I am almost 13 weeks along, and it seems like my laziness is coming to an end! Finally. I didn't experience the exhaustion with Bobby, but I have needed a nap everyday or I would be ready for bed around 5 o'clock. Yesterday was the first day that I didn't feel sleepy during the day. :)

The weather here has been gorgeous, so Bobby and I have been hanging outside for most afternoons. Yesterday I started a garden!! I planted carrots, squash, bell peppers and tomatoes. I decided to start small so it would be manageable. I also have a strawberry plant that I won at my last Bunco (sniff, sniff...).

Hopefully, these little guys will start growing! I am excited to see if I can actually produce edible food. I have only ever had flower gardens, so this is all new to me! I'll update with more pictures as the garden grows.

I had the strawberry plant (yellow pot) in the shade, and it was looking very sad. I finally got around to moving it somewhere sunny, and overnight it perked up and looks so much better!

New Family Blog!

Just wanted you all to check out our new family blog: GarzaFit. We started the new blog to chronicle our journey to becoming a 'fit' family!

Rob has started to train me more, and I have started doing some lifting. I plan to get my CrossFit level one certification soon. Crazy! Never thought I would say that! I actually deadlifted 120 lbs last week!!

This week we took off, I caught strep throat! Bleh. Not fun. Thankfully, Bobby seems healthy so far. So next week, look for more posts on our workouts!

Culdesac CrossFit!

Jason, Michelle, Casey and Brian working hard!

I know I have mentioned CrossFit before, but I may not have mentioned that Rob is working towards becoming a CrossFit affiliate, which means he is planning on opening his own CrossFit! In fact, his family just became affiliated in Laredo, opening G7 CrossFit, which is very exciting!

Jason, Me and Casey working hard with some kettle bells!

I have been doing CrossFit off and on for over a year now. I even did it throughout my pregnancy. I just recently got more serious about it. I really enjoy working out! Here's why:

**With CrossFit, everything is scalable. If you can't do a pull-up (I can't), that's ok, if you can't do a full push-up (working on it...)that's ok, you get the picture!

**Short workouts! Being a mom, I feel like there is always something that needs to be done...I am sure you all know what I am talking about! Most workouts are no longer than 20 minutes, but that doesn't mean they are easy!

**I can tell I am getting stronger! I can lift more weights than I used to, and my push-ups are getting better.

**Community. It is all about being encouraging, and supporting each other while you work out. Since you are working out with other people, there is also a competitive side to CrossFit, which makes it more fun!

**Variety. Every workout is different, which keeps your body guessing, and keeps the workouts from being boring!

Jason, Brian, Michelle, Me and Casey (she just ran through a sprinkler to cool off, that isn't all sweat!)

Rob volunteer coaches at Atomic CrossFit, in Stafford. I thought it would be fun for him to start training my family and I, to help prepare him for his future clients. We use our driveway, backyard, and the culdesac to do our workouts. We have asked some neighbor friends to join us, but some of them would rather sit in their driveway and taunt us with their coke. We started training about 2 months ago, and have all really enjoyed it! This past week, Julie and Catherine joined in on the fun. They must have liked it, because they plan on coming back for more!

Julie, Catherine, Me and Jason doing assisted pull-ups and body rows in our backyard.

I can't wait to see what God has for Rob and CrossFit. This is an exciting time for him and our family. If you think about it, please pray that God will lead us throughout this process of owning our own business. It is a scary thing to do!

"Granola" Bars!!

Today I made some grain-free granola bars! They turned out really yummy! I adapted my recipe from this recipe. This is the second time I have made them, the first time they fell apart, therefore they were just granola, not bars...

This time, I added some mashed banana and I put them in the fridge to harden. It seemed to work better, but some of the bars are still crumbly! I doubled the recipe, so I used a regular cake pan.

1 ¼ cup blanched almond flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 cup sucanat
1 T cinnomon
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 ripe banana, mashed 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup crushed walnuts
1/4 cup crushed pecans
1/4 cup dried blueberries
1/4 cup dried apples
1/4 cup dried cherries

In a small bowl, combine almond flour, salt and baking soda, cinnomon and sucanat
In a large bowl, combine coconut oil, vanilla, almond extract and banana
Stir dry ingredients into wet
Mix in coconut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, pecans and dried fruit
Grease an 8x8 baking dish with coconut oil
Press the dough into the baking dish, wetting your hands with water to help pat the dough down evenly
Bake at 350° for 20 minutes
Serve

If your bar ends up falling apart like mine did, it is pretty tasty with some yogurt!!

CrossFit Houston's Summer Challenge

This Saturday, my brother in law, Mike, my sister in law Becky, and Rob all competed in CrossFit Houston's Summer Challenge. I am so proud of them all! It was Becky and Rob's first time to compete. They all did great! Becky has only been doing CrossFit for 3 months, and she got first place in the modified woman's division!! Way to go Becky!! We were all so excited for her!!

The competition took place at CrossFit Houston. The gym was pretty awesome on the inside, with one exception...no A/C!!! In 100 degree weather, with 100 plus people crowded inside, you can see how this was a problem. It was so hot in there, and I wasn't even working out! Bobby came with us, and he was such a trooper. He was so cute with little beads of sweat on his button nose. It was even worse for him, probably, because he had to be attached to me most of the day with the baby bjorn! We did take some A/C breaks in the car a couple of times and a trip to Jack n the Box.

Becky

Way to go Becky!!!

Rob



Mike

This is Bobby and my mother in law trying to stay cool in the heat!!

I am now really motivated to workout!! Rob has been training me and my siblings, Casey, Jason, Michelle and Brian. (More on that later!)

