Anna Be.

Someone still needs to paint my porch. (Hey, if you are from Atmore, do you have trouble not spelling it "Poarch"? I do.) I feel like there was a very narrow window of time when it was cool to wear Vibram Fivefingers. First there was that book about barefoot running  (which, by the way, everyone should read). Nick started wearing the "toe shoes" right after reading Born to Run. He loved them instantly and continued to wear them for years until he just couldn't stomach how quickly they wore out. The last time I wore traditional (cushiony) running shoes was in a 5k about five years ago. I limped through the race with shin splints and calf cramps, then threw the shoes in the parking lot trash can as I was leaving. I never had calf cramps again while wearing Fivefingers or another current fave -- Merrell Trail Gloves. True confession: I wore a pair of retro New Balance on the treadmill Monday and winced with cramps the whole way.  I was just trying not to l...

I'm happy to have a guest post at Librarian for Life and Style today!! Check out Jen's blog and my book recommendations for style inspiration: 10 books to add style to your inspiration library

Yes, you can do yoga with your toddler.        If you are a stay at home mom to a toddler who is teething or overtired or practicing for her Yale School of Drama audition, you may not spend a single minute of the day without her on your lap or on your mind. She is somehow both desperate for your attention and rejecting everything about you. After a few days (or weeks) of this needy, moody phase, the walls start to creep closer, and you can’t take a deep breath or see a private moment anywhere in your future. You are Trapped by a Toddler, but there’s hope. There’s a way out. 1. Remember you are the boss If you are a stay at home mom, you are the the big boss at the very tippy top of the company.  You can give yourself any job title you want and even have it engraved on a plaque to mount on your door. When the mail carrier stops by three times a week to deliver the household goods you ordered from Amazon because you don’t have time to go to ...

Just got back from Cape Cod Wednesday, but I'm still on vacation until Monday.  It's just a state of mind, really.  

Just this week, Julie Creffield of Too Fat To Run gently ranted against our constant need to point out how slow we are. On this, my first day of half marathon training, I ran/walked a 22-minute pace. Non-runners, that means it took me 22 minutes to go each mile, on average. Let me just bore you with some math.  A 20-minute pace is 3 mph; a 15-minute pace is 4 mph.  I can run at 4.5 mph for a few minutes on a treadmill, no incline and while not pushing a toddler in a stroller. So that represents my max speed under ideal conditions right now. The pace I ran today in my hilly neighborhood, pushing a stroller with under inflated tires over bumpy sidewalks and constantly checking my phone for the time? I could do that every day for the rest of the year and not feel bad about myself. No joke, I'm not racing anyone, I just can't let Mamie get away from me and roll down a hill! But there is one reason speed matters to me. The Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon has a 4-hour...

It's a nice coincidence to have found a 20-week half marathon training program today, as it is 21 weeks until the Rock 'n' Roll  Half in San Antonio. I'm going to need a babysitter December 6.