Taos....

Taos, New Mexico is an adorable little artists town.  Yesterday we hit up Moby Dickens bookstore, world cup coffee shop, doc marten's restaurant in historic taos inn, and many other little shops.  

I'm looking forward to visiting the pueblos and the town many times and getting some great images since I was having so much fun yesterday I didn't snap a single shot.  

Last night was the first night of the official keystone symposia.  Our keynote speaker was Dr. Yamanaka, as in the scientist who discovered induced pluripotent cells.  Bascially, his lab took adult skin cells and made them into cells that are almost identical to embryonic stem cells.  It was an amazing discovery and has been a great tool for developing cell therapies. Seeing such an accomplished scientist who was very personable and modest was such an encouraging experience.  

Let the conference fun begin...

I'm in New Mexico for a conference and I'm excited to explore the cities we are traveling through and hear some new science.

Here are a couple picks from Albuquerque.

Disney/Universal ...

I wanted to share some pics from our trip to disney and universal. 

Cinderella's castle at night with holiday lights!

Ducks visited our patio and were greeted by the boys and french fries.  They then brought friends.....we had a total of 5 kinds of birds on the patio by the last day including wild turkeys. 

ca-chow...lightening mcqueen at disney stunt show!

universal jurassic park...watch out for the T-rex!

Hogwarts express

Hogsmeade at night

Suess world at universal

Disney was amazing, but I was most impressed by the detail at the wizarding world of Harry Potter.  I felt like I was living the books!  I'm so happy to be able to experience these parks before having children so that I could embrace my inner child, and I look forward to visiting again in the future with children to experience these parks in a whole new way.

Disney World Marathon in review...

It's been just over a week since the Disney World marathon, and I haven't started running again.  That's not to say I didn't have an enjoyable race, because I did, I've been enjoying a little time away from running to do other physical activities.

What you really want to read about is the marathon and my experience...so here goes.  First of all the expo was the largest expo I've ever been to, and we got all kinds of free snacks which came in handy when we visited the parks in the days after the race, and more importantly we picked up our number and timing chips!

Race morning we got up at 2:30 am, and yes you read that correctly 2:30 am, since we had to leave the hotel room at about 3:30 am to catch the shuttle to the starting area.  Mickey, Goofy, and Donald Duck counted down the starting of each corral of runners and set off fireworks.  The starting was full of excitement and energy.

The race was along the highway bordering Disney and through all of the disney parks.  It was a great way to preview the parks.  During the race I had a simple strategy....have fun.  I've heard about how fun this race is, and I wanted to experience it.  So, I took it easy (which was also just in case my hip pain was a stress fracture, I'm pretty sure it's not) and just enjoyed my surroundings.

In an effort to show the runners how green the Disney parks are, we ran through the water processing area and composting facilities.....that was a bad idea.  There were several miles that were retched for breathing, especially if you need to take deep breathes if you are doing something like oh I don't know...running.

Smelliness aside, the race was very fun and I finished in 5:14 with a smile on my face. I felt great afterwards since I took advantage of the free area after the finish to ice your sore joints, and we visited the magic kingdom later that day and walked for a few more hours to keep my legs loose.

Disney knows how to put on a race, I really hope I can experience another Disney race in the future.

Thoughts on Tapering...

I'm running the Disney World Marathon in 4 days!!!! Seriously 4 days! Which means that I've been tapering for the past few weeks.  Usually the tapering time is filled with loads of self doubt and my nerves are constantly on edge.  I'm not sure why, but this time I'm not nearly as nervous.  I miss the time out on the road, but I've welcomed the break since my hip was bothering me after the final 20 mile run. Also,  I've made peace with the fact that if I go out on race day and I just can't run at my usual pace I will take it slow.  So what if I don't run the marathon at the pace I originally wanted (sub 4:25), I am still completing a marathon!  And meeting Mickey Mouse!  On top of all of that, I will be at Disney World with my best friend and my husband.

Time goals come and go, but experiences are ever lasting.  I'm looking forward to making this a truly great experience with my loved ones without adding undo pressure on myself.  

New year, new possibilities

This year has flown by. I know that I start the year out full of hope of the new year's possibilities, and it seem to pass by so quickly. That being said, I've still achieved a lot this year.

The final week of December and first week of January are very reflective. I've yet to organize all my goals for the new year (next week for sure), but I fell proud of what I've accomplished towards my goals from last year. In the coming week I look forward to reviewing the past year and planning for the new year. Of course I will share my new goals, which will help me stay motivated to achieve them.

New traditions...

It's Christmas morning and I'm sitting with a nice hot cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll thinking about how Christmas for me has changed in the last few years.  This year I've gained a husband and we've been creating new traditions that we can share with our family. Christmas 2011 is our first "married" Christmas and it has already been different than others.

