ONE YEAR OLDER....BUT STILL YOUNG AT HEART!!

So last week Wednesday, April 14th, I celebrated another birthday!! I should have written a post then but I had such a busy day that I never got around to it. To be totally honest, it was one of the best birthdays I've had in a long time! I've never really been a huge birthday person, as in I don't really make a big deal about it. However, it really is such an awesome feeling when your friends and family make it a point to show you just how much they care.

I received a couple of cool gifts too, stuff that I had probably been in dire need of, lol. I'm an old skool girl at heart and so sometimes I don't really get with the times until everyone else has moved on to the next thing, leaving me still trying to catch up. I'm cool with that though - maybe one of these days keeping up with the Jones' will be important to me but to this point in my life, that's never been the case and I don't envision that changing.

That being said though, I REALLY loved my gifts and the thought that went into them. When someone shows you just how thoughtful they are by paying close to attention to what you need, it makes you feel that much more special:)

I think back to a year ago at this time. I had just injured my Achilles on April 18th 2009, I was without direction, upset, sad, afraid of the recovery road that lay ahead, worried about the apparent end of my long and oh-so-fulfilling career, and just really wondering where my path was going to take me. I had nothing but questions and very few answers.

Fast forward one year later and I have landed! Last Friday, I was finally able to jog again....woohoo! Yeah for rehab/physiotherapy!! I've been fortunate enough to have some great business and career opportunities fall into place and I'm SO excited about that. My bank account is looking pretty good:), I had a smooth transition from one tenant to another in my house in Austin, TX, thank goodness, I have been enjoying myself, my heart is being taken care of so well;-) and I am truly at one of the best points of my life!

I smile a lot. And the world seems to be smiling back at me. I keep wondering how come the Lord sees fit to keep blessing me like this, but since I don't know how or why, all I do is just keep thanking Him. If someone would have asked me where I would've been a year from last year, I would've never guessed that I would be standing in this place.

And all I can do is keep on keeping on, trying to be a good person, to show my friends and family how much they mean to me. People keep asking me how come I still look so young and would have to say that I think the key to my youthful feeling and appearance is just that I live life to the fullest, I stay positive, I really care about people, I'm passionate, I don't take myself too seriously and laugh a whole heck of a lot:-)

So here's to another year of life!!! I have a feeling it's gonna be my best one yet!!!!!

BIRTHDAY GIRL!!!!

SO TODAY's MY BIRTHDAY!!!

I'm not usually a big birthday person. I'm always just grateful to celebrate another year of being healthy and happy. This year is not that much different except that I'm feeling particularly good!

I flew back to LA about a week ago to take care of my foot and while it's still not 100%, perhaps I'm feeling good because my training is still going well. Perhaps it's because I got to see my family over the weekend. Perhaps it's because Easter Sunday service was AWESOME! Perhaps it's because my track season finally kicks off this weekend in NC. Perhaps it's because I have the love and support of my friends and family. I don't know what it is, but I feel good!

It's uncanny how many of my favourite people are born in April too! Some of us are Aries and some of us Taurus but either way, I love them all:-) I don't have any great plans for today - practice, of course and then maybe dinner with some friends later on. With friends, family, and The Truth;-)in my life, plus a healthy mind and spirit, what more could a girl ask for? Thanks to my blogger family too for all the supportive, interesting, insightful and fun comments throughout the year.

So here's to April 14th!!! Hope to see another one roll around next year!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOM AND MY BROTHER!!!

Today is my mother's birthday so I wanted to take the time to wish her a beautiful day!!! She is the kindest, most generous, most loving person I know and I'm so grateful that God chose her to be my mother. I remember the days when I was growing up and she would drive me to the track EVERY day and sit in the stands and watch and wait for me to have my practice even if it took 2 or 3 hours. Then she would take me home and ensure that I did my homework and help me whenever I needed it. I didn't realize at the time how much of a sacrifice she had to make in order for me to become the athlete, the student, the woman that I am today.

On Saturday I drove up to Bakersfield and surprised her with flowers and my dad and I took her to dinner. I think she enjoyed it all but she really almost had a heart attack when she turned around and saw me just standing there in the middle of her bedroom!

She is funny and supportive and thoughtful and I hope and believe that I've not fallen far from the tree and I couldn't be more happy about that. Here's a picture of when she was in her thirties and I superimposed a current picture of me next to her. I think we look a lot alike!



Here's another picture of her. I think she was in her early 20s in this one.


Tomorrow, the 18th, is also my older brother, Dr. John Edwards' birthday, my only sibling. I couldn't be more proud of anyone. He's worked so hard and accomplished so much and I wish him nothing but success. He certainly deserves it.

Here's a picture of me and him at my Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Stanford last year.



So Happy Birthday to you both!!! I wish I could be with you respectively but know that my heart and my thoughts are with you. Your loving daughter and sister....

PENN RELAYS

So this morning I flew to Philadelphia, PA for the renowned Penn Relays. It is one of, if not the largest track meet held every year in the US. I haven't competed here in years and to be honest in spite of the hype and circumstance, it's never really been one of my favorite meets, perhaps due in a large part to the overwhelming number of athletes that do come. On the one hand, it's a great thing because that means track and field is alive and well. On the other hand, they really herd you around like cattle to get all the many races off on schedule. In addition to the fact that there is no warm up area so you literally have to warm up in the nearby streets. Not a pleasant thing to do, particularly if you have shin splints like I do.

OK. That's it for the negativity! Now that I've gotten that out, I'm coming with new eyes and a fresh attitude in hopes of performing well. There is a little more pressure this weekend because I am competing for my country and once I have The Bahamas written across my chest, the stakes rise just a little bit.

Several of my training partners are here for this weekend as well, along with our coach, Brooks. The 110 men's hurdle crew will be going for the world record in the shuttle hurdles relay and they stand a VERY good chance of breaking it. So good luck to them.

Before I sign off, let me take the opportunity to wish my friend David a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! He turns 26 today! Perhaps that world record will be his birthday present to himself! Since I knew we would be traveling today, I wanted to return the favor and make sure he had a great birthday dinner a couple nights ago - David, me, Joice, Aub, Joel and Randy. We had a lot of fun at this Italian restaurant where Dave was up to his usual antics. Poor Sassy, our waitress, she had no idea what she had signed up for:) Here are just a couple pics from our night out. I wish I could post them all but I'll just share a few. And yes , it is still the same night in the bottom picture, but Dave decided to change his shirt mid-dinner!!

Anyway, that's it for now, I'll let you know how it goes.