Fat and Happy

Exhaustion. Flat out exhaustion has overcome my body. I cancelled my mid-morning plans in order to get my workout in, yet here I sit in my sports bra and shorts at Montecito Inn, my feet elevated, laptop on my quads. I look like a lazy bum. But you know what? I may look like a bum, but I feel like a queen inside. You know, one of those fat and lazy Amazonian queens who lays back and allows people to dote on her: Fat and happy.

Life is so good. Part of me is wishing this week would slow down so I could savor Santa Barbara a little bit longer, but I do feel good about my week thus far. And I feel really great about the direction I'm heading in the future.

My Wildflower race plan is in place. I should be able to finish in under 3 hours and beat my time from 2012. I have five goals, but since my bike is currently in the shop getting worked on and my foot has been acting up, I set a Plan B goal just in case: HAVE FUN.

I may not crush the competition. I may not even place within the top 10 female in my age group (which is one of my five goals), but I can say with confidence that I will have a grand old time. Emily and ZackZack will be there. My mom and Todd are coming to cheer me on. I'll be camping and surrounded by gorgeous landscape. This is going to be epic.

Wildflower Prep

This morning I woke up to the sound of birds singing by the fountain outside my window and the smell of the ocean breeze wafting into my room. I had spent the night with my friend Kate and we woke up at 5AM to go to Adrienne's yoga class at Power of Your Om in Santa Barbara. Afterward, we grabbed coffee at Handlebar Coffee Roasters (my favorite coffee spot) then I had breakfast at Cajun Kitchen with Cosy. It feels just like old times, just like my old life.

Part of me misses this wealthy beach community, but a larger part of me is so grateful I am not a part of this culture anymore. It is so easy to revert back to that yoga-girl-living-in-the-city lifestyle: Drinking coffee with the girls, watching the sunset on the beach, worrying about the fact that the girl next to me in yoga class looks better in her luluLemon pants than I do... It's not the life I want.

If I was offered the choice between living in Santa Barbara or Bend again, I would choose Bend every single time.

But it is so nice to be in my second home, to see my amazing friends and to catch up with my favorite shop owners. Santa Barbara was a huge part of my life and it will always hold a special spot in my heart.

Training has not been so great. I spent the past three weeks doing the wrong workout. Whoopsidaisy. I definitely would have benefited by staying in Oregon these past two weeks and training at elevation, but I made my choice and I have appreciated my vacation greatly. I am figuring out what I want in life and what I want to accomplish. It sounds life a selfish time in my life, but oddly enough, I think I am becoming less self-focused in the process.

Wildflower is less than a week away and I am ready to go have some fun on Lynch Hill. I do not expect to do well during this race. Honestly, my foot has been bothering me a great amount this trip. But I want to go out and finish and see what I am capable of in this stage of life. I feel confident that I will finish in under three hours and I am excited that my mom is coming to cheer me on.

Thanks for all the positive thoughts, y'all! Stoked for my abilities and for a great group of supporters!

The Blog About Being Beautiful

A man recently told me I had swagger. Swagger.

Dictionary.com defines SWAGGER as:

Verb Walk or behave in a very confident and typically arrogant or aggressive way: "he swaggered along the corridor".

Noun A very confident and typically arrogant or aggressive gait or manner.

Adjective Denoting a coat or jacket cut with a loose flare from the shoulders.

Synonyms verb.   strut - brag - prance - peacock - boast - swank - vaunt noun.   strut - swank adjective.   swell - stylish - chic - spruce

Wow. That sounds pretty manly.

Last Friday night, Amy and I had date night. We went out to a delicious Thai meal: Coconut soup, brown rice and coconut tofu curry. Afterwards, we went back to my place to spend some time with Yomi since her husband was out of town. Yomi is all about beauty and make-up and fancy clothes. She owns this entire nail salon kit and insisted on doing Amy's and my nails. I'll admit I was hesitant, especially about putting bright pink sparkly polish on my fingernails. But they turned out nicely. Sometimes I look down and see a flash of pink; it catches me off guard. "What is on my hand?! ... oh right... I'm a girl." Plus... I am really enjoying the smooth feel of the gel on the tips of my digits.

