Gangsta’s Paradise, running on dirt and she approved.

Gansta’s Paradise by Coolio was the song of my run today.  I put my music on shuffle and that song came on and it just made my run (because I listened to it on repeat).  I am proud to say that I still have every word memorized even though it came out when I was in the 4th grade (I thought the cool kids would want to hang out with me if I knew and memorized all of the popular music.  In case you think that will work, it doesn’t).  

I really like music.  I really like running.  So the combination is almost too much.    

Today I had an easy trail run on my schedule.  I wish we had mountains nearby to run around in but we don’t so I have to make do with a dirt trail with a few tiny hills in my area. I think what is important is running on softer surfaces every now and then especially on a recovery run like what I was doing today.  It just feels so good on my body and my brain to run on trails.  

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PS I still can’t find my headband.

Bangs Friend and my mom finally met and my mom approved so that means we can still be friends and hang out together all of the time.  What a relief.DSC 4833

First Brooke burned off some energy running around the mall playground (this has quickly become her favorite place because the toys are just her size and there are usually 48 other kids there).

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 Bread in one hand and grandma in the other= Brooke’s heaven.

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My mom and I did the ‘get two things and split them because heaven forbid we decide on just one thing that sounds good to us.’  The Luau Salad and an omelet.  Both were perfect.  Bangs Friend had the huevos something or other that was really good too. 

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Now we are on a mission to go shopping for Brooke’s birthday.  Yes, it is over a month early but we need to start shopping now.  

Parents reading:  what day(s) are your kiddos birthdays?

What was the best song that you listened to on your last run?

Do you have any trails near you? Do you live close to mountains/good hills?

What was your lunch?

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94 comments

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There are lots of beautiful trails down by Montara where I live and some of the hills are killers! I really should run those hills more – note to self.

I’m running a half marathon this weekend in your area (kind of) in Los gatos and I so nervous about the heat! It’s always so nice and chilly for running here in the morning and the 90F forecast for Sunday is freaky!!

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I live near a ton of trails. I am embarrassed to say how little I take advantage of them. I should change that.

Birthdays are so fun! Enjoy it because this first one is for you, she doesn’t care.

You are looking totally toned in that top picture! All your hard work shows!

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I live near a TON of trails and by Run Mom Run :) I run on them quite a bit because trails are so much more interesting.

My kids are both April babies.

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4th grade?? I was likes senior in high school! I’m so old! Brooke is so cute!! Is that a Lululemon top you’re wearing?

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I live in Boulder and the trails are amazing! I ran on them last night and since it is a rest day, I need to go hike on them tonight :) Come visit Boulder and bring that lil Brooke, please!

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Now I have some gangsta’s paradise stuck in my head;)
Oh my gosh, I love the looks of that salad. It’s so pretty and I want one.
I have a few gorgeous trails where I live. I live in British Columbia, and we have some fantastic hiking places and trails around it’s truly gorgeous in the Summer time.
My lunch was some sweet potato, broccoli, a little salad, and tons of avocado.

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Boise has great trails but I have been lazy and have been hitting the treddy instead. I have been music-free while running so I can’t think of what song I listened to last. It might of been Die Antwoord a month or so ago.

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Love the photo of Brooke with her bread and grandma – too cute! Have fun shopping!

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I’m in Denver so I’d say there are a few mountains around here. :) My puppy Pippa’s adoption day is coming up soon — so I’ll have to celebrate that. Haha.

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Lots of trails, lots of mountains! It’s all I ever run on!

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A used set from the local bike store or road touring club. . .bikepartsusa.comamazon.com’s Niagara Cycle storeThe best deal will be from an indiaiduvl who has removed a set of stock Alex wheels in order to get something faster on hills. Many, many people remove the Alex wheels, yet many more use them without complaint. Anyway, since so many stock wheels are removed, they’ve GOT to be somewhere. Mine are in the garage just getting dusty. They’re way to nice to throw out and way too slow to race up hills. Garage. Also, there’s only about 2 vital differences between a $700 road bike and a $2000 road bike. That’s wheels and an all-alloy crankset. So, lots of people buy their wheels seperately and remove the econo racers to put them in the. . . garage. I’m sure this is popular. Ask some local cyclists.

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My girls birthdays are 12/23 and 3/12.

What was the best song that you listened to on your last run? Remember the Name by Fort Minor.

Do you have any trails near you? Do you live close to mountains/good hills? No mountains anymore, but lots of hills around. Trails yes, but not the cool variety I had in Oregon.

Lunch today was Lasagna Florentine. So good!

