We wined and dined,got massages and makeup makeovers, went skiing and snowboarding,
hung out in Denver,
lounged on the couch and hung out with lots of my Boulder friends,
got Froyo and took Cabo for long walks,
laughed and caught up and stayed up late then slept in later. We even spent an embarrassingly long time in Joanne fabrics. Because we’re just that cool.

Cabo was so lucky to have Priya around all week, too. She had that much more attention. And she quickly fell in love with Priya (who wouldn’t?!).
(I’m pretty sure Cabo is almost as depressed as I am right now, with Priya’s absence. Come back? Please?)

I begged her to stay longer and be my Indian Suga Mama, because we (and by we, I mean Priya) did so much cooking.
Why is it that no matter how perfectly I follow an Indian recipe, my food never tastes half as good as Priya’s? Her mom loves me because whenever I’d go over to their house when we were in high school, I’d just sit in their kitchen and eat their food for hours. Soooo good. Priya cooked us amazing food all week, and now I want to hire her to be our full time chef.

But alas, her trip has ended and I miss her already. Love and miss you PK! 

So this is an open invitation to all my friends/family: come visit us in Boulder?? We’ll play in the mountains and cook delish food and show you how Colorado does it. I’ll even take you to Joanna Fabrics if you want.

So… who’s coming to visit us next?? :)

Conquering the bunny hill was my first order of business. I tell ya, after skiing my whole life, it was not easy to learn how to turn and slow down with my feet buckled on the same horizontal platform. As you can tell, I clearly was facing the correct direction most of the time (not).

I spent the first half of the day on the bunny hill, learning how to turn (toe edge, heel edge), which was immediately followed by learning how to get up after falling.
I loved that PK was there with me, cheering me on and laughing with me as I ate snow. After lunch, PK convinced me to move up from the bunny hill to the greens… which only meant one thing: riding a chairlift.

Guess what?! I didn’t wipe out getting off the lift! Not even once, the rest of the entire day. I’m such a pro. I know.
It was a little intimidating at first and I’m sore as hell today, but I loved stepping outside of my comfort zone to try something new. Even though skiing is my one true winter love, I had such a fun day and I can’t wait to go snowboarding again!

Have you ever gone snowboarding?
Do you like skiing or snowboarding better?
What was the last thing you tried to step outside of your comfort zone?  

Five fun things about me right now…

1. I’ve been more focused than ever on training these days. Speed work, tempos, base work, lifting, long runs. I’m taking 2012 off marathons, and want to focus almost exclusively on 5Ks. I love 5Ks and the intensity they bring. I feel strong, healthy, and fit right now.

2. My brother sent me this the other day and I’m still laughing about it. This could not be more true.

3. One of my best friends (Priya) is in town visiting and I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. We’ve already gone on a few brew tours, gotten hour long massages, make overs, and gone skiing. And we have so much more planned.

4. Weez has been cleared to start running again! He came with me for the first 30 minutes of my 90 minute run this morning and I loved every second of being able to run next to him again. And he didn’t experience any lower leg pain, either. Win!

5. Priya, Weez, and I are going skiing again today. And? For the first time ever, I’m attempting to learn how to snowboard! I’ve been a skier my whole life, but I’ve never tried snowboarding. I’m wildly excited. I taught Weez and Priya both how to ski over the years (they’re such good learners!), but I’m a ‘tough love’ kind of teacher. Lots of “it’s suppose to hurt!” “I don’t care that you’re sore, get up!”. So now that they’ve gotten the hang on skiing, the tables will turn as they get to watch me struggle all day today :) I’m sure I’ll hear a lot of the same “I don’t care that you’re sore, get UP, Erin” Haha. Oh boy.

Okay, now tell me 5 things about YOU!

I’ve been gone from the blog because didn’t known what to say.  I was in a dark place that needed tendering and time to reflect. I didn’t know how to pull myself up or let in the light. But then something wonderful happened last night.

