Saying Goodbye

Tomorrow morning, Mitch and I will say goodbye to our good, sweet kitty.



We got him from Mitch's mom when he was just a little kitten with the biggest ears.



While he wasn't the friendliest cat to everyone else, he loved us. When we'd get home from work, he'd make sure to "pose" for some attention.



He helped us pack for lots of trips, mostly by jumping into whatever bag or suitcase was open.



If there was a piece of paper, a box or even a climbing rope bag on the floor, he'd go lay on it. I had to kick him off tons of assignments while I was in grad school, because if he wasn't on my lap, trying to keep me from typing, he was next to me on the couch wrinkling all my stuff.



(He gave me lots of affection during some of the most frustrating moments of earning my MBA, but he wouldn't hold still for a photo before we left for commencement.)



Boxes were his favorite, though. All the times we moved with him, I'm surprised he never got packed in one!



I think he shared Mitch's love of The Goonies...or at least he liked keeping him company on the trainer.

Sweetest Chip - we're sorry you were sick for so long. We tried so hard to help you get better, but now it's time to let you go. I'll miss your "squeaky motor" and your "chomping." Mitch will have to teach Macie to play "Who's Faster" but she'll never win like you did (sometimes). Love you.

The Alma Experience

This is our brand new Alma College advertisement, The Alma Experience. Its creation was all done in-house by our talented Marketing Communications staff and a couple of visionary students. I'm proud to have been included in the process: a whole team of us worked hard to brainstorm concepts, refine messaging and support the actual creation process. I even had a role: you won't see me, but I belayed for James during the climbing wall scene. And he's wearing Mitch's climbing harness. :)

Please enjoy and share with your friends!

I Want Your Money

I'll be getting out to see this when it comes to town, that's for sure!

Grandpa's Blessing

One of this morning's catch-up projects was to figure out how to arrange our "wall of shame." All our family photos, including those from our wedding, have been stuck in a drawer since we moved. Now that we're beginning to actually hang stuff on the wall - though I'm glad we've waited so we could get used to the space - I figured this was a good time to decide on frames and all that.

Anyway, Grandpa Eccles prayed a beautiful blessing at our wedding and gave us a copy, which hung among our photos. I wanted to reprint it so it looked more like a print than a plain document, so I typed it up this afternoon. As I went through it and thought about what he hopes our life together will be, I see places we're succeeding and places we occasionally stumble. I thought I'd post it here, too, because it's truly one of the most heartfelt things ever written for us.

Grandpa’s Blessing
November 24, 2004

Almighty and gracious God. Bless this marriage of Mitch and Laurie as they begin their journey together down the road of life. We do not know what lies ahead for them, for the road turns and bends. Help them make the best of whatever comes their way.

Help them to hug each other often, laugh a lot, listen to each other and argue less. Help them to continue to love each other as much as they did when they first met. Help them to realize that nothing nor anyone is perfect and to look for the good in all things and people, including themselves.

Help them to respect each others’ likes, dislikes, opinions, beliefs, hopes, dreams and fears, even though they may not understand them. Help them to learn from each other and to grow mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Help them to create for their children a peaceful, stable home of love as a foundation upon which they can build their lives. Help them to keep lit the torch of love that they now share in their hearts, so that by their loving example, they may pass on the light of love to their children and to their children’s children.

As we gather to share this wedding feast, we are thankful for all those who gather around these tables. Remind us that Jesus often revealed Himself in the breaking of bread and be mindful that He, too, is an unseen guest in our midst.

Bless this food we are about to enjoy, and the hands that prepared it for us, for the building up of our bodies for His service. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Blessings and Burdens

Highs and lows. That's the story of the past few weeks in a nutshell. I am incredibly blessed with so much, and God opened up an opportunity for Mitch that resulted in an unexpected promotion! We are obviously delighted, even though it's meant a few late nights as he trains and transitions. We were also blessed with a new, much better vet for Chip. Though we still don't know what's wrong with him and have pretty much exhausted all reasonable diagnostic options, we're giving steroid injections a try. For the moment, anyway, he seems comfortable (and has a great appetite); only time will tell if he beats this thing, but we'll just delight in each day with him.

On the low side, both Papa and Gramma Carol have serious health problems. Papa was scheduled for open heart surgery until another condition necessitated indefinite postponement, and now he's not sure the risks are worth it. Gramma will lose her vision in one eye unless she has surgery to fix a hole in her retina, but I'm not sure when she'll agree to have it done because the recuperation is a little rough. And just when Chipper started improving (or when we stared to come to terms with things, anyway) Macie got sick and we've had to work hard to get her to keep food down.

I'm in this funk and I think only some time with dear friends can pull me out. Thankfully, I get to see Amanda, who might just be my saving grace, this weekend. Then I get to see Nichole for a whole weekend of racing fun. For them and others, I'm certainly thankful.

