Things have been quiet here, because I moved here.

Rock and Roll San Diego

Around 4 months, semi on a whim, I signed up for a half marathon. I was not really a runner at the time and my longest run was a 6 miler that was a bit of a fluke. Prior to that, I had only run 2 miles.

Fast forward 4 months, and yesterday was race day. Running my first half marathon was amazing. It was inspiring and difficult. I learned so much about myself in those 13.1 (13.43 according to my garmin) miles and I had some moments where it was nearly impossible to imagine taking one more step but in the end I did it, I crossed the finish line.

There were so many awe inspiring moments, seeing one man with 2 prosthetic arms and a leg running the full, seeing a runner pulling another runner to the finish, seeing people of all ages and sizes running and following in the footsteps of some amazing elite runners.

The day was so amazing, and I am already considering what I will do differently next time. In case you are wondering, next time is 10/16/11.

Start Line

Going strong at mile 8

A Love Affair

Some time ago Jacob casually asked what I thought about moving to California. There was a very promising job opportunity for him here and well, it is California.

While we had (have) friends and family we love in Buffalo, it no longer felt like home without my parents and I almost always feel the loss of them hanging over my shoulder. While we were excited to move, I was pretty nervous. I had not been to San Diego in 17 years, we were signing a lease for a house sight unseen, and I basically knew no one (I do have some family here but we were not moving to an area very close to them) and we had no time to visit before our move.

We bid our old house farewell



Got on a plane

and said hello to this...



this...



and this...



It has been 1 year since our our move and in some ways it feels like we have always been here. Other times I look around and feel lucky and amazed that I get to live here.

San Diego has been wonderful to us, I immediately made some amazing friends, these women inspire me and welcomed my family and I into their lives with wide open, loving arms.

We are in such a wonderful place.

It's Been Awhile....again

I am not doing so well with this blogging thing, am I?

We have been busy and I do have many things to share, I (to often) find myself not spending the time I should be productive doing things that are time wasters. I have been trying to remedy this with a slick new to-do list (Remember the Milk, found via Jenna) that works on my laptop, syncs to my phone and will also sync to my awesome new iPad (if it ever arrives...) I was a very loyal paper to-do list girl but RTM is changing all that.

I have also not been eating as well as I should be and that is a huge contributing factor to my laziness. That is slowly changing though.

I also have hit the taper phase of race training which is proving to be its own challenge.

On that note, maybe I should be do something productive.

Some Photos

This week has been very low-key. K got over her illness just in time for me to get sick. Luckily, it was just a cold but still, when you are home with a toddler, a cold is pretty miserable. K was wonderful all week, pretty content to read stories and lay low. I really appreciated that.

Some photos from our week:

Train Run

This has not been a stellar weekend. We have a sick toddler on our hands, which is bad enough, but we were also supposed to travel east to see family and friends and spend Passover with them. We really tried to make things work and did not officially call things off until we were in the security line at the airport. We went to the airport with a toddler who was clearly sick (and vomiting) which was, in retrospect, maybe not the best parenting, but we were so hoping for a miraculous recovery. It did not happen. To say we were disappointed was an understatement and letting everyone know was also very sad.

We have laid low the past few days, and while a fever is lingering, K is acting like herself again.

There was one, small consolation to remaining in sunny SoCal this weekend...the train run. For those who do not know, I am training for my first half-marathon. (For anyone who would like to donate toward my fundraising goal, you can do so here.) With training groups, it seems to be a rite of passage to do a train run. Yesterday, I woke up very early and headed out of the house to the train station.

See, really early...

We boarded the train to Oceanside and well, when we got off the train, it was time to run back. For my half marathon, I ran 11 miles (I did not start my garmin at the start) while those training for the full ran a full 16. This has been my longest run to date and it was quite hot out (about 87 when we finished.) What a great experience, while not the same as spending time with our loved ones, it was a great way to spend a morning.

Drive By Update

Ok, ok, I have been a total slacker. I also let my domain expire but it should be fixed now.

Anyways, things are going well down here. I have been knitting, cooking and baking some new things, enjoying the gorgeous weather and spending time with friends. Oh, and running. I owe everyone (and myself a better update) and I will do so this week. In the meantime, in the spirit of spring cleaning, take a look at this list.

Where to Donate Your Stuff: 101 Places Your Clutter Can Do Good