Tonight I ran one mile with my man. That’s right ladies…he’s a runner…so hands off…he’s all mine. Right now he is basking in the afterglow of his run, as every runner often does, in his or her own way. His way of basking is sitting down in front of the TV with a beer, fries and a homemade hamburger. That’s right you met him in Meat Pete and you’re still waiting for his second blog post that he’ll probably never write because he most likely forgot what he made. I remember though! That’s the problem when you date someone with a mind like a steel trap. I’m the person that remembers everything that you wish you could forget. I can be mildly annoying at times.

Pete and I are signed up to run Disney marathon as part of our wedding and honeymoon. Although probably not his most ideal choice: getting married in a corporate paradise and running a marathon to boot aren’t his top choices, he was a good sport about it.

Pete’s a good guy. He’s one of the kindest people I know that would do almost anything for you. This marathon may not be something he’s jazzed about but he is going to get ready for it and run it.

Tonight we decided to do our first official run together. I got home earlier than Pete and ran 2.5 miles. I was a rockstar. I had the Pink station blaring on Pandora. I may not have looked like a rockstar or sounded like one, but I sure felt like one! I picked Pete up on the way back and we ran his first mile together. Pete ran a 13 minute mile. He had pink cheeks and was a little out of breath afterwards, but he still did it.

Pete prepared for and ran a 5k last summer. It was his first race ever! I think he got into it from standing on the sidelines cheering me on at all of my races. After not running over the winter months, I was concerned that Pete would have some trouble on his first run getting back into things. Pete really impressed me. He ran the fastest mile he’s ever run. He may have counted down every tenth of a mile that was left but he kept going. He didn’t take any walking breaks. I was so proud of him.

I was even prouder to run next to him. It was great steppin’ out with my baby on this beautiful spring evening!

Sara

Pete and I attended the Northwest Indiana Triathlete’s party. We got an address to someone’s house we’d never met. We hopped in the car, flipped on the Magellan, input the address and drove off into the sunset…okay well…maybe not…although the sun was setting. We arrived at the subdivision and of course the Magellan announces that we have arrived. We are sitting in front of a person’s house, it’s dark and there are some balloons flailing from the mailbox. We thought that had to be it. After all, who the hell would put balloons on their mailbox if they weren’t having a party. The only reason I can think of is to give something to a disgruntled postal worker something to shoot at–target practice. We soon realized, however, that we weren’t on the right street. So…we turned around and backtracked to find the house. Thank goodness there was a giant banner plastered on the front entry way that said in giant letters “NWI Triathletes”.

What a warm and welcoming crowd! I was really nervous and went into my shy mode like I always do in unfamiliar situations. I tend to hide behind Pete. Only we weren’t there for Pete–we were really  there for me. Pete was there for backup. Once we were inside the beautiful house, we were surrounded by triathletes. Talk about feeling like a newbie in the crowd. That’s a hard place for me to be. I’m so used to being at the top of my game with dancing. It’s hard to be the worst athlete in the room. I was the person in the room that had read all the books and manuals but had none of the biking gear! I have a little bit of running experience which I’m not the greatest at, but that at least gave me something to talk about with people. I had to face the facts that I was the low (wo)man on the totem pole and the only way to go was up.

I found out a lot of great tips and information that night. I signed up for the club. The next step is going to be getting my butt to bed earlier so I can make these crazy swim practices on Thursdays and Saturdays at Omni that start a little too early in the morning for my tastes.

There was a lot of food at the party. I signed up that night. Pete was my wing man and didn’t sign up. Since there wasn’t any food I could eat at the party, Pete ate it all for me. He gobbled it down and waddled home like a penguin. So we both had fun!

Sometimes you have to force yourself out of your comfort zone and into a new situation. I was nervous about taking Pete since this was a party where there were a lot of athletic-minded people there and that’s not exactly Pete’s crowd. However, he did find someone to chat with about the Disney marathon so he was happy. I found out a lot of tips about bike buying and just got to talk to other triathletes and ask them some questions that I had.

If I hadn’t gone to the party I wonder if I would’ve signed up at all. The warmness of the people and the kindhearted, welcoming atmosphere made it so easy. You’ll never know if you don’t go to the party–even if there was nothing there I could eat. That’s why you take a buddy. They can eat food for you and help you feel more secure in an unknown world.

