Picture of the Day

Sunday morning after my Veteran's Day 10k race. Beautiful morning!

Success!

It turns out that my last blog post did EXACTLY what I hoped it would do; it made me feel SO much better!  As early as the very next morning I felt refreshed and renewed.  I wish I would have done it much sooner!  Maybe this is my lesson to not keep things bottled up.  It is so exhausting and draining! You know how when you're feeling down in the dumps, you kind of want to wallow in that and feel sorry for yourself instead of change your attitude?  There's somehow this strange comfort in being miserable.  It's very weird.  But once you ARE able to come out of that funk, you wonder what the crap were you thinking?!  Why would you rather do nothing and stay depressed than make the effort to be happy?  It's DEFINITELY worth the effort.  Just getting the hope that there is something good to look forward to feels incredible.

I'm feeling really great.  There are a few more things outside my purge of a blog post that have contributed to this new feeling of awesome:

• Days after I wrote the post, my boss came in to town and let us know that our request for more vacation was granted.  An extra week of vacation next year!  And then he said, "You know what? Why don't you take that extra vacation THIS year, too!"  Well, OKAY!  We also have a possibility of a raise.  It's been a really rough, stressful year at work, so....  HAPPY DAY!

• Hockey season is back.  I've been to 3 games already.  It's nice to hang out with my hockey friends again.

• I'm getting back in to shape.  I have 5 running races coming up in the next 2 months.  While it's been hard to get back in the habit of running and working out, I'm starting to "enjoy" it again (or rather, I enjoy the feeling I have after I'm done - I still hate running).  My left knee still gives me pain sometimes, as well as my right Achilles that I strained back in August (couldn't walk for a few days), but I'm determined to work through it.

• I've decided to join a Triathlon Club.  It is quite pricey, but with my brother Todd and bro-in-law Jer's help, I'm working out my current finances to allow for this extra expense.  I'll officially join the club in January when I've had a few months to save and after all the holidays are done.  I'm REALLY excited for this!

• The holidays are coming up!  The weather is trying to figure itself out.  A few days of cold, rainy days in the low 50's followed by a few days of sunny, warm days in the 80's...  But Fall is in the air.  It's refreshing to have that little nip when you walk outside.  It makes me excited for what is to come.  I even pre-ordered 3 new Christmas albums! Ha.

• I get to go home in a few months. I LOVE going home!

• I've been invited to a Halloween party.  While usually I loath dressing up for Halloween (the pressure of coming up with a cool costume, and being willing to shell out the dough for a decent and not cheap-looking costume is too much.  Then comparing everybody's costume to yours and know that they're doing the same..  UGH.  I'd rather hand out candy to the cute kids), I actually came up with an OK costume that just might turn out great, thanks to the help of my friend Michelle and my bro-in-law Steve.

• My good friend Michelle is arranging for me to come visit her in the next couple of weeks.  I'm excited to see where she lives and to have some girl time.  We always have great fun together!

• My birthday. While I've dreaded turning the awful old age of 30, I'm excited for it to come so I can just be done with it! Ha.  Then I can stop panicking and move on.  Plus, I might be going on a 30th birthday celebration sometime in April with one of my HS friends.  This is still tentative and in the works.

• I am considering visiting Germany again in 2012, this time with my cousin Richard.  I REALLY hope we can make this work!  It all depends on the $$.  That's always the issue.  But I would LOVE it.  And of course I always welcome a chance to visit my sister, Tami.  :)

Lots of good, fun things to look forward to!  No reason to be down in the dumps.  Plus, I came across this video that made me realize that there's no need to view the single life as a failure.  I'm not living in the 50's.  I am a strong, capable woman who does not need to marry in order to survive in life. I do not have to settle just for the sake of getting married.  I have the luxury and opportunity to make a life of my own, and if I come across somebody who is worthy and strong enough to be with me, then lucky for him!  ;)   I get to CHOOSE whether or not I get married.  I have had the courage to break from the traditions, even if sometimes it seems like I would rather have not.  I do not need to feel like a failure because I'm not married.  That is not the measurement of a successful, fulfilling, happy life.

