for the return to runyon

My Runyon workout buddy is always trying to make me do painful things like sit-ups on the benches at the top of Runyon Lookout. But these moves -- Self.com: 8 Moves to Firm Up in Fresh Air Workouts -- are much more in line with what I do now at Pop Physique. So that means they shouldn't hurt as much as the dreaded sit-ups (on a hard wood bench)... right? ;) Maybe if the weather cooperates I'll go try a few out tomorrow.

happy friday!

My 84-year-old grandpa in New Mexico sends me tons of forwarded emails. (Tons.) In my inbox today was an email titled "The Positive Side of Life." It included lots of clip art with positive statements about life on earth. This statement stuck out and made me smile:

"We could learn a lot from crayons: all are different colors.... but they all exist very nicely in the same box."

Speaking of a lot of different colors (or breeds... if you will) co-existing nicely in the same space, the latest viral video from the awesome VW agency -- a teaser for their "Big Game" commercial -- hit the web earlier this week. LOVE THIS! And I really hope mini-Darth Vader will be back in some way, shape or form on "Big Game Day" :)

products i love: yummy goodness

After yet another crazy day at work (that once again proved change is inevitable) and a rather challenging Pilates workout, I came home and treated myself to one of the Skinny Cow vanilla ice cream sandwiches I got for free this weekend (with the purchase of six lean cuisines from Le' Target). I haven't had a lot of ice cream in the last year and this was yummy goodness.... at a mere 140 calories! 

adorkable overload

What's my fave new show this tv season? If you'd asked me back in October, I would have given some highfalutin answer like Person of Interest. And while I do enjoy that drama from the mind of the awesome JJ Abrams, I have to say the new show I most look forward to each week is the adorkable (yes, I just said that) New Girl, starring queen of the adorkables, Zooey Deschanel. It's not like it's ground-breaking TV. And it's never going to unseat Friends as my fave sitcom of all time. But New Girl makes me happy. From the cute theme song ("Who's that girl?.... Who's that girl?.... It's Jess!") to the totally stereotypical three guy roommates who all secretly crush on Jess in their own adorkable (yes I said it again) ways, the show just makes me smile. Maybe it's because I secretly wish I could be as cute, quirky and carefree as Jess... adorkable (yeah, yeah), if you will. Whatever the reason, I'm glad other people agree with me and love the show too. It's very in sync with my unwritten 2012 goal to surround myself with more positivity, so I'm glad it's not in danger of cancellation anytime soon.

Zooey also is co-founder of a cute, quirky, drowning in positivity blog with an adorkable (last time... I promise.) name, HelloGiggles. And while I think I'm probably not their demo (since I'm old now), I still enjoy checking it out every now and then. The Treats section has some good recipes. And the How To's section is always educational. Take this recent post titled How to Small Talk. I learned things you should make small talk about include BBC Masterpiece Classics and your favorite Goldie Hawn movies, and you should never make small talk about your job. This explains a lot about my social life (or lack thereof) and why I hate going to parties where small talk might be required. ;)

hidden gems

So I've just submitted my ballot for the 2011 Producer's Guild Awards. And while I'm not going to say how I voted (although anyone who follows me on Twitter or Facebook knows my #1 and 2 picks after my Golden Globes rant last night), I do want to point out some hidden gems discovered in my screener pile, that I probably wouldn't have watched if I didn't get the movie delivered to my home for free. If you are looking for a good film to watch, see one of these. You won't be disappointed.

• Hugo -- I watched this because I had to in order to rank it for voting. It was the last movie of the 10 nominees I watched. And this was probably the sweetest surprise of the year. This movie is heartwarming and beautiful to look at. Great performances, even from Sasha Baron Cohen, but especially from Ben Kingsley, Chloe Grace Moretz and Asa Butterfield, who stars as Hugo and has the most sad, expressive blue eyes you'll ever see. This is a great film for anyone who loves stories about underdogs and happy endings.
• My Week with Marilyn -- Michelle Williams is amazing. That's the story that follows this film everywhere, and don't get me wrong, she is. But so is Eddie Redmayne, who plays Colin, narrates the film and provides its emotional center. This film is a sweet love story between the two of them, layered between the story of Marilyn's week of filming on Sir Lawrence Olivier's The Prince and the Showgirl, and the insecurities that followed her. It's no best picture, but again, a really sweet story.
• Midnight in Paris -- I usually hate Woody Allen movies, but this didn't feel like a Woody Allen movie. The cast is great and the whimsical storyline, while completely unrealistic, totally appealed to the writer in me searching for inspiration. And I loved that it was set in Paris and had a lovely Parisian soundtrack.
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close -- I would have seen this movie even if I didn't get the screener. I was waiting for this screener. I loved this movie! The cast is amazing and the story -- 9-year-old Oskar's search for the lock that fits a key he found in his father's closet, after his father (portrayed by Tom Hanks) died on September 11th -- is both heartbreaking and life affirming. And Thomas Horn, who plays Oskar, is great. He was discovered on Kids Week of Jeopardy, so you know he's wise beyond his years. 

mmmm... chai tea

I am addicted to chai tea. I freely admit it. Besides the fact that lack of caffeine now gives me a really bad headache, I can't go a day without at least a cup because it's so delish. My go-to chai is the Starbucks Chai Tea Latte -- I drink so many of those I have gold status in the Starbucks Rewards program and get a free one at least every two weeks. At home, I go basic -- a tea bag of either Stash's Double Spice Black Chai or Twinings Spiced Apple Chai -- and hot water. Whenever I go to San Francisco, my go-to breakfast place is Cafe De La Presse, where, upon request, they make a super-yummy Chai latte in a mug almost as big as a soup bowl. It's spicy and sweet and super-frothy. Today, I had brunch at Hugo's, home of a ton of organic teas. If you order non-lattes, you get tea leaves in a press. But I ordered the yummy Organic Black Chai Latte pictured below. It could have been sweeter (I ended up dumping a raw sugar in it), but the froth was perfect, and it looked pretty too :)

inspired

So for some odd reason, I've been really inspired as of late to be here on my blog. I changed the design and have been posting regularly for like a week (lol). Not that there are a lot of people here with me, but I'm enjoying it anyway. It's been a good creative outlet in a time of utter work craziness and sad pet parenthood. A few coworkers have really great blogs seeping with positive energy they've posted links to on Facebook recently, so I have to thank them for my inspiration. I've also been exposed to a bunch of self-help "list" articles the last few weeks. The most recent one is 25 Things Writers Should Stop Doing. Part of item #1 is "Your writing will never chase you — you need to chase your writing." Maybe that's why I am bringing myself back here over and over, writing about little things I like or have seen. I'm chasing my buried creativity and searching for a big idea. I've actually pulled two of my favorite writing exercise books from college off the shelf -- The Artist's Way (which now has a companion blog site) and The Wild Mind. I remember my awesome creative writing professor, my sophomore year of college, leading us through writing exercises... mind dumps where you just put pen to paper and let the thoughts flow, with no roadmap or plan. That's the year I wrote my only printed, personal works... a compilation of poems and short stories titled "From a dusty room... " Now I have housecleaners to dust for me, so maybe its sequel will be shinier.