The End is in Sight!

Just two more assignments stand between me and freedom:

• A leadership analysis about Alma's upcoming presidential transition. The completed draft is out to my team for editing, and I'll submit the final version tomorrow morning.
• A post-campaign summary on a Google AdWords campaign for UM-Flint's BBA program. I'll finish the draft, minus the final numbers, this morning and send it to my team for editing. They'll return it by tomorrow morning, I'll plug the final numbers and graphs in (the campaign goes through today) and then I'll turn it in.

Like most things, the grad school experience has both flown by and dragged on. It doesn't seem so long ago that I enrolled in my first course, but at the same time, I can hardly imagine life without being tethered to a computer even when I get home from work. One thing is for sure, though: I'm very excited to celebrate this accomplishment and, for all I have complained about it, I'm glad I put in the time, effort and money to earn my MBA.

So today's goals are to finish the assignments by lunchtime; catch up on some housework, get a few more things ready for the puppy; and pick up Macie, our sweet little lab! We've done quite a bit of "puppy prep" already, and I've been told by the breeder that the most important thing is simply lots of love and attention right now. I can guarantee she'll have plenty of that!

New Puppy!

We have a house. With a yard. By Saturday morning I'll be done with my MBA. Obviously, we need to tackle another big life event and apparently, we don't know how to take things slow. We just started seriously looking for puppies on Sunday evening, and yesterday we put a deposit on this little girl:



She's a purebred chocolate lab with a sweet personality. We don't have a name yet, but we'll have one by the time I pick her up on Friday afternoon. Isn't she adorable?!?!?

My New Road Bike's First Ride

You know your priorities are screwed up when you by a new bike in January, and it takes you over a month to take a photo and show her to the world. Well, better late than never. Here she is: my Trek 1.5 WSD!





I've been getting a few trainer rides in here and there, but no bike is content to sit inside and be pedaled without going anywhere. So Mitch and I took advantage of the warmish weather (he may have had to coax me out of the house) to go for a short road ride this afternoon.



I was surprisingly warm! With my ridiculous pink hat under my helmet, new cold weather gloves, Mitch's old booties and a windbreaker, I was downright toasty on a few uphills. Mitch, on the other hand, froze his fingers because, riding at my leisurely pace, he wasn't working hard at all.

Now I hear they're calling for some more serious snow this week. We have one more skiing weekend planned, so I'm OK now that I've gotten a little biking fix. But after we hit the Highlands with my family next month, bring on spring!

Eight More Days!

Here are just a few things I'm looking forward to once my MBA is done:

• Not spending all evening on the computer, especially after having spent all day in front of a screen.
• Working on the house - most of the walls are still bare, we haven't chosen a color for the basement yet, and my library is not the cozy haven it was intended to be.
• Getting more involved in our church.
• Training and riding. I'm especially excited to ride my bike home from work when the weather warms up...something I intended to do last year but could rarely spare the time.
• Keeping the house clean. I don't even want to think about the dusting I've neglected.
• Writing for me again. I have some projects I'd like to attempt, and maybe this blog won't be so dull once I have more time.

There are lots more, but I have to (you guessed it) study if I want to take my very last exam on Saturday!

Yes, more government services, please!

This week, I discovered that the government has misplaced two separate payments: interest due to the IRS because we made a mistake on our taxes two years ago, and the substantial student loan interest payment I made last summer.

So yes, I'd feel very, very comfortable with government run health care. In case you were curious.

In other news, just eleven days, two papers and one exam until I'm done with my MBA!

Progress, Progress

I finished my final journal entry and discussion board post last night, despite not getting home until almost 7 pm. Mitch works some long hours, which means I work some long hours since we drive in together. Despite still having lots to do, we made time for that sauna: I had a long, hectic day at work and I'm trying to fight off another budding cold. Steam and sweat...that's the treatment for stress and sickness!

