Ratchet Running Playlist

Hello Friends! I’m finally home in (freezing cold) Dallas and trying to get back into my regular routine of teaching, blogging and preparing for the grand opening of my new studio, GRIT Fitness!

As I sit at my desk, planning workouts and playlists, I can’t help but think back on the past weekend and let out a sigh of gratitude. I had a such a wonderful time with my family that I just have to share some reflections (and my rachet running playlist)….

After me, my mom and my dad finally arrived in Tampa we picked up my bro in our rental car and headed to Thanksgiving dinner at coaches house.

In case you missed a few posts, I traveled to Tampa, FL on Thanksgiving Day to spend the holiday with my little brother, Austin, who’s on the Varsity Basketball team at the University of Tampa.  Since Austin had a Thanksgiving holiday tournament and wasn’t able to travel home, my fam decided to make the trip to him!  Sadly my younger sister, Kortani,  couldn’t join us because she dances for the Dallas Cowboys and had to perform on Thanksgiving Day. We missed her a lot, but still had a really great time.

Coaches wife, Mary Jo, can throw down! Simply put…I ate well on Thanksgiving Day

Upon our Thursday arrival, we immediately we ate a huge feast with my brother’s basketball team at their coach’s house.  Then on Friday we did some site seeing in Ybor City and St. Petersburg.  I ate a yummy Cuban sandwich and enjoyed a warm stroll through the historic streets.

Ybor City During the day
Having a cocktail in St. Petersburg with mom & dad before Austin’s game. Aren’t they the cutest?!
Enjoying the fire in the perfectly crisp Florida weather!

Later that night we attended Austin’s game in which he had 3 dunks and 4 three pointers – woo hoo! Talk about a proud big sis.  Afterwards, we went out a for a big dinner to celebrate.

The next morning I woke up early and went for a run to help burn off the giant meal I inhaled the night prior.  I was really feeling my playlist – hey girl hey.   I think being at all those basketball games, listening to hip hop, got me in a “rachet” mood.  I was so hyped up during my run!  Here’s my playlist…

Will chilled and shopped for the remainder of the weekend and to wrap up our trip, Austin took us for campus stroll before we caught our flight back to Dallas.  I love college campuses in the Fall.  They’re the best.

Me and my broskie spending some quality time before I headed home
Austin’s dorm, right next to the Tampa Spartans outdoor stadium
Love the historic class room buildings on campus – University of Tampa
Saying cheese on campus, one last time before heading home!

How was your Thanksgiving holiday?  Did you do anything fun with your family?

HAPPY TUESDAY! xoxo, Brit

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Hey guys!  HAPPY TURKEY DAY.  I hope you take some time to unwind, eat delicious food and watch exciting football (GO COWBOYS!).

My family and I are traveling to Tampa, FL to spend Thanksgiving with my baby brother who’s a sophomore basketball player at the University of Tampa.  We’ll attend his b-ball tourney this weekend and eat Thanksgiving dinner with his basketball team.  It should be entertaining to share a Thanksgiving feast with 15 college boys.  I’ll be sure to give you a recap, haha.

Yesterday I posted about acts of gratitude.  One of the recommended actions is to write down things for which you are grateful, including your personal accomplishments.  It’s okay to give yourself a little pat on the back every once in a while.  This year has brought a tremendous amount of change in my life, but I’m so grateful for where I stand right now.  From turning the big 3-0 to starting a new business and developing new personal relationships, I have so much to be grateful for.  I’m also grateful for my blog victories like being published with SELF Magazine and POPSGUAR Select +.  Hard work certainly pays off.  It may not seem like it the midst of late night editing and killer works, but the truth is that we ALWAYS reap what we sow!

As I check out of for the holiday, I want to share two of my past blog posts that can help you have a happy, healthy Thanksgiving:

I’ll be back in blogging action next Monday.  Holler atcha then! Lots of luv,

Brit

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Leaning in Sheryl Sandberg Style: Up close w/ Facebook COO and other Wonder Women

picstitch (22)Word on the street is Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, is positioning herself to run for US political office which is why she’s investing so much time and energy in promoting her new book, Lean In.  I don’t really care what her intentions are.  I just know that after I read the book and heard her speak this weekend, I felt re-energized and ready to CRUSH it.  I like Sheryl and the “Lean In” message because, to me, it’s a modern day, sexy, non-butch feminist movement.  I’m a “girly” girl, but I’m also feisty, aggressive and have lots of GRIT (aka GRIT by Brit).  The way Sheryl describes a feminist allows me to be ME 🙂

Sheryl Sandberg Lean InI graduated from Harvard Business School in 2010, so last weekend 2 of my best friends/classmates and I went back to Boston for the Women’s 50 (#W50) Summit.  W50 celebrated 50 years since women were admitted to HBS.  We had a rockstar list of key note guest speakers including Anne Moore,  Karen Gordon Mills and Frances Frei.  But in addition to these high-profile guests,  I learned SO MUCH from my fellow HBS women alumni who simply shared their personal stories.  I left the weekend feeling like…

“I got this. I’m gonna be okay.  It’s all good. The world is MINE.”

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I also feel a duty to share the Top 5 Life Lessons I learned over the past 3 days.  I hope these nuggets of wisdom impact you as much as they’ve positively impacted me.

  1. Life is about “juggling” not “balancing” priorities.  If we try to be “balanced” we’ll always be disappointed.  It’s not that easy.  Better yet, think of life as juggling and the only way to get good at it is to practice.  In life, we are juggling several balls (i.e. priorities) , family, career, friends, hobbies.  Some balls bounce if you drop them (i.e. career) but others don’t (i.e.family.)  When juggling, the ball that requires the most attention at a point in time is the one that’s falling – Howard Stevenson
  2. Dare to be bad.  This doesn’t mean we should act like 16 year old rebellious teenagers.  It means that in order to be GREAT at some things, we have to have the courage and wisdom to be BAD at somethings (i.e. Wal-Mart is not GREAT at customer service).  If we try to be good at everthing, all we achieve is perfect mediocrity.  The road to mediocrity is paved with good intentions.  But daring to be BAD is pathway to greatness. – Francies Frei
  3. Attribute your successes to your OWN talents and skills.  This is a key point that Sheryl hammered home which rings especially true for women.  While luck, the help of others and hard work play a large role in our achievements, we also have to acknowledge that we are pretty freakin’ talented.  Men do this much more than women.  But ladies, we need to start giving ourselves some credit when we knock it out of the park.  Like I always say, “Show some Swagger”
  4. Leaders adapt and pressure is a privilege.  We should be excited about the challenges in our lives and face them head on, with confidence.  – Ann Moore
  5. The most important decision in our lifetime is who we choose to marry.  Frances Frei says, “Plan A, marry the person who energizes you and inspires you to be a better person.  Plan B is to surround yourself with a team of people who do the same.”  No matter who I spoke with this weekend, a key theme I heard is that a happy, supportive spouse played a critical role in each woman’s livelihood,  career success and family health.  Many of the husbands described were willing to help do the laundry and take care of the kids so that these high-achieving women didn’t have to “lean back” from their own careers. – Sheryl Sandberg

Now go CRUSH this week #GRIT

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