Tag Archives: friends

101 Dalmatians & 20/20 Vision

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1910034_509145321661_3165_nWhen I was 9, my BFF Lauren turned 10 and to celebrate we went to see 101 Dalmatians in theaters. I forgot to bring my glasses. We had to sit in the front. She doesn’t remember this, but I always did. She forgave me, apparently, and we stayed friends (and eventually she needed glasses, too.)

I’ve worn glasses since I was 7 or 8, and contacts since I was 12. Over the years, I have had various times when wearing glasses has been a nuisance or inconvenience:

The time I lost a contact in the ocean and had to walk back to my beach house half-blind.

The times I wanted to stay for a sleepover but couldn’t because I didn’t have contacts on me.

The time I lived in China for 2 months but the smog was so bad I had to wear glasses for most of the trip.

The several times I had to schelp to the store after arriving somewhere on a trip to get contact solution so I didn’t have to buy a hundred travel sized ones.

The time I put my contacts in two bowls because I couldn’t find a contact case and one of the bowls hadn’t been cleaned thoroughly enough and somehow I got garlic in my eye the next morning.

You get the idea. Not the worst thing, but glasses and contacts haven’t been the best part of traveling, camping, sports-playing, etc., over the past 20-something years of my life.

20140929_131100_DSC_183810399494_549504536471_162879_n 24325_536225158756_395265_nWearing contacts and glasses have always been part of who I am. But I am happy to say on Friday I am getting corrective lens surgery so I will no longer need these fashion accessories (although maybe I’ll get some clear lenses for old time’s sake.)

There are a handful of things I am SO EXCITED about: being able to see in the middle of the night; waking up on a plane and not feeling a jolt of panic at the blurry surroundings; going camping in the backcountry without needing to bring in lots of contacts, soap, etc., to guarantee my hands are clean enough to put contacts in…the list goes on.

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This is something I’ve been wanting to do for years, and I can’t believe it’s finally going to happen. I’ve been wearing my glasses all week in preparation of the surgery, but by this time next week I’ll not need anything anymore. I will have just a little more freedom than I have now. And I am so, so thankful for that. Even though I am nervous (lasers near my eyes, yikes) I know this is going to be the beginning of a life-changing experience for me that will change the way I live my life. I can’t wait. I’ll never make anyone sit in the front row of a theater again.

Here we go!

5gts: in your ocean, ankle deep

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It’s Friday before July 4th. Rebecca is here from London! So here are some good things floating around my lovely life:

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  1. We got kittens! Two cuties named Cosmo and Izzy. Izzy (above, left) is our little girl, and Cosmo (above, right) is our shy guy. They are very fun and we’re having a blast watching people (read: Becca and Ana’s) reactions to these fur balls.
  2. As I mentioned above, Becca is here and she’s staying with us – lucky people we are! I’ve missed her so I am glad to have her settling in for a long stay and can’t wait to celebrate the Fourth with her.
  3. My first podcast with Traci is up! It’s called “That’s Our Jam” and we talk about everything from holidays to hot dogs to history. It has been a super fun project to work on and I’m glad to finally share it with you guys.
  4. Three Day Weekend! Patio furniture is coming this weekend to lounge on for the holiday. And we have a new grill. How lucky are we? I can’t wait for hot dogs & watermelon salad & blended margs.
  5. My garden is coming along nicely, and we might have spaghetti squash by the end of the season if we’re good to the plants. What a great summer this already has been.

Happy July, kids!

we’re only hearts & bones & blood (but we are giants)

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Slacking this early in the year – but here I am, getting back to it. Since this serendipitously ended up on Traci’s birthday, I will speak to her beautiful soul on her 30th birthday.

Traci, you’re one of the bests. The people that makes me laugh the loudest, the longest, the hardest. You can always make me smile, always have something to tell me that will make me cry tears of happiness, and you obsess about the weird shit I obsess about like Lin-Manuel and GG and Marc Broussard, etc. etc. I love you to the moon, and I am so glad that we became friends in a moderately-sized Kasteel in Nederland, only to live a mile from each other ten years later and more than 5,500 miles from where we started.  

I am so thankful for ten years of inappropriate hand-holding, adventuring around Europe and around Boston and around Los Angeles, and for your making every day an adventure – whether we’re going to Trader Joe’s, hiking with Ray, or just sitting in someone’s driveway listening to Justin Timberlake, you make life more fun to be living.

Here’s a smattering of photos of us over the years – and here’s to many, many more.

