Funnymoods

So, I just joined Weight Watchers. Again.

Which is a little different from how many times I’ve “re-started” WW. That’s about a trillion and, honestly, to very little to no success each time aside from the very first time when I actually did hit my goal weight for a whole 2 weeks until I settled in somewhere upwards of it 5-10 lbs. of it for a number of years. Then some more weight came on. A pound here. A pound there. I’d start counting points again which never lasted more than a week or two. And I finally gave up on WW. I quit. I deleted my account. I tried some other programs such as working with the trainers at my club who lead my small group training classes. I tried My Fitness Pal. I also didn’t try. I didn’t try a lot.

Then some stuff happened this spring. My dad died. That was kind of a big deal. I also ran the Big Sur marathon. That was not as big a deal, but still significant — especially since it came on the heel’s of dad’s death and I did manage to raise over $1200 in his name for Audubon MN by dedicating my run in his honor.

Other minor stuff has happened. I work a lot. I love my work, but it sometimes gets in the way of making good choices. Or at least that the excuse I’ve used.

Then today, as I settled into my desk in anticipation of a productive day working from home to get caught up on a whole bunch of end-of-fiscal-year stuff, I found myself on the site and signing up for e-tools for whatever reason. And all I can say is holy buckets, the site is all sorts of different. The program is different, too. Fruit is 0 points?? WTF is up with that?

Maybe it will be motivating. The tools for the smartphone are way better than they were before. Or maybe I’ll give up again in two weeks. Not sure. I hope not, but we’ll see.

For now, I’m back. I’ve got 7 points left for the day and I’ve drank a whole load of water this afternoon as just one tactic to avoid snacking on the left-over early birthday cake that James cooked for me last night.

So, you may or may not know this, but my dad died last week. On Sunday night.

And it was sudden. Completely out of the blue.

Maybe “not really” out of the blue. I don’t think anyone would disagree with me if I acknowledged my dad wasn’t the “healthiest” guy. In fact, he wasn’t all that healthy at all. He smoke. He drank. He didn’t exercise like I do. But you still don’t expect that phone call. Not at 62 years of age. Not at 1 am. Not four days before his 63rd birthday. Not after spending a night out with your husband, a date-night of sorts spent de-stressing from the work week with a fancy dinner and drinks and a nice sound sleep in our warm & comfy bed.

But the phone rang. Oh, boy, did it “rang.” We did our best to ignore it for a solid 2-3 hours. Finally, at 3:45 AM, James had enough wits to acknowledge the vibrating cell phones and got up because someone wanted to get a hold of us. Someone. Someone as in my dad’s wife. Someone as in my brother. Dad is not well. Family needs to come. And suddenly we were packing ourselves up in the middle of the night and on our way to Kentucky.

The story doesn’t end well. My dad was sick. He was on life support. We got to spend some time with him while still “technically” alive. I had the sense that he was gone. But I also wanted to retain hope. It’s too early. He’s still so young.

On Saturday night, after leaving the hospital and attempting to get a few ZZZss at a local hotel, I dreamed/sensed exactly at 3:30 am that dad’s spirit had finally joined that of Grandma & Grandpa Begley’s. Still, I wanted to hold out hope that thing could change, he could get better.

That hope lasted until Sunday evening. 48 hours before my dad’s 63rd birthday, he was pronounced dead.

My dad was dead.

After that, the week became a whirlwind of decisions made and memories shared. I think we did our absolute best to celebrate him and make proper arrangements. But it’s a jumble. It’s a hazy, busy week spent in the state where I grew up. There were some hours in the hotel gym. There were hours in the local bar. There were hours spent walking across the campus where I met my husband and lunched with my dad, the professor. My brother was there with his wife and my niece. My dad’s wife’s family – so very big and bold – took up an enormous amount of space that I found both comforting and overwhelming. I ran into members and memories of my past that I’ve spent a good 20-30 years outrunning for reasons of which now I’m not exactly sure why. It was a long, hard week.