Today is study day during lunch, and Mitch will probably work a bit late again. My goal is to make some solid headway on my self-improvement plan and ride the trainer this evening. Though my muscles are in a constant state of semi-sore thanks to the increasing intensity of our lunchtime workouts (which now include about a mile of running - a huge feat for me!), I've severely neglected my bike. In March, perhaps, my road bike and I can make a solemn vow to spend more time together.

What's Between Me and an MBA?

• Seventeen days
• One journal entry
• One discussion board post
• One exam
• One 8-10 page paper on leadership at Alma College
• One leadership self-improvement plan
• One quiz
• One Google AdWords campaign for UM-Flint's BBA program, and the accompanying summaries

I'm taking two days off work this month so I can crank through all this work, and then I'm DONE! It's been a long road, but I'm almost there...

Music from Another Time

I bet Grandma Eccles never thought her only granddaughter would someday sit in an office and listen to her old vocal recordings to melt the stress away. Yet here I am, sandwiched between an impossible workload and looming deadlines, knowing that each precious second means I fall farther and father behind. At this moment, a break for song and scripture seems perfectly appropriate.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Dad likes to point out...

...that, at 28, I'm almost thirty. I like to point out that he is old enough to have a daughter who's almost thirty. I think I win.

Wait, of course I win. Because it's my birthday! It's been wonderful so far: Mitch sang "Happy Birthday" to me first thing in the morning, sent me beautiful flowers at work, let me eat a piece of birthday cake before dinner, grilled melt-in-your-mouth venison tenderloin steaks, and got me a light for my bike. Now he's downstairs setting my NEW ROAD BIKE up with a computer so I can do some spinning and start getting comfortable with her. (Note: The bike was not a birthday present. I've been saving my pennies, though I didn't anticipate making the purchase so soon. But these things happen...)

Training Motivation

Last week was a really good training week: I went to all three strength training sessions, did (a very painful) half of the CTS criterium DVD on Tuesday and did an easy half hour spin on Thursday. I also shoveled our entire driveway - does that count as cross training? :)

Everyone motivates themselves in different ways. I need some sort of competition to keep me enthusiastic, which is one reason I love mountain bike racing: I can do something I really enjoy, but it also speaks to my competitive spirit and helps me push myself. One of my main problems, though, is that in all my athletic experience, I've never trained for anything that required endurance. Cheerleading (no joke, one of the most physically and mentally challenging things I've done) was a bunch of isometrics, a healthy set of lungs and a perky smile. Skiing was a technique thing, though our coach seemed to love making us hike the hill. In track and field, I was a sprinter and a long jumper, and the training for all my events focused on drilling technique into me. This mountain biking thing, on the other hand, seems like it's all about being fit and having endurance. And yes, a certain amount of technical ability, but I think we're safe to say I'm used to developing technique and can handle it easier than endurance training.

I've hit on three training maxims for myself to help me, mentally, as I continue training. The first is that I'm training so I can learn to suffer better, for longer. This is never going to be easy. This is never going to be automatic, like learning the hang style for long jump. This is always going to hurt, because I'll always be pushing to be faster or go longer. My goal, then, is to get better at suffering on the bike.

Second, I can't cheat myself. If I'm not working hard - if I'm not suffering - I'm cheating myself out of a good workout. I won't accomplish my goals by cheating. And third, I always have to keep fighting for it. Not cheating myself requires that I fight for that last interval, for that unattainable cadence, for that final set of lunges, squats, push-ups, whatever.

I'll probably fight this mental battle throughout the entire training season, and then through the race season as I seek to maintain fitness between events. But maybe, just maybe, there's a secret weapon in the basement to help. Maybe she's shiny and blue, with skinny road tires...

Brag Time

I fought off a cold. That never happens, but I put my mind and body to the task, and it worked!

