Happy Spring

I don't know about many of you, but I am so glad Spring is finally here although the weather in New York may not make it believable just yet. While March started off on a bit of a slow note, it definitely has gone by rather fast the past week.

Smiles for a successful day

I went snowboarding again, this time time with two newbies: my friend Elina and her friend Jay who I had met once before. I was on the fence about taking the lessons that was offered through our Living Social deal and didn't make the last minute decision to take the lessons until we got to the mountain. Looking back, I am so glad I took the lessons as the mountain was 3x's as empty as when I had gone two weeks prior. With that being said, the lessons were much more hands on/small groups and I definitely relearned a few of the basics skills I had been lacking on. After a wonderful day at the mountain, I was excited to meet up with Brittany, my sorority sister in town for the weekend.

Ride home.. we don't look too beat up

St. Patrick's Day weekend turn out to be a blast this year. Started the day with brunch with Zog kickball friends at Agave and then proceeded to make our way back uptown to meet up with other kickball friends and friends of friends. 5 bars and countless laughs, smiles and pictures later I was beat but happy. Here's to next year and possibly making it out to watch the parade since I was too cold this year.

Brunch crew

March ends with brunches, school, dinners to catch up with friends, movie night, a new boss starting and a paint night! I'm also looking forward to April as I get to make it home for Easter, see family, enjoy the warmth and hopefully meet baby Liliana!

St Patrick's Day celebrations at Perfect Pint

Stay tuned!

A Little Late, 2013 Running Recap

I realized the other day that I never did a running recap for the New Years Resolution I completed for 2013. I completed 12 races and 1 volunteering race to make 13 for 2013. What can I say, it was a great challenge that I feel proud to have accomplished it. After the year was completed, I can only say I am feeling happier, healthier and definitely stronger than where I started in January 2013.

Last race of 2013

Best atmosphere: Dirty Girl Mud Run by far! Between running with 3 of my closest friends, raising money for breast cancer, getting down and dirty while working out and running in the rain, this was such a blast.

Best personal time: Roosevelt Island Spring Fling ended up being my PR for the year. I think besides the fact it was the flattest course I ran, weather and running solo did wonders for me. I wasn't side tracked mentally with thoughts of keeping up with people I knew running.

Most organized race: I am not so sure on this as each race had different aspects that were better than others. NYRR races are definitely organized when it comes to corrals, water stations, mile makers and directions throughout the course. But I would say that the race with the best race check in was the Rock 'n' Roll 10k.

Best post-race: Hmm... I would say the Color Run still beats every other race I've done. Having a blast dancing amongst everyone else covered in color, throwing color into the crowd and the giveaways volunteers threw into the crowd sealed the spot for best post-race.

Best goodie bag / post race offerings: This is a tie between the hot chocolate bowls/treats in Atlanta, the beer options at Dirty Girl Mud Run and the Rock 'n' Roll 10k in Prospect Park. Chocolate vs beer? Tough choice, but I think beer wins.

Favorite shirt / goodie bag: Favorite shirt is the NY Giants Run of Champions shirt.. although wasn't the best fit it was not just a plain cotton t-shirt.

Least favorite exciting race: Least exciting race was the Running Festival of Lights race in Bay Ridge. Had it not been 9 degrees and extremely windy, I would have been much more thrilled to running along the gorgeous water front. I think my mind and body was also not prepared for this race as much as it should have.

All 12 races I ran!

So by the numbers:
Number of races: 12 ran, 1 volunteered
Number of miles ran: 42.2 miles
Number of states ran in: 4! Georgia, New York, New Jersey, California
Places I ran: parks, a downtown of a city, an island, a football stadium, a baseball stadium, an air field, a racetrack, along a waterfront, a college, a dirt horse trail and local neighborhoods.
Number of boroughs completed a race in: 2 (sadly didn't even run a race in my current borough!)
Number of 5k's: 9
Number of other races: 3! two 4-milers and one 10k
Number of free beers: 2
Number of races ran alone: 1
Number of races ran with my sister: 2!
Number of races involving mud, color powder, obstacles, etc.: 3
Number of metals received: 2 

So now what? Maybe a half marathon? Who knows but keep an eye out or come join me for a run! 

Dear Monday

Dear (sunny) Monday, I'm so happy you're sunny but I wish the weekend could have lasted just a little bit longer.

Dear Hunter Mountain, you were a BLAST to snowboard on this past weekend. It was a great first time going snowboarding on the East Coast and I look forward to see you again in two weeks with Elina.

Dear restaurant week, had no plans for you before it started and now I have 2 this week! Excited to check out Fig & Olive and Abboccato.

Dear family, I miss you bunches, looks like you guys had a blast whale watching this weekend. Hope to see you all soon!

Dear body, I'm sorry I beat you up snowboarding this weekend, but we've got all week to recover.

Dear school, I'm glad the 6 week winter session is over, that did me over physically - I'm beat!

Dear Valentine's Day, you weren't as lonely as I thought it would be. I got to celebrate with my awesome single friends.

Dear Portland, I can't wait to visit you again soon after all these years. Can't wait to see my best friend Mandy.

Dear San Francisco/Sacramento, I plan to visit again in May and I can't wait! Need to decide if I should visit Cinco de Mayo weekend again or Bay to Breakers.

