New Years Eve

I spent most of the day by myself. The day started with a 52 min run across the street. It was good run. I run much slower nowadays but it was still a run. There has many times in the last 20 years that I didn't think I was ever going to run again. One of those times being only a few months ago. However, I am running again. It makes me so happy. I'm so thankful that I can still run!!

After the morning run, I went into town to run some errands. I got my tires rotated, treated myself to coffee and finally bought myself Skins. (I noticed that I often treat myself to a coffee mocha. Is it really a treat anymore?) Once I got home, I put on my Skins, read Eldest, made pumpkin blackbean soup, took a nap, and walked Meeka. On the 5:00 walk, I meet one of my neighbors with a golden retriever. I do hope our paths cross again because we stood on the corner and talked for quite awhile while the dogs played.

After the walk, I came home heated up soup for dinner and Michael and I sat on the couch together; he playing WOW and I tried to watch Beauty and the Beast, a classic late '80s show. Around 8:00, his friends picked him to go to Denver for NYE. I decided to stay home in my pjs, watch a movie and drink wine. Please don't feel sorry for me. It's exactly what I wanted to do and was very happy in the comforts of my home!!

Happy New Years!

a great evening

This month is supposed to be writing about things that I am thankful for well tonight is one of those nights that was special.

I got off work around 5:30, came home and walked the dog. About 6:15, I wondered how I was going to spend my night because I had read the news, looked at facebook, and skimmed my blogs. What am I going to do tonight, I wondered. I called my dad to just check-in and we talked for 2 hours. Wow, I never thought that I could entertain myself with talking to my dad all night. We talked about cruises, gun control, car, locks, pets, etc. What a wonderful friend, I have in my dad. Thanks!

Post Christmas

The few days after Christmas were quite social and full of activity.

Friday started with us cleaning the house and I rode an hour on my trainer. Later in the afternoon, I cooked a turkey in a crock pot. That night, Cindy and Gary came over over to the house and we drove around town to look at lights. We had a wonderful dinner with lots of food.

Saturday went spend the majority of the day with Michael's mom, Christine and his Aunt Barbara. We had breakfast at the Tea House and then went snowshoeing at the Sourdough trail. During the afternoon, we hung out at Christine's house. After the social day, I spend the night in town by myself. It started with a trip to Fleet Feet to buy Skins. I bought Michael's his but had to special order mine. Then since I was hungry, I went to Whole Foods for dinner. After my cup of soup, I had a one hour massage on my calves. Most people think massages are nice and relaxing, not mine. They hurt. After the massage, I went to REI to buy SmartWool socks, the warmest socks during winter and to look at slippers. After wandering around REI, I drove to Barnes and Noble and wandered around some more.

I love nights to myself. The crazy thing is when I have nights to myself, I always end up at Whole Foods. What do you think that says about me?

Sunday was a quiet and non-social day. Meeka and I went for a car ride to the Mesa trail. I was hoping to spend some good quality time with her and for her to get in a good walk; however, the wind had other plans for me. After 20 or so minutes, I turned around and headed back to the car. The wind was crazy windy. It was so windy that it knocked me off the trail several times. The afternoon was quiet and a bit boring. I ended up making cookies and spending the rest of the day on my computer.

My wonderful Mac is one of my addiction. I don't really know what I'd do without it everyday.

Monday, it was back to work. The good thing is it's a short work week....

Christmas Eve & Christmas

I had a very nice Christmas Eve with the Gratz-Kelly family. Ms. Gratz treated us, John, Christine, John, Sarah, Michael and myself, to a play in Denver. We saw The Christmas Carol at the Denver Center for Performing Arts. It was a wonderful play. I'm always amazed at live performances. Later that night, we all went to the Greenbriar Inn for Christmas Eve dinner. The dinner and atmosphere was speculator.

Christmas Day was a bit more quiet. We slept in until 10am. Then, we fixed a nice breakfast that included waffles and chicken-apple sausage. After our food was digested, Michael and I went for a run together. We did a loop run out toward Niwot. Even though the run was bit hard for me, I loved that we got to run together. It's such a special treat for us to run together.

