Thanksgiving Week

This past week was Thanksgiving. We had a brutal presentation on Tuesday and a final right after that. The presentation was for my ortho class and we were "presenting" to doctors, so we came up with a Physical Therapy clinic and I created a website for that clinic: http://leanonourshoulderpt.blogspot.com/ - just for laughs, here it is. The presentation was nerve racking, but at least I had fun making this website!
Tuesday night after the beating, I headed home to Seattle!

The weather was cold, crisp, and at times, rainy, but I loved every second of it!

Plus I got to see friends and family!

Including all of my cats. This is George!

On Saturday after Thanksgiving I completed my 26th half marathon: The Seattle Ghost Half

And here is the medal to prove it (and it is a beer opener). The Seattle Ghost half marathon is the "ghost" of the Seattle half and full marathon from 26 years ago. It was the same route and on Saturday until the current Seattle Marathon changed to the Sunday after Thanksgiving and starting/finishing at Seattle Center.

This was a really nice race. Only about 300 people can sign up. There is a half marathon, full marathon, and for those crazy folk, a 50k. It is along Lake Washington Blvd from Seward Park to Leschi and back, so not only is it beautiful, it is completely flat. I highly suggest this race to anyone who is looking to avoid the crowds, burn off some Turkey dinner, and loves beautiful scenery. http://www.nwultras.com/ghost_main.htm

There were 2 water stations, so I brought my own water bottle, but at the end of the race there are bagels and cream cheese (typical post race food), coffee, hot dogs, chili, chicken noodle soup and beer. Amazing, especially after running 13.1 miles and especially at 10am!

When I got home, I placed my new medal in my collection of medals. I am missing 5 from this board (two are hanging on my wall in California and three are Tiffany necklaces), but it is fun to look back at the races that I have done and how much fun they have all been.

I am currently back in Orange where I have 2 practical tests this week and 6 finals next week, but then I am done for 3 weeks! I have been spending a lot of time at school studying and so have all of my classmates

I don't think this classmate made it. Oh well, at least they don't have to go through finals week.

Spirituality

I am taking a psychology and cultural diversity class this semester. One of the topics we talked about was religion and spirituality with healthcare outcomes. Studies have shown that people who are more spiritual tend to have better healthcare outcomes, are less depressed, less anxiety, and live longer.

I thought about this for a second and thought "well I'm screwed." I have never considered myself a very spiritual person. I practice Judaism and enjoy the culture and traditions of my religion and I am excited to celebrate Christmas and Easter with my new family, but I don't dive into either religion with much depth.

Then I thought about it. I am a spiritual person.

The Mayo Clinic states:
Spirituality has many definitions, but at its core spirituality helps to give our lives context. It's not necessarily connected to a specific belief system or even religious worship. Instead, it arises from your connection with yourself and with others, the development of your personal value system, and your search for meaning in life.

With this definition I AM a spiritual person. Running, yoga, hiking, music, etc are what make me a spiritual person. I don't go to Church or Temple every weekend, but I do ritualistically take a long run every weekend. I have a whole process that I run through (ha ha, play on words) and I must do all of my rituals before I head out the door. I prefer to do long runs with other people, but I am happy to run on my own. It allows me to clear my head, it gives me a purpose (usually I am training for a race) and when I do run with others, it allows me to connect with them. It is a time when my thoughts are concentrated on either the music I am listening to or the people I am running with. 

I could go on about the other aspects of my life that make me a spiritual person, but I won't.

I will say, that it is important to be spiritual. It gives you something to look forward to, whether it is walking with a friend every Saturday afternoon, reading the newspaper every morning, taking an exercise class the same time every week, or watching a TV show. These are things that you look forward to, that make life more fun, give it context, develops your personal value system.

So here is to Spirituality and Health!

http://improve-your-running.com/running-tips/running-form

What makes you a spiritual person?

Only if There is Time...

There is not enough time in the day to do everything I want. I had to make a a tough choice recently and that was to cancel my yoga membership. I go to Yoga Works in Costa Mesa and I really enjoy the studio, teachers, and the classes they offer, but it is too far away and I am paying way too much money to only be going a few times a month. Luckily there was a Groupon for another yoga studio that I have been to and enjoy (Center Yoga) that is much closer. I love going to yoga and I would go 4 or 5 times a week if I had the time, but that is just not possible right now :(

Otherwise, I am almost done with the semester (exactly a month from today). And although I am not getting the same stress feeling as I was last year, that concerns me even more, because I have a lot to do in the next 4 weeks...and boy is time flying.

