Christmastime 2012

Like I said, I spent Christmas in Santa Fe with my family. Here are some highlights:

Friday we decorated the tree and house, since my parents waited for Ryan and me to get home. That evening we went to a great choral concert at the Cathedral downtown. Since I had been busy with school and then getting ready to leave town, I never really got in the Christmas spirit in Charlottesville, but this concert sure helped.

For Christmas Eve we did our usual family tradition, which is invite the grandparents over and eat posole and tamales. Then Dad and Ryan and I went downtown to walk Canyon Road and enjoy the farolitos. As you can see, we made some friends on our walk.

After Canyon Road we walked to the Plaza to see the lights, and then we stopped in a cozy hotel bar for warm drinks. Oh, and it was snowing lightly all evening. When we got back home all of our own farolitos were still lit! I think it was a Christmas miracle, since it was snowing. That or a neighbor relit them.

On Christmas morning the grandparents came back over for breakfast, then we opened presents. Here's our pretty tree.

Later more family came over for Christmas dinner, for a total of twelve of us. It was nice to have all of my Dad's side of the family together. Speaking of Dad, check out our Christmas coordination.

Wednesday night Ryan and I went to see Django, and Thursday night all four of us saw Les Miserables. 

Friday we all took the Santa Fe Rail Runner train to Albuquerque. While there we ate a nice meal, then took a bus to Old Town and walked around a little. Then we had a drink at a hotel before getting back on the train and heading home.

Saturday (today) I ran ten miles outside in 20-something weather on a rail trail outside of town. My Dad wanted to see me run, so he dropped me off and then met me a couple times at various cross-roads before picking me up at the end and driving me home. The temperature didn't really bother me much, but most of the trail was still covered in snow (and ice), so it was a much slower and more tiring run than usual. It was fun to get out there and do something different though. Dad said he saw a coyote on the trail while waiting for me, but I was looking where my feet were going too much to look around and didn't see one. Alas.  

After the run and a hot shower we all went out for one last New Mexican meal for Ryan and me, then visited a little more with my grandparents.

It's been a real nice trip and holiday.

recent-ish goings on

I figured before it was time to blog about Christmas I should squeeze in one more post, so here is a hodge-podge of what's been going on in my world, but not necessarily in order.

I'm on school break! I spent the semester working on my minor in the American Revolution and Early Republic, which meant I read a bunch of books and met with my professor every other week or so to talk about them. Then during finals week I wrote two ten-page papers, and I handed those in on Monday the 17th. I enjoyed the readings and learning and all that, but it's always nice to have a break.

I ran a 5k at Monticello with some friends on December 1. I haven't run very many regular flat 5ks, so I was able to set a personal record of 24:24. The run started right in front of Monticello, went around to the lawn in back, wound down by the gardens, and ended up on the parkway trail before coming back up to the Visitor Center. I run on the trail that heads up to Monticello all the time and of course I've done the Montalto Challenge, but it was fun to actually run right next to the house and gardens. Before the race started a friend got some man to take a photo of us in front of the house on her iPhone, but unfortunately the man was not so savvy with the photo-taking. So here's a finger, a glimpse of Monticello, and us runners!

I'm also training for a marathon again, in hopes that I can run the race in April I couldn't run last year when I injured myself. So hopefully this time will go better. 

My brother didn't get married in Las Vegas a couple weeks ago. He thought it would be funny to change his FB status to married while he and his girlfriend spent the weekend there, and my family fell for it (for the most part). I let him know it wasn't funny though. It was just dumb. Boys, ugh.

For a potluck Christmas dinner party with my girls' small group I made a beet, pecan, and goat cheese salad. I'm pretty sure that was the first time I actually cooked stuff and did intricate preparation for a salad (like toasting the pecans on the stove and adding maple syrup, plus cooking the beets and making the dressing from scratch). I thought it was pretty good, but the problem is that not everyone likes beets, so unfortunately there was a lot of salad left over. (Which turned out to be fortunate for Josh, who ate all the leftovers.) Some people just don't know what's good.

