Evening Joggies and a New Year

I am making up for the last week of no blog posts by posting my fourth blog post in a 24-hour span. I'm pretty darn proud of myself, not going to lie. Anyway, I fully intended to run 10 miles at some point today, for my last long run of my half-marathon "training" plan. Which let it be known that there was no actual plan followed for this half. That could prove to be a bad thing, or it could work out just fine. I'm hoping for the latter.

I think what deterred me from completing this 10-miler is the fact that it's so cold (by Texas standards, anyway). And until late afternoon, it was pretty gray and dreary outside. So there are my excuses for not running. That, and I just felt like reading and watching football this afternoon. Around 3:30, one of my friends asked me to go on a bike ride, and due to the fact that my bike is currently in Austin, I opted for the rollerblade route. We biked and bladed around neighborhood, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine, and we even ran into some high school friends - so typical!

It felt so good outside that I decided to get in a quick run before the sun set, so around 5:00, I set out for a run around my neighborhood. I ended up covering between four and five miles in about 43 minutes, and I realized I had forgotten how great it felt to run in my neighborhood. I felt as though I could have actually run those 10 miles, but my phone was slowly losing life, and running in the dark without a cell phone is not ideal. I am hoping to get in one more long run before the race (two weeks, eek!), and then continue steadily running four or five miles every other day. I'm counting on y'all to help hold me accountable!

New Year

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. What? Where did this year go? 2013 brings with it my final semester of not playing "teacher," my brothers high school graduation, and my 21st birthday, among other things. While 2012 certainly had its ups and downs, overall it was pretty good to me. A trip to Disney World, 

a summer in Europe, 

living at the Clubhouse with seven of my best friends, 

leading 8th grade girls alongside some wonderful people,

and just the opportunity to live in Austin, Texas, attending one of the best schools in the world are not things to be sad about. 

I truly am blessed, and as a look to 2013, and what I want from this new year, I want to be still. I am so caught up in looking ahead to what's next, and I want to learn to live in the moment, to not be stressed about things that haven't happened yet, and that are ultimately out of my control, and to just be happy with what I have right now. That's not to say that I won't be dreaming big and thinking of where I want my next big trip to be, but when something exciting happens, I want to live in the moment, instead of looking to the next thing on my list. I also want to understand that it's okay to slow down, take a deep breath, and take a break. I feel like so much of my life is go-go-go that I forget to relax and take some time for myself, which is much needed. I am so excited for 2013, and all that lies ahead, and of course, I plan to continue with this blog for all of my wonderful readers, hopefully with some new and improved pictures, courtesy of one very special Christmas present!

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What are your big 2013 goals or resolutions?