Time is a funny thing.  Sometimes it creeps by (like when you’re on the cusp of something really exciting happening), and other times you really cannot fathom how it has disappeared.  I distinctly remember sitting around thinking “Wow, Charles’ July 3rd Birthday is just two months away.”  Now I’m not quite sure how it’s come, gone, and we’re almost into August.  From what I hear it only gets worse with age.  Is that even possible?

Well, the good thing about time just flying by is that it only seems to happen when your life is full of excitement.  Since nothing moves slower than a boring day, logic serves that your life is something less than boring when time seems to slip away.  Here are just a few of the exciting new things from the last week or so:

Upcoming Travel

It seems like I’m either at the airport 4 times a month or not going anywhere for several months at a time.  Feast or famine.  Well, after a brief travel hiatus after my race in DC, it looks like August marks the return of travel season! Between business and personal, I will be taking 4 trips between August 1st and October 1st.  Not exactly conducive to ramping up training for my next big distance race (the Tower of Terror 10 Miler), but I’ll make it work.

On the personal front, I have two particularly exciting vacations on the horizon.

Disney Cruiseline – 7 Night Western Caribbean Cruise, Disney Fantasy

As hard as it is to believe, Charles and I will be celebrating our first wedding anniversary on September 2nd and we have had our anniversary trip booked since long before the wedding.  Well, it’s finally here (almost)!  I have been just dying to sail on the Disney Fantasy – the newest ship to join the Disney Cruise Line Fleet.  The interiors look incredibly beautiful and I have no doubts that it will be love at first sail.  Both of us our really looking forward to some great food, quality time together, and purely relaxing fun!  Never doubt the power of vacation.  With the high stress lives we choose to lead, it important to take time out every so often.  Although we have taken several of short trips in the last year, this will be the longest vacation since our honeymoon!  Our cruise documents came in the mail this week which made it more real – I really can’t wait!

Disneyland with Mom – My Birthday!

So after the Tinker Bell Half Marathon last year, I could not come to terms with the fact that I did not know when i would be back to one of my favorite places on the planet!  I knew the Disneyland Half was out for 2013 since it conflicted with our long-booked anniversary trip and one of Charles’ best friends in getting married during Tink Half weekend 2014 so I knew waiting for a race as an excuse to go back was not going to cut it.  As I was recounting all of the wonderful things we experienced on our January trip to my mom upon her return, I realized how much I wanted to share it with her too!  She has only been to Disneyland once and it was so long ago, she doesn’t really remember much of it so she was definitely due for a return visit.  So, I am so excited for another girl’s trip with my mom to celebrate my birthday this year!  Although I will be a little sad to miss celebrating with my husband, I cannot think of any way I would rather spend my birthday!

The House

Well the house has just been a flurry of activity and luckily it’s finally settling down.  Our construction is officially done as we paid the general contractor the balance of our job today!  It really looks like it’s going to be amazing!  We still have some work to do like painting and (eventually) adding a closet system to my new closet, but we are already enjoying the new amenities.  Our new washer and dryer are so spiffy (although I really think they dryer looks like an oven hehe) and work like a dream!  It is so nice to finally be able to wash clothes freely!

Now on to what is hands-down my favorite new feature of my house…the new wall in the hallway!  I was extremely inspired to paint stripes and I am pretty much in love with they way they turned out.

I’m starting to “style” this area with some cute new furniture and such (ultimately pictures on the wall etc.) so I will be sure to update with the finished look!  The door and trim also need to be painted among other things.  I think another weekend or two will still be filled with priming and painting but the end is at least in sight.  I think it will ultimately add a ton of value to our house and will greatly increase the utility of our space.

Running

I finally rebounded from illness and injuries to have an absolutely awesome week last week.  With 45 miles total, this was one of my heaviest training weeks to date.  I’m on target to do close to the same this week as well and continue to feel good.  Last Sunday, I put in my longest training run ever totaling 12 miles.  I cannot say I’ve seen my speed decrease significantly but it has also been incredibly hot lately.  I can only imagine that if I can keep these sort of paces when it’s blazing hot, I should really fly when we get some 50-60 degree mornings again.

I’m in the early stages of starting to plan my racing season.  I definitely have my big distance races planned through the spring but I have to figure out my 5k strategy for the fall.  I have a few races in mind already but I really want to get a lot of racing in this year and early next year before the heat comes back.

Sleep

Hot temperatures have meant 6 am wakeup calls most days lately.  While I have made some efforts to try to get to bed earlier, I know I am sleep deprived!  Weekend workouts that not really allowed for catch up time either.  Naps help but not entirely.  This has probably also interfered with my blogging since my now-non-existant pre-sleep unwinding was prime writing time!  Hopefully as I continually get more adjusted to the new routine, things will get easier.  In the mean time, I will do my best to keep you up on all the fun and excitement in my life!  In the interest of a good night’s sleep and resulting kick-butt long run in the morning, it’s time so sign off for the night!  Sweet dreams everyone.

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What is your best time management tip?  How do you get everything done when there aren’t enough hours in the day?