So about a year ago my husband joined a cult….er…. I mean a group of people who do this crazy thing called CrossFit. He would literally get up at 4:30 in the morning to go workout in some guys back yard and come home barely able to move, covered in dirt and grass, and grinning from ear to ear! After that all he could talk about was CrossFit, and the crazy guy whose backyard he seemed to be rolling around in 3 mornings a week!

After 6 months of hearing about this, my curiosity got the better of me. So for Father’s day, I woke up, before the sun, and dragged myself to do some insane workout at 6:00 on a Sunday! (For those of you who are asking yourselves “What is CrossFit?” Let me tell you, it’s hard to explain, but basically the idea is to push yourself harder than you ever have before, doing strange exercises that make muscles, you didn’t know existed in the human body, feel like they’d been put in a meat grinder. At least that’s my definition! 🙂 ) So I spent the next hour stepping up on boxes, doing sit ups with the assistance of a gigantic rubber band, doing push ups and running more than I had run in years! It took everything I had to 1. finish 2. not cry and 3. not throw rocks at all the fit people who kept saying “good job” as they lapped me for the 1 millionth time! But I survived, and the next WEEK I was so sore that I literally thought I would die from it. It was then that I decided to not waste this sore. I was tired of having a marshmallow center, so I went back again, and again and again! I’ve been going for about 4 months now, and the difference in my strength, endurance and just the quality of my life has increased tremendously!

Now you’re probably wondering what in the world this has to do with cake, well I’m getting there! You see the random guy whose backyard my husband and I now workout in, isn’t a random guy at all. His name is Stephen Dalton, and he has a passion for living a healthy life and sharing his passion with others. He has a shed full of wacky exercise equipment like wall balls, kettle bells and ab-mats. And for months, he opened up his “home” (aka backyard) to anyone who wanted to come and get a killer workout through CrossFit for free! So when his birthday began to approach and our little CrossFit family began planning a surprise party for him, I jumped at the opportunity to make him a Crossfit cake. I wanted an opportunity to say thank you for all that he had done for me and my family.

You see, I still don’t enjoy exercising. The “endorphin high” is totally wasted on me. I don’t sweat very much, so I overheat, I have a bad back, and arthritis; I basically have the joints of an 80 year old! But I love the people that have become a part of my life through CrossFit, they have literally become part of my family and I love them all dearly! And Stephen, our fearless leader, our Captain Kool-aid, brought us all together. So once again, thank you Stephen! I hope you enjoyed being immortalized in cake! See you in the morning! 🙂

By the way, if you want to join us, our group was featured in the North West Florida Daily News, this Crestview Crossfit is at 5315 Shoffner Blvd at 5am or 4pm or 5:30pm Monday, Wednesday or Friday. (Saturday at 7am also). It’s only $25 for 5 introductory classes (no expiration date). Check their website here – CrossftiNWFL.com. It’s definitely addictive once you start, just ask Sheena Ratliff from Lens Flare Photography.

Captain Kool-aid’s Crossfit Birthday cake!

Up at the top, that’s Jess getting himself some Kool-aid! And below him is Dino, sporting his green towel and doing some pullups on the “Rack of Pain”!

This is my dear friend Stephanie. She’s doing box jumps. In real life, she’s skinny and gorgeous and the rest of us are jealous of the fact that she eats Big Macs and still wears a size 2 so everyone calls her Skinny B. (I can’s say what the B stands for 🙂 )

Now this hottie is my very own husband. He is the master of double unders. He once did 1000 at one time. Why you might ask. I have no idea!

See that top saying? Well, that is Stephen’s catch phrase. He says it at every WOD (that CrossFit for workout of the day) even if there aren’t any burpees involved! 😀

This is Mr. Pukey. He tries to pay a call to everyone who does CrossFit, though not everyone gives into him! He’s not our favorite person! Lol!