A friend invited me to try a zumba class with her. I had no idea what to expect, but as soon as the loud hip hop music started, the instructor started dancing and jumping and hootin’ and hollerin’ all over the place. With a real zest for life. I had no idea how to follow the unpredictable dance moments, so I just started flailing my arms and legs to the music. I shook what my mama gave me and swirled around and noticed that everyone else was being just as silly and uncoordinated as me. And ya know what? I had fun.

I laughed the entire class. I laughed when I spun the wrong direction, I laughed when I caught an embarrassing glimpse of myself in the mirror, I laughed when I couldn’t follow the footwork and jumped around like I was on hot coals. And it felt so good to let go, and finally let in the light.

I realized in those 60 minutes that, though it was necessary and valuable for me to grieve and be scared and cry, life is precious and meant to be enjoyed, and sometimes, get a little silly. It’s important to learn to let go, while hanging on to the loving memories.

I have a whole shlew of wonderful things ahead in 2012 and there’s so much to look forward to. Thank you for sticking with me these past weeks. You guys are great.

Every time we go to Olive Garden, we stay for hours, chatting, eating breadsticks galore, laughing, and always reminiscing that the OG was our first date. It’s the place we sat well past closing time, while they vacuumed around us. A really great memory. Last night we daydreamed about our future; travel and children and work. We have so much life ahead of us; everyday is a blessing; our recent losses remind us not to take our days for granted. The date night was just what I needed.

We’re traveling this weekend to be with family for the services, and I’m thankful for my friend who’ll be watching Cabo for us. Cabo is officially 6 months now. Okay, twist my arm, I’ll post a few more photos of her :)

I apologize for the super poor camera phone quality here, but this photo cracks me up… puppy laser eyes!
My girlfriends came over for our weekly Girls Night on Monday, and Cabo, of course, was lovin’ the attention and jumping all over them. You know you’ve got good friends when they tolerate the hyper puppy phase, and maybe even love it :)

Cabo recently discovered her tail, and loves chasing it. I caught it on video over the weekend, and I think it’s pretty cute, so I wanted to share this video with you guys.

Besides a loving husband, good friends, and a cuddly puppy, working out/running has been a great release as of late. I’ve been hitting the gym or trails every morning for the past week. I’m sore from lifting Monday and today, and my legs feel like runner legs again. I’ve got 400′s on the track lined up for tomorrow. Running and breathing hard gets me out of my head and brings peace to my soul. We all need that sometimes. I’m glad running can do that for me.

How do you best cope/release stress? 
Where was your first date with your husband/bf/signif?
What’s your workout plan for tomorrow?

Last night, I thought taking a nice, warm, bubble bath would help loosen the gu in my sinuses. It didn’t, but I still enjoyed myself because I preped the bath just the way my mom would make them for me when I was 6 years old. Filled to the brim with bubbles. It was heavenly. Complete with bubble beards and bubble hats. Tell me you still do silly things like this too? I may or may not have used half the bottle of bath gel, but it was totally worth it :) Thanks for the soothing bath gel, Melon!

Since the medicine, bubble bath, and sleeping for 10 hours every night for the past week haven’t helped clear my nose and sinus pressure, I decided to stop making the “but I’m sick” excuse, and go for a run this morning. 4 miles, my first run in 2012. I probably would have slept in again had it not been for my running/bicycling buddy, Will. Thanks for the company and motivation to run this morning, Will!

As I was leaving home this morning, a knock on my door: a good Samaritan who found my wallet (I didn’t realize I had dropped it in the parking lot last night, eek!)! He found my address from my drivers license and came to return it. Everything was still in it, nothing gone. What a good man. I believe in Karma, and good Karma will be coming his way. Good things follow good people.

Do you still take bubble baths? Do you believe in Karma? What was the last thing someone did to/for you that made you smile? 

I can’t tell you know much those lyrics mean to me.

I remember a few years ago, as I sat by my grandpa in his hospital bed holding his hand, I repeated those lyrics in my mind over and over and over. I wanted to cherish those seconds, those breathes with him, because I knew they were limited. And I’m so glad I held onto those moments as they passed, because they live so vividly in my mind today. He’ll always be with me.

