We ventured out to Marble Falls (Horseshoe Bay, specifically) in the wee hours of the morning to catch the sunrise and to take advantage of the temps before it was too late. It was a lucky treat to witness the fog over the waters and the pink and blue watercolor reflections from the sky. As if right on cue, the sun peeked out to highlight golden curls and the free spirits of these sisters. They got to run across a golf course with total abandon (my FAV HERE) and then bask in the glow of a sparkling pond with their beautiful mommy. I have been lucky enough to photograph each of these beauties since they were born and I have loved getting to see their personalities develop through the years. Their bond as sisters is quite apparent, but individually, they each bring something precious and unique to their family.

At the end of our session, mama asked specifically if we could take some pictures by this stone entryway (the series just above). When we started shooting there, I noticed it was strangely familiar. And then it washed over me with a wave of wistfulness and pride and disbelief: this was the site of my very first professional photo session almost 10 years ago exactly. Now that is just beyond coincidence, my friends. As proof, here’s my all time fav image from that session all those years ago:

What a journey these 10 years have been!

[All images in this post by the amazing Jody Mack Photography in Charleston, SC. Thank you, Jody!!!!]

Oh wait. *I* said that. Seriously, WHAT was I thinking?!

NOTE: There’s a long-winded post following, but as part of my Pinkle Toes 10 Year celebration, I want to invite all of my friends and clients to join me in the 5th Annual Fight Like a Girl 5K on October 16th, 2016. I have team (Pinkle Toes Photography) AND from now through 9/14, you can get $5 off your registration. If you join my team, I don’t think you need to use the offer code, but if it asks for one, try EARLYBIRD. I would be more than honored if you and even your family would come run or walk this race with me. I know it’s a short window for that discount code, but it’s my hope that you’ll just impulse sign up with me and you won’t have time to talk yourself out of it. If you’ve never done one before, what a great time to start! I promise I’m going to be taking it easy, by the way, as this run is fresh off the heels of the Brooklyn Half Marathon the week before ;-).

Mkay, now for the post (oh, if you’re looking to update your running playlist, I’ve shared mine below!)…

So I’ve been talking off and on here about some big changes that I’ve made in my life over the last 1.5 years (barre and yoga) and I will admit to you on here I made those changes with the hopes of NOT having to run. But as I progressed in barre, I realized I was still missing something and once again inspired by my friend Leah, I decided to try to take up running. I guess that was Feb/March of 2015? I used to (half-heartedly) run cross country track in high school so I thought this would not be a problem for me. I guess I forgot how LONG ago that was, because just starting out trying to go one mile was a HUGE challenge for me. I was totally crushed to realize how difficult this was going to be for me.

After the first week or so of trying to run 1-2 miles a couple of days, I was pretty much done. But blast it if my friend Kate didn’t somehow convince me that it would be a wonderful idea for me to sign up to run a flippin’ HALF MARATHON (3M in January of this year). I really don’t remember what she said to sway me, but I did and *then* I used peer pressure to convince some other pals AND my sister (who has just done AMAZING things with her running) and even my 60-year-old super woman MOTHER to run it with me.

But this post is not about the half marathon. And it’s not about how wonderful running is because honestly this summer, it hasn’t been very wonderful for me *at all*. Instead, this post is about a few of the lessons running (or trying to run) has taught me over the course of 19 months:

