Pining for the Fjords

When I reveal that I’m a Christmastime baby to someone (December 23 rd , represent!), I often see a mix of horror and pity flash across the face of the other person.  This is generally followed by a comment along the lines of, “wow, that must have been hard growing up.”  While having a birthday at this time of the year tends to mean that some things get lumped together, I grew up with the good fortune of having a mother born on the 17 th and a grandmother born on the 14 th .* Thus, by the time I came along, the expectation was already set in my family that separate gifts were given for birthday and Christmas, and everyone was celebrated individually on their own special days. A family picture on the day I came home from the hospital – Christmas day! From left, my great-grandmother, grandmother, and Mom, holding little ole me. In recent years, Chris and I still celebrate the two occasions independent of one another, but the entire time of gift giving and eating too much

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we’re all about the holiday festivities in this family, and while we have our standard favorite “to do’s” each year, we also try to integrate some new activities as well.  This year, we added a few more, including a light tour… On Friday, Chris and I joined a holiday light tour around Old Town Scottsdale, during which we got around by Segway!  We’ve been on Segways once before, on a self-guided tour around Long Beach a few years back with Dad, Risa, Jim, and Leigh on a family vacation.* Jim and Leigh, ready to go! Chris and Dad getting set up. The tour operator was Segway of Scottsdale,** and things went smoothly.  We arrived at 5pm, checked in without problems, and joined our guide, Tiffany for a training on the machines.  We were two of a party of 10, and although the three different family/friend groups didn't know each other to start out, we quickly became buddies with the other folks, each of whom was at least 30 years

Last year for part of my Birthmas celebration, Chris and I headed to Out of Africa, a safari park located about an hour and a half north of Phoenix, in the city of Camp Verde.  Out of Africa is a privately owned animal sanctuary specializing in adopting big cats from previously unsuitable living arrangements and giving them homes; they have many other animals, too, acquired from zoos and other parks around the world.  It can be an expensive day out,* so when I learned that you get in free during the month of your birth, I was pumped.  Mom was flying home from her Thanksgiving visit on Tuesday, December 2 nd , and while I had taken the 1 st off from work, Chris hadn’t.  That left Mom and I with a need to fill the day with just the two of us, and since we both had December birthdays and would get in free, I suggested the park. We have arrived! We ended up at the park around 10:30, after the first safari tour of the day departed, so we waited for the tram to come by and

I’m a Christmas baby,* and I’ve always loved participating in the spirit of the season.  I routinely detour the car into neighborhoods filled with lights, attend holiday parades at which I clap and cheer like a four year old off her Ritalin prescription, and bake my great-grandmother’s butter cookie recipe until we have confections cooling on every flat surface in our house.  Every year to celebrate Birthmas (my birthday plus Christmas), we try to attend one of the many holiday-themed events in the valley.  In past years, we’ve gone to Zoolights at the Phoenix Zoo, which is always a ton of fun, provided that you buy your tickets in advance and avoid weekend nights.** Me at Zoolights a few years back. With my hippo. Penguins! This year, we’ll celebrate our fourth year of watching the Wickenburg light parade, and in the past, we’ve also attended a candlelight Christmas Eve service at a nearby church and headed up to Sedona to see their light display.***  Although t

Last Saturday, 11/22, I ran the first ever Gilbert Half Marathon.  Taking place on the same morning as the Gilbert Days Parade (actually, we kicked off the parade, which was kind of fun), the run started just north of Warner on Gilbert Road, made a 13.1 mile square, and finished up at the Gilbert Civic Center, just south of Warner on Gilbert Road. Standing in the port o potty line before the start. The field, lined up and ready to run! While I ran the half marathon for this event, there was also a 10K, which ran on the back half of the half marathon course.  The 10K started about 30 minutes after the half marathon, which cleared out the roads nicely by the time I came through; I'm sure the super fast half marathoners had to battle through some of the 10Kers, but overall, it worked out fine. There I am, in the middle of the shot, waving at Chris. Time to run! When you sign up for the inaugural run of an event, you never quite know what to expect, as t

Be sure to read Part the First , Part the Second , Part the Third , and Part the Fourth ! After seeing Chris pass our campsite on his way to conquer the red trail,* I ate half a bagel and headed to Matt’s team campsite, figuring if I was up to run in about an hour, he would be, too.  Although he had a bit longer to wait (their team seemed to be about 20-30 minutes behind us at this point), he graciously accompanied me to the campfire to get warm and wait for our legs to start.  At the proper time, I moved to watching the tv screen, saw Chris’ number come across, stripped off all of my layers (well, all but one - there's no nude running, even if it is Ragnar), and headed into the tent.  Chris came running in and after swapping the race bib for all of our warm clothes,** I sprinted off to finish my run, this time on the green loop, the shortest of the three. The green loop was another fun trail – actually, all of the trails were really well crafted and enjoyable – but it had