A little while later, I made a lighter, more nutritious baked mac & cheese recipe for my Health post next week and ended up eating some of it for lunch. This recipe is definitely a winner. I can’t wait to share it with you guys next week!
Question of the Day
Do you/your family send holiday cards?
Mal and I really wanted to send cards this year, but we never got it together. Maybe next year! We can use our new family photo, right?
P.S. CrossFit folks: You still have time to enter my giveaway to win a WOD book. I’ll pick 4 winners this afternoon!
81 Comments
Hahaha I love that murphy won’t look at the camera, clearly he had better things to do!
I never send Holiday cards but I wish I did! Every year I want to but never get the chance to. I have received quit a few from my couple friends this year too! I have a love / hate relationship with Burpees.
I cannot wait for the mac and cheese recipe!
Aww that family pictures are cute! Dogs are so difficult to get in photos- mine is so distracted too!
That lean photo is hilarious! love it and your pug!
Yum!
I need to order our cards, like now.
i love mal’s shirt!
Aww Murphy! The pictures are adorable though! π
Love sending and receiving cards, esp ones with family pics! π
Love the lean! Question…how did you get the santa hat to stay on Murphy?
We didn’t do anything special– just put it on his head! π
Mac and cheese looks great! No, I don’t send holiday cards but love receiving them!
how funny, our 24dot for yesterday was take a family photo too! … but i asked for a mulligan because I was nasty and gross from just getting home from crossfit and was in no mood to take a sweaty family photo. instead we “danced to our wedding song”. really loving this 24dot! its way too fun! i am like a little kid every day after work waiting to see what the next card will say!
@dana: Aww, fun! π
Nice work on the PR! I want to try to beat my old score but at the same the thought of doing that wod again scares me!
@Danielle@cleanfoodcreativefitness: I hear ya! I was so nervous before doing it because I knew how bad I was about to feel! Haha!
The mac and cheese looks heavenly!!!
I could cry over the Murphy pics… so awesome! Can’t wait for you to share that recipe because it looks so good! My family sends Christmas cards but sadly, we are always the last ones to get them out haha.
I would have seen that workout and walked right back out the door. I don’t mind a lot of things. Or will at least try. But LOATH burpees. I would rather do box jumps. Or just about anything else.
The Kidless Kronicles
Haha these are cute! We need to take family photos too.
What cute family photos! I can’t wait for that to come up for us. The other night was write haikus about each other. It was hilarious! We’re loving the 24 Days–thanks!
We always send holiday cards! Ever since we got my dog (3 years noe!) we include him too! This year we did a family photo that we took in Aruba, so obviously Santo (my dog) was not in it :(. Luckily Shutterfly has the option that allows you to add a separate photo on the back of the card. He looks a little lonely on the back all by himself, but at least he is still included!
We have sent out family Christmas cards for the last 4 years. Once we got our puppy. He was the star of the card! This year we have a new star -our baby girl! BUT I plan on doing a family picture starting this year with the pup included and making it an annual tradition! I love the leaning picture by the way!!!
Y’know it’s only December 7th, I don’t deem it too late to send cards, especially since I haven’t sent any out yet. π
omg we just did 12.1 again this week to!! I beat my score by 5 but it was still as terrible and gas guzzling as last year! We are repeating all the opens and regional WODS in the next 2 weeks. Love it
@Megan: Fun! I want to do some of the other Open WODs again. I was so new to CF last year, I could barely do any of them. I didn’t even know what a Snatch was!
Are those mushrooms I see in that mac and cheese?! That looks right down my alley. Yum!
Your family photos are adorable, and I was cracking up at the “boat” picture. Such a cute little fam!
Omigoodness, those photos are seriously precious. I hope you will put the first one on a Christmas card, because that’s the one where you can see the most of Mal’s awesome shirt.
My fiance and I sent out a few Christmas cards this year, but our Save the Date invites are our real Christmas cards. Next year, I want to use a picture from our wedding on our Christmas cards. Hopefully the year after that we will have a dog or two to add to the photo.