After the run, we went to John and Christine's for an open house. It was good fun. I was a bit sad when the day ended because I believe so much in Santa and the magic of Christmas. Well, until next year....

Many things to be thankful for...

Last night, we had dinner at a friend's house to celebrate the Solstice and have a Yule dinner. When we started dinner, Amy, the host, asks people to say what they were thankful for. I didn't speak up because I don't like talking in front of crowds and I'm shy with this group of friends so here is a short list of things that I am thankful for...

• One day it snows and then the next day it's sunny and high in the 3o's which makes running so wonderful.
  
• I have enough clothes to dress in layers to take Meeka for a walk in zero degree weather.
• We raised $500 for community food shares at our pottery fundraiser.
• I had a great time at my cookie exchange party last Saturday.
• I talked to Dani for an hour and half on Saturday night.
  
• I have a dog who loves the cold and snow. (and she grunts.)
  
• I have a mother-in-law who is nice and kind.
  
• I learned to cook from my mom. When I'm in the mood, I can throw anything together for dinner.
• We have electricity, heat and jobs.
• I have a lovely family.
• Cookies!

Thankful - Brainard Lake

This past weekend, Dec. 6, we took a trip to Brainard Lake for the night. The trip consisted of a snowshoe to the cabin, staying the night and snowshoeing out the next day. I love to get in the mountains and enjoy the peacefulness that it provides.

It's also a great to hang out with friends.

Thankful for Dad's recovery

On Tuesday of this week, my dad had back surgery. I was very worried but everything went well in surgery. Three days after the surgery, he is recovery well. He is still very sore from the surgery but is getting around the house okay. Here's to a speedy recovery for him.

I am thankful that the surgery went well and his recovery is going well.

Today, I give thanks

First and foremost, I give thanks that my dad's back surgery went well today. He was in surgery for a few hours and the doctor said that everything is fixed. This means, my dad's back pain along with the hip and leg pain will go away. I talked with Daddy tonight and he sounds good. The only thing he mentioned was the incision - it was sore. I hope that the recovery time goes just as well.

Thankful for my chiropractor

This month's theme is 'Giving Thanks'.

Today, I'm thankful that I have knowledge about my health that I didn't know 10 years ago. I am currently seeing a chiropractor, Dr. Dale Hameister, to help with my leg compartment syndrome. This syndrome that I have in my legs cause my feet go numb and fall asleep while I run. Needless to say, this is painful and not fun. I'm trying alternative medicine to help the problem instead of surgery. I really don't want to go under the knife and have someone cut open my calf muscles so they have more 'room' for the pressure. So far, the chiropractor has given me lots of hope because I can run for 30 min with no pain or numbness. In summary, I'm so happy that I have the resources and knowledge to make healthy decisions about my body.

Post Thanksgiving

The time after Thanksgiving has been quiet. I guess it is now winter. The days are officially colder, we had snow and all I want to do is hibernate. I'm trying really hard not to hibernate because I know fun and interesting stuff is outside the house, not inside.

On Friday, I went a for a great hike with Jackie, her dog, Canyon and my dog, Meeka. We hike the Mesa Trail starting in South Boulder. It was a beautiful sunny winter Friday day. I always get a little worried taking Meeka out to the trails because she has select hearing. Yes, she only listens when she wants to. However, on this day, she was a wonderful dog. I'll have to take her to that trail more often.

Saturday morning, I woke-up to snow. I had planned to run so I dressed warmly and put on my yak traks. I had a nice run including my five- minute warm-up and cool-down run, I was outside for 45 minutes. My feet felt great while I was running. Here's to hoping that they stay this way! Then after a quiet day that included a nap, Michael and I went to a yoga. I go to a yoga class about once a week but to convince Michael to go with me was a special treat. To make the night even more special, the yoga class was free.

It's now Sunday. The day is cloudy with a 40% chance of snow. I have a few things I want to do in town like finish some pottery pieces, look for a pair of trail running shoes and pick some Skins Compression tights. Can I really get out of the house?

Thanksgiving Day

The day started off very peaceful. I slept in until 10:00am and missed both a morning hike and yoga. Oh well, I guess my body needed 9 hours of sleep!