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MY birthday is 12/23 too! It’s the best day of the year!

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All the food you eat makes me super jealous. I wish I lived near you! I had peanut butter and jelly for lunch…my kids wanted it.

Their birthdays are October and December. We live in SoCal (inland) so we have mountains to run in, sort of. It’s beautiful here though!

Favorite song to listen to is “Gold” by Britt Nicole when running :-)

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I’m totally embarrassed to say that I listen to a TON of top 40 when I run! The beats are just too good and motivating! I think I live near trails, I do live near mountains, but last I checked you had to pay to be in/around them :(

PS Brooke is super cute!! :)

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I live exactly 4.5 miles from the Campbell Park (I’ve run that distance a lot to get to the park) and it’s my favorite trail. I wish it had more hills, though. I need to incorporate some hill training but have no idea where to go. San Jose is so flat!

My lunch was a ginormous salad with chicken, eggs, and cheese. I need the protein today!

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Ogden has some of the best, best trails around, but man I miss my Virginia ones. I’m looking forward to our move though- to trails and mountains with big green trees (PNW bound!)!

My girl’s b-day is early December and my hub’s is the end. As a result, he decided that we now celebrate Half Birthdays. It’s totally cool with me, as I have a hope for a new home on a small island for my b-day (for real…). Plus I share my Half B-day with my Grandma’s full b-day!

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I run trails all the time–very wooded ones. They are for horseback riding. I like them because there’s almost constant up and down and it’s very tiring, but easy on the legs because of the dirt. As for music, I always listen to podcasts. There’s your next gig–start recording a podcast once a week! :)

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LOL @ Gangsta’s Paradise! Mostly because it reminds me of Weird Al’s knock-off…Amish Paradise. 1995, right?

Big hills pretty close by. I miss them. You look so lovely and joyful!

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There was a race by us recently that Coolio actually played at. I’m sad I couldn’t make it to that race! lol! :)

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What did you think of the amped tank for running?? I work at lululemon so I’d love to give some feedback!

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I seriously LOVED it! Probably need a little more support for me for a race or speed work but it was perfect for my run today!

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I live about an hour away from some beautiful mountains – I’m so lucky to have them so close.

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I have a daughter born on June 9, 2001 and a son born on March 1, 2005.

Today I had a great, short run and the 2 songs that kept me going were Blurred Lines (Robin Thicke) and Treasure (Bruno Mars). Oh, and Hung Up (Hot Chelle Rae…great mindless pop!).

I live in the woods so there are trails (and bears) right out my front door.

What was your lunch?
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I loooooove Gangsta’s Paradise. I definitely have every word memorized too! The best, basically. I love that picture of Brooke and your mom!!!! She looks like she’s having the best time! Yay for her visiting :)

xo

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Oh, and lunch was an avocado and olive hummus on saltines.

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November 18 Noah will be 2!! Crazy! I drove today to some trails I used to live by to run on. Trail running is the best :-) Lunch was a panini, a peach, and several pieces of chocolate! I have a full candy dish I can’t stay away from…

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Shake it out by Florence and the Machine. I get goose bumps thinking about my last run where that song came on.

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I’m actually not a fan of trail running because I tend to roll my ankles but I need to do it for my knees and calves I think. I’ve been doing weeky beach runs which are my version of trails except I’m barefoot…

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When I was hiking yesterday, my boyfriend and I decided to run down part of it. I thought of you and GIRL more power to ya. Trail running is hard!

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OHMIGOSH i know every lyric to gangsta’s paradise too. lol.
today i was loving the veronica’s untouched. helped me get through my speedworkout (which by the way i kept telling myself it was supposed to be work- thanks for yesterday’s post!)
i had an amazing salad for lunch today, followed by a huge dish of pb cookie ice cream (hey, it’s only your bday once a year!!)
p.s. your lunch salad looks amazing too!!

there are some trails near me, the closest one with killer hills is about 40 minutes away. i’ve been going once a week though! :)

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Her b-day is so soon! Crazy!!

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I have 2 favorite songs to listen to right now while I’m running- and they’re complete opposites. “I really Don’t Care”by Demi Lovato is so fun, and PERFECT upbeat “screw you” type song after work. Nothing feels better than putting that song on as I’m (literally and figuratively) running out the door from work!

The other is a strange running song because it’s slow and sad. It’s Birdy’s cover of Skinny Love. I think it’s absolutely beautiful and it is perfect for those slower, introspective, am-I-really-running-or-is-this-therapy type runs.

