Estilette-Courtial Engagement Party

Friday night I flew into Boise for Ashley & Jeremy's engagement party! It's been too long since I spent time with them, well... last year on my way to Cozumel as I made a stop in Houston. But still- it's been a while! It was so nice to see them both and catch up at the engagement party. There was lots of food and singing and even playing the self-playing piano! FUN! Later that night we played catch phrase and the guys lost back to back to back games- ugh! But it was still a blast.

Of course as I was in Boise- I got a whole lot fit into just the 48 hours or so I was there. This morning I met my good friend Jami at Boise State's rec center and ran 10 miles on the treadmill. So grateful to her to sponsor me and get me in! After that, I met up with Rex, Ashley, Denise and Erin at Black Bear dinner for Denise's birthday. I was thrilled to be able to be there and give her a birthday hug! Then I played some cards with the family and took a short nap before heading to the engagement party. That night I met up with Chuck and Emily at Bardenay and had a few drinks and appetizers. Spending time with them is just the best ever. Love them!

We headed over to the balcony and had a few drinks there. Coincidentally my friends Mike Morgan and Antonio were visiting Boise as well and I got to hangout and dance with them all night, along with my friends Steve & Kenneth. HaHa! The five of us really tore up the dance floor like I haven't done in a long time down at the balcony. Thanks guys- always such fun! I think I should plan a trip to visit Mike and Antonio in Seattle!

Sunday I went to the Cathedral of the Rockies with my parents. I just love going there with them. If I lived in Boise I'd try to go every week. After church we played some cards at home with the family and then as all good weekends end, it was time for me to fly back to California. Another special and memorable weekend in Boise!

Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R

Finally, the day FINALLY arrived! :D My new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R was in Vallejo and I wasn't going to wait any longer. The bike actually arrived last week, but I didn't have a way there and then I was gone over the weekend in LA for the Tinkerbell half marathon. My roommate Katelyn's boyfriend David said he could drive me this morning so I took him up on the offer. We headed out that morning with the commute and went to Powersports of Vallejo. I got to see my bike for the first time, all shinned up and ready to go. There was about 30 minutes of paperwork to sign- but then I was off! I'd already gotten all my new gear back in October. My bluetooth enabled helmet and jacket; I was set. I noticed the unbridled power immediately- but it never seemed too much as the ride was so smooth and the bike is very tight. I drove it straight to Sonoma State to show Amanda and Erica who came out to snap the picture for me. Then I took it home and headed into work. I'm just so happy knowing my bike is finally here and in the garage all safe and sound. Now to spend the spring breaking it in- SO EXCITED!

Detailed Specs Page Here

Hightlights: First model with ABS!
Power: 1441, over double my last bike
KTRC: Traction Control (adjustable) and Power level adjustable
Limited Edition Color: Golden Blazed Green/Metallic Spark Black

Football Playoffs: 49ers vs Patriots

This afternoon Jill and I went to Buffalo Wild Wings in Dana Point to have some beers, wings and watch the 49ers in the playoff game against the Patriots. It was a great game to watch, I was on the edge of my booth most of the game! I was finally able to relax once the 49ers won and solidified their place in the Superbowl- yeah! It was a lot of fun spending time with Jill and catching up; I was so grateful to both her and Michelle for letting me stay with them this weekend in LA!

The Tinkerbell Half Marathon

3am- that's when I woke up! I shaved my face (so as to look more the youthful "Peter Pan" part) dressed up in costume and headed to Disneyland! Fortunately, I found a good parking spot about 3 blocks away. It was so early! I saw other racers walking or jogging so I just started following the crowds of people. Before I knew it, I was in the "C" group of thousands of people. There were five groups; A-E. Only women were allowed in the A and B groups. I was surprised to see there were quite a few Peter Pan's in the crowd and even a Captain Hook here and there. Of course there were thousands of women in Tinkerbell wings.

