A New Year

Before I move on to 2008, thank you to my friends and family for making 2007 a memorable year. I feel so fortunate to have such a loving family, supportive and wonderful friends and quite simply amazing people in my life. You know who you are. I try to tell you often how much you all mean to me... please know how important you are and how thankful I am.

As for 2008, I have been spending a lot of time thinking about what I want to accomplish in the next year, both personally and professionally.

I am a goal oriented person and to better myself I always set a few goals, lofty and otherwise, for a New Year.

A few of my goals for 2008:

My "biggest" goal for 2008 is to complete my first Ironman distance triathlon -- Ironman Coeur D'Alene. Beyond simply completing the race, I would like to finish this race in under 14 hours. It is going to take a huge commitment of time and perseverance to reach, and will likely put a damper on my social life, which I do not look forward to. However, my time goal is something I will strive for.

I feel as though professionally I have been on a very good track for the past few years with the exception of the past few weeks. I hit the normal end of the year burnout, which has been remedied by an amazing week and a half of fun-filled adventures. I will continue to strive for partnership in my firm, and am hopeful that my clients continue to praise the work I do for them. I still feel as though I am in my dream job, which I know is extremely rare for many in the legal profession.

I strive to be a better daughter, sister, aunt, girlfriend, and friend to my family and friends. Those who know me and whom I love know I will do anything for them. That being said, I want to do more and let those know who thankful I am that they are in my life. Additionally, over the past year I have made a real effort to put my needs and wants in the forefront (something that has been neglected in the past) and I hope to continue in these efforts in 2008.

While I have many other goals for 2008, some are better left kept to myself.

I wish everyone health and every happiness in 2008. Happy New Year!

Northern California Christmas

This photo sums up my second Christmas celebration.

I cannot remember a better Christmas, ever. I not only spent the holiday with my family, which was fabulous, but also with Chris and his family, which made it all the more perfect.

Southern California Christmas

After arriving in Southern California to celebrate the holiday with my family, I met my best friend from high school in Orange County for a little last minute shopping.

I love seeing Cheryl because no matter now much or how little time has passed since we last saw one another, we start right back up where we left off and it's like no time has passed. We communicate without saying anything and share everything. It's always fun.

We ran around like crazy for a few jam-packed hours of shopping, food and catching up before I headed south to see the family.

My parents and my brother-in-law's parents and brother all descended upon San Diego as well. As my sister already had a houseful of guests, my sister's brother-in-law and I opted to share a hotel room. Little did I know that such arrangements were going to result in a training-camp-like atmosphere!

I awoke, on vacation, to an alarm, yet I had not set an alarm! When I turned over to see what time it was I discovered that my roommate had set the alarm for the vacation-un-approved 5 am hour!!! He informed me we were going to the gym.

Needless to say my little vacation was filled with quality time with the family and provided an opportunity to get back in the gym, both long overdue. My mom and I had a particularly fun afternoon when we discovered hot air balloons taking off in the area. We both like to take pictures and a crazy car chase ensued in search of the perfect photo.

I managed to squeeze one long run in while in San Diego, and it was a tough one. My sister lives in a very hilly suburb of San Diego and my run involved a 3 mile run (or rather a very slow jog) up a mountain followed by a super-fast 3 mile descent back down to the house. I found the run entertaining, as I could feel the sun burning my skin -- not something I normally equate with December and Christmas.

We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner together as an extended family complete with an apple pie that didn't have to travel this time and was therefore consumed while the pie was in one piece.

My holiday in San Diego ended rather early on Christmas Day with a mad dash for a noonish flight out of Long Beach. While I know my family was disappointed that I was leaving early and I was sad to leave in the middle of the festivities, I love traveling on Christmas. The airports are empty and travel is a breeze. After a 14+ hour adventure one year to get from Seattle to Northern California, avoidance of heavily traveled days is a top priority.

I arrived in the Bay Area with heavy bags full of treats, a camera full of family photos and a tummy full of home baked treats. Upon my arrival I was greeted at the airport by a driver who gathered me and my luggage and headed north to the wine country for a unexpected Christmas adventure.

Vacation!

My holiday vacation starts this afternoon at approximately 5 pm and I cannot wait!

We have been so busy at work that even my "off" time is consumed with work (or the stress of thinking about everything I need to do). My clients seem to have already departed for vacation, which has allowed me to catch up a bit. Thank goodness!

While my family typically celebrates the holiday up in the "Great White North," most of my family is headed down to the San Diego area for Christmas, as my sister is pregnant and is consequently not flying. It's the first time my parents have not celebrated Christmas in Washington State, EVER, so it should be interesting to say the least.

I spent my Christmas holiday with my sister and family last year as well, and had a wonderful, incredibly relaxing time. We spent Christmas day on the beach, eating cookies (well, my niece ate sand). While I don't think that will happen this year, as all the parents will be there, I am very much looking forward to seeing my family and catching up on some badly needed sleep.

Happy holidays!

