A weird alarm went off...

and we met some new neighbors! Last night around 9:15 pm a piercing alarm started going off in our apartment. We thought it was the smoke detector (which often goes off when we're cooking for no reason). I was sitting on the couch in my jammies, glass of wine in hand, having just gotten home from a track meet around 8:30pm. Keeper rips the smoke detector off the wall and realizes...it's not coming from the smoke detector. He finds the alarm that's going off from our bedroom. There is nothing we can do to turn it off. The dog was starting to freak out a little bit so Keeper told me to "put some big girl clothes on" and come outside. We evacuated to the courtyard to find everyone else out there too. Apparently alarms were going off in at least 3 of the buildings that make up our complex. No one smelled smoke, no one knew why. The clubhouse and pool had lights flashing and alarms too.

So we waited outside with our neighbors until the alarms stopped and...met some nice people! It's funny how we all live here and don't really interact with each other. Onyx loved all the people and dogs; she thought it was party time! I noticed one guy in jammie pants and a t-shirt with a wine glass...he was doing the same thing I was when the ruckus started! The alarms stopped and we went back inside...never found out what caused them. But we do know some more people here now!

Why do our upstairs neighbors....

continue to leave their bathroom fan on? And why can I hear it in my apartment? How many times a day do they poop up there? And how bad is it smelling if they need the fan on for hours at a time? Their fan was on Saturday night when I came home from the track meet and stayed on until Sunday night (24 hours). This morning it came on before my alarm went off and was on the entire time I was up and getting ready for school. Seriously? I want to say something to them (maybe it's broken and they don't realize how loud it is and that we can hear it through the ceiling) but Keeper doesn't think we should...

So This is Thirty...

On Saturday I hit the big 3-0. I kicked off the weekend by....going to bed at 10pm on Friday night. Yep, this old lady had to rest up for her track practice bright and early Saturday morning. We did a tough interval session that went great. After my chocolate milk and banana with my team, I headed home to hop in the shower. Keeper and I tried a new sandwich place for lunch that is really close to our old apartment. You know a place is good when 2 Fire Departments and some cops start filling the place up for lunch. Yum.

Then Keeper, ever the good sport, went shopping with me so I could find something to wear for my bday celebration. I bought some new jeans at Macy's (despite them NOT being on sale, and NOT being allowed to use my coupons on them...grrr). Then we went home and took a nap :)

We had a few close friends over for wine, beer, and appetizers and then decided to walk to the bar/restaurant across the street. We had fun night (ok, a little too much fun on my part). Oh well; you only turn 30 once, right?

5 Years

On Friday, Keeper and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. Time has flown by! It seems like just yesterday we were living in New Jersey I was stressed out over wedding planning. The past 5 years have been full of ups and downs and new adventures. My parents used to tell me as I struggled throughout college with unhealthy "relationships" (if you can call them that) that when you meet the right person, a) you'll know it's right and b) they will make you a better person then when you're by yourself. Both of these things ring loud and true with Keeper.

I am very impressed with the fine folks who write greeting cards these days. I seem to be able to find the "perfect" card and don't have to write anything extra except my name. Keep up the good writing, greeting card people.

Some exerts from the anniversary cards we got each other...

From me to Keeper....

"...everyday, I find a better reason to be thankful for having you in my life...you're always my constant... my best friend, my true love, my perfect companion.."

From Keeper to me....

"...Someday, many years from now, we'll look back on this crazy time in our life together and wonder how we did it all...I'll sit close beside you, you'll take my hand in yours and say: I'd do it all over again...and I wouldn't change a thing..."

I am so happy with us. Who would've thought a drunken make-out in a dirty fraternity bar-room could turn into something so wonderful?

Quick Visit!

