Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today

...to get through this thing called life

In my constant and more recently frantic search to figure out wtf to do my with my life, I’ve been coming across the word Legacy pretty frequently.  As a 29 year old it’s not a word I’ve felt the need to use just yet, it’s a biggie, it’s heavy and it seems a little final. But as I said, it keeps popping up, so I’ve been trying to look at it a little differently, letting it inform my day a little more than before. I approach decisions of all kinds with the same level of panic, what I’m having for dinner is equally as stressful as what my next career move should be. It’s exhausting and just completely rediculous. So I’m trying to take a step back from it all and consider Legacy. What is it that you’re going to want to remember at the end of all this, what would you want others to remember about you – whatever that answer is, do more of that, and maybe don’t worry so much about the other stuff omg easier said than done.

Now I appreciate Prince as much as the next person but would never  consider myself a super-fan, so when he passed away yesterday I was shocked and bummed but WAS NOT ready for the epic response to his death. I was completely unaware of his reach and the extent of his career. Someone said yesterday that what Bruce is to New Jersey, Prince is to Minnesota and I was like OH ok got it! I’m normally not one of those people who is big enough to be all “don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened” if someone is giving me a legit chance to lose my shit and wallow, damnit I take it. But watching the entire world share what Prince, his music, and his legacy, meant to them yesterday… made me happy? Everytime a new person, celebrity, whatever, paid tribute to him I thought holy crap, how awesome is this? This one person touched ALL of these people, from so many walks of life, he made their lives better in some way. I felt proud of him? I think sometimes we forget how much the world really does value uniqueness, creativity and somone who is willing to just be themselves unabashedly. It's so weird to call someone's passing refreshing, but it was for me, I was really moved by the outpouring and the celebration of his life and legacy there it is again. 

Unfortunately I feel like I did own a similar shirt

Obviously we can’t all be Prince no one wants to see me dressed like this but we can all be a little more aware of what we are leaving behind, be a little truer to ourselves than we were yesterday, kick a little bit of the bullshit to the curb and celebrate a little more of the good shit. And party like it's 1999 because the 90s were the best ever, Prince and I totally agree on that! 

Add waxing philosophical on Prince to the list of things I never thought I'd do...

                                                                                                                                                

FRIDAY FAVORITES TIME

1.  Prince Tributes, goes without saying
Holy balls get ya tissues ready / this teacher is everything / James Cordon seriously stop making me cry everything is better with an accent

and for good measure: the best cover EVER, and Julia, because Julia…

2. It's Marathon Season! #MarathonMonday is easily every runner's favorite Holiday and this year was no exception.

Photo courtesy of @wotowineglass Photo credit my mom :)

The Boston Marathon is the reason I signed up for my first Marathon, and it is such a source of inspiration for me, and this interview with Dave McGillivray is awesome.
I had guaranteed acceptance into this year's Chicago Marathon (I deferred last year to run Marine Corps) but the lottery was pulled this week for the rest of the racers and there are SO many Oiselle girls running! All the talk of meetups, group runs, and being surrounded by teammates has me so excited for my 4th ?! go at 26.2

3.  Finally getting to experience the beauty of grabbing some Picky Bars in Trader Joes, and they were a special kind of magical let me tell you!

good for the tummy, bad for the wallet

4.  CLEAR YOUR DVR the movie marathon to end all movie marathons is upon us!

5. Summer Kicks! The weather has been pretty bad ass this week and it's got me in the mood for some summer clothes and shoes that are not running sneakers shocking I know currently have my eyes on these booties, finally getting a pair of these sandals and trying to decide which Adidas to get between this classic and this new pair?

What a random post but welcome to my life!
 - Stay Caffeinated my friends

That Feeling When... [#1]

You turn around and all of a sudden it's the middle of April, your baby sister turns 27 on Sunday AND you still haven't filed your taxes? Yea that's where I'm at right now!

