Goodbye, 2021!

2021 has been a year of change for us. I went back to work full time which was hard for the first few months, but we are in a groove now and it's going really well! The kids started riding the bus to school and they seem to like it okay. They'd rather be driven to school (we're the first stop so it's about an hour ride in the morning) but they are always telling me stories about their friends on the bus, so they must like it enough. We ended the year with another round of the flu. Everyone had mild cases, thankfully, except for me. I was in bed for about 4.5 days. It was waaaaay better than my flu, possible Covid, in 2020 so I was pleased with that! We finish the year with our whole family fully vaccinated which has been a huge relief! Read past recaps here: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013. 

January

We continued on with distance learning and Elise's favorite Zoom Meeting was with her art teacher. She would set up well in advance each day.

We celebrated mom, dad, and Jeremy's birthdays.

Feburary

Elise lost another tooth!

We continued on with distance learning.

We had some record low temperatures. It even got down below 0.

We celebrated Valentine's Day.

We conserved energy to make sure we wouldn't be part of a power outage.

We got even more snow and went sledding every day.

March

We visited Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Texas on our way to the Grand Canyon.

Ty ended up in the hospital in Albuquerque with kidney stones. He still continued on with our trip!

We spent a couple days camping at the Grand Canyon.

We camped in record lows for us, 17 degrees, and got snowed on our last night there.

Ty and I got our first dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine on the way home from the Grand Canyon!

We got to meet Ranger Angelina and Bixby the Beaver at Sequoyah State Park.

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day.

Elise turned 6 and had multiple small parties!

The kids finally got to go back to school in-person!

April

Ty and I got our 2nd dose of the Covid vaccine!

We celebrated Easter.

I went back to work at the preschool 3 days a week and started subbing 2 days a week.

Ty started our kitchen remodel.

I ran my first in-person race in over a year!

May

My grandma's bush bloomed for the first time!

The kids had their last day of school.

We also celebrated Ty's birthday but I apparently took no pictures.

We got to visit family in Topeka!

June

Carter attended a State Park Summer Camp and it was a blast!

We stayed in a "cabnin" and Elise was thrilled!

The kids attended Kravis Art Camp. Also, Carter broke his wrist jumping out of a swing in the backyard but Ty took him so I don't have pictures.

I started prepping my classroom after accepting a position to go back to teaching full-time in 2nd grade!

I donated my hair again.

The kids and I completed the summer reading program.

July

We celebrated the 4th of July.

Ty and I celebrated our 10th anniversary.

We turned my 50k race weekend into a little anniversary weekend get-away to Wichita, just the 2 of us.

I celebrated my 35th birthday by running with my birthday buddy, Paige, and then spending the day with the kids! We splurged at our favorite local book store.

Ty kept working on the kitchen remodel and got some help!

August

Carter became the perfect height for me to rest my chin on his head as I hugged him.

I had my first day back to teaching full-time since 2015.

Elise's hamster, Lil Cutie, died. She had a growth on her chest for months so we thing she had cancer. Elise got a new hamster and named her Sweetie.

The kids had their first day of 3rd and 1st grade!

September

Elise started back up with Girl Scouts and is in her 2nd year as a Daisy.

The kids started riding the bus this school year.

October

Gma and Gpa watched Carter and Elise for the first couple days of the kids' fall break while I was still in school.

We went to the pumpkin patch with friends.

I got my 3rd dose of the Covid vaccine!

We went trick or treating with friends on Halloween.

Carter had his last soccer game of the season.

November 

We visited Topeka for Thanksgiving and got to see the giant swing Papa made for the pumpkin patch.

The kids got their 2nd dose of the Covid vaccine!

December

We visited Santa at Bass Pro.

Carter celebrated his 9th birthday at Urban Air.

We celebrated Christmas at home.

2021 Running Review

When I initially remembered to do this post I told Ty this year's recap was going to be a bit depressing. But then I thought about it more and realized even though I wasn't running fast or setting any PRs, I did accomplish some pretty cool stuff this year. It was more about new challenges, running my first ultramarathon (which I guess technically was a PR) and focusing more on trail running (running a 12.5k for the first time which was also technically a PR). Although it wasn't PR studded in the big dog races like the half and full marathon or 5k like past years, it was still a wonderful year full of running and joy in the process. This year I was reminded that no matter my pace or if I'm training for a race, life is better with running in it. I got really wrapped up in PR chasing and race time for years so I think this year was a great re-set and a reminder of what it's all really about: health and happiness. Running brings me joy in so many ways and I'm so thankful that even though these past couple years have been a bit bumpy, I've been able to run! I ran 9 races this year and 6 were in-person. It was so nice to get back to real racing! Of those 6 races, half of them were trail races which were perfect for smaller races and non-PR chasing. Read past running recaps here: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, and 2016.

This sums up how I felt about getting back to in-person races this year!