The race began at 5am, but they only let each group go one at a time and it took about five minutes for a group to go. By the time I got started, they'd been letting runners start for about 20 minutes! I've never been surrounded by so many runners- just crazy! There were huge screens overhead and a large celebratory send off with several characters.

The first mile was a bit uncomfortable; as often happens in larger races. It was shoulder to wing to hook to feathered had for quite a while! Our first stop was in California Adventure - Cars land!

My favorite picture of the whole trip is this one with Jeff & Maureen, Trisha & Jeff and me. We'd caught up with Maureen and Jeff at the first pit stop- I saw her standing to the side so we all joined up together to race- very lucky!

On our way out of California Adventure the whole "World of Colors" display was going and it was amazing. I couldn't help but stop yet again on the route and take a picture.

At some point, I was able to just accept the fact that this "race" was more of a theme park ride than a race and I just stopped as needed and took pictures and enjoyed the sights to be seen. Another great picture is when I came across the group of Lost Boys- and I was Peter Pan; perfect!

As we jogged through the Magic Kingdom there were lots of various cast members to snap a picture with. Of course I had to get this one of Tinkerbell who was cheering all the runners along and watching over us as we passed. Captain hook was also down below, getting pictures with the runners.

Once the first six miles of craziness running through the parks was through I was able to focus in on my running and made up for a lot of the lag. The last few miles came in at around 7 minute miles. You can checkout my run on Runkeeper here. I had a lot of fun running with my friends, jogging through the park and enjoying Disneyland this weekend. It's certainly not the typical half marathon; it's more like a runners theme park ride!

Disneyland!

The happiest place on earth. It certainly was an absolute blast! After the runners expo this morning I met up with Trisha, Jeff, Maureen and Jeff. They had been at California Adventure all morning and now we were going to do the Magic Kingdom rides. Man are these guys expert park goers! I met them at the pirates of the Caribbean- and off we went! I don't think we missed a single ride in the Magic Kingdom. The first ride we hit up was the haunted house; I don't think I've been inside that ride since I was toddler. It was so eerie how portions of it were familiar- memories from when I was just 3 or 4 years old I think! Space mountain inside future land is one of my favorite rides. Here's a shot of the outside.

My second favorite ride shocked me, Small World! It's such a basic ride, but it was so much fun! We were there when the Christmas decorations were still up- so I think that also contributed to the attraction of the ride.

Just as we were about to board the boats the whole front of the ride exploded in song and animation as the clock struck on the hour. It was way cool to see so close up!

All of the areas of the world inside the ride were re-done with a holiday theme!

The break-neck speed we flew around the park was crazy fun; I couldn't believe how much we got in! Before I knew it they were preparing for the evening firework show over Cinderella's castle and we had to head out. The race tomorrow starts at 5am and runners had to be there before 4:30 and I was a 30 minute drive away. It was time to head back to Jill and Michelle's place and get some sleep before the race!

Disney Runners Expo

Yesterday I flew into LA (LAX) from Santa Rosa (STS). It's a quick easy flight on a smaller puddle jumper plane- I'm just glad it's a direct flight! I rented a car and drove down to Michelle & Jill Chmura's place. They were so sweet and kind to let me stay there for the weekend. It was nice hanging out with them and also Jill's fiance, Eric - who was also visiting from north bay. He made me a delicious vegan wrap that I devoured while we caught up. Today I went up to Disneyland for the Tinker Bell Half Marathon runners expo. Man can Disney put on an Expo! They had several different large rooms sectioned off for various activities. Check-in, registration, Disney Tickets, Shopping, Vendors, Shirts and even conference speeches like this one here.

After checking in, I picked up my shit and bib.

I couldn't help but get a picture with my Tinkerbell swag, shirt and bib.

I was totally impressed with all the medals and runs that Disney puts on each year! It would be so much fun to do a run in Disney World!

I think next year I'll try to come up on Thursday night so I can spend whole day at the Expo event instead of just a couple of hours - so much to do! Totally excited for the run tomorrow morning... 5am start time!!!

