Holidays!

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas. My sis and I survived the first Christmas away from home, spending it at her home in Phoenix. I drove out Christmas eve, and thanks to the crazy no daylight savings time change in AZ, I made it to church at 10:24pm, just in time for the "midnight" mass at 10:30. The service was beautiful with a full choir and small orchestra. Got home and I opened the traditional 1 present. (Ironman, no my parent's didn't sign me up for a race; I got the movie). We called my brother and he relayed that santa had given him a new cell phone. Christmas morning we woke at 8 and started the carmel rolls which turned out super duper delicious! Santa brought me a Garmin Forerunner 305! It rained all Christmas day (sad I know) so I didn't take it out until Friday. After presents and food we took a long nap. The kitty seemed to like me. Or at least my flannel pj's. Woke up and started preparing dinner. My Grandma Viv and Grandpa Leroy made the journey from northern Arizona. Megan did a great job with dinner, and yes I helped. We had ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, green beans with bacon, salad, rolls, cranberries, and jello. Yum. More lounging and tv watching. Star Trek. Gotta love your grandparents. It actually felt like home since that's my father's show of choice.
Friday we slept in but I was eager to test out the new garmin. I brought my bike along and took it out for a 34 mile ride from her house. It was super windy and I still have my Zipps on which make for an interesting ride. North/south traveling was tricky; there were a couple times I had to get out of my aero bars for fear of being blown over. Not to mention when I turned west into the head wind. Ahh! I can't remember the last time I went on a ride alone. It was alright. Surprisingly I wasn't bored. Hmm, garmin? A random man reading in the park took this picture of me. I ended up averaging 17.0mph which I was happy with. The tail wind on the way back helped. Garmin performed wonderfully. I love the heart rate function. (166bpm average) There is also a grade feature which was interesting. Hmm, I'm slowing, it seems like a hill, check the watch, yeah 5% grade. Climbing confirmed. lol.
Saturday, my birthday, was interesting to say the least. Throw in a little frustration. Add a little alcohol and bam, you're 25. Meg and I woke early and headed to Flagstaff, to the Arizona Snowbowl to go snowboarding. I brought my snowboard and extra warm stuff for her. It took about 3 hours to get there (including the slow driving up the mountain). I dropped her off at the rental shop while I found a place to park. I got my free lift ticket and headed out for 2 runs. An hour and a half later, after waiting in line, Meg calls to tell me they are out of snowboard boots in her size. In fact, 9.5 is the smallest. Great! We decided since the weather was beautiful and the snow was perfect, and it was in fact my birthday, that I should get a couple runs in while she sadly stayed in the chalet to drink. The lift lines were long, and the lifts were slow, but the runs weren't that crowded. Everyone was at the bottom waiting! The main lift tops out at 11,500' and the base is at 9,000' which makes for a pretty sweet run. After getting in about six runs in a matter of four hours I decided to call it quits. We headed down only to find traffic backed up. I had to put on my patient hat which I don't do very well. I will put this as hands down worst driving experience of my life. In 3 hours we moved 17 miles. You do the math, and it calculates to me only breaking for 17 miles. As if my calves weren't sore enough from boarding. We finally made it to the interstate with only 140 miles left. That part was fine. 2 hours. Got home...I need a drink. We went out to Salty's with meg's college friend, Jessi, and her mom and friend. Let's just say I don't have the tolerance of a 21 year old anymore. Today has been lazy. Time to fire up the Garmin. I'm heading out for a quick run before I head home to San Diego. (Where I hear a Dairy Queen ice cream cake awaits!!)