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You and these five other beauties have made my life so much richer over the past ten years, and I can’t think of a better way to start celebrating 10 years from this trip than with a celebration of YOU. Happy Birthday, and see ya tonight! XOXO

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how lucky we are to be alive right now

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Well guys, we did it. On Sunday, Ellen, Jeff, and I ran our half marathon! This was Ellen’s third half marathon, and Jeff’s first half (except he’s already run a marathon, so it counts but only kind of ;)) and it was my first one.

Half Marathon | Santa to the Sea

I have been training for this half marathon since the end of June, because I was worried I wasn’t going to be ready. I ran 160 miles to prep for this marathon (which is many less than I technically was supposed to run.) I slept countless extra hours to get over my various illness including bronchitis.

I didn’t make plans with friends here and there so I could run miles after work through our neighborhoods through hot and cold weather, through Santa Ana winds and even through rain (I know, shocking.) We even moved our holiday party to the weekend after Thanksgiving (thanks friends!) and to a Sunday night in order to plan for this half marathon.

The Thursday before the half, I went to my weekly soccer game and I pulled my right quad muscle kicking a ball. Never had I pulled a muscle like that simply kicking a ball (or honestly doing anything else) but I suspect it had something to do with the hard ball to my leg I took the previous week (seriously, there is still a soccer imprint on my leg.) So I spent Friday icing my leg once an hour, and spent time heating it Friday night. I went to bed early that night and hoped that the icing, the anti-inflammatory, the heating, and rest would do the trick…

Sunday came and my leg was OK. Miles 1-3 were tough, and I was sure with every step I wouldn’t be able to finish. But I warmed up around Mile 4, and by Mile 7 I was numb. When “Alexander Hamilton” came on right after Mile 4.5, I knew I was going to finish.

An hour after Jeff and at least thirty minutes after Ellen, I crossed that finish line still jogging, still smiling, and not in too much pain. A little over three hours of running and then suddenly (or maybe not so suddenly) it was over. Of course, now two days later I am sore all over, but I did it you guys!

Thanks to my friends and family who let me use the last six months to accomplish such a goal – I couldn’t have done it without the constant support of my team, from those who suggested music, who helped me heal, who understood when I cancelled plans or didn’t return their calls/emails/texts on time because I was out running. I’m so glad I have y’all in my life, and I’m so glad to say I’ve run a half marathon.

And now, rest…right?

it is the only thing that makes us feel alive

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Yesterday I headed back into the yoga studio after six weeks away because of my wrist. If we’re being honest, spraining my wrist was the first injury I’ve ever had that really made me feel like I was never going to physically be the same, and that scared the daylights out of me. As the weeks went on and my wrist didn’t just snap back, I felt like maybe my age was showing and I should be more careful with myself.

Well, after a stressful week of work and life and dogsitting and 90 degree weather and too much on my plate, I felt my shoulders scrunching right up and I wasn’t sleeping, waking up with a racing mind and fretful heart. I knew it was time to get back. I was supposed to run for my half-training, but I knew I wasn’t going to push myself to run 5 miles in 90 degrees and full sun in the name of…what?

Wasn’t this half supposed to be something that I’m doing for the results, not the end? I’m in it to build strength, endurance, muscle, and clarity in my runs. Not to run a half marathon that’ll impress…who? Running is one of those things I wish I was better at, but often dread. I was sick of dreading my workouts.

So I went to the yoga studio down the street. And I flowed for an hour. And I bought a 30 day pass at a steal (the price of two classes, it’s already paid itself off) and I felt really, really, really happy. The way exercise is meant to make you feel, and if we’re being honest, everything. Isn’t it? Everything should make you happy. With the right beats, even cleaning is fun.

Speaking of which, yesterday I also spent a fair amount of time packing with the girls. (Thanks T, A, and M, you’re amazing.) We danced to Whitney (god bless) and we packed and moved boxes and took out the trash, and A patched the holes in my walls. M wrapped my valuables, and T dusted every frame that was on our walls (that’s a lot.) My heart was just so full.

We’re moving, in case you didn’t gather, or know, and it’s in a week, and Jeff’s been in the canyon since last Saturday, and yesterday was literally a perfect day of friends and love and happiness that made me feel really, really lucky to be who I am.

Today, I got up and went to yoga again and flowed, and I was careful with my still-a-little-achy wrist (backing off every vinyasa, not pushing myself to crow, still feeling sweaty and worked and stretched.) I got home and made blueberry scones. I am drinking iced coffee. Jeff is due back soon, and this day is perfect day number two. Correlation to yoga? Perhaps.

The heat’s going to break this week. I am praying and intention-ing that this is the last heat wave, and we can roll into 80s and then 70s and I can run and finish my half and do yoga and be happy, healthy, and full.

That’s where my head’s at this Sunday. Namaste, bitches. Hope you’re happy, healthy, full. xo