5 Good Things: Hang a Shining Star

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1. It’s Tuesday already, which means we’re one day closer to the weekend, when I am headed to see Theo (and the rest of the family) for Christmas!

2. Listening to all the Christmas jams, specifically “A Very Special Christmas” and Natalie Merchant’s “Children Go Where I Send Thee” and City High’s “Oh Come All Ye Faithful.”

3. We had our annual Yankee Swap this weekend, and I got a sweet macaroon kit that I am excited to try out. Also, this picture courtesy of Eva, as I didn’t know I was part of the photo.

YankeeSwap

4. Book Club tonight – I love one more gathering of most of my fave LA ladies before we all separate for the holiday season.

5. Banana bread, chocolate peanut butter cookies, truffles, and giant salads is pretty much all I’m eating for the next few days as the fridge clean out continues until we leave on Saturday.

Happy Tuesday, chickens, hope you’re having a lovely pre-holiday week!

put some face into it.

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This past Monday, I went to a hip-hop dance class with T, C, and Cor. It’s the second time I’ve headed to dance with these ladies, this time a different studio than the last, but both times equally fun.

I am a terrible dancer, having stopped taking dance in my youth in favor of soccer. I never quite got the hang of shifting my weight in a way that could make it look like I was light on my feet. But I love dancing. I love dancing around my kitchen, in my car, at any bar/party/house/grocery store. So when T and C invited us to go, of course my answer was yes.

At class, our teacher was showing us how to pop and lock, how to do some fancy footwork, and generally how to move like we knew what we were doing – which we most certainly did not. But he said something that really applies to all life – “put some face into it.” He meant to put a smile on – act like you know what you’re doing, like what you’re doing is what you MEAN to be doing. Add your own flair to what you’re doing, too, because your own touches make it seem even more right. Fake it til you make it – and smile all the while.

Well, I might have barely learned 16 counts of dance moves to a Bruno Mars song, but I had an hour of fun, I put some face into it, and I got some exercise in on the way. The teacher told me I did great at the end, and that stuck with me, too – because a) I am pretty sure I didn’t but I appreciated the support and b) because I really did smile and laugh the whole time because I was having a good time (remind anyone of going to yoga with me?)

I think I’ll be back with T and C to shake it til I make it, face included.

Happy hump day, chickens!

to be her is surely blinding

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Well friends, I did it! Today was my second 10K and, true to my previous post, I finished. And I PR’d (1:18:36, off a little more than 4 minutes from my last 10k, or about 42 second a mile)! No one stopped me for directions. And, I did get brunch afterwards, and Dunkin Donuts, and also a turkey sandwich for lunch later from our favorite Santa Monica sandwich spot.

Overall the race wasn’t too bad – the weather was beyond, my playlist was out of this world (Thanks Cor and Lauren!) and I was feeling it with all the running and yoga prep I did. Plus, being surrounded by other runners and supporters doesn’t hurt!

BIG thanks to Mike, who not only LET ME BORROW HIS SUNGLASSES FOR THE RACE (which is like, a really big deal here in the bright + beautiful LA) but also waited for us to finish, stood around while we got drinks/water, and also took a million photos for us!

More photos to come, but here are a few:

 

10k

dunkin

 

10K Playlist // Until There’s Nothing Left

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Jesse McCartney / Kelly Clarkson / Mat Kearny / Mapei / Sara Bareilles / Ed Sheeran / Third Eye Blind / Devlin / Jason Derulo / Ellie Goulding / Natalie Merchant / Sia / Alex Clare / Brett Dennen / Train / Justin Timberlake / Macklemore & Ryan Lewis / Pitbull & Ke$ha / Built By Titan / Childish Gambino / Leona Lewis / Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds / Nick Minaj & Rihanna / Yelawolf / Robyn

all the things, baby, that we could be

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I’m running a 10k on Saturday. It’s the same one I ran two years ago with a gaggle of friends. Per the usual, I’ve been sick on and off, and traveling, and I have a blog, and a life, and I like a home cooked dinner and a relaxing Sunday, and usually I’d rather be doing yoga, and all that balance and stuff, so I haven’t trained 100 percent to the schedule. I was discussing this with my dad the other day, and he sounded worried. “Don’t worry, Dad, I’m not Nikki. I won’t push myself too hard,” I proclaimed.

In case you don’t know my sister, she’s the champion of competitive – if you think I am competitive, you’ve got another thing coming. She is the first to beat the heck out of a PR, I’ve seen her train for a triathlon that I at first laughed at (Nikki, swim a mile in open ocean?!), and if you tell her she can’t do something watch out because unless it’s pay attention to someone for a LONG time, she’ll not only DO it, she’ll do it BETTER than you.

Which, this is all to say I used to be like that, but no longer. I am pretty competitive, but at the end of the day I find victory in not over stressing about something that is self imposed (like, say, running a 10k in December.) I used to obsesses over races and psych myself out to the point of being so stressed about a race that it just wasn’t enjoyable (Unlike Nikki, who managed to get the competitive genes and also all the mellow genes). But I’ve chilled over the past couple of years, and I know this: I can move my body 6.2 miles, whether it’s running or not.

So I will go, I will run it, I will hopefully beat my 10k PR, and if not, eh, and then hopefully someone will feed me brunch.

Tonight I went out on my last run before the big one, and it was just a quick (ha! that’s a lie, never let runners tell you anything is that quick) two miles. I figured I would take my 10k playlist for a run and see how it went, and I would try to truly run the whole two miles (I almost always stop for a little walk/death in the middle of my runs, usually up the one hill I’ve decided to incorporate into my route.)

It didn’t go as planned. Instead of running the whole time, I got stopped for a few minutes when a stranger asked for directions. It always baffles me how often this happens to me (I do life in Hollywood, so there are tourists, but still) when I am RUNNING. But I guess people see a runner and figure they must live somewhere around here, and therefore can help them out? Anyways, needless to say I was a little bummed but I still ran a pretty consistent pace and managed a PR for this training.

And so, tomorrow will be yoga, and an early bedtime, and Saturday will be Santas and lots of families and racers for the Venice Holiday run. And I will finish. And if someone stops me for directions, I won’t sweat it. And then, brunch.