Action 193 - Settle In.

Some days, the best thing I can do to train is absolutely nothing. My body needs time to recover, my mind needs time to relax, and my heart needs time safe in the arms of love.

Action 193 - Settle In. And that's exactly what I am doing today. There is a storm passing through outside, but I am warm and cozy inside. I'm sitting in front of a toasty fireplace, my husband is relaxing next to me, and our two dogs are sound asleep together on the rug at our feet.







There is no long run or strength training session that is as beneficial to me today as staying right here where I am.

Hello, Summer!

Oh, Summer. You are here and you are fabulous.

My Dream Loft

I stumbled across this photo spread of Gerard Butler's and it's exactly what I would want if I had the money to purchase and decorate a New York loft.

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My Saturday Afternoon

Wind and rain outside, Ric and Bioshock 2, and Ruth and Idgie napping close by.

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Oh, Jasmine...

The jasmine is blooming in front of our house. It's beautiful and smells so good. It's like an early Spring.

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San Diego Storm 1, Ficus 0

Yesterday's storms left our property mostly unscathed, but we did have our share of damage. Our ten year old ficus tree splintered in half. Fortunately, the half that fell was the "fall into the yard" part and not the "crash into the driveway and smash my car" part.




Poor tree. But compared to what so many others are experiencing with weather damage, I'm not complaining at all. Be safe out there, folks.

Hard at work

Because the backyard doesn't take care of itself.

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And it's Christmas time...

With all that has been going on, it has taken us a bit to get ourselves into the spirit of the season. But Ric and I talked about it, and we decided yesterday to get out of our funk and get it together! It's Christmas time, and we need to not be grumpy Scrooges.

First stop, the tree farm. We headed down to Mission Valley to the Pinery Tree Farm and found the perfect tree. It's a noble fir and it's gorgeous. From there, we had to pick up nearly two thousand lights. Yep, I said two thousand. Half of them are color, half are white. And Ric arranges them so you can turn all the bright white lights, all the multi-colored lights, or every light on the tree. It's spectacular.

Part of our holiday tradition is watching "The Wizard of Oz" and then "Scrooged" while setting up the tree. "Oz" is an old tradition for Ric' family, and "Scrooged" is just about the perfect Christmas comedy ever. It really kickstarts our holiday mood!

While Ric worked on the lights yesterday, I started foraging through the garage to find the holiday boxes. I found five of them so far, but there are still more hiding somewhere. Wish me luck as I continue the great "holiday hunt!"

More photos to come this evening, after we get the tree and the rest of the house finished. By the end of the day, this house will look completely different. Yes, the Christmas season has come, and we are ready for yet another "Miracle on 34th Street."

(And for those who don't know, we live on 34th St. here in San Diego. When we first bought the house, it seemed so perfect for us that we started calling it our "miracle on 34th street.")