This past weekend we had a great visit from J & A and the little BB. We did not make any big plans because who knew what kind of schedule BB would be on? We had a great visit that consisted of:

lunch at Pugzie's Friday afternoon
a trip to the farmer's market Saturday morning
a 5 hour nap for BB during most of Saturday!
lunch for the rest of us at 2 Hippies Beach Shack (mmm burritos...and tacos for me)
2 awesome dinners prepared by Chef Keeper
some lively sessions of Beatles Rock Band (with BB providing the dance entertainment)
a trip to the playgroud + duck pond at Granada Park Sunday morning
a lovely 6 mile run for me and A through north central Phoenix
dinner from Pei Wei Sunday night ( a slice of pizza from Pizza Heaven for BB)
quick trips to TJ's & World Market for Jen

BB is so comical; we had a great time just being silly and making him laugh (or having him make US laugh). I had friends loan me a pack-n-play and some toys/books/puzzles/and even a trike...but BB's favorite things to play with were: Onyx, my foam roller, and our Rock Band Guitar. Onyx was so good with the baby! She did knock him over a few times (she doesn't know her own strength) but most of the time (except when he was tired), BB thought it was funny. She did lick him excessively, but then again, she tries to lick EVERYONE excessively. They seemed to make fast friends and BB learned quickly to block his face if he didn't want to be licked (or knocked over). He also learned to feed Onyx whichever bits of meals he didn't want. Because of this, they will be buddies forever. She was very watchful (nosy) of BB and wanted to "supervise" wherever he was or whatever he was doing. I am so glad she did well with him on the visit. We knew she liked kids but she had never interacted with one for such an extended period of time and in such close proximity. Last night we had to take Onyx to a friend's for the night because Keeper and I both had such long days ahead of us today. BB certainly tried to ask (in his own way) where she was.

I am so thankful they made the effort to come see us for a quick 3 day weekend; we had a blast!

PF Chang's: Part 3 (3rd Time's the Charm...)

Yesterday, I ran the PF Chang's Rock-n-Roll Arizona 1/2 Marathon...again. Good ole' PF Chang's has brought me much luck every time I've run this race. In 2006, it was my first full marathon. In 2008, it was a 1/2 marathon PR. And yesterday, it was another 1/2 marathon PR!!

Yesterday was my 7th 1/2 marathon. I've come a long way since that first one (Baltimore 2004, with Jen). I remember Jen starting her marathon training, me thinking she was insane, and being absolutely awed and inspired by her marathon finish in Vermont in 2004. I also remember numerous training runs I accompanied her on that spring as she trained (and kicked my ass). I also remember doing some 5 and 10 ks with her to tune up. Jen's first 1/2 marathon was the Allentown 1/2 in the spring of 2004. It was also the morning after a Pi Phi reunion. Needless to say, while the rest of us slept on her floor, blissfully hungover, Jen got up and ran the race. My first 1/2 marathon was not pretty. My time was ok, but I went out way too fast for my fitness level and was in pain from mile 8 on. My calves were cramping up, I kept having to stop and stretch along the last few miles. I remember hearing a man tell his daughter "See that girl? She's hurt" as they watched me limp and wince my way to the finish. Thank God they all weren't as bad as the first one...

Yesterday's race has basically marked 6 years of continuous running for me (not counting running to get/stay in shape for other sports or my first 5k ever, at Lehigh in the spring of 2000). PF Chang's has become quite the popular event. Over 30,000 runners were there to run either the full or half marathon. Elite runners Ryan Hall and Deena Kastor ran the 1/2. Perfect weather (cloudy and cool for Phoenix), a completely flat course, and bands along the way make for a great race atmosphere. As much fun as I had traveling here in 2006, it is so nice to live 10 minutes away from the start line. Nothing beats sleeping in your own bed the night before, not having to go out to dinner the night before, and not worrying about parking the car/traffic. Keeper got up with me, dropped me off at the start area, and met me at the finish line.

My goal was to split the race in 3 segments: 5 miles, 5 miles, and the last 5k. The first 5 miles were fine. I was right on a good pace but did feel a little tight and could definitely tell I was hungry at mile 3. I ate the GU I brought at mile 5 and then the free GU they were handing out at mile 10. The 2nd 5 miles were ok; I felt a little better after the 1/2 way point and by the last 5k; I knew my time goal (and PR) were in sight so I just buckled down and pushed. My last mile was my fastest and I finished the race in 1:48:32. I definitely can attribute such a jump since my last PR (8 minutes ) to training the past year with the kids. The hills, speed workouts, etc have definitely kicked my ass into great shape for running. I also think it has a lot to do with Keeper and naturopathic medicine. I get regular acupuncture treatments and back adjustments whenever I need them and that has definitely helped keep me injury free. I also broke down and paid for another deep tissue massage about a week before the race. Painful? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely.