How Not to Run Your Veterinary Practice

If you want to be a crappy veterinarian, I'd recommend following these simple guidelines:

1. When you see an ill pet, make the owner feel terrible for letting her cat get sick. Never mind that cats hide illness like champs. Then charge $500 for services rendered.

2. Don't give clear instructions for follow up. Dispense medication to distraught owner and send her on her way.

3. Don't, under any circumstances, call to check up on said "critically ill" animal.

4. If owner returns for medication refills, don't mention anything about a follow-up.

5. When owner has completed the course of prescribed medication, finds her pet regressing again, and calls you for advice, reduce her to tears with repeated recriminations: "You were supposed to bring him back for a follow-up visit!"

6. Start the cat back on medication. Then tell your tech to be wishy-washy about how long such treatment needs to continue.

7. When pressed about a progress check, estimate at least $200 in services.

8. If owner calls to ask questions, refuse to call her back. Even when she tries repeatedly.

9. When owner finally gets fed up with your lack of communication and service, she will call to cancel her appointment and switch to another vet. Do not act concerned. Do not ask after the health of the cat. That animal was a pain in the butt anyway. There are plenty of other suckers out there who will pay your excessive bill.

See ya later, Isabella Cat Clinic. I'm sure I'll be much happier taking Chip to Macie's vet, St. Johns Animal Clinic, where I'll actually get a vet who cares.

Vote in the Michigan Primary!

Tomorrow is a big day, everyone! I'm spending some time today deciding which Republican candidate gets my vote as our candidate for governor, and I thought I'd share links to what I consider to be the meat of their positions.

Mike Bouchard - Blueprint for Prosperity
Mike Cox - Putting Michigan Back to Work
Tom George - Fix Michigan
Pete Hoekstra - He doesn't have a comprehensive page/document on his positions, so just go to his Web site and see the "Pete on the issues" list.
Rick Snyder - 10 Point Plan

I hope these can help us make an informed decision tomorrow!

Basement Renovations

I can't believe I'm just getting around to posting basement photos! After all, the project took a good chunk of both our tax return and our free time. Let's just chalk it up to being really busy, shall we?

Here's the basement before:





And here's the basement after many hours of hard work and lots of help from our family and friends!


The sauna has always been there, but we completely redid the bar area on the left.


Here's the full view. Our biggest project was obviously the ceiling and the lighting, but we also did some drywall to box in the vent (upper left) and the ceiling in the guest room (door at the end of the room). That part was miserable - if we ever have to do that again, we're hiring someone!


This is the new bar area! Goodbye ugly castoff counter from Penney's (according to our neighbor), hello beautiful new bar and counter. We were able to reuse a lot of the wood, and my dad made the tops.


With all those glasses, we're ready to have a party! See the chainring clock, too?




We were so excited to find a great deal on a love seat and sofa from Art Van!


And I finally got to bring my bowl chair out of storage!

That takes care of all the big projects in the house, at least for now. In the spring, we can turn our attention to the outside and add some landscaping!

Moments from Our Summer Vacation

Watching my sweet puppy get more comfortable in the water. She bounds in and out of the lake now, retrieves like a champ and is working up the courage to jump off the dock and the boat. And she's a cuddler even in the water: she loved nothing more than floating in Mitch's arms in the middle of the lake.



Riding the motorcycle to the Crystal Lake fireworks. When the official show was over, fireworks were still shooting into the sky. Some of them seemed to explode right above us as we made our way around the lake.

Laughing at our car, loaded down with bikes. Non-cyclists might not understand why we need to take four bikes on vacation with us, but you never know when a good road ride might pop up in the middle of a mountain bike vacation. Mitch really took advantage of a new guidebook we purchased in Boyne City by doing some challenging rides in the Keweenau.



Spending time with Mitch's siblings. Christa and Brian were in from Ohio, Minda and Derek from Colorado, and of course, Dave and Mariah were there, too. With all the kids, plus Grandma and Grandpa Heyd, my in-laws' shady front lawn was the perfect spot for a picnic. I wish we all had more time together.

Last-minute plan changes, all in the interest of getting a great margarita. Weighing the likelihood of getting a table at Traverse City's Red Mesa, we decided to drive to the Boyne City location instead. Oh tasty passion fruit margarita, you are amazing and were worth the restless night we spent on one of Bay View's not-so-comfortable mattresses...

An aborted ride with the judge. Grandpa's "cottage neighbor" at Bay View is a judge in Flint and an avid roadie. We joined him for a hilly ride, though I had to turn back six miles in when my chain started sticking to the chewed up teeth of my middle chainring. Our only mechanical of the entire trip.



Experiencing the other side of Pictured Rocks - from a kayak. We've hiked (or attempted to hike, despite the rain that always seems to follow us) the top of the cliffs a few times, but they were positively breathtaking from the bottom. Just one more of God's wonders to remind you of His great gifts for us.