Sara

I go to Whole Foods on Kingsbury Street in Chicago every week to do my grocery shopping. Why do I go up to Whole Foods every week? I go for the selection and because it’s my “shopping” trip for the week.

I hate shopping malls. They make me sleepy. Take any mall and drop me in there and I will leave yawning my head off.  I get sleepy because going shopping for clothes, perfume, shoes, make up, jewelry and make up bore me. If I’m at a running store picking out new stuff that’s one thing: running clothes, running shoes, and Garmin watches are exciting to me. However, once you build up your running stock, there’s not much need to go back to the running store except for the occasional new pair of running shoes that wear out.

Food is something we need every week. Usually people will make a trip to the grocery store every week. A lot of people enjoy shopping for clothes, etc. at the mall. Whole Foods is like my trip to the mall. Food and nutrition interests me in the way that having the latest spring outfit and pumps interest women I work with.

I’m very interested in organic eating with a vegan focus. Sure the local grocery stores carry a few organic fruits and vegetables. Yes, I’m aware of a store called “Produce Depot” in Dyer, Indiana that sells organic produce. However, from where I live to Dyer, Indiana is about a 40 minute drive. From where I live to Chicago is about a 50 minute drive. I’ll take the 50 minute drive.

The Whole Foods on Kingsbury Street is, in part, about the experience. For one thing, it’s HUGE and the parking is FREE. Yeah you may have to circle a bit to find parking, but if you go at off-peak times parking is not hard to find, especially if you don’t mind parking on the roof which offers a great view of Chicago.

When you come down the escalators you are immediately greeted by an explosion of the freshest fruits and vegetables possible. So many colors, textures, and patterns tease your eyes and you can just feel the sweetness and crunchiness exploding from every fruit and vegetable in the place. It’s awesome! Most of their products fruits and vegetables have an organic and non-organic version. There are huge bunches of FRESH kale, rainbow Swiss chard, red Swiss chard, sprouts and herbs. Oh did I mention the herbs? There are huge bunches of fresh, organic herbs in their organic herb bulk bin. And no, I’m not talking about those pissy $4.00 packages of “fresh” herbs you mind at the grocery store that look dried up and halfway rotten by the time you get them…they’re pre-packaged and are ready to go, but have no flavor. Yuck! I love trying some of the “exotic fruits”. I had a strawberry papaya one week. It cost a pretty penny but it was really good! I found yams at Whole Foods. We shop at Town and Country and Remus Farms in Portage, Indiana and I’ve never seen a strawberry papaya or yams at either of those stores. I didn’t even know there was a difference between yams and sweet potatoes until a few weeks ago. The “organic” produce at Town and Country is sad. I bought some organic mushrooms there one week and they were slimy and already starting to get funky the next night I opened them. Just sad.

As you go through the store, you might bump into someone pushing a shopping cart with one hand and holding a glass of wine or beer in the other hand. This specific Whole Foods has a wine and beer bar and you can take your booze to go and drink IN THE STORE ONLY while you are shopping. Or you can hang out at the wine bar and split a non-vegan cheese plate (yes even I’ll admit wine and soy cheese probably aren’t the best combo) or you can catch the game and a pint at the beer bar! Hungry? Oh yeah, they’ve got an awesome eatery. That’s right! My favorite (because it’s the only one I’ve tried so far) is the grill. They have vegan Chicago-style dogs. How cool is that? My fiance Pete gets a regular Chicago style dog and I get a vegan dog and we’re both happy. I love having a place we can both go and eat and not have to worry about the junk and processed crap that’s in our food. I’ll bet you can’t say that about the mall food court!

Don’t feel like cooking? My running buddy goes up to Whole Foods with me to get a special treat: Soul Vegan restaurant’s mac ‘N Cheese and also their vegan lasagna. I love the lasagna. We about had a breakdown when we couldn’t find the lasagna and mac ‘N cheese because they weren’t in their usual spots. They are pre-made, single portion vegan meals. They also have a nice selection of other vegan ready-made salads, pizzas, cookies, etc. So if you are a new vegan like me, it offers you a great way to sample some vegan food that’s already made and introduce you to the not-so-scary and yummy world that is vegan!