I live near a small mountain- but not close enough to run through. I run around it though, which is probably why I’m always complaining about hills. Sadly, there aren’t many actual trails to run- a lot of it is paved because it’s also a huge park where people take their kids. It’s also really busy. So I don’t run there much. I wish we had more trails though- my parents have a LOT in their huge neighborhood, and I always love running those when I go visit!

My lunch was a boring green smoothie, like every weekday. Get back with me on Saturday though, because I am VERY excited about that lunch! :)

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I am currently loving the song “Ways To Go” by Grouplove….I had it on repeat the other day and it helped power me up a long, slow, hot climb at the end of my run. I’m trying not to overplay it so I don’t get sick of it, but once I get running I can’t help but play it over and over again : )

My oldest daughter was due March 26 and my youngest May 1, but they both ended up with April birthdays (20 days apart). Throw Easter into the mix, and April ends up being a really busy month in our house!!

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Rancho San Antonio! I’m surprised you are not running there more often it’s so close to you… There’s a bunch of different running groups that come out there every morning – more so on Saturdays. And so many different trails – you can run from 5 to almost 20 miles without having to loop.

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I have never heard of that place! I need to google it! Thank you!

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I wish I lived near more trails! I have always wanted to try trail running but the best trail is over 45 minutes away :-( boo!

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No real trails in my area in Texas which is a bummer because I think trail running would be so much fun! Besides, we have too many poisonous snakes around here and I would be scared to run in to them on a trail. Eeek!!!

My daughter actually has her EIGHTH birthday on Saturday, the 13th. That is just crazy to me because I promise, I just had her the other day….or so it seems!!!

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I love gangstas paradise! My ‘power’ song on my iPod is thunderstruck. No matter how tired you are, that song will get you another five minutes.

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Hey Jenae, did you miss free slurpees at 7-11 today??(that totally rhymes)

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Ahhhhhhh I missed it! Nooooooooooooooooo

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I had enough for you – don’t worry. I’m the Canadian who does the 7-11 run. My 2 buddies and I hit twelve 7-11’s (33.5 miles) , and I’m not craving slurpees anymore. It was hot, but an awesome day for a run! We even got free 7-11 sunglasses (I had no idea 7-11 sold their own sunglasses) from the regional manager – he said he wants to get shirts made for next year…. whoo hoo!

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Um…that’s amazing. At first I thought you meant that you drove around to twelve 7-11’s, but you did a RUN to them? What a great idea. I missed the Slurpee’s too. Sad day.

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You are my hero!!! That is absolutely incredible. Seriously wow!!!

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Why don’t you try a hat, if you can’t find your headband?

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Good question:) I’ve never really ran with one before, I should try that out!

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I must have watched too much TV because I memorized TV show themes instead: Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Saved by the Bell. I still sing them even though my family is not impressed.

My babies were born on October 1st (my favorite month!) and Christmas morning (best Christmas present ever!). :) The first year birthday party is so much fun!

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My twins birthday is today!!!!

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My twins birthday is today!!!! They were born 7/11/11 which I think is an awesome bday. I can’t believe they’re 2 already and not my tiny babies anymore. Love them!
It’s like 2 worlds colliding seeing your mom with bangs friend..your Utah life mixed with your CA life. Love it!

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Ahhhhh tell your twins happy happy birthday! You are so right… Seeing the two of them together was the best for me:)

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My kids’ birthdays are March 3, November 29 and October 22. I can’t wait to see what you come up with for Brooke’s birthday.

I live in a pretty flat area of the country…we get some rolling hills but that’s about it. There’s also essentially no trails where I live. It’s sad, from what little trails I have run, I love them. I run on gravel most of the time though so it’s kinda like a trail.

My lunch today was black beans and rice with garlic chicken.

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Oh my goodness, I can’t believe she turns 1 soon!! How quickly time goes!

Addie’s birthday is April 16th. She will be 3 months on Tuesday. :)

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I absolutely love running on trails. Not too many by my house but where I go on vacation in August it is the best place EVER to trail run. Lunch today was a deep fried perch sandwich with lettuce tomato and tartar and a big plate of fries. AKA heaven.

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My kids birthdays are 2/28/05, 3/22/08, and 4/12/11. 3 kids all born 3 yrs and 3 weeks apart. And my husband and I are 3 yrs, 3 days apart. Crazy! And due to those 3 kids……I completely forgot what I had for lunch today or if I even ate at all.

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My youngest turned 1 on 4/25, and my oldest turns 4 on 9/14. Yikes…just over 2 months away! And it’s never too early to start shopping for your child’s birthday. Or Christmas. Or any other holiday!