Frozen Solid

Oh my goodness... I have NEVER been as cold cycling as I was today.

Looking for a bit of a change in scenery, we headed out to the Silverado Trail in Napa.

Apparently I think that I live in Southern California, as I headed out without really thinking about the fact that I might need to wear some more layers than usual. I will NEVER do that again.

I warned Christopher... I will be in the shop this week looking for some winter wear. I am glad this happened now, as if I had discovered that I was not properly attired during "The Ride" next month, I would have been in some serious trouble!

Turkey Whisperer

Dian is a turkey whisperer. If you think I am kidding, I am not.

Dian, Paul and I met at China Camp State Park for our long run this week. It was another gorgeous day in the Bay Area, but it was freezing - literally. The puddles in the trail were frozen.

The first twenty minutes of the run consisted of:

"Oh my gosh! It is FREEZING!"
"My legs aren't warming up!"
"My hands are frozen!"
"Buurrr!"

(Mom, I know you are laughing. It's nothing compared to up there.)

Once we warmed up a bit, it was a perfect run. We ran together for the most part, which is always fun as our conversations never cease to entertain me.

While on the return, after a run-in with a deer that chased Paul, we stumbled upon wild turkeys on the trail. Dian started making turkey-esque noises at them and they responded with resounding gobbling. My first thought was how funny (thinking it was just random timing). She did it again and again they responded. This happened at least six times.

Those trail runs... I love them. Where else can you discover that your friend can talk to turkeys?

Guru Cyclocross

For our long ride this week, me, Paul, Dian, Jen, Christopher, and one of Christopher's clients, Mike, set out for a ride from Christopher's shop, PK Cycling, and headed towards Nicasio.

While a bit chilly, it was SUCH a beautiful day to be out on the road. It was so nice to have Dian back and to have the opportunity to catch up in person! I missed her terribly.

On the way back from Nicasio, Christopher asked us if we were feeling adventurous. What?

We made our way along the bike path through the Samuel P. Taylor State Park. The adventure portion of the ride set in when the paved portion of the path ended and we continued for a few miles on an unpaved trail. It was muddy and fun. I felt like I was ten again.

The ride was incredibly social, and so much fun that we decided to do it again next weekend. Can't wait.

California International Marathon

While I was not able to participate in CIM this year, I wasn't going to miss watching Chris participate in his first marathon.

The morning started early and it was COLD. I felt bad dropping Chris off at the start because of how cold it was. But, he had socks on his hands and was ready to go, so he set off.

I had planned on meeting Chris at mile 10, at the half-way-point, at mile 20, and obviously at the finish line. I have never SAG-ed a marathoner before and found it incredibly stressful. I set out an hour and twenty minutes before he was due at the 10 mile mark and missed him. And then I missed him again at the half marathon mark, by about a minute.

It was so difficult to maneuver around, with everyone trying to get to the same places at the same time, while trying to avoid the marathon route and the road closures. Parking was a nightmare. I was so worried that Chris needed something and that I was letting him down. I did, however, see a GGTC teammate at the half marathon mark who was in need of some water, so at least I helped someone.

I finally caught up with Chris at mile 20. While I only got to cheer him on for a fleeting moment as he ran past, it was fun to see him.

I tore off the second Chris passed by at mile 20 to try to make my way down to the finish line before he arrived. (So stressful!)

I was standing at the final turn before the finish line when Chris ran by. While he didn't see me, it was amazing to watch him spot the finish line and visibly light up with the joy of his accomplishment. I was so proud of him.

Watching the soreness set in afterwards made me incredibly nervous for my marathon. I have a LOT of work to do, and it starts this week.

Woodside Trail Run

Paul and Dian talked me into signing up for a 17K trail run down in Woodside when I got the no-go from my coach for CIM. While I have done some trail running in the past, I had never done an organized trail run before. The thought of this run scared me to death, however, because running is a challenge for me BEFORE you add hills. I have one pace and it's just not fast.

The night before the race I was a bit nervous about the run, but the morning of I awoke very excited about it. Dian has been sick (she is finally on the mend, thank goodness, because I miss her terribly!), so it was just me and Paul. I love love love hanging out with Paul, so it was a lot of fun to do this event with him. Paul entertains me to no end. I am so thankful that Paul and Dian have come into my life, as they have become such dear friends.

I knew how amazing Pacific Coast Trail Runs events' are from volunteering for the Headland's 100 earlier this year, and this event was no exception. As we arrived, I saw a few familiar faces, including my aid station partner from the Headland's 100.

The moment my feet hit the trail I knew I had discovered a new passion. I LOVED the event. I could have done the course again when I crossed the finish line. It was a beautiful run and I enjoyed every moment of it. The people who participated in the event were incredibly kind and very fun to run with. I told Paul when I crossed the finish line that we had to do more of these events! I find myself looking forward to my next trail run, however, hope that I don't have a run in with wasps like Paul did. Poor Paul got stung multiple times.