Swimming - truly swimming - in Lake Superior. Perpetually cold and usually forbidding, this majestic lake was calm and refreshing. I completely expected to fly in and out for a quick, cleansing dip...but instead, I took my time and could have been even more leisurely.

Meeting cool people in bike shops and at trails. LBS folks in Marquette, Houghton and Copper Harbor were amazingly generous with their time and tips. Their passion for riding is evident. Likewise, the friendly faces we met on the trail - the guy who rode with us on the Tech Trails, for example - affirm that we are involved in more than just a sport. We're members of a sort of extended family, where spandex is appropriate attire for all functions and no one complains if they can smell you.

Riding the sweetest trails of my life. Marquette was cool - though muddy after the night's downpours - and Tech could keep my busy for a long time, but the trails in Copper Harbor were so different than anything I've ever done. There was climbing, but the trails were so well-built it hardly felt like we were gaining as much altitude as we did. We rode along cliffs...we rode directly on rock...we rode down drop-offs and onto bridges and down the "Stairway to Heaven," a fast, swooping bridge all the way back to the trailhead. One day was not enough. It takes nine hours to get there. It's worth it.

It's not that nothing's been happening...

...it's just that nothing of interest to the rest of the world has been happening. Work has been crazy between the software conversion and next year's publications and dealing with a new boss who doesn't really "get" us...we've been putting the finishing touches on the basement but I haven't had time to take and post photos...we've been playing with the puppy and trying to get the kitty better...we had a great weekend of riding at Maybury and Island Lake, plus a bridal shower rudely interrupted by the tornado sirens...and we're getting ready for our much-anticipated vacation! That, I promise, will make it up here, with photos and stories galore. I hope I won't be writing about not finding places to camp (we're banking on lots of walk-in sites...), about getting rained on, about wild animals attacking our tent (or us), about taking any trips to the emergency room, or about any of the other similar things that have happened to us on various vacations. We may not have the best luck, but we always make it a good time!

Hanson Hills

I'm 2-2 for successful rides at Hanson Hills: my two recreational rides there have been awesome, but my two races have been less than stellar. It would be easy to blame the conditions - both years have been cold and rainy - but that's only half of it. This year, at least, I'm in this mental funk when it comes to racing. I don't know if it's because so many other things demand my attention (busier at work, completing projects around the house, training Macie, etc.) or because I'm not racing in the same class as Mitch and my other friends (it is different not warming up with everyone and waiting around while they get ready), but I just haven't been in a very competitive, serious frame of mind when it comes to race day.

I think I'm in shape; or at least, as in shape as I've been for most other seasons. Training never gets as much attention as I'd like, but I'm getting out for a good, hard trail or road ride each weekend. I make an effort to get out during the week but sometimes that's easier said than done. Mitch needs to ride more than I do because he's much more invested in this season and I feel bad if we get home from work and both go out for a ride, leaving Macie in her crate again, so I usually stay home and hang out with her. At least my "lunchtime training" is fairly consistent so I'm holding my strength and conditioning.

Anyway, Hanson Hills: I cheered Mitch and the other expert racers on, briefly braving the rain that had started to fall. It came down intermittently during the two hours between their start and mine, but the clouds decided to open up in earnest right when I was supposed to be warming up. Well, I chose to stay dry for a bit longer and forewent the warm up. (Turns out that wasn't much of a loss...my muscles never loosened up during the whole 21 mile race.)

The first half of the first lap was a huge mental battle. It was cold. It was wet. The trail was slimy. I was tired. I could quit. I wasn't having fun. But then I realized I was being a super big wimp. Nobody likes a quitter. Mountain biking isn't easy and races aren't always going to be fun. They're a test of your physical and mental preparation, and I was failing. I made some resolutions about my attitude and training, then plugged on through both laps. I'm glad I did the race, glad I finished, and glad to have the chance to turn some things around.

Our next for-sure race isn't until August, but we have an awesome biking trip planned for July that will be tons of fun. We might try to pick up another race, too...we'll see. Michigan is having some State Games at the end of June that could be fun...

Funny Guy

We've decided to postpone our summer vacation plans due to Chip's illness. Since he is the devil in feline form, we figure we're practically the only ones who can give him his medicine without anesthesia or massive amounts of bleeding. No biggie...we hadn't made any reservations or anything.

But the funny part was Mitch's boss's response when he asked to switch his time off.

Boss: So you're changing your vacation plans for a cat?

Mitch: Yeah.

Boss: I've got someone who can take care of that for you.

Mitch: ...uh, no thanks.

One Crazy Week(ish)

I've been meaning to post a few quick pics from Zoo-de-Mack, which was was last weekend. This is the fourth year my family and I have hopped on our bikes and done at least some part of the 50-mile ride from Boyne Highlands to Mackinaw City.


Here's Mitch getting ready to leave. Macie and I dropped him off well before the rest of us started our ride, because the crazy guy decided to ride to Mackinaw and back. His first century went well, though he was pretty tired that night!