New Cooking Skills

After finishing up my 16 mile jog with Jeff there was no time for a nap; I had to get home showered and over to Amanda's in Sonoma for some cooking lessons! Today, Amanda showed me how to prepare my own Tofu. She gave me two different marinade recipes to try out. Then she showed me how to make my own hummus! After working away in the kitchen, we got to sit down and enjoy the fruits of our labor. We had a great time and I'm looking forward to more cooking lessons in my near future; like maybe how she made such delicious beets!!

Marathon Training

Don't let this beautiful picture fool you, I mean, yeah, it was a gorgeous run, but man was it challenging! It didn't help that I arrived at Jeff and Trisha's place and immediately laid down on the couch with a moan from last nights proclivities. Yes, I was a little hung over. After a quick rest, I got up and Jeff and I headed out on our 16 mile jog along the Joe Rodota Trail. We actually coincidentally ran into Mike and Erin on our way back about mile 12. They are also training up, for the Kaiser Permanente half marathon next month.

I'm so grateful to have Jeff to jog with, without having to get up each morning and pushing ourselves I often wonder if I'd do it! Jeff will continue to push up the miles over the next month as he and Trisha are running the Napa marathon in March. I'm just tagging along, for now. The next marathon we're all doing is the Santa Rosa marathon at the end of August.

Here's a picture on our way out the trail. 16 miles... we did it Jeff! The next big run is what... 18? :)

Tainted Love - Petaluma, CA

Tainted Love is back in town, and they're in Petaluma! I got together with Katelynn, Alin Lancaster, Kaela Talafili, Tiffany White and Savagna for drinks at Tiffany's house before heading out. We got down there and before we knew it were all out on the dance floor singing and dancing along for hours! At some point I realized how late it was and grabbed a cab back on my own since I had to be up early for a run the next day. Little did I realize at the time it was too little too late, I was going to pay for it tomorrow! It was all worth it, had such an absolute blast with Katelynn and her friends out at the concert and I'm already looking forward to their next visit!

Semi-Resolution

So I didn't make a "New Year's Resolution" per say this year, however I did add to my existing fitness goals. Last year I made and achieved a goal of running 1,200 miles (100 miles per month). I'm keeping that on the agenda for 2013 and adding 4x of weight lifting per week. This is my second week into the routine, and I'm loving it! Getting up about 6:30 and lifting weights each morning has been the best thing for me because I seem to have more energy throughout the day and am into work by 8:15/8:30.

Today I snapped this picture because I was the only person in the rec center gym using the weight room. It was funny to me because it's only a week and a half into the new year, but I tried to appreciate it because I KNOW once school starts next Monday it'll be packed in here. Enjoying my personal Gym, for now!

Golden Gate Park 10K Run

Today Amanda and I met up at our normal spot, the Rowland car pool lot and we drove down to San Francisco for a 10K run/race through Golden Gate park. We were a little worried it might rain, but it did not! It was a nice jog around the park, we went another mile or so after the race but that was about all we wanted to do.

After the race we booked it over to the Plant Cafe on the emarcadero for some delicoius organic breakfast. We're such foodies, we find a run and then a place to eat every time and we love it!

So much fun and delicious and good company. Thanks Amanda!

New Year's Day

When I finally got home, I found Mom adding a few pages to the scrapbook she gave me for Christmas. It is such an absolute treasure; she re-scrap-booked my childhood years from birth through high school in the modern style with three dimensional lettering and soccer balls and other trinkets.

Boise State University was open this day so I took the opportunity to go in and say hello to everyone. I met up with Jami for lunch at Papa Joes and after we went over to the HR offices and made our rounds. It was so nice to see people, some of them again after seeing everyone for Ashley's birthday party brunch on Sunday. I got a chance to see Noreen, Susan, Michelle, Crystal, Mary and Camille and several new faces as well!

As usual, I closed out my trip with some cards with the family. Unfortunately I didn't play so well! But that's ok, it's all about spending the time with those I Love. Before I knew it... my 11 days in Boise was over and time to fly back home. What a wonderful Christmas vacation to Idaho.