San Francisco Trip Part I

Well over a week after I got back from my trip to CA, I am finally getting around to writing some recaps!  There's too much to cover in one post, so I am breaking it up into 3!

My trip to California started off with a presentation and some client meetings in the LA area.  I flew in on a Tuesday night and on Wednesday I presented at the board meeting at a large bank (which was kind of intimidating), did 3 other meetings, and then flew to San Francisco.  I had one more client meeting on Thursday morning and then I was FREE!  Woo hoo!

I could not get out of this business suit fast enough.  When I was young I thought business suits were so fancy and glamorous.  Now I know they are androgynous and unflattering.

I got back into the city around lunchtime on Thursday and met up with Lauren.  After changing out of my uncomfortable business suit, we walked over to the Ferry Building for lunch. 

Our lovely view of the bay bridge while eating lunch!

The Ferry Building is so pretty!

After lunch, we did some walking around, hit up a Nordstrom Rack (where we had no luck) and then met up with Kyria as she was kind enough to host us for the night!  We went to a Korean place for dinner that night.  I had never had Korean food and it's probably not something I would have checked out on my own but I am glad we did because the food was so good!  They brought all these different pickled vegetables and such!  The amount of food on our table was borderline obnoxious, but it was fun to try a different cuisine!

On Friday morning, we got up and went back into San Francisco.  Friday morning was not my best morning.  I am usually really good at navigating new cities thanks to Google map, but Friday was not my day.  We back tracked a couple of times, while carrying/dragging out suitcases but we did end up having a delicious brunch before heading to the Mission District to check into our airbnb (I also messed up when navigating to the Mission District.  Like I said, it was not my day!).

We opted to rent an apartment off of airbnb as it was less expensive than getting a hotel room.  Plus it's nice to have access to a kitchen for longer trips like this.  Our garden apartment was adorable.  We had the bottom floor of this building. 

We got a lot of use out of the kitchen/dining room area as we made dinner there on Friday night and also had breakfast there on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

But one of my favorite places was the backyard!  It's shared by the 3 units in that building but no one was out there during the weekend.  We enjoyed some appetizers out here on Friday night.

Anyways, back to Friday afternoon... After Lauren and I dropped our bags and rested our legs for a bit we headed over to Dolores Park which was just a couple of blocks away - down a STEEP hill, I might add.  We definitely got a workout in walking around our neighborhood.

The weather was picture perfect!

Our neighborhood was so charming but oh my goodness, the hills. This picture doesn't really do it justice so trust me when I say that all of the walks were heart-pumping.

Amber and Leigh arrived mid-afternoon and after they settled in for a bit, we went for a walk in our neighborhood. I thought the Mission District was so neat and had a lot of character.

How amazing is this mural?

After grocery shopping at a place that was described by our airbnb host as "the place hipsters buy their food" (which was totally true) we headed back to the apartment to whip up an easy pasta dinner (GF for me, of course) and a salad.  I had eaten out the last couple of days so it was great to enjoy a home-cooked meal.

We were in bed fairly early on Friday night as we had our big race on Saturday, which I'll tell you all about in my next post!

Have you been to San Francisco?  If so, what area of the city did you stay in?  I loved staying in the Mission District as there were a lot of restaurants close to our apartment and the neighborhood was quiet/felt safe.

TLC Book Tours: A Breast Cancer Alphabet

I wish that I didn't have any personal connection to breast cancer, but unfortunately I do.  I've lost an aunt to it, have a friend currently battling it, have sisters of friends who are or have battled it and am close to others who have lost their mom to this disease.  The list of people I know that are impacted by this disease seems to grow and grow and in recent years, it seems like I hear of more women being diagnosed with this disease that are close to my age, which scares me as I feel like we are still at that invincible "I won't get cancer" age.

There is a lot to know about this disease, which is where a book like "A Breast Cancer Alphabet" by Madhulika Sikka comes in handy.  This is not a novel and is instead a reference book about breast cancer, written by a woman who has battled this disease herself.