Like most changes in life, creating new traditions is bittersweet.  My initial image of Christmas will always be the childhood Christmas's where I woke up way too early and waited patiently (or impatiently depending of what I thought Santa was bringing me) for everyone else to get up so we could tear into our presents.  Christmas afternoon was always spent at my grandparents home with our extended family.  Recently, we've spent Christmas at my Mom and step-dad's home about 3 hours away from here.  Last year and this year they have been traveling so we spend Christmas our home.

Our decorations are up, presents are wrapped, and the stockings are stuffed.  Our tree may be small but it still illuminates the room in wonderful white lights.  To make the tree special we bought an ornament to mark our first christmas together and plan to do this every year.  I think it will be wonderful when we are older to share the story of each ornament with our children as we trim the tree.  Of course, I also have the nutcracker sitting out that my grandmother gave me from her collection before she passed away.

We're making a ham and loads of veggies, and for dessert we have a french pear tart.  A big meal on Christmas is one tradition I can not change.  Another addition to our tradition, is giving presents to our pets.  Our dog has been trying to sniff his presents this year, but they are placed just high enough he can  not reach them.  He's getting a real bone, which is pretty much doggie heaven to him and a few other yummy treats!  (shhhh....don't tell him)

I hope all of you have a wonderful Holiday and celebrate being with the ones you love.  Rejoice in new and old traditions.

Paving the way to the Disney Marathon...

Yesterday I completed the last REALLY long training run in preparation for the Disney marathon.  Let's just say I'm paving the way with my blood, sweat, and tears.

After doing 4 hours of yoga at a yoga bootcamp on Saturday I was just a bit sore on Sunday, so I decided to put my 20 mile run off until Monday before work.  I set my alarm for 3:30 a.m.!! to eat something and head out bright and early.  I was out on the road by 5 am.

Hesitant is not even close to how I felt, more like terrified!  Earlier in the week my hip had been so tight that it was painful to run more than 13 minute miles for 3 miles.  After loads of massaging with lacrosse balls, foam roller, and yoga my hip finally relaxed.  I keep blaming my hip....really it was my back....I've said it before...I like to pretend I don't have a back problem.  I had to have a discussion with myself last week and face the music!

I completed the 20 miles averaging about 11 minute miles, although slower than I usually run I was just happy to get it finished.

Today all the physical activities have culminated into screaming quads and hamstrings.  I'm dreaming of my massage tomorrow evening!  Now, it's taper time the best and worst part of marathon training.  Tapering requires a lot of mental toughness and confidence in your training.

Less than 3 weeks until Disney, and I get to see Mickey in real life!!!!!

Holiday snacks that are healthy and not....

This is my healthy go to snack...

Homemade chewy granola bars! These granola bars are inspired by the whole foods recipe for chewy granola balls.  

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup toasted coconut (toasted for about 5 minutes at 350F)

1/2 cup almond butter

1/2 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup nuts (I used part peanut and part almonds, which is what I had on hand)

1/2 cup honey

Warm almond butter and honey in sauce pan and once the ingredients are warm and mixed then add the additional goodies. 

Spread the mixture out on foil/parchment paper and allow to cool.  Then, cut into bars and enjoy!

Now onto the yummy not so healthy holiday snack.  Peppermint bark!!! Peppermint bark is very easy to make.  

2 packages dark melting chocolate

2 packages vanilla melting chocolate/candy coating

1 package candy canes (crushed)

Melt dark chocolate in saucepan on low heat then spread out in a 1/4 layer sheet on aluminum foil/parchment paper and let it cool. 

Then, do the same thing with the vanilla candy coating and pour on top of the dark chocolate. 

While the top layer of melting chocolate is still warm add the crushed up candy canes. You can also add some of the very finely crushed candy canes to the vanilla melting choc  before pouring over the dark chocolate.  We found that using a blender to crush the candy canes works very well!!

It's beginning to look a lot like christmas...

I respect christmas, but in it's proper time and place.  Thanksgiving deserves to be observed with our full attentions.  Therefore, christmas festivities are not allowed to begin until Dec. 1st at the earliest!  I know it's an arbitrary rule, but just humor me.

Several days ago I started to complain about christmas music being played while I was out shopping, then I realized we are well into christmas so my complaining would go against my own rule.  With that in mind, it also meant it's time to start decorating my own humble abode for the upcoming holidays.  Admittedly, I still have my pumpkins on display in the kitchen.  (We didn't carve them so they stayed fresh.)

I bit the bullet and put up our tree, garland, and tiny 2nd tree.  The tiny 2nd tree sits where the pumpkins are displayed, so I had to do some pumpkin seed harvesting.  The pumpkin seed roasting marked the definitive end to fall festivities and beginning of the winter holidays.

The tree and pumpkin seed roasting...

Loads of baking is in store for the weekend!  I may dabble in viewing some of my fave christmas movies such as elf and charlie brown christmas.