I AM alive!

Yeah, yeah…I know it has been almost 3 months since I last updated my blog. That’s because I have had some time off! After finishing my marathon travel schedule just prior to Christmas, I have had January & February with little traveling. Thus some “free time” makes me lazy! I definitely get more done when I’m too busy to do anything!

But now I’m off and running again . . . figuratively and literally. Mom came over the first week of February to run in a 5k race on Miami Beach. (See her blog for the details and pictures). It was so fun to have her in Miami for a week, she really acted as my personal assistant during those days and got a lot of little things done around my apartment and she basically did anything I told her to do. Thank goodness she is an obedient mother! It was great fun for me to run with her each morning and then have a short race to top it off. She is my inspiration for running anyway so it was nice to share this with her. That prompted me to try another 5k just this past weekend. I didn’t have my mom to run with this time, and opted for Lance Armstrong instead (on my ipod Nike workout). While Lance did not gossip with me along the way or enjoy the scenery (the ocean and plenty of shirtless model hard bodies, yum!) he did propel me to run a little faster and keep a strong pace through the 3 + miles. I ended up taking 3 minutes off my total time, which I felt was a pretty good feat for such a short distance. I finished 14th out of 89 in my age category and 373rd out of 1200+ in the total race. So I was happy with that. Here are a few pictures of the finish line, the ‘after party’ by the beach, and the beach itself that morning. Nice scenery for a run, huh?

Running with Lance and other Nike workouts have kept me burning the calories. As of this morning’s weigh-in, I’ve officially lost 44.4 pounds since June 4. I have 4.2 pounds left to reach my goal. I so wanted to have it done by the end of March, but it’s going to be tough since I’ve got two trips in that time which will limit my running time. It will be close though! Now when they call me “Sweet Hot Tada Tot” at work, I can really believe it! Here is a picture of my run this morning. With the time change it is still quite dark when I hit the road. This morning I really did have to run early because I had a lot to get done before getting on a plane, and it was Wednesday which is my ‘bridge run’ day. It was quite beautiful as I ran up & over one side of the bridge, I was watching the full moon descend, and when I turned around and ran the other direction up & over, the sun was coming up over the ocean. For all the things I don’t like about Miami, the beautiful scenery really makes me appreciate it. Also the 80 degree temperature this time of year is fabulous!

I did take a few days and go to Arizona for the President’s Day weekend. I enjoyed getting to see my other ‘mother and three sisters’ and have girl time. I do wish that happened more often and can’t wait for the next Bee meeting. Let’s get planning.

I’m currently en-route to Utah for my first working event of the year. It’s always fun to go ‘home’ for a few days, although I really don’t get to see more than the inside of the Marriott Center. But seeing the roots of my dance career means a lot to me. So although I really don’t have time to be away from the office right now, I never pass up an event at BYU. Maybe it’s my longing to be 21 again and have the innocence and naivetivity I did before I got ‘tainted’ by reality. I am sad that Alex won’t be there this year though. It was always fun to spend those days together.

Once I’m back from Utah, it’s a week in the office then off to Las Vegas for the first of four trips there this year. On the way to Vegas I will stop by San Antonio to celebrate Isabelle’s birthday, so I’m looking forward to being Aunt for a day. Then it’s back to our International Franchisee Convention in mid-April, then to Seattle, then to . . . . it’s just getting started again! Does anyone else volunteer to be my personal assistant for a few days?