Half-Marathon?

Back in 2005 I worked at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in Salt Lake City on one of their big fund raising events. I was always curious about the Team in Training program, but at that point I was WAYYY too lazy to do much more than be curious. From my couch.

I started running a little bit last winter and ran a 5K last June. This winter I have been running more and I was looking forward to running a 10K this spring or summer. I heard that The LLS Team in Training had added 10Ks to their program, so I decided to go to an information meeting and find out more.

Realistically, I could probably run a 10K next month without much problem. Talking to the people at the Team in Training program, I realized that what I really want is a goal to work toward. Not a crazy marathon goal, but maybe a not-as-crazy half-marathon goal. The more I thought about it, the more it sounded like a great idea. I would be raising money for LLS in the process, and I would get to travel to San Diego and run a Rock 'n Roll Half-Marathon.

Since I started running, a half-marathon has been on my "things to do before I have kids" list. (Right along with the Grand Canyon/Lake Havasupai hike.) And I have heard that the Rock 'n Roll races are a blast.

I decided that if I could run for one hour straight at the gym on Thursday night, I would sign up for the half-marathon. I have 19 weeks before this race and that seems like a good starting place. I jumped on the treadmill last night, set my sights on 60 minutes, and started running. It helped that I had a treadmill with my own personal TV screen, and that SpongeBob and iCarly (two of my favorite gym shows) were on back-to-back. After my one hour was up, I had run 5.25 miles, my hips were sore and I had blisters. Not bad!

That was my first step. I am going to take the next two weeks to make sure that I really want to make this commitment. Then my next step is to register at the kick-off party on February 6th. There I will meet my team and get my training schedule.

Along with training and running the race, I will be committing to raise $2900 for LLS. They will use some of that money to fly me to San Diego, register me for the race, give me some gear, put me up in a hotel, and throw the runners a party. The other 75%+ will go toward cancer research and patient services. I just hope that my friends and family will make the fund raising the easiest part of this project. If everyone I know gives me $20, I am good to go. Of course, they won't... so hopefully a few people will carry more weight.

I'm looking forward to getting a head start on the training over the next two weeks, then meeting my new teammates on February 6th. Then comes four months of training myself to run 13.1 miles and asking everyone I know for donations. Here's hoping that I stay as motivated (obsessed) as I have been for the past few days.

New BFFs

I love meeting new people. My idea of a great night out is when I stay up into the wee hours of the night having a drunk, yet wise and profound, conversation with a person who was a stranger to me only a few hours ago. After reaching into the depths of this person's soul during our incredible discussion, they become my new BFF. We part ways promising that we will keep in touch and go camping this spring and go to that Pixies concert and try out that new restaurant...

The truth is, I will probably never see that person again. I might add my new BFF on Facebook, then stay updated for the next several years on whether or not they were happy about the American Idol outcome or where they took their new puppy on a walk. I am great at meeting people, but terrible at following up. Unless it is a relationship that can be sustained with the occasional email/text/FB wall post and meeting for lunch every few months, I am not your girl.

I had a fantastic time on Saturday night and met half a dozen wonderful, interesting, exciting people that I would love to see more of. We made promises of Superbowl Sunday and Cinco de Mayo parties and I was so excited about my new group of friends. Now that the pomegranate martinis have left my system, I can see that there is a high probability that I will not be doing any of those things with those people.

I guess that it is in my hands as much as anyone. If I really want to make new friends, all I have to do is call the number on their business card or add them on Facebook and send them a message, but I have come to find out that I do not really operate that way. And that's okay with me. I love the friends that I have now, and I neglect them enough as it is. Instead of looking for something new, I should concentrate on spending time with the people that are already around me.

Goodbye 2009

We had such a fantastic year in 2009, that it is kind of hard to see it go. I tried new things, welcomed a lot of visitors, took a few trips, said goodbye to some great friends and met several new ones. Looking through my photos from 2009 made me nostalgic (if you can be nostalgic about things that happened less than 12 months ago.

January 2009

The year started with the tail end of our New Year's Eve party. This party was kind of a farewell to a group of our friends. We had nine friends move to different places all over the world within the next few months, and we miss them madly. We braved the crowds to see Obama's inauguration, then joined our fellow soldiers/spouses at an inaugural ball. I had a good excuse to buy a ball gown, we saw Barack/Michelle & Joe/Jill dance, and we were entertained by Bon Jovi and Josh Groban, among others. Quite a night.

