Gymnastics Bar Skills

This was taken on Saturday and is my first time completing the skill. I first attempted it the night before. The next video is on the same day putting the Chinese sit-up into a sequence with a kip and front hip circle. Evidently this is a level 8 skill. If only I had learned to keep my room clean as a child, right Mom? :) No regrets. It's far more fun as an adult. Just need to get those legs straightened out and toes pointed!

I've been doing a little deadlifting too. Here is a video of my previous 1 rep max (225lbs) coming off the ground twice. The set not caught on tape before this was the same weight x 3.

Merger and Branding

If you have stopped by the Stay Active CrossFit site recently you may have noticed we have united with CrossFit Asheville. This went into effect the first week of April and thus far the merger has been terrific! I can not speak enough for the magic a community atmosphere brings to CrossFit training. This community feel was very challenging to cultivate when first starting off. How do you give that community feel with only a few individuals in the gym at once?? We also ran into some problems with our space so rather than looking for a new location we sat down with Randy and combined forces. CrossFit Asheville has also benefited from the addition of coaches as they were bordering that critical mass in some of their classes.

Also, I came across this short post today and thought it was interesting: http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/08/13/marketing-affects-how-children-perceive-food/
No wonder kids don't like to eat their veggies!

Biltmore Trek

Corey and I were given tickets to visit the Biltmore House. This past Sunday was a beautiful day so we slept in a bit and then headed out for "America's largest house". On our way there we realized we only had $6 cash and were unsure if it would cost to park. Since the weather was so nice we decided it would be no big deal to park at the Biltmore shopping plaza and walk.

We approached the first little entry way and asked the guy working if it was alright to walk to the house. He replied, "Sure, but do so at your own risk as there are no sidewalks."

About a half mile later we approached another entry where you purchase tickets. They asked if we were getting picked up by someone and when we told them that we were walking in they then kind of chuckled and said, "You know it's 3.5 miles from here, right?" We acted as though we were already well aware and carried on.

I don't believe that it was 3.5 miles as we made it in just over an hour. Regardless, it was my favorite part. If only the dogs could have come.

The house was certainly very impressive in size and detail, but it was oh so crowded. Not to mention I just have little appreciation for large tapestries/wall carpets and old expensive stuff. Nor do I appreciate being herded through the place like a bunch of cattle.

The best part about the place was the grounds. Evidently the gardens are amazing, but they were not quite in bloom yet. This probably explains why it was considered the off-season as well as why our free tickets expired at the end of the month. They sell season passes and people like to go walk the trails, I'm sure it's nice but we'll opt for the free trails this year!

The dogwood trees have just started blooming and are all over Asheville. You can also see the entry way into the main garden area with many tulips and other flowers waiting to bloom.

Rock Band

After the misty day hike we finished off the weekend rocking out on some plastic instruments with Rock Band. It was clear that none of us missed a calling in the music industry but always amusing to try. As you can see Lloyd does not appear to be entertained and Hoka spent much of the time making sure the kitchen floor stayed clean of any food droppings. Thanks to Adam for bringing over his toys to share and to Laura for capturing the moments.

Rainy Weekend

The weather looked unfavorable for hiking, but we certainly overdressed for our hike on Sunday. This was the view from the top. "It felt like we were in 17th century Scotland." Or so James said.

"Little Thief"

I had never been around a ferret before Corey. In fact, even as an animal lover I had never even given them much thought. But before Corey and I ever started dating one of the few things I knew about him from overhearing conversations in class was that he was hoping to get a ferret. With this little fact I would often use it as much as possible to make conversation. He played along well as he told me about the cage he was going to make and how he wanted a ferret since he couldn't have a dog where he was living at the time. He had determined that ferrets were cool animals after watching videos of their behavior on YouTube. Well, they certainly are interesting little guys as you can see from my own homemade video of our ferret, Silas, in action.

Silas wasn't the first ferret. Corey got Piper about two months before we started dating. While we unfortunately don't' have any photos of her she looked exactly like the photo of the brown ferret at the top. She was a tiny little lady who for whatever reason would frequently get sick and was unable to pull through about a year ago.

Ferret actually means "little thief" in latin and that is certainly true. Silas had a thing about stealing the dogs' food dishes. On a daily basis when we would let him out of his cage he would come into the kitchen and either drag those things into the laundry room, under the couch or even under the bathroom sink. Yes, the bathroom sink. He had mastered the ability to open one of the bottom drawers in the bathroom cabinet which then allowed him to crawl under the sink and open the larger hinged doors where he liked to bring various items to hide.

Silas didn't make the move to Asheville, as my sister and I convinced my mom to let Silas stay in Ohio with Lauren. (At least for the time being.) You see, we didn't yet have a place to live upon leaving for Asheville and being that we already have two larger dogs we didn't want to complicate matters by having a third pet. Especially a somewhat destructive little ferret. So, Silas is in Ohio entertaining my nephew Hunter who is quite fond of him and from the sound of things my mom is growing attached as well. Thanks for looking after him Mom and Lauren!

Blue Steel

Meet "Blue Steel" our jungle gym of sorts.