My left deltoid is killing me. It started tweaking a bit a few days ago, but by last night, it was full-on achey. I’m doing something with my skiing (and probably something wrong) that has been bothering it. And after 8 days out of 10 skiing, James told me I should probably lay off and recover a bit.

I’m sure he’s right. But I have two days left of vacation and it’s kind of killing me not to go out and hit the trails again today.

That said, we had a killer day yesterday. We headed out with our Ski team (a group of cycling teammates who also ski). We went to Theo Wirth, a set of trails in the Minneapolis area that I’ve yet to try. There were about 8 of us — and of all different skill levels. A few of us were brand new. Others have completed dozens of races (including one who has raced 30 Birkies!).

It was really awesome to get out there with such experience. The trail was much more packed and way faster than I was used to, so I started off a little shaky. But I got a lot of tips and advice. The guys even got us off into the more challenging hills. I still, today, can’t believe what I both climbed and skiied downhill yesterday! It was crazy. Way tougher than I would have ever thought I could have completed, especially at this level.

We skiied for about 1 hour and 45 minutes. By this time, I was shaky, tired and hungry. I’m sure a couple of the guys could have stayed out there forever (it was beautiful), but I was ready for the post-ski meal. We headed over to the home of one of the couples and they offered up hot drinks nad snacks (including my PB&J muffins that turned out awesome)

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 and their sauna before we dug into lunch. It was absolutely fabulous to sit in that warm box, sweat a little and then shower. Homemade lentil soup and croutons for lunch. For dessert, there was even rice pudding.

The food, company and the skiing were so very excellent. It was a perfect way to spend a Sunday. James and I didn’t get home until after 4pm (we had to make a pit stop at the grocery store) and we both crashed a bit on the couch before fixing dinner and sitting down to watch The Amazing Race.

Did I mention how perfect a Sunday it was?

So, here I am today. I’ve actually been working in my office since 7:30 am. I’m hoping to finish up soon so that I can clean the house a bit and workout before our New Year’s Eve plans. And I’m trying to resist the temptation to just head out on my skis. I did start filling out my 2008 training plan on TrainingPeaks.com. I put in my 2008 events and goals and, starting today, the new workouts are being dished up. So, if I’m a good girl and both listen to my body (ahem, Deltoid!) and my plan, I need to hit the gym for some weight work and a run focused on drills (strides, etc.). So, there you go.

I hate being told what to do. ;O)

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Get this: I have skied 7 days out of the past 9. Seven. It’s crazy. No wonder my back muscles have been getting a little ornery.

This afternoon, James and I headed out on Phalen. I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again (many times), but walking two blocks to a groomed trail is awesome. I skiied Phalen yesterday, but only did one loop. On Thursday, I did two. I wasn’t sure what the plan was today since James was headed out with me, but I brought along my water bottle and some of those new Luna gummi things (Moons?) just in case I needed nutrition.

Since James had to work Thursday & Friday, he hadn’t been on his skis since Christmas. So, honestly, this was only his fourth time out. The snow was great. The trail must have been groomed in the morning because it was a lot more packed and way faster than yesterday. I started out feeling pretty darn good. Unfortunately, James was frustrated. The glide that he was starting to discover earlier in the week seemed to be eluding him. It just wasn’t going as smoothly as he’d hoped. But we kept at it. I continued to feel pretty strong. James would catch a rhythm for a bit and then lose it. When he would catch it, he would come up on me fast and strong. As soon as the boy gets more practice, he’s going to be flying by me. [Which is why I need to relish these moments. This is the only time I've EVER been better at him at anything. It's kind of weird.]

It took us 50 minutes and 30 seconds to complete the first 7.5k loop. James was a little satisfied knowing that’s how long it normally takes me (he’d felt he was doing poorly up until this point). We decided on another loop.

This time around, James felt more glide. He fell many less times. I offered tips as I saw them (pole close to your body, you’re skiing on your edges, etc.). It felt weird to be giving advice considering how new I am. I still snowplow down the hills and barely corner without falling over. I did fall once nice and hard. There’s also the two falls from yesterday. I have a very pretty bruise on my knee. [Reminds me of mountain biking!]

The ski was beautiful. I wished I would have brought my camera. The sun was starting to set on the second loop and the reflection was pink sky and pink snow. The trees were covered with snow like heavy frosting. We saw only a couple of other skiiers out there and they were never close to us, so it felt like we had the entire golf course to ourselves. I don’t know if Phalen is a secret or what, but it’s super nice to have such an awesome territory to oneself. We only slightly regretted not bringing the dogs out to run along side us considering how few people were out.

