i could live by the light in your eyes.

Posted on by
Reply

It’s Friday, folks, which means the weekend is nearly here. Soccer starts anew this weekend, and we’re also having one of my famous LA-family events (our yearly Christmas Tree bonfire) so I have a lot to look forward to.

christmastree1

This is from circa 2011, or maybe 2010. Unclear, but one thing is clear: it is tons and tons of fun!

This week I have had a chance to run three miles, and I have done yoga four days in a row, which means I am not feeling super sore after running – definitely a plus if I am going to find my running stride, again, and enjoy running without having major injuries/setbacks.

I have also signed on to a seven mile run in mid-March, which has led to me finding a good training schedule that allows me to ease slowly back into my life without feeling overcommitted or underprepared for the race.

What kind of training schedules do you guys use for running? Do you listen to music, books on tape? I have been listening to The Katniss Chronicles, but I am on the last episode (oh no!) and now I am debating between catching up on RadioLab or coming up with some poppy mixes for 2014.

Happy Friday, you guys! Stay warm, lovelies!

run right into you

Posted on by
1

Hello everyone! I just got back from running my first mile of the year.

Confession: I hadn’t run since April of last year. Since I got hired at my new (now not-so-new) job, I hadn’t set foot to the pavement. I have recommitted to tons and tons of yoga, stretching and bending and breathing and relaxing, but for several reasons (read: excuses) I hadn’t been running, I realized in almost nine months.

This morning, I woke up early on the dot (is this how not being able to sleep in on the weekends starts!?) and figured that I should exercise somehow before diving in to my day – I am trying to learn how to slow down and take time for me before moving on to the household, the blog, etc. But I went to yoga on Friday and stupidly hurt my shoulders, so I didn’t want to push myself through too much yoga.

Jeff got me a new arm band when I got my new iPhone, and it was sitting in my side table still in the box. So I took it out, grabbed my headphones, sneakers, and changed and headed outside. It was the perfect temperature – about 65 – so I knew I had no excuses but to run.

I only ran a mile, because I wasn’t sure if I could even do that without stopping. In my stride, I had run a 10k, but that was more than a year ago. Normally, I could run about two miles without stopping, and my route was three miles, which meant one or two walking breaks.

But I ran my whole mile, you guys. One thing I have learned in running is that I am pretty good at setting my pace, knowing from the get-go how fast I should run in order to keep pace my whole run. So I ran the mile block around my house. And I ran the whole thing (even the leg of it that is uphill.) I didn’t die, I was out of breath but not wheezing, and my legs and feet and body really doesn’t feel any worse for the wear.

Here’s to many, many more miles this year. It always starts with one, right?

shining offa you.

Posted on by
3

Welcome to 2014, chickens! Last year was quite a busy one for me, personally, professionally, etc. I only wrote here a sorry 44 times, as I have been over on GMS, where we posted 272 times in 2013.

I love writing for GMS, but I love writing here, too. Most of the time, it’s for myself, as a record of my life, as a creative outlet, as a way to get my feelings down on paper. As a way to remember, even if I never read my writing again.

And so, this year, I am going to up my game, and commit to write here at least three times a week. It can be short, it can be photos, it can be playlists, it can be anything, but I want to find myself writing for me, again, not just recipes and cooking tips, but things about my life, with my friends and family and in my profession. I look forward to getting back to writing here, and hope you’ll join me for what should be a great 2014.

So, for you, my other new year’s resolutions, for 2014:

1) Be present.
2) Be balanced.
3) Adventure often. (paddleboarding/hiking/weekend trips/skiing/etc)
4) Exercise more.
5) Read 52 books
6) Get married with low stress!
7) Declutter

What are some of your resolutions for 2014?

ever dreamed we even could be.

Posted on by
Reply

Hello friends! I am writing to you from the sun porch of my parents’ house in Chicago. It is 19 degrees here, but the sun is shining and I have a big cup of coffee and a golden retriever at my side, and so I am a happy camper.

So my 25 days of yoga didn’t go as planned (does anything?) but I am happy to report that I am OK with that. So what happened? Well, I missed my first day because I was out too late for a holiday party – which I have mixed feelings about. I think that holidays should be fun, but obviously health should come first, so I think there needs to be a sense of balance in both things so that my exercise doesn’t fall aside when the busy season rolls around.

Then, as is frequent during this season, I got sick, and it was all over. I could barely breath, work, sleep, and pack for the Midwest, let alone also add in yoga, so I didn’t. I listened to my body, rested, slept, and headed to see my family.

I started up my yoga again yesterday, newly healthy from my bout with a terrible cold, and it felt good to be back – especially because this cold made me very achy. I hope to get yoga in a few more days while I am here on vacation, but I am not going to sweat it. I am going to set up another 25 day challenge, and while I might not complete that, either, that is OK. Doing your best is sometimes the best you can do.

These challenges we set up for ourselves are a representation of who we want to be at our very best, but often are unreachable, or unrealistic. I am learning from this challenge, and think I’ll take a “25 days of yoga in 30 days” approach next time around, which is how the challenge works at my yoga studio – and now, I see why. Some days, when you’re home from work sick and just focused on getting up to drink enough water, yoga isn’t logical. Or a run, or a walk, or Pilates, or whatever your exercise is.

I also learned during this challenge that some days during the 12 days in a row I did yoga, that some days an hour and a half of yoga was what my body craved – and some days, I needed a 30 minute restorative-focused, meditative sort of class. And that’s what I love about yoga – it can be whatever you need it to be!

How about you guys – how are you with setting challenges for yourself? Do you set yourself up for failure, or do you do whatever it takes (other priorities be damned!) to get it done?

Drinkers and jokers // all soul searchers

Posted on by
Reply

Happy Tuesday, everyone! We’ve made it through Monday with flying colors, and for that I am happy. There is a week and a half until I head to Chicago to see all of my family, and any day that flies by to make that closer is a a good day in my book!

Today is my 9th day of my 25 days of yoga, and so far, so good. It helps that Jeff has joined the challenge, too, so when I have to hit the mat I have often had a friend to do so with – hitting the mat when a warm couch and lovely Christmas tree standing by can be hard, but flowing with loved ones makes it that much easier.

As we fly into a week of holiday dinners, parties, and general merriment, I am doing my best to pre-schedule the yoga to ensure it happens in a timely manner. I have been switching from longer classes that are an hour plus to shorter 25 minute classes depending on my schedule, and cycling through backbending, headstanding, core strength, foot balances, etc., to keep my body from getting overtired of the same old thing while continuing my practice.

It also helps if I have a class picked out before I get home, so I know what I’m headed into and can mentally prepare for whatever’s coming at me – be it lots of vinyasas, or a particularly hard class with warrior 3 into half-moon into triangle.

How are you all doing this holiday season? Are you keeping from getting burned out, and are you finding time to exercise?