February 2009

Levi & I drove to Savannah, GA to do a little exploring, then on to Disneyworld and Universal Studios, then met up with some old friends on our road trip home.

March 2009

Took a little road trip to Pittsburgh to see Adil and Ashley, saw the Andy Warhol museum at Carnegie Mellon, the French/Indian War museum at the point, ate wonderful food and incredible ice cream. Came home and saw Brendon Small in concert with his School of Rock. I got a new job at Earth Day Network. We drove up to Central PA to pick up our baby chinchillas, Snuggly Buggles and Scrambles the Death Dealer.

April 2009

My friend Shari brought her kids for a visit and we took them on the monument/museum tour. We saw everything from the Capitol to the cherry blossoms to the Holocaust museum to the White House and made huge meals for the seven of us. Flight of the Conchords concert, backstage at Earth Day on the National Mall where we met The Flaming Lips.

May 2009

Played with a pinata at Cinco de Mayo. Mom & Robyn came to visit over Memorial Day weekend. I showed them all of my favorite spots in DC, we met an old lady named Happy at the FDR Memorial, cried with the biker veterans at the Vietnam Memorial, saw pandas in the rain at the zoo, played on the giant at National Harbor, fed squirrels, and got yelled at by guards at Arlington Cemetery.

June 2009

Levi was promoted to SSG. I ran my first 5K in the pouring rain. When the weather finally cleared up for the summer we went on a hike with Mike & Suzie and relaxed at our new favorite winery in Maryland.

July 2009

Another road trip to Pittsburgh where we spent hours at the aquarium and zoo complete with a baby seal and baby elephant. Ryan came to visit for the month and we went to Busch Gardens, New York, the Late Show with David Letterman, Great Falls and took a West Wing tour of the White House. We crammed so much in, and it was one of my favorite months of the year.

August 2009

Yard work and painting at an elementary school for the Lockheed Martin volunteer day, zip lining with Sarah, kayaking for the first time, and dozens of bands (and $11 beer) at the Virgin Music Festival.

September 2009

Gramma & Grampa came to visit and we went on a tour of the U.S. Capitol. Levi and I did a high ropes course (another first) with Sarah, and I quit Earth Day Network (yay!) and got a job with Levi at Lockheed Martin. Now Levi and I commute to work together.

October 2009

Such a month... Our Make a Pizza party was a hit, Mom came to visit and we drove to Pennsylvania together to see the Amish people in Intercourse, went on another Capitol tour, toured the National Cathedral. I visited my family in Southern Utah where we went to Bryce Canyon, Snow Canyon, enjoyed the desert, carved pumpkins and had an incredible time. Tobi and Brady visited and we ran around in the rain, had all manner of fun with our friends and went to Six Flags. Whew. Another one of my favorites.

November 2009

Took a mind-blowing trip to Manzanillo, Mexico to see Ashley & Adil get married, snorkeled a coral reef and sunken ship, ATVed in the jungle, ate the best food and hung around in our swimsuits all day. Around the World party was a blast and the food was wonderful. Cajun Thanksgiving with friends then regular Thanksgiving with coworkers.

December 2009

Getting ready for Christmas, lots of shopping (hey, it's a highlight for me). Went to the National Christmas tree with Josh & Karen, moved into our new office. Visited family and friends in Salt Lake City where we saw everyone after way too long, went out to eat way too much and opened lots of gifts (yay!). Wrapped up 2009 the same way we brought it in... a New Year's Eve/birthday party with our new friends.

Good luck 2010... you have some huge shoes to fill.

The Bed Tent

I am this close to looking around on Ebay and buying a bed tent, just like the one I had when I was a kid. Of course, I would also need to buy a twin bed to go along with it. If there is a company out there that manufactures queen-sized bed tents, I would be eternally grateful. Winter - specifically Christmastime - tends to make me nostalgic for my old toys. Probably because I usually got them for Christmas, then played with them through the winter before chucking them in my closet in the warmer months. I would love to ask for Barbies, Hot Wheels, Legos, Creepy Crawlers, and Batman posters this year.

I am sure my friends and family would be happy to buy me those things. They are all cheaper than the stuff on my wish list these days. I could have all of the Legos in the world, but it would never be as fun as it was when I was nine. So I'll ask for clothes and shoes and jewelry and kitchen appliances, and have the grown-up version of fun. I guess I can't complain... I like dressing myself up instead of Barbies and driving a real car instead of Hot Wheels. I cook meals and desserts instead of Creepy Crawlers, and I hang up art and photos of my family instead of movie posters. Not a bad trade-off.