Sarah came into town to visit her boyfriend this past weekend. We went into town to grab coffee in between my jobs; while we were there, she wanted to hop into Sephora. I don't wear make-up. In fact, the little amount of make-up I do own is from middle school and has been used maybe a handful of times. Hmmmm... I'm pretty sure you are supposed to throw it out after 6 months or something of the sort. So when we passed the eyeliner section, I decided to pick up a couple of pencils. Yup... I even wore it yesterday. It is true, I may have swagger, but I am still a lady.

Yay for mud masks, eyeliner and cute dresses.

Twenty-six for Sandy Hook

On December 12 of last year, twenty students and six staff members were shot at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newton, Connecticut. It was the second deadliest mass murder and school shooting in America's history. It's amazing to think that one day this will be read in history textbooks. Reading the details of the horrific event makes the stomach turn, but it is in times of sadness and loss that Americans tend to band together to help those in need.

Obama appeared on television that afternoon telling Americans: "We're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics." Come together we did. Concerts were held across the US, with all of the proceeds going directly to Sandy Hook Elementary. Thousands of teddy bears were sent to the remaining students of the Connecticut grade school.

On the other side of the country, in Southern California, Santa Barbara Running Company hosted a benefit run/walk for the Sandy Hook School Support Fund (https://newtown.uwwesternct.org/). On a chilly, overcast Saturday morning, a group of 40 individuals braved the cold and came together for 26 minutes of walking, jogging and running; one minute for each victim of the shooting. Some participants walked their dogs, some sipped on coffee while catching up with old friends and others ran to the rhythm of the tunes coming out of their headphones. All of these individuals came together for one purpose: To help a neighbor in need, a neighbor who lives almost 3,000 miles away.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines community as a unified body of individuals. The people who showed up to the Sandy Hook Benefit Run/Walk were all unified with a desire to help another group of people in their time of need; this was truly an act of community. At the end of the 26-minute event, Santa Barbara Running Company raised $1,140 for the families and friends of the victims of the December 12th shooting.

Santa Barbara Running would like to thank each person who came out to help support the cause. Thank you to Handlebar Coffee who donated the delicious coffee that kept everyone warm, energized and caffeinated; as always, it was delicious. KEYT joined us at the beach to do a story on the event, so a big thank you also goes out to the station.

Our hearts go out to kids and teachers who were taken far too soon!

A Good Cup of Coffee and A Warm Flannel

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...

Really?

Those are your favorite things?

Well... whatever floats your boat.

Wanna know my favorite things?

No?

Well, stop reading then because here comes

THE GREATEST LIST EVER OF ASHLEE'S FAVORITE THINGS (at least for today):

1. Handlebar Coffee

Rain. Shine. Dinner time. No matter what the weather or the time of day, Kim and Aaron will fix you up right with the perfect cup of coffee. It was 11:30 on a Wednesday morning and I had a few hours to kill before my next job, so I do what I always do on Wednesday after cycle class: I walked to Handlebar. Now, let's get a couple of things straight: 1. I am single and I cannot find a good man in my town to date. 2. Handlebar is not that close to my work and I was carrying my laptop with me. 3. French Press just opened up a shop next to my work where all the attractive men in my town like to hang out. Okay, now that we have that all covered, I'll continue my story.

Please notice that the lovely Kim and Aaron are both wearing flannel, which plays into my second favorite thing!
Photo courtesy of google.com.

After teaching an intense cycle class, I changed into my cute jeans, my adorable yellow New Balance flats and a t-shirt. To make my point clear: I looked adorable. My hair was even braided on the side. I walked down the street and glanced over to The French Press as I passed. Never have I seen that many attractive men in one place at the same time. Well, I could just go there today. I wouldn't have to walk in the heat any further... No! I won't do it! My heart lies at Handlebar. So I continued my walk and set up shop at Handlebar. I only had two dollars in my purse, but I was longing for a cappuccino. Dag nabbit.

"Hey, Ashlee. How's it going today," Aaron greeted me as usual.

"It's going well. You cut your hair! It looks good," I complimented him.

