The Moore downtown is WONDERFUL. Old, and weird and lovely, and so close to everything. http://moorehotel.com/

Samarya Center in the Central District is absolutely fantastic. I took a 6 week course last year with RW who is "plus" sized and such an ass kicker. By far my favorite instructor and yoga studio.

Dirty Biter Park in La Conner is my favorite still. It's apparently named for a crusty old dog that hung around the town, but I absolutely love it out of context.

Hey you. PAWS is my favorite Seattle shelter- they do a really cool "profiling" to match people up with animals. They're in Lynnwood but well worth the drive. Paws.org

Seattle Animal Shelter is online as well- just Google! And Petfinder.com has really good search criteria and will let you really get specific in your search- it lists almost all local shelters as far as I know (at least it's available to them).

I know a lot of people will pick pets up from Craiglist- but I've heard over and over again how much more expensive that can be (even "free" animals) due to irresponsible pet owners. Shelter babies always have shots, are spayed or neutered, and have a clean bill of health before they can be adopted.

I'm huge into believing that diet impacts mental health, and although I don't have the knowledge base to back it up- I've also had similar experiences with sodium and being an awful jerk.

I actually once broke up with a boyfriend, on Christmas morning, after eating a giant pizza the night before. All I really remember feeling that morning was really gross about the pizza, and really annoyed that he existed. Poor guy. I also definitely find that when I eat out more often than usual I not only feel crappy and sluggish (this is still me being a big food snob and eating quality, whole foods), but really, really fucking cranky.

Let's blame salt. It's better than ourselves.

Town & Country Markets have an amazing bulk food section, although you'll have to trek off the Hill. Greenwood Market & Central Market in Shoreline have the best bulk food sections I've ever seen- and carry some nice candied fruit.

Stressed? Anxious?

I once had an eye twitch for over two weeks because I was a total disaster of a stress case. That seems to be the most common cause (as far as I've experienced) for random muscle twitches.

From what I've also read muscle twitches are usually benign, but can be caused by dehydration, fatigue, or nutrient deficiencies.

If it continues more than a few weeks I'd consider talking to a Dr. - but no need to panic.

Paul Mitchell has a tea tree line that is REALLY strong and really wonderful. I always use it post camping/doing fishy things and have had great results.

Firstly- it's the technique over shoes- hands down, 100%. If you really research barefoot running it's entirely about how you run, not what you have on your feet. NY Times just published a really great article that has a video showing technique - check it out here: http://nyti.ms/u3BW3o

That being said- I just bought a pair of Vivobarefoot shoes and they're the best thing to ever happen to me.

I completely screwed up my knees training for my first half marathon. I was running in a pair of "fancy" running shoes and didn't know anything about running form. I was a heel striker and an over-pronator, but was told that my fancy shoes would help fix that. Nope.

December of last year, after said first half marathon and not being able to run for almost a full month afterward- I researched and started incorporating Chi Running (which incorporates much of the same form as barefoot running) into my training runs. WORLD OF DIFFERENCE. Everything that had been bothering me completely disappeared. My pace increased, my enjoyment of running increased, and every single ache and pain that I had been experiencing went away.

Three months later I ran my second, very very hilly half marathon and cut 15 minutes off my previous time. This was still while running in my fancy shoes.

I recently really screwed up my foot- still in my fancy shoes, still Chi Running. Or at least trying to. Most running shoes are made to accommodate heel striking and thus actually make it really difficult to take on any other form. While it hadn't bothered me previously- combined with training for another half and my newly changed routine of walking to and from work every day (adding three miles to my day- walking in shitty work shoes) my podiatrist told me that I apparently "overused" my foot. Not cool.

I've been in a walking boot for just short of two weeks and luckily my foot has done a lot of healing in that time. I put on my barefoot shoes last night and ran around my apartment a few times, then did a round of the exercises shown in the NY Times video. It was almost a little bit mind blowing. Heel striking actually felt like it would be impossible, and combined with the fact that I've been using the Chi Running method for 10 months- it felt so insanely good.

So, yes and no on barefoot running. No the shoes won't magically make all of your injuries go away- but yes, combined with proper and intentional form they are a really wonderful tool.