About the book:

From NPR News executive editor comes an indispensable and approachable guide to life during, and after, breast cancer.

The biggest risk factor for breast cancer is simply being a woman.  Madhulika Sikka’s A Breast Cancer Alphabet offers a new way to live with and plan past the hardest diagnosis that most women will ever receive: a personal, practical, and deeply informative look at the road from diagnosis to treatment and beyond.

What Madhulika Sikka didn’t foresee when initially diagnosed, and what this book brings to life so vividly, are the unexpected and minute challenges that make navigating the world of breast cancer all the trickier.  A Breast Cancer Alphabet is an inspired reaction to what started as a personal predicament.

This A-Z guide to living with breast cancer goes where so many fear to tread: sex (S is for Sex – really?), sentimentality (J is for Journey – it’s a cliché we need to dispense with), hair (H is for Hair – yes, you can make a federal case of it) and work (Q is for Quitting – there’ll be days when you feel like it).  She draws an easy-to-follow, and quite memorable, map of her travels from breast cancer neophyte to seasoned veteran.

As a prominent news executive, Madhulika had access to the most cutting edge data on the disease’s reach and impact.  At the same time, she craved the community of frank talk and personal insight that we rely on in life’s toughest moments.  This wonderfully inventive book navigates the world of science and story, bringing readers into Madhulika’s mind and experience in a way that demystifies breast cancer and offers new hope for those living with it.

*******

I'll be sharing this book with my friend who is receiving chemo treatments and will have a mastectomy early in 2015 once she finishes her treatment.

Music, Books, Miles and Looks of September

Happy Monday!  Yikes, life has been busy lately.  I think this is the longest I have gone without blogging in quite awhile but I haven't been able to make time for it lately.  I've had lots of fun things going on lately but I am hoping that life slows down soon as the pace, at times, feels almost manic...   I need to get my act together and write some posts about San Francisco later this week!

Music:

 
Arms by Christina Perry - I love Christina Perry's voice.  I don't know much of her music, but I heard this song when I was shopping for my bike and LOVED it.  I bet she'd be great live.

Books:

This was a stronger reading month for me, mostly thanks to the long flights I had to and from California.  I read 5 books.  My favorite book by far was The Storied Life of AJ Fikry - I highly recommend it!

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr - 3 stars (thought I'd like this more than I did)
The Vacationers by Emma Straub - 4 stars
The Church of Tango by Cherie Magnus - 2 stars
Thrive by Arianna Huffington - 4 stars
The Storied Life of A.J.Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin - 5 stars

Miles:

September was a pretty strong running month for me as I ran 106 miles!  On top of that I biked 86 miles!  I also completed my 6th consecutive month of 30 workouts in 30 days, which means I worked out 183 times in the last 183 days (actually a bit more I think because I think I exceeded my goal a couple of months).  I am taking a break from this for a couple of months because I feel like I need to put less pressure on myself to fit in ALL THE THINGS but it's been a great and very motivating challenge for me.

Looks:

I really had to reach to come up with some looks to post.  It's that transitional time when you are sick of your summer wardrobe but it's not quite cool enough to pull out the fall wardrobe.  Both of these looks are things I've owned for years, but they are good staple looks.

This outfit is pretty boring but the scarf makes it a little more interesting/fashionable.

I've owned these pieces for years but I still get compliments every time I wear this outfit.  I heart the color mustard  And the condiment..

 

France Book Tours Review: The Church of Tango

SYNOPSIS

More than a metaphor and much more than a dance, the Tango takes Cherie from being a widow with suicidal tendencies to traveling the world in search of herself, finding love, sorrow and serenity. Her quest takes her to France where she falls in love with aristocratic Olivier, and to Argentina where she falls in love with the tango. Along the way she discovers and deals with her own two separate breast cancers and the loss of all that she’d previously valued. Relationships in the desperate singles world is a whole new dance to learn, before being blessed at the Church of Tango.