Laurie's Recipe for Fighting the Common Cold

-Airborne, three times a day. Mmm, fizzy Gatorade!
-Lots of water. If you don't get annoyed with how often you have to pee, drink more.
-A bit of physical exercise. I found an easy 30-minute spin on the trainer to be perfect...as long as it's combined with excessive hydration.
-Time in the sauna. Clear those pores, release those toxins, soothe the chest and sinuses, elevate that temperature...just be sure to hydrate! (And yes, friends, you can come use our sauna. Because who realistically has access to one of those on demand? Oh, you do! Because we have one in our basement!)
-Periodic rest time. Take half an hour and relax every so often, especially if painting bathrooms is really starting to tire you out. (Can you tell what I was doing when my most recent cold started coming on?)

I am proud to say that, for once in my life, I was actually able to defeat a cold before it hit me full force. Yeah, I still had a night or two of minor congestion, but that is worlds better than the usual weeks of misery. If I can go all winter without a monster cold, then I'll really have reason to brag!

Happy New Year!

I feel like I'm required to post an entry that kind of wraps up last year and looks ahead to 2010. Well, here are some of the most memorable things that happened in 2009:

*We took an awesome ski trip to Searchmont with our friends (and we're already scheduled for an encore later this month)
*I visited a friend in Colorado, where we skied both Vail and Beaver Creek.
*We joined the On 2 Wheels race team and had a great mountain biking season.
*God especially blessed us during Mitch's period of unemployment: he was able to work for my brother over the summer, which provided him with a dark tan and plenty of time for miles on the trail.
*We spent a week mountain biking in Northern Michigan and had all sorts of adventures.
*Thanks to Mitch's new job with ETX, Inc. in Alma, we bought our first house! Blessings in disguise, folks: we never would have considered the location while he was working in Mason.

We can never plan for everything the future holds, but I do have some definite things to look forward to in 2010:

*I'll finish my MBA in March and officially graduate in May.
*Thanks to our first-time home buyer tax credit (!), our basement should get a bit of a face lift.
*We're in for another race season with On 2 Wheels and have already started training: Mitch hopes for strong performances at the expert level and I'd like to improve my times in the sport category.
*We'd like to take a few summer vacations this year, like a week of biking in the U.P. and at least a weekend at the Silver Lake Sand Dunes. Oh, and a fall trip to the New River Gorge!
*It's time to start rock climbing again (in preparation for the aforementioned trip to the New)!
*I want to get more involved with our wonderful church and the MMBA. After all, I'll need something to keep me busy once my grad work is done!

To top this off, I'd like to say that I'm not really a resolution person. I don't need to wait for an arbitrary point in time to make positive changes in myself; however, a sermon about finding peace (the last one of 2009, in fact) really made me think hard about how I handle challenging situations. I would like to seek peace more in 2010 by praying more and spending more time building my relationship with God.

So here's to 2009, with all its joys and struggles. And here's to 2010, with the promise of peace.

Christmas is coming so fast!

I'm trying to slow down. Really, I am. In the grand scheme of things, I'm doing OK on time: granted, some people won't get their Christmas cards until after Christmas and a couple of gifts still need to be wrapped. Other than that, everything is done. I'm usually way ahead on everything, though, so I feel like I'm scrambling.

Still, this is my favorite time of year. We've had some wonderful Christmas celebrations already, with more to come:

Work Parties: Mitch's employer hosted a very nice dinner at the Elk's Club in Alma. It's a brand new facility, and we had the *best* prime rib. The Admissions party was a good time, as always. We do the white elephant exchange: hot presents this year included a sexy firefighter calendar, the infamous "half-shirt" (a polo that looks, from a distance, like you're only wearing half a shirt) and some awesome 'eighties workout videos.

DeYoung Christmas: Little kids + presents = FUN! Watching my nephews open their gifts was fantastic. It was also great to go to church with the whole family (the pastor called us all out when she asked who was traveling for the holidays) and eat *all* the tasty food. And I had my first experience with "A Christmas Story." Mitch and his brother laughed hard at the "triple dog dare" scene, while Mariah and I just kind of looked at each other. I guess it has to be a part of your childhood!