Oh yeah.  The video.  :D

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Hurriquake Week

A few weeks ago brought a strange coupling of natural disasters. 

Tuesday, August 23, 2011. 

I happened to be working from home that day, as we were in the middle of switching offices at work and our computers were not set up yet.  I was sitting upstairs on my bed working, when a soft thudding and shaking started.  My first thought was, "Are my neighbors home having sex right now?"  I live in a townhouse and have no idea how thick the walls are and luckily I've never heard "those" sorts of sounds coming through the walls before. But then my mind quickly jumped to something happening over at the construction site nearby.  Did a crane just drop? Did something explode? But then the shaking got more intense.  Everything was rattling and shaking on my dressers and walls.  I stood up in confusion and couldn't believe that it could be an earthquake.  An earthquake out here?  Ridiculous!  I walked to the center of my bedroom, looking around in confusion, then went back to my laptop and messaged my co-worker, "Are we having an earthquake?!" 

When the shaking didn't stop, I decided I better do something.  I thought back to all the earthquake drills we had in CA as a kid.  But then I remembered that all those safety techniques were questioned recently; some report saying that the drop and cover method was proven to be deadly, saying you should NOT hide under your desk because you will be crushed under it (Triangle Of Life).  I couldn't remember if standing in the doorway was still a good idea, so I was about to flatten myself on the ground right next to my dresser, all the while in disbelief that I was really having to do this, when the shaking finally stopped. 

**I have obviously since researched the earthquake methods again to find that Drop, Cover and Hold On is still the most safe method to follow.  Snopes has the original article and breaks it down HERE.  American Red Cross' response is HERE**

I then went downstairs to see if anything had fallen and broken.  Everything seemed fine.  I went outside and there were a handful of people looking like zombies trickling in to the parking lot, looking toward the construction site.  Seems like they, too, thought the shaking must have been caused by something over there.  But I've been through enough earthquakes to know that we just went through one.  One lady asked me, "Is that was I thought it was?"  I told her, "We just had an earthquake."

I went back inside and turned on CNN and was glued to the TV for the rest of the day.  I was SO grateful I wasn't in the city working on that day!  I'm sure my thoughts would have quickly turned toTerrorist Attack, as likely many people's did.  Earthquakes are rare on the East Coast.  A lot of people have never been through one.  I can only imagine their panic thinking that DC was getting attacked again.  So close to the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. 

A lot of others made fun of this earthquake saying, "Please, if you think this is bad, live in CA!" And other such comments belittling people's scared feelings.  I think this is totally unwarranted.  Nevermind the fact that buildings out here are not built to "earthquake code".  While this was not the biggest quake I've been through (CA & WA both), it was almost just as disconcerting as a bigger one, as earthquakes just aren't on my radar living out here.  Unfortunately, terrorist attacks ARE on my radar.  And to believe that a terrorist attack had happened again is truly terrifying.  I understand why so many people here and in NY were emotionally distraught and afraid. 

There WAS actually some structural damage, too, to go along with the emotional damage.

The Washington Monument is closed indefinitely until repairs can be made to big cracks at the top:

The National Cathedral also suffered damage:

All spires on this tower were damaged: The center spire completely fell off; the one to the right almost tumbled as well

Just a few days later, Hurricane Irene stormed her way through the region.  Luckily I avoided her by attending my annual company trip to the lake about 220 miles SouthWest of my house; 150 SW from Mineral, VA - the epicenter of the earthquake. 

While Irene was doing this:

(Just a few pics from the DC metro area.  A lot of states got it worse)

We were doing this:

View from the upper deck of house on Smith Mountain Lake

Pretty butterfly

Typical scrambling and maneuvering between the pontoon boat, the wave runner and the speed boat

Hanging out in the "Relaxation Station"

Wakeboarding and waterskiing with the SeaDoo

Waiting for the fun to begin

Always an exhilerating ride on the SeaDoo!

Enjoying the ride

Getting exciting!

Wooo-eeeeeeee!!

