I'M ON VACATION!!!

I came home from Europe and the first song I heard on the radio was “All I Want For Christmas Is A Good Tan”. Heck ya! I couldn’t think of anything better after that month of traveling in Europe. I’ve had a crazy schedule ever since… I spent one night at home doing five loads of laundry before I repacked my bags, drove them up to Pennsylvania and dropped them off with Eric. A day later I’m in San Diego, California anxiously awaiting to board a cruise ship tomorrow bound for Mexico. My internal clock has shut down completely…my body doesn’t know what to think of time zones (hence the fact that I’m writing this at 4am in my hotel room). It’s kind of nice to be an “early bird” for once. This is the first time in a few years that my ENTIRE family has been together for Christmas. Both of my brothers are finally back from Iraq and my niece and nephew are old enough to run around on their own. I can’t wait! Even though I’ve never been so jet lagged in my life, I’ve also never been so excited for a vacation. If nothing else...I'm going to get a great tan!!!
I found out yesterday that there will not be a race-off for a spot on the second half of the World Cup circuit…At least not for the women. I was hoping for the opportunity but I guess it’s not going to happen this year. The coaches feel that the current team has performed well enough to hold their spot. On the other hand, I’m kind of happy that I don’t have to go spend another two months overseas and I get to race on my home tracks. The men will have an exciting race-off next week during National Championships. Caleb is up against Matt and Kyle for that third position. I look forward to seeing how that unravels.

However, like I said, I’M ON VACATION! I’ve asked my family to not talk to me at all about skeleton because I need a break. I’m using this Christmas get-a-way to relax, refuel, and get my feet back on the ground for the second half of the season. There’s a running track around the top of the ship and a decent weight room so I’m excited to workout with my brothers – it may end up to be a little more like boot camp but I’m ready! Sometimes I have more intense competitions with them than I do with my teammates… hopefully I’ll take a little of that with me to Nationals.

Cheers!!! I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!