Not a vegan? Not to worry–my fiance loves the uncured rosemary ham at the deli counter. There is a huge, mysterious cheese selection filled with cheeses from what looks like all over the world, but for all I know could be from Granny Mitchell’s farm in Switzerland County in Indiana and is labeled “Fresh from Switzerland”. And yes there really is a Switzerland County in Indiana. I think the population is around 6 or 7 people, but it really does exist!

If you’re looking for truly whole foods, then Whole Foods is an amazing place to go. I get excited about going every week. It’s my weekly thing that I look forward to. It’s fun to take friends to and also fun place to take a date…fiance or lady date!

I highly recommend Whole Foods to anyone. It’s not a hype. It’s just whole, nutritious foods and that’s a fact!

Sara

This article was written by Leo Babauta. It’s such a beautiful description on how to approach life in a stress-free way. If you’ve had a stressful day, I hope Leo’s article helps to put things into perspective. Read on friends!

Toss Your Expectations into the Ocean:

‘Act without expectation.’ ~Lao Tzu

How much of your stress, frustration, disappointment, anger, irritation, pissed-offedness comes from one little thing?
Almost all of it comes from your expectations, and when things (inevitably) don’t turn out as we expect, from wishing things were different.

We build these expectations in our heads of what other people should do, what our lives should be like, how other drivers should behave … and yet it’s all fantasy. It’s not real.

And when reality doesn’t meet our fantasy, we wish the world were different.

Here’s a simple solution:

Take your expectations, and throw them in the ocean.

Picture all the expectations you have for yourself, your life, your spouse, your kids, your coworkers, your job, the world. Take them from inside you, and toss them in the ocean. A river or lake will also do.

What happens to them? They float. They’re carried around by waves. The current takes them out, and they drift away. Let them be washed away by the cleansing waters, and let them go.

Now live your life without them.

What’s a life without expectations like? It means you accept reality as it is, and people as they are, without expectations, without trying to force people into the containers you have for them, seeing things as they are. It’s a life where you don’t need to be disappointed or frustrated or angry — or if you are, you accept it, and then let it go.

That’s not to say you never act — you can act in a way that’s in accordance with your values, and influence the world, but never have an expectation of how the world will react to your actions.

If you do something good, you won’t expect praise or appreciation. Let those expectations of reward and praise float away with the waves. Do good because you love doing good, and expect nothing beyond that.

Pay attention to your thoughts. Don’t beat yourself up if you have expectations. Just see them. Then toss them in the ocean.

Notice if you start to wish things weren’t the way they are. If you wish someone else didn’t do something, notice that. You have expectations, and you wish people or the world could have met them instead of doing what they actually did. Toss those wishes in the ocean too. Now accept things, and move on.

Let the waters of the world cleanse us, and let us walk lightly in a world that is already wonderful without our fantasies.

‘I am open to the guidance of synchronicity, and do not let expectations hinder my path.’ ~Dalai Lama

Here is Leo Babauta’s website. There are lots of other similar types of articles. If you like what you read here then please visit his website to read even more!

Sara

I watched this video and it made me laugh so hard I cried. I find this video so funny because Rhod Gilbert’s comedic timing is so good. He tells such a good story and has such a sarcastic wit about him. Dry and sarcastic humor is honest. It can also be biting and tough to take at times but it is that way because it’s true. Both the honesty and delivery are what make this video so hilarious. For instance, when Rhod explains about going to the claim desk to file a report for his missing luggage and they actually ask him, “Does your luggage have any distinguishing features?” and he says “a long black handle.” What’s sad is that people really are that dumb to ask a question like that. They don’t think about the obvious or practical thing to do or question…they just do or ask what’s on the form in front of them. If you’re one of those people who just does what’s expected of them and just follows the form right in front of you like 99% of the people in my department at the law firm I work for, then this video is for you:

Go beyond what’s expected of you in life, look beyond the form and maybe there won’t be someone laughing so hard that they’re crying about the ridiculous mistakes you made on the other side of the youtube.com screen which could’ve been prevented if you’d just used 1% of your brainpower.

Sara

If you have 20 minutes to check your facebook and email then you have under 20 minutes to watch this video and find out what’s really in your food. This woman never says anything about being vegan or eating plant-strong, but she does let you know what’s really in the meat and non-organic vegetables you eat and in the dairy you drink.