A really fun weekend, but I was nervous to come back to damage at my house.  Especially since I had forgotten to bring in my patio furniture before I left and I got a text from a friend at 3AM Sunday morning telling me that it was guaranteed everything had blown away.  I had nightmares of my chairs smashing through my sliding glass door, and everything broken and flooded inside.  But the only sign I saw of any sort of storm were a few fallen leaves and twigs!  Everything was in its spot looking bored and innocent.

A crazy week of excitement, but I managed to survive. 

Go Away!

This Mother Effer keeps flying around my backyard.  A few weeks ago, I saw it 3 days in a row, all around 1:30PM fly into my teeny backyard area, land in the same spot on the bricks, walk around for a bit, then fly away.  Since then, it randomly has flown around and back out of the area at different times of day.

FREAK ME OUT!

I practically used a full can of the wasp and hornet spray all around the place where it landed on the brick, then sprayed the house siding for good measure.  Oh, and made my guy friend inspect every little crevice and hiding spot to make sure there weren't trappings of a nest.  I do not need thousands of her minions flying and buzzing around!

I hate bugs.  HATE.

Queen Wasp:

This thing is HUGE.  Bigger than this hummingbird I saw a few years ago..

Are you freaked out yet?

Conversation

This just happened in the grocery store:

I've gathered a basket full of healthy-ish foods, but I somehow find myself staring through the heavenly glass doors in the ice cream aisle. As I try to make an intelligent choice of what I'm willing to spend on this guaranteed regret of a purchase, an older, graying man walks by. I see him out of my periphery and automatically shift aside to let him pass.  But then he stops. Turns around. I glance up at him and he is completely checking me out. Doing a full up and down with his eyes and head. His gaze finally rests on my chest. I get uncomfortable. Let me correct myself; I get MORE uncomfortable.  Then he talks.

Man: You a par uh dat?
Me: (As I look down at my shirt - it's my DC Triathlon shirt) Oh, yeah. I participated a few weeks ago.
Man: I betcha did. (more up and down eye & head movement) You win?
Me: (Awkwardly chuckling) No, I didn't win.
Man: Mmmm. You look like you win. Yeah (again, checking me out). You look like it.
Me: (grossed out and offering another awkward laugh) I'm a good poser.

He finally walks away.

What baffles me most about this encounter is that I look like this right now (courtesy of my phone).

I haven't even showered today! Greasy hair poking out of my hat, no make-up on, 2 days worth of hair growth on my legs. And yes, I'm wearing shorts. I mean, gross, right?

Only thing I can think how to make sense of this is that this man is black. Yes, it makes a difference. The black men hit on me a lot. It's because of my lower level. The junk in my trunk.  Yes, this baby got back.


Ice cream time!

Picture Of The Day

Saw this posted on FB and couldn't resist stealing it.

And I just have to ask... What is with that hideous pink "hat"?!?

Osama Bin Laden...

*NEW* Discovery

I have lamented countless times mentally and verbally the fact that my new place doesn't have anywhere decent to run.  I really was spoiled living in my condo at a junction that met up with tons of different running trails.  I could go out for a half-hour run roundtrip and come across Iwo Jima memorial, Arlington cemetery & Lincoln Memorial, and have a view of all the rest of the DC landmarks along the way, for example.  If I wanted to turn left away from Iwo Jima, I could catch the beginning of the Mount Vernon Trail down to the right and run 18 miles along the Potomac river to George Washington's estate.  Or how about hooking on to the Custis trail to the left which leads to the 45 mile W&OD Trail?  ENDLESS options.  Endless.  And it was right outside my door.

My new place?  Not so much.  First of all, the road I live off of is a 2 mile stretch of rolling hills.  And there's really nowhere to run once you reach the top or the bottom of the road.  Plus, running on the sidewalk proves painful for my knees.  I spotted a paved trail across the street and I was really excited to see where it went.  I set off, and discovered it dead-ended not even half a mile later.  How disappointing!  Why do people build trails that abruptly end?  What is the point?