The Church of Tango captivates readers struggling with tragic loss, illness, and death, as well as those who are passionate about travel and adventure, who long for love, or who delight in dance of all kinds.

Gold Medal winner 2013 of the Wishing Shelf Book Award

MY REVIEW

This memoir, which is partially set in France, tells the story of Cherie Magnus. Magnus shares her life as a widow with us and at times it is almost painful to read about all of the hardships she encounters, from the heartache of losing her husband to the betrayal of friends to challenging relationships.  I think it was especially hard to read her recount some of her forays into the dating world as a widow because as a reader you want to reach through the pages of the book and tell her that she deserves so much better.  But I admire her ability to honestly recount her relationships as not everyone can tell it like it is or was.  

Through all of her trials and triumphs, the tango is her source of comfort.  I did not know much about tango before reading this so it was interesting to learn about the dance and the customs in the clubs where the tango is danced.  My favorite part of the book was her initial trip to Paris as she comments about how Paris felt more like home than anywhere else did at the time, which is a sentiment that I can completely relate to. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cherie Magnus, a California native, lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for 12 years.

She was a dance research librarian in the Los Angeles Central Library and a dance critic for local newspapers before moving to France, Mexico, and finally to Argentina in 2003.

Many of her articles on dance, books, travel and international culture have been published in magazines, professional journals, and several anthologies.
She has written a blog on expat life, Buenos Aires culture, and tango since 2006.

Currently she is preparing a prequel, Arabesque: Dancing on the Edge in Los Angeles, to be published in 2014.

Visit her website. Follow her on Facebook, and Twitter 
Buy the book: Amazon (paperback) | Amazon (kindle) | Smashwords

Currently: September Edition

And just like that, September is over 2/3 over, and summer will come to an end this week.  Womp womp.  I am not ready for the transition to fall (summer went too fast!), but ready or not, here it comes!  Here's what is currently on my mind.

Reading:  The Hundred Foot Journey which is the book for my October family book club.  To be perfectly honest, it's been a bit dry so far so I hope it picks up soon!  It was made into a movie so I figure it's GOT to have a good story line if they made a movie from it.

Loving:  my new bike!  I am trying to get out for 1-2 rides a week right now while the weather is still nice.  I live in a great area for biking so it's awesome that I can just go out my front door and have access to many different bike trails!  Here are a couple of photos from last weekend's 40ish mile ride along the Gateway Trail!

Most of the trail looked like this.  It was a beautiful place to ride!

We biked to a cute town that is located on the St. Croix River.

Thinking:  a lot about my career and where I want it to go. 

Frustrated: by the lack of clarity I have about where I want my career to go.   

Feeling:  stressed about the upcoming business trip I am doing as I will be traveling with one of the top-producing sales reps whose opinion really counts in the organization.  I've put a lot of work into the presentation we'll be presenting, I just hope it goes smoothly.  

Anticipating: the vacation part of my trip to California!  I can't wait for some girl time in a beautiful city! 

Watching:  The Great Food Truck Race on the Food Network.  I love how food trucks have really taken off in the last couple of years.  Minneapolis has a pretty big food truck culture as trucks line one of the streets downtown during the week, and we've had at least 2 food trucks open restaurants due to the success of their truck, which I think is really cool.

Sad:  that the list of people I am praying for seems to grow by the week.  There's lots of sad stuff happening, from the loss of a friend's parent to knowing people who are battling cancer.  Gah, it all just makes me so sad. 

Working:  on purging items from my closet that I no longer wear.  I've gotten rid of a lot of stuff in the last couple of months, but further purging needs to be done.  I have a huge stack of clothes in my bedroom that I keep adding to each week.     

Grateful: for Phil for many reasons but lately I'm especially thankful for his ability to listen to me talk about work stress (and understand what I am talking about since he also works in the finance industry) and reassure me everything is going to be just fine. 

Listening: to very little music these days as I am not in the car much and I don't listen to music while biking to work as I need to be alert and aware of my surroundings.

