Refinished Vanity

This was an old, beat-up vanity that my mom found. I refinished it this past fall.

38. Ski Colorado

I have so many Colorado pictures that it was hard to choose which ones to put up. This (top picture) is the view from the gondola down into the town of Telluride. Keep in mind that those are houses, buildings, etc. down in that valley! It takes your breath away when you come over the edge. I was a little fearful of skiing in CO, after only having done PA and AZ, I figured the mountains of CO would be harder. Turns out it was the best skiing I've experienced thus far, and certainly the most fun with runs lasting well over a half hour!

47. Run a Marathon

I consider a 1/2 marathon to be a marathon, and actually don't have the goal set to run a full one. I ran the 1/2 marathon in Phoenix in January of 2007, and the 1/2 in North Park in March of 2008. My next marathon goal is for May 3rd in Pittsburgh. I wrote out my entire training calendar, and will officially start training on January 4th. The first picture...my head is between the two people. I don't remember what my official time was (the clock time is from when the first people started - keep in mind we probably started about 1/2 hour after they did). Both marathons had weather that was VERY cold, and in AZ, it was actually warmer in PA that day! In both marathons, I had pockets stuffed with kleenex. Hopefully for the Pittsburgh marathon, it will be a beautiful day to run.

The Buffet

This was the first piece of furniture that I refinished. It is an old buffet that my mom and dad gave to me many years ago. I love how the drawers turned out a different shade than the doors. On top, you'll see our nativity scene and the four Christmas cards that we've received so far.

3. Hike the Grand Canyon

Okay, so I've altered this dream a little bit because I've never hiked down into the GC, only walked part of the rim, but I got engaged there, so this has to count for something! When Mike proposed, he had just asked an older couple to take a picture of us. As they got the camera set, Mike got down on his knee and asked me if I would marry him...the rest is history.

1. Visit The Country Your Ancestors Called Home

Number one on the list from Mr. King ... visit the country your ancestors called home. I consider this country to be Germany, although I am probably about 50% German. I scanned the images from my scrapbook that I created in 2002. It feels like it has been longer than 7 years since I've been there. Luckily I have my thick journal from my travels, and this is what I wrote: Monday, April 8th: Woke up in Germany! I feel like I've been gone for years! Went to Marienplatz to see the clock at 11. We found the hostel somehow, and checked in at 11:30, then slept til 2, and took showers (after a long night of train rides). Met an American for the first time traveling, and it figures that she was annoying. We went to Kuntzplatz to look for some dance clubs (note - this is something I would never do now). None were open yet, but it was interesting to walk around in Munich. It feels weird to just sit back and think of how things must have been and how they have changed. I would definitely like to come back to see some concentration camps, and Berlin. We went back to the hostel and found a German Pub with a cute old man as the bartender. He asked where we were going next, and I said Koln (Cologne), but he helped me pronounce the o (with two dots over it) He wrote it on a napkin. April 9th: We woke up and got breakfast at the grocery store. I had a cheesy pretzel. It was still kind of chilly weather, but not too bad. First we went to the science museum, which was excellent, but unfortunately about 90% in German explanations. We went back to Marienplatz to walk around. Went to the green onion domes. I ate lunch at a cafe. We walked around the English garden (out of the city for a bit). April 10th: Woke up at 5, and made the train at 6:47. We had an awesome train ride, parts along the river with castles out of story books...for miles and miles. Arrived in Koln and saw the Dom, an old Jewish bath house, and bought some of the "famous" cologne. We didn't stay in Koln, but took the train to Frankfurt Main. It was the wrong stop! We ended up taking a 2 hour train to Roshrue (sp?) in order to get back to where we needed to be. This wasn't the first or last time I would take the wrong train in Europe.