1. Know your limits and work up to your miles gradually. I really didn’t think I would have to “learn” to run…human beings all know how to run, right? It’s like walking, but faster. Duh. And my super Type A (read: competitive) personality simply would not let this go and so I tried to push myself too far and too fast resulting in…
2. Injuries (they suck). So, on day one, I went out and bought the cutest running shoes I could find. Turns out, they weren’t actually designed for running, nor were they the correct size (too small), and I wound up with a stress fracture almost immediately. I did what everyone says NOT to do on an injury and tried to simply “run through” the pain and sure enough, that just made the stress fracture take even longer to heal. I went through two other pairs of shoes before I finally found ones that worked for me, but unfortunately, because I continued to push myself much too hard, thinking I needed to make up for lost time, I spent literally month after month (up until just this summer) painfully injured in one way or another. Which leads me to…
3. Foam rolling saves lives! Okay, maybe not literally, but close enough to me. Honestly, foam rolling looked pretty stupid to me and I didn’t see how that was supposed to be helpful with injury prevention until I (yet again) broke rule #1 and jumped from 8 miles to 12 miles with nothing in-between and completely messed up my IT band on both sides. Folks, I wouldn’t wish that kind of pain on my worst enemies. And it takes *forever* to heal. I ended up having to run my very first half marathon knowing that at any moment, that pain was going to come back, and sure enough, around mile 7-8, it pretty much brought me to my knees. I truly didn’t think I would be able to finish that race. I truly don’t know how I did. I truly wish that I hadn’t because it wasn’t until probably 4 months after where I could run even 2 miles pain-free. I finally broke down and bought a foam roller and let me tell you that it is my best friend and I spend time with it religiously. Also let me tell you that it was NO picnic when I first started foam rolling. It was incredibly painful and only just now after using it at least once a day (about 5 min.) consistently for 8 months do I not feel pain that makes tears well in my eyes. Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? But it truly is worth it. I was pretty much convinced that my very short running career was totally over and I would never be able to run without pain, but I’ll have you know, I did a 10K Sunday and I was totally pain free!
4. You will PR quickly and frequently when you first start and that feels amazing…until you stop PRing. Some of you may have read about my recent blah runs on my Instagram feed (here and here). I was really tempted to not post those things because I don’t like to be negative and whiney and really, who wants to show their dirty laundry online? But let’s keep it real: I’ve put in hundreds of miles on my feet and not every run is going to be exhilarating. A fast run isn’t necessarily a successful run. A challenging run isn’t necessarily a failed run. And something else–and this is not meant to be discouraging in any way–but it never gets easier. The first 3 miles of any run are always super tough to me and that was tough for me to accept at first…I thought after doing this for a few months, I would just leap through all of my runs like a graceful gazelle. Sadly, that is not so, lol. This week, I’m pretty sure I reached the peak of running geek-dom when I started listening to running podcasts *while* running, but it’s been a wonderful, refreshing change and very so inspiring to hear that ALL runners, no matter how long they’ve been running or how far they’ve run, have had the same ups and downs as I’ve experienced. Knowing this encourages me to seek new motivations to run even after I’ve met certain goals. And to be kinder to myself, leading to…
5. After each run, take time to be grateful in your running and to yourself. As shallow as it sounds, I started out running merely to lose weight, but now, I’m *this* close to just getting rid of the scale in our house because being skinny just doesn’t mean that much to me any more. I want to be strong. I want to be healthy. I want to be happy. I want to be challenged. I want to be persistent. I want to win all the things. I want to fail and be forced to learn from those mistakes and try again. I want to properly appreciate this ability I have to run at this point in my life and I plan to take advantage of it as long as I am physically able. We end barre class by thanking our bodies and yoga with thanking ourselves and one another, so why shouldn’t we do the same when running? A new habit I am incorporating into each of my runs is to spend at least a couple of minutes at the end on these thoughts:
   1. This run is done and I’m glad I did it!
   2. I’m grateful for the opportunity to run. It is a privilege.
   3. Thanks to my body for working so hard and to my mind for supporting the journey.

And there you go, my thoughts on my running journey thus far. These may not apply to everyone, but I wanted to share them just in case it might be the push needed to inspire someone to keep moving even when they feel frustrated (“Forward is forward,” right, Kate?). Feel free to share any words of wisdom you have in the comments or if you can relate to anything I’ve written here, let me know! If you want to follow along with my ups and downs, visit #runpinklerun on Instagram.