I had a pistachio sighting again! Actually, I had two, but for the first one there were several shells lying around, and Josh (rightly) pointed out that it doesn't count when there are lots of shells, so he didn't even let me take a picture. Luckily just a few days later I found another one in the parking lot of the UVA Law School. It was right next to my car near a mysterious bone thing, which was kind of creepy. 

I'm in Santa Fe! I came here Thursday. It's nice to be here, hanging out with my parents and Ryan. I'm also running here (marathon training!), and am surprised how decent the runs have been so far considering the temperature has only been in the 20s. The first day I overdressed and pretty quickly had to shed a couple layers, but the next day was better. The sun here seems so much bigger and closer than it does in Charlottesville, so I think that has a lot to do with it.

Thanksgiving

I know Thanksgiving was a while ago, but I still want to tell you about it. So here goes.

My parents flew out from New Mexico to Richmond, and my brother flew out from Arizona. So we were all here! Wednesday I drove to Richmond to help get ready for Thanksgiving. Jay helped me make rolls, Ryan and Sunni tracked down some tapered candles, and several of us peeled lots of stubborn oranges for ambrosia.

Kneading some roll dough. With supervision.

That night my parents, Ryan, and I went to dinner. Ryan wanted to carb up (more on why coming up!) so we ate spaghetti at Joe's Inn. Then Ryan and I drove to Charlottesville, where we met up with Josh and went to see the No BS! Brass Band and Love Canon. It was pretty fun. And Ryan ran into someone he knew back in Santa Fe, so that was exciting.

Love Canon. They play 80s music bluegrass style. Which is awesome.

Thursday morning (Thanksgiving!) Ryan and I got up early and headed out to...get excited...Ryan's first race! We both ran in the Turkey Trot 5k at the Boar's Head Inn. It was pretty hilly, but Ryan did great. My watch said we finished in 29:something, but somehow our official time came out as 31:something. We're sticking with the under-30 minutes time.
 

Chilly (high 30s), but excited to run!

Proud finisher! (And only a little annoyed at the photographer.)

Stretching. Always important.

Cute siblings.

I was super-excited to be running with Ryan for his first race. Hopefully he'll keep it up and it won't be our last!

After the race we headed back to my place to shower and get dressed for Thanksgiving, then drove back to Richmond for the big meal.

We ate this.

Sitting at this.

After eating, family time, and cleaning up, it was time for a nap. My nuclear family napped in my parents' hotel room, then went back to my grandparents' for pie. Then Ryan and I hung out with my cousins for a while and played Taboo.

Friday we hung out with Grandma a lot and moved her into a new place. We even played  a game of Rook. She was in a good mood and funny, so it was fun. Friday evening the whole family went to the CineBistro to see Lincoln and eat dinner. I hadn't really cared about seeing the movie, but I'm glad I did. After the movie Ryan and I joined Jay and Josh for a beer at Capital Ale House.

Saturday morning Josh and I grabbed Ryan and worked out at a park. Huguenot Park has a fitness trail, so we ran around and did the exercises it told us to do. Similarly to how I felt about the run two days before, I was excited to be working out with those guys. After our workout we showered and got changed, then went with my parents to lunch at Kitchen 64. Then we visited the Chihuly exhibit at the art museum. I saw so much of his stuff back in Tacoma that I had gotten tired of him, but I enjoyed the exhibit. From there we went to the Imax theater at the science museum to watch a movie about the Canadian Pacific Railroad. That was my dad's pick (the art museum was mine), but it was actually pretty interesting. Later in the evening Ryan and Josh and Jay and I hung out at my aunt's house for a while.

