I’m ending this year in a VERY good way!

I ran 5.3 miles! VICTORY!

(My tongue is the decimal point. Get it?)

Break down:
5.3 miles
58:17

Mile 1: 10:50
Mile 2: 11:17
Mile 3: 10:42
Mile 4: 11:06
Mile 5: 11:27
.3 mi: 2:48

Slower than I was before the stress fracture, but atleast I’m running! One question: why, oh why do I have to live in a place that is surrounded ENTIRELY by hills? No wonder I had killer leg muscles before the injury.

See?

I was hoping to go spend some of the New Year’s Eve celebrations with Caitlin, but Dave and I decided to spend the evening at home. He’s out getting bubbly and stuff to make Chinese food for us!

Since I just started blogging in September, I can’t link you to monumental posts from 2009, but I can share with you some highlights (please keep in mind that I forgot most of what happened before the blog…)

In January, Dave took me to see the “Where’s the Band? Tour” and we MET DUSTIN KENSRUE!!!

In April, I flew for the very first time! And not only was it the first time, but I was by myself and went from Pittsburgh to San Jose to spend my 23rd birthday with my best friend, Stacey!

May was exciting! I got my new car, Dino!

Dave graduated with his bachelor’s in Civil Structural Engineering!

And we spent our one year anniversary in Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon.

Yea, I know Las Vegas isn’t really our kinda scene, but Dave was the captain of his school’s steel bridge design team, and they made it to nationals (which were in Vegas over our anniversary). So, free trip for Dave! I’m all over that!..naturally the Enginerd wanted to see the Hoover Dam and building of the new bridge!

Open return, we immediately moved from the college town to another (better) college town. Best move EVER.

In July we went to DC for the 4th to visit a few of my college roommates!
We also learned that my brother and his wife are PREGNANT!

In August we headed to Lancaster for yet another roommate reunion.

(Still missing one roomie, tho!)

Then my mom and I went camping for a long weekend! Nothing like spending some quality with Camper Donna!

Over labor day weekend, my fam headed to the mountains of wild and wonderful West Virginny for a little getaway!

In October I ran a half marathon, but was sidelined halfway through due to a stress fracture in my right foot. 6 weeks of no running = an unhappy Abby!

In November, I got to see my cousin Janelle after 3 long years!

December has been quiet, but satisfying! I’m loving my husband, my dog, my family, my job… it’s just all-around great. God has been so good to me!

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in Him.’”
Lamentations 3:22-24

I like yoga.

Atleast I thought I did.

But I’m not so into the meditation/concentration part of it.

It might be the Reformed Presbyterian in me,

Or ADHD…

(probably the latter).

But I lose interest if I have to “let go” or “clear my mind”.

Today, after 20 minutes on the trainer, I did “Yoga”.

While watching the end of “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”.

And g-chatting with my mom on my Blackberry.

That was very difficult during Mountain Pose, but worked out nicely during Downward Facing Dog.

So basically, I like stretching.
***

I want to get more into Yoga, but I don’t know of any studios in the area! I also thought of just continuing with yogadownload.com and using the meditation to memorize Bible verses or the Westminster Shorter Catechism. I don’t like to make resolutions, so I’ll just say that this weekend I’ll start trying that…

I’m making myself go for a “long” run tomorrow. I have this new Garmin and I want to see some pretty stats on it! Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of my foot.

My little brother got me a book for Christmas. “Home” by Marilynne Robinson. I read some of her other books, and “Gilead” was by far my favorite. It almost made it into My Favorite list. Anyhow, “Home” is a story of one of the characters in “Gilead” (my little brother knows me so well), and I came across a beautiful quote that I wanted to leave you with. It spoke volumes to me, so maybe it will be an encouragement to some of my readers, too!

“There is a saying that to understand is to forgive, but that is an error, so Papa used to say. You must forgive in order to understand. Until you forgive, you defend yourself against the possibility of understanding [...] If you forgive, he would say, you may indeed still not understand, but you will be ready to understand, and that is the posture of grace.”

You know you shouldn’t go for a run when…

…The Weather Channel has a winter weather advisory out saying that a quick inch of snow will fall (when you’re planning on running) and visibility will be decreased to less than .5 mi.

(A “view” of the Ohio River from my run..looking ominous)

…The gusts of wind in said snow storm are reaching 25 mph.

…You dress like this and still aren’t warm enough.

(Running tights AND yoga pants, t-shirt, Nike Jacket, Down vest, 2 pairs of socks, Nike Running gloves, Nike skull cap and hood. BRRRR!)

…The album you’re desperate to listen to on your run is taking way too long to download.

…Your Garmin Forerunner can’t pick up a signal (yet you stand in ankle deep snow waiting for it).

…You can’t see the pavement.

