For our twins’ first Christmas, the pile of presents under the tree surrounded the entire tree and stacked up halfway. That was just the presents for the boys. Gift giving is a holiday tradition for many families but with new children, it can easily feel excessive. For their second Christmas, we decided to minimize presents as much as possible, especially from us, and do our best to teach them charity and gratitude instead.

For many people, 2017 was a pretty rough year. The world seems to have gone crazy with political tensions running high. No one is getting along and people are more divided than ever. Yet, for me, 2017 was a fairly good year. As our first full year with the twins, we had a lot of milestones and fun times over the year. At the beginning of the year, the boys started daycare.

What’s In Your Bag is a common series on technology sites and blogs where writers open their bags and their hearts to show their favorite gadgets, tools, and necessities. With that in mind, I’d like to share what I typically carry in my bag on a daily basis or on a trip. I wrote up what I was using in June of 2014, and it’s pretty amazing how much has changed in three and a half years.

For women in technology, life can be terrible. The male dominated field has recently come to light for being discriminatory, unfair, and often times completely hostile to females, but these problems have existed practically forever. After Susan Fowler’s piece about the harassment she faced at Uber, the manifesto published by a Google employee, and the sheer number of executives and leaders resigning from tech companies, it’s clear there is a huge problem in the industry, even though it was pretty obvious before too.

After graduating from bottles to solid food, so many new fears come out around feeding children. Bottles allow easy measurement of the amount of food so it’s fairly easy to know if kids are getting enough. Once the real food starts, measuring the amount is just the tip of the iceberg. From worrying about nutrition to allergies and anxiety about refusing food, it gets so much harder for parents. On the bright side, watching kids chomp down on home-made food and appreciating the effort parents put into it is incredibly rewarding.

With shins sore from a day on the slopes, I eagerly await a table to sit down with a hoppy beer and a massive burger to restore some energy. At this altitude, drinks hit faster, and fatigue sets in quicker, so finding the right spot for a break is paramount. Thankfully, Breckenridge has more than just a world-class ski scene, there’s no shortage of incredible places to eat and drink as well.

I sit in the grass in a park 800 miles from home, after running 26.2 miles through an incredible city with great sights and friendly people. It sounds just like my second marathon, in Belfast, but my fourth marathon, in Chicago, was different than any other I’ve run. My first marathon in New York was a life-altering challenge in which I barely made it to the finish, propelled only by the massive crowds and friends and family along the route.

It’s no secret that I’m an appreciator of gadgets and electronics. I’ve gone through probably 12 phones in the last 10 years and a variety of cameras, media players, computers, and devices. Most have ended up on Ebay after use, but a few have stayed in my collection longer. I’ve also received some interesting devices from my grandfather’s collection that have both a sentimental value to me as well as an awesome antique, analogue aesthetic that I love.

Las Vegas might be known for drinks, shows, and sin, but the reason I really enjoy it is that it’s the perfect jumping off spot for some of the most interesting and stark natural landscape in the country. To the east is Death Valley and Red Rock Canyon. To the west is the Grand Canyon. Further north are the incredible National Parks, Zion and Bryce Canyon. This part of the country is spectacular and makes for the perfect roadtrip.

Oprah can keep her holiday guide. Her gifts will keep you on the couch and snuggling, while runners want to be outside training for the next race. I’ve tried and tested a ton of running gear this year, and I can definitively say these are my favorite items. From head to foot, this running gear will get you out and running and keep you there. My running routine has changed a bit with a total of four marathons under my belt, way fewer treadmill runs, more trail running on the weekends, and the discovery of a running route at work that has allowed me to get in runs more frequently.