I’m starting to get more excited about my next half marathon in Brooklyn in October! It’s so out of character for me to go out of town *just* for that, but I am so blessed to get to see and run it with my friend and inspiration, Lena! Oh, while I’m on that topic, I know I already mentioned a few people who have been super inspiring to me and there are a few more that come to mind: Regan, Pete, Laura G., Minnette (or should I say, Marathon Manet?), Elicia, Melonie & Zeke, and oh, my word, so many more that I just know I’m leaving out. They honestly may not even know how much they affected me, but they have and I just want to say thank you!

Again, I would LOVE to get to run the FLAG 5K with you next month, so please, please, please consider signing up. I was drawn to this particular race because of Lindsay’s story — melanoma devastated our family and the families of several other people I know. I very much appreciate what the H.O.P.E fund does for the families of cancer patients.

And finally, some of my favorite running songs! Be warned that I tend to get a bit angry while running (sometimes, you just have to) so many of these are NSFK!!! Any more I should add to this list?

So, I always swore I would never be one of *those* people who does yoga. I was never going to be one to chant, “Ommmmmmm…” doused in patchouli while standing on my head in some contorted pose in a room full of other people with peaceful minds and who are already connected with their inner selves and only dine on lettuce cultivated in their own back yards.

Well guess what? Lo’ and behold, I am more like one of *those* people now than I ever have been (well, except for the patchouli…I don’t think I’ll ever like that scent ;-)) and surprisingly, I am totally cool with that. I’ve discovered yoga to be a very necessary part of this movement to become a better me. I think it was about a year ago when I had my first real big-girl yoga class at Modo Yoga in Austin and I was absolutely terrified walking into it. I was certain I wouldn’t be able to do most of that crazy stuff, I already knew I was terribly inflexible, and I thought for sure I’d burst into giggles when it came to the part where we were supposed to hold hands and chant. It turns out that there was nothing crazy in that class at all and while it was definitely challenging and got my heart rate up, I was so thrilled to see that I could at least try everything in a comfortable and safe and encouraging environment. In fact, I was so invigorated, I may have been slightly disappointed there was no chanting ;-).

All my life, if I couldn’t be THE best or perfect at something, I didn’t want any part of it. Same with yoga: I’ve always been so afraid of failure, I never gave myself a chance to try. I’m learning that yoga is a practice, and there is no measure of success or failure…your practice is *your* practice and it changes each day. After practicing yoga for a year, I *still* fall out of tree pose every now and then, I still am scared of crow pose, and my hips still require a great deal of attention to help them open more. But, oh, I’ve had SO many wins throughout this practice, I could never go back to life before yoga:

• I can sit cross-legged on the floor now. I’m sure most people take this for granted, but seriously, I haven’t been able to sit on the floor comfortably since I was child and this is a huge deal to me.
• My HUSBAND actually comes with me to class!!! You all…this is unreal for me to even type this out. Our hot yoga dates have been so good for him and for us as a couple. Never in a million years did I think he would ever attend a yoga class and it’s an even bigger miracle that we get to go together.
• I can do a wheel, what????
• I can do camel pose (most of the time) without feeling like I’m going to pass out (what’s up with that sensation?). I can’t quite reach my feet in camel yet, but I’m working on it.
• I have so much more awareness of where I’m carrying tension and can apply techniques I’m learning in yoga class at any time to help release that tension.
• I can turn my head to the right AND to the left now. Finally, I’ve worked out the strain that I’ve had in my neck forever it seems.
• Combined with barre, yoga has helped cure my once debilitating shoulder pain.
• It’s made me a better runner: building up a tolerance to lactic acid, stretching gently and effectively, and getting my mind to support my body and my goals.

My greatest win with yoga has been with calming my anxiety. I can arrive at class so worked up about the challenges I expect to face during that day, I pretty much want to crumble. But then, just a few minutes into class, I’m already less tense. And after an hour of sweating it out, I leave class with a tremendous sense of calm. No, it’s more than that…it’s acceptance with where I am as a human being, forgiveness, gratitude, and filled with love and excitement for life.