Dear blog, now that school is over I promise to get back to writing.

Dear running, see above. I miss being more active.

2014 is Here with a Bang

It's been awhile since I have written last for many reasons, the largest ones being work and going to night school 5 days a week (yikes!). Now that this winter session is coming to an end I am excited to only be going to class 2 days a week like I did in the fall. This will give me some of my nights back to hang with friends, relax and plan activities I have been talking about doing. On my list so far: another paint night, a night at a piano bar, go to spin, yoga or Pilates workout classes, get back to the gym on a more regular basis and find the time to decorate my apartment more. Any other ideas? Throw them at me.

Balls & Dolls

 Although I've been busy with work and school, I've managed to play in a bowling league, catch up with friends who I haven't seen in ages, go to birthday parties, see Avenue Q for the first time, spend time in Astoria with my roommate and friends who live there, win $50 at Super Bowl, spend a weekend with my cousin and just enjoy the winter while it's here. Check out some snapshots!

My roommate Raquel & I at Astoria Brewhouse

I'm so ready for Spring to be here although not just yet as I will finally be going snowboarding for the 1st (and 2nd) time here on the East Coast starting next weekend and two weeks after that. Let's hope I can remember everything! Stayed tuned for another update when school has slowed down :)

New Years Resolutions

Looking back on my New Years resolutions for 2013  I would say I completed most of them fairly well.
Personally:

• Run additional 5K's, ideally I would like to run one a month for the year. This was definitely accomplished. 42+ miles later, I feel happier, healthier, stronger and more determined to start what I accomplish. Who knows what 2014 will bring for me in terms of running but can't wait to get started. 
• Pay off personal credit card debt. This was an up and down roller coaster this year especially with starting school in September. With much determination I am debt free starting 2014 off right.
• Double my savings - once credit card debt is paid off and weddings are booked I hope to be adding more to my savings, something that is always on the list. This wasn't accomplished but I did manage to add to my savings account this year and plan to continue to do so more this year.
• Volunteer - I have tried this many ways so this year I am trying something different. I managed to volunteer sporatically throughout the year between work and volunteering at the Brooklyn Marathon. I plan to continue this in 2014. 
• Cook more meals at home/for friends - I feel like I don't do this enough so here's to dinner parties to come! Well I definitely cooked more at home this year due to school and with everything else going on I wasn't able to cook for friends like I wanted. Here's to making that happen this year.

Work:

• Maintain a strong work ethic and dedication to my position and the department. I would say I definitely accomplished this year as I always put hard work and determination into my job and all that it entails.
• Hopefully get promoted to a salaried position within the company. This didn't happen this year due to changes in management so this is definitely a goal for 2014.
• Go back to school and get a degree that will further my opportunities in Environmental, Health and Safety. I started school again in September and if everything works out like I have planned I will hold a certificate in my hands June 2015.

Now what to do for 2014? Keep an eye out!

Goodbye 2013

I can't believe another year has already come to a close. It feels like just yesterday that December started and I was looking forward to heading home for the holidays. Between Santa Con, birthdays, celebrating the holidays at work and a fun ugly holiday sweater party at my friend Greg's house, I stumbled upon the last day of work.

Finally I made it to sunny California to spend the holidays at home with family and to catch up with friends I haven't seen in over a year. I lucked out and had goregous 70-80 degree weather all week, got to spend time in Big Bear as well as run many errands I needed to finish before year's end. Check out some photos!

I also finally got to spend some time with my best friend Raquel who is 5 months pregnant! It's crazy to think last time I saw her she had just gotten married and had moved. Time flies when you are away so long. But she is glowing and excited for Liliana to make her way into this world. I can't wait to meet baby Borrayo!

And with that, December 2013 is almost over. Here's to 2014 and all that is in store for me personally, professionally and emotionally.

Where Has the Time Gone?

I can't believe it is already the end of November and another Thanksgiving is shortly upon me. This time last year we were picking up the pieces from Hurricane Sandy, my cousin got married and I was seeing the Thanksgiving Day Parade for the first time live.

Since I last posted, my days have been filled with school, birthdays, cornhole league, another race, work and various other random days that fill my days.

My November race was the Running Festival of Lights/ Chanukkah Gelt 5K in Bay Ridge Brooklyn. It was a cold and windy morning to begin with, but running along the water multiplied that by 5. As I stood there with Josh and Michelle, I began to really contemplate my insanity for doing this race. But as I reminded myself I committed to this New Years resolution of a completing a race a month and was determined to finish whether I ended up running it or not. Overall, I managed to run it at a slower pace due to asthma kicking in but managed to still complete the run under 40 minutes with a gorgeous view of the Verazzano Bridge.

Cornhole was blast playing with Janssen, Nicki and my friend Stan from Zog kickball. Even with it being a small division, we managed to have fun, make friends and win bar champs!

Can't believe it's December in two days, with Thanksgiving being so late this year everything seems to be going by a lot faster. With the last month of the year upon me, I can't believe what 2013 has brought me. Stay tuned for my last race for 2013, the Placerita Canyon Holiday 5K at the Master's College in Santa Clarita California. I am so happy to be ending my new years resolution how I started it, by running a race with my sister.