Our second loop timed out at 49:30 — a full minute faster than the first loop. This seem to satisfy the boy. Although, he still seemed frustrated. But I can totally relate. I can also now suddenly see the world a bit through his eyes considering how many bike rides we’ve been on where I’ve been lagging and tired and grumpy and he’s all cheery. Now I understand.

At least a bit.

At any rate, it was an awesome 100 minutes out on the course. I loved every second and I’m so glad I bought these skis. (Did I just say that??!!)

Tomorrow we’re headed out with our team. It’ll be my first attempt to ski with them since that night I went out on only my second time out. It’ll be interesting to see how I can compare. And I’m so looking forward to the experienced advice. I’m also looking forward to yet another active day with my buddies. And, yes, it will be my 8th day out of 10 on my skis. Rad, man!

Our day otherwise was full of errands and home-i-ness. We went to the REI Scratch and Dent sale that sucked a little bit having to stand in line to get in, but I did score some nice Swix gloves and a REI angora cardigan. I worked a little. James worked a little. We were supposed to head out with friends for birthday cocktails, but decided to stay home instead. The skiing made us both very tired and we’re cooking instead. All-American Chili

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from Cooking Light is simmering. I’m also baking some PB&J muffins for our post-workout potluck tomorrow. A movie is in our future.

The funniest moment of the day, though? I’m combing through cookbooks looking for something easy that we have ingredients for that I can make for tomorrow to share and I realize that we don’t have eggs. I say to the boy (who’d been offering to go to the store), “I guess you need to go — but you might as well by a mix. If you have to go, it might as well be easy.”

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Then he gets this hideous look on his face and say, “But I like it when you make things from scratch.” buy The Round Tower

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As most of you know, I now work for a company whose bread and butter is partly from cake, cookie and muffin packaged mixes. I’ve made my fair share of this stuff since I’ve started (and most if it is good!). And now that I don’t have any in the house on hand, James has drawn the line. Tomorrow, he wants homemade.

We’ll see how it compares. :)

Hey there. This is just a little FYI that there has been something wrong with my email address listed here on the site for months. I just now finally dug into it. I don’t honestly know what was wrong — but it should be working again.

Now for the embarrassing part: if you’ve emailed me in the past several months and I’ve ignored you, I probably didn’t receive the email because I was too lazy to deal with what I suspected (and have finally confirmed today) was a non-working email account.

Email’s working now. So email me grief. Sorry, ya’ll.

Okay, ya’ll. I honestly sat down at the computer this morning to get caught up on some work-stuff. And that was after accidentally sleeping in late (I swear the alarm was set for 5am for James’ spin class that he teaches at 6 — and we both woke up at 6:18 saying, “WTF???” My apologies to everyone who showed up to his class and he wasn’t there).

The plan was to hit spin class, then grocery shop, then be home still bright and early to tackle a few work projects before indulging in a day of Heather-ness which no doubt will include a bit of reading, a bit of exercise and, sure, maybe some trash TV.

So, I got up at 8:30 am instead. Ahem. I sat down at the computer and have been sucked into email, MySpace and Facebook ever since. It’s so sad. Damn those social networking sites! I haven’t exercised, I haven’t worked, I haven’t even gotten out of my PJs and I sure as hell don’t have groceries. That’s when I figured I might as well update my blog. If I’m going to be un-productive, you all might as well get to benefit.

Of course, I’m not all that sure what to write about except — yes — skiing. Are you sick of it yet? The big news is the boy bought skis! Yes. James picked up a pair almost two weeks ago now. I had no idea that while I was hosting book club at my house, he was plopping down some phat cash for some skis. I’m glad, though. It’s tough to tackle a new sport when the significant other can’t relate and just looks at you like, “I don’t understand why you’re making it so hard — it’s easy. Just ski.”

Since it was the week before Christmas, even though James had his skis, he really barely had time to wax them. We had so much craziness going on with holiday parties, shopping, etc. The boy also celebrated his 37th b-day. We had a nice little happy hour with a bunch of dear friends. Very pleasant.

So, last Saturday was the first chance James had to put on his new skis. I took him to Phalen (the golf course near our house). And while the conditions weren’t perfect, it had just snowed. There was some fresh powder on the rolled track. There was a little bit of ice, too, from the rain we’d had. But it was okay to ski on. And FINALLY James got to learn what all my frustration was all about. Hah! Not so easy, huh??? (sorry — I need to gloat a bit).

