So much to catch up on, I’m just not sure where to start. I suppose I could start with the obvious: I lost one of my best friends in the whole world back in May. My buddy, Sienna.

She was the first dog I ever had as an adult. Really, my first dog. And she really was the most perfect first dog to have. Words cannot even express how much I loved that girl. In fact, I gathered a whole bunch of photos for her final RIP blog entry — yet never was able to gather my wits to write it. There is too much to say and too few words.

She was my buddy. She changed our lives in ways I never imagined. And she will be greatly, greatly missed.

+ + +

After losing the girl, we needed a distraction. The distraction took the form of the vacation of a lifetime: a giant road trip to Wyoming all with the excuse of adopting a puppy out West. The quick back story: I’m obsessed with the Keeshond breed of dog (obvoiusly!) and when I knew Sienna was sick, I started looking around for breeders or rescues. There were no dogs — at least young ones — to be had in our region and I ended up finding a little pup in the little town of Lander. The trip planning then begun.

Honestly, I need an entire blog entry documenting that trip. We drove out to Yellowstone (via the Big Horn Mountains which included camping in the snow). We spent 3 amazing days in Yellowstone. We spent another 3 amazing days in the Grand Tetons. We completed amazing hikes. We saw amazing wildlife (including two black bears PLAYING in OUR CAMPSITE!). We then drove to Lander, picked up a puppy on a farm where there were sheep and rabbits and a turkey (and two ADORABLE Keeshond brothers who we had to leave behind). We stopped at Devils Tower. We detoured to Rushmore. And then we came home WITH A PUPPY!

It was an amazing 9 days of driving and sight-seeing and camping. And then we got to finish it with this cute-as-a-button puppy. Please meet her:

Her name is Penny. She’s now 18 weeks old. And we love her.

Our other girl, Dora, is doing okay. She was stand-offish at the beginning. But she’s opening up now and I think she and Penny will be great friends soon. They already play like crazy.

We are also in the midst of puppy training (housetraining is SO FUN!). We have puppy kindergarten for a few more weeks. And aside from the fact that Penny is a little anti-social in class (she growls at the other dogs), she’s adjusting well. She’s great with people. And she’s a complete doll.

+ + + +

News on the other fronts:

James started a job last month! (not sure if I shared that here, but it’s a HUGE relief)

I re-started Weight Watchers in June and started re-attending meetings. Sparkpeople just wasn’t cutting it for me. So, when a second income started coming back into the house, I forked out the cash for WW. And, surprise, surprise: going back to meetings has helped. I’m down 4 lbs. now. It’s slow. But it’s working. And it still kills me how much harder it is to take off than it is to put on.

I’m not really training for any big races or triathlons this year. It started with lack of funding, but it’s been nice to actually take a season off officially. I did do a triathlon two weeks ago that I didn’t even train for. I didn’t set any records, but I finished, I didn’t walk on the run and I was pleased with a 18-minute 1/2-mile swim considering I haven’t swam in months. Better yet: I earned hardware! I placed 2nd in the Athena division. Granted, there were only three of us, but it was groovy to get an award.

I am doing one big ride: Dairyland Dare. It’s in August and it’s a 150k (100 mile) cycling ride that includes over 10,000 feet of climbing in Southern Wisconsin. It’s kind of crazy, but it will be super fun. I did a 100k earlier in May that had us climb over 7,000 feet. It was one of the hardest rides I’ve ever done, but it felt like quite an accomplishment to complete.

I’m also finishing out my year with Bolder Options. My mentee and I have been having a great time. We’ve completed 3 5k races and it’s been amazing to watch her progress.

Not sure how much else there is to catch up on: my little sister graduated High School. My cat is still a bitch. I still love my job but struggle with finding balance between it and my personal life. One of these days, my husband and I really need to replace the concrete steps in front of our house. Exciting, exciting stuff.

I think I can officially claim catch up here. I do have oodles of vacation and puppy photos and videos to share, but they still need to be uploaded and organized. I’ll share links when they are ready. Until then, chow!

So, I just got back from another mountain biking ride. My mentor in this crazy sport, Annie, suggested I make the jump up to a slightly harder set of trails than Salem, the EASY (as she says) beginner trail in the cities. I’ve ridden now at Salem maybe four or five times and I still don’t know that I consider it easy. But I have finally gotten the hang of it and there aren’t any logs or rock piles to climb — just a set of two trees that look so close like you won’t fit that you take a gulp of faith and balls to just ride on through. But that’s pretty much it in terms of obstacles. Still, it’s single track and twisty with some tight turns and some loose and rocky downhills. And even though I find that I’m getting the hang of it there, I do have to re-teach myself how to MTB ride each and every time we go there. Wednesday was actually a tough go on my first lap because I hadn’t been on my mountain bike in about two weeks and I felt like I’d forgotten everything. But, sure enough, 20 minutes into it, it came back and I was able to navigate the turns easier and not go so slowly on the downhills.

So, today we headed to Theo Wirth. According to Annie, Theo is still EASY. But right away, I knew I had my work cut out for me. There was a giant log in the middle of the trail right at the start (which was ironic because I’d spent about 5 minutes in the parking lot prior to that trying to build up the courage to ride up a curb with my bike — which Annie showed me works perfectly fine — and yet I couldn’t bring myself do it). So, yeah, I walked my bike over that giant log. As well as the rock garden at the end of the first section of the trail.