A dear relative of mine passed away recently, and as I sat there listening to my fathers voice tell me the news, tears fell down my cheeks as I thought of his family.

I’m so thankful that I was able to see him at our wedding in September. To hug him and see his smile. I hang onto the moments I remember with him, at our reception 3 months ago and at their summer cabin during my childhood years. The old photographs and family stories.

Death is something that’s real hard for me to swallow, but the more I encounter it, the more I learn it’s a time when love is at its fullest. Our emotions are what make us human, our feelings are what drive our relationships. We cry for the loss, but celebrate the life and memories they leave us behind. We cry because we loved, because we were touched by their lives.

Every close relationship is precious. Everyday is a gift. And I can’t remember all the times I try to tell myself to hold on to these moments as they pass.

We spent the day of the 31st saying goodbye to Weez’s family in Michigan (miss you guys already!), then visiting a few of my aunts and uncles in Illinois (love!). It was so great seeing them all. I love our family. They’re pretty much the best :) But by 6PM the night of the 31st, we were on I-80, driving west back to Colorado.

But at 11:50PM, we pulled over at the closest exit…
played the recap of the ball drop in Times Square on my phone…
and counted down to midnight together. Just us, with our puppy in the backseat. She specializes in sneak attack kisses. Especially right as the self-timer goes off.
And now? We’re back home sweet home in Boulder with a busy year ahead of us. Weez will be graduating this year (Dr. Weez!) and I hope to be done less than a year behind him (Dr. Efo!). We got a lot of work ahead of us, but with any luck, the two of us might graduate in 2012 together. And by luck, I mean 60 hour weeks and no social life. We shall see. I still want to try.

How was your NYE? What’s big on your plate for 2012?

Here are some of my favorite pictured memories from 2011…

Jan-Apr: I participated in something I never thought I would: masters swim class

February: Weez popped the big question in the mountains, before a long run

Feb: a trip to San Francisco to visit college bffs

March: the addition of my sweet baby nephew, James

April: emergency surgery that ended well and I've been great ever since

May: ran the Bolder Boulder 10K for the first time and had a blast

June: my first triathlon! Greeley Sprint Tri

June: tough mudder colorado!

July: family reunion at my cousin's wedding

July: Maroon Bells backpacking trip

August: Vegas bachelorette party with my best friends/bridesmaids

August: 200 mile Colorado Relay

September: traveled to Barcelona to present my research at a scientific conference

September: we had the wedding of our dreams (photo credit: Red Gallery Photography)

September: traveled to Los Cabos for our perfect honeymoon

October: PR'ed at the Denver marathon (3:40)

October: adopted the sweetest puppy in the world and named her Cabo

November: celebrated the fall and Thanksgiving with family and friends

December: BQ'd at the Cali Int'l Marathon with the help of friend Sam (3:31)

December: shared the holidays with so many family members (this is just a fraction of all the relatives I got to see. I love you guys!)

And yet, these pictures don’t tell the full story. The heartache from the loss of a dear family friend back in July. The anger towards cancer that affects our families. The fear from the unexpected need for surgery.

Still, I’m so thankful I got to spent SO much time with my dear family and friends this year. And all the amazing travel (Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Texas, California, Las Vegas, Barcelona Spain, Los Cabos Mexico). The addition of our new puppy (we’re a family now!). Running two marathons. Attending my friend’s Steampunk themed wedding. Hiking and camping all summer long. I can’t even tell you how thankful I am for it all.

Good luck 2012, you’ve got some big shoes to fill :)

We leave tomorrow morning to start our drive back to Colorado. So when the clock strikes midnight, we’ll probably just be driving through Iowa or Nebraska somewhere. We’re such party animals, I know.

I’ll post my annual “the year in pictures” recap for 2011 when we get back to Colorado. It’s not done yet… but taking the time to create the blog post has me smiling as I reflect on all the great things that happened… 2011 was a trip. So much to be thankful for!

Anyways, for those going out to celebrate the new year, have a drink for us! Or text me! I’ll be bored out of my mind on I-80 somewhere, so think of us!

Happy New Years! What are your plans?