My awesome parents: Mom, sporting her new jersey from all us kids, rode all 50 miles for the first time ever.


I don't get to see my friends from high school much, so I jumped at the chance to ride with Amanda and Adrienne. We had fun chatting for the first 25 miles, then dropped into a speedy pace line after lunch. Zoom!


Before we headed home, we took Macie and Roxi (my parents' dog) to the beach for a swim.

So that weekend was awesome, but we came home to a sad situation: Chip, our cat, had barely touched his food all weekend and was looking practically emaciated. I had called our regular vet about a month ago to ask advice on getting him to eat, but she said the stress of the new dog probably decreased his appetite. By this point, though, he had me really scared so I called the Cat Clinic in Mt. Pleasant. Instead of simply stuffing them in the "cat claw" to give vaccinations, they actually put aggressive cats in the "tank" and give them anesthesia so they can do thorough examinations. Well, we got him in on Wednesday and after bloodwork and x-rays and the whole deal, they told me he had a very severe case of pneumonia. Poor kitty! They wanted to keep him overnight and put him in a room with oxygen, but they knew he wouldn't eat at the vet so he came home with us. Now he's on two different antibiotics, one of which will last four weeks, and we've been instructed to feed him anything he'll eat. So in addition to his cat food, he gets tons of treats, as much tuna as he'll eat and even some ice cream. We think he's doing better, but only time will tell.

Because of Chip's medicine schedule and the need to hand-feed him sometimes (he just needs calories!), we had to change our Memorial Day plans. Instead of spending the weekend at my parents' and racing at Bloomer on Saturday, we just went down there Sunday for a ride at Poto and some time at the lake. On the other days of this glorious long weekend, we ran errands and worked around the house. Accomplishments included:

*Buying a car! I've been driving a College vehicle for the past five years, but they're getting rid of them (and it's not really a perk...) so we needed have something by the end of June. We are now the proud owners of a 2004 Ford Explorer.

*Planting flowers! Our front walk and porch are now lined with pansies and zinneas. So bright and colorful! I'll be planting more around back this week, because I got way too many flats...

*Basement progress! Mitch and his dad hung drywall on the ceiling of the basement bedroom last week, and he mudded, sanded and re-mudded over the course of a few days. He also built a frame so we can box the beam and ductwork in with drywall, in preparation for installing the ceiling tiles in the main part of the basement.

And now the four-day week begins. I have two days of consulting sessions at work for a really cool part of our new administrative software system, and we're getting ready for a race at Hanson Hills. Woo-hoo!

Brighton Rec Race

Brighton Rec's Murray Lake Trail is one of my favorites to ride. It doesn't seem to have many long, sustained climbs to wring the breath from my lungs and make my legs burnburnburn, but it has enough up to lead to quite a bit of fun, windy, fast down. So I was pretty excited about doing a race there, but I didn't think too precisely about it until the week before, when Mitch and I preregistered. Then I saw my class was scheduled to do not one, not two, but three loops of at least 6.5 miles (or so I estimated). I quickly weighed the odds of this going badly...and submitted my registration.

The Pre-Ride
The Brighton Race is actually a stage race, with a time trial and a short-track race on Saturday followed by the cross-country race on Sunday. We elected only to participate in Sunday's race, but we went over on Saturday to pre-ride Murray Lake. The ride was nice and slow, but there were way more hills than I remembered! I told Mitch it was a good thing we were preregistered because I was having serious second thoughts.

The Warm-Up
On race day, I was still pretty nervous. Since this race was in a different series than the one in which we normally compete, I didn't really know against whom I'd be racing. I also wasn't accumulating any points for this, so the other racers weren't my concern: I was worried about whether I'd actually finish the race in a respectable fashion. I decided to go easy for the first lap - about eight miles, turns out - and see how my legs felt. Treating it kind of like a warm-up was a good idea...I got passed by a lot of people, but I also found some guys to ride with who were at a good pace.

The Groove
When I started the second lap, I was feeling great. My legs were warm and loose, my lungs were working and my spirits were high. I kicked it up a notch, riding some of the hills in slightly harder gears and pushing harder through the straights and downhills. I pulled a small group of guys from the beginner class and even chatted with them for awhile. I thought I'd surely have enough energy left for a decent final lap.