There were a number of obstacles and, lucky for me, they were spaced out enough that I was able to just go my own speed navigating the tight and twisty single track. There weren’t a lot of climbs. The downhills weren’t that bad. But since this was my first time on the trail, I was cautious and super-slow on my first lap that I had to apologize to everyone that got stuck behind me (please note: MTB riders are super nice and friendly and always ask me, “how’s it going?”.

Of the obstacles I did encounter, I managed to go up a few of the small log piles. Small victory! I drew the line that the two giant log piles. I balked at almost every boulder crossing (although, I did try one of them — cowardly — and crashed because I didn’t have the speed I needed). I also had one spectacular crash that didn’t actually involve obstacles. No, I was just increasing my speed and didn’t make a corner clean which caused my right shoulder to hit a tree that sent me crashing over on my left side — into a tree. That one hurt and I’ll have some battle wounds to show for it.

My tribe kept waiting for me occasionally to catch up, ask me how I was doing (it was Annie, James and another Birchwood teammate Talib) — then they’d further while I made my own, slow way. When I finally finished the first lap, my tribe was waiting. It took me 35 minutes, it felt like 35 hours. But after some rest, I was ready to give the trail a go again.

My second time around was smoother. I made it down a few drops that I’d balked and walked the last time. I still didn’t go over any rock gardens. This was the lap where I had my spectacular crash and, since it was towards the end of the loop, I sheepishly appeared at the finish to my tribe a little shaky, worried and lacking some confidence. But after some rest, chatter and inner-cheerleading, I decided to give the trail a third lap since all the other peeps were any way.

My last lap was the best. In fact, I actually went OVER the giant log at the beginning of the trail (super scary, I regretted it the minute I started going over it and I landed hard but stayed on my bike and proceeded to be very proud that I made it out alive). I never did risk any of the rock obstacles, but I did go over every log pile except for the two giant ones and I even made it down one of the steep drops (although not THE super-steep 3 ft. drop — that’ll take some time).

When I finished lap 3, my tribe said my speed had improved. And I had a bit more confidence. It was certainly a few steps in the right direction. Still, this sport gets me really, REALLY out of my comfort zone. Which I know is good for me, but it is a mental struggle. It is very counter-intuitive with how my brain works — weirdly, which is why I do like it. It forces me to believe that I am capable of things that I may not always think I am. And that is cool.

+ + + +

In other news, I’ve been following Spark People for two months now. I had a rough go at the beginning. In fact, I gained weight. But then I realized I wasn’t tracking calories burned correctly — meaning, I wasn’t plugging in the correct amount that I typically burn for a week into the plan. (Apparently, I exercise a lot — more than the average person. Who knew? ;) Once I got that right, I actually got a much more realistic caloric range to eat within and I wasn’t so hungry that I wanted to stab everyone who crossed my path with my empty fork. I was still getting hungry, just not HUNGRY. And then, a few more days later, I actually started getting comfortable with the range. Still, I have to pay a lot of attention to what I eat. It’s easy for me to mindlessly add calories through sports drinks, granola bars and choices in the cafeteria that might seem smart until looking up the nutrition.

When I weighed in last week, I was down a pound.

I’m not claiming any success yet. This week, I didn’t track calories very well. Out of seven days, I tracked maybe four. I just get so busy at work that logging my food gets impossible (stupid, I know, I need to change that). I also haven’t made it to the gym in over a week (since I’ve been workout out outdoors) so I haven’t been able to weigh in. I’m that weird person who doesn’t own a scale. And without the accountability of the scale, I fear I may easily get off track.

Still, Spark People has been a good correction of my habits. I’ve seen how my breakfasts grew in portions and calories over time. I’ve seen how, at lunch, I’d make some not-so-smart choices. I’d also feast on chips & salsa upon arriving home from work inhaling 300+ calories before dinner without even realizing it. I’m also drinking less during the week. So, I’m optimistic. There have been some good habit changes.

+ + + +

In other news, I got a promotion at work. It happened a few weeks ago. Same role. Same title. But it’s up another grade level and there’s a nice bump in pay (and given our circumstances — that REALLY helps right now). Most importantly, though, it is awesome to be recognized for all my sweat, blood and tears. I adore my job and I work hard at my job. It feels really, really good for that to be noticed and supported by my organization. It’s the opposite of my last job and I’m so lucky I landed where I did. Have I mentioned I love my job?

+ + + +

Finally, my volunteer gig with Bolder Options is still going really well. My mentee is a rockstar. She broke a personal record a few weeks ago on our 5k run course by almost 6 minutes — and then she broke it again, last night, by 90 seconds more. It’s pretty amazing to watch — especially considering how much she hated running when we started. And TOMORROW, we have the Get in Gear 5k and the big question is: can we break the 38:53 time we hit last night?

Time will tell. I’m pretty confident she can do it. However, there is a forecast for thunderstorms & rain tomorrow. The weather might make it difficult and the course (from what I remember) is hillier than our training route. So we have our work cut out for us. Keep your fingers crossed. We’ve got something to prove. The stars better align so we can do it.