Sunday I went with my dad to take Ryan to the airport, then we met up with more of the family for Chinese food for lunch. Lunch was followed by me taking a long nap on the couch. Sunday evening my parents and I watched a Sandra Dee movie with my aunt and grandpa. Then I spent the night in my parents' hotel suite. They left town on Monday and I did some work in Richmond before heading back to Charlottesville.

It was a pretty fun holiday weekend with my family.

Richmond Half Marathon 2012

On November 10th I ran a half marathon in Richmond. It was pretty fun.

Friday after work Josh and I drove to the expo in Richmond so I could pick up my race packet. We also checked out the booths and I bought a bright yellow pair of arm warmers. Afterwards we went to Joe's Inn for dinner and ate a bunch of spaghetti. Then I went to bed.

Saturday morning I woke up around 5:15 am to get moving and eat breakfast. I left my grandparents' house at 6:35 and picked up Josh on my way downtown. Unfortunately finding parking was a bit of a hassle, so eventually I hopped out to head to the starting line (well, after a long stop in the porta-potty line) while Josh parked the car.

The half marathon started at 7:30 (there was an 8k at 7 and the marathon at 8) and since the parking and bathroom break set me back a little, everyone was already in the line to start and I had to wind my way from the G wave up to the D wave. Unfortunately I didn't get my GPS watch going soon enough either, so when I crossed the starting line my watch wasn't connected to the satellite yet and I actually pulled over to the side for a few seconds so it could finally connect. That was annoying. But after all that? I was good to go.

I don't think I ever mentioned it here on the blog, but I joined a marathon/half marathon training program over the summer through a local running club. The coach wrote me out a detailed personalized training program that had me running four days a week with long runs up to 15 miles. The long runs were group runs on Saturday mornings in various rural places around the county. I made it to about 7 of those, but being out of town several times over the summer or being unable to get up and run at 6 am (tooo early), many of the runs were on my own. Anyway, my training included things I'd never done before like hill pickups and track workouts, and rather than simply getting all the miles in like I used to, I even had progressive time goals laid out for me for certain portions of runs. It was a challenging but fun way to mix up my training. And the day before the race I even chatted with the coach on how exactly to pace my 13.1 miles.

So I ran the first mile the slowest, the next two miles a little faster, miles 4-8 faster, and the last five miles even faster than that. My goal was to finish in under two hours, and I crossed the line in 1:57:31. I followed the training program, and it worked! The run took work, obviously, but I never felt like I was dying. There were even times when I made myself slow down in order to stick with my plan. I felt strong and in control the whole time, which was great. Of course afterwards, when I realized I hadn't quite beat my 2010 half marathon time, I kicked myself a little and wished I'd pushed myself harder. I know I can do better than 1:57. Next time...

Anyway, onto some pictures:

I look like I'm speed walking. But I'm not.

All done!

Josh was at the finish line waiting to get a shot of me. Our plan was for me to wave my yellow arm warmers in the air so he would know I was coming. But I never took the arm warmers off, so I didn't have them to wave. I pumped my arms in the air a few times hoping he'd see me, but unfortunately he missed my finish. That's okay. It was a downhill finish and I was probably just going too fast for him to see me. ;-)
So after I crossed the line and got my finisher's medal, I walked back up to find Josh. Luckily I did, because there was a big crowd and we didn't have a contingency meet-up plan.

Another photo opportunity to show off my arm warmers.

Stretching. It's important.

Post-race grub.

The race finished at Brown's Island, where there were tons of people and lots of excitement. I grabbed some post-race pizza and soaked in some sun, then we headed home.

Tuesday

The Boss

Yesterday at work I got an email saying there were two free VIP tickets available for a Bruce Springsteen show taking place only one hour from then, and the first person to respond would win. I immediately hit the reply button and sent "Me!" Ten minutes later I learned I was the winner, so I said "adios" to the bosses and ran out the door to pick up the tickets, pick up Josh, and get downtown in time for the show. We made it.

If it weren't for the "VIP" tickets, he'd be a whole lot smaller in this photo.