The Bonk
I'd heard people talk about bonking before: hitting the wall, completely running out of energy, feeling unable to finish and being miserable for a good long while once you finally stop. Yesterday, I got to experience it and let me tell you, I'll steel my stomach against the slimey texture of Hammer Gel and ride with a waterbottle full of Gatorade and choke down Clif Bars galore to keep this misery from happening again. When I started my final lap, my riding buddies veered toward their two-lap finish and I soldiered on, feeling, as I told Mitch, "Not like crap." He was also done by that time and handed my his flask of Hammer Gel, but I was only able to get half a mouthful out. Another guy latched on to my wheel and proceeded to dog me for the entire lap and his presence was, for some reason, more irritating than reassuring. When we hit the first significant hill, I realized this was not going to be a fun lap. About halfway in, I was full-out spent. All I could think about was my peanut butter and honey sandwich, waiting alongside my orange Gatorade in our cooler. I prayed fervently that Mitch would be waiting with that fantastic goodness when I crossed the finish line. My brain was fuzzy, my legs were aching, and that old guy behind me didn't even have the courtesy to pass me and let me suffer in solitude!

The Aftermath
I did finish: oh yes I did, probably one of the final five people on the course. Mitch was quick with the food and shared some awesome news: though he was racing singlespeed for the first time, he won his class by five minutes and would have placed at least third had he opted to race in his normal class instead. Wow, he's so fast! And me, well, I was miserable for the rest of the evening. But I learned some valuable lessons and am excited to take a few days to recover before our next biking adventure.


Mitch on the podium


Even I got a medal: as usual, there were only a few of us in our age group. My teammate, Nichole, should have been standing in first place, but she had to leave before awards.

House Progress

We have grand dreams for our home. What don't have, always, is a realistic idea of the price tag that goes along with those dreams. So, while there are lots of lots of things we'd like to do, we're only tackling one major improvement this summer: the basement.

So far, we've (and by "we've" I mean "Mitch has") accomplished the following:

*Tore the old bar out (after discovering it would be more work to refinish it than simply build a new one)
*Built a new bar and a liquor cabinet
*Ordered laminate for the bar top and counter top
*Built and installed shelves for glassware
*Rewired the basement so the storage room is on its own switch, and replaced the bare lightbulbs with slick recessed lights
*Purchased a ceiling for the main part of the basement
*Purchased a couch and loveseat

Still on the to-do list:

*Get the bar top and counter top finished, which requires that (1) the laminate arrives and (2) Dad has a free weekend to help us
*Buy a mini-fridge for under the counter top
*Get drywall to box in the support beam and duct work
*Install the ceiling
*Finish the "office" in the basement, which involves drywalling the ceiling, painting everything, hanging the new blinds and buying some storage/organizer-things for the "gear closet"

And, on top of that, I'm trying to get the existing flowerbeds ready to plant. I have grand dreams for landscaping, but for now I'm just going to work with what I have. Luckily, perennials keep popping up! Sometimes they're not where I want them but they're easy to dig up and replant. I *think* we'll have daylilies along the front porch!

It's my blog and I'll brag if I want to.

I graduated on Sunday "with high honors" (one of four in my program, and the only woman) and earned membership in Beta Gamma Sigma, the honor society for AACSB-accredited business programs.

A Tale of Two...Tails

Five ways to describe Macie:
1. Cute
2. Sweet
3. Curious
4. Excited to meet everyone
5. Loves attention

Five ways to describe Chip:
1. Handsome
2. Bipolar
3. Cautiously inquisitive
4. Irritated by new people invading his house
5. Will tolerate attention on his terms only

Many people, knowing Chip and making assumptions that Macie is like any other puppy, often ask how the two are getting along. Let me tell you, it's been a process...kind of like grieving, at least for Chip:

1. Denial: There's nothing going on. If I never leave the bedroom, I don't have to see this thing that has invaded my home.

2. Anger: What is this thing that has invaded my home? I've ventured out to examine it, and it just seems to make loud noises and disturb my peaceful home. Get it out, GET IT OUT! I have claws and I know how to use them!

3. Bargaining: OK Mom and Dad, let's make a deal: I will be the good pet. I will sleep in your bed again and purr and pose for you. All I ask is that you get rid of that thing. Please?

4. Depression: It's not working. I'm so stressed that I don't have any appetite. I'm just not going to eat and get even skinnier than I already am. *Dramatic sigh*

5. Acceptance: Well, it's not going anywhere. But Mom and Dad still love me and give me lots of attention. And maybe it's not that bad. We're learning to share and be in the same place at the same time without antagonizing each other. Maybe it's even kind of nice. It gave me a kiss the other day...

Actually, Chip is jumping around between anger, depression and acceptance. He's fine most days, but we still try to keep Macie out of his face. For her part, I think she knows he's the alpha and usually ignores him or tries to scoot quickly past him if they are both in the hallway. Oh, animals...

Yankee Springs Time Trial

Racing season is officially underway! Mitch and I, along with many of our On 2 Wheels teammates and various friends, raced the Yankee Springs Time Trial on Sunday. As always, it was a great way to kick off what is sure to be a fantastic season.

But first, let's back up. Last weekend, we met Rick and Nichole at the trail for a little preride. I was a bit anxious about my abilities, because I was so doggone slow up at Harrison and didn't push it at all when I rode Island Lake with my dad. And when I finished my lap at Yankee, I found my time was a full ten minutes slower than last year's race time. Ugh!


