Christmas!

Christmas was ah-maze-ing! First and foremost, we fed the homeless Christmas morning, just like we did last year. It was such a neat experience, and one I wish everyone could enjoy. We set up under a bridge in Phoenix with all of our cook stoves and fed a couple hundred homeless people. Whew, it was hard work! Good thing there was our family and a few other random families that my parents knew. My mom invited them all on Facebook. hehe! Anyway, I truly believe that serving those less fortunate while being together as a family was definitely the best way to spend Christmas. It made the rest of the day so much better, it also made me much more thankful for the things that I have! Seeing those who have nothing be so grateful for something as small and simple as a hot breakfast really changes my perspective on things. I hope that this is a tradition that we keep on having for as long as possible. I almost can't imagine Christmas without it!

Well, for Christmas my mom (I mean Santa, of course) got me an amazing device called the Garmin Forerunner 405. On first look, you might just think it's a glorified (although large) wrist watch. Don't be decieved. This baby packs a very accurate GPS system which measures my pace and the distance I run and also comes with a heart rate monitor that measures my HR continuously. This way, I know exactly how fast I am running by just a glance at my watch! Amazing, right? This will change running for me forever. The best part, my favorite part, is (wirelessly!) loading all the info from my runs onto my computer. This, in turn, is automatically transferred onto the Garmin Connect website, where I can analyze everything from average pace to total distance to my route...to basically everything else. I LOVE this thing!! Might just be the best present I have ever gotten!! Thanks Mommy!!

With the new year coming up tomorrow night (2010! where did the time go?!) I decided to give my blog a makeover. You like? I do! I even downloaded a picture editing software and made myself a header. I also changed my title to "Always an adventure..." because honestly, when am I not doing something insane? Case in point- I went skydiving for my birthday. Best. adrenaline. rush. EVER. Holy cow. Words cannot describe the feeling of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane into thin air. I would be an addict if it wasn't so expensive! I really believe in living life in the moment, but don't believe I don't plan for the future as well!

p.s.- If you have not read The Hunger Games, stop what you are doing right now. Borrow it, buy it, I don't care what you do to get a hold of that book.....READ IT. Might just be the best book I've ever read. So so so intense!! I couldn't put it down. There's also a second book already out (it's a trilogy) but the third isn't due until August of 2010!! Total cliffhanger!!! I got them both for Christmas...and finished them within 5 days. hehe :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Dreams deferred...

So, I was planning on doing a half-marathon at the end of January. I guess it wasn't meant to be, because three days ago I got sick. I don't see myself running for at least a week (head cold= hard to breathe deeply!) so I decided I would face reality and downgrade to a simple 10K that day instead of the more intense half. There's no way I could catch up on training for a half after being sick. With the race less than 7 weeks away, it's not really possible.

In other news, I ran my first Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving and LOVED it! Although it was pretty warm and during the race I wanted to die, afterwards I felt great, because that is 600 calories I didn't have to worry about that day!! hehe! Also being around alllll those people was pretty fun, and it was very laid-back event. Definitely going to be an annual thing for sure!

Welp, I am for sure looking forward to Christmas. This weekend I am having a big birthday/Christmas/end of finals party at my house, and I am way excited. These parties always end up being good! Then, on Monday I am SKYDIVING on my birthday!!!!!! holy cow. Talk about super adrenaline rush. It is official. I am adrenaline junkie for sure!! Then there is Christmas, and all the awesomeness that it brings, and then school doesn't start until after the middle of January!! Can you say sweet?? (sweet!!)

I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!

(except for the sick part, of course!)