Normally I turn into a TOTAL basket case annnd total bitch when things get hectic and I feel like I am not "in control" of every second of every day. I've felt that fight or flight mode pop a couple of times during the past week, noticed myself jumping on the defensive a little more, and my all time go to being anal AF about what food I'm eating lately. BUT you know what, the fact that I can see that all these "faults" as for what they are (a reaction to stress and an attempt to assert some control over my day) makes me feel as though I have grown up a bit. Doesn't mean I wouldn't love for those things to not be kneejerk reaction to stressful situations, I can just accept the fact that I'm a little on edge at the moment. Doesn't make me a bad person, doesn't make me a failure, just makes me ME right? Well, I'll tell myself that for now anyway.

In addition to my new found self-awareness and acceptance taking bets on how long that will last... a huge help in the stress area has been running. TYBJ. Since the first big injury in September, running had turned into the source of my stress and it. was. awful. I am in so in love with running right now and it makes me so. freaking. happy. I think we all have that thing in our lives where no matter what other shit is going down, whatever else gets fucked up, as long as  you have that thing to turn to - you know everything is going to be ok. For me right now that thing is running. I've even been doing my training runs after work and mid-day on the weekends, which is a huge departure from my usual schedule. A couple of hours in the sun with a good podcast on looking at you Running On Om and I'm usually as good as new. 

Anyways, that's pretty much where I'm at right now. Wading through the crap, jonesing for my next run, and next meal obvi.

                                                  
Now it's time for Friday Faves! 

As part of the #fullhalfchallenge I finally subscribed to Oiselle fav Jasyoga. My original goal was to do 13 minutes a week, but I've been averaging at least 13 minutes a day. I am digging it! Peak mileage weeks are usually when my injuries flare up, so I'm trying to be extra good to my body this time around. So far, so good everyone go knock on all the wood. I LOVE that I can search the videos by length, category (pre-workout, cross-training, post-workout, recovery, even some meditation) and body part. If my back is bothering me my back is always bothering me, I literally just search "back" and get a list of all of the videos incorporating back exercises. It's really the little things in life that excite me. So yea, 2 thumbs up for Jasyoga, and if you're a person who finds it hard to make time for yoga and recovery I HIGHLY recommend it. Hips don't lie. 

When my #girlcrush Hungry Runner Girl said she used an Instyler to get her beautiful head of waves, I was instantly intrigued and skeptical that a rotating iron would ever work on my rats nest. But hey it was on Groupon so I got one anyway. I actually showered this week so I was able to try it out and I was pleasantly surprised! I got the wet to dry option, but still had to dry my hair 99.9% of the way. The Instyler was definitely faster than using a straightener and left my hair with a little more volum and polish. Not at HRG status yet, but a vast improvement! 

Life after House of Cards. Yes it exists. Spring Baking Championship is back on Food Network, and while I haven't been able to catch this season's episodes yet, I have been watching the last season online. Seriously the only way I can make myself do my Strength Training is while watching the Baking Championships... I don't get it either. My other fave EMPIRE is back on and right now it's the only show I am watching live. And I mean hello theme song!

Happy Weekend and Happy Caffeine-ating!

New Year - Same Me

Well we made it through the first day of 2016 - go us!

What is it about a New Year that is both so inspiring and completely panic inducing? I haven't been that great about setting "New Years Resolutions" the past couple of years. My goals are usually either too vague or too specific if you have not yet gathered this, there is not much grey-area in my life so I end up not knowing how to go about pursuing my vague goals or I miss one day of drinking warm water with lemon and cayenne in the morning and all is shot to hell.

Some people like to focus on shedding the baggage of the previous year, getting rid of what did not serve them, which I am all for. 2015 was a bitch. Not totally bad, not totally good, just bitchy. A lot of what went down is not my story to tell - there were career changes to varying degrees of success; movings out, movings in, movings back out; truly amazing people were lost; injuries came and went and came back again; harsh realties were faced. That's not to say 2015 didn't have it's great times, it most certainly did. But for me, it was what I like to call a "learning year."

So where exactly does that leave on 1/1/2016?

