Dare You To...

{Last week's Neon Dash Giveaway winner is... Leigh!  Congratulations!} 
On my birthday bucket list is the dare to PAINT, and that's just what I did last night!


You see, I always loved art when I was younger, and I would draw and paint right through my senior year in high school.  Then... nothin'.  Somehow life took over, and my sketchbook ended up in a cabinet in my bedroom in my parents' house.  Nowadays, whenever I do find myself doing something artsy or involving paint of some kind (like a paint-your-own pottery type place), I get such a creativity high that I'm sad when it ends and yearn for more!

Art is an enjoyable form of PLAY for me,  and play is good for us!
So that's how "paint" ended up on my list, and a no-hassle way to dip my toe back in was by taking a class.

My friend Becky and I went to Painting Lounge in Brooklyn (there's also a Manhattan lounge--which is BYOB), where we were set up with easels, canvases, paint, brushes, and a mo…

It's been a while since a Friday Features, so I've got a couple interesting and informative links saved up.

I'll kick off with a popular video from this week, demonstrating how an ingenious French supermarket made deformed produce popular:




Speaking of fruits and vegetables, a recent meta-analysis of over
300 studies found that "organic food as more antioxidants, less pesticide residue"
... and no one should be shocked.  Duh.  To learn more, visit the Huffington Post.

Then, Marion Nestle evaluates the previous study and asks whether
nutrition is even the right question.  Read her Food Politics postto learn
other good reasons people choose to eat organic foods.



Mark Sisson analyzes "The 'Dangers' of Going Gluten Free".

More questionable links between fat and heart disease
are explored in this Wall Street Journal article.

Similarly, The Angry Trainer answers, "Is red meat really bad for you?"


Further disrupting "conventional wisdom&q;…

Time for another quick running update on my journey to my first 10k race!  And this one was HUGE for me!

If you follow me on Instagram, you may know that...

 I recently ran my longest run to date: 5 miles!  

Here's how it happened: A couple weeks ago (late blogging sorryyyyy), I went for a run with Eric.  As a former cross-country runner, has the training training instilled in him.  My goal was really only 3 miles, but he was set on 5.  I thought we'd compromise at 4.  As you can tell from above, we didn't compromise.

From the start, he continuously reminded me to slow down.  Instead of exhausting my energy early, he kept me going at a steady pace, consistently moving but not racing.  He pushed me further, encouraged me to reach a certain landmark before turning around, and upped my goal for me.

"You can do it," he urged, even when I wanted to stop.  He knew that it was mostly mental and that I didn't need to take a break.  "You're talking, you're f…

Hey friends!

Since I decided to get back into running and sign up for my first 10k race, I've been upping my running game a bit--not quite as much as I'd originally envisioned (yet), but a bit.  If you follow Dare You To on Instagram, Twitter, or DailyMile, you may have noticed my runs and walks.  Earlier in May and June, I was so excited to get outsidefor some open-air runs.


However, by the end of June and now in July, the heat has been prohibitive and runs were exhausting.  When the weather is right, I've still successfully gotten out in the morning or evening, trying to avoid peak heat hours. I've been able to cover my target distances, but I'm moving far more slowly than I used to!  It's hard to tell if this is due to the heat or this year's lack of training, but it's probably a combination of the two.

To give myself some extra running motivation, I signed up for an awesome race that is making its debut in New York Citythis summer:

The Neon Dash!
Au…

I know my posting has been sporadic at best, lately, but I've happily been keeping busy doing, living, working, enjoying...  It is summer, after all!

What have I been up to?  

Some work...  A little travel...  Plenty of gym time...  Several weddings... A bit of downtime...


It's been fun!  In the back and forth, the work and play, the home and away, having a do-it-all bag has proven essential.  Such a bag is tough to come by.

I used to have a different bag for everything:


They all sort of suited their individual needs well enough... even if they didn't all have satisfactory organizational interiors and my items ended up a mess inside.  Then, a greater problem arose when I needed more than one.  I was a bag lady!


It sort of worked, but hardly well.

Now, if I'm setting out for the day--or the weekend--and need to carry a bit of everything, I can rely onone bag to fit and organize (!) it all.   In my recent gym trips, bus travels, and beyond, I'm glad to have something …