Our preride group

It's hard to have "place-based" goals in a class without consistent competition. I can't go out each week, like Mitch, and have a group of people to pit myself against because my class is small and there are often only two or three of us. So my goal for Yankee, which will probably carry over to most of the races, was simply to be as fast or faster than last year.

We left at the crack of dawn, and I was all bundled up because I'd have a few hours to kill in the cold while Mitch raced in the expert class, along with Rick, Nichole and Jake. I brought Macie for company, and she made friends with everyone! She was so good, letting tons of people pet her and snuggle her...though thanks to all the dust, she was filthy by the end of the day! We cheered for Mitch and everyone as they came through on their first lap, and then I handed her off to Mitch's mom while I ate lunch and warmed up.


Such a good puppy!

When I finally hit the trail, I knew it was going to be a good ride. I struggled a bit at the beginning, but hit my rhythm about three miles in and never looked back. I powered up loose, rocky hills that other women were walking and navigated root-filled uphills much better than last weekend. The downhill parts of that trail are just so awesome: fast, flowy and at times a bit technical. I was having so much fun that a few times, I had to remind myself I was racing and hammer harder. I came in strong at the finish, and met my goal: eleven seconds faster this year than last.


Mitch's start - he's so fast!

Mitch also did great; his class was fast and competitive, but he had a good ride and consistent lap times. He won't make excuses, but I know being on medication for a particularly irritating allergic skin reaction all week slowed him down a tiny bit. Still, he was happy with his performance. Friends and teammates deserve a big congratulations, too. Nichole's reluctant debut as an expert racer was awesome, Rick was on fire, and Jake made the jump up, too, and met his race goals.

Easter Weekend

Mitch and I had a fantastic, whirlwind Easter weekend. First, we took Macie on a little trip to campus so she could meet some new friends. Everyone loved her, and she did so well listening to me even amidst all the excitement. Then we hit the road for Mid-Michigan Community College in Harrison, where they built a new mountain bike trail last year.


Macie is such a good car dog!

The first six miles of the ten mile trail were pretty rough...in more ways than one! Since it was my first trail ride of the year, my bike handling was definitely rusty. And since the trail was only cut last summer, it's still pretty rough. And since I'm not always very observant and therefore had my front fork locked out in the beginning, it felt like I was riding the Mean Streak at Cedar Point! After I remedied that little problem, though, the ride was a bit more enjoyable. In a few years, it's going to be fast and flowy...they did a great job using the natural features of the land.


We want Macie to be a trail dog and run with us while we ride, but she's not quite ready for that yet. So I rode the first loop, then Mitch went out.

After we both got our rides in, we headed down to Mitch's parents for dinner. Christa, Brian, Mason and Caden were in town for Easter, and it was wonderful to see them. We were especially pleased with how well Macie did with the little boys!




Letting Mason hug her...


...and kissing Caden!

Back home on Saturday morning, we did a little yardwork and dyed Easter eggs. It seemed a little overkill to have nine colors for ten hardboiled eggs, but it's a fun tradition.


One egg for each member of our little family!

Then we piled back in the car, Macie and the bikes included, and headed to my parents for the rest of Easter weekend. In addition to church and dinner with the extended family, we had two goals: take Macie swimming and go mountain biking. The swimming went OK...but when we went to the gravel pit by Bobby's house, it was cold and windy, so Macie was less than enthusiastic about the adventure.



Then the storms rolled in, so we had to scrap our plans to ride Island Lake. But all was not lost - Mitch found out that Jake and some others were doing a night ride at Poto, so he raced down there. Dad and I had to wait until Sunday after church to hit the trail, but we had fun with our quick loop.


Look at that awesome Alma jersey!

All in all, we had lots of fun. It was really busy, though, and the workweek was super crazy, so I feel like I haven't had a break at all! It's Spring Break for lots of high schools, so we had a ton of families visiting campus. It's time to start closing the class, and we have our work cut out for us this year. Go Scots!

Housebreaking

What the Internet and every puppy training resource told me: Crate training is the best way to housebreak a puppy because they won't mess where they sleep.

What Macie taught me: That is a complete lie.

When we brought our sweet seven-week old girl home, we quickly discovered that she had no bladder or bowel control, regardless of the situation. When she had even the slightest urge to go, she simply squatted and went. It didn't matter if she had been outside five minutes earlier; there were so many times we'd turn around to see her leaving a little puddle on the kitchen floor. And when we left and put her in her crate - you know, to go to church or the grocery store or work - she would most certainly do her business right where she slept. Oh, Internet: I can't believe you lied to me!

