Oh
my…January is gone and February has started! Can you believe it? I have a challenge going to really try and take the bus to/from work
every day in the month of February (rather than being lazy and
driving…and paying a fortune to park)…and I failed today. Day 1- FAIL.
Drove. But Day 2- I feel good about Day 2.
I
like February. As a kid, it made me feel smart because I knew about the
hidden ‘R’ in the spelling. Plus, it’s a short month so it helps the
winter move along…and it is the only month that sometimes has an extra
day- like it does this year…that is pretty cool! And then, of course,
Valentine’s Day. While I think it is a little bit silly in a romantic
kind of way, I LOVE it in a friendship kind of way. I still buy
valentines at the store and give them to my co-workers…usually with a
pink candy kiss taped to the front…or maybe a special bookmark or
sticker that comes with the pack. My mom still gives me a Valentine’s
gift (well, the Valentine’s Day Elephant does)…which used to be
something like a new pink shirt (one year in elementary school I got
this outfit…red plaid leggings, a white shirt, and the same red plaid
tie…ohhh, I LOVED that outfit…a tie! So cool.), and the gifts now
usually include a bottle of wine or a new book, which is perfect, but in
the back of my mind, I still always hope for another rad tie outfit…
Oh my gosh…I am only three months out now from my Disney World 30th
birthday trip! When I first decided on the plan, it seemed so far away,
and now three months seems like hardly any time at all! I have
tentative dates (depending on flight prices) of May 2-11. The Expedition
Everest Challenge is May 5th, which is kind of the center of
the trip. In addition to the race, and Disney (duh), I’m suuuuper
excited to go to Universal and see the Wizarding World of Harry
Potter…can’t believe I haven’t been yet! Also pumped to visit with
friends and meet a new little guy (soon to be born). Still have to work
out the schedule…and which hotel to stay in! When we go in May, it will
have been 2 years since my previous visit…can you imagine! Prior to
that, it would have been weird for me to go longer than 8 months without
a visit. My excitement can’t be contained.
Speaking of excitement not to be contained…I’m going to San Fran at the end of the month to celebrate another 30th
birthday. And I just got an email that involved plans of group dinners,
wine tastings, and promises of lots of girl time! Somehow this trip
seems harder to wait for than Disney (which, while getting closer, is still a good ways away).
My 4th/5th
grade girls basketball team has had our first two games…still just
REALLY enjoying coaching and working with the girls. They work so hard
out on the court…rebounds and steals left and right…they go after every
loose ball, and usually come up with it. The shooting could use some
work. I think this season is going to go by really quickly, and then
basketball is over for the year…wah wah wah.
This
past weekend I went over to Whidbey Island to cabin lead at a high
school camp…oh how I miss going to summer camps. And Friends Inc camp!
This camp definitely reminded me of Friends Inc camp…too bad my mom
doesn’t get to lead that anymore…those were always super fun weekends. I
played some basketball with some of the kids and it was SO fun. I have
loved coaching the little girls, but I do miss playing. We were playing 2
on 2 (and sometimes 2 on 3 or 2 on 4, depending on who came out to the
court) full (smaller sized) court, so there was a lot of running back
and forth and jumping and defending…ohhh, my knee was killing me after! I
had to ice it the rest of the night. Initially I blamed it on being
old…that I am just going to have to deal with these things…but really, I
think it’s because I haven’t been playing…my knees aren’t in basketball
shape. I need to do something about that. Oh, I also climbed the
climbing wall at camp…I used to have a super strong upper body (did the
bars in gymnastics…and o-so many pushups), so loooved climbing stuff…but
was nervous about the wall because it had been a LONG time since I had
tried. I didn’t go all the way to the top…pretty sure I could have, but
my hands were freezing and hurt, so I stopped…but it was exciting!
Ohhh,
and Brian and I have started running on a sort of regular basis (as in,
we run each week…we are building up). We plan to dominate the
Expedition Everest Challenge in May, so have started our training now.
Brian hasn’t ever been a ‘runner’…like, he plays sports for fun and runs
around in games, but not just a runner for the sake of running.
Meanwhile I was a pretty serious runner for a little while there, and
have tapered off a lot in the past year…so it drives me crazy that he is
getting in running shape faster than I am. Stupid boys. Ugh. Only a
little bit jealous and upset about that…mostly I’m just so happy we are
running…I feel so much better about life when I’m running (not during
the actual run…mostly when I’m done with the run).
Hope your February is full of candy hearts and Toy Story bookmarkers.