At at the end of all, we had a lovely visitation. Lovely words were spoken. And we all felt heavily the weight of the life that was lost. My dad. Gone too soon

I did speak some words at the memorial. And, being the planner that I am, I had to write them in advance. So, I only thought it would be fitting to share them here online as well. Put them on the internet. In loving memory of my dad, Thomas Reid Begley, Jr. The environmental engineer. The uncle. The husband. The grandfather. The man who played a big part in making me who I am and, I know, impacted the lives of many others:

If there is anything that resonates with me most about my dad it is both his passion for the outdoors and his love of of technology. My childhood was fused with both — whether it was my playing 3-Mile Island on our old Apple II E (a video game where you tried to prevent a nuclear meltdown) or going on one of our many camping/canoeing adventures. And I mean MANY. So many that I actually took about a 20 year hiatus from camping, just ask my husband.

We were always surrounded by technology and the outdoors growing up. I would go to the computer lab with dad and save my work on those giant, literally “floppy” disks. I attended my first Earth Day celebration on the Murray State campus as a very young kid — way before caring for the Earth was a popular mindset.

And it was these core tenants that made me who I am. A technology enthusiast with a passion for the environment. I get to go to work every day and talk about Facebook and iPad apps and do it for a company that genuinely cares for the world we live in. And I know for certain that I wouldn’t be doing this if it was not for my father’s influence.

Dad & I had a complex relationship and we didn’t visit frequently. But that distance or lack of words did not diminish how threaded he is in the fiber of my being. My love of animals. The fact that, after refusing to canoe for over twenty years, I actually bought my very own kayak. And the way that I look with wonder at the gorgeousness of nature on every run, hike or bike ride that I take. That love of looking on our world is not a skill that can be taught. It is an influence that happens by leading by example. And there is no bigger or better example for caring and appreciating the world we live in, than my dad.

We have shared a lot of stories about my dad over that past week. Lots of them funny and full of life. I have ton of my own. But when I think about him, I keep coming back to the simplest of stories. Growing up, when we would camp, he often would refuse to set up the tent and I would get so frustrated by that. Why would he do that? But he always responded that he just wanted to sleep under the stars. To this day, that memory resonates. He just wanted to sleep under the stars. Wanted to look on the majesty of it all and take it in. And we could all be so lucky to find such pleasure in the simple wonder of our world. And we are all so lucky to have had such an influence in our lives.

Thank you, Dad. You were truly one of a kind.

This has been a very transitional year for me. The job switch has been the most obvious adjustment. But during the past year, there have been other shifts in how I act, behave, see things, live. And probably the most pronounced adjustment (again, aside from the job thing) is that I’m becoming a different kind of athlete.

Fitness and activity is very important to me. Since I found multi-sport and running and cycling many years ago, my live has been truly changed. I’m a different person because of it all. This focus on activity has brought with it so many amazing experiences and outlets. Spending time outdoors. Achieving goals. Pushing through what once seemed impossible. The ability to detox and de-stress through physical exertion. The camaraderie that comes from running, cycling, swimming with buddies. All of these are aspects of sport that truly make my life the amazing thing that is.

But with all that said, I am not the crazy, competitive 35 year old that I was a mere five years ago. I no longer feel that drive to constantly get faster, to increase my place within my age group. And while, sure, I want to see progress and I like to run a personal best if that’s the opportunity in front of me on a particular day, whether or not I do so is no longer as defining as it once was. Maybe it’s just that I’ve come to accept that I’m going to have races that are slower than my personal bests. I certainly don’t put in the same amount of time to training that I once did. Other things have taken priority. And that’s okay. Where I once used to aim for 10-15 training hours per week, now I’m settling for 6 or 7. It’s a balance on the other side that I kind of like. Not devoting entire Saturdays to swim/bike/run can be a really good thing if it means I have time to go to the dog park or the farmer’s market, maybe catch up on work a little or even just linger over a cup of coffee with my husband.

So, as part of that, my goals are different. I still enjoy races. But the journey is the focus now. The finish time is not the only measure of success. And I’m really starting to enjoy the zen that comes from that revelation.

At the end of the day, I’m so very fortunate to have the body, the time and the economic freedom to do what I do. The luxury of laying down 10 miles on the trail padding away with my running group or while listening to a favorite podcast is something I am continually thankful for. There is no reason to beat myself up over not getting faster like I was once known to do. Going slow is no longer an indicator of a bad workout.

I’m not sure exactly when and how I go here, but I’m happy I made it. To be satisfied in the simple action is the end goal.

Life is good. We are constantly evolving, growing, learning. And just learning to appreciate and acknowledge that is such a peaceful and blessed state.

Of course, I say all that but have to acknowledge that I’m not giving up my heart rate monitor. I’ll still lap time my miles. I still love my numbers and tools. They’re just reflective of different kind of fitness end goal.

Oh, hi there bloggidy blog. How are you?

It’s June 1 today. What does that mean? Well, for me specifically, it means I’m exactly 17 days away from turning 40.

The big four zero.

If you ask my husband, he’d say I was taking this one kind of hard. I’m not sure I agree with him. I feel like I’m doing a heck of a lot better than other peeps I’ve known who’ve made the crossover fared. And the Mister had a heck of a hard time himself with #39, so I’m not sure he’s one to talk either.

But I have to admit. As positive and optimistic a person that I am (and as much as I adore my birthday), approach forty has been, for me, a little melancholy. It’s made me slightly sad. Reflective. As I was explaining to my stylist tonight as she was touching up my “over 50% grey roots”, I think it’s tough because I’m really sad to leave my 30s. The thirties have been really good to me and, on June 18th, they are technically over.

I think it’s also tough because there is the part of me that has to acknowledge that this is the last decade milestone where I can “keep getting better.” I was definitely in much better shape at 30 than I was at 20. And 35 was probably my sweetest year — lowest weight, most athletic. I’m not exactly there now where I was at 35, but I know I’m doing pretty good for my age. I ringing in 40 pretty well. And I can’t help but think that a decade from now… well… I’ll be 50.

And I’m just going to say it because I’m thinking it. 50 is most typically not as hot as 40.

I’m just saying.

There’s something in just acknowledging the fact that I’m crossing over to the flip side. I’m officially becoming middle-aged.

And it’s all cool. Really. I am in great shape. I have a great job. My life is pretty damn sweet. This 40 thing is just a milestone. As trite as the saying is: it is what it is. And I’m damn lucky that I am who I am.

I have a great life.

So, I’m counting down. Grandma’s Half Marathon on June 16th with be my last official race of my 30s. It will mark the decade that turned me into an athlete. A decade that changed me significantly in so many ways even beyond that. It was a decade that was an absolutely fucking blast.

And after that: bring it middle-age. I’m ready. I’m waiting. Just 17 more days.

So, a funny thing happened. On Sunday, I headed out for my Zone 2 run before the Super Bowl. I’ve been bitching all over Daily Mile and to anyone who will listen about how all this base building training is killing me. I don’t have a single cardio workout where I’m allowed to go over Zone 3 (unless you count random, short intervals that are part of my Team Fitness classes). Most of the workouts are soundly in Zone 2 which is between 125-140 bpm for me. And all of this has translated to slow, slow, SLOW runs. And, truth be told, I’ve become a little paranoid that overall these slow runs will make me a slow runner. How can I possibly run fast when I’m putting in all this time running 11-12 minute miles?

Then, last weekend, I headed out for my Zone 2 run. I had my Nike Plus app running. I was focused on not running any harder than 140 bpm. And when I finished, I managed to drop about 15 seconds per mile off my pace compared to my last Zone 2 run in early January. Granted, it still feels super slow at 11:37 per mile. But it’s faster than the 11:53 from a few weeks ago — so that means something is happening, right?

With all that said, I have about a month or left of this — then I am going to check in with my trainer for another cardio point test to see if my base has increased and if I can move onto another phase of training.

In other news, this has been a doozy of a week. So absolutely crazy. I attended our first global sales meeting for work which is basically 4 days straight of meetings and presentations. I actually got the opportunity to present on the big stage on Tuesday. Then Wednesday, I lead a follow-up deep dive session for digital. It was a lot of prep leading up. Then the week itself included intense sessions, lots of conference food, nights out. It was pretty exhausting. Fun. But exhausting. It took all I had to squeeze in a few workouts. And my eating was not the best. I didn’t always make the best choices and I really didn’t have much control over the food.

The irony of all this is I started the Lifetime Fitness 90 Day Challenge on Saturday. It’s a 90 day competition focused on weight loss and I thought it would be a good kick in the butt. That said, this week was hardly a good week to start off on. I didn’t track my food. I didn’t focus on protein as much as I should have. And I went to not one, but TWO cocktail parties. So much for laying off the sauce? ;)

I knew this would be the case, though. So today is a new day. The crazy is over. I’m back to logging, tracking, working out. And I swear I’m going to try and lay off the liquor. Sacrifices, right?