So another 1/2 marathon down and... not sure what's next... guess we'll see what else 2010 has in store for us...

Xmas Travels...or East Coast Winter Tour 09-10

We are back in warm, sunny Phoenix after our 2 week jaunt on the east coast. I flew into BWI Friday night (the 18th) just in time for the big blizzard. Luckily my flight got in ok, but the drive home was very treacherous! Saturday (the 19th) we had a girls' spa day planned for Jen's bday but the blizzard interfered with our big plans. Instead, we stayed inside except for a little time outside with Blake. By Sunday the snow had stopped but the roads still weren't the greatest. Instead of running, I tried snow-shoeing for the first time with Mom and Joy on the Rail Trail. Very fun!

Monday, I had to get my long run in.... I strapped on the Yak Trax and was out for a slow 2 hour run. The main roads were plowed but had no shoulder so I didn't feel too safe running into traffic. People do not drive slow on the windy country back roads! The neighborhoods were not plowed, hence the Yak Trax. It was a very frustrating run but at least I got it in. Tuesday was spent relaxing and Christmas shopping. I made my mom take me to a gym so that I could run on the treadmill. At this point, I really started missing my winter AZ running weather :)

Wednesday, I bundled up and headed outside again. The roads were fine by this time but I stayed close to home on our little street and just did laps. Afterwards I headed down to Baltimore to spend the day with Eric. We had a blast doing some last minute Christmas shopping, eating a fabulous sushi lunch, and checking out some of the local businesses in Eric's neighborhood. Wednesday night, Keeper flew into to BWI to join me :)

Christmas Eve was spent braving the crowds at Target and the mall for some last minute shopping with Keeper. Then Keeper helped my mom out with Christmas Eve dinner by roasting the turkey. Jill and James came over to join us for dinner and then we all headed to church and then Grandma and Pap's to see the extended family.

On Christmas morning, Keeper and I were up bright and early to drive up to Boston for a few days. We picked up Corbin in New York and made it to Winchester in about 6 and half hours. We joined Keeper's mom and Derek and Kara and the kids for the weekend. It was great seeing everyone! On Sunday night, Keeper and I met up with Jeanmarie, a Pi Phi sister of mine from Lehigh, in Boston's North End for dinner. It was good to catch up with an old friend. On Monday morning, I got a quick run in, and then we headed back down to Brooklyn. We met up with some old friends for dinner and a few drinks and spent that night at Corbin's.

On Tuesday, we drove back through New Jersey and made a stop to see one of my teacher friend's from Morris Hills, who just had her 3rd daughter a few weeks before. Again, great to catch up and meet the newest addition to their family :) Then we headed out to Hackettstown to stop and see the cousins and the boys (Aidan and Owen) for lunch and to hang out for the afternoon. We made it back to PA (Macungie) in time for a late dinner at Jen & Andrew's house.

Wednesday was spent doing a little shopping with Jen and Blake and then once again Keeper roasted a turkey for Jen's dinner party that night. We took Blake to see the Christmas lights at Lights in the Parkway (driving tour) and then had a fabulous turkey dinner. Jen had invited 2 couples over and I invited my Lehigh friend/sorority sister and her husband who are expecting their first baby in April.

On New Year's Eve we awoke to another few inches of snow. The temperature warmed up and we headed back to York later in the day. We spent a low-key New Year's Eve at Mom and Dad's and did the now traditional Chinese take-out for dinner & Balderdash. It is with great sadness (pathetic, really) that I admit that I did not make it to midnight this year. I was falling asleep on the couch and decided to call it a night at 11:40. LAME!

Keeper and I headed down to Baltimore to fly back on New Year's Day. We got to stop and have a great lunch with my grandmother and visit before Mom and Dad dropped us off at the airport. We made it back to Phoenix and were in bed by 1am. We were so exhausted and happy to be back in our own bed. We had a great trip and enjoyed seeing everyone, although now I feel as if I need a vacation from my vacation.