Onto some Fun news...I bought a wedding dress. That is all I am going to say about it. I tried it on a few months ago and have been thinking about it ever since. A local bridal boutique had a trunk show that was featuring the dress I had tried on at a discount. So I forced Lauren to go with me, tried on a few other dresses (just to make sure) and when I put on "my" dress, I knew that I had to buy it. I can't wait to get it.

Also, Chris and I are choosing a date and a location within the next two weeks, so stay posted. So far we have a few places in mind...

Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia, CA

 Alderbrook - Union, WA

The Bellwether Hotel - Bellingham, WA

Has anyone had to give up something they love because of work, school, time, etc?

Sorry for the Delay

Life has been coming at me full force.  Let me catch you up on the past couple of weeks. There have been a few events since I last blogged.

1st of all, the middle weekend I was in San Fran, Chris flew into town on Thursday Nov 11th, and a few girl friends and their significant other flew into Berkley on Friday night. I met up with them after work. It was a quiet Friday night and we went to bed before midnight.

The reason for all the Seattle peeps flying into the Bay area was because we were doing the Nike Women's race (2 of us the 1/2 marathon, 2 of us the full). The expo was a little crazy and I didn't really stick around after I picked up my bib because it took me an hour just to get that. But the race was great! Chris and I stayed 2 blocks away from the starting line, the weather was wonderful and as always, the scenery can't be beat. I did a moderate time, but I wasn't looking to push myself. I officially finished my 25th half marathon once I crossed that finish line and got my shinny Tiffany's Necklace/Medal

Entertainment as I was waiting in line to get my race packet

I really love the medal and I have been wearing it as much as possible.

After the race, my friends and Chris went back to Seattle, but I had one more week of work, exploring the city and hanging out with my brother.

Ben and I watching the Seahawks game at a bar

I have always wanted to run to the Golden Gate Bridge, so my brother and I ran there the Wednesday after my race. I think it was about 7miles, but it felt good.

 The picture is a little blurry, but I was excited to check off my list run to the Golden Gate Bridge.

After an amazing two weeks in San Fran, it was time for me to leave. 1st stop, Seattle. Actually 1st trip...to the Oakland airport...On Friday the 19th, my plane took off from Oakland at 8pm. I got off work late that day and still needed to pack when I got home. At 6:20pm, I realized that I needed to leave for the airport. Andy, Ben's roommate and one of Chris's buds, drove me to the Bart station downtown (driving to the airport would have taken longer). Luckily the train I needed pulled up as soon as I got there. But we only made it a few stops and the train stopped for what felt like an eternity (probably was only 5 to 10 mins). It was now almost 7pm and I should be at the airport already. Once the train started moving again, a woman (named Annie), stood next to me. Since I am a chatty person, I struck up a conversation with her. It turns out that her 18 y.o. daughter goes to Chapman. I also asked her how I can get from the Bart station to the Oakland airport. Long story long, it requires a shuttle and $3 cash, which my pockets were empty. Annie (the stranger, not me), reached into her wallet and pulled out all the cash that she had. It was $2, and insisted that I take the money. She felt horrible that she didn't have an extra dollar. That is when a man stood up and gave me a dollar. Here I am, probably looking flustered, and two strangers reach out and give me their kindness. I told both of them that I was so appreciative and didn't even know how to say thank you, except that I am going to pay it forward at a greater magnitude.

I managed to make it to the airport at 7:55pm and my flight was delayed. I didn't know that, so I ran with my luggage to the far end of the airport and realized that they hadn't even started loading the plane. At least I made it.

The next night was Mike and Emily's wedding:

The ladies at the wedding

The whole gang

It was a beautiful wedding. Chris and I definitely took notes.

I flew back to Orange the next day for a week of school and then Chris flew into town for Halloween. I will sum up the weekend with pictures:

The mask to Chris's wolf costume (team Jacob)

Friday night party with the classmates

Saturday night party with the homies (team Edward)

It has been a busy few weeks and I didn't even bore you with the details of all my school work. But the past few weeks were definitely fun.