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.