Election Day

Nuff said.

Ultimate Cycle Challenge 2012

Saturday was the 7th annual Ultimate Cycle Challenge. My ride marked the 4th time riding but was a bit more personal this year given Nikki's passing. I didn't really fundraise for past rides but decided to put a stake in the ground this year. Thanks to many of you I was able to raise more than $300 toward kicking cancer in the butt. Overall the event raised more than $62,000.

55 teams and 570 riders

You were with me the whole ride, Nikki!
I even listened to Van Halen on the drive to the ride in memory of all your laps up and down the pool. Van Halen was classic Holt swimming for those who didn't experience it.

Being sick is the pitts but it did give me time to dig into and finish my latest book. I *love* Jane Green's writing.

Overview via the web: In Dune Road, a single mom who works for a reclusive author in a Connecticut beach town. When the heroine discovers a secret the author has kept hidden for years, she knows she has information that would interest many of the wealthy and powerful people in the community.

Lucielle

I walked into the kitchen today and found Lucy enjoying the sun through the bay window.

View from the Couch

I started getting the evil throat tickle on Thursday night. I opted to give Spin a try that night in an effort to sweat it out per the suggestion of my co-workers. Sadly the germs didn't leave my body. I dragged myself to work at 6:45 am for an interview Friday morning but started going downhill about 10:30 am. I left the office around noon and accepted I was sick.

I don't recall sleeping so much in my life. Here's my crazy sleep schedule.
Friday Afternoon / Nap from 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Friday Night Sleep / 10 pm to 8 am
Saturday / Nap from 10:30 am to 3:30 pm
Saturday Night / To bed at 10 pm and woke up today at 10:30 am

I don't like taking naps in my bed. I find it prevents me from getting good sleep at night. Odd but true. Sleeping in the couch always brings a guest. Typically Lucy. Not this time. Callie helped nurse me back to help this time around.

Photo Booth Fun

I had the opportunity to attend a "launch party" for a new network in town a few weeks ago. It's really a re-branding rather than a new network.

I invited a co-worker, Maya, to come with me. Maya started in my department at work in October. She's been a welcome addition to the team. She grew up in the same area I did, we know some of the same places in the Lansing area etc. She's young and full of good ideas. It's been a true joy to work with new talent. I am technically her "mentor" at the suggestion of the HR department. It's always nice to have someone to go with random questions, the inside scoop etc. when getting acclimated. She's super smart and works really hard. I love her excitement and energy.

We had fun with the photo booth after a bit of networking.

Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. And a random thumbs up.

Jazz hands!

Meeting Miles

I took a crazy cheap flight out to Minneapolis this weekend to meet Miles. Errin, Rudi, Miles, Obie and I enjoyed a low key weekend. I had the chance to have many snuggles with Mr. Miles. His pictures are cute but don't do justice to seeing him in person. He looks a lot like Rudi to me but Errin did show me pictures of her as a child. They share the same nose. Regardless of who he resembles, he is just darn cute.

Chilling on my lap Sunday afternoon

Getting ready to venture out. With the best book he's ever received.

I found mustache band aids a while ago. I've been waiting to give them to Miles. Hopefully it will be a long time before he needs one. But just in case, the medicine cabinet has a supply.

Just smiling.

Baby boxing. He's got a mean upper cut.

Snow Angel

I shoveled the sidewalk after shoeing and opted to make a snow angel. It was one of my favorite things to do as a child so why not do it as an adult?

Shoeing

I've been waiting for the snow to be just right to make my maiden shoe voyage this season. With yesterday's good base and then this morning's crazy downpour of snow the day couldn't have been calling my shoes any louder.

I'm pleased to report the shoes only needed adjusting once and I only fell twice. Not bad! I think I finally have the dress for shoeing down to a science. Pair of cuddle duds as a base layer topped with a lycra hoodie and pair of pants. It was brisk the first five minutes but after that I was ready to take off a layer. I wore a pair of wool socks and unfortunately they rubbed my heal raw. Ouch.

I walked through my neighborhood to get to a main road that's pretty quiet. I walked for almost 60 minutes. It was simply refreshing to breathe the fresh air, listen to shovels removing snow and reflect on a few things stirring in my head.

This Week's 12s

* Laughter of former teammate Amanda Craft. There's nothing like it.
* My first donation to the 2012 Ultimate Cycle Challenge. I'm riding in honor of Nikki D. (more to come on how you can celebrate Nikki's fight with cancer)
* Gap Outlet
* Dinner with my mom.
* Roxy being full of washer fluid courtesy of my dad.
* Means to purchase a gym membership. The burn of Group Power is starting to kick in.
* Freshly laundered sheets. I'm going to sleep good tonight!
* Heat.
* Upcoming dinner with friends at my house. The menu includes tomato dill soup and fancy grilled cheese. (choice of dill havarti, pepper jack or colby jack cheese)
* C Booth walnut shell body scrub
* Freedom to pray
* Fluffy snow

Pop of Color

I'm in love with my new spoon rest. I just love the bright colors. Thanks, Kimmis, for the fun surprise!

Memories of Nikki D

Last week some of Nikki's friends were posting old pictures of themselves on Facebook. I was actually horrified that people were saying goodbye to her and she was still alive. I don't know if she was online the last week and seeing all the posts but the thought of her seeing people post about her was hard for me to swallow.

I can't imagine sitting here tonight, knowing I'm going to die in the coming weeks and watching what feels like a memorial to me when I'm still alive. I even went so far as to tell Laura that if I am near death, please don't post memories about me before I'm gone. I advised her to send a note to my mom. Last week's conversation with her reminded me of my talk with her back in high school. Randomly we were talking about a living will and I promised to leave her my car. At the time she didn't have a car so we got a good chuckle out of it then. And admit it's making me smile now.

My thoughts completely changed since Nikki's passing and I've realized posting photos is a way of saying goodbye. It's also, and more importantly, a way to remember and honor those we love. I'm a big fan of sharing photos in the moment and was even into scrapbooking for a while. I love capturing the memories of life. Then why was I so shocked at people posting last week? I don't really know.



Nikki's situation and other situations in my immediate circle are forcing me to think about life after death. I've had the "no extreme measures" conversation with my parents. I'm a proponent of organ donation. Likewise, I know their wishes. I'm a little scared at the thought of who will make decisions for me if I'm unable and my parents aren't around. I don't think my brother wants the responsibility. It's a good thing the law allows us to designate decision makers. It's even better than I have friends that are incredible and just like family to me.