We did the 7.5k golf course run. James floundered and fell. I tried to give him as many tips as I could (especially stuff from my lesson). But I could tell he was frustrated. He did get steadily better, though. But he did make me feel like a rockstar. ;)

The next day, we headed to Wisconsin to spend the holiday with my fam. We brought the skis along and managed to squeeze in time both on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Unfortunately, the Madison area had received much more rain and the conditions were pretty icy and terrible. We attempted to ski at a Madison golf course but it was gnarly. Another dude was out, we attempted to ski together, but there was just too much ice. We did find a little patch and he gave James some lessons as we skiied back and forth. But we all gave up after less than 30 minutes. It just wasn’t worth it. Howver, since James and I had traveled to Madison, we decide to attempt another location. This was a good move because the conditions there (while, again, not ideal) were much better. There was a small loop that had powder and we went around it a few times. We also met another gentleman who gave us both tips and advice. I could tell James was getting smoother and smoother.

On Christmas day, we decided to stay in my hometown. There are some trails out there and we attempted those. Again, conditions were icy. But we managed to glide around for about 90 minutes. I knew it would make us appreciative the snow we have here at home.

Aside from the skiing, our holiday was nice. I finally got a replacement Nano for mine that died in October (thank goodness I can run to good music again!). James got some cash to apply to both his new bike and skis. We exchanged a lot of gear between the two of us. I purchased him clothing for our upcoming dog sledding trip, a ski pass and some other REI swag. He got me pink Speedplay pedals to match my bike, some ski clothing and adorable handmade mittens. He also purchased a few items of fashion clothing (big risk — but he did well).

We headed back from Wisconsin on Wednesday. The day was pretty much lost to packing and travel. James had to go back to work yesterday and I have been enjoying my time off.

I did head out to Phalen yesterday for a long ski. My goal was to make it around the golf course loop 2 times. This is about 15k and I haven’t really made it more than an hour with solid skiing. I certainly haven’t covered that distance. So, when I set out, I made sure I had water and a little nutrition with me just in case I bonked.

The first loop was nice. It was great to be back on fresh snow and not ice. I didn’t also have to contend with a bunch of leaves on the trail (something there was a lot of in Wisconsin and would catch my skis). The trail wasn’t recently groomed so it was slower. But enough people were out that it was getting packed down. I felt pretty good. It always takes me some time to warm up (I’m noticing that a lot — I don’t feel comfortable until about 20 minutes into the ski). I did fall a few times, but I’m also definately getting more comfortable.

There were only a handfull of other skiers out on the course. It’s such a luxury to have it all to yourself that way. Only once did another skate skier pass me. I did see some other Birchwood peeps out there practicing skills. They all look so smooth!

I finished my first loop in approx. 56 minutes. I paused a bit, drank some water, ate 1/4 of a Clif bar and headed out on my second loop. I felt strong at the start of the second loop — better than the first time. Although, the further I got, the more I’d have to stop for brief intervals at the tops of hills or other long efforts to catch my breath. I’m still amazed at how high my heart rate is when I’m skate skiing (higher than running!). So, many times, I like to stop when anerobic to get back in control. When I keep going anerobic, my technique goes to crap and I get sloppy. I’d rather take some time to get my heart rate back so I can ski more cleanly.

Towards the end of the second loop, my back and arms were getting tired from the poling. My legs were getting a little wobbly, too. But I made it!! The second loop took 52 minutes and I felt like I’d accomplished my first milestone. I skied for 15k and over 100 minutes straight. Sweet.

I’ve been out maybe 8 times now. Most sessions have only consistuted about an hour of skiing and I haven’t been too sore from any of the effort. Last night, however, I woke up sore in the middle of the night: my back and my right tricep specifically. And so sore that I had to get up for a couple of Advil. It kind of made me proud. ;)

Today, my plan was to take off from skiing. Allow myself some time to heal a bit from yesterday’s effort. Got to a spin class, something I haven’t done in a while. But now that option is out the window after sleeping late. I’m not sure what I’m going to do. It’s tempting to go skiing again. But I could also get on my spin bike here at home. I have a new Nano, afterall. We’ll see.

The one thing I want to do today is get my training calendar for 2008 started. I need to pick my race dates so that I can build my plan. That would probably force me to get back in the pool and to hit the weights as well.

I will admit: all this time off feels so indulgent. What a blessing it is to be able to hang out, think about training and wrestle with such tough decisions as, “should I ski or bike today?”