It’s all coming full circle. Over 10 years ago when I first started changing my life and embracing healthy eating and activity, I started mountain biking. At the time, my husband was a cyclist and I was slow the sport and not sure I was even interested in spending large quantities of time on two wheels. But the idea of mountain biking was intriguing. I love to hike. My husband loved to bike. This seemed like the perfect intersection of hobbies. And it was.

I can’t remember what year it was when we purchased our first set of bikes, but I’m guessing it was probably 1994 since that was the year we got married and I do recall some biking that first year. Our first apartment in my very small hometown, Cambridge, WI, was only a few miles from trails and I started riding mornings before my second shift job. We’d spend the weekends exploring trails further from home. And I really enjoyed the hobby. It was active, something we could do together and it pushed me out of my comfort zone as I began to grow fitness and ability.

Still, looking back, the “mountain biking” we did while living in Wisconsin was on easier, wide track trails. The most challenging rides we did were more challenging due to inclines, not obstacles and crazy winding single track. Even Kettle Moraine, the trail system outside of Milwaukee that we’d occasionally travel to and were the hardest trails I’d attempted to date at that time, were fairly easy to moderate — at least the ones I’d attempted (although, I do recall one particularly heinous incident where the climb was so steep that I flipped backwards, onto my back, because I just couldn’t pedal and my front wheel came right up and back with James watching the entire scene from the top).

During this time, I began to lose weight. I started “spinning.” I started this blog in its first form (which was an online journal since I had to do all the HTML myself years before Blogger existed).

And then in 2001, we decided to move to the Twin Cities. And with the move, the mountain biking hobby didn’t exactly translate.

First, our bikes were stolen out of the parking garage under our apartment in St. Paul. We quickly replaced them — with even nicer mountain bikes. You’d think this would bode well for the hobby. I went from no suspension to a fancy Cannondale with a Fatty headshock front suspension set-up. James got himself a Gary Fischer front suspension ride (which was quite an upgrade from his no suspension Haro). But the trails were tough to navigate in the Cities. Living in St. Paul, the trails at Battle Creek were the most accessible. I could ride there from the apartment. But they were HARD. Really HARD. Steep climbs. Obstacles. Lots of sand. And I crashed a lot — every time I went out. And the crashing made me apprehensive. It made me nervous. I began to question myself and my ability and that only made things worse. I remember my very last ride on my mountain bike. I was out by myself. I was attempting difficult trails but also questioning my ability. And as I went down on particularly windy, single-track decline, I was going too slow to safely roll over a tree root which cause me to go head first over my bike. I landed on my back. My bike landed on top of me. The wind was knocked out of my chest. And I laid there a second or two assessing the damage, figuring out if I was injured or not. Then, when I realized I was most likely okay because I could wiggle my fingers and toes, I took my bruised and battered body home.

It was early Summer. I was about to turn 30. And when I did turn 30, I got my first road bike for my birthday. A present from my husband. And I never looked back.

That was in 2002.

Since then, I’ve been mountain biking exactly twice before this week. Actually, of that twice, only one was for real — that wasn’t even all that for real. It was earlier this summer in the UP on my birthday the day before we started our kayak trip in Isle Royale. The outfitter who was hosting the trip also rented mountain bikes. But due to my short stature, they didn’t have a bike that fit me — only a child’s bike. I decided to give it a try, but it sucked. I couldn’t keep going. It was a bad experience. I’m not sure it even lasted a full hour.

The second time was with a bike that fit me. We were in Cable, WI. We were going to hit the trails with buddies. But a flat tire on our buddy’s minivan put a wrench into our plans. So the biking never happened.

That said, I did get my own bike fixed up by that time. And it’s been ready ever since last October.

Then, my road bike gave me some issues this week. Messed up cables that needed replacing. It’s in the shop and given the unseasonably warm and totally awesome Spring we’ve been having, the shop is full of bikes that need fixing. It will be at least a week until I get the Orbea back.

So, on Thursday, I decided to join my friend Annie for an evening of mountain biking. She’s a recent convert and loves the sport. And she told me she’d take it easy on me with the trail at Salem. “It’s the EASIEST,” she has said numerous times, “in the area. You’ll be fine. It’s SOOOO easy.”

There was a group of us riding. A number of experienced fasties who took off right away. There was also one other newbie like myself, Sara. As Annie, Sara and I headed out for my first loop, I started to panic and wonder what the heck I’d gotten myself into. The entrance to the trail is immediately downhill, single track and full of roots. It’s also windy. My assumption was easy meant flat, straight and wide. This was not the case.

I followed last. Sara was almost as uncomfortable as me and she and I took our time navigating the trail and trying to just keep the rubber side down. Annie was quickly off in the distance, then she’d wait up. I went through a few mental conversations that included quitting and chalking this up as mountain biking not being my thing. Then we came upon this section that included three wooden bridges. The third you entered between two tight trees. To the naked eye, it looks too skinny to be passable. But I see Annie & Sara both make it through. I get to the trees, but then bail. I don’t have the guts to attempt to slip through. Unfortunately, immediately after the trees, the trail goes straight into a steep hill and I cannot get my bike started again on the include. So, I have to walk.

Which is fine. I’m not above walking my bike. But what sucks on single track mountain biking trails is that walking means you’re in the trail and potentially in the way of other riders. We had a few other riders pass us. Each time, I’d step off to the side. I’d apologize. But they were all cool and told me not to worry, no biggie.