The marathon was completed. It was not my best race, but it was a great experience. I ended up finishing in 4 hours and 50 minutes. Officially my slowest marathon time ever by 2 minutes. But given the amount of training that went into it, I’m cool with that. Add to that the fact that it got up near 80 degrees and I’m not a good runner in warms temps and the fact that the pancake flat course really put a beating into my legs. I’ll take 4:50.

I have photos. I have my splits. Perhaps at some point I’ll document them here. But for now, that’s the update. I’m glad I did it. James and I had a fantastic weekend in Chicago. We ate like kings and I got to experience a world-class marathon. Life is good to me.

Since then, the holidays happened. Work crazy continued. I still love, love, love my gig and I’m doing my best to find balance and not work round-the-clock. I think that’s one of the challenges being a childless person. I don’t have those familial obligations forcing balance on me and I have a tendency to not hit the off-switch near enough.

I have gained some weight. I have my work cut out for me. But I also have recently started some circuit training classes at the gym. This began with a fitness assessment back in November. I had my resting heart rate measured as well as my anaerobic threshold tested. The diagnosis was that I have no base. All my running has been at Zone 4 or above. So the personal trainer I’ve been seeing suggested more weight training and some focus on base training. Since I also knew I was doing the Walt Disney World half-marathon in early Jan, I held off on the base training until that was completed. I did begin my Team Fitness classes in November and, so far, I love them. It’s three days a week. We do all kinds of crazy workouts with free weights, machines, plyometrics, crazy balance things. Sometimes I feel like I’m in The Biggest Loser during the workouts. And since I’m paying extra for this torture, I’m motivated not to skip. Two+ months in, I have seen a difference in my arms. I’m getting them back after I quit swimming regularly. I haven’t seen any weight loss, but that’s my own fault with diet, holidays, etc., etc., etc.

In other news, the man and I took a lovely trip to NYC in mid-December. I added a long weekend onto a work trip and we had a lovely time staying in Midtown, experiencing the city during the holidays, taking in great shows and loads of good food. It was a little big magical and such a treat.

And since one trip in a month was clearly not enough, we also headed to Florida last weekend for the aforementioned Walt Disney World Half Marathon. We met up with some friends from the South as well as brought along a couple we knew in MN and had a blast. We had a fantastic (gigantic!) condo. We laughed harder than I recall at any time in recent memory. And the race was really, really fun. Again, not a PR by any means, but this isn’t a race to be serious in. We stopped to get our picture taking with Captain Jack Sparrow and in front of the Magic Kingdom. We dodged about a ba-jillion other runners (officially, the most crowded race I’ve ever done). But we had such a blast. I wore a tutu. I ran the entire race with my buddy. We had margaritas waiting for us back in the condo after the finish. This was certainly an experience I would repeat many times over.

We returned from Florida last Monday and I have to admit, I’ve been extremely lucky to not just have generous holiday and vacation time in December, but I got to follow it all with a trip and then again, this weekend, another 3-day weekend for the MLK holiday. With all this free time, I’ve really gotten a chance to dig into my workouts as well as get caught up in other places. One of the big things I’ve been researching is fitness tools and apps. I’ve been using Training Peaks for ages, but I haven’t always used it consistently. Then I became inspired by a girlfriend who ran 1000 miles in 2011. I want to track my mileage for 2012 and I decided I needed an app I’d go to consistently. So after looking at a ton of them (Nike, Run Keeper, Map My Run, etc., etc., etc.), I landed at Daily Mile. I hadn’t used it before and I love it just a few weeks in. So, I’m officially there for my training. I’m on MyFitnessPal.com for my nutrition. And I’m migrating over to the Nike App and Electric Miles apps for my during training logging. Boy, technology is sure amazing.

The only other thing that I’ve been really obsessed with is determining what kinds of races I want to do this year. After finishing the WDW half, everyone keeps asking me what my next race is and I honestly don’t know. I’m considering a few things: Twin Cities Marathon in the fall, maybe the Twin Cities Triathlon in July (with a swim in the Mississippi). I’ve also talked about Warrior Dash again. Maybe Get in Gear 1/2. Maybe another Dairyland Dare. But we also want to make sure we hold summer time for kayaking since we did invest in boats last summer. So, I’m not sure. My only real plan is to continue this base training plan my trainer has me on, keep up with Team Fitness and see where it all takes me in a month or so.

