Top Ten of Twenty(20)Ten(10)

Because it’s the end of the year, and because everyone who’s anyone who has nothing better to do does this…I’ve decided to make a Top Ten of TwentyTen list for your perusal and enjoyment.

So here goes.

10. I ran 25 miles in my longest training run to date, while training for my first ever 50k ultra marathon. It took me 5 hours and 20 minutes, but I did it, and it was amazing.

9. I enjoyed traveling to countless cities – for free! – with Husband, thanks to his job which affords him this amazing perk of frequent flier miles which added up to a free one-year companion pass for me. Which means I can go anywhere with him, anytime, for nothin’. Go Southwest!

8. I’ve had the privilege of spending many days with some of the most incredible kids in the universe on a near-ongoing basis, some of whom are pictured here:

(This is Rebekah, my best friends’ oldest daughter, almost 4yo)

(And here’s Abigal, Rebekah’s sister, who is every drop of two years old.)

(The big kid would be Matt, my 14yo stepson, who occasionally tags along to help me babysit…and read to the young’ns…who LOVE him.)

7. I ran and finished my first ever trail race, covering nearly 12 miles and climbing upwards of 3,000 in elevation, at Chattanooga’s Stump Jump (I was supposed to run that 50k race I mentioned training for in #10, but alas, my #1 thing of 2010 kind of hampered that):

6. I ate some *amazing* food in some amazing cities, including but not limited to:

^^This incredible – and I mean incredible – hot dog at an Anaheim Angels game in California.

^^…as well as this unbelievable lobster in New York City.

^^…and this Green Curry in Alexandria, VA.

^^…and (finally) this unspeakably delicious bbq smorgasbord in Black Mountain, NC.

(It goes without saying – but I’ll say it anyway – that I did NOT eat to run, this year, but rather ran to eat!)

5. I enjoyed a rather intoxicating anniversary weekend away in …wait for it… Washington, DC with my Love:

(That’s the Lincoln Memorial from across the Reflection Pool.)

(And that’s Love and me in front of Lincoln…)

4. I somehow, through no fault or success of my own, managed to write one of my personal favorite songs to date, “Stronger Than You Think,” which has become a bit of a quiet anthem for myself and many I’ve had the privilege of getting to know:

3. I traveled to a LOT of states across the whole country on tour, running through and/or simply enjoying the sights of some incredible cities along the way, like these:

Seattle, WA…(the view from my hotel room balcony)…

….Greensboro, NC (the view from a 6 mile lakeside trail run)…

…Times Square in New York City (where I rather enjoyed looking grumpy for a moment, who knows why?)…

…The gorgeous shores of Long Island (NY)…

…and the Harvard University Campus in Cambridge, MA.

2. I spent over two months touring with two of my musical heroes, Jennifer Knapp and Derek Webb, during which time I literally shared the stage (and a van) with them, sang songs with them, ate food with them, made jokes with them, and took pictures with other super famous cats like these guys (they’re called “Hanson”):

AAAAAAND…

the number one thing I did in 2010….

1) I MADE A BABY!! (With the help of Husband, of course!) He’s currently 23 weeks baked in my uterus for an oven, and due on April 27, 2011. He will, no doubt, be number one on next year’s Top Ten list as well!