Five Things Friday: the things that EMPOWER us

After a week-long roadtrip, I’m of course happy to be home, it’s nice to be in my own space and of course, enjoy my husband’s company. That said, I also can’t help but miss the road a little; there’s just something so freeing and lovely about being on the move. There are never any dishes in the sink, or laundry piling up and waiting for you, it’s just you, a suitcase, and the freedom to roam as you please. It’s relaxing and maybe even a little intoxicating.

 

I got home really late on Wednesday night after driving solo (well, with Abbie, of course) for nearly 11 hours.

 

 

When my husband came to the front door to greet us,  words felt strange, like simply saying hello felt strange, and not just because I was exhausted from a long day of driving but also because I realized I had probably listened to about eight hours of podcasts on the drive (not kidding). I’m pretty sure my ears were still ringing from all of the listening I had been doing.

Thursday morning came too soon. It seems that despite my most heroic efforts to stay hydrated, and to move as often as possible, the roadtrip lag is just too real. I’ve decided that you can do all the right things but no matter how you shake it, driving for that long is just hard. Enjoyable. But still hard. With my alarm blaring and my husband up for work, I knew I had to just get up and face the day. I made a cold brew Amazing Grass smoothie – even chugged a little cold brew while making the actual smoothie – and then prepared myself for battle with my inbox.

And I’m happy to say that I made some pretty serious strides. I’m not completely caught up  (that would just be crazy), but I’m in a better place than I was. And today, my plan is to get to an even better place so that I can go into the weekend with a little calm and start next week off on the right foot.

Speaking of next week, you’ll want to stay tuned in because I’ll be announcing some big news (don’t get your hopes up, mom, I’m not pregnant). But before we get to the big news, let’s  all just stay on the edge of our seats, and hit Friday with all the things that had us feeling EMPOWERED this week, like say…

That feeling you get after running a race: check out this amazing EMPOWER Race + Yoga Festival recap from the lovely Christa (if you don’t already follow her on Instagram, you best get on that, she’s @sweating_awesome).

Her positive attitude (even after a 4 am wake-up) and her lovely description of the event itself, “…the feeling of empowerment seeing females supporting each other, the cool ocean air, the beautiful course, the feeling of doing something I love after taking a long break. These feelings are priceless and this event was simply amazing!” make me want to get up and run. For more EMPOWER inspiration, check out this post and also this one as well.

 

• That feeling you get after a good poop: or in this case, a good laugh. Check out this hilariously fun post about Model Meals from my friend Gigi. The one thing I’ll say is the image of the girl who just felt her laxative kick in…I’ve been there…an outdoor mall with my now husband. And oh shit…literally.

• That feeling you get when you finally allow yourself to let go. I love this post from Katie. While I’m not a parent, I still felt like she was speaking to me. I’ve had a few things in the past two weeks that have been hard to let go of. When she talks about projecting her fears, and stress on to her kids, I realize I do the same sometimes with work stuff that I’m dealing with. And I’m taking her advice and just letting it all go. Buh-bye.

• That feeling when you walk outside barefoot. I’ve been in a constant stream of go, go, go. Today, I walked out onto my deck, sat down with my dog and enjoyed some Gerolsteiner Sparkling Mineral Water. I didn’t have an agenda or any kind of plan and it felt damn good. We just sat and stared at each other for a bit before she got bored of me and rolled over on her side. It felt good to just empty my brain. If you need more suggestions for emptying your brain, check out this great post from Autumn, A Whole Story.

• That feeling when you realize that maybe that really shitty thing happened for a really good reason. When something shitty happens and it seems like it’s just pure shitty-ness, well, that’s pretty shitty. But when something shitty happens and you think, hmmm, if that shitty thing hadn’t happened, I might not have made a new friend, met my husband, gone to that exciting place, tried a yoga class….you get the point. If something shitty happened, don’t feel shitty, just shift your perspective..or just read this post from Ang over at Cow Girl Runs.

And since I listened to nearly eight hours of podcasts two days ago, here are the five podcasts you need to be listening to.

• Death, Sex, & Money. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If you’re not already tuned in, TUNE IN already. The host, Anna Sale, is simply amazing, I’m not sure if I want to marry her or be her. Either way, I’m pretty sure I love her. This podcast is seriously everything – it explores all of life’s most difficult topics – and puts everyone – whether normal person or celebrity on equal footing. You realize as you listen, that everybody is in fact….human.
• Ear Hustle. Prisoners in San Quentin talking about life inside and outside of prison – everyone from the hosts to the guests are amazing – their stories, their insight, their humanity, I get chills every time. My only complaint is that it doesn’t come out more often…but hey, that’s prison.
• Reply All. Arguably one of the BEST podcasts out there. Reply All is about the Internet, sure, but it’s also so much more than that. In the latest few episodes, they go to India to investigate a call center scam. And it’s…just…so good. Put your AfterShokz on your head right now and listen up!
• Missing Richard Simmons. I binged listened to the whole thing while in the car. Not kidding. Whether you’re currently a Richard Simmons fan or not, this podcast will make you fall in love with the man in spandex…and then question everything. Rinse. Repeat.
• The Pitch. It scares me how much I like this podcast, but the business nerd in me can’t get enough. Listening to other entrepreneurs pitching their business to a panel of VCs is like the purest form of evil – it both triggers my own startup PTSD and makes me want to go back and have a redemption. See how much I learned, guys? Ok, I’m not really jumping back in the fundraising ring…but it sure is fun to imagine!

Any podcasts I should be listening to or posts that have empowered you this week? Please share.

Otherwise, stay safe and as always stay sweaty, my friends.

XOXO

Jamie

Disclaimer: I am one of the hosts of the EMPOWER Race + Yoga Festival. That said, all opinions and words are my very own.