bucket list...

1. Complete my bucket list
2. Cage dive with Great White Sharks
3. Karaoke in Tokyo
4. Travel Greece with Brett
5. Weigh 135lbs when I’m 30…and 40… and 50….and 60…
6. Own a brownstone in Brooklyn
7. Win a marathon
8. Run 20 full marathons
9. Run a half marathon in under 2 hours
10. Meet Rudy Giuliani
11. Travel Vietnam Summer 2008
12. Have a cameo appearance on SNL
13. Attend Wanderlust
14. Go for a run with Shalane Flannigan and Kara Goucher
15. I drink a beer in Germany during Oktoberfest!
16. I drink a bottle wine at a bistro in Paris with my best friend
17. Spend a long weekend in Napa drinking wine with Brett
18. Swim with dolphins
19. Attend a yoga retreat in Bali
20. Grow flowers in my backyard so I always have fresh flowers in my house
21. Eat completely vegan for a week
22. Write a book
23. 3 day camp at DMB at the Gorge
24. Hike the Grand Canyon!
25. 50 day yoga challenge Summer 2012
26. Get yoga teacher certified
27. Become a certified run coach through RRCA
28. Ice skate in Central Park on a snowy day
29. Spend a day on a sail boat island hoping in Greece
30. Learn to surf
31. I go on an African safari
32. I have an article published in a magazine
33. I ride with my Dad in his race car on a victory lap after he wins his 2nd national championship!
34. I safely run a marathon while pregnant
35. I’m invited to attend the Academy Awards ceremony as a guest!
36. I meet a Gorilla and get a picture holding hands
37. I visit Newfoundland with my Mom
38. I go whale watching!
39. Set sail on an Alaskan Cruise
40. Meet a Spice Girl Vietnam 2008 
41. Eat lobster in Maine
42. Drink an Americano in the original Starbucks in Seattle, WA
43. Attend the Olympic Games (both summer and winter)
44. Drive down the coast of California in a convertible
45. Spend a day at the Louvre soaking in the art
46. Spend a night in a jazz club in listening to live music
47. I perform improv with a comedy group
48. I sing with someone famous
49. I meet the man, the ledged… Brian Tracy.
50. Fly in a prop plane San Juan to St. Croix 2012 (sat behind the pilot!)
51. Kiss under a waterfall
52. Witness a flash mob
53. Run a marathon April 2011
54. Ride an elephant in Thailand
55. Attend the Sky Lantern Festival in Thailand
56. Read the entire Bible
57. Take my kids to Disney World
58. Swim in a tide pool St Croix, U.S.V.I 2012
59. Send a message in a bottle
60. Stay in an over water bungalow in Bora Bora
61. Be an extra in a movie
62. Attend NYC Fashion Week
63. Visit Redwood National Park
64. Spend a NYE in NYC
65. Wear my Hunter Boots in London on a rainy day
66. Be a Godmother
67. Pose for an Artist
68. Ride a gondola in Venice
69. Golf 18 holes
70. Meet Anthony Kedis… and maybe get a kiss on the cheek
71. Ride a horse on a beach
72. See a play in Shakespeare’s Globe
73. Visit my childhood pen pal Mayuko in Japan
74. Own a boat
75. Live near water
76. See the Taj Mahal
77. Swim with sharks St. Croix, U.S.V.I 2012 
78. Shake hands with a seal
79. Voice a character in an animated movie or tv show
80. Ride a segway
81. Visit a castle in Scotland!
82. Encounter a kangaroo in Australia
83. Go to a Yankees game
84. Run the Athens, Greece marathon
85. Get backstage at a Red Hot Chili Peppers show
86. Take a girls only trip
87. Tip a waiter $100 and leave before he notices
88. Have 2 beautiful babies
89. Run an ultra marathon
90. My whole family takes a Caribbean cruise together
91. I run a Santa themed 5K. Everyone is in a Santa suit
92. Meet Emile Hirsch
93. Practice yoga with Adam Levine
94. Visit Chicago
95. Snorkel Hawaii 2010, St. Croix 2012 
96. I see a show on Broadway with my Mom
97. I attend a taping of SNL
98. Start a business with my husband
99. Spend a week on a houseboat with friends
100. Go deep sea fishing
101. Have $1,000,000 in the bank
102. Speak fluent Greek
103. Hang out on a friend’s film set
104. Use my snowboard again
105. Ride a camel in Egypt
106. Visit Portland, OR
107. Stay in a cabin on a lake for a long weekend
108. Own a English Sheepdog and name her Bing
109. Write a children’s book about my dog Google
110. Live downtown in a big city
111. Practice yoga with Baron Baptise November 2012
112. Buy a guitar, and learn how to play it. November 2012
113. I get all my produce from my backyard garden
114. Attend ACL in Austin, TX
115. See the tree lighting at Rockefeller Plaza in NYC
116. I have a wood burning fireplace in my house
117. Attend a Superbowl
118. I have a Weeping Willow tree on my property and it reminds be daily of my mother
119. Go 1 months w/o spending money (except bills and food)
120. Go to the airport without a ticket and pick anywhere for a weekend getaway

