Welcome

Welcome to One Foot Over The Line, the personal blog of Matt and Pam Munson.

Why would you want to follow this blog?  Who knows!  Maybe you’ll find some entertainment here.  Maybe a little education and humor.  Maybe some insight into the craziness of small business ownership and the building of community.

Whatever.  No matter what, we hope you enjoy yourself.

Here comes Woodrow Call Munson

For the last 18 years I have only had Dachshunds.  My boy, Bosco, only left this world last October but he left behind a big hole in my life.  Yes, we have two other dogs.  And two cats.  But the cats are cats and as independent as can be and the dogs are not mine.  Jeb is Matt’s dog and Kiki is Mia’s and although they both are sweet to everyone in the house they have their people that they love the most.  So I’ve been looking around at dogs for a while.  Purebreds are outrageous in price, to me anyway, and I just can’t justify it.  I decided not to go the dachshund route again although that’s been a hard one to stick to.  We went to Poodle Rescue of Houston because that’s where Mia found Kiki but there just wasn’t a right match to be found.  I want what Matt and Mia have…that four-legged kid that is MINE!  So yesterday we went to the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals because that’s where Matt found Jeb…and we found TJ.

He’s bigger than I said I wanted but he’s also a doll and a nut from what we could tell hanging out with him for a half hour.  He was ready to leave with us as soon as we walked in the door.  We’ll actually take him home tomorrow (they had to get him fixed first) so he can meet his new crazy family.  And we’re changing his name to Woodrow Call.  Every dog in our life has a movie or book character name.  I’ve had an Augustus McCray previously and this little guy seems more like a Woodrow than a TJ.  Plus, I don’t know what his life was like before me and what’s tied to TJ so he’s starting fresh.  Expect to see him about at the gym.  I’m very excited!

Size 6

The size on the tag means as much as the number on a scale and that means very, very little.

What really matters is what I see in the mirror, how I feel, whether I have energy all day.  What really matters is my health and strength, both physical and mental.  Do I think clearly?  Can I keep up with my life?  Am I at peace with my decisions and practices?  A number on a tag means nothing.

I love CrossFit for the strength I have in mind and body that I’ve gained over the past 6 years.  Workouts that test my resolve can’t be found on a treadmill.  They can’t be found with 3 sets of 10 reps.  Those things don’t scare me or make me question myself.  When I walk in the gym to work out there’s hardly a WOD that doesn’t make me question my sanity going into it and feel like I can take on the world coming out of it.

So in that regard I let the media and fashion industries off the hook because its not about them.  Its all about my own choices.  I’m not a victim of their marketing campaigns.  I choose to ignore their ideals and make up my own mind with my own ideals.   In order to feel inferior in their eyes I have to accept their opinions and I don’t.  You live your life how you want to.  Ignore the haters and the un-informed.  They aren’t worth my time or yours.

Working on weaknesses

I have hated front squats for forever.  I’m not as strong in them as, say, back squat and so didn’t like them.  But I LOVE cleans!  Anyone see the problem here?  When my power clean is right at or only slightly higher than my full clean the hole in my training shows.  So I’m fixing the front squat and learning to like them.  Tighten up and get deep and a front squat isn’t so bad.  And as a bonus all other squats get stronger, too!  Who knew?!

Most of CrossFit training (and life if we’re really honest) is mental and telling myself over and over that I hate front squats had me hating front squats and limiting myself.  As I’ve said before, this is a new time of limitless me and it starts in my head.  Scary.  I love front squats.  I LOVE front squats!  I love FRONT SQUATS!!!

Full clean PRs coming soon!  2012 ROCKS!!

2012….it starts.

I don’t normally make resolutions because I feel that most of the time what folks resolve to do are vague, fluffy, feel-good wishes set up to fail.  Who needs that?!

For 2012, though, I’m going to resolve a couple of important things for me.

1.  I will complete all the projects that I have started and for which I bought all the pieces but haven’t made the time to do.  For a couple of reasons this resolution is a good one.  The projects I started were picked because they were something I wanted to have/do/etc so completing them will add to my world.  Mostly this is in the nesting arena (aka. house decorating).  It also will keep me from spending more money on more projects that I don’t see through to completion.  A double win.

2. I will take at least one picture of my family every day.  When I printed every good and bad picture out way back in the old days I took a gazillion pictures but as the technology as improved to digital and our lives have gotten busier I’ve stopped taking pictures of my best work ever – Alyx and Mia.  That’s not right.  Also, with the loss of Bosco in November I realize that I had very few pictures of his short life.  That sucks, too.  So along with a million pictures of our clients I will take at the very least one picture per day of at least one member of my household.  They’re so excited.

3. I will continue my unplanned departure from my normally cautious life.  That tattoo on my ankle?  I got that 10 years ago and had nightmares for weeks after about what “they” would think.  That kind of limited thinking has kept me…well…limited.  We only get one go ’round and living this time muted because of what someone else might think is a sorry way to live.  So, 2 months ago I got my nose pierced like I’d been talking about doing for years.  Last week I got a pair of boots that will not go with everything, they are not practical, they are not cautious.  I love them.  That’s 2 months and 2 things.  Ok.  One thing per month to make me step outside of my normally limited life.  I can do this.

That’s it.  Accountability and completion and memories and caring less about “they”.  Its my start to this year.  Matt has taken the lead in putting it out there, standing up and being the person he wants to be.  I’ve joined him on that.  Its only the start.

Pam

Business as usual…

But for only the rarest of moments, this is what my desktop looks like at any given moment or day.

Crazy, right?!

A good friend of mine will no doubt freak if he sees this!  Lol.

Doesn’t matter, that’s how I do it.  If its work in progress, it stays on the desktop.  If its complete, it gets deleted or shuffled to appropriate folder(s).  Typically, there’s lots going on and then at some point I get all caught up and get everything cleaned up.

So, there you go.

My Christmas present to me – sobriety!

November 28, 2011 is day 1 of me never drinking again.

There are very few things that I truly regret.

As I look back at my life to date, I am pretty damn happy with most everything I have done and accomplished.  I have a beautiful, healthy family.  My wife is my best friend in the world.  My daughters are smart, polite, beautiful, confident and capable young women.

I am very fulfilled in my work, helping others in this world find health and fitness and self-defense.  I believe that am making a positive impact in others lives.

There really is very little to complain about.

But, the one thing I regret is ever drinking alcohol.  Like almost anyone that drinks, from occasionally to all the time, I of course have my share of stories and embarrassing moments related to drink.  Some funny, some not so funny, some downright shameful.  They are my stories…I won’t share them.

Now, I can say that I was just a social drinker.  That would be a lie.  Alcohol had a hold on me.  And, he’s got a damn strong grip!  But, like many who have tangled with me…he lost.  I won.

Suffice to say…I’m done.  It is my honest and complete belief that nothing good comes from drinking.  Not one thing.

I don’t expect everyone, or even anyone, to agree with me.  I don’t really care if you do.  I also won’t do anything to try to sway you stop drinking yourself.  Everyone is capable of making their own decisions, even though some are hardly capable of handling the consequences of their decisions.

But, know this.  Its been almost 30 days since my last drink…and I have never felt better in my life.  Everything is more clear.  There are in fact days that I feel as though I am hyper aware of my surroundings.   Spooky like even!  My days are more productive, my mind is not foggy.  And, my relationship with my wife is the best it has EVER been.

Everything is better with out it!

Complete sobriety – one of the best gifts I’ve ever received.

This I believe – and then some