I was able to finish a CrossFit 661 workout for the first time. It wasn’t very strenuous as these things go, but hey, let’s celebrate it.
We started with the warm up, then proceeded to Turkish Get-Ups. My instructor was really emphasizing good form over raw power, so I just worked on my form carefully. Using a barbell made it way tougher than using a dumb bell or a kettle bell. I just maxed out with the 45 lb bar bell.
The second workout was five rounds of 200 meter runs, 15 kettle bell swings with a 54 lb. weight, and 15 reverse crunches. I figured I might be able to finish it, and I did, without scaling. I almost finished the whole workout unbroken except for a breather on the last set of kettle bell swings. I could have dug deep and finished it unbroken, but I didn’t want to lay there heaving on the floor after the workout. These days, I am emphasizing kindness to myself way over finishing a little faster. Despite this I was the first finisher (out of only two, but still).
In any case, I am definitely getting in shape. That’s one positive thing you can say about CrossFit: It might not be easy or fun, but if you stick with it you will inevitably become more fit.
Joey bakes cupcakes, cakes, and muffins several times a week now. He really enjoys it. He asked me to put a photo of him holding the giant cookie he made on my blog.
This is the piece that Erica and I rehearsed for half an hour tonight. I have it in sheet music, and with a few minor modifications, we were able to turn it from a piano solo piece into an ensemble piece. She carried the melody and I played the accompaniment on the double bass. It was fun times and good music. I struggled at first to keep up the pace, but with even a little practice I was able to keep up. Thankfully, it’s a pretty slow piece naturally, so it doesn’t sound too awkward being played slowly. Of course, when I bobbled the beat, it just turned into an instant train wreck. It is interesting that the melody instrument can play half the notes and the piece still sounds pretty good, but if the bass guy screws up, just stop and start over.
Playing together really emphasizes for me the importance of counting time and keeping to the rhythm. When you are alone, it never even occurs to you, but when playing with someone else, it is just critical. I am trying to use the good musicians we have in my family to play together as much as possible. It is a great form of practice.
Man, a month is a long time. I have lost lots of skills in playing my accordion. It is really bothersome struggling to play pieces that I could play easily a month ago. Grrrr…. I wrestled with it for an hour tonight.
It is frequently a “defense” of people who committed a crime that they have something unique about themselves that would prevent any sane person from ever sending them to prison. It would be simply inconceivable. You can fill in the blank above with literally an endless series of adjectives. No matter how creative you think you are, I have heard more amazing ones. Old, sick, disabled, gay, wonderful, Christian, pretty, weak, rich, smart, special, well known, too many children, poor, productive, artistic, retarded, crazy, addicted, young…special.
The system is ruthless and cruel. They don’t see you the way your mom sees you. They are capable of imprisoning even the most unlikely of defendants, like this guy. The line, “No judge will ever send me to prison!” is always wrong.
I practiced seven total hours this week: An hour on the U-bass, and hour and a half on the accordion, three hours on the double bass, half an hour on the classical guitar, and an hour studying music theory. But more importantly, we have the family band forming. Joseph and Tyler are very motivated now to really learn their instruments. Joseph practices constantly. They are eager to make music with their dad. I am going to be spending a lot more time on the double bass getting up to speed myself. The accordion will be secondary.
I thought I would take a moment on this Father’s Day to thank all the professionals who have worked so hard to keep our little ones safe and healthy and happy. It truly does take a village to raise this many kids, and we could not do it without their help, past and present. Thank you all.