"Oh, thanks. Do you want your usual today," he asked.

"Actually, I only have two dollars, so..."

"You can get anything you want. Don't worry about the money," he reassured me.

I didn't want to take advantage of his kindness though.

"Coffee is $2, right? I'll just get a drip."

"Are you sure," he asked. "You want room for soy though, right?"

Kim called over from the espresso machine, "How's your training going?"

Kim and Aaron make a point of knowing their customers. Not only do they know their drink orders, they also know about their history, their passions, what gets them out of bed every morning... I love that! They do an excellent job of becoming a part of people's lives.

I set up my stationary, ready to write Nani, Sophie and Kaylee letters. Looking at my cup of plain drip coffee, I couldn't help but wish it was a cappuccino. I sighed and took the mug to my lips... only to be greeted by the most amazingly heavenly smooth cup of joe I have ever tried. Oh, Kim and Aaron... you can do no wrong, can you?

Photo courtesy of www.foodgps.com

2. Fall weather and a cozy flannel

My town isn't known for its cold weather. In fact, very rarely does the temperature drop below 60 degrees. However, since Tuesday, it's been fairly chilly. Why is this chick talking about the weather? Because I am super stoked that it has been chilly! I hate COLD weather, but there is nothing I love more than the autumn chill in the air. It gives me an excuse to wear all those flannel shirts I own and scarves and boots and sweaters. I want to get married in the fall. I want fresh, colorful leaves trailing behind my white dress. I want a red flannel over my shoulders while I'm waiting to walk down the isle to my Mr. Wonderful. There is just something about the fall that makes me cheerful from my fingers to my toes. It must be all the pumpkin pie and chai tea (neither of which I have had this year... that's bizarre).

Okay, so the idea was not mine originally, but I adore it!
Photo courtesy of Ciara Richardson Photography

The colder weather is also better for running. Brisk air fills my lungs and somehow it feels fresher and lighter than the heat of a 90 degree day on the trails. I can wear a long-sleeve dry-wicking shirt with my running tights and I am perfectly content. Also, I don't feel like I need to find shade as often because the heat is not overwhelming. I could adventure all day long. Last Tuesday, I totally did that. I started my run at the base of Cold Springs, but decided to cut over to Tangerine Falls. The water was all dried up and I noticed a path I had never seen before. It cut down across the water bed and up through the hills. I followed it for 5 miles or more before the trail became overgrown and abandoned. I followed it some more. Up rocks, across the dried-up creek bed, under and over branches... it was so serene and peaceful. I didn't want to leave. I love the fall.

By the way, in case you didn't know, today is flannel day. "Every day is flannel day," was the response I got from two of my dearest friends, Nani and Tucker. Yeah, I know this, guys, but today is the day of flannel. Last Saturday, Josh and I were catching up and talking about my weird observations of absurd, made-up holidays when he reminded me of Thursdays and flannel days. It went something like this:

Ashlee: who do you think i am?

Josh: ashlee (last name omitted just in case of weirdos) inventor of odd holidays
in example flannel thursday

Ashlee:omg!!!! i totally forgot about flannel thursday!!!!
how did i forget about flannel thursday!?!??!????


Josh:dork


That was the best day ever. It was college, junior year. Rebecca and I were living in Brazil. No, not the real Brazil. Brazil in South America. No, not the real South America... oh, nevermind. Being Oregon girls, Rebecca and I decided to combine our love for being happy and wearing flannel and we created flannel day! If you were lucky enough to know me back then, you got to listen to my text tone with Rebecca saying "Flannel Day" in a really horribly nerdy voice. Loooove.


Okay, well, I will only bore you with two things because I know all y'all are busy. But there you go. Those are my favorite things today.

Butts and Guts

Tomorrow morning!

It's on.

I've learned new challenging exercises... get excited...

8AM at Tucker's Grove, Saturday, October 6.

What to bring?

A mat or towel

A friend

A water bottle

$5 donation

A soy cappuccino for the teacher (optional, but :10 less on your plank! :20 if it's from Handlebar Coffee.)

A good attitude!

See you in the morning!