Dear World,

the furbies

Ragnar Relay finishers!

Ragnar

This weekend I completed my first Ragnar Relay. If you’re not familiar, it’s an event where a team of twelve runners covers a distance of around 200 miles by running non-stop, overnight relay style. I did the Madison to Chicago Ragnar but there are races all over the country (and a few new trail events, too!).

A bunch of my friends did it last year and raved about how much fun it was but I’m not going to lie- I was a little skeptical. Running three legs (ranging from 3 to 11 miles) over the course of about 36 hours, sleeping in a van, and no showering? I figured it would have it’s moments but I’d spend a lot of the time being cranky and tired.

No joke, people- this event is AWESOME. Yes, you’re tired and you smell bad (and your legs hurt like they never have before if you didn’t train…) but it’s such an amazing experience- you feel like such a team and it’s seriously kind of insane how accomplished you feel after covering so much ground.

If you’re a runner you should totally get a group of eleven crazy friends to try it out- you won’t regret it!

Photos: My van after we all finished running// vans lined up in WI near the lake at 6 am// trail on the IL/WI border// Jen and I piloting/co-piloting the van// our insane octopus of cell phone chargers

Here’s a little video of Nate playing with the dogs this morning. Probably exciting to no one but me but they’re pretty cute so I thought I’d share. :)

1. push yourself to get up before the rest of the world - start with 7am, then 6am, then 5:30am. go to the nearest hill with a big coat and a scarf and watch the sun rise.

2. push yourself to fall asleep earlier - start with 11pm, then 10pm, then 9pm. wake up in the morning feeling re-energized and comfortable.

3. erase processed food from your diet. start with no lollies, chips, biscuits, then erase pasta, rice, cereal, then bread. use the rule that if a child couldn’t identify what was in it, you don’t eat it.

4. get into the habit of cooking yourself a beautiful breakfast. fry tomatoes and mushrooms in real butter and garlic, fry an egg, slice up a fresh avocado and squirt way too much lemon on it. sit and eat it and do nothing else.

5. stretch. start by reaching for the sky as hard as you can, then trying to touch your toes. roll your head. stretch your fingers. stretch everything.

6. buy a 1L water bottle. start with pushing yourself to drink the whole thing in a day, then try drinking it twice.

7. buy a beautiful diary and a beautiful black pen. write down everything you do, including dinner dates, appointments, assignments, coffees, what you need to do that day. no detail is too small.

8. strip your bed of your sheets and empty your underwear draw into the washing machine. put a massive scoop of scented fabric softener in there and wash. make your bed in full.

9. organise your room. fold all your clothes (and bag what you don’t want), clean your mirror, your laptop, vacuum the floor. light a beautiful candle.

10. have a luxurious shower with your favourite music playing. wash your hair, scrub your body, brush your teeth. lather your whole body in moisturiser, get familiar with the part between your toes, your inner thighs, the back of your neck.

11. push yourself to go for a walk. take your headphones, go to the beach and walk. smile at strangers walking the other way and be surprised how many smile back. bring your dog and observe the dog’s behaviour. realise you can learn from your dog.

12. message old friends with personal jokes. reminisce. suggest a catch up soon, even if you don’t follow through. push yourself to follow through.

14. think long and hard about what interests you. crime? sex? boarding school? long-forgotten romance etiquette? find a book about it and read it. there is a book about literally everything.

15. become the person you would ideally fall in love with. let cars merge into your lane when driving. pay double for parking tickets and leave a second one in the machine. stick your tongue out at babies. compliment people on their cute clothes. challenge yourself to not ridicule anyone for a whole day. then two. then a week. walk with a straight posture. look people in the eye. ask people about their story. talk to acquaintances so they become friends.

16. lie in the sunshine. daydream about the life you would lead if failure wasn’t a thing. open your eyes. take small steps to make it happen for you.

Sixteen Small Steps to Happiness (via nerdyawkward-ashley)

~*~this is what i’ve been doing and it feels wonderful~*~

(via sexualassumptions)

This is beautiful.

(via cvroline)

(via thelazylakewoodhousewife)

Yoga Teach Training Advice

Hey friends- I know I have a lot of yogis within my tumblr network. I’m pretty serious about doing teacher training this fall but am not sure if I want to do it with my current studio. For those of you who are trained- what do you think is most important to consider when selecting a program? For those of you who do yoga in Chicago, is your studio awesome and do they have teacher training?

Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.

Jim Rohn

I stumbled upon this quote today and could not agree with it more. Over the past few months my life has changed so much- a best friend turned into a boyfriend, I went from a tiny one bedroom I shared with Lucy in the neighborhood I’ve lived in for four years to sharing a huge two bedroom in a new hood with my dude and two dogs (one of whom we adopted from Thailand!!!)… the list goes on and on.

And you know what? It is soooo much better. So, so, SO much better.

2013 Chicago Festival Guide

It’s already that time of the year for the best season in Chicago: Street Fest Season! Get out your koozis and friends for day drinking, art, music, people watching, cover bands and some 90’s one-hit-wonders play that “one song” that everyone knows (“It’s been….one week since you looked at me…”) and trust me, these band go great with vodka lemonades. Chicago Fest Season 2013!

*Disclosure: There are many more, as this is just a highlighted list.

May