Friday Five-Me

Again, I am providing a Friday Five late night edition. Enjoy your weekend Bloggy friends! 

1. Today I had the day off and was planning to do the whole pedicure thing, but I really just needed to get away. I am fortunate enough to live in a prime Central Valley location. This location is affording me the opportunity to head to Lake Tahoe for the weekend and allowed me to head into San Francisco for the day today. Today was all about me. My hubby really can't stand The City, but I love how you can blend in, explore, eat and relax in a busy place completely unnoticed so I went alone. On the agend: Boccalone for an early lunch which was supposed to be breakfast, but I love getting food at the Ferry Building, then I sat at Embarcadero Center and caught up on some reading and just sat in the sun listening to the fountain. I am confident I will finally finish Eat, Pray, Love tonight. Between the round trip BART ride and the park sitting, I am just 35 pages away of being done. Then I met up with my Brother in Law, his girlfriend V and one of their friends for a quick bite at Miller's East Coast Deli, then headed to Union Square for some shopping. For a minute when we arrived at Union Square I grabbed V's arm and said October 17th. I was so excited that we'd be back in October and Union Square is the starting line for the Nike Women's Marathon.
2. I joined Jamoosh over at Last Mile Lounge for his 13 week CORE program. I have lost a good amount of weight and have been talking about firming up my weight loss by firming up my CORE and this is just the perfect way to get a jump on looking how I feel. In addition my genius physical therapist pointed out that it is not coincidence that my ITB acts up around mile 8 or 9. That mile 8 or 9 is probably when fatigue sets in and my form crumbles. I actually was so blown over by the idea, why didn't I think of that?! A strong CORE I am sure can help ensure that I do not fatigue too early in a run and can keep solid form even on longer runs. Thanks Jamoosh, I'm super excited to get my butt kicked for a few weeks.
3. Next on the book shelf: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo recommended by my wine club girls and Water for Elephants. Water for Elephants has been on my book shelf for over a year at least, but I have finally been peer pressured in to reading it. By peer pressure, I don't mean anyone is pushing me, but I hate feeling left out and enough people are currently reading it that I am feeling out of the loop so now I am in. Yes I know, I am a complete follower, but whatever at least I am a literate follower.
4. The Coffee Bean Company makes better hot chocolate than Starbucks, Ghiradelli, Peets or any other chain coffee shoppe I have ever been to.
5. Mantras. I have had a mantra at work that has really set the pace for my growth. "Be the solution." One never wants to contribute to a problem at work and lot's of people try their best to stay under the radar. I on the other hand took on the mantra about a year to "be the solution." A way to positively position yourself for advancement is to be a go to person and so I have been learning and earning my paycheck by trying my best to be the solution. Why the idea of a mantra has not totally translated over to my personal life is still beyond me. I have little mantras I make up for getting through a workout, run or other physical activity, but not something that I apply to myself on a daily basis. I am working on one. I did come up with one for today that really enhanced my day off, "Me." I know brilliant right?! When I felt like people were watching me rock out in the car, I refocused on "Me", who cares who saw me dancing? Dancing in the car was making me feel fun, free and funky and who cares who stared at me in stand still traffic completely having Dance Party 2010 in the car?! When I was invited to stay a little longer in SF to do something with V, I politely declined because I wouldn't have had that great of a time at her activity and that was ok, because skipping off to SF for the day was all about me.  For the record, the smarty pants over at Wikipedia say that : A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that are considered capable of "creating transformation" (cf. spiritual transformation).^{[1] So "Me" got me through today, but what kind of mantra can I create for myself that will continue to achieve personal success?} 

Do you have a mantra for your life?

Thankful Three

1. Mantra's
2. My new deep purple nail polish called "A little Dangerous"
3. My Go Lite little black dress that I got myself for my birthday, totally worth the expense. It is cute, wrinkle free, easy to pack and you literally can go from hike to dinner and totally be dressed appropriately.