For the sake of posting...

1. First and foremost- the So You Think You Can Dance Tour was AMAZING!! I'm not even exaggerating one bit when I say that was the greatest night of my life... ok, maybe it's in a tie with the night I saw the Backstreet Boys in concert. But, still, ahhhhmaaaayziiiiing!! I'll post pictures tonight and elaborate a little more (though I really don't think words can do it justice).

2. I started running more consistently (again) and upping my mileage slowly (again). I'm doing 3-milers pretty easily this week which is pretty good for me especially since a few weeks ago (after not really running for the last 5 months) I was dying after just 2 miles. However, I've got a steep climb this month in order to get ready for the 1/2 marathon in January. I'd forgotten how much of mental game running really is. I know I need to push my limits more but when I'm going around that track for the 16th time (seriously, the track at my gym is a dizzying 5-1/2 laps per mile... yet better than running outside in the cold and dark) it's pretty easy to justify 3 miles as 'good enough' for the day.
I kind of can't believe I'm going to do a 1/2 in a month from now. I never thought that would be something I could do this soon. But, now it actually feels within reach. I really thought a 1/2 marathon was the absolute most my body and mind could ever do. But, now that I'm actually going do it I feel like a full marathon is a conceivable goal. Pretty cool.
This week I mixed up my playlist a little. Normally I have a lot of upbeat, fast, loud songs that pump me up. But, I was getting sick of the same old songs on repeat so I made a new playlist of songs that I just plain like regardless of their tempo and volume. It actually made for a pretty relaxing run.
I'm also trying to figure out the correlation between what I eat and my energy level when I'm running. I've been trying to eat more healthfully lately but I'm having a hard time balancing all the food groups (or whatever I'm supposed to do with them). It just seems like some days on the track I can go around and around without getting tired, other days it's like I'm carrying around a ton of bricks and am winded after my first lap. And I can't yet figure out what I need to do to feel like I have endless energy. I guess I'm gonna have to get less lazy in the kitchen. Hmph.

3. It's Christmas time. I have to keep reminding myself.
I've been in Las Vegas for 7 years (whoa!) and have acclimatized to the heat and lack of cold. Yet, I've never really been able to get in the Christmas Spirit here. To me Christmas involves freezing cold weather, snow, pine trees, snow capped mountains, seeing your breath when you walk outside, christmas lights, cranking the heater, scraping the car windows, coats, boots, gloves, scarves, hot chocolate and wassail, etc. It does not involve sunny weather, palm trees, rolling down the car windows, flip-flops (or clip-clops), short sleeves, frozen yogurt, etc
I've got my house decorated, tree and all, but I still kinda feel like I'm just pretending that it's "the most wonderful time of the year". If only I could get some snow up in here!