As another birthday present to my Pinkle Toes clients in celebration of 10 years, I want to share this yoga experience with you. I’m very excited to announce we are teaming up with Modo Yoga to host a Pinkle Toes-only class on June 17th! If you are a past or upcoming client, I invite you to join in this class. New and experienced yogis alike will find Modo Yoga to be fun and challenging and accessible to all abilities. Bring your significant other and have your own hot yoga date. Maybe we’ll make some bicycle blender concoctions after class 😉

First priority will be given to past/current Pinkle Toes Clients. About a week before the event, we’ll open it up to anyone else who wants to attend. I am soooooooooooo excited to get to practice yoga with you and maybe even introduce you to something that can change your life for the better just as much as it has mine. Namaste!

I want to send out a huge thank you to my friend Jody with Jody Mack Photography for taking these beautiful pics when we were visiting Charleston, South Carolina this spring. I wanted so badly to document these changes in my life and she did a phenomenal job! Thank you, my friend!

[This is a follow up post to the blog series about changes I’ve made to improve my overall quality of life. Part 1 is HERE.]

[Wordy, but worthy. Back story first, then be sure to scroll down to the bottom to read up on the Pinkle Toes special event at Pure Barre Cedar Park last week!]

It was early Feb 2015 when I nervously walked into my first class at Pure Barre in the hopes of having that same euphoric experience as my dear friend Leah. After 55 minutes in that class (of which I was barely able to do anything), I shakily walked out of that studio, collapsed in my car, barely made it home and pretty much stayed in bed for the next several days. I had nightmares about that class every night. Unfortunately (fortunately?) for me, I had already signed up for a month of classes, so I reluctantly returned. I can’t say that I liked my second or third class much better. But I was determined I was going to stick with it and give it a chance.

Let’s back up a little bit. After enduring very difficult and sad years for my family in 2012 and 2013, I can say now that throughout 2014, I was lost. That’s probably the best way to describe it. I was going through the motions day to day, numb and not in control of my joy. I just didn’t want to or even know how to live life after so much sadness. I felt like a zombie. Certainly, there were many bright spots during 2014–the greatest of which being the birth of my nieces–but I cannot say that I lived that year to the fullest. I was starting to feel very old. I would get out of bed each morning, tired and achy, not sleeping well at night because of the tremendous amount of pain I was in from my back, neck, and shoulders. I guess I did something during a photo shoot once that pulled or twisted my back and the hours at the computer seemed to be making it worse and worse. I was feeling desperate…like my clock had started counting down. I had this silly dream of running a marathon the year I turned 40, but here I was at 36, feeling 50 and thinking it could only get worse from here. I had zero desire to do anything really. I ate everything all the time. I spent a lot of time at my computer or in my bed. I was trying to be all of these things…a mom, a wife, a business woman, a human…but I wasn’t doing any of them very well at all.

I remember on January 1st, 2015 agreeing with my sister that something was going to have to change. She and I both started back on Weight Watchers and I honestly believed that would be enough to change my lifestyle. I was NOT the kind of person who would go to the gym. I was scared of exercise. I knew it would hurt and I knew it would be extra difficult for me because of all of the extra weight I had been carrying around. But when Leah showed up at my house in Jan 2015 for a photography project we were working on together and she was HALF the size she used to be and completely radiant and happy and healthy, I told myself if she could do it, then I could, too.

And with Leah’s gentle encouragement and support, I gave barre a try. I wish I could say that I was instantly in love with it like she was (you can read her story on her blog), but I can say that I DID start to notice changes in my body very soon after recovering from the initial shock and soreness ;0). I need to take a moment to say thank you to one of my most favorite Barre Tenders, Kari. I’m not sure she’ll ever comprehend how much her guidance and patience helped me embrace the shake and stick with barre, even when sometimes, I felt like just leaving in the middle of class ;-). She is an incredible teacher for sure!