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Sure, the weather was perfect. And I mean PERFECT. No heat in Racine today so the half iron distance race wasn’t a death march as it has been in past years. However, my circumstances weren’t ideal.

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Last week, I finally had my first ski lesson. It was out at Elm Creek and it was a beginner skate ski class. There were about 10 of us. Everyone was new. And it was probably the best $16 I could have ever spent.

We started out falling down. Literally. The instructor made us all fall down and then get up. As someone who didn’t grow up skiing, this is a good exercise for me to practice. Getting up with the long contraptions on my feet takes some coordination and thought!

After that, we all headed over to the lesson area which is basically an open field with some tracks. The instructor had us glide on one ski. He had us walk while double-poling. He finally had us put on our skis and we practiced the V1 technique (which is poling on one side and then gliding on the other — what I’ve pretty much been attempting since I started). He had us focusing on the glide, which was really helpful. THEN he explained V2 The Wild Geese buy

and I finally got it (this is when you pole on each side)! Everyone has been trying to explain V2 to me and it just didn’t connect. But when the instructor showed it to us, I realize that I didn’t get it because I wasn’t gliding long enough on either ski to get it to work. Once you glide longer, you have time to poll on each side. Eureka. After that, we learned Open Field buy Eighteen

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After that, we headed out on the trail where the instructor showed us how the different techniques come into play. V1 to get you started and get up hills. V2 when you have a little bit of momentum going and you want to go faster. Open field when you’re downhill and/or have a lot of momentum. Again, Eureka! Things were starting to make sense!

Of course, then we had to learn how to go downhill — something I’m still struggling with. But I practiced my snowplowing down to slow myself (I’m getting better). He also showed us how we are supposed to corner. I could probably have a whole lesson on that. But the idea is that you keep your weight balanced (not to one or the other side which I was doing before) and you have to move your skis in the direction you want to go (straight skis will keep you going straight — imagine that?).

So, after the 2+ hour lesson, I felt way better about this new activity. I have skills to practice and I’m not totally lost now when people go into this whole V1, V2 business. I know all you experience skiers are probably cracking up at this entry — so elementary. But it’s all so new to me.

Unfortunately, after my lesson on Saturday, I didn’t get any opportunities to ski throughout the week. The holidays have been so nuts. I finally made time for a ski with a buddy yesterday. We went out to Elm Creek. And the temps had gotten up to 40 degrees so the snow was really slushy. It felt hard to ski through and sometimes my poles stuck. There are quite a few hills at Elm Creek, too, so it was quite a workout for me. My legs were shaking within 15 minutes and I only lasted an hour out there before my body was done. I wanted to ski longer, but I have to remind myself that people who are new to running don’t go out and run for 2 hours right away. I need to be patient.

I am looking forward to the extended holiday and using my time off to get out on my skis more often. James actually just purchased skis, too, so he’s going to start learning as well. In fact, he’s downstairs now putting on his first layers of base wax. We awoke to a little snow this morning, so hopefully our golf course will be skiable this afternoon. :)

I think I can safely say this now: I’M SO GLAD I PURCHASED SKIS THIS SEASON!!!!!!Shanghai Kiss movie

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Good coffee. Flannel Pjs. Productivity.

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And I get to ski later.

Okay. I’m usually pretty sly and quiet about where exactly that I work. But I keep coming across things that I want to share — so here it goes.

I happen to work on the Web site that is currently featuring this cool Cookie e-Card feature

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. Not only can you decorate a cookie online and send it to your friends & family, but you also donate 10 cents with each card sent to Toys for Tots. I am constantly amazed by the talents of some the people decorating these things. They are very cool and make me wish I was more adept with my mouse. But pretty or not, the messages are still cool and the money donated is non-discriminating.

So, there you go. Send them to your friends. It’ll probably be the only zero-calorie cookie you encounter this entire holiday season!!

Side note and what I’ve been wanting to fess up: I manage a recipe Web site. I love it. But I’ve never been so tempted in all my life. Talking about (and staring at) cakes, cookies and other good stuff all day long is tough!

Happy holidays, ya’ll.

[edited to add this photo -- how cute is this??]

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I’ve been on my skis four times now. And, today, I think I can officially say that I’m getting better and am not nearly as daunted by the prospect of learning this sport. I still have so much to learn. As a girl who didn’t even grow up downhill skiing, I don’t even know how to go down hills properly — or stop, for that matter. But, after today, I feel like I’m starting to get there.

There is hope.

