Bye Bye 2009

Wow this year flew by! Looking back on the last 12 months I can't say I had a super awesome year as a whole. Pieces and parts were memorable, but overall I'm not impressed. I should just concentrate on the positive, but sometimes the negative happenings are so big they can't be pushed aside.

Megan's good things in 2009:

• Ran my 1st and 2nd half marathons!
• Purchased a road bike and fell in love
• Got into the best shape of my life in the summer

I won't be bringing you down with my not-so-good things. I need to move on from them and if I post them here, I'll look back on my posts and see them and they'll take away from the good things that did happen.

How did your 2009 go?

The Family

We set the tripod up to take a family picture on Christmas...ended up in a few laughs. It was really nice to have everyone together!

The nice picture. This one made it to the Christmas card!

I'm not sure what kind of caption to put on this one. Maybe "Hooray, we're the Fays!"

Jazz Hands!

2010 Goals

I'm opting to set 2010 goals rather than resolutions because I never keep new year's resolutions, but I tend to keep on track with goals. So here are my goals for 2010:

1. Compete in a triathlon. Either Lake Padden or the Danskin Women's tri in Seattle
2. Ride the Seattle to Portland bike race
3. Run another half marathon (Whidbey Island or Vancouver BC)
4. Replenish my savings account by August
5. Start planning to go back to school, maybe actually do it too!

I know goals 1-3 will keep me active until at least August. When August comes, I'll have to think about a couple more phyical goals to keep me moving through Fall and Winter.

#5 is a newer thought. Exercise and health are a huge part of my life, so I've been contemplating going back to school to get a BA in exercise science or nutrition. I'm going to start the research, but I'd need to get on it and apply very soon if I wanted to start school in the Fall. I'll keep you all posted as to the progress of my goals/training. Looking forward to a new year!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone has a wonderful day spent with family and friends. Enjoy good food and drink, carols and warm fires.

Today is a sunny, but cold day here in the PNW. If it isn't going to be a white Christmas, it better be clear and crisp. Last night we had the big Fay family gathering with my Dad's side of the family. It is so fun to see my young cousins and nephew be as excited as I was when I was their age. I just sat back, drank some wine and took a lot of pictures (trying to get better with my camera).

Today we went to what I call a birthday party for baby Jesus a.k.a. Christmas Mass then to a crazy busy Sbux for a cup of joe. It's nice to be around the family this time of year especially when all of my sisters are here too, which only happens once or twice a year.

Happy Holidays!

Injured update

Well my calf is feeling MUCH better. I'm finally walking normal again, well sort of normal. Still have a slight limp, but feel much more comfortable walking. I'm going to go to the Y tonight and see how it does spinning. Nothing intense, just a high cadence, low resistance. I'm very anxious to get back into my routine of working out daily, but I know after today Christmas activities will throw me off again. Maybe I can fit in some smaller workouts down at the parents house this weekend. That'll feel good after all the cookies I eat! : )

Being Injured

I strained my calf last week in spin class, the same calf I strained after I ran the Bellingham Bay Half Marathon. This time it is farther down the calf and has made my left ankle transform into a cankle. Gross. Of course this happens during the 2 most gluttonous weeks for me. So instead of keeping my regular 6 day-a-week schedule at the YMCA, I stay at home and eat cookies and the popcorn I just posted about and watch movies. At least it has only been about 4 days without a quality workout, but that seems like forever to a person like me who needs activity daily to not go insaine.

Good news though, I went to the chiropractor and he started the road to recovery for me. I hope to be back to normal by next weekend and start running again next Monday. Guess what happens on Monday? I start training for the Whidbey Island Half Marathon. This will give me 15 weeks to train, the race is on April 11th. Anyone want to run it with me?

Cinnabun Popcorn Goodness

I first saw this recipe for cinnabun popcorn on Our Best Bites. It looked like something out of my line of cooking, but lucky for me there was a video from when one of the Our Best Bite's girls was on tv making this dish. It is actually so freaking simple, which scares me because after I made it, I ate half of it. I swear there is crack in this popcorn cause once I popped the fun never stopped. Well...until I got a stomach ache from eating too much...that wasn't fun.

The Worst Hard Time

I recently joined a book club with some of my friends. We're reading The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan. It's about the Dust Bowl of the 30s. I didn't even know this crazy event happened until I picked up this book. Did you know during 1 storm, during 1 afternoon more dust, dirt and silt were in the air than what was dug out of the Panama Canal?! They say the Dust Bowl was the event with the largest environmental impact during the 20th century. Holy hell!

During book club we also eat. This past week Judy made spaghetti with freshly baked rosemary-garlic bread and caesar salad. Good book club grub!

I'd like to update my blog about interesting things I learn via this good read and maybe what we eat while we talk about it. Yes, we talk with our mouths full. It'll make me post on my blog more : )