There’s a local park called Bays Mountain less than 15 miles from our house, and it has an amazing trail system. My husband and I are running a 7-mile trail race there next week, and there’s a 15-mile race in the fall. We also do a lot of our marathon training long runs on trails because it the terrain is so much easier on our joints, and the trails keep our egos in check!

There’s a great rails-to-trails path called the Virginia Creeper Trail about 45 minutes from our house, and we do our longest training runs there. The scenery is so gorgeous you *almost* forget how long you’re running!

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My son will be 6 on November 5th and my daughter will turn 3 on Sept. 6th (although she thinks she is 13!) Do you have a party theme in mind for Brooke’s first birthday? My daughter insists she is going to have a Strawberry Shortcake party with a strawberry cake…better get practicing! :)

We don’t have any trails that I know of around here, but I sure wish we did. It would be a nice change from the sidewalk and greenway!

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My kid’s birthdays are July 8th, August 31st, and February 13th.

I had a grilled cheese and turkey bacon sandwich for lunch

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My baby’s birthday is 9/14 (she’ll be one!) and my big girl’s birthday is 4/15 (she’ll be 3!)
We have beautiful trails but they are paved so they’re kind of not trails in that sense;). They are scenic and hilly, though. When I bring the double jogger it mostly ends up as a walk.
I had a turkey burger, green beans, and watermelon for lunch. My watermelon ended up being yellow instead of pinkish red but tasted better than all the normal watermelons I’ve had this summer…how weird is that?

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how in the world is brooke almost 1 already? that’s crazy! i feel like you just announced your pregnancy on the blog yesterday!

oh man, my best friend and i used to try to rap along to gangsta’s paradise. we thought we were so cool because we knew all the words (we were in 4th grade when it came out, too!). i’m kinda embarrassed by this memory, but actually, it was a really cool song, so who cares ;) i had a tuna/avocado sandwich for lunch today.

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Her birthday is only a month away?! How did that happen?!

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I last listened to Ready or Not by Britt Nicole; it has the perfect beat!

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I live right by the mountains, but I never run on them. Something about hills makes me angry. I do LOVE to hike though. I don’t have any children, but my dog was born February 28th. Does that count? I had salad with tuna on it for lunch. It was delicious.

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Lord, have mercy…I was a newlywed when Gangsta’s Paradise was released. I was a new teacher and wanted to be a teacher like Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Minds! Gangsta’s Paradise and Waterfalls by TLC were on the 1996 Grammy Nominee CD and I owned that…good stuff!
I had a piece of Banana Walnut bread and a nonfat latte from Starbucks for lunch :( I know, I know.
Till I Collapse by Eminem is my power song right now…I can be dragging my feet and feel like I’m going down for the count but when I turn that song on, I’m back again. Embarrassingly enough, some of my run playlist songs have some not so kid friendly language in them though :/

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Would love to know what you end up getting Brooke for her 1st bday! My little girl’s first birthday is 8/31 and I can’t decide on what to get her!!

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3/8, 5/28, and 10/14 – we like even #’s around here :)

We have a trail that actually goes through most of our city; however, it doesn’t have hardly any hills. I can drive about 20 minutes away though and we have a park that has crazy hills.

I ate a pb&j for lunch because we were at Disneyland!

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My baby girl will be one on November 23rd. Is it bad that I’M already thinking about her bday party too?!?! Gah, I seriously want more running gear whenever I read your posts. You can never have too much, right?!

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My favorite running song this week has been ‘Lose Yourself’ by Eminem. Perfect tempo and beat.

I have trails about two miles from me – they’re ok – in the middle of suburban Chicago.

Today I met my friend for lunch at Panera. I had mac n’ cheese (they have amazing mac n’ cheese), a ceaser salad, and a sourdough bread roll. It was heaven in my mouth.

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Ahh her 1st birthday. Are you having a big party? The 1st is so much fun! My boys were born on 6/25/07, 5/31/09 and 5/23/11 so we have lots of birthday celebrations from the end of May to the end of June. Also our 4th baby (we don’t know the gender) is due August 21! So maybe he/she will be born the same day as Brooke. I LOVE trail running, we don’t have a ton of it around here (I live in Walla Walla washington) but my sisters live in Boise and they have the best trail running in the foothills there. Everytime we visit its always on our to do list. Besides there is nothing better than running with your sister!!

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I just moved away from the best running location EVER and now I’m stuck with prairies to the east and industrial streets to the west. If I go north I have to run on a highway. Can’t run south, cause that’s the international border…unless…I wonder if they’d let me run there if I went through the checkpoint? They’d probably think I’m trying to smuggle something in my water belt…eeshk…I mean, who crosses an international border just to go for a run?!