Yesterday, I headed out on the groomed Lake Phalen golf course which is two blocks from my house. It was super nice to just leave the house with skis in hand and walk to the trail. When I got out there, I once again tried the rollerblading emulation without using my poles. It took a bit to get the feel again, but it happened. On a few straight stretches, I practiced this over and over until I had the confidence to move forward on the trail. There were a few other people out. They cruised by me (especially up the hills). I felt slightly awkward. But at least I was out there and feeling like I was starting to get it. I would toggle between the skating without poles and double poling. At one point, I removed my left ski and practiced balancing on my right. I repeated the same on my left. I’d read this suggestion somewhere online saying that it helps you learn to balance on one leg.

A little later, I saw my husband appear on the golf course in his snow shoes and he ran along side me. I continued to toggle between the freestyle skate and double-poling. I was starting to get tired and was having some real challenges going downhill. James witnessed me fall so many times — and one really bad time when I went down a steeper hill and couldn’t make the turn at the based throwing me head first into the snow with my legs spread. Ouch!

After I’d been out for about an hour, James and I decided to head home. The sun was fading and it was starting to get colder. Unfortunately, since I don’t know the Phalen trail, I had no idea how far I was from my street entrance and we did a little off course trekking in order to head home more directly.

Today, I headed out on Phalen again. Luckily, I had some additional information based on a conversation with a very experienced skiier last night. He explained the V1 motion and I finally began to understand what I’m supposed to be doing with my poles. So, when I got out today, I was able to skate ski AND use my poles. I felt like it was a big step. I still was really bad on the downhills. I didn’t fall so much, but I usually skiied off the corners of the groomed trail. I think I just need to learn the proper technique for this — something to do with picking up my outside ski to steer. I’m hoping this is covered in my lesson next week.

At one point, I actually passed a couple of classic skiers and that made me feel good. I’ve been questioning my decision to buy skate skis all week thinking it would have been easier to just get classic since I know it. But seeing that, even as a newbie, I’m still faster, I know I made the right decision. This is more of the kind of sport I want to do.

It ended up taking me 53 minutes to complete the entire Phalen loop (I have no idea how long it is). And since I was starting to get tired, I figured that was enough for today.

All in all, I feel pretty good. I don’t feel nearly as lost and I’m super-excited for my lesson next week. I’ve also discovered that Como has a lighted beginner loop that I can use during the week after work. Yay! They also offer private skate ski lessons for only $25/lesson. I’m going to certainly sign up for those.

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This topic really requires a full, thought-out post but I just don’t feel up to that tonight (especially after a 2.5+ hour commute home in the snow — I’m not even exaggerating). What you’ll get is a quick stream-of-concious overview instead (won’t even spell-check — I’m that lazy).

So, last night was my second attempt on my new skis and I just have to say: I totally hate sucking at something

. In fact, I honestly don’t like doing anything I’m not good at. So this is hard. Getting out there and finding that this is all about a technique that I’ve yet to learn is difficult. The worst was Sunday. I’d spent the entire weekend freaking out about the whole waxing process because we had snow on the way and I didn’t know what to do.

But $180 later, I had supplies. James set me up a nice little spot in the basement. And on Sunday morning through the afternoon, I put on 6 coats of base wax (per instructions I got at Finn|Sisu) and one coat of glide wax. I jammed out to the radio while doing my thing. It was kind of theraputic. Then, at 3pm, I headed out with skis in heand to meet a girlfriend at a local trail.

Unfortunately, the girlfriend had an emergency. I was on my own and I hadn’t the slightest what I was doing (in fact, I didn’t even know how to put on my skis!! how funny is that?). Once I did get my skis on, I slogged through the snow. I tried to make a V-movement, but all I know is classic skiing and I kept falling back into that. After about 25 minutes, I was cold and frustrated. I figured I might as well call it day. The sun was going down. I didn’t have a resource. I went home.

Last night, however, I headed back out with some members of our team. I worked on double poling. Then, a teammate had a really good suggestion and told me to try to emmulate the rollerblading motion and not use my poles. This helped so much. It was still super-hard. I fell about 8 times. But I finally got an idea of what I’m supposed to be doing. I did 5 rounds on the 1k beginner loop. And I felt good about it.

I’m also signed up for a beginner skate ski course on Saturday, Dec. 15. That session can’t some too soon.

The good news: it’s snowing here again. So despite my horrible commute home tonight, it’s looking like a good time to own skis!Firestarter 2: Rekindled dvdrip Murder Rooms: The Kingdom of Bones dvdrip Restraint movie download