life lately & some organization

Happy February everyone!  I can't believe we're already four days in, each day has just flown by.  We had a very busy weekend, including a drive to or from Anchorage every single day, which gets old pretty quick, but we had lots of fun to make up for the driving.  

1 | this is actually an old picture of Riggs I found from October when browsing through my iPhone photos.  how do they grow so fast, I want to know. 2 | we did lots of skiing over the past week, and Riggs is such a trooper. He really loves being out in the snow - especially when we let him out of whatever baby-constraint device he happens to be in to roam free. 3 | mama and Riggs time at government peak recreation area. 4 | excited about crawling in the snow. 5 | showing off his winter layers, I think there were three different hoods covering his head at one point... 6 | off he goes!  7 | I got a skhoop and I love it - it's the perfect extra layer for the winter months.  especially since I wear leggings and tights so much in the winter - I can just throw on the skhoop and go to the store without looking like I forgot to put something on over my long-johns ;) 8 | we went to the indigenous film festival at the Alaska Native Heritage Center (where I used to work) and Riggs loved the dancers!  he was swaying back and forth, bobbing his head, and waving his arms all around. 9 | he tried on my sunglasses while we were warming up in the truck after skiing while Steve threw the ball for Tutka.  I think we have a future xc-ski star on our hands...

10 | we spent Sunday morning at the Ski for Women, and it was Riggs' first time in the baby backpack.  he wasn't happy while Steve was getting it all ready to go... 11 | but once he was in it and could see from daddy's perspective he loved it! 12 | my two cheerleaders. 13 | me after the race - next year maybe I'll dress up. 14 | the cutest little skier at Kincaid - a 16 month old all decked out in her Scandinavian gear and on her own little skies. 15 | Riggs trying out mamas headlamp - random but cute.

The Ski for Women was lots of fun, and I was so thrilled to be out 'racing' again - there's nothing like a good race, it's so invigorating!   I love how it feels on the morning of the race, when the nerves grow in the pit of my stomach as I arrive at the race location and methodically get my gear on.  That stark blankness in my mind as I warm up my body and mentally prepare for the challenge that lies ahead of me.  The pure excitement during that split second between the stillness of body while waiting for the flag to drop, and the powerful burst of movement as your muscles come to life and you head off in a huge mass of people who are all feeling the same thing that you are.  And then the determination of spirit as you stagger on, the mental stages you go through as you make progress on the course, and the hope that fills your mind and body as approach the finish line.  It's such a happy moment when you cross the finish line, with the crowd cheering and a friend or loved one waiting for you outside the finish chute.  If you've never done any sort of race, whether it be a ski race or a road race, I highly suggest you try one.  But I warn you, they are addicting!  

With the warm weather we've been having, I'm excited to venture out on some easy runs this month, just to get my muscles used to running again.  I plan on starting some serious training for the half-marathon I registered for in March.  I also want to to do swimming practice, because I don't actually know how to lap swim and I want to do the Gold Nugget Triathlon again this year.  I was s o  s l o w at the swimming portion when I did it the last time, so I really want to improve the time I spend in the pool.  What are some of your fitness goals for the next couple of months?

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One last thing (I know this is a l o n g post), I finally got around to organizing our DVDs and I am so thrilled with the outcome.  Ever since we moved they have been in boxes on the floor behind the couch, which as you can imagine is not a very attractive (or practical) way to store them.  We had to dig through each box to find the movie we were looking for, and as a result I don't think we watched very many movies the first 8 months that we lived here (hmmm, maybe that's a good thing...).  I wanted to just get rid of all the cases and put them in a binder, but I just never made it to the office supply store to get the sleeves for the discs.  Then I had a eureka moment and remembered that Steve had an old binder full of disc sleeves that he used to store his CDs in! Yay! And it was just waiting for me out in the garage.  

Behold, our new DVD storage system: