2011 RIMD Recap
January: My birthday is December 31st and Ty’s is January 9th. We always celebrate together in January (that way I don’t get ripped off by New Year’s Eve). In January we celebrated our birthdays and impatiently counted down the days until our first cruise!!! I worked out like a maniac; determined to have a beach body by February.
February: I began packing my suitcase February 1st. I swear I was so excited I thought by packing early I would vicariously be on vacation. We finally left for Florida on February 12th for the greatest vacation of my life. What a fabulous time we had. We even spent Valentine’s Day on the ship. I had a great time running on the ship’s deck and even did a treadmill workout overlooking the ocean. Darn. Favorite part: Trunk Bay, St. John. Go there.
 |
| Trunk Bay |
We went got back, I bought a new horse… Zoe.
March: With the cruise in the past, I now had the wedding to look forward to. I ran a half in Moab and tied my PR. Wedding invites went out. Stress levels got high. I kept running….
April: Dress fittings! Running! Easter! Running!
May: May was quite possibly the most difficult and emotional month of my life. On May 9th, my aunt Aleece passed away. Three days later, on May 12th my Grandma Cooper left us as well. It was all a blur. We spent the next ten days or so attending funerals, spending time with family, and trying to make sense of it all. Selfishly I was devastated that both of them would be missing my wedding, although they had both become so ill that it was doubtful they would make it anyway. I found peace in the fact that they would both be able to attend the wedding from up above.
 |
| The last time I saw my Grandma. Mother's Day 2011. |
 |
| Aunt Aleece's Funerl |
Running singlehandedly got me through this time. I went a lot and I ran far. It healed me from the outside in. I’m pretty sure I was doing Jillian’s 30 day shred at this time and eating organic, but I don’t remember much…
One day after my aunt’s funeral was my bachelorette party and the next day my bridal shower. I was grateful for the fellowship.
June: This is the month I married the man of my dreams. A day I will treasure in my heart.
 |
| Ugly backdrop |
July: Began hard training for Imogene/Ouray half marathon. Climbed Mt. Sneffles. This was one of my favorite moments of the entire year. I absolutely LOVED that day.
August: Ran the Ouray Half Marathon (ran slow- used it as a long run/training day). The race felt awesome and I felt like I could run all day. I also hiked Hanging Lake- another beautiful moment.
 |
| One of my BFFs Jamie and my GodDaughter Brook |
September: Imogene. You can read the recap here. That race changed me. An accomplishment I am VERY proud of.
 |
| In case you missed it last time...I ran IMOGENE. :) |
October: The Black Canyon race. A month full of being happy and just being married and in love. I have fond memories from October.
November: We traveled to mesquite for Thanksgiving. November was a very hard month for me personally. I ran………………
 |
| Cooper Family, Mesquite, NV |
December: So far so good!! PR in a 10k. A life filled with loved ones and a good marriage. I have been doing a lot of “house cleaning” emotionally, and I feel so renewed and happy because of it.
Christmas is in five days and I feel so very blessed. I somehow got lucky enough to marry the man of my dreams this year. I have a warm bed and food in my tummy. We have a tree surrounded by presents. We both have jobs and our health. Our families are close and we get to spend a lot of time with them. I also feel so blessed that running is in my life. There were moments running pulled me up by my boot straps and got me through the mud. There were moments when running allowed me to feel proud of myself, my accomplishments, and redefine my self-worth.
Happy Holidays to all of you. Thank you for reading. Your presence is a wonderful gift.
wow...i have to say u've had a peaks and valley's kind of year and i have SO much admiration for how u've handled it all!! honestly, u're amazing and i give you a ton of credit.
ReplyDeleteu look STUNNING in ur wedding pix...my goodness, look how good that runner cleans up...hehe. :) i hope and suspect that 2012 will bring u more joys and i'm glad i can blogstalk it. :) hehe
PS-my bday is jan 8th...hehe, i beat Ty by a day ;)
Thanks for blogstalking!! I blogstalk you too!! Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteWhat a crazy year! and a great idea for a post as well. I may have to do this tomorrow. the year my husband and I were married, I lost all my grandparents within 4 weeks. It was exhausting. I was so thankful to have the refuge of my husband to support me during the difficult time. i remember contemplating where we would be in 10 years and what was in store for us! the ride never slows down!!
ReplyDeleteOMG, Chelsea! I am going to do a post about it tomorrow, but I wanted to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for the awesome necklace!!! I checked my mail today and was so excited to find it in my mailbox :) You are so sweet!!!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Aleece! I couldn't believe it when I saw you had an aunt Aleece. I have never met anyone that spelled it the same. So maybe I've googled my name and most of the aleeces I find are younger than my 30 year old self. :). This is pretty cool
ReplyDeleteWym... you should totally do a post on it. :)
ReplyDeleteA- my aunt was Italian. Any chance you are?
@Heather- enjoy girl!