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Zeel Massage On Demand

Happy Friday! How was your week?

Bo and I are currently en route to Cincinnati where we are spending the weekend with our good friends Ryan and Amy who recently moved there from Seattle. You may remember that we visited them out in Seattle late last Summer.

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Our weekend plans include celebrating, running in a small 5k race, touring the area, and relaxing together. I have traveled to Cincinnati at least 20 times over the past 7 years since joining Procter & Gamble so it amazes me that some how Bo has never been before!

Bo and I decided it was time for us to each take a break this week and thank our bodies with deep tissue massages. Normally we both love Equinox massages but unfortunately our work schedules didn’t allow for that this week.

Luckily, a new to me service, Zeel Massage on Demand, was able to help!

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Zeel is a website and phone app which allows you to book a same- day, in –home massage with a few clicks! As you can see above, you just choose your preferred massage type, masseuse gender, duration, and then provide any specifications such as reason for the massage or special requests.

A few Zeel On Demand highlights:

  • All our therapists are vetted and licensed.
  • Top-quality massages in the privacy of your own home, on your schedule.
  • Book and get massage the same day, no need to book ahead.
  • Zeel confirms appointments within 15 minutes and can send a massage therapist to you in as little as an hour.
  • Choose 60 or 90 minute massages, relaxing Swedish or invigorating deep tissue massages, and a male or female therapist.
  • Requests can be made between 8 am and 10 pm 7 days a week.

Within minutes of hopping on the site I was able to easily book a massage for both Bo and myself.  After booking the massage I received a text message confirming the time, my address, the exact cost including tip and tax, along with the massage therapists name. If interested you can even click on their name to see their credentials!

Bo and I both had an amazing experience with Zeel! Our therapists (Ivan Ivanov and Prisila Jacobs) were both very professional, arrived five minutes ahead of time to set up their table, and focused the deep tissue techniques on the areas that needed it most! For those of you who are wondering, the price for a 60 minute massage ($159.25 in Manhattan and $147 in Brooklyn,Queens, or Bronx) is about the same that we paid at Equinox considering that it includes gratuity and taxes! In addition, we were able to take advantage of a first time special code for $50 off!

Do you want to give Zeel Massage on Demand a try? Use the promotion code BEAR50 to get $50 off your first 60 or 90 minute massage!

Have you ever had an in-house massage? Thoughts?

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ashleyd /

Big News

Wonder why we’ve been spending so much time with our friends and family lately?

Well it’s official.

We’ve decided to take Renaud’s advice and enjoy mountain running more often. Remember the amazing images he captured back in February as we conquered Mount Saleve in Geneva?

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Well, Bo and I will find ourselves running all over Europe for the next two years.

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As of July 1st, we’re trading in our metro cards and driver’s licenses for European work visas! Things are still very much in limbo over here as we spend our days working through the details of global expat (what is an expat) relocation with my company, Bo works through his new role, and we come to terms with saying “see you soon” to our amazing group of friends who have truly become a second family for us during our time in New York City.

This was one of those decisions that was both so easy and so difficult for us. Every day is an emotional rollercoaster for us, wondering whether we’ve made the right decision or if we’re plain crazy. But, more than one trusted source told us that not moving abroad when provided the opportunity was their greatest regret. So, with the amazing support of our parents and our desire to live life to the fullest and experience Europe together before settling down and having children, we’re holding hands and leaping into the future.

There are so many things to be scared of if we give ourselves time to worry: leaving our friends and family in the United States, traveling frequently, possibly living in different European cities Monday through Thursday, learning French, learning the metric system again, training for a marathon alone, being a bridesmaid in a wedding that’s 5,000 miles away, figuring out how to maintain a healthy lifestyle amidst all the delicious wine, bread, Swiss chocolate, and travels, being utterly overwhelmed, and failure.

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But, instead, we are choosing to think of this as a great adventure which will likely fly by. Before we know it we’ll be talking about other things like children, returning to the states, and settling down. But, for now, we hope you’ll keep on reading A Healthy, Happier Bear and following along as we embark in a little bit of chaos and a lot of incredible as we fulfill our dream of living and working abroad!

Any expats out there? Would love your advice.

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ashleyd /

#Bostonstrongnyc

Tonight I took a break from my endless work to-do list and stepped away from my desk for some quality time in Central Park. While the running community in New York City seems so small since one often starts seeing the same faces, it never ceases to amaze me. Just a few days ago Abby Bales teamed up with the amazing movement Pavement Runner started to organize a #BostonStrongNYC. This Central Park based run for Boston a week after the 117th Boston Marathon tragedy was just one of the many runs taking place across the country tonight. (picture source)

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I ran from my office to Tavern on the Green in Central Park before meeting up with more running friends than I could imagine seeing in one place. For 15 minutes I literally felt as if I was hugging and saying hello to many of my favorite running friends!

We were blessed tonight with perfect running weather even if it seems a bit cool for late April. I was able to wear my favorite Lululemon crop pants (get your own see-through pair here) and long sleeve t-shirt which was perfect since it’s the only blue running gear I own. While it isn’t Boston blue it was close enough tonight! As you can see above, I was even able to reconnect with my awesome Philadelphia Marathon support crew (Kristin, Beth, and Nadia) who I haven’t seen, all in once place, in ages!

Around 6:30 Abby led the group in a moment of silence after a brief introduction thanking everyone for showing up and supporting those affected by last week’s events. There were people watching bags for runners between 6:30 and 7:30 which was a nice touch for the many people coming directly from work. In addition, they quickly sold through many of the I run for Boston t-shirts they were selling for $20 to support The One Fund charity.  (image source)

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The group took off running South from Tavern on the Green and people were encouraged to run their own pace and own distance though there were two primary groups completing either 6.2 miles or 3.2 mile loops in the park. Ashley and Gia runstrongforboston

It’s been ages since I’ve hung out with Gia due to our busy schedules so I was thrilled when she offered to run with me and Melissa Z. Our small group spent the entire run talking about Miami, sunshine, careers, and upcoming travel which was a great way to keep my mind off of our pace. I saw a group in front of familiar runners in front of us around the mile point and decided I wanted to make it my goal to speed up enough to catch them. When we did we added Meggie Smith to our group and talked about her awesome blog posts about becoming an OB/GYN doctor.

When I finally turned off from the group I asked Gia if she’d finally share our pace with me since she’d kept it from me while we ran so my mental blocks wouldn’t keep me from achieving a pace she knew possible.

“Sure, you just beat your 5k PR by running a sub 8:45 for 3.2 miles. Good job!”

I think I almost started jumping up and down when I heard that considering that Bo and I are running a 5k in Cincinnati on Saturday with our friends Amy and Ryan. It is amazing when both the soul and body feel strong and content.

Thank you to everyone who made tonight an amazing way to kick off the week while also honoring Boston and supporting the #runforboston movement.

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