Friday Sunshine... A dedication to Boston.

This week, Friday Sunshine is dedicated to Boston...

​To All Runners... your hard work and months of training did not go unrecognized.  Congratulations on a job well done.  Thank you for being inspiring. Thank you for raising money & awareness for your charity. Congratulations on achieving your PR.  Congratulations on reaching a new goal. Thank you for running.

To the first responders and all who ran towards the scene to help... thank you for your bravery and fearlessness.

To all hospitals in Boston, thank you for saving more than 170 lives and being so incredibly prepared.

To local residents who offered your home for warmth, electricity, and water for runners who couldn't find their families or shelter... thank you for your generosity, kindness, and representing this city, so well. 

To New York, Chicago, Philly and our other great sister and brother cities.... thank you for the outpouring of support via sweet caroline, newspaper covers, lit up buildings, taped baseball gloves, and so much more.​

To President Obama, Stephen Colbert, ​Dennis Lehane and many more... thank you for using your words to properly define a Bostonian. Strong, Fearless, and knowing that they messed with the wrong city.​

And now I give you, some scenes from this great city...

If you haven't watched this video of the National Anthem at the Bruins game yet... grab a tissue and hit play...​

​One of the photos I took earlier in the day on Monday... runners and our soldiers... less than a mile from the finish line...

​Later that day... on the left... my walk from Back Bay over the Mass Ave bridge into Cambridge where I eventually picked up a cab.  On the right, the view of the city from my run around Castle Island in Southie.

​From my run on Thursday night... view from the Harbor walk... Boston Harbor Hotel and a gigantic American flag.

​Also from Thursday, view of the harbor and the Old Northern Ave Bridge from the Harborwalk.

And this, <3.

​Enjoy your weekend.  Stay strong, my friends. xo

Boston

I lay here with a sick feeling in my stomach that hasn't gone away since I received a text from Krista at 2:56pm asking me where I was and if I was ok.  Krista was running the race... she hopped in to run with her friend for the last 12 miles.  At the same exact instant, Rebecca turned to me and said... "Why did 50 guys in SWAT gear just walk past the bar... something is wrong".  I don't usually jump to conclusions, but, Krista was running the race and texted ME  to see if I was ok.  ​We had already asked for the bill to check out and leave the bar so that we could go watch Krista and our friends who were running, cross the finish line.  I looked at my friends, and said, Let's go.

​Surprisingly, I didn't feel as scared as I would have imagined,  mostly just sick.  I am angry.  Marathon Monday is the best day of the year in Boston.  Athletes and spectators from all over the world gather in the city that so many of us call home to reach goals they've worked very hard to achieve, raise money and awareness for charities that are close to their hearts, and in remembrance of loved ones.  How dare someone or some group try to ruin this for them.  I am angry, we are all angry, and we want answers.

I refuse to believe that this race is ruined. Now, more than ever, our city must come together, look fear in the face and say FU.  I refuse to live in fear in my home.  

Once I was home back in Southie, I went for my normal run around Castle Island and immediately ran into Janet.  We did the loop together and I stopped to take this photo as we crossed over the bridge. ​ Amazing how calm and beautiful it looks amongst the chaos.

To the families and friends of victims... our hearts are with you.  Let this be a reminder to all to hug your loved ones tight and be kind to one another.​  There needs to be peace.

​Stay strong, my friends. xo.

Weekend Sunshine

​Sooo "Friday Sunshine" is a little delayed this week, my apologies.  This past week was long and jam-packed.  I promise to start using my 'post scheduler' so that I stay on track with my weekly themes! The theme of this week's "sunshine" is "inspiration & motivation".  Seeing that the Boston Marathon is tomorrow, it's only fitting.  I'm always in awe of the runners during the Boston Marathon, but, last year was especially awe-inspiring with the 80-90 degree heat that they had to endure.  I posted about motivation and the marathon last year here and here.

​Last week, it was Billy's birthday so Kim planned a fun get-together/party at a bar just outside the city.  We haven't been together as a group in a couple months so it was great to catch up. Kim, Rachael and I sat down and immediately starting gabbing non-stop (obviously). What they might not know is that they gave me the extra push needed to do a little more with my blog over the next few months. More to come, but, thanks, dolls for the motivation ;)

​Rachael also reminded me that I haven't posted a song on "Friday Sunshine" in a couple weeks.  Then she reminded me of this gem that should motivate you to get right out the door and get a sweet workout in. 

​I already used this image this week in my "Grass Fed..." post, but, it's such a great photo of downtown that I had to use it again.  This run I went on motivated me to start running longer distances again.

​Sometimes I have to remind my friends that there is FUN in fun fit flavor. On two separate occasions this week, my friends joked that the photos I was taking were not "funfitflavor" worthy.  On Thursday night I went to Lauren and Chris' house to catch up. Chris made this meal for us and after 11 days of super clean eating and detoxing... it was exactly what I needed.  This is definitely "funfitflavor" worthy!

Finally, this is how I like to approach every day.  Be positive, be optimistic, know that anything can happen and focus on the 'wonderful'. 

​Hope you're all having a fabulous weekend. xo.