About 2:30pm, I put the turkey in the oven. I had no idea how long the turkey would take to get done. I was estimating somewhere between 2:15 and 4:00hrs. (The 7.5lb turkey ended up only needing 2.5 hrs. ) After the turkey was put in the oven, I went back upstairs to nestle in my bed to read. However, Meeka had other plans. She came upstairs; sat right beside me in the floor and just stared. In a few short minutes, I figured out that she came upstairs to get me to take her outside. We went on a nice quiet hour walk across the street. As I was walking, I realized what a quiet day it was and remembered the people who were affected in Mumbai.

When I came home, I started all the side dishes for dinner. I'm so glad that I started them early because the turkey was done lots quicker than I expected. I made mashed sweet potatoes (the first-time ever), green beans, stuffing (that I got free from work, it was Arrowhead Mills) and gravy. About 5:00, everything was done and ready to eat.

Michael and I had a very nice dinner together. We even opened a nice bottle of wine. It was a from a winery in California, Elyse. There's a funny story about this wine that I'll tell you another day if you haven't heard it. After dinner we played a Ticket to Ride - Switzerland, a game. I actually won which doesn't happen too often when he and I play games together.

All in all, Thanksgiving day was quiet but good.

Thanksgiving Eve

On Thanksgiving eve, I got off work early, 3:00. I was so excited to have a few hours to myself that I ended up cleaning the house and planning our thanksgiving meal. Yes, I know that there are better things to do with 2-hours of free time than cleaning the house. After, I cleaned and planned our meal, I went to the gym for a workout. I ran on the treadmill for 2 miles plus a 5 min warm-up and cool-down. During this time, I realized why I have only run on a treadmill less than 5 times in my life. It is boring!!! After my little run, I started my strength building training program. I got about halfway through and decided that I was done. I finished all my core exercises and called it quits.

After the workout, I made my way over to Whole Foods. I wasn't sure what kind of mess I was walking into but I decided to take a chance. The parking lot wasn't that crazed so I figured the store must be okay, which it was. After getting a snack and a few unique items that I can only get at Whole Foods, I checked out and then preceded to meet a few friends out for drinks at the Kitchen. I had a great time catching up with friends.

For whatever reason at 11:00, I was still wide-awake so I went to the 'normal' grocery store to buy the rest of Thanksgiving dinner. I walked out of Safeway at 11:45pm. The nice thing about shopping that late was the store wasn't busy. It was amazing though that several families were shopping that late at night. Needless to say, after I got home and put away the groceries I hit the sack; I was very exhausted.

This weekend - (Sat. Nov. 22)

This weekend was very productive and relaxing. Yesterday morning, I got up and did a short walk-run workout totally 30 min. When I came home I was in a nesting mood. I made butternut squash soup and applesauce. It was my second time making butternut squash soup and my first time making applesauce. Both turned out great. In the afternoon, we went to the pottery lab to finished some pieces and then I went for a massage. Last night, we attended a friends surprise birthday party. After we got home, I was so tired but laid in bed watching Army Wives for hours. It was fun to stay up late. Today, I slept in until 9:00, ate breakfast, took a nap, finished reading Eragon, took a walk and then we went to Gary and Cindy's for dinner. It's always great fun hanging out with them.

Now, it's time for a short week of work - that's a sure thing to be thankful for!

Brutus is 'on-hold'

If you read my blog from Saturday, I asked if someone could pretty please adopt Brutus. Good news, his status on the Boulder Humane Society's website is 'on-hold.' Let's keep our fingers crossed that he goes to his new home tomorrow. YEAH!

School & Creativity

Today when I was in the chiropractor office waiting to be taken back to a room, I was skimming through a magazine. One of the headlines mentioned the Blue Man Group. Of course, this caught my attention because we saw their concert last year in Vegas and I really enjoyed the creativity that was showcased. (If you have never seen them, you must. It is a very cool show.) This specific article that I was reading, talked how the founders of the Blue Man Group needed to expand it's creativity to something new so they created the blue school. The school's mission statement is to cultivate creative, joyful, and compassionate inquirers who use courageous and innovative thinking to build a harmonious and sustainable world. Yes, this is not the 'normal' approach to education but I really think that this unique approach is worth looking at. If you are in the NY, New York area, I think you should attend an open house (then of course, let me know what you thought, just because I'm curious. )

a good winter day

Today I went hiking with two friends, Mary and Diane. We hiked the Ceran St. Vrain Trail in Jamestown. The hike was much longer than I expected at 6.6 miles but still a very good hike. After the hike, I treated myself to a cup of coffee, a haircut and a trip the grocery store, which is really a chore.

