One off My Bucket List

So proud of Melissa, who has never run in her life. She finished despite finding out she had a genetic childhood knee deformity which will not allow her run long distances. She finished in 3 hours, but had to walk her last 5 miles. She was in severe pain.

So folks, I finally did it. We completed our first 1/2 Marathon this morning. It was a cold start, but turned out to be a beautiful morning. Our run started in Oro Valley, a picturesque town outside of Tucson. After 12 weeks of training, we were so prepared to do this race. We had to be at the buses by 5 am, which meant waking up at 3:30 am to leave Vail at 4:00 am. It has been a long day, but so worth everything we went through to train. My unofficial time was 2 hours, 9 minutes which was really good for me. Rene finished much sooner than I did. All in all, we were smokin'! We plan to do our next 1/2 in November of 2012 in San Antonio (Rock n Roll Marathon). I hope all my running friends from San Antonio can join us. Overall, this marathon had it's issues. I was not happy about having to wait in the cold for 1 1/2 hours, running on the streets for most of the race and then finishing with a 2 mile incline. The positive aspects were that the weather and scenery were great, and it was very organized. Had a great time, and can't wait to do it again.

I'm Back

Thanksgiving day with Rene's Family

JW Marriot Camelback Inn in Scottsdale, our favorite resort in AZ. On our way to go have drinks.

Mi Corazon

Renie's NHS special night. What an honor in a school of 2000 kids. He has worked hard for this honor.

So lets see, it has been some time since my last blog post. So sorry for being such a bad blogger. It seems all I have time do these days is just keep up with Facebook and email. The days continue to fly by as I continue to train for the 1/2 marathon which is just 8 days away. I can hardly wait. I feel so ready for this run. Unfortunately my running partner Melissa is out with a knee injury. So it looks like it will just be Rene and myself running. Tomorrow I will do my last long run until the race. It is amazing how the body becomes accustomed to running and how now 5-6 miles seems like a breeze. We just celebrated Thanksgiving and had Rene's family over for the long weekend. We all had such a great time. I felt like Martha Stewart as I prepared the bedrooms and house decor for their arrival. Did I mention, I also did all the cooking from scratch, except of course for the sweet potatoes which came from a can. Rene did a great job on the turkey. We capped off our weekend with a trip to Scottsdale. We felt very blessed to surrounded by our friends and family.

As we move into December, I continue to enjoy my wonderful blessed life. My job is going well as I was recently given an extra department to supervise. Oh well, the management experience will do me good. I kinda seem to like being the boss and was humbled by the fact my boss considered me for the task. I can't tell you how rewarding my job makes me feel each and every day. My WIC department is thriving and we are working hard to keep our numbers up. My Spanish is improving every day. It seems like 90% of our patients are Spanish speaking. I still struggle through some of my material while teaching, but I think the patients are happy I can still communicate with them.

We are looking forward to spending Christmas in Texas. Rene gets so homesick this time of the year. We still get that special feeling in our hearts when it is time to go home.

As for the kids, Larissa continues to enjoy Cheerleading. Renie was inducted to the National Honor Society this week. We are very proud of him. He also interviewed for an Air Force ROTC scholarship, so I am praying he gets accepted. College applications are in, and now it is just a waiting game. Well as I finish my blog, I want to wish all my readers a great holiday. Cherish these special times with family and friends.