"Our" Christmas: Mitch has always worked up through Christmas Eve, so we've basically rushed around trying to get to my parents' house in time for our usual traditions. This year, though, we both finish up today and we're not leaving for my folks' 'til tomorrow afternoon. So we get to have our very own "Christmas" this year! We're having a nice dinner together and watching Charlie Brown Christmas, and while we're sleeping, Santa is going to make an early stop at our house. On Christmas Eve morning, we'll open our stockings and a few gifts and have a nice breakfast together before heading out to the various family Christmas celebrations. It's fitting, I think, that we get to do something special for just the two of us in our new home.

Eccles and McGrath Christmases: On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we'll celebrate with the Eccles and McGrath families, respectively. I love all the time with my extended family...but the *best* is Christmas morning at my parents', when we open our gifts under the big tree and have a special Christmas breakfast. Someday, when Mitch and I have kids, I want this tradition to continue under our own tree.

We are so very, very blessed. We've had challenges and disappointments, successes and joys; but looking back, I can see God working in even the hardest times. As we gather with family and friends this season and as we share gifts (including ones that can't be wrapped), I hope we reflect on the season's most perfect treasure, the birth of our Lord and Savior. He's sustained us and blessed us, and continues to do so each and every moment.

I'm so bad at surprises.

Good: I love sharing everything with Mitch.

Bad: I love sharing everything with Mitch.

What?

Obviously, marrying your best friend and having someone with whom you delight in sharing is a good thing. Most of the time. At Christmas, it's a very bad thing. Because I desperately want to tell him all about the AWESOME Christmas presents he has coming. I want to brag about my deal-searching and my patience in waiting for the *perfect* purchase. I want to show him his gifts the moment they arrive. But I CAN'T. Because it's CHRISTMAS. And these are supposed to be SURPRISES. And I'd say someone else should call me and let me tell them all about these fantastic finds, for a bit of relief, but it just wouldn't be the same.

Because sharing with Mitch is my FAVORITE. Good thing Christmas isn't too far away!

Confessions of a Lapsed Cyclist

I am terribly ashamed to admit this, but until last night's beautifully, brrrr-y night ride at Heritage Park in Adrian, I hadn't ridden my bike since the race at Maybury back in August. Sad, I know! It was a combination of distractions: buying a house, moving and getting settled into said house, working my tail off, squeaking in some time for homework...I know, I know: there's no excuse for neglecting my bike. But I didn't miss it enough to carve out some quality time in my schedule.

Until last night.

I'm not quite sure what possessed us to drive two hours down to Adrian for a night ride. I think, mostly, it was the promise of hanging out with some folks we hadn't seen in while. Maybe I was just trying to get Mitch to use the awesome light I bought him for Christmas last year. Maybe, on some level, I knew I needed something social to get my behind in gear. Whatever the case, I'm so glad we went! It was freezing when we started...I was practically dressed for a night on the slopes, minus the ski pants and mittens. My thoughtful husband surprised me with an early Christmas gift: a pair of cold-weather biking gloves so I wouldn't either (a) freeze my little paws trying to wear my regular ones or (b) crash into a tree because braking and shifting is near impossible in mittens. But once we got on the trail, I warmed up. It seemed to be a pretty technical ride, made even harder by the fact that I don't even have a light for my bike: just Mitch's headlamp zip-tied to my helmet. I believe an actual bike light is now on my wish list!

Since we were in the area, we also decided to go cheer on Rick at a cyclocross race in Davisburg. I had never seen cyclocross, and it was crazy! Rick was really good at the obstacles (that's probably not the technical term), though he did catch his toe on one of the hurdles and do a faceplant. Ouch! He still finished second, and I believe he was seventh or eighth overall in the series.

Oh, speaking of race series, I don't think I updated on our final CPS results. I ended up second behind Nichole, who blew everyone away. After a hard-fought season rife with injury and illness, Mitch earned fourth in his class. Rick took third, and both of them will move up to expert next year. Two of my other teammates, Jake and Aaron, took sixth and fourth in their classes, respectively. Overall, