A little quiet

I have been quiet lately but don't worry, I'm here -- I'm just thinking. A lot on my mind right now, but I'll get to that.

I decided to take a nice walk to clear my head. Last night was a clear, mild night in NYC and it was great just being outside. I knew I wanted to do the Brooklyn Bridge Park loop again tonight (I've been taking that route a lot lately -- I love it!), and I decided to do two things differently tonight. First, I left Audrey at home. I was a little sad, because I do like her company. But she pulls a lot, and it distracts me from keeping up a good pace. Also, despite her repeated requests I have not been able to have all other dogs removed from the borough of Brooklyn, and sometimes she does feel the need to scream and carry on when she sees another four-legged furball.

The second thing I did differently is that I grabbed my point and shoot camera -- because I promised pictures! I only took a few because the little camera isn't the best for night shooting, but it was easy to stick in my pocket. Once I start my DSLR classes, I'll be sure to get some quality shots. I headed out of my apartment and down to the park and as soon as I looked up, I was SO glad I my camera.

That sky, oh my goodness that sky!

It was breath-taking, awe-inspiring, and the perfect backdrop for a good, head-clearing walk. With Adele playing in my ears (I listened to the same song on repeat for an hour -- my version of a meditation chant), I kept up a good pace, stopping every once in a while to snap a picture or watch the boats in the harbor. There weren't many other runners or bikers out tonight, so I felt like I could stay safely in my own little head.

I kept walking all the way up to Pier 1 (not the store, an actual pier), took a nice long look at the Brooklyn Bridge, and looped around so I could walk through prime Brooklyn Heights on my way home. Every time I do this, I play a game called "which street is my favorite?", but I can never decide. The brownstones are just so quaint and picturesque, there are adorable little restaurants and cafes tucked in every corner, and there are gas-burning lamps on some streets! It is amazing to walk through a neighborhood and think that it looked almost the same 100+ years ago. I get delightfully goosebump-y!

It was a great walk, and I grabbed myself a little dinner on the way home. Next time I need to make sure to wear my Garmin so I know what kind of distance I'm covering. Right now I'm focusing on just getting myself back in the habit of working out regularly, but I'll need to start measuring my progress soon so I can keep pushing myself and improving my endurance.

I did give my mind a good workout as well, which was part of the goal. Lately I've been thinking a lot about some big life plans -- I'm feeling like I'm at a crossroads in a lot of areas, and I'm just not sure which way to turn. In a lot of ways, I've been treading water for a while, and I definitely feel ready to MOVE. But which way? I don't quite know.

I do know that I have felt (gently) pushed into wanting to take action in my life by reading about some of the exciting things that my favorite bloggers are doing. MegaNerdRuns got a dream job and picked up her life to move to a new city; AliOnTheRun is Running for the Rabit (you should definitely support her!) and training for her first marathon; Amy just finished her first half marathon; and on and on and on. With each amazing story I read, I get SO excited for my virtual friends...and as they reach their goals, I think about where I am with achieving mine.

I don't have details to share just yet, but I feel like I'm ready to start crossing some things off of my big Life List. Over the past week, I have even begun reviving a plan that had completely fallen apart last year. I was devastated at the time, but now I see that maybe this is the way it had to be -- taking a different approach might get me exactly what I want and ALSO what I need. Win-win! (A little shout-out to someone who might have helped motivate me in this particular line of thinking -- I can be enabled!).

OK, enough being vague. More to come when I have some actual details to share, but until then: thank you! Thank you to all of the bloggers and readers out there who are being awesome and living your awesome lives, and inspiring the rest of us to do the same. I don't know what will come of all of my thinking...but I know it will be good!