Quite often, I browse the Boulder Humane Society's website. Years ago, I wanted another dog but now I realize that Meeka is very happy as a 'only dog'. Plus, if I'm honest with myself I don't have time to take care of two dogs when I'm training for triathlons. However, with that all that I said, I found my dream dog. Check BRUTUS out. Since I can't have him, can someone please adopt him, pretty please!!

First time donating blood

So, today I donated blood for the first time. I was excited but nervous. All went well until the end. Right when they pulled the line, I started feeling hot, clamy, and like I was going to faint. They put cold clothes on me. While they were doing this, the lady that took my blood was talking to me. I heard her but not really. It sounded like she was in a tunnel. I also started to see white spots. It was a very strange feeling. I didn't faint but I was close to it. After lots of cold compresses, I started to feel better. I had some 7-up and goldfish crackers. I thought I was ready to set up but nope my body thought different. I had to continue laying down for several more minutes. After a bit of time, I sat up and then moved chairs so they could take my vitals. At this time, I was feeling close to normal. After another cookie, I walked back upstairs to my desk. All in all, it took an hour - a bit longer than I expected.

The rest of the day, I felt a little off and hungry. I can't seem to get enough food.

Will I do it again? I think I will. Why you ask? It's good to donate blood and I think I can beat the bad feeling next time. I do wonder if one has to donate a pint of blood? Several people have suggested that it might be too much for me.

Until next time....

can you use a preposition to end a sentence with.

Well, it's 11:00 and I haven't yet blogged today. Remember, I must write something every day. People say that to become better at something you must do it on a regular basis. Yes, I write every day but I write emails. If I blog everyday, I will come up with topics to write about. For example, today's topic just write and why you shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition.

With this topic, I discovered the following things:

• It is a leftover grammar rule: in Latin, it would be impossible to end a sentence with a preposition, so they made it against the rules to do so in English simply for tradition's sake.
• The rule is not of dire necessity, I will not compromise the strength of a sentence for tradition.
• The rule says it’s bad grammar, but most modern experts on grammar say it’s not. So, I don’t figure I have to follow it

YES, we did & WOW!

Today was election. A few minutes after 9pm MST, Obama was announced the next president of the United Status. WOW!!!! I'm happy. I even watched his acceptance speech. It made me smile. I can't wait to see what will happen. Lot's of positive stuff is coming our way.

Earlier tonight, I was talking to my dad on the phone. With it being election day, we were talking about the election. He mentioned how Liberty University, Jerry Falwell's univeristy, gave all the students the day off and bussed the kids to polls to vote. We both thought this act was cool. However, my dad proceeded to explain that all 'these people' see is one global issue - abortion. Dad continued to explain how abortion was a given freedom and right. Wow! My dad thinks that abortion is a freedom and a given right. I was smiling so big when I was hearing him talk about this topic. I think of my dad as a somewhat conservative guy but learning how he feels about this issued made me think even better of him. He has moved my dad from my being my wonderful dad to super 'cool' dad.

3 sad things today

I heard about three sad things today:

1. Winnie's dog, Maggie, had to have emergency surgery this weekend because she had a ruptured tumor on her spleen. She is still in critical condition.
   
2. My cousin, Joy, lost her babies that were conceived via IVF.
3. Senator Obama grandmother passed away, 1 day before he was elected president.
   

NaBloPoMo

The name NaBloPoMo is derived from NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, where participants try to write an entire novel in one month. We're here because we can't commit to an endeavor of such magnitude, but we can post on our blogs every day for a month! Weekends included.

Let's see if I can do this. Can I blog for everyday of the month? I have already missed 2 days but I can do the other 28 days.

Back to the first paragraph, I've had several friend do the National Novel Writing Month. I've always admired them thinking I could never do it. However, I do think, I can do National Blogging month.

Okay, let's start.