New Year so far

I rang in the New Year with a 5K race. Literally, January 1st. It was the Commitment Day race/rally, a pretty cool event organized by Lifetime Fitness across the country. The weather was kind of horrid but it could have been a lot worse... that's what I told myself at the Start line when it had just started raining. Cold, windy, and rainy made for a fierce run. It was great to cross the Finish line and see Hrishi and Ella there all excited for me. It had been a long 3.1 miles. It never really feels that long in good weather conditions or better yet, on the treadmill indoor. I was pretty soaked, but hot and beyond myself that I had gotten up on New Year's morning (early, early morning) to go do this. The pictures probably show enough of my enthusiasm.

I get a great rush of adrenaline standing there waiting for that start gun.  It's probably one of my favorite parts of the race: that exciting moment when I visualize the entire race being a success and me having tons of fun through all the pounding, heavy breathing, blaring music in my ears, and the rest of the runners, volunteers, everyone and everything.  

One of my greatest supporters :)

  Start

Finish line!!!

On my way out I grabbed some yummy breakfast kolache and burritos for Hrishi and the race prize  (sack, t-shirt, and a cool journal to record commitments for the new year.) Ella was very happy that she also got a t-shirt, being the child of a registered runner. :)

With my other amazing supporter:

 

This was not intended to be a silly picture but I almost lost my balance.

 Race inspired-art. (I love my amazingly alert, talented, and in the moment artist.)

[One of the reasons I wanted to do this right on January 1st is because for some reason, this first day in the new year always feels a little strange to me, mostly melancholic and nostalgic for the year that had just passed, and I wanted it to be fun, exuberant, and energetic. No mopping around watching TV and snacking but rather RUNNING out there in miserable weather and feeling the pulse of the crowd. (That part of racing grows on you after the very first race and gets more and more exciting and something to look for, every time you are out there. I live for the pre-race and post-race atmosphere.]

Then I wanted to make sure I got to the temple 1st Saturday the year and solidify my temple attendance by going at least once a month, another goal of mine. So I made it there. It was another weather miserable day but we did it. We went.

Things have been good. Lots of prayers and thoughts for some family health problems, back to foster parent training (it's really hard to fit this back into our already crazy busy schedules after work but we are committed.) Unfortunately, from a time constraint perspective, these trainings "expire" every year so they have to be retaken on-site, but fortunately, they are a good refresher to ensure all rules, regulations, and paperwork are up-to-date and kept to a tee for the foster children's safety.

Ella's report cards make us happy and proud, as well as her every day spark of life, humor, and smarts. She's doing great and we're working on extra stuff at home (math, reading and comprehension) to supplement homework.

Homework

Horseback riding, piano, and ballet are back in session. In fact, she's preparing for a horse show this weekend. She'll participate in two divisions, the pre-beginner walk-trot she's done in the past, plus the "big girl" jumper/hunter division where she'll make her debut in cross-rail jumping, in addition to walk/trot/canter in a group. She's going to do well, I know it. She's working so hard every class period, one whole hour on that horse rain or shine. And every time she jumps those jumps my heart beats a little faster. I'm nervous and scared for her but every time she jumps them it makes me a little bit braver and a lot more thankful for her and her guardian angels.

The best moments in life:

Enjoying her flour-less chocolate black-bean cake (this cake kicked off my adventures in the gluten-free world of baking.)

Passed this pretty little tree and had to take a picture. To me it's a depiction of winter around here:

Back to baking: the true test of a baker is to successfully make horse treats. Ha-ha!! Well, I made them last night and am now waiting to validate my "success" tonight when Ella's equine friends will get to taste them. :)

They're seriously yummy. I tasted them, of course. What can be bad when you mix oats, grated carrots and sugar cane syrup???


This is what I found on her doll house on Saturday when I came back from my long run. Her interpretation of the seed of faith/testimony. Love it!!!

Taking pictures of her model. She modeled her school building, surrounding streets, and lake out of paper, plastic toys, and lots of tape.

And at last, but not least, THIS my training program. 44 more days of prep. And my spine/neck/nerve is starting to bother me. I had to pull back for a few days but I'm back in action running very few miles (like 2) a day. Oh boy, I'm a little scared that I can't finish training because of my spine. This is going to take all that I have got and MORE. I'm praying and thinking through t scenarios that will allow me to continue training without any (further) damage.