So there you go. All caught up.

It’s that time when I need to start gearing up for my big race on Sunday and focusing on a positive outcome. I need to mentally prepare for a good day and trust that the training I logged over the past 3-4 months is what will get me to the finish no matter how many doubts start to drift into my sub-conscious.

One good exercise is just looking at tonight. It was a short run. 5 miles. 5 miles is pretty short when your long runs are 15 miles and up. Yet after a long day at work, finding the motivation just to put on my shoes is a challenge. That’s what I was thinking about as I started my run tonight. The list of reasons tonight was harder than the big race that is staring me in the face:

(1) A run after work is always harder than any race. I’ve already put in 8 – 11 hours of work into the day. I’m tired. Sometimes exhausted. I’ve been sitting most of the day. I might be a little dehydrated. Exercising under those conditions is always harder. The opposite: race day is about race day. It’s the first thing you do. Sometimes it’s the only thing you do and everything goes into it: nutrition, hydration, rest. Being in that condition — primed and ready to go — makes the race so much easier to tackle.

(2) No audience. Any run after work is pretty much an unrecognized accomplishment. Yet Sunday, the race will be lined with thousands of people cheering me and all the other runners on. That always makes it easier.

(3) Seen that, done that. I’ve run my 5-mile route for 10+ years. I love it. It’s my home. But it gets monotonous. I see the same things, run the same hills over and over and over. Sunday will be all new — the sights, smells and noise of Chicago will engulf me. What a great distraction during a long run.

The truth is: I’ve been crabby about this marathon. I haven’t been able to train as much as I’d have liked. Transitioning to my new gig has been a challenge and a time-suck. And I’ve been super busy this fall with vacation, travel for work and just loads going on in general. I just haven’t dedicated the time I’d hoped to this race. I also didn’t focus on losing weight for the race either. Given all that, it’s pretty likely I won’t PR and that’ll be a first for my fourth marathon.

But I’ve got to be okay with that. I am okay with that. I ran with a run club and coach this training season and the coach made a good point. She said, “If you’d hadn’t of signed up for this marathon, you probably wouldn’t have even run this much.”

Such a good point. Because of the race, I did make time to run — even if it was only 2x per week.

This is who I am for this marathon. And I’m about to experience something amazing no matter what my one mile pace will be.

A friend on Facebook shared this Chicago marathon video and it’s been such a great motivator.

Sunday is going to be awesome. It just is.

In May, I changed it up by switching jobs. It was a bold move. One I wasn’t quite sure about. But everything worth doing is scary, right? So I made the leap and, almost two months later, I know it was a good move. Sure, there are things I miss about the old gig. And I still have so very much to learn in my new role. It’s a new culture. A new market. New processes (or lack there of). But it’s been a lot of fun. The people are amazing. The products a complete luxury. And I can’t help but gush over the little things like the really great noon yoga classes, the organic & vegetarian-friendly cafe and the onsite massage. I truly feel like this is the right place for me.

And I totally remind myself of those things on all the days I feel like I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.

At any rate, with such a big change, a lot of other things have been changed up as well. My commute is shorter, so I feel like I’ve gotten some of my life back. I’ve also had to switch primary health clubs since the plush location I used to attend was so close to my last employer. At first I was pretty bummed that the only club location most convenient between work and home was the women’s only club that doesn’t have a pool, steam room, dedicated cycling studio, heated yoga room or hot tubs. No, my club now is pretty bare bones. It’s close, but it’s the bare minimum.

That said, I’ve totally been enjoying it. It’s not nearly as crowded & hectic. There is no parking situation like the fancy club. I’ve actually discovered some really good cycling & total body conditioning classes. And best of all? There is a really great run club.

As of tonight, I’ve completed three runs with the group. The ladies have been really welcoming & I’ve been enjoying the company. After 10+ years of solo running, this is a real mix up to routine. I’m also training for Chicago Marathon with the group. So, for the first time ever, I’m not going to be going solo on my long runs. This is going to be weird, but in also think it’s going to be fun. I’m also hoping it will push me in a way going solo never did.

So, full post to come with scans of documentation and the entire story. But I want to get a summary out now, if just to publically document in longer form than Twitter, what is currently going on with our Capital One loan consolidation that we’ve been paying on for three years with never a late payment.

