A Quick Update!

I know I've been a bad blogger, will you still have me? ;) 

Things at work have been crazy- we're in the process of changing over almost half our staff. Exciting, but the workload has gotten crazy. In the midst of all that, I'm still juggling my Etsy shop and I've taken on a new hobby- freelance writing for my friend's art website. Gotta fund my Disney trips, right? I know once work settles again, things won't be as hectic. 

Even though it's been busy, I still managed to get in some fun. I went to the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco and saw the Mary Blair special exhibit.

Next week I'll have a recap on the exhibit. In honor of it's a small world's 50th anniversary, I'll be hosting a giveaway as well!  

We've been having some spectacular weather. I snapped this on a coastal drive.

A little Disney news: Check out these cool new ear hats!

Photo from MousePlanet.com

This weekend is going to be a busy one. My husband is coming to visit (yay!), we're going to a wedding, and visiting with friends as much as possible. And we're running a half marathon this weekend!

Do you have any plans for the weekend?

Two Golden Rules To A Happy Marriage

I was scrolling through my Facebook feed the other night and came across something my husband had liked. I know that he knows, no matter how many miles apart we are, we're both getting a good chuckle out of this. :)

Italy : Venice Part 1

I left off on our second day in Florence. You can read my recaps of Rome (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) and Florence (Part 1, Part 2). 

We headed out early to Venice the next morning. Taking the trains were by far the most stressful part of the trip. The train stations are huge with at least 20 tracks/platforms all going to different places. The platforms update with the destinations only 10-15 minutes before, so you really need to pay attention and then hustle to get to your train. On top of that, all the intercom announcements are in Italian. But once on the train, you could literally see the stress relief on my husband's face.

Once off the train, we took a water bus (vaporetto) to get to our apartment.

First views of the canals of Venice!

We got in pretty late and spent the evening getting settled into our apartment. For dinner we wandered down a little street and picked up some locally made tortellini, pasta sauce, wine and cannolis.

The next morning we went out exploring.

Such a beautiful view, can you imagine it in summer? Breathtaking.

The Rialto Bridge

The oldest bridge to span the grand canal in Venice. It has stairs on both outer sides as well as in the center where all the shops face.

A fountain in a square.

We stopped at the Rialto market early in the morning. One of my favorite parts of our trip.

Fresh local seafood!

Pig shaped salami?

Venice is truly a city where wandering is mandatory. We found this little square/area near the market that led us to the grand canal. The tide was rising, during a time they call "acqua alta" or high water. 

It's a little hard to tell, but I'm actually standing in the rising canal water. Yup, I planned ahead and brought my rainboots! 

I'm pretty sure I said "Omg! I'm standing in the venice canal!" Haha :)

Stay tuned for our next day in Venice!

"Let it Go" by the Women Who Sang it in 25 Languages

For all you Frozen fans- here's footage of the women who sang "Let it Go" in 25 languages. Even if you're not already in love with the song, this is pretty amazing!

Enjoy!

Here's the link to the article about it.

2014 Race Plans

2014 is turning out to be my year of running. Maybe it's that I found new running buddies or my new-found free time living without my husband or a general desire to run more. It's probably a combination of all three that's inspired me to sign up for more races. Here's what's on my race roster for 2014!

January
Neverland 5k 
Tinker Bell 10k
Tinker Bell Half

April
Santa Cruz Half

May 
Golden Gate Relay (like the Ragnar Relay)
Capitola Half (check out these cute medals!)

July
Jungle Run Half

August
Salinas Valley Half

October
Pumpkin Run 10k (my current 10k PR course)

November (my runDisney month!)
Wine & Dine Half
Avengers 5k
Avengers Half

What's on your roster for 2014?

Training Tuesday

Next race: April 13 - Half Marathon 

I have a little less than 2 weeks before my next race and I'm super excited to run a race again. I don't have a time goal in mind, just to have fun with my friends (this will be their first half). I'm also excited because I'll get to see my husband- he'll be visiting after a month of being apart. Seems like forever already. I don't think he'll run with me, since this is the race he runs for time. But he also hasn't been running that much, so we'll see who has the faster time. ;)

I was expecting to get in a 12 mile run on Sunday, but we only managed 8 miles. The gals I was running with just weren't feeling the run, so we cut it short. I usually run on the treadmill in the mornings, but I ran outside and noticed that I'm a lot faster outside than on the treadmill. Maybe it's the freedom to be able to go at my own pace rather than a controlled one? I'm still sticking to my strength training. It's about 60 push ups, 60 sit ups, squats, lunges, etc. Enough of a challenge, but easy to do every night. 

Do you have times when you just can't get into the run? 

Italy : Florence Part 2

I'm recapping the trip to Italy I took in January. 

You can find my recaps of Rome here (Part 1, Part 2, & Part 3) and Florence Part 1. 

The Accademia Galley

The Accademia is home to Michelangelo's David, the real one, not the replica. The statue is huge (17 feet tall) and sculpted from one piece of marble. I'm pretty sure I stood there with my jaw hanging open. Kinda incredible that Michelangelo was able to sculpt so much detail so many years ago without the tools we have today. This is really a must see in Florence.

Santa Croce Square

We wandered around this cute little square while on the hunt for a taxi stand in preparation for the next day's travel to Venice.

Up next... a cappuccino and pastry break! 

We needed some extra energy for our next adventure.

Florence Cathedral

The Florence Cathedral is the biggest and most notable cathedral in Florence. It consists of different buildings, including the Baptistry, Bell Tower and Duomo. One of the unique things is that you can climb to the top of the Duomo and take in Florence from a different view. It's 463 steps to the top of the dome, hence the need for coffee beforehand.

It's all fun and smiles... until you have to climb all those stairs...

 A view of the inside of the cathedral from ground level.

 The passages were very narrow while climbing to the top of the dome. Some past visitors left their memoirs.

About halfway up, you go back into the dome and can look down in the cathedral.

See those people down there? That's where I took the other photo of the cathedral.

Every so often, there were openings where you could see outside. See the tall tower towards the right? That's the Uffizi!

The steepest stairs to get to the very top.

We made it!

The top of the dome has space to walk around with a few benches. There are about 6 arches that go around the little viewing area.

There's still so much detail in the architecture, even at the top of this huge cathedral.

 View of the Bell Tower from the dome.

View of the Bell Tower from the ground.

Santa Croce Square (where we were earlier in the day)

Check back for my recaps on our final Italian city: Venice!