Wishing: I worked in an industry that offered an alternative schedule like 4 10 hour days.

This is my last blog post for awhile as I won't be blogging while traveling so have a great week everyone - I'll be back in October with a recap of my trip to San Francisco!!

TGIF!

Oh Friday, I'm so happy to see you!!  Now if this weekend could by reeaaallllyyy slooowwlllyyy that would be awesome.  Here's a recap of my week!

The high of my week was the traveling tap social event that I did last night with some coworkers from my previous company.  It's a really cool concept - it's easier to show you a picture than to explain how it works!  It was so fun to see some former coworkers.  Staying with my former company was not an option given my dislike for living in Charlotte (working in the Minneapolis office was not an option as my department was in Charlotte) but I do really miss my coworkers so I am glad I was able to see so many of them last night!

These are random people, not my coworkers

The low of my week was a snafu with the delivery of my RA injections. Long story short, my condo building messed up and didn't tell me I had a perishable package and I had to throw away half of the syringes because the medication has to be used within 14 days if it reaches room temperature, and that might have happened as the building couldn't tell me when they put my package in the fridge.  Financially it's not a huge deal as my deductible is low but that is $1,000 worth of medication so it's incredibly wasteful to have to throw it away.  And it involved going home during the day and making multiple phone calls.  And I cried because I don't handle unexpected stress right now. 

A blog post I loved was Becky's birthday post.  That girl amazes me because she's been through so much in the past year but she's still so positive and has such a peace about herself.  

For my workouts, I completed an arms workout on Monday morning, a 7-mile tempo run on Monday night, a bike ride on Tuesday, an 8 mile run that included a ladder speed workout on Wednesday night and a shred workout yesterday morning. Today will be my rest day, tomorrow I will run 16 miles (I think?  We will see how I feel) and Sunday I will bike 35-40 miles if the weather permits!

The best money I spent was on the trip to Jamaica in early December that Phil and I booked for his best friend's wedding!!!  This will be my first relaxing/beach vacation EVER!

My plans this weekend include going out to dinner with Phil tonight and stopping by his friend's birthday get together, run club tomorrow and another friend's birthday get together in the evening, and weather-permitting on Sunday my friend and I plan to bike to this cute town called Stillwater which is about about a 35-40 mile bike ride round trip but we'll stop in the middle to have lunch and walk around.  I have less planned this weekend than last weekend which makes me happy because I've had a busy week and the next several weeks are sort of jam-packed.

What was the high and low of your week?

Scenes from Last Night's Ride

Last night was one of those picture perfect nights.  The temperatures were in the 60s and it was bright and sunny.  I know that nights like this are numbered so I decided to make the most of it and went for a bike ride while Phil played softball. 

I left without a real plan for how far I'd bike or where I'd go and let myself just decide as I went along.  Luckily I am super familiar with the trail system in Minneapolis after logging hundred of miles running along the paths so I had plenty of options.  Here are some pictures of what I saw!

Heading out along the Mississippi, which was smooth as glass!

After winding around a couple of lakes, I headed back into downtown.  I love the prairie grass that grows along this trail!

My favorite view of the Minneapolis skyline!  It was even more beautiful in person!

Biking makes me happy

The view of St. Anthony Falls at the end of my ride.  I feel so lucky to call this neighborhood home.

A little over an hour later, I had covered about 14.5 miles and felt calm and refreshed.  Like I said in my post on Monday, running will always be my first love, but biking is going to become a close second.  So far one thing I like about biking is that I have zero expectations besides having fun and enjoying the sights.  I wear my garmin so I can track how far I've gone, but the pace of each mile means nothing to me whereas when I run, each mile split will elicit a feeling of pride or disappointment, even on casual runs. 

Maybe with time I will form expectations for biking, but I hope that is not the case.  I put a lot of pressure (too much pressure, some might argue) on myself in many/most other aspects of my life, so I am really hoping that biking will be something that can just be plain fun.