That that don't kill me, can only make me stronger. I need you to hurry up now, cause I can't wait much longer. Kanye West, Stronger

Saturday, April 5, 2008

About Me

Now that I am over 100 posts, I thought it was time for an "About Me" Page/Post.

So welcome to my life outside the gym...

Favorite activities/interests:
Flower shopping at Union Square Markets, crocheting and craft projects of all kinds, volunteering the the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York, Team in Training, shopping, playing with my niece and nephew when I am back in my hometown, spending hours pouring over books and magazines for free in Barnes and Nobles, visiting art museums, home decorating, riding on Vespas in Napoli, traveling, reading blogs and walking around the city.

Things I miss now that I live in the city: hiking, skiing, singing to the radio in the car, starry skies, sunsets.

A very limited list of my favorite places on earth: Martha's Vineyard, Barcelona, Madrid, Positano, Naples, Blue Mountain Lake, 71 Irving Place, and Saratoga Springs (no place like home).

My a few of my favorite things: my ipod, Versace sunglasses, my Vineyard Vines bag (not quite as chic as a Louis Vuitton, but I love it), and my Blackberry, my massive make-up and perfume collections.

One store that defines my fashion sense: Club Monaco, unfortunately most of my wardrobe comes from the more work appropriate and affordable Gap/Ann Taylor Loft--kind of depressing :).

Things I can't deal with: littering, people who don't recycle/use Styrofoam, people who take the elevator at the gym, really smelly bath and body stores, apathetic employees in NYC drugstores, Flavor of Love.

Things I wish I was: neater, as close to 100% earth friendly as possible, a perfect grammarian.

What you might not know about me: I inherited a level of punctuality unattainable by most people.

Guilty pleasures: The Hills, Gossip Girl and Stuff White People Like.

Favorite Movies:
Breakfast at Tiffany's, Two for the Road, American Beauty, A Beautiful Mind, You've Got Mail, Bridget Jones Diary, Devil Wears Prada, Mean Girls, and Match Point.

Favorite Books:
There are so so many, so a very abbreviated list: The Awakening, The Bell Jar, The Fountain Head, A Prayer for Owen Meany, Rebecca, Wasted, Anne of Green Gables series, the Audacity of Hope, Eat Pray Love and Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Fitness/Diet/Beauty/Self-help related books:
Runner's World Complete Book of Running, Ultramarathon Man, Swimming to Antartica, The Raw Food Detox Diet, Raw Food Lifeforce Energy, The Secrets of Skinny Chicks, Feel Good Food: A Guide to Intuitive Eating, Skinny Bitch, Joy Bauer's Food Cures, Making Faces, Bobby Brown Beauty, and Audrey Style, Simple Abundance, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Favorite Cookbooks:
Many of these are my roommates, but my favs are Everyday Italian, RFRW, Eat Smart Lose Weight, Chez Panisse Vegetables, Instyle Parties, and the Friends Cookbook are mine.



PS If I could be any chef, it would be Nigella. Watching her show is as relaxing as going to the spa.

Favorite Quotes:

"We already have perfect compassion, perfect wisdom, perfect joy; we need only to settle our minds so they can arise from deep within us."

"Happiness is never decreased by being shared."

“Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.”

"If we aren't willing to pay a price for our values, if we aren't willing to make some sacrifices in order to realize them, then we should ask ourselves whether we truly believe in them at all" Barack Obama

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away”

"The only thing holding you back from the living the life of your dreams is you."

"Whatever you are seeking in the universe is also seeking you."

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a question...what brand/style of socks and shoes did you use while training for the marathon?

Anonymous said...

Ok I am a make up junkie too (half of it I don't use)....what's your favorite brand.

Also, I share your dislike for Flavor of Love.....why is it still airing!

Anonymous said...

Watching "New York" on Flavour of Love scarred me for life. Ummm, why is he desirable?

Melissa said...

I wore Nike Reax when I started training, then the last month of training and during the marathon I wore Asics GT 2010's. These seem to be good for my high arches and turned out stride, but I think I can find something even better.

Runner's world has great shoe reviews that really help you target the right type of shoe for you.

I also went to a running store that let me run on the treadmill with the shoes, while I was on the treadmill they taped my stride to check for pronation and rolling. Look for a store with treadmills and video recording if you can.

I wore Asics Nimbus socks, which I love. They are very light, thin and they actually fit my small feet.

Hey Lindsey,

I don't have just one. I guess that is why I love Sephora! I would say the majority of my make up is from clinque, but I have favorite products from perscriptives, fresh, urban decay, Nars, and bobbi brown. I also won a $500 makeup case of maybelline over the summer, and I am actually pretty impressed with some of the products. Especially the mascara!

Oh, I received a bunch of Kevin Aucion lip glosses for christmas and they are the best glosses I have ever used. Like velvet on my lips and not sticky at all!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

AMAZING post, Melissa - you and I have more in common than I already thought we did; even the part about Girl Scouts, haha :0)

Can't wait to come back to NYC!