Total Miles Run:

2,161 miles
For Comparison I Ran:
2,020 in 2020
2,019 in 2019

1,918 in 2018

1,546.41 in 2017

1,332.6 in 2016

Average Weekly Mileage: 40.5 miles

Average Daily Mileage: 5.9 miles

Total Time Spent Running:

331 hours

For Comparison I Ran:

292 hours in 2020

283 hours in 2019

271 hours in 2018

223.5 hours in 2017

191.5 hours in 2016

Total Elevation Gain:

91,021 feet (you can definitely tell I did more trail running this year!)

For Comparison:

71,963 feet in 2020

75,483 feet in 2019

70,513 feet in 2018

Total Active Days/Days I Ran:

319

For Comparison:

319 in 2020

338 in 2019

308 in 2018

Weekly Mileage

Weeks with 20-29 Miles: 7 (brought to you by multiple sinus infections and the flu along with my recovery weeks from big races)

(3 in 2020, 0 in 2019, 5 in 2018, 21 in 2017, and 24 in 2016)

Weeks with 30-39 Miles: 14 (20 in 2020, 23 in 2019, 25 in 2018, 8 in 2017, and 11 in 2016)

Weeks with 40-49 Miles: 18 (21 in 2020, 29 in 2019, 17 in 2018, 9 in 2017, and 7 in 2016)

Weeks with 50+ Miles: 13 (7 in 2020, 0 in 2019, 3 in 2018, 7 in 2017, and 2 in 2016)

I ended up with 4 weeks with 60-69 miles and 1 with 70+ miles, but included them in the 50+ count because I haven't done any 60+ mile weeks since college.

Highest Weekly Mileage: 72

PRs:

50k

12.5k (trail)

25k trail

January

None

February

None

March 

None

April

24th- Mythical Half Marathon in 1:36:55 (7:20 pace), 2nd overall female

May

None

June

5th- War Eagle Trail 25k in 2:14:55 (9:30ish pace, I had a Garmin malfunction), 4th overall female

25th- Rainbow Run, I did this as a fun run but wanted to include it because Elise blazed the mile fun run and was 3rd overall! 

July

10th- Walnut River Gravel Run 50k in 4:38:40 (8:56 pace), 1st overall female and 20 minute course record!

August

None

September 

None

October

13th- Beer vs Wine Virtual 5k in 22:17 (7:09 pace), 1st overall (but does that really count for a virtual race?)

November

7th- Backyard Bonanza Trail 12.5k in 1:05:14 (8:42 pace), 1st overall female

24th- Wine Run Virtual Turkey Trot 5k in 21:25 (6:54 pace), 1st overall female (but, again, does that really count for a virtual race?)

December

4th- Flint & Steel Trail 25k in 2:29:30 (10:03 pace), 1st overall female and 10 minute course record!

29th- Charlie Brown Christmas Virtual 5k in 21:44 (6:59 pace), results are a mess so I really don't know on this one, they have the 5k, 10k, and half-marathon all together and it shows 2 hour halfers ahead of me, so I don't know what's going on and I don’t care enough to figure it out!

My Year in Books

Last year I read a ton being in quarantine and spending so much time at home. This year was way less with more going on and being back to work full time, so I was surprised to see I still read more pages and more books than in 2019 or 2018. As always, reading really enriched my life and brought me a lot of joy this year. I look forward to reading more wonderful books in the coming year! Read past recaps here: 2020, 2019, and 2018.

 

This year I read 47,845 pages across 157 books.
Last year I read 56,782 pages across 186 books.
In 2019 I read 41,911 pages across 132 books.
In 2018 I read 38,074 pages across 128 books.

My shortest book was The Truth Pixie by Matt Haig at 119 pages.
My longest book was A Promised Land by Barack Obama at 768 pages.
The average length of book I read was 305 pages. (Same as last year which I thought was random!)

The most popular book I read was The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins with 8,913,987 other people reading it. I know, I was super late to the game on this one, but I loved it!
The least popular book I read was The Guthrie Short Stories by Andrea C. Neil with 8 other people reading it.

My favorite fiction book I read this year was My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman.

My favorite nonfiction book I read this year was World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhumatathil

My favorite fiction book I listened to as an audiobook was The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson.

My favorite nonfiction book I listened to as an audiobook was The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. 

Honorable Mention (how I read them in parentheses):

• The Passenger by Lisa Lutz (ebook)

• Jane of Austin: A Novel of Sweet Tea and Sensibility by Hillary Manton Lodge

• Facing the Mountain: A True Story of Japanese American Heroes in World War II by Daniel James Brown (book)

• The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins (mixture of book and ebook)

• Ellie and the Harpmaker by Hazel Prior (audiobook)

• All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin (ebook)

• One by One by Ruth Ware (book)

• The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick (audiobook)

• Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty (book)

• Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (audiobook)

• How to Walk Away by Katherine Center (audiobook)

• Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson (book)

• Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris (book)

• The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town by John Grisham (audiobook)

• The Read-Aloud Family: Making Meaningful and Lasting Connections with Your Kids by Sarah Mackenzie (book)

• Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman (book)

My favorite children's chapter books:

• Christmas Series by Matt Haig (My least favorite was A Boy Called Christmas, but they were all really good!)
• A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
• Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga
• Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo
• The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart

 

 

 

  

What I Read: December

I usually get through quite a few books in December because I love to read Christmas books and they are typically shorter and easier reads. I got the flu this December so I got through even more because when I felt good enough, I'd read and when I didn't feel good enough to read, I'd listen to my audiobook while I laid in bed. I really enjoyed getting to read so many fun Christmas books this year and made it through a stack of Christmas books I collected throughout the year either from Goodwill or Little Free Libraries. I got some new ones at Sam’s club to read next year!