It’s been a long time since I’ve felt so sucky at something. It’s humbling. Eventually, Annie asked for permission to go off ahead of us. Sara and I were excruciatingly slow for her level of riding. All in all, I think the trail was 4 miles long. I felt like I did get a little better along the way, but I also had a few other missteps and we were both so super cautious.

When we got to the finish, we headed back up to the parking lot for some water and a breather. Already, I was feeling better and I wanted to give it another go. I asked Sara if I could go ahead in front this time and the second time through was like night and day. It’s almost like my body sub-consciously figured it out even if I couldn’t consciously remember what was next. I was faster going downhill, I was less nervous about hitting rocks and tree limbs, I was learning to shift with the difficulty of the terrain. After that second time around, I went for a third lap which was even better. By no means had I had this thing mastered, but I was having fun and feeling relaxed. I even rode through those two tight trees at the base of the climb. Scary each time, but I did it.

After wards, we went out as a group for Mexican. The weather being unseasonably warm (it was close to 80 when we were riding) allowed us to hang on the patio with our tequila and nosh. It was a pretty fantastic evening and I thanked my buddies for getting me out there and out of my comfort zone.

Annie and I repeated the event yesterday. We headed back out to the trail where I did five laps of the trail (approx. 16-17 miles). It took a little over 2-1/2 hours and I burned over 1300 calories. It was one heck of a workout and I really felt like I was improving.

I did crash two times. The first time I slid on a tree root and just couldn’t react quick enough. The second time I got stuck in some mud and went down going at a faster clip. I’ve got some nice bruises to show off for that, but I suppose that’s to be expected.

I will say, it’s been interesting to try something new. I didn’t expect that I’d get such an upper body workout (I’m super sore today in my shoulders and arms). I also learned quickly that I couldn’t let my mind wander like I do when I’m road cycling. I’d find my thoughts drifting only to discover I’d rode off the trail (oops!). I was also amazed at how high my heart rate gets for how slow it feels like I am going. It must be the combination of strength & cardio. Finally, I also find I have to be super careful not to bonk because, as my system gets depleted, I get sloppy. It’s harder to navigate the quick turns and maintain balance on the rough terrain. By the end of my 5th lap, I was cooked. Annie went out for a 6th and I knew if I did, I’d make some bad mistakes.

So, this has been interesting and fun. I don’t know that I see going beyond the basics anytime soon in terms of trails. I don’t really have much interest in climbing rock piles and steps, but I do like the change of scenery and the different type of fitness that mountain biking requires. This has been a pleasant little discovery this Spring and I look forward to the opportunities it will bring this Summer.

Tonight was a big night. BIG night. My Bolder Options mentee and I got together for the our first outdoor run of the Spring (we’ve been indoors all Winter except for a few outings ice fishing & sledding). Our usual outside run is a 5k loop around the lake and, when we run, we aim for a 1-minute on / 2-minutes off approach with some longer intervals thrown in. And, tonight, as we warmed up, I asked what she thought about alternating 1-minute and 2-minute running intervals with each one having a recovery walk of 2 minutes. She was up for it. And she was pretty tough throughout the entire duration. In fact, the 1-minutes were almost a breeze with the 2-minutes challenging, but doable.

And, you know what?

She beat her PR by over 5 MINUTES! She beat her training workout PR by over 10!! It was pretty incredible and she was very proud.

It’s really fun to experience these victories through her eyes. On our drive back to the house tonight afterward, she even suggested that maybe next time she’d attempt a few 2-minute intervals IN A ROW! Then she caught herself and said, “I can’t believe I suggested that.” I told her that must mean she’s competitive with herself. She thought for a minute; shook her head. “I am really competitive,” she said, “but I can’t believe I’m so competitive with MYSELF.”

It was very cool. I might turn her into a runner just yet.

On a side note, my forced exposure through her to pop radio has me discovering a few things tonight:

* I do like that new Train song. And I didn’t even know they were still together as a band

* Jay-Z has redone Alphaville’s Forever Young. WTF is up with that?

* I might just need to download that Lady Gaga / Beyonce Telephone song for my own runs

Okay. First off, one of these days I should just share with ya’ll all the half-entered entries in my WordPress dashboard. It might not look like it from your perspective, but I do attempt to blog much more frequently than displayed on the published page. Unfortunately, I usually get interrupted mid post or move on to something else more urgent. Most often, I do not return to WordPress until the started entry is no longer relevant or makes sense.

Yet, I also have a hard time deleting all those unfinished thoughts and ramblings. So, they sit there. Fragments of ideas. Feelings that unfinished and only semi-important.

Which means the real question is: will this entry make it?

If you’re reading this, than I guess that means it did.

As for me and my life status, there are a few new elements to report on. We’ve had an employment shift in our household. My husband is looking for a new opportunity. We are a single-income family now and it’s hard and stressful. And while I know we’ll figure out it, it still doesn’t make it much easier in the short-term. I miss shopping. I miss eating out. I get nervous about the future.

All that said, I know we are lucky. This is just a temporary situation. We have our health. We have great friends, awesome pets, lovely family. Then there is me and how lucky I am for the role that I have professionally and how much I love what I do. Right now is a small black cloud. I’m just ready for it to move along, that’s all.