The family pictures are adorable. Love the “lean” π
Can’t wait for that macaroni and cheese recipe!
I’m still thinking about whether or not to send out Christmas cards.. I guess I better decide soon!
We took a family picture too, but only one dog was it in because my other one would just not sit still!!! O well.
My fave of the photos is the second one, where Murphy looks like he’s about to smooch Mal! It’s not a perfect photo, but it’s adorable and I prefer “real” moments over the posed anyhow. By the way, that workout was evil…. but awesome at the same time.
@Dee: I love that one too! π
Woo, 103 burpees! Holy crap! Always feels great to see progress like that, getting stronger! And that family photo is too adorable, Murphy must’ve just been camera shy.
That mac & cheese looks delicious!
My husband and I sent out a Happy Holidays photo card this year, but just to really close friends and family.
Trying so hard to send cards this year. We’ll see if it happens!! Cute santa hat pics!
I had this same problem this year when we tried to take our photo with our beagle. The trick: hold one of Murphy’s toys in your hand and throw in the direction of the camera right before the flash (if your camera has an indicator light telling you when the picture is going to be taken). My dog still looked a little crazy-eyed, but at least he was looking at the camera!
you’re a beast! 103!?! I feel like I need to do this just to see…maybe challenge my boyfriend
My family & I send out holiday cards but don’t do a picture. We each sign our own name rather than one family signature or something. I kind of always liked that tradition when I was growing up and it’s something i’m going to continue when I start my own family π
OMG. Burpees for 7 minutes?? I’d die. I love Mal’s shirt, my oldest daughter has the same one, lol. Murphy does look like Scrooge, I love pug faces. My Esther has so much personality, it’s great.
I’m also loving your 24 days of togetherness posts and the concept in general, very cool.
Cute pic! I have sent holiday cards in the past but not lately, maybe next year. Good call on sweet potatoes for breakfast, I always forget how tasty they are for breakfast!
Cute photos! I love the third one π
I love your family photos – TOO cute! And great job with the burpees, super impressive π
We did send out Christmas/Hanukkah cards this year and I somehow got organized enough to actually include photos of ourselves on them. There have been years where I haven’t had the time to send them out though.
Nice burpee PR! Mine is currently 96 π
We did 6 minutes of burpees total in our WOD last night. I can feel the burpee burn this morning.
Those look like fun photos…i think my family needs a set done as well!
You should! It was fun! π
love the pictures. Murphy is just a little camera shy….
We tried taking our dog for family pictures this summer at it was a total fail! One thing you can do, if you don’t have someone extra trying to get Murphy’s attention is to throw a toy at/behind the camera right before it snaps the picture. I think we send Christmas cards every other year, not planning it that way but it’s the way it happens!
Awww I LOVE your family photo! I can never get my family to do it and it’s always a big problem when holidays roll around and we need to send out the annual christmas card. Mac and cheese? YES!
LOL, I love Murphy’s santa hat! Very cute family pics. π I have a tough time getting my dog to look at the camera too… it’s like she has some sort of internal radar & purposely looks away. LOL
No, I decided not to do holiday cards this year. I have in the past, but it seems a bit old fashioned to me now… plus, I just moved & live closer to family anyway, so I can just tell them my feelings in person. π
we send new years cards…it’ll buy you a little more time, at least! π
Maybe we’ll do that! Thanks for the idea!
Cute cards!
Haha this picture pretty much captures my sentiment regarding the WOD.
http://media-cache-ec6.pinterest.com/upload/244320348506047039_haI4YNAt_c.jpg
Haha!
oh man, that mac and cheese looks so freaking good, I can’t wait for you to share! That WOD sounds tough, congrats on beating your last score, it is a great feeling!
That is a lot of burpees!! Great job kicking butt for seven minutes – that must have felt like forever…And very, very cute pictures! I love Murphy’s little face in the last one. π
I love the 24 days of togetherness, I used some of your ideas. We had our family photo last night our pugs actually know to pose. Its too funny. I love Murph he always makes me laugh : )
@Delaney: How many pugs do you have? I bet that was a cute holiday photo! π