Weekend Fun and Father's Day

Rob...having fun...

This past Friday was ' The Garza Family's Day of FUN!!!'...a.k.a. spending the day together. :) We started out on a short road trip to Brenham, to visit the Yonder Way Farm. We get most of our meat from Yonder Way: beef, pork, and sometimes chicken. Why do we go through all this trouble? The cows at the farm are grass fed, and free from growth hormones, antibiotics, and other chemicals. Why are grass fed cows healthier for you than grain fed? Cows stomachs are not meant to digest grains, and those that do eat grains aren't as healthy, therefore their meat isn't as healthy for us. Grass fed beef is leaner and has less cholesterol. The cows are raised in pastures, which means they are not confined to small spaces, which leads to the spread of disease. I could go on and on... Click here or here for more information.

Ok, back to our fun day.

Once we got to the farm, we got a little tour. Bobby got to see some of the largest pigs I have ever seen! We also saw some piglets, chicks, and of course...cows.


After the farm, we went into town and ate at a cute little restaurant that this friend recommended. Mmmmm...We then went to an ice cream parlor to eat some ice cream that I had been craving all day! Sadly, we did not go to the Bluebell Creamery, we were told it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. So I got a huge ice cream cone with my old time favorite: Dutch Chocolate (you can't go wrong with chocolate!) , and my new favorite: Birthday Cake (vanilla with chocolate cake pieces, chocolate icing and sprinkles!). It was like a party in my mouth! Of course I didn't even finish half the cone.

Rob's ice cream...mmm...makes me want some right now!

We then walked around the little shops and just enjoyed the day. It was nice out, but HOT!

Bobby was so good in his stroller! That was the longest he had been in it ever. He was having a good 'ole time, just kicking his legs and looking around!

We finished the trip off with a stop at the new outlet mall on 290. It has some pretty good stores!

Then on Sunday, we celebrated Rob's first Father's Day! Bobby made him a heart shaped plaque with his footprint in it, and I got him a dry erase board (I know, I know...not very exciting...but he needed one!) for the garage to use for Crossfit.

We had a great weekend!

Check out the Yonder Way website! You don't have to go to Brenham to pick up an order, they have drop-offs in Sugar Land, Katy, Houston, and surrounding areas.

Beach Workout

On Sunday, Rob and I went to Surfside. CrossFit Sugar Land was having a get together. Rob is a certified CrossFit Instructor, and is working towards having his own clients, and training out of our garage. He has been helping out at CrossFit Sugar Land every once in a while. At the beach, I got to meet some of the people Rob works out with and helps coach. Usually at parties, we all eat too much, and then sit around stuffed. Since this was a CrossFit party, it wasn't what you might expect, everyone did a workout on the beach first, and then we all ate some food. :) Don't worry, I did not partake in the workout! I sat in the shade and took lots of pictures.

Everyone, getting ready. There were a lot of people there, probably around 60 or more.

The workout has begun! They were doing it relay style, everyone had a partner, they would do a round, and then run back to their partner through the waves to tag them.

Rob, doing his thing!! :)

Some observers on the beach... NOT with CrossFit...

What is CrossFit, you ask?
( taken from their website: )

CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide.

The CrossFit program is designed for universal scalability making it the perfect application for any committed individual regardless of experience. We’ve used our same routines for elderly individuals with heart disease and cage fighters one month out from televised bouts. We scale load and intensity; we don’t change programs.

Rob has been having me work out during my pregnancy, I really think it will help me during the labor and delivery. Soon after giving birth, I will begin doing harder CrossFit workouts. Don't worry, he'll give me time to recover! :)

Surprise! Tasty 'healthier' cupcakes !

I say 'healthier' cupcakes, because, can a cupcake really be healthy? Probably not. But we did find a really yummy recipe from this awesome food blog that has all kinds of recipes that are gluten free, and grain free. We couldn't decide which recipe to make, there were so many! We went with the one that we had the most ingredients for. Vanilla cupcakes with coconut cream frosting. The cupcakes have no flour in them, instead we used coconut flour (but they don't taste like coconut). The icing has coconut milk and agave nectar, which is a great way to sweeten things with out using sugar or artificial sweeteners. While they were delicious, the frosting was a little too sweet for us, so we probably will tweek it next time, or try her chocolate icing recipe instead. MMMM......

So we made a yummy dessert, and rented Penelope, which is a super cute movie, with my favorite actor of the moment, James Mc Avoy. What a great way to spend the evening!

Summer Time Popsickle!

MMMM---MMMM Good!!

Check out my yummy popsickle recipe! A healthier alternative to sugar filled treats!!

To Taste:
Pineapple
Strawberries
Coconut Milk
Ice

Blend together until smooth, place into popsickle tray, and freeze!!
Enjoy!

Farmers Market

Rob and I have always talked about going to a Farmers market, but we are always busy on the weekends, so we haven't gone. Today we didn't have anything to do, so off we went!! We went to the Bayou City Farmers Market. It was pretty cool. We bought some fresh broccoli, boc choi (we have never had it, so we'll see how that goes!), kale, and one fruit that is a cross between an orange and lemon. I forgot what it is called but it is a really weird name, and I haven't tried it yet, but I bet it tastes good!



Some of the items were a little pricey, but some were cheaper than in the store! The broccoli was only $1.oo a bunch!! That is really good. There were only about 15-20 venders there, so it only took us about 10-15 minutes to walk through the whole thing and pick out our items. The market is held every Sat. morning until 12 noon, and Wedesdays from 4-7.



I am sure Rob will make some new recipe with all our new groceries! Yum!!