121.Cut down our Christmas tree

122.Visit the Maldives

123. Have a wood burning fireplace in my home

124. Have an outdoor kitchen

125. Meet my childhood Japanese penpal Mayuko

126. Make a cardboard robot costume

127. NYC on NYE

128. Slpit firewood with an axe

129. Have a full on pillow fight

130. Take a yoga class with Adam Levine

reminder... you're awesome...

How many times have you told yourself you can’t do something?

I’m a living, breathing example that you really can do anything. I’ve told you before that three years ago I couldn’t run a mile and now I run marathons. You would think I would have no trouble at all when it comes to taking on a new challenge head first but today was test for me.

I love this new box I’ve been going to, All Day CrossFit. It’s on my street, about a half a mile up, I walk or jog there every time. I’ve been going twice a week for about 3 or 4 weeks now. I’ve met some really dope new people and I’ve never felt intimidated. They have such a welcoming atmosphere. #shoutout 

I made the mistake of looking to see what the WOD was for today. Typically, I like to just show up and GO!  Today’s Facebook post said “Barabara” and that was all it. Frantically, I started googling/binging/yahooing/ sweating and found out just what kind of crazy b*tch I’d be facing come the 4:30pm.

Barbara = 20 Pull ups, 30 push -ups, 40 sit ups, 50 squats x 5 rounds.

Pull ups are my arch-nemesis. The last time I attempted pulls up (probably 5 months ago) I felt bad about myself for days. I wasn’t able to even get one assisted pull up. I struggled through the entire WOD while others raced on ahead of me. I cried all the way home in my car listening to Adele. #enoughwhining

So, I’m sitting at my computer contemplating “Barabra.” I throw on my run crops and lace up my shoes (as I often do when I get nervous) and headed out to the park for a 3 mile run. I’m pretty sure my thought process was, “well, if I chicken out of CrossFit at least I got my sweat on today.”

My run felt great. I got home and sat at my desk nervously tapping my fingers. Can I do this? Should I do it? I can’t do a pull up. I can’t even do an assisted pull up. I am so bad at this. I’ll embarrass myself. I shouldn’t go. I can’t go!

Whenever this happens to me I know what I have to do. I MUST GO. If I’m frightened by it I know I have to do it, or at least try it, right? I was just wasting my time with all the “should I go?” nonsense.

I arrive. Thankfully, for me it’s a small class, only 3 of us for this early bird special. Nerves kick in. Here we go:

Pull ups: To my SHOCK I was able to do the assisted pull ups today! and without ripping open my palms to boot! I’m betting my 50 day yoga challenge has something to do with this. #chaturangamakeyoustronga

Push Ups: hard as hell, and I mean HELL. Did I mention I scaled back and was doing them on my knees? (see pics for knee scrape) By the 3^rd round my arms were shaking and I could barely push up. On round 5 I actually collapsed once. Oops.

Sit ups: my favorite part of the WOD by far as I got to lay down a couple of times to catch my breath.

Squats: I was caught off guard by these puppies. Underestimated how much those can burn!

I finished in 44 minutes and 48 seconds. Probably the longest WOD I’ve ever done but right now I’m calling it my most rewarding WOD. I’m so excited that came straight to the computer to blog rather than showering off. I’ve got particles of black rubber from the mats on my back and legs, visible dried salt on my arms, and my hair is soaking wet.  My husband took one look at me when he got home and said, “Do you know what you look like right now?”

I’m sitting here all lit up by the fact that today I did something I didn’t think I could do and it’s just 

some random Monday in August.

I think we all just need little reminders of this from time to time. My challenge to you is to never let fear stop you from doing something.