Two months ago, end of March, we received notification from Capital One that our account was paid in full and closed. A few days later, we received a check from Capital One for over-payment since loan was paid (over $300). We were surprised, but obviously pleasantly happy. (Luckily we never cashed the check.)

Then, 1.5 weeks ago, Capital One calls James. They made a mistake. They credited wrong account. We weren’t paid in full. We have 25 payments left. That’s fine. Mistakes happen.

Then, this week, not even a full week later, we start being harrassed because our account is two months past due. They want two months worth of payments ASAP to put our account back in good standing. James has been talking to them about this. Then we get a letter in the mail today saying they have reported our delinquincy to a credit bureau!! We didn’t even know there was a mistake made until 9 days ago!

This is so frustrating. But I’m so glad we have all our documentation. I’m also glad we have good enough credit to take our business elsewhere. More to come…

But right now i just have to shake my head. We’re good customers. We’ve always paid our bills. They made a mistake. And now we are being harrassed and threatened to have our credit compromised through no fault of our own.

So, first off: Yay for change.

If you follow me on Twitter or are friends with me on FB, you’d heard the news. In fact, you’re probably ready for me to get over it, already. I can just hear it: “Enough with the I got a new job blah, blah, blah…”

But for those of you *not* in the know (or wanting a more expanded version of what went down beyond the 140 character variety), here’s the deal. I left General Mills. It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. Just leaving Betty Crocker, the brand, was a real gut-wringer. As a hippy/co-op foodie turned corporate food marketer, I’m still struck by the affinity I developed for her (and General Mills as a whole) while working on the brand. It was certainly one of the best and most edifying experiences of my career. And don’t even get me started on leaving “one of the best companies to work for” (GMI has been voted that by numerous publications year after year). I really began to wonder if I was seriously crazy for even considering the move.

Yet, the thing is: it’s Aveda. AND I get to manage digital marketing for this awesome brand.

I’ve long been a brand advocate for Aveda. Their position on the environment, sustainability and natural ingredients has always resonated with me deeply. The fact that they are a local company is just plain lucky. They are also owned by Esteé Lauder so I still get to work under the umbrella of a larger organization with a ton of other amazing brands. And I get to do cool work.

It’s really a very exciting new chapter in my career and I feel so blessed to have this opportunity.

With all that said, I did struggle in terms of stress, workouts, nutrition and training during the few months this was happening. During the interview process (and then the decision-making process on whether or not to switch), I didn’t get much sleep and my workouts certainly took a back-seat in priority. Then after making the decision and putting in my notice, there was the whole transitioning of my role at General Mills which had its own level of anxiety (obviously, I wanted to leave everything in as good of shape as I could). Finally, leaving such a great team was bittersweet and tough.

It was a whirlwind, too. My last day at General Mills was Friday, May 13. I then turned around and started at Aveda on Monday, May 16 in order to get settled and then travel to NYC on May 18 for a digital conference with Esteé Lauder. Crazy town!

Actually, it was super cool and such a great opportunity. But it didn’t leave much time for downtime.

At least until now.

I got home from NYC on Friday and Aveda let me take this following week off to transition personally — which explains my writing this post from my couch in my PJs on a Wednesday morning (((love)))). I can already feel the stress melting off.

I don’t have any big plans this week. Just to chill. I treated myself yesterday to an extended facial appointment which was absolutely yummy. I’ve also been scheduling odds & ends like teeth cleaning and an eye appointment. Closet re-org is on the schedule and I really should clean out the refrigerator. I’m also going to work out everyday and start to re-attend Weight Watcher meetings since I haven’t really been back in three weeks. My last weigh-in revealed a gain of 3 lbs. after all the success I saw earlier. Obviously annoying. But I knew what was going on with the whole transition thing. Therefore, I skipped the past few weeks just because I didn’t need to be dealing with that on top of everything else. I think I’m ready to go back.

Originally, I thought this might be the week of epic cycling adventures. But honestly, the weather here in MN has been less than motivating. As I type this, it’s a windy, damp, chilly 54 degrees out. I’m so not motivated to go out and ride 70 miles in this when I can instead attend a yoga class, be productive around the house, shop. I am hoping the 65 degrees and sun forecast for tomorrow actually happens. I’d like to get at least one long, epic ride in during this time off.

So, that’s the dealio. Big, exciting changes and a whole new chapter in my career. The transition from cupcakes to beauty products has officially begun.