Because of this transition, we’ve made some considerable changes. We’ve really cut back on our budget. We’ve finally gotten rid of our land line. I’ve dropped a bunch of digital subscriptions including Audible and Weight Watchers. I’m even very close to taking our Netflix subscription down to one DVD.

Most of the cuts, as I’ve mentioned, are fairly painless — mostly minor nuisances. But the Weight Watcher’s one came at an odd time because I’d actually, just a week prior to the job transition thing, planned on re-upping and attending meetings because I’d finally, FINALLY decided to get serious again about dropping some poundage and focusing on training more seriously again.

So, in the absence of the spare cash to fund WW as a resource, I began a search of applications to track calories in vs. calories out since my TrainingPeaks.com subscription was less than helpful (and, ironically, re-upped for a year the very week prior to having to slash our budget — IRONY!). I wanted something for my iPhone. I wanted something that had a robust food database so I wouldn’t have to enter loads of custom foods. I wanted something that was free.

I downloaded a few options. Some were fine. Some were lame. Then I’d remembered a site I’d heard some people talk about: Spark People. Specifically, I was familiar with them because they compete in the digital recipe space (something I live and breath at work). But I also know my sister-in-law has had great success using their site and losing weight. I also know a coworker uses the Spark People iPhone app.

So, I went to the site. I signed up. And I was a little surprised with what I found. I was expecting a Web site that was basically a calorie tracker with some article features. FitDay is my frame of reference, a site I used years ago prior to my engagement with WW. But what I found was a much deeper, much more holistic experience. SparkPeople is a complete program because it surrounds food tracking with support and education much in the same way Weight Watchers does — albeit digitally.

The thing that surprised me the most about Spark People is the program’s phased approach and award system. It is a combination of program phases (including a two-week introduction phase) and a point system that rewards users for exploring the site, reading up on the program and tracking some early wins with more easily achievable goals (such as getting 8 hours of sleep and drinking 8 glasses of water per day). These quick goals are called Fast Break and I think it’s really smart of the program to apply goals like these to the program. When you have tough days where you feel like you’ve failed because you haven’t hit your nutrition or fitness goals, these fast track goals are a nod to “at least I can do this” and/or “at least this day isn’t a complete failure — I can at least get 8 hours of sleep.” I think that’s pretty powerful.

The other really interesting thing about the program is the points system. You gain points and badges as your explore the site, achieve different levels and interact with users. And while I don’t have a ton of time to sit and post on message boards and blogs, I have to admit to feeling motivated to read a little more to increase my points level. And even though I sometimes consider myself a nutrition and fitness pro who knows it all, re-learning information about portion control and proper nutrition is good to reground myself as to why and how I can do this. Again.

I completed my entrance Fast Break phase at the end of last week. I spent my first week being pretty faithful to the program. The second week didn’t bode so well since we went on vacation to visit relatives in Texas. But, returning on Monday, I’ve returned to the program and am ready to settle in.

We’ll see how it goes. In addition to tracking food via SparkPeople, I also have a training schedule to follow. I have less than two months until my first race of the season. And I really, really, really want to be able to race that event faster and smaller than I did last year.

Okay, first off. Here’s the problem:

Recently, the cat has come out of the basement. Which is a good thing. We were starting to get worried about her adjustment to home life with the Lockwoods. The combination of slow adoption to the upstairs with SCARY DOGS and a food allergy (we switched her to a new, premium food that apparently she was allergic to and caused her to lose a bunch of fur and make her cranky) made Isa less than comfortable in our house. Luckily, more time with the dogs (and learning she can boss them around) combined with getting her back on a food that didn’t make her sick has turned her into a much happier kitty. A kitty who is now exploring our house, learning that sleeping on beds is comfy. A kitty that also thinks it’s perfectly acceptable to sit on a human’s hands when the human is on the laptop. In fact, it’s PREFERABLE to only sit on a human’s hands when the human is on the laptop.

Yes, I’m totally getting all the I can haz cheezbugr references now…

And, yes, the problem: whenever we’re on the computer at night, so is kitty. Say hi, Internet, to Isa. And, Isa, say hi to the Internet.

Ah, where were we?

Why was I updating?

Okay. Here’s the thing. Today was a big day. a BIG. DAY.

It was as monumental as any triathlon or marathon I’ve completed. It was as a formulaic slow, steady race to the finish as you can get. Patience, endurance and fortitude were essential and key. And it all paid off today.

Ironically, however, I’m not talking about anything athletic. At least not physically.

No, I’m talking about a long, hard project at work that has finally launched. Today. And while it isn’t sexy and shiny and even very apparent to our users, it is labor of love like none other and I’m very, very proud of what we accomplished.

It’s been almost a year in the making. As some of you know, I’m in the Web business. I work on BettyCrocker.com for General Mills (obligatory disclaimer: my views here on this blog are personal and do not represent those of my company). And today, we launched a major update.

It’s not exactly a big deal to our users. Our overall navigation of the site did have major changes. We have a ton of new content pages now available. But the overall look and feel wasn’t impacted all that much. The voice is still the same. And, honestly, the best experience I could hope for our users is an uninterrupted one. That said, this project spanned over the course of almost a year. I’ve been championing it for even longer than that. And finally, finally we’ve crossed the threshold.

And you know what that means….

What’s next?