Well, I spent the last night of 2015 having a wonderful dinner with the two greatest parents a person could ever ask for. Then I went off to ring in the New Year with my sister, Guinness in one hand Champagne in the other. Yes I showered, put on makeup and real clothes, I also managed to get home at a reasonable hour AND take off said makeup before bed - if that's not adulting please tell me what is. 

What are you doing New Years Day?

A whole lot of nothing honestly. My ankle and ITB are still pretty angry at me, and while the last thing I wanted to do was to start a new year injured, I can now honestly say that missing one week of training is not worth doing any more permanent harm to my body. So it was Pure Barre ftw this morning, maybe 2016 will be the year I get abs and an ass? a girl can dream I cancelled my Weight Watchers account, which is big for me. I joined forever ago to lose the pounds I gained post-college and pre-running. It originally held me accountable for poor diet and exercise choices, but eventually turned into a restrictive obsession that was at odds with a heavy training load. See, major learning going on here I got my first day of free  coffee with my new Starbucks Tumbler  I love Chistmas presents. I made freaking Broiled Lamb Chops from my Runner's World Meals on the Run Cookbook Seriously, I love Christmas presents. And now I'm here taking to you fine people, getting ready for bed and focusing on all of the great things I already have to look forward to in 2016.

Tomorrow morning I am going to get up and try to have the best day I can, I think maybe that will be my 2016 Resolution.
Sorry Yoda. 

Friday Faves

For someone who is extremely anal about when/where Holidays can be celebrated I feel like the majority of the things that I’m loving this week are Holiday related. Perhaps I am getting lax in my old age.

My Favorite Things, from Oprah’s Favorite Things

Believe it or not, I was not really aware of Oprah’s Favorite Things Episode until I got to college. A suitemate had it on her room when I walked by her room and needless to say I never made it to my class that day. Pretty much the entire suite ended up piled onto the two twin beds, hysterically crying, because Oprah

via GIPHY

Ever since I’ve been addicted to Oprah’s Annual Christmas list because, the chick has pretty awesome taste, and it always reminds me of happy college days. While I sure as hell can't afford the majority of the things on Ms. Winfrey's Wish List, there were a few things that stood out and might just make their way on to mine! 

• Typhoon Vision Stainless Steel Digital Food Kitchen Scale
• Arlington Milne Women's Large Wallet
• Modern Sprout Kitchen Herb Kit
• Peace Love World Women's I Love Sundays Comfy Cozy Sweatshirt
• Butter London The Ultimate Lacquer Wardrobe
• Carousel Cakes Elvis Cake but please don't get it for me cause I will stick my face in it 

The IKEA Commercial that gives you ALL THE FEELS!
A rando posted this on Facebook, and I was legitimately bawling my eyes out at work, no shame.

[Deep thought of the day: Holy reminder that I tend to try and fill a lot of “holes” with “stuff.” I really do have everything that I need and all the extra is just gravy. Yum.]

JT at the CMA's yaaaaassss

I do not like Country

I used to hate JT

but damn

The 25th Anniversary of Home Alone

I have a very strict “No Christmas before Thanksgiving Rule.” But even I will concede for a special occasion. Home Alone is one of the most treasured movies in our Christmas collection and a family favorite around the Holidays. No way in hell I was missing out on seeing in theaters for the first time (it came out when I was 4).


Hope everyone out there in blogland is enjoying Friday and their own favorites!

- Stay caffeinated my friends
and keep the change ya filthy animal

---

Talk amongst yourselves:

Oprah’s Favorite Things - yay or nay?

Two thumbs up from this girl!

Fan of Country music (try going to college in North Carolina before you answer that particular question)

Um, no. 

What’s your policy on the start of the Christmas season? Chose your answer wisely because I may hunt you down…

The Christmas Season officially begins at 12pmET Thanksgiving Day when Santa Claus makes his first appearance at The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

Favorite Home Alone line? Character? 

Character: Uncle Frank, obviously.
Line: You supposedly can't pick a favorite child, I imagine this is a similar situation.