I've been doing most of my training on the treadmill at the gym.  But running outside is SO much better.  I'm happy that the evening sun sticks around longer and longer now, but it still isn't light out long enough for me to get in the distance I need.  So on weeknights after work, I'm stuck on the conveyor belt.  Not wanting to repeat a long run on sidewalks, my last long weekend run I drove in to DC and ran the loop from Lincoln Memorial to the Capital and back.  Twice.  It was brutal.  I woke up that morning feeling a bit stuffy and like I was getting sick.  Wouldn't you know, that evening I was miserable and my sick lasted about 2 weeks.  What is it with me getting sick or injured in the middle of my training?

Anyway, the week I was sick, my friend told me about this park that he and his dog went to and mentioned that it might be a good running trail for me.  Now that I'm finally feeling better and can go run again, I decided I needed to actually get out and do it.  (I got a bit lazy after I was officially not sick any more and didn't work out.  Work has been extremely busy and stressful lately and I am so completely exhausted.)  So yesterday (during my work-from-home lunch break), I decided to check it out.  It was only a 6 mile drive up the road from me.  I kind of hate the idea of driving somewhere just so I can run, but that's how it's gonna have to be now.

The nearly 5 miles of trail at Accotink Park wrap around the perimeter of a man-made lake.  There are a bunch of woods, and it was really very enjoyable!  Minus it being quite chilly out.  I came across 3 or 4 other runners, some walkers, a bike rider, and a FOX!  I only had my phone with me, so the picture is not the greatest.  Nor does it convey the close proximity of the fox.

Do you see him?

I was quite enjoying my run, as all the scenery was brand new to me.  It kept my mind engaged and I didn't get bored.  I smiled and nodded at all the people I came across.  I DID notice that everybody I encountered was going the opposite way I was.  I wondered if there was some sort of trail etiquette that said you should only travel clockwise around the lake.  But likely I just wasn't fast enough to catch up with anybody else that happened to also be going counter-clockwise like me.

Anyway, just when I was about to hit my half-way mark and turn around, I noticed there was this girl who was walking very slowly with a backpack.  She had on a hooded blue coat, and as I got closer, I looked at her face so I could smile and nod.  She lifted her head and I saw the most freaky haunting face I think I've ever seen.  She had huge bags under her eyes, her mouth hung open and she stopped walking and stared right in to my eyes.  Like she was challenging my soul.  It sounds stupid, but it seriously SCARED me.  The way she looked at me was just freaky!  My heart suddenly stopped and then immediately started pumping wildly, and I stopped at my halfway point wondering what I should do.  If I turned around now, I'd have to pass her again.  This time from behind.  What if she was this psycho killer?  What if she had weapons in her backpack?  What if she attacked me?  I hadn't passed anybody else in a while.  Would anybody hear me scream?  Are those houses along the outer edge of the woods inhabited?  Would they come to my rescue?  They're probably all meth houses and murder-producers.

I should just keep going the same way on the trail and not turn around.  I'll only add another 1.5 miles on to my total distance.  But I'm only supposed to be gone for an hour tops.  I can't be away from work for that long.  I'm already late getting back as it is.  I'm being stupid.  There's nothing going on with her.  She's probably just walking home from school or something.  But her face looked older than school-age.  Why is she wearing that backpack if she isn't in school?  Maybe she's in college.  She looks like a walking corpse.

I let my heart and nerves calm down and looked to see the blue coat still meandering down the trail.  I must have been sitting there with my contemplations longer than I thought because she was further down the trail than I would have liked.  Whatever.  Time to GO!  I pressed play on my iPod and set down the trail after her.  I kept playing out in my head what I would do if she made any sudden movements.  My eyes were on her like a HAWK.  I kept telling myself to watch her hands.  She should hear me coming up behind her.  I was going to be ready if she reached in to her coat or behind to her backpack.  When I was about 15 feet away, her hands came up from hanging limp by her side.  My heart sped up.  My feet slowed down.  What is she doing?!  Her arms and hands were in front of her and I couldn't see what was going on.  Then she brought her hands back to her waist and shoved her gloves in her coat pockets.  I almost laughed out loud.  I was just about to pass her when she stopped cold, turned around and STARED at me again with that soul-piercing, hauntingly creepy face.  GEEZ!  My heart leapt again, pounding in my chest.  I HATE YOU, I thought.

