Mr. P, Little Boy, and I said goodbye to 2013 over a homemade feast of roast duck, foie gras, beet and orange salad, mashed turnips, and champagne; since New Years is sandwiched in the middle of a work-week, and since none of us would make it past 10pm, it was lovely and low-key. While Little Boy relished in the thick slices of foie gras, Mr. P and I reflected on 2013 and our plans for 2014…
Vacations
- We started 2013 skiing blissfully in France, then returned again in May to rainy northern France for a family reunion (stopping in Ireland for a great extended layover). Our most ambitious (and expensive!) trip was Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons in August. Interspersed along the way were periodic trips to Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Pennsylvania.
- In 2014, our first big trip will be a long week skiing in France in February. We’ll go to San Francisco a few days in May, then… ? We’re still trying to figure out our summer trip. We’ll finish the year with XMas/New Years skiing in France.
- 2014 Resolutions: Conserve vacation days so I can carry over the maximum of 1 week (I have grand ambitions of taking an entire month off from work in summer 2015).
Little Boy
- What a big year for Little Boy! He started 2013 in preschool and ended the year in Kindergarten, where he has matured exponentially. He has a really good handle on letter sounds and is beginning to blend them together on his own… yes, he is on the cusp of reading. He is quite the artist, and can spend long periods of time coloring (he has an eye for detail and color). But he spends most of his indoor time assembling Lego kits. We are so proud of how far he’s come intellectually, physically, and socially (forgot to mention that he’s now “married” to a little girl in his after care program).
- 2014 will be more of the same. As much as I want to, nothing can stop this Little Boy from getting older.
- 2014 Resolutions: Teach Little Boy to play chess. Do more art together. Do more museums. In the spring and summer, take Little Boy to excellent outdoor places (we already do this, but we should do more).
Xmas, 2013
Grad School
- I took two classes in 2013 –one per Spring/Fall semester — and they were both hellish ordeals involving 10-20 hours of work per week. What happened to the brochure image of the happy adult learner, effortlessly managing their full-time job and family commitments alongside their grad work? Instead, I was furiously reading research articles about metacognition at 3:30am (after my “full night” of sleep) while drinking the coffee and nibbling the chocolate that would fuel my early morning 8-mile run, which had to be finished at 6:30am so Mr. P could do his morning run and I could shower, dress, and feed the Little Boy (and myself) and be at work by 8am so I could put in my 9 hours… huh? What was the question?
- I expect 2014 to be exactly the same.
- 2014 Resolution: Stop killing myself to get perfect As. It’s not worth it.
Cat
- We started 2013 without a cat. We ended 2013 with a cat.
- He’ll probably make it through 2014 (if he stays this cute 😉
- 2014 Resolution: Seriously, what resolution could I possibly make about my cat?
Running
- I started 2013 with a lingering quad injury that I was convinced would never go away. Rest didn’t seem to help, so I started running again anyway in February — which cured me. In April I set road PRs for 5K, 10K, and 5 miles. In June I ran the inaugural TARC 50 miler, which was a total mud fest. I completed Vermont 100K (thanks to my pacer Mr. P, and my family crew). I took a break, scaling back the mileage until running a killer marathon in the Grand Tetons in August. I took another break and then ran an assortment of half marathons and shorter distances in the Fall. Although I’ve had bodily niggles here and there, I managed to avoid any major injuries. Overall, a good year.
- I’m currently in off-season mode, but I’m about to ramp up quickly for the Miwok 100K in San Francisco in May (I “won” entry in the highly competitive lottery). It’s a hilly race, so I’ll be focused on hills (duh). I have a few ultra races in March/April for training. After Miwok, who knows? I’ll probably need a break over the summer and may spend the rest of the year trying to win short road races (5Ks and 10Ks).
- 2014 Resolutions: Do a snowshoe race. Do a XC ski race. Keep a training log. More squats. More hills. More speed work. Become fat-adapted through low-carb training (to avoid the ultra nausea).
Work
- In 2013, the small reading software company I work for was bought by a very well-known company. This has brought added job security and better perks (more tuition assistance, more vacation, the prospect of a raise for the first time in 3 years). I’m in a pretty good place right now.
- No plans to move, but who knows what will happen in 2014?
- 2014 Resolutions: Maintain productivity in the office so I can work at home more often on days I don’t have meetings.
Random 2014 Resolutions
- More date nights with Mr. P.
- More home improvement projects (painting, moulding, lighting, new dishwasher).
- More blogging (even if it’s boring blogging).