Of course, for now, for tonight, I’m going to get some sleep. I had my “congratulations, Heather” martini. I’ve told myself it’s okay that I missed today’s workout. It’s even okay that I’ve spent the year more focused on work and content management than on some personal pursuits such as furthering (or evening sustaining) my athletic prowess.

Tonight I sleep.

And tomorrow… what’s next?

I’m pushing it. The past few months have been a haze of sickness and busy-ness at work. I was sick with the flu for almost three weeks.

Seriously. Three weeks.

And, until Saturday, I went that entire time without a workout which is, honestly, the longest inactive stretch I can remember in recent history.

That said, I needed the rest. My body was beat. Add to that a business trip thrown in the middle. Just making sure I got enough sleep was my highest priority.

So, Saturday I got back on track. I went on my first run in months and it felt fantastic. Yes, I am one of those crazy people who actually enjoys running and being outdoors in the Winter. Then Sunday, we spent a lovely 2+ hours skiing with our Birchwood buddies out at Baker Park Reserve. It was beautiful. It was hilly. My glutes and thighs were yelling at me and I adored every minute.

Unfortunately, my week has not been as hospitable to my return to activity. I’ve been working some fierce hours. Then tonight was a Bolder Options activity. Sledding. And honestly, it was better than a workout. The hill was awesome. My mentee was a daredevil and we had a super, super night.

So, tomorrow, I set the reset button. I’m hoping I can get back on a schedule. 6 am spin class is on tap. I may even try and watch what I eat. And after a month of limbo, I’m ready to re-emerge.

Of course, there were some benefits of being sick. I got to watch an entire season of Jersey Shore. And Californication. And This American Life.

Yes, I can certainly be a real couch potato when the conditions are ripe. Thank goodness I truly enjoy activity, too.

It’s Sunday evening and I’m feeling pretty zen. I have my pets, my cup of tea. I know I should dig in and try and get a head start on the week with my work laptop, but I’m in denial. Just a few more hours of relaxing bliss until I enter the rigors of the real world.

It has been quite a fine weekend. They always go so fast.

Yesterday did start out with a bit of work. But it was actually some fun stuff. I attend the Whuffie Workshop at the Best Buy headquarters on Friday morning. The author of The Whuffie Factor, Tara Hunt, lead the discussion on business and social media. And while the hotness of “social media” as a topic can, at times, make me gag in its overplay in our interactive space, this was a very practical session on how brands should interact within communities and there was a lot of great food for thought to take back and implement in my day job. The truth is, our online behaviors are trending more and more heavily into the social networking space (finally toppling email & porn and about to topple search) and we, as businesses, have to shift our approach. The tried-and-true tools we have now will not be the tried-and-true tools of tomorrow. If you’re interested in that stuff, the slides from the workshop are here.

So, when my work was done, I was on to the first part of my weekend:

Act I: Spinning with @BolderOptions

As I’ve mentioned here before, I’m a mentor for Bolder Options this year and have been paired with my 12-year-old female mentee since July. We spend about 2 to 4 hours per week together and we’ve already accomplished two 5ks with the program as well as a ton of other fun experiences both formally in Bolder Options programs and on our own at the YMCA or doing other things.

Yesterday was a cycling event.

My mentee is technically in a running program. However, she has a bike and is interested in biking as well — which we try to do when we can. When I saw this pop up on the calendar, I thought it would be a great opportunity to do something different (than running) and in an area of interest for her.

The event was at my old Lifetime club in downtown Minneapolis. It was fun to be able to drive downtown to the Target Center and enter a “fancy” club compared to the Y where we normally workout together (never mind that my regular club is the posh St. Louis Park location, but I can’t bring my mentee there unfortunately). When we got there, there were only about eight other mentors/mentees and a couple of program coordinators. The two dudes in charge are owners of their own home fitness business and were volunteering their services for the day.

Going into this, my expectations weren’t high. Sure, I’ve been going to spinning classes for almost 12 years now, but I just assumed a Bolder Options event would be different. More low key. I’m mean, seriously, how on earth could you keep 10-13 year-old kids entertained for that long on a studio cycling bike?

But in reality? The classes was just as much a spin class as any I’ve ever attended. It was just as hard. The music was just as loud. There were even push-ups and jumps on the bike (both of which are tactics that I’m not the biggest fan of). And knowing how hard my first spin class was for me when I was in my twenties, I could only imagine how hard it was for the kids!

They persevered, though. My girl was tough. She hung in there. She never quit. She did tell me it was impossible more than once. But it wasn’t impossible because she finished. And I was very, very proud.

Luckily, the music was good and my girl is a HUGE fan of pop music. So, between singing along and adding in some fist-bumping as well as high fives, she made it the whole 45 minutes of class to the sweaty, sweaty finish.

At the end, there were bananas and granola bars and loads of congratulations. All the kids were glowing and it looked like they enjoyed it. Walking back to the car, I asked my mentee, “If they have another one of these, do you want to do it?”

And she said very firmly and solidly, “Absolutely not.”

Act II: The Late Afternoon Ski

I got home after the spin event a little after 3pm and the weather was absolutely lovely. The sun was out. The temps were in the 30s and I knew I wanted to ski. I did have to shove a quick, late lunch down the hatch because I was STARVING when I got home. And the husband was already gone. Being the very lucky lady that I am, James had spent the morning cleaning the house while I worked and did my Bolder Options thing. When I got home and he was gone, I knew he was already out on the trail.