 

Totally doesn't give her freakiness justice. But I don't have an artistic bone in this wannabe runner's body.

I decided to run like I was running for my life.  Maybe she was pissed that I interrupted her leisurely murderous stroll down the trail not just once, but TWICE.  She could be screwing in the scope eyepiece and assembling the silencer on her ridiculously accurate hunting rifle.  I refused to look back.

I was totally out of breath and my chest hurt like none other, but I didn't stop for a good mile.  Then finally I felt comfortable slowing to a walk.  There were some steep hills that I had to run up and my heart was already over-working itself, so I was beat.

Wow.  I kind of had to laugh about the whole experience, but I can't deny that I was completely shaken up over it.  Just seemed like the right setting for murder.  Cold, dreary day - everything gray.  Still not quite Spring, so no leaves on the trees.  Everything just seemed barren and gloomy.

BUT!  I will be going back!  What a great discovery!  I think I'll be running this trail lots & lots.  I plan on DOMINATING this trail.  
:D

9 short days until I collapse on the 10 mile route among the Cherry Trees.  If I'm gonna die running, let it be suicide among the blossoms.

Picture(s) of the Day

I am SOOO ready for Spring!  This has been a particularly rough Winter for me.  I think I had some serious SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) going on!  (Along with a ton of stress).  I'm excited for the sunshine and some warmer weather so I can enjoy being outside again and officially climb out of this Winter FUNK!

I've been training for the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run.  This race operates on a lottery system, so it really is a stroke of luck to be chosen to participate.  I'm particularly excited about this race because the last time I went in to the city to experience the beauty of the cherry blossoms was back in 2006.  I just really hate the millions of tourists that flock to the city around this time, so I have purposely avoided it.  But that means that I've also avoided seeing the gorgeous blooms.

This race will have us running a route that takes us RIGHT by all the cherry blossom trees, so I expect it to be a very enjoyable race!  So long as I can take in the sights and not focus on how much my body hurts.  Haha.  I'm also excited because I'll actually have somebody cheering for me at the finish line!  My friend Michelle's Spring Break just happens to be during this time, so she is flying out to spend the week with me.  It makes SUCH a difference to have somebody out there specifically routing for you.

Anyway.  Here are a few pictures of the Cherry Blossoms that I took back in 2006.  So pretty!!  17 more days until the big day.

2010 is.... SO last year!

It's 3 months in to the new year.  How in the *SQUAWK!* did that happen?!  I realize that I have been sorely neglecting my blog.  It is because I have been sorely busy! (and sometimes lazy).  Shall we do a quick longish re-cap?  Yes, I think that would be appropriate.

November 8th, 2010:
I put in an offer on a home after only being on the LEISURE house-hunt for maybe 6 weeks.  Yikes!  That certainly moved faster than I anticipated!  I only wanted to get the ball rolling; see what was out there.  I wasn't planning to get serious until the summer time, as my condo lease wasn't up until August.  A few things happened to change that timeline:

• All the places my Realtor and I went to look at that were in my price range were SMALL.  Now, I had come to grips with the fact that I wasn't going to get a real house here.  I would need a second income if I were to even come CLOSE to a free-standing house with a yard in this area.  So my expectations going in certainly weren't unreasonable.  And even though these places had 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, kitchen, dining, living room, etc, the floor plans had it all scrunched together.  All the rooms were on top of each other and it just felt cramped.......   Until we came to this one.  This one felt big.  It was big (comparatively).  It looked nice, too.  It also had a second level!  Stairs!  What?!  SCORE!¹
  
  
• I got an email from the property management company for my condo that said that they never sent me the new contract to sign back in August...  Which meant that I was currently living there contract-free!  Excellent news!  That meant I didn't have to worry about  breaking contract and paying a huge fee!  Seemed like fate...
  
  
• Interest rates were LOW.  And typically, come summer-time, the interest rates go up.
   
• I got my sister Julie to drive down to take a look at the place with me to get her opinion and she was all *^THUMBS UP^*

So, I put in an offer.  And just HOURS later, my offer was accepted!  Suddenly, I was going through escrow!  How in the world - who would've thought - what does it mean - Oh my gosh! - This is exciting - **screaming** - 

WAIT. WHAT HAVE I DONE?!?!