This video will open your eyes to what is really in your eyes. Once you know, please help your self and make a change in how you eat and think about food. It will help you live a healthier and hopefully longer life. I wish someone would’ve shared something like this with me a long time ago and I would’ve made the changes to my diet then, but I didn’t have the information back then. I do know and I’m so happy to share resources like this with you. Truly eye-opening.

Sara

I just love this post. It speaks from my heart even though they aren’t even my words. If you have something you’re really good at and have gotten burned by it chances are good you will always love it and have a very hard time replacing it. This is how I feel about dance.

When the heart speaks….move.

This is a beautiful post!

Sara

An Awesome Vegan Resource!.

I just love this blog called My Vegan Journal.

Reasons to check out this blog:

1. If you’re new to veganism, it’s a great resource to get you started: lots of recipes and interesting articles.

2. If you’ve been vegan for a while there are still new things to learn about veganism and new recipes to check out.

3. If you’re thinking about becoming a vegan, this site presents veganism in a friendly and mighty yummy way.

4. This is not a calorie-counting, weight-loss blog. There are lots or recipes ranging from breakfast, lunch, dinner and desserts that are both healthy and delicious sounding at the same time.

5. The pictures on this blog will make your mouth water. They do that for me anyways.

I highly recommend this blog! It’s awesome!

Sara

Seriously! I love wearing hats. Here are my reasons why I think you should give hats a try:

1. A hat is a great accessory to most outfits. A hat can add character to an outfit like a little sassyness or attitude or can make you look more chic.

2. In the winter a hat keeps you warmer. The top of your head is an extremity of the body through which body heat can escape. So if you wear a hat outdoors it’ll keep you warmer. If you wear a hat indoors and your office environment is chilly, the hat will serve the same purpose as it does outdoors–you’ll stay warmer.

3. It totally bucks tradition. Think about it. The only time I ever see people wear hats is in winter time, outside in the cold. Do you ever see someone wearing a hat indoors? It’s rare. And I’m not talking about a dude wearing a baseball cap because he’s having a bad hair day. I’m talking about cute hats like the ones at Charming Charlie. That’s where I get all of my hats from. Wear a hat! Dare to be different!

4. Hats can cover bald spots and receding hairlines. Hey, it’s better than the spray-on-hair or a rug. Yikes.

5. If you wake up late and your hair looks similar to Albert Einstein’s (like mine usually does) just grab a hat. It saves you precious time! Sadly, though, I don’t think you’ll inherit Einstein’s brain by putting on a hat. Maybe I’m wrong–maybe there’s a smart hat lurking out there somewhere.

6. Hats that have brims are great for keeping the sun out of your eyes, raindrops off of your glasses and horrible office fluorescent light out of your eyes. I know that strong lighting can be tough on people that suffer from migraine headaches or hangover headaches. A brimmed hat is a great solution to keeping the light out of your eyes in either case!

7. Running outside and producing sweat with the sun shining down on you? Wear a moisture-wicking running hat or a visor–a close cousin of the hat. I highly recommend a visor in the summer sun-shiny weather. DO NOT wear a hat if it’s above 70 degrees. It will trap heat and you will sweat like mad. I did this one day and do not recommend it. That’s when I decided to get a visor which still blocks the sun but leaves the crown of the head exposed to let heat escape. If you are running outdoors do not wear a cotton baseball cap. People will know you’re a newbie.

8. Hats make great conversation pieces. Shy? Wear a hat. It’s a great way to get people talking to you. People will wonder where you got your hat. It’s a great conversation starter.

9. Digging for compliments? If your hat is unique like a fedora, painter’s cap or pageboy hat chances are good you’ll get minimum one compliment a day.

10. Here’s my favorite reason: the looks you get. Do you like to watch people? Watch people watch you. I get the funniest looks from people I know and don’t know when I wear a hat. The expressions on people’s faces are priceless. I’ve gotten the “she must be a bag lady look” and the “she must eat granola, paint pictures and smoke pot all day” look. And the ultimate look is “why the hell does she have a hat on indoors?”. My answer to that look is “why the hell not?”

You gotta try a hat. If you have $10.00 you can get a really cute hat at Charming Charlie. It’s really fun and a very practical thing to do. Dare to be different! Wear a hat!

Sara