Carter reading next to me on the futon, it was a wonderful Christmas break!

Photo courtesy of mom. I made this cute little Christmas decoration out of Christmas books I've collected over the years. Mom set her mistletoe mule next to it and it turned out really cute!

Books:

• The Autobiography of Santa Claus by Jeff Guinn- I found this at Goodwill and was super excited about it. I think I was hoping for something kind of like Saint Mick which I listened to and loved a few years back. This was nothing like that and was pretty boring. I struggled through it for quite a while and then decided to read another book at the same time which made it easier for me to get through this one.

• Comfort & Joy by Kristin Hannah- This was good but also kind of strange. I was reading it while I had the flu so I flew through it.
  
  
  

• Dear Santa by Debbie Macomber- I was super excited to see this one cheap at Sam's Club. It was really cute and I enjoyed it.

• All Is Calm/All Is Bright by Colleen Coble- This was okay, both stories were super similar but it was a quick read.

• The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo- I have never read this one so when one of my reading groups at school picked it to read, I decided to read it along with them so I could lead discussions in their book club. It was a sweet book and a super fast read. I could easily read 5 chapters the night before I met with my book club so I'd be ready to talk about it. Since I missed the last few days before Christmas break, I was behind and went ahead and finished this after Christmas during break.

• We Are All the Same in the Dark by Julia Heaberlin- I picked this out at our local indie bookstore on my birthday. The kids and I were looking in the “hurt books need love too” section. The cover was so pretty and the synopsis sounded really interesting. The cover and some pages were a bit bent up, but that was it. I loved this book and couldn’t stop reading it. It reminded me of Joshilyn Jackson with all the plot twists but was darker like Gillian Flynn.
  

eBooks:

• Things My Son Needs to Know about the World by Fredrik Backman- I love Backman and hadn't really seen his sense of humor before in his books. This had me cracking up quite a bit.

• Misteltoe and Mr. Right by Sarah Morgenthaler- This one was okay but not anything special. I realized after I downloaded it and started it that it must be part of a series because it was name dropping characters like I should care. I looked it up and it was part of a series. That usually makes it harder to enjoy because the author expects you to be invested in the characters already and I was not!

• 12 Men for Christmas by Phillipa Ashley- This one was cute. Some of the scenes were a bit more graphic than what I was expecting from a Christmas book, but I still enjoyed it.
  

• Christmas Every Day by Beth Moran- This book was so cute. I really enjoyed it. It wasn't super Christmasy and took place over a year so I didn't mind finishing it after Christmas.

Audiobooks:

• A Promised Land by Barack Obama- I got this book as a present for Christmas last year but when I found out the audiobook was read by Obama, I decided I wanted to listen to the audiobook. I really like reading books about Presidents. This one wasn't as interesting since I lived through everything he talked about. I liked that he talked a lot about Michelle. It was obvious what a strong relationship they have and what an important part of his story she is. It always bugs me how First Ladies are hardly talked about in the stories of other Presidents.
  
  
  

• A Mrs. Miracle Chirstmas by Debbie Macomber- I love Macomber's Christmas books and was really excited about this one. It was not very good. It felt a bit forced. I loved the angel part of it, but the rest of the book was just a little blah and I was ready to be done with it by the end and it wasn't even very long!

• A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig- I saw this while looking through the children's book section in a book store with the kids. I was super excited because I loved Haig's adult books I've read and it was a Christmas book. I loved this and it ended up being my least favorite book in the series. It's been made into a Netflix movie that the kids and I watched and liked.

• The Girl Who Saved Christmas by Matt Haig- This was the 2nd book in Haig's Christmas series and I loved it even more than the first book!
  

• Father Christmas and Me by Matt Haig- Book 3 in the series and that tells you how much I enjoyed these! I don't typically read all the books in a series in a row. I tend to need breaks in between books but I just flew through these. I enjoyed them so much!

• The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss- I really enjoyed this one. It was very cute. I liked the idea of a 12 dates of Christmas set-up where you go on 12 dates with 12 different people.

 

• A Mouse Called Miika by Matt Haig- This was a super short, super cute story from the perspective of Miika, Father Christmas' mouse friend in the Christmas series.

• The Truth Pixie by Matt Haig- I was really disappointed excited about this one because the Truth Pixie was one of my favorite characters in the Christmas series. I downloaded it and realized it was quite a bit shorter than the others. I was disappointed but it was still cute.