Immediately, a feeling of panic crept in to my feelings of elation.  This exciting news came after a full week of sleepless nights and hours upon hours of crunching numbers, finally feeling comfortable with the possibility of putting in an offer.  But now I was filled with doubt.  Did I really figure the numbers right?  Can I really afford to BUY A HOUSE!?!?

And so it began...

Paperwork ~ Paperwork ~ Paperwork ~ Paperwork ~ STRESS ~ Paperwork ~ Paperwork ~ Paperwork ~ Paperwork ~ Paperwork ~ Paperwork


2 weeks later

November 22, 2010:
I flew to St. Louis to spend Thanksgiving week with my brother Todd and his family.  Julie and her family drove in as well!  It was a week full of family, fun, food & festivities!  Never mind all 7 of my nieces and nephews all together!  An Aunt's dream come true.  I was happy to sleep in the same room as best-friend-cousins Brianna (9) and Hannah (12).  I asked them if it was OK that I sleep in there with them: "I don't want you to feel like I'm the adult who will ruin the slumber party."  Their response?  "You're not an adult! You're just Emma!"  Oh, how I LOVED them for that! (I'm a cool Aunt!)  Not only did we celebrate Thanksgiving, but we also celebrated Brianna's 9th birthday.  She and I went out for a special breakfast date, then went shopping for her birthday present.  Another highlight was visiting the new playground that Unlimited Play built in the area.  It was fun to watch all the kids play and to play with them!

Top L-R: Joseph, Me, Hannah, Todd

Bottom L-R: Cassi, Seth, Zach, Brianna

Meanwhile, I was looking over the mock-up loan documents that my loan officer emailed me...  A lot was on my mind, but I was doing my best to be in the moment and enjoy my vacation!  I must have been out of it, though, because I tried to check in for my flight a day early.  I had no idea (until I tried to check in) that I was flying home on the Tuesday instead of Monday.  Which meant that I had to make last-minute changes in plans for my ride to the airport and arranging with work for a work-from-home day.  The extra day at my brother's house meant that I got to participate in their Christmas tradition of going to the store to pick out new Christmas ornaments, then donuts and hot chocolate.  Yay!  It all worked out, but I was getting anxious to get back home so I could start packing...  I had less than 3 weeks before I flew home for Christmas.  Plus I had a 10K I was training for taking place in less than 2 weeks.  My closing date was set for Jan 7 - just 5 days after I returned to VA from my Christmas vacation.

ENTER STRESS
(more)

To add to the drama, I started getting a sore throat while in St. Louis and by the time I got back to Virginia, I was full-on sick.  Seemed like a crappy cold that I could kick in a week's worth of time, but it turned in to a marathon sickness.  I seriously considered NOT running in my first 10K race, as I felt pretty crappy AND the weather called for RAIN RAIN RAIN and more RAIN that day.  I hadn't gone out on a run since I got back from STL due to feeling crappy/exhausted from being sick, packing, and working, so the confidence was definitely lacking.


December 12, 2010:
Race day came and I got up early.  I put on my little Christmas running outfit, popped some meds and headed in to the city.  I got there early and sat in my car for a good 40 minutes before I stepped out in to the cold rainy morning and made my way to the start area.  It was soggy and muddy and cold.  There were a few times that the rain came down pretty good while I waited for the race to start and I put up my umbrella.  It was windy.  I was exhausted already, but was determined to do this.  A lot of fun, festive Christmas outfits were spotted, including a huge snowman, multiple Santas, Elves, Reindeer, lots of Red & Green, and even those running with working Christmas lights.  It was a fun atmosphere.

It was finally time to make our way to the start line and there were a ton of people to shove through as we were corralled on to the pavement.  I didn't even get inside the fence before the starting horn blew.  But that helped move the crowd along so it was easier to get in place.  I had my Christmas playlist ready to go and I was amping myself up to be excited and get some energy.  Mannheim Steamrollers blared through my ears as I crossed over the start line.  The rain had stopped for the moment, and I enjoyed checking out all the other runners' Christmas outfits.  There was even a guy who "ran" the race as Santa while juggling 5 balls the entire time.  Before I even got to mile 2, the first "elite" runner was coming back.  WHOA!  That is just crazy.  I still had at least 4.5 miles to go and this dude was practically done.  That made me tired.