Maybe it didn't lie. Possibly, whoever writes these things is under the assumption that a new puppy owner has the luxury of not leaving her new dog crated for more than an hour or two at a time. Theoretically, for every month a puppy ages, she can hold her bladder for an hour plus one. So maybe, if we could have put Macie in her crate and taken her out every two hours, we could have made the Internet be true. But there's this thing called work. And this thing called sleep (though we didn't get much of that, since we were trying to do what all the books said and take her out a few times a night). And poor Macie, in a crate that gave her just enough room to lay down (again, per the prevailing wisdom), was spending too much time wallowing in her own waste.

After two weeks of this, we were finally presented with a viable solution from a reputable breeder: make the crate bigger, put her towel in the back and line the front with newspapers. She's smart - she'll learn to have accidents on the newspapers instead of her towel. But that is still distasteful to her, so as she is physically able to "hold it," she'll stop with the accidents all together. This set up will not slow housebreaking, despite the dire warnings on the Web. It is, very simply, the best alternative for working families. And about getting up with her for nighttime potty breaks: stop. Again, she will learn. Just put her somewhere you can't hear her and ignore her cries and yelps, so you can get some sleep.

So we tried it, and our eleven-week old Macie hasn't had an accident in her crate for three days! She makes it all night long, and also through our work day. And we aren't ridiculously tired anymore (though I wish she could distinguish weekends from weekdays)! Thank you, Roger from Brady Kennels, for the great advice!

Weekend Highlights

• Finished watching Up, complete with homemade popcorn. Loved it so much I watched it a second time later in the weekend.
• Painted the basement: one dark green accent wall, "latte" for the rest.
• Started cleaning up the yard: raked up the sawdust and sticks from the wood Mitch cut this fall, pulled out the cinder blocks that previously held a hot tub and flattened out the hot tub pad
• Went biking with Jon and one of his coworkers, Ned. The wind was wicked on the way back, but other than that it was great to get out.
• Laughed our butts off with Dave and Dwayne at Mitch's parents' church! The dinner theater was lots of fun, even if we didn't get nearly enough hot fudge on our sundaes.
• Experienced an exceptionally powerful message at church. One of our worship leaders had many in tears with her performance of Nichole Nordeman's Why, and Pastor Tony delivered a powerful sermon on the crucifixion titled, Why Did Jesus Have to Die?
• Cleaned up the house and did some laundry
• Hosted our small group. We laughed a lot and had some good discussions on pride and selfishness. And they all loved little Macie!

And speaking of Macie, here's a cute photo my father-in-law took of her. She looks so sweet!



We're most certainly looking forward to having a short week and celebrating Easter with our families. And the fact that we're going to have beautiful weather just makes it better! Spring, I think you may be coming!

Personal Record

When I ran track and field in high school and college, I was all about the personal record. Each race was a chance for me to set a new PR, each practice a chance for me perfect the technique I'd need to reach my goals. And since we had two meets a week plus weekend invitationals - at least in high school - I had plenty of opportunities to be better, faster and stronger.

Mountain biking, however, only gives me fewer than ten chances per year to go out, race and potentially set a PR. And because every course is different, and a single course can change from year to year, I sometimes miss being able to set new PRs and quantifiably measure performance improvement.

But now I have a new benchmark. Yesterday, I rode home from work and blew any previous road ride PRs out of the park. I wanted to have an average speed of 15 mph or greater (previous best was 14.5 mph), and I wanted to keep my cadence in the eighties. Modest goals for anyone who is a serious cyclist, I know, but I'm kind of new to this whole road riding thing, since I just got my road bike in January. Anyway, the ride was awesome! It was a shade under 23 miles with a crosswind most of the way. I averaged 17.3 mph, did pretty well with my cadence (my computer doesn't measure the average) and finished in an hour and nineteen minutes. I should disclose that these mid-Michigan roads are pretty darn flat, and I would have been much slower if there had been hills to tackle. But I'll take what I can get!

So now, in part to satisfy my need for new PRs and in part because it's an easy way to get a good ride during the week, I plan to ride home more often. Maybe, after a few weeks, my coworkers will even stop shaking their heads when they see me in cycling attire at the end of the day. :)

Recap

This has been a lovely week for us! Well, until the snow started flying today, that is.

Mitch's Birthday: We celebrated Mitch's 28th birthday on Tuesday with a road ride in the sunshine, rainbow trout for dinner and Dairy Queen ice cream cake for dessert. He also opened presents, of course: a new pair of mountain biking gloves and a set of carbon fiber handlebars for his road bike. Combined with the carbon seat post my parents got him (to replace the one he broke earlier this winter), his bike looks pretty sweet - just in time for outdoor riding to truly begin!

Macie: She's such a sweet puppy, and pretty smart, too! Housebreaking remains our most challenging task, but she has figured out that she should pee on her papers instead of her towel if she has to go while she's stuck in her crate (though as she develops the ability to "hold it," those instances become fewer). She is also good at telling us - by running to the door and whining - that she has to go out when we're home. At just 10 weeks, she knows the "sit" command, especially when we're playing fetch with her toys. And, stubbornly, she keeps trying to make friends with Chip, who has just recently started venturing out of the bedroom and becoming a presence again. There has been some hissing, some barking, a swipe or two...but I think, eventually, they'll find balance and boundaries.