I didn’t get over to the golf course until about 4pm. And when I hit the trail, I was very uncoordinated and had a hard time finding my balance. The snow was a little slushy, too, so I felt awkward and slow. I even biffed it right away on a flat — not even sure what happened there. Still, the weather was great so I started my sloggy little ski.

Unfortunately, the actual act wasn’t living up to what I’d imagined in my brain. I wasn’t having the time of my life. In fact, I checked my watch every 10 minutes surprised at how slow the time was passing and I was pretty sure I was only going to make one lap around the thing and go home. I chalked it up to already tired legs from the earlier spin. That and my digesting Tuna Casserole (a pretty heavy lunch to shove so quickly and probably not such a good idea). About five minutes from the end of lap 1, James appeared and skiied with me back to our start. At that point, I’d only been out for 40 minutes and, somehow, I talked myself into a second lap. James headed home. I headed out again. And as the sun started to set some more, the track firmed up a bit. I also found more balance and I had a great second half of my ski. The setting sun was gorgeous, too. I love the colors of the winter sun in Minnesota.

I got home for the second time around 5:30. And after mustering a shower and some more chow, I was pretty much toast for the night. But it was a really good kind of toast.

Act II: A Ski at the State Park

My little golf course ski wasn’t enough yesterday. The weather was again beautiful today so James and I made it a point to get out to ski somewhere special today. One of our favorite parks, William O’Brien, was our destination. After loading up on oatmeal, we headed out and were on the trail by 11 am.

There is something so mystical about skiing through the park in the winter. The trees. The snow. It’s just so absolutely gorgeous. Anyone who complains about Minnesota winters obviously does not cross country ski.

Some of the park trails are pretty tough in terms of skill level. We climbed a lot of hills and went down them, too. I also managed to muster up the courage to attempt the “scary” spots that I’d first encountered at this park last year. The first was a SUPER steep downhill that, last year, I scootched down on my butt. The second was a glare ice S curve that I fell and scootched down, too.

This year? The SUPER steep downhill wasn’t as scary as I’d remembered and I did fine. The S curve, while still scary, not as bad. It helped that it also wasn’t glare ice today, too.

I also got to use some of the lessons I’d learned on Tuesday night at Ride & Glide. I practiced my V1 stroke. I tried to make sure I cornered with my gravity low using the little steps to turn. I also tried to get more confident and not slow myself down on every hill by snowplowing. It was fun to put those lessons into use.

In the end, I skiied about 13.5 miles (James completed 14). It was a pretty intense and very rewarding afternoon. We fueled back up afterward with beer and bar food in Stillwater. I can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

And now, here we are. The end of a great weekend. I only have the Golden Globes and some dinner left. But I’m as content as I could be.

Last week was a close to back to Weight Watchers as I’ve been for a while. I also casually looked for a weekly meeting that would fit into my schedule, but I ended up not prioritizing anything. I had a lot going on during the week nights and Saturdays are hard for me to do anything but focus on a workout and chores. I also had a movie date with my mentee @ the library.

So, yeah, getting back to a meeting just hasn’t been prioritized. It’s hard this week, too. I have activities every night and work is pretty insane right now as everyone is getting back into a groove after the holidays. But I’m not giving up yet.

I did manage one little milestone. I went every school night without a cocktail or glass of wine last week. That’s been a bad habit I’ve developed: treating myself to a martini or small glass of wine after a particularly hard day or as something comfortable while I work an evening on the laptop. I’ve been trying to replace that with tea. And while it’s not the same, it’s a good small goal to have and achieve. This week, so far so good, too. In fact, I have my Good Earth tea at my side right now.

In other news, I did sign up for a cross country ski training group this winter. This will be my third year with skate skis and I’ve yet to get any formal training aside from a 3 hour lesson one day two years ago. All other instruction has been from generous friends on my ski team. Signing up for Ride & Glide this year is my attempt to craft a bit of skill and learn technique. And while I’d already attended a few of their dryland training sessions pre-snow, tonight was my first evening with them with actual skis on.

I’m in the beginner group and it’s very basic. But it’s good for me. We concentrated on open field technique, V2 and then headed off to a small hill with a sharp corner at the end. That latter exercise is my nemesis and I really need to practice learning how to corner without slowing myself down so much that I lose all momentum. It’s a hard skill for me. I hate falling and every cell in my body wants to do whatever I can to prevent a fall – which means practically stopping pre-corner instead of trusting myself to maneuver with the speed. I’ll never get it if I don’t loosen up and practice without putting the breaks on. Tonight was a good first step. I also made a few friends — so that should help the “wanting to come back” factor.

I did learn one other valuable thing. I need better gloves. The gear I wear when I’m skiing outside might be great while I’m moving, but at a class where you’re also standing around a lot listening and watching technique requires more warmth. My fingers were in pain by the end of the night. My right ring finger is still feeling a little numb. Yikes.

Gah. What a boring entry. But it’s something. Still also trying to get back in the blogging groove. I guess, if anything, this entry is a good reflection of where I am right now: struggling to get back on the WW wagon, working on my xc ski technique and continuing to focus on the ever-so-popular work/life balance thing.