And that was probably the secondary theme of this race for me; TIRED.  My head was heavy.  My legs were heavy.  My eyelids were heavy.  I could feel my heart beating exceptionally fast and hard.  I had to slow to a walk by the time I got to mile 4, and I wasn't even running that fast to begin with.  The last 2.2 miles I hardly ran more than 2 minutes at a time.  Bottom line, I was STRUGGLING.  And there were periods of solid rain.  I was wet & cold & tired, but at the same time my head felt very hot.  Finally we came around a bend and I could see the finish line off in the distance.  I decided to run the rest of the way.  And when it seemed like it wasn't that far away, I really dug down deep and sprinted.  Except I really had nothing in the tank!  I sprinted and ran hard, but that finish line was not getting any closer!  By the time I finally crossed, I was ready to puke, pass out and drop to the pavement.  I shakily made my way over to get some snacks and commanded my body not to collapse.  I felt better after I ate a bagel, then I listened to my shoes jingle as I made my way back to my car.  Wow.  The race was a bit brutal.  I'm not gonna lie.

BUT!  At least I could add a 10K to my list of completed races!







Left: Obviously struggling to keep my legs moving






Right:  This is about the time where I realized I might vomit

This is after the race. I could have lied about the whole race and told everybody I dominated it and felt on top of the world.  And by this picture (without the previous 2), it just might be believable.  Mostly I'm happy to be done running here.

6 Days Later

December 18, 2010:

Woke up super early (like 4AM) and my sister drove me to the airport to catch my flight home to WA.  The flight certainly didn't make me feel any better.  In fact, it seemed to make me feel worse; my ears were ringing and I had a stuffy headache.  I slept the entire flight to my layover in St Louis, then woke up a bit to take pics with Santa and walk to my next gate.

The exuberant energy that Santa demanded from me (ha!) wore me out and I ended up sleeping for 90% of my next flight.  Finally I landed in Seattle!!  Home Sweet Home.  I was so happy to see my parents and hang out at home.  I had the next week completely free (true vacation) and I decided that I wasn't going to think or stress out about anything I needed to do back in VA to prepare to close and move to my new house.  I was just going to enjoy my time off mentally, physically and emotionally.  And oh, how I NEEDED that break!  I still fought being sick; one day I'd feel perfectly normal and the next I'd be knocked out.

The second week had me working remotely, which meant that with the time difference, I was rolling out of bed and logging in to my computer, ready to work by 6AM.  That was TOUGH.  This week also had me focused back on my to-do list for my new house.  I hammered some stuff out and tried my best to do everything I could while across the country to be prepared for the big day.

I failed at taking pictures while home.  The only pic I took was of the Christmas tree!

A lot of fun was had by hanging out with family, meeting up with some old High School friends I hadn't seen in 12 or so years (yes, 12!!), other close friends, more family, more fun, games, food, FAMILY!  The time came all too soon for me to head back to VA and back to reality.  The new year had come, and with it came a new house and home, new responsibilities, new excitement, (new grill!), and a new routine to get used to.  The first month of this new year flew by in a blur of activity and somewhere in there I even celebrated by 29th birthday!

Truly the most crazy few months of my life.

More details of my new home in another post.

I am a Home-Owner!  Holy CRAP!

From Dad's camera on Christmas morning:

It is a tradition in our family to take a hallway pic before we see the surprises from Santa.

Love our Christmas socks!

¹ When I was around 12-13 years old, I was sitting in a girls-only church class and we wrote down qualities we wanted our future husbands to have.  In addition to "nice" "funny" "handsome" "loving" etc, I wrote down that I wanted my future husband to give me a house that had 2 stories.  I had never lived in a 2 story house and I LOVED the idea of going up and down stairs.  Ha.  Just goes to show that you don't have to rely on others to get what you want! :)