In the Rear View Mirror

2013 was an interesting year.  Great in some ways, not so great in others.  For those who love numbers, let's see how it all lays out, shall we? 

Total Miles: 518

Total Races: 5

Half Marathons: 2

5Ks: 2

10 milers: 1 

States in which I ran: 4 (ok, 3 states and DC) 

Pairs of shoes: 2

Time spent running: 109 hours, 15 minutes, 7 seconds

Not what I'd planned on (I DNS'd three races this year!), but over all I'm good with it.  And I doubled my mileage from last year, so that's pretty cool.  

Can't wait to see what 2014 brings.  

Happy New Year! 

Belief

The presents have been unwrapped, the Lego sets have been built, and our Elf has flown back to the North Pole.  Christmas is technically over.   Of course, the house is still decorated, and there are new toys strewn everywhere, and I may never get all the tinsel out of the carpet.  But what I'm really left with, after all the ho-ho-ho'ing, is a sense of calm.

I had written a post about all my failures in 2013 that I was going to post after Christmas, but then Christmas came and I realized I didn't feel that way anymore.  My husband, whom I honestly take for granted entirely too often, gave me the "usual" gifts.  Then he gave me something incredible - the gift of faith.

Not faith as in religion, but faith in me.  He gave me this:

(Not my photo)

Inside the box, he wrote me a note.  It said "Self doubt is the killer of all ambition.  Never doubt what you can do. I love you."  

So, my only "resolution" for 2014 is to try to believe in myself more.  I give up way too easily, and it's partly due to the fact that I don't believe that I can do things.  Really need to work on that. 

So, 2013 didn't turn out the way I thought it would - but it's ok.  You stumble, you fall, you learn, you get back up again.  2014 is a blank slate - and it's up to me to believe that it will be great. 

Happy Holidays!

Christmas Magic

I don't remember Christmases (or much else, really) from when I was a kid, but as I grew up, Christmas was always a time of sadness for me.  I'm not sure why, really, there was never any great trauma in my life as a child, nothing horrible happened to me or anyone I loved around Christmas time.  Yet I continued to get melancholy around the holidays.  I'd listen to songs like "The River" and just get all angst-y and sad.

Since having kids, though, I have rediscovered the joy of the season.  Since we are not a religious family, our Christmas celebrations lean more towards the hedonistic Santa-and-reindeer centered sort, but we also focus on the love we have for each other, and for our family and friends, so I don't make any apologies for our less than devout interpretation of the season.

This year, especially, I am truly enjoying watching my children light up when they encounter each aspect of the holidays.  Light displays, neighborhood decorations, Santa at the mall, etc.  Each new thing (whether they've seen it every year or not) causes a joy in them that is just beautiful to watch.


Merry Christmas!

Minor Christmas Miracles

Oy Vey.

The good:  I am once again the proud owner of a laptop that actually works, and my husband is once again fully funded at work, which means that my job hunting has been put on hold for the time being.

The bad:  I haven't read any of my favorite blogs in FOREVER and may never catch up.

The ugly: I have gained 5 lbs in the past month and haven't run in almost two weeks.

BUT! I am optimistic.  It's nearly Christmas, and I can feel the magic.  So, after I desperately attempt to catch up on all I've missed on the interwebs in the past three weeks or so, I will be back to posting regularly.

Commence happy dancing.

Technical Dificulties

I never realized how dependant I am on my laptop until it stopped working recently. Though I have a smartphone, I guess I'm just kind of old fashioned an prefer working on an actual computer to do certain things. Hence the lack of blogging recently. 

My husband has mentioned maybe getting me a new laptop, but I'm not 100% sure when that'll happen. So I guess I'm on hiatus for awhile. 

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Happy Holidays.