Bruce is just to the right of that blonde kid.

It was pretty exciting to see him and he did a solo acoustic set, which was nice because I like that sound of his the best. Unfortunately he only played six songs, but that's because it was a short free Obama rally concert. (He played a regular concert later that night, but I didn't win tickets to that and the tickets were pretty expensive.)

Here he is performing a funny "campaign song" at the event:

The Festy

So Josh and I went to The Festy Experience a couple weekends ago. We camped out, enjoyed the great outdoors, and listened to a lot of fun music. The lineup was mostly bluegrass-type stuff, so that's right up our alley. And it took place at a brewery--also right up our alley.

Day one and we are having fun!

I will admit it was not my favorite camping experience. I like having our own private campsite, with a picnic table, real toilets nearby, and running water. (Clearly I'm not into backpacking. Yet?) Instead, we were cramped between some bushes and a parking lot with a bunch of other people and too few porta-potties. Josh and I are also old and need our sleep, which is hard to come by when a bunch of people who have been drinking for a long while come back at the end of the night and want to hang out for hours being noisy. But after all that I will admit that camping was still fun. A couple nights in a tent (on an air mattress) is always a fun break.

Our camp area early on Saturday morning.

So we got to The Festy Friday afternoon, set up camp, and then listened to music. We went back to our campsite for dinner--beans and rice plus peas and corn. Then it was back to the music, with dessert in the brewery restaurant. After a few songs of the headlining band (Infamous Stringdusters) we were tired and called it a night.

Saturday I got up relatively early, ate some breakfast, went to "base camp" to buy a cup of coffee, and got geared up for a run. Josh and I drove about 14 miles down the road from the festival to the head of a rail trail, where I ran 14 miles while he walked and read. It was a nice (and flat!) trail that went along a couple streams, and the fall leaves were beautiful. I did, however, see my first big wild snake, which was essentially right under me before I noticed it in mid air. I yelped and it scurried in fear, but luckily it was black and I keep hearing how those aren't the scary kind. Whew.

About to begin my run, sporting a fashionable "blaze orange" hat. Because better safe than shot during hunting season in rural Virginia.

The trail.

Trail and river.

Old rail car.

After the run we went back to camp and took showers in the portable shower truck they had at base camp. I had to wait a good while before it was my turn, but the water was warm so I was happy. After showers we listened in on a Backpacking 101 workshop, and then took a nap.

Napping with the rain fly off was glorious.

After getting some rest we headed to the festival to listen to music. We also visited the vendor booths and ate food.

Josh got an "Elvis" burger, which included peanut butter and bacon on a cheeseburger. He loved it.

With our tickets, everyone got reusable steel pint cups. Nice way to cut back on trash and go home with a souvenir!

After several music sessions we once again called it an early night. This time we used earplugs though, which helped a lot. Apparently our rowdy neighbors got the whole camp to sing happy birthday in the middle of the night and set off firecrackers, but I didn't notice.

Early Sunday morning it rained, and all of Sunday was cold and dreary. But music-wise it was my favorite day. We started with a pancake breakfast. It sprinkled some, but wasn't too bad.

Sliced banana and strawberry jelly on a pancake in the rain!

We also got some coffee at base camp and heard a little gospel music, then went back to the tent where Josh slept more and I read for school. (Got a whopping 25 pages read all weekend, which was not really ideal...) Then we packed up our campsite and headed to the festival for the rest of the day.

Della Mae, a fun all-female bluegrass band.

Tony Trischka on the banjo and some other good musicians.

Whoah, check out this guy's dreadlocks!

To warm up a little we ate dinner back at the restaurant. Dancing also helped keep us warm. The weather wasn't too bad though--kind of fun to be bundled up in the fall.

Notice the fog in the mountains behind Josh.

Leftover Salmon had a natural fog machine for their set!