I'm still going to hunt around on Ebay, because nothing can replace the bed tent.

Baby Jesus vs. Baby Gap

It is not hard for me to get caught up in the Christmas excitement, but sometimes I can go the entire season without getting in the right Christmas-frame-of-mind. I love shopping and decorations and Gap ads for scarves as much as the next girl. I love shiny, loud Christmas. I love making lists of gifts and lists of card recipients and lists of treats to make for my neighbors. I love listening to pop Christmas songs sung by Ashley Tisdale and Kelly Clarkston. I tend to get wrapped up in the excitement.

This morning I am listening to a "Classic Christmas" station on Pandora. It is mostly church choirs. It reminds me of going to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir when I was little, walking around Temple Square to see the lights, and eating Christmas dinner at my Grandpa's house. Even though the religion is not part of my life anymore, those were the Christmas traditions of my childhood.

There is a big difference between that flashy Rudolph Christmas and the subdued, reverent Christmas. It is the difference between going to the mall and helping out at the homeless shelter. The great thing about this time of year, is that there is plenty of time for both. You can buy your sister a colorful scarf and pick up a toy for a little girl on the Angel tree. They will both help you get into the spirit of things, but in different ways.

I'm certainly not getting on a high horse here about how we should all be kind to our fellow man and avoid the commercialized Christmas. As soon as I get sick of this station, I am sure that I will switch it back over to young pop stars singing Santa Baby. I love commercialized Christmas. (Except for those stupid Jared/Zales/Kay jewelry ads.) It is just nice to get a little glimpse of that kind of Christmas spirit that comes from inside instead of being thrown at you every time you turn on the television or open a magazine.

I Feel Too Christmas-y To Go To Work

For the last few weeks at work we have been moving our office, which means that everyone has been in jeans and sneakers and not much work has been done. Tomorrow is the first day that we will all be buckling down again, wearing office-y clothes, and trying to catch up. I'm hoping that wearing a dress and heels will be enough to get me in the buckle-down-and-work mood after the weirdness of the move and this glorious long weekend.

I am in the first week of a new course at school, and my last two courses have been a little off-kilter due to all of the visitors and traveling. I struggled to keep up, assignments were late, and I didn't get the best grades. So far I'm on track, even ahead, in this course. It's another thing to attack with a renewed sense of motivation.

Unfortunately, with Christmas coming and my excitement at our upcoming trip home, I am having a hard time being motivated to do anything besides bake Christmas cookies, decorate my house, and go to the gym so I look extra-great when I see family. And shop for presents, of course.

Catch Up Blogging

We have had a crazy year! Apparently so crazy that I have completely neglected my blog. A lot has happened in the last few months. I got a new job in the Intelligence Analysis Training Program section of Lockheed Martin, which means I am working in Levi's office now. I'm the Training Administrator for all of our courses. Levi is an instructor for the Analyst's Notebook Applied course, and he was recently promoted to Course Manager. Our office just moved closer to our house, and both Levi and I got our own offices with big windows. Windows + promotions = we like our jobs.

Levi went out of town for work/Army Reserves for the month of October, so naturally I booked a bunch of visitors and trips. It was so great to have everyone come visit. Grandma & Grandpa Averett, Mom, and Tobi and Brady, all within six weeks! I also got to visit my family in Southern Utah for a few days, which was fantastic. On top of all of that, as soon as Levi got back from his business trip, we jumped on a plane and flew to Manzanillo, Mexico for Ashley & Adil's wedding. That trip was so incredible that it gets its very own blog post.

I decided to relive my awkward pre-teen/teen years and get braces again. Here is a lesson for all of you kiddies out there - when you get your braces off and your orthodontist tells you to wear your retainer, DO IT! Otherwise you will be a 27-year-old metal mouth. I was really dreading getting them on, but it is not as bad as I thought. I mean, it sucks, but it is not the end of the world like I made it out to be.

So, that is what we have been up to lately. We have had such an incredible year; I'll try to post more good times before 2009 is over. Every time I tell my grandma about the fun things we are doing, she tells me that I really need to keep a journal. I always take a lot of photos and post things on Facebook, but I thought that updating my blog more than annually might also be a good thing to do. Happy Thanksgiving!