# 16) "Wouldn't if be cool if we had Yoda's Floating Chair?" and 28 other things...

Here we go... Enjoy!

1) Over the weekend, I turned 29! Yea!! I don't feel any older...yet. Perhaps I'll feel different when I hit the W30-34 age group, but no guarantees. I'm excited about my 29th year - WOO HOO!

2) The Olympics have been great, thus far. Totally distracting - but awesome. Every time I see someone earn a medal - at the finish line, after a performance, or on the podium - I tear up. Always have, always will...despite the age.

3) Anabelle loves Valentine's Day Candy. Her new favorite? Bright gummy-red candy hearts. I nearly killed myself slipping on one...luckily it was partially squished in the process. However, I could still discern the kitty-bite mark in said gummy-red candy. As the package was on the dining room table, and Tabbs is too hefty to lift her girth to that height, we've deduced that Anabelle is the culprit.

4) I stopped - in the middle of a tempo run - to watch the sun set on the Pacific's horizon. It was beautiful - and worth the :50 I spent watching it dip below the blue waves.

5) However, I didn't see the famed green flash.

6) Even though my new hiking boots are awesome, (mostly) comfy and super cool (looking), I've got a few gnarly blisters on the back of my heels. Apparently I grabbed the wrong socks for hiking - comfy (non-hiking) blue wool looked good... but were clearly not the blue socks I purchased specifically for hiking. Oops.

7) Ouch. Blisters are NOT fun.

8) I raced a 5k on Sunday in celebration of my birthday.

9) It was the most painful birthday start I've ever had. (But a great present to myself).

10) The first thing I said AFTER crossing the finish line was, "I think I want to go back to Ironman." People around me laughed - but I was totally serious. That sucker hurt! And the 3/4-mile long hill at the end certainly didn't help matters. Although I *think* I set a new heart rate max record. A race report is forthcoming (at some point).

11) My sinus surgery is scheduled for Wednesday (tomorrow)... cue nervous jitters... I don't know if I'm more annoyed/nervous about the surgery itself OR the fact that I'm not scheduled to go in until 11 am - a full eleven hours after my "fast".

12) Time to finish off the cupcakes! WOO HOO - hooray for birthdays!

13) Speaking of baked goods... this year we totally broke with tradition. I'm usually a Yellow Cake + Chocolate Frosting kind of gal. This year...I decided on... Red Velvet Cupcakes + Cream Cheese Frosting + Pink Sprinkles. I know...

14) Thankfully before we baked - we climbed Mount Woodson between Poway and Ramona. We failed to notice the 1500+ foot vertical gain in less than 1.5 miles on the map. Oops. As long as we didn't look UP to the steepest road EVER, things were okay.

15) The views at the top were fantastic - and it was the best Valentine's Moment that Nathaniel and I shared... sitting at the top of a giant rock on the top of a mountain. I'll never forget it - and I couldn't ask for a better birthday or Valentine's Day. I love you Sweetheart!

16) On the hike down, we overheard a bunch of young whippersnappers commenting about the mountain and how steep the gradient was. Their parents weren't far behind... but the funniest thing I heard ALL day was, when one Tabbitha-esque (meaning "hefty" and "big boned") kid proclaimed, "Wouldn't it be cool if we had Yoda's Floating Chair?"

17) It made me wish that I had had Yoda's Floating Chair in the last 3/4-mile uphill during the 5k.

18) Heck, it made me wish I had Yoda's Floating Chair for the ENTIRE 5k race.

19) And the nearly 2-mile long walk back to the car after finishing aforementioned 5k race.

20) However...post-race, post-hike (but pre-cupcakes), Nathaniel and I celebrated with a beer sampler. I love beer samplers - and Sunday's was no exception. WOO HOO!

21) Through everything, I've been practicing my violin like crazy - getting ready for an upcoming audition. Its been 10+ years since I auditioned for anything, and though I felt a bit rusty, I managed to perform and get through everything without a) tossing my cookies b) making a fool out of myself or c) dropping my violin.

22) My knees, though - adopted a mind of their own, and shook throughout my entire audition. I was grateful for the cargo pants and pink compression socks (a fantastic look, if I do say so myself... Especially compared to someone else auditioning for the same part, sporting a smart pantsuit and low heels. Yikes - I felt like myself...under-dressed....but myself). And in the end (in spite of the knocking-knees) - my fingers remembered where to go and I didn't drop my bow...

23) I am now the newest member of the La Jolla Symphony Orchestra!!! YEA! I can't believe it!! I'm super excited and so happy to be part of a professional orchestra - awesome! Yes...I'm sitting way in the back of the second violins (in fact, I made friends with the percussion section, as they are closer to me than the conductor) - but... I'm in! I'm playing violin! And I'm happy and excited to be doing it...

24) I have absolutely no formal concert attire. Somehow, I don't think my pink compression socks will cut it...although I did wear hot-pink socks once to perform on stage with my elementary-school orchestra. I was ten. And I swear to you - the audience laughed. Sadly, my fashion sense hasn't much changed.

25) My coach is evil: The bike force "spin ups" that I naively thought didn't sound "too bad" were nearly the hardest things ever. The carpet is still damp from sweat - in spite of the two towels I had in place. I nearly threw up afterwards...

26) But I didn't.

27) Nathaniel loves his latest Backpacking Stove: The Pocket Rocket. Seriously - I had a hard time pulling him away from the gadget. So I didn't protest when he insisted on cooking me Beef Stroganof with his new stove.

28) Even the kitties wanted to experience the wonders of The Pocket Rocket - but as they are flea free...and we want them to remain so...they had to experience the wonders from inside. They weren't happy. But they also don't have fleas - so we ALL win in the end.

29) I am SO HAPPY to be 29, and SUPER EXCITED about the next year! WOO HOO!!! (And the butt-shaped rock we found on the hike up...How cool is that? Isn't nature great?!? You never know what's coming around the next corner, butt rocks and all).