After doing barre consistently for a bit over a year now, here are the seemingly small milestones that are a big deal to me:

1. I can touch my toes. Silly, I know, but I have never been able to touch my toes. Not even in high school. When I first started barre, I could reach to my knees and that was about it. Now, I can touch my toes and somedays, reach even further!
2. My shoulder pain is all but a distant memory. I finally worked the muscles enough in my back, arms, and chest to release my shoulder blades and that is pretty much like a whole new lease on life for me. For a while, I hate to admit that I was dependent on sleeping medications trying to escape from that constant shoulder pain. I did NOT want that in my life. I am beyond thrilled to have finally moved past that.
3. I will never forget the first day I held the plank for the full 90 seconds without coming down on my knees!
4. I’ve always liked my arms/shoulders thanks to the heavy lifting of camera equipment, but now, they are *really* toned.
5. I lost my love handles! Buh-bye.
6. I lost my cankles! Buh-bye.
7. I kinda actually like my backside and legs for the first time…ever. EVER!

Now, just because I’ve reached a few milestones and I’ve gotten better at the barre, it doesn’t mean I still don’t have goals and it definitely doesn’t mean it has gotten any easier by any stretch of the imagination. I happen to be a very goal-oriented person and this journey to a stronger, healthier, happier self is absolutely guided by SMALL, reasonable goals. My next barre goals are:

1. To be able to do REAL pushups. I’m getting closer, but I’m not there yet.
2. To get all the way through thigh sprints without a single break (I’m not even close to that yet ;-).
3. To be more graceful during seated core work ;-).

And now on to the AMAZING Pinkle Toes-only class we had at Pure Barre Cedar Park!!!! Where do I even begin? It was so overwhelmingly FUN and challenging and beautiful and happy and exhausting all at the same time. I was grinning like a kid in a candy store looking around the studio at all of the eager faces ready to take on a new challenge.

I was truly amazed that:

1. Each of these ladies actually took time out of there very busy days to come to class.
2. Some of them were doing barre for the first time and ROCKED it.
3. They were still smiling after class (the group pictures prove it).
4. AND, with their generous donations, helped us contribute $1000 to the Melanoma Research Foundation in memory of my husband’s brother, Jim.

Speechless, really. Even when I got home that afternoon and tried to tell my husband all about it, I kept getting choked up. What a joy to get to to share this passion with so many of my clients and friends AND raise so much money to help battle a disease that scarred our family deeply.

So, THANK YOU Rebecca, owner of Pure Barre Cedar Park, for being so willing to do this with me and teaching our class in a way that was challenging, but still possible for everyone in the room. Thank you for letting us hang out with you in the studio and for your support of the Melanoma Research Foundation. I am proud to call you a friend!

THANK YOU to my sweet client-friend, Gay, for creating those delicious and adorable custom cookies for the event!

THANK YOU to Elizabeth and Jackie from EDJE Activ for donating one of your awesome barre shirts as a door prize!

THANK YOU to Gloriana from Kitchun for the delicious No-Grain-Ola to fortify us after class!

THANK YOU to Katie from Modern Muse Beauty for donating to the door prizes and for being one of my Barre Besties for sure!

THANK YOU to my friends, my seester, and my clients for rising to this challenge and for being so generous with your time and donations. Thanks for letting me honor YOU as we celebrate Pinkle Toes Photography’s 10th Birthday this year!

If you are a past or upcoming Pinkle Toes Client and you missed your chance at the barre with me, don’t despair as I have several more special events coming up around town. The next one is going to be announced on Instagram *very* soon, so you might want to make sure you follow me there.

2016 marks the 10th birthday of Pinkle Toes Photography! I can’t believe this little dream is a DECADE old!! Lots of changes going on here at www.pinkletoes.com and I will be announcing several mini celebrations and surprises throughout the year.

Meanwhile, if you have ever had your photo taken by me or have worked with Pinkle Toes Photography in some way over the past 10 years, please, please sign up HERE to be sure to get the info on the HUGE birthday party will be throwing this fall.

xoxo to my good friend Katie with Modern Muse Beauty for not only providing me with hair/makeup for my birthday shoot, but ALSO taking this pic! You rock, Katie!