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My daughter was due in march but instead she came on April fools day :)

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Wow! I can’t believe Brooke is almost 1. That is crazy.

We have lots of trails near us. We’ve been exploring them with Bungee lately. Unfortunately, a lot of them are not well marked, so we end up getting lost. Still an adventure!!

I usually just listen to podcasts when I run, so I haven’t listened to music on a run in forever!

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A couple songs that I have to include on my play list is Rise Against- Satellite Emimem- Not Afraid and The most Important… You Fing Did It- Jason Mraz Best running song in the world.

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Oh and I don’t know all the words to the real Gangsta’s Paradise but I do know all the words to the Weird Al version… I was a strange child.

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I know all the lyrics to Amish Paradise too! I learned them in 6th grade and then taught them to my younger cousin. I was such a great influence. :-P

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Did you check the linen closet for your headband? (LOL)

I was missing a jacket for almost a year and found it recently rolled up in a sheet in my closet. How it got there I’ll never know. Kind of like your favorite running shirt. So, I say, check those “it could never be here places” for your headband…

Good luck!

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Ohhh my! I love that photo of Brooke, bread, and Grandma! I can’t get over how cute she is. AND that she’s almost one! Watch out mama – She’ll be driving in no time :)

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I wish I could listen to music while I run but the earphones pop out and when I’m outside I’m too paranoid to listen to music lest I don’t hear the mugger creeping up behind me… I did watch Full House while I did three miles on the treadmill in my building’s basement this morning. John Stamos on repeat is pretty awesome…

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The song that I have been obsessively listening to on my runs is “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark” by Fall Out Boy. And at my last two races that was the first song that came on when I hit shuffle. It’s the best. :-)

Unfortunately no trails near me. I would have travel a bit south/west if I wanted to get to Mt. Wachusett, or head north to NH.

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I definitely still know every word to Gangsters Paradise. I laughed the other day when an old will smith song came on while I was running and I still knew every word. Amazing how we remember things!

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We just started to come to grips and started the party-planning too. My baby turns one Aug. 1, and I’m going to pick up her invites I printed today. Sadness! (Although happy she isn’t a newborn anymore!)

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Love Wagon Wheel by Darius Rucker. It just makes me happy & I’m not a big country fan.

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I think I really need to start doing what you do…order 2 things with the person I go out with and share them! That way I can try TWO meals :)

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Kennedy May 10, 2003
Jackson March 29, 2009

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I’m not a parent, but I’m a proud Auntie…..nephews were born on November 1, 2012! My dad, other brother, and I are flying from LA to Seattle to celebrate their first birthdays!! I can’t wait for a smash cake!! (I think it would be a really fun picture idea to have all of us with little smash cakes – or smash cupcakes!)

Best song = Anything Foo Fighters!

My BF and I go through the hills of Brentwood, CA at least once a month. Pretty steep, but we powerwalk the hardest parts.

Lunch today…..not sure yet! But huevos something or other sounds good!!

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P.S. Brooke’s little thighs in the playground picture……OMG!!!! :) :) Cute cute cute!

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I did this same thing in the 8th grade by memorizing all of the words to “Baby Got Back.” We all thought it would be cool if we all knew all of the words to that song. Oh geez. PS, I was a freshman in college when “Gangsta’s Paradise” came out – you just made me feel super old. Hehe. :)

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My kids were born on March 25 and February 8 (almost 5 years apart).

The best song on my last run was, hands down, Paradise City by Guns-n-Roses. It makes me laugh no matter what.

We have trails and mountains, but so far I’m only running on a track because I’m easing into running again.

Yesterday’s lunch was a sandwich. Today probably a salad from Panera with one of my besties.

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My daughter’s BD is August 15. She’ll be 26 this year.

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She needs a ball pit! Trust me, she will love it.

V’s bday is 5/4

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Fave running songs this week are My Body- Young the Giant and Run this town- Rihanna/jayz

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I rarely trail run because there rly aren’t any at all. I do enjoy it tho.

I think I was in 8th grade when that coolio song came out!

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I love to run the trails! There are quite a few near us and I need to get out there more!!!

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I love sharing plates too, you get more variety that way!

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My hometown is in Colorado and there are tons of mountains and hills. Now that I live in DC, it’s much harder to find hills to run on our pretty trail/mountain scenery, but I’m slowly discovering that the East Coast has it’s own hidden gems.

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