Work: Oh-so-stressful right now. I think I've mentioned that we're implementing a new, campus-wide administrative software program, which will fundamentally change many of the ways we operate. It's a huge task, and I do not envy those who are most responsible for making sure everything goes smoothly. I do have a pretty big role, however, and almost every week for the last month and a half has involved all-day training or consulting sessions, multiple meetings and lots of work. Admissions "goes live" in May, and some significant Web enhancements follow in August, so perhaps by then I'll have a little time to breathe. But I still have tons of other projects, like managing my territory (ultimately the most important) and working on next year's publications. And it seems like, when I'm not in meetings, I can't leave my office without someone wanting something. I don't mean to whine or sound ungrateful, because I'm blessed to have a job that challenges me in an environment with great people who support me...but I sure am glad when the weekend - or even the end of each work day - rolls around.

Training: It should come as no surprise, given the puppy and the work schedule, that I'm not as dedicated to my training as I should be. I didn't make it down to the Rec at all last week; though I've had a pretty good track record overall, and am even running a mile before I do my strength workouts. To any hardcore runners, that would be pretty weak, but I don't like running at all so I consider that an accomplishment! With the nice weather, I have gotten out on a few road rides, but I'm really looking forward to being able to ride home from work a day or two a week once the weather turns for good.

Church: We are still loving our church. Our new teaching pastor is wonderful, and he's breathed some good life into the congregation. Today we participated in something called 3rd Serve, where the third Saturday of every month offers some type of service opportunity. We made and delivered food baskets for Easter, which was a nice way to show God's love to those in our community.

Family: My Papa (grandfather, not dad) is having some health problems right now. He hasn't been truly healthy for a long time, but now his bladder cancer is back and he has to have some pretty aggressive treatment (once they can get another condition under control). I'd be thankful for any prayers you can offer up for him, and for Gramma as she cares for him.

Well, I think that's it for the moment! While Macie snoozes and Mitch works on his car, I should get working on some chores. Yay, scrubbing the bathrooms...

I'm a Growing Puppy!

It's me again, Macie. Wow, I've been home for over two weeks now and I can't believe all the neat things I get to do! I know how to sit (even though I don't always listen) and Mom tells me I'm a good puppy if I come when she calls (which I try to do, but sometimes I get distracted). I don't have many accidents in the house any more, but I still can't hold it all day or all night.

But speaking of night, I'm letting Mom and Dad sleep again. I thought I had them trained to get up with me when I was noisy, but one night they just stopped. I kept trying, but it didn't work. I'm pretty good about not making a racket now, though every once in awhile I give it a shot, just in case. But I have learned that if I run to the door (because they don't just keep me in the kitchen anymore), they'll let me outside so I can do my business. That's a lot nicer than being interrupted when I squat on the carpet!

And I can climb the stairs on the deck now! When I was just a little puppy, I fell down them and have been a bit scared ever since. But Mom and Dad showed me I can be a big girl, and now I scoot right up them without any trouble.

Mom says I get to go to the vet tomorrow and get some shots. That doesn't sound fun, but she's promised to take me to the park later in the week. I don't know what "the park" is, but she makes it sound really fun.

Self Control

I've decided to start deleting stupid emails that insult my intelligence. They do not warrant a response, and I would struggle mightily to write back without being a jerk. But sometimes, especially when I'm overtired from a puppy who whined and yipped all night long, I want to leap across the hall and yell: "I KNOW HOW TO DO MY JOB!"

Whew. Good morning. From this point on, it will be a good day.

Hi, I'm Macie!

Hi, I'm Macie! I just came home on Friday and I'm so happy! At first I was a little tentative in my new space, but after just a few days it was the best! I get my own little bed for when Mom and Dad aren't home or sleeping, but when they're here I get to run around the whole kitchen!



My favorite thing to do is cuddle. If you sit on the floor with me, I'll crawl on your lap and burrow in. Chances are, I'll fall asleep.





I also love to play! My favorite toy is Squirrel, because he squeaks and I can chase him all over the place. I spent a lot of time playing outside with sticks today, and that was fun, too. I think when it gets warmer, playing in the yard will be lots of fun. For now, though, I'll take the kitchen. My paws get cold when we stay out too long!

Sometimes I cry at night because I want Mom and Dad to pay attention to me, and sometimes I make messes in my crate or pee on the floor. But I'm learning really fast because I'm very smart. And I'm very cute, so that means Mom and Dad don't get mad at me. They know I'm trying to please them.

I know there's another animal in the house 'cause I can smell him. They call him Chip, but he hasn't come out to see me yet. Maybe he is shy. I hope we can be friends, because I want us all to be a happy little family!