After hearing a few songs of the last set, we finally headed home. It was a good weekend overall!

new ride

 Guess who has a new set of wheels?! This girl. After 12 years and very nearly almost 160,000 miles, I finally traded in the one and only car I've ever owned (had it since my senior year of high school) and got an upgrade.

I went from this Toyota Corolla (a very good car, by the way):

 

To this new Toyota Prius!  

My car changed, but apparently my outfit didn't. That's a different shirt though, I'll have you know.

The car-buying experience was pretty great, thanks to my Aunt Judy. I just said "hey Aunt Judy, I think I'd like a gray 2012 Prius," and she did all the work after that. The lady likes car shopping, and is good at it, too. Once she'd found my car and at a good price, all I had to do was show up and write the check. (And sign a bunch of papers, during which she also acted as my helpful advisor.) So now I'm all set. And since the Prius purchase wouldn't have been possible without some help from my parents and grandparents, a big Thank You goes out to them. Otherwise I'd probably just have a newer Corolla.

adios summer

Last weekend marked the end of summer, which makes me very sad. So for one last hurrah, I went to the beach.

Josh (yes, he's back!) and I drove Friday after work for six hours and finally arrived at midnight at his grandparents' house in Ocean View, Delaware. We promptly went to sleep.

Saturday I got up and did some reading, and after breakfast and another snack, we headed to Bethany Beach. We swam, boogie-boarded, relaxed in the shade, and read books. Josh got us board fries to eat, and later we got desserts on the boardwalk.

(Look Mom, I'm wearing the hat!)

 

Late in the afternoon we finally headed back to the house for showers. Also a nap, because relaxing at the beach can be really tiring. Then we headed back to Bethany Beach for a seafood dinner and to check out some of the touristy junk shops. We didn't buy anything, except tokens at the arcade to play games. At night we walked on the beach a little, and rested atop the lifeguard perch.

Sunday I got up early (-ish) and went for an 8.5 mile run. Then I ate some food and headed back to the beach with Josh. We met up with some of his relatives and chatted a little while, but then they went to lunch and we went in the ocean. More swimming and boogie-boarding for a couple hours, followed by resting (or sleeping) on the beach, and back in the water a little longer with big waves until the lifeguards called us in because of lightning.

Back at the house we had dinner with his grandparents and aunt and uncle. Then we played games! Their family always plays Caboodle, which I had never played. It was a fun night.

See my quarters? Caboodle is a betting game. Takes 75 cents to play and winner takes all!

Word had gotten around that I like pistachios, so they had some available after dinner and I ate a lot of them while we played. Josh's Grandpa also taught me a new trick for opening those pistachio shells with only a little slit: use another shell to help pry it open! Genius.

Caboodle is a game that keeps going until only one person is left, so as players lose and drop out one by one, his family sends them off with a boisterous round of "Goodnight Ladies" (only you fill in "ladies" with the name of the loser). We probably disturbed neighbors.

Josh lost and his Grandpa is singing his farewell.

 Monday Josh and I rode our bikes to the boardwalk to play some more games at the arcade and cash in our valuable tickets. However, the waves of the ocean were just too inviting, so we rode back to the house instead and changed into our swimsuits. Back at the beach there was more swimming and boogie-boarding and lots of jumping over waves, with no time for relaxing or reading or napping on the beach.

I'm a big fan of bike lanes.

Right after we'd dropped our towels and shoes I spotted a pistachio shell!

Once we'd had our fix we went back to the house to shower and pack up. Alas, the weekend was ending quickly and we had to get back to Charlottesville for work and school. But on our way out of town we went back to the boardwalk for the annual Jazz Funeral, in which a bass brand parades down the boardwalk in a mock New Orleans-style funeral to mourn the end of summer. There's a coffin and everything. Then apparently all the lifeguards disrobe and run into the water, but we didn't have time to stay for that.

Here comes the band.

I like the guy with his hat over his heart for poor Summer.

Goodbye summer.