Okay. I need to hit the sack now. I have a painful 10 x 400 interval running workout scheduled for the morning. Ouch.

So, we got a kitty.

Her name is Isa. Formerly Lovie. But this household just couldn’t tolerate a name like Lovie, as snobby as that sounds. We named her Isa, after Dora the Explorer’s iguana friend, in hopes that someday she and our Dora will get along. Be friends. But we have some time before we get there.

I’m not a cat person. In fact, I’m a HUGE dog person. Ask anyone who knows me in real life. I border on obnoxious when it comes to my love for pups. Sienna is my baby whom we’ve had since 1997 and I probably treat her like a child. There was Tryna, too, who we lost last year and I still miss her almost every day. And then, Dora. Wow. Dora. I’m amazed at how much I’ve fallen in love with that little girl. Her destruction has been unmatched by any other pets in my life. Between multiple pairs of eyeglasses, a heart rate monitor, my WALLET, leather boots and other unnameable items, her destruction has cost me thousands of dollars. Yet every day, I pause and gasp and say, “She’s SO cute”, “James, isn’t she A-Dora-able??” or “I’ve really fallen in love with this girl.”

She’s really, as my friend Ann says, a sweet little bean. And while she’s still timid and shy of strangers, both remnants from her puppy mill days, she’s got a great sense of humor and personality and I’m so happy we drove all the way to Missouri for the little girl.

Which brings me back to Isa, the topic of this entry. I grew up with cats. In fact, in my youth, I was quite a cat person. But somewhere, somehow, that quickly was shredded from my identity in college and I never went back there. I’m not sure when, some time in college, I knew I wanted a dog. And after we got married, it became a desire as deep as some women long for children. I had to have a dog. Then, in 1997, we got Sienna and she was everything I’d imagined and more and I never, ever looked back. Dog Person was practically tattooed to my forehead. And while most of my friends have expanded their families to actual human children now, I remain in my dog-children world and the pups are the center.

All of that said, there is a limit. James has been pretty firm in his assertion that 2 dogs are our maximum. And even though the City of Saint Paul will TECHNICALLY allow us 3, 2 is enough. Deep down, the practical part of me understands this. They are expensive. They take attention. And do we *really* need 3 dogs?? I get it. No, we don’t.

And with that conversation, we’ve talked lightly about a cat. Not really serious, but entertained the idea. At least entertained it until we starting thinking about litter boxes and jumping on counters and claws tearing up our furniture. No, no cat. Definitely, no cat. We’re not cat people.

This position, however, never completely kept us away from peeking. We’d check out kitties at PetSmart. We’d consider the idea. But we never did anything about it. In fact, the thought would disappear the minute we walked out the automatic door of the store.

Then, on December 11th, we were making our usual run to Chuck & Don’s for our Solid Gold Wolf King bison dog food and there she was: Isa. Formerly Lovie.

Chuck & Dons usually has one cat that is up for adoption in the store. We’ve been known to check out the rescues on our various trips to the store. But there was something about Lovie that spoke to us in a way that no other cat had. Perhaps it was her coloring (actually very similar to our Keeshonds and very unusual for a cat). Perhaps it was her sweet demeanor. But, for the first time ever, we asked the clerks if we can see her out of her cage. And the minute we did, we fell in love. With Lovie. How cornball, cheesy is that??!!

After that interaction, we were pretty much sunk. And even after multiple “we can’t have a cat” and “we’re not cat people” and “good god, what would we DO with a litter box in the house?” conversations, we committed. And one week later, we took Lovie home, named her Isa and started introducing her to life in the Lockwood household.

Which brings us to today. We’ve had her for a few weeks now. We’ve taken it slow as all the cat people have suggested. We first put her in the basement (where her litter box will stay) and gave her plenty of places to nest as well as toys and treats. We frequently visited her and eventually graduated to letting the dogs come down into her space. She hisses and growls. But there has been very little swiping and the dogs are very gentle and timid around her. She’s gotten better and began to growl less when they came downstairs.

Then, last week, we started introducing her upstairs. She growls more when the dogs are near, but I’m sure that is because she doesn’t view the upstairs as her space yet. But she’s gotten more comfortable. In fact, most of the time, she hangs out on the front step of the basement right at the door — pretty much straddling both worlds: ours and her basement.

Today, we even brought her upstairs and shut the basement door for an hour just to force her to acclimate a bit to the environment up here and she did pretty well. In fact, she drank water from the dog bowls and is total boss when the pups are around. It worked so well, she even came back up when the door was open and did a few laps of our home. So, it’ll come. Eventually.

I have to admit, it’s hard with cats. Dogs are so eager to please. And the cat is so fickle. She wants things her way, on her schedule, on her terms.

But she’s also a real sweetheart. When you pick her up, she grabs your neck with her paws and literally HUGS you. She also licks your face — which, isn’t that a dog thing? She’s so loving. Hence the name. And she’s the perfect cat to melt a non-cat person’s heart.

Her back story: she was a stray. She was discovered pregnant. She had kittens. All the kittens were adopted. She was not adopted. But the St. Francis of Assisi Animal Rescue saved her from euthanization and has been trying to find her a home for a couple months. Then she found us. And here we are: cat people in the making. And hoping maybe, finally, those i can has cheezburger jokes will make sense.