…You pass the moving cars on the street.

…The combination of wind and snow temporarily blinds you (and what I mean is that in order to prevent medical blindness, you have to close your eyes…not good).

…

Yea, I tried to run yesterday. And again today, but I bundled up TOO much and still could hardly see the pavement. I’ll try again tomorrow.

So today I took a trip with my best friend Shannon into Pittsburgh for a grocery run. We made stops at the Strip district (just can’t beat Stan’s produce prices!), Trader Joes, and Whole Foods.

I picked up some Amazing Grass at Whole Foods and Shannon and I ate lunch there.

We split this HUGE cookie.

But it’s Vegan, so it’s healthy, right?

In other news, Dave and I are looking for something to do on New Year’s Eve. I suggested some downtown festivities, but neither of us are very pleasant in cold weather.

So we’re looking for friends.. we don’t have any. We even have to bully our dog into hanging out with us.

So does anyone know of any service where we can rent friends for the evening? We think we’re fun and pleasant (and handsome)..

(And we will pay well.)

My family is pretty serious about tradition. One of our Christmas traditions is to be given PJs on Christmas Eve….

2009:

2008:

2007:

Aren’t we precious? Here are some other pictures from our Christmas at home!

I got Dave some magnetic toys. Here he is building a rocket ship!

And in his new Pens jersey!

My parents were kind enough to feed my inner nerd on Christmas Morning…

My little brother’s dog Amos got yelled at for being TOO excited. Then he sulked (like he usually does)…

And then Dave and I tried to get a family picture, but it lost its sentimentality when we realized that the head of my sleeping brother was lurking in the background.

We finally got a decent one without Jonathan, even though Dexter didn’t want to cooperate.

And then we finished off with this picture, because we didn’t want my little brother to feel like we didn’t love him….

Do you have any holiday traditions? Even better..do you have holiday traditions that have been documented via film throughout the years?

Hello blog-land!

Sorry for my temporary hiatus…not that there is much to miss. I’m rather boring, it’s Abby’s normal! However, Christmas always brings much excitement and many stories, which I probably won’t be sharing here. However, Santa (in the form of my wonderful husband) brought me a special gift that will bring my blog a new topic….

A GARMIN FORERUNNER 305

I also was blessed with many other additions to my running gear: Nike gloves, skull cap, jacket, and an iPod Nano 5th Generation with a running band! Needless to say I looked official on my run this morning.

I was so impatient waiting for some decent weather for a run to break in my Garmin. I opened it Christmas Eve morning with Dave and it was about 15 degrees, so I decided to wait until that evening after church to go with my little brother, but we were both too wiped out by the end of the day. Christmas day was a disgusting mess–ice storm, freezing rain, the whole she-bang. I was feeling rather stir-crazy. So this morning I woke up to above freezing temperatures and light rain. I laced up my shoes, layered in my nike gear and strapped on my electronics! My left arm increased in value greatly this morning!

It was the most disgusting run ever! However, my new gear, and my C9 running tights kept my body entirely dry! My shoes, however, we’re not so helpful! I could feel the puddles of water on my doctor-prescribed insoles. My socks and compression sleeve for my injured foot were SOAKED.

But my Forerunner and iPod were great! But, being a Forerunner greenhorn, I forgot to hit “Stop” after I finished my runner, and my stats suffered accordingly. I also didn’t learn how to track the stats for each mile until about 9 hours after my run. Oopsies!

Distance: 3.04 mi
Time: 34:31
Avg. Pace: 11:21/mi

(I think I’ll remember to stop the timer next time…this is painful to look at!)

I had a great Christmas! My family is amazing! And I am very thankful for a Christmas with my in-laws. Last year was dreadful, and I knew that this year had to be better (it couldn’t get worse), but it wasn’t just better; it was good!

I also got some other interesting goodies for Christmas… and my mom usually has some gift fiasco at Christmas time. This year she couldn’t find some gifts that she bought, so she bought them again, only to discover that she had already wrapped the gifts and set them by the tree…


She also wrapped up the last of her “Christmas Sweaters” for me, letting me know that she’s given up that tradition. Or maybe she’s passing on the torch?

I'm a Christmas Tree!

I think it’s so easy to get caught up in the gift giving and receiving pressure that accompanies this season. I’m constantly trying to re-shift my focus to the greatest Gift given to us in Jesus. And also to remember the blessing that God grants to all of us-like family, friends, and time to sit back and think of these blessings! So instead of thinking what I can change in 2010, I’m going to reflect on 2009, and each blessing that I have been given. It’s such a perfect time to remember how great God’s love for us truly is, and to look forward to the greater blessings He has in store.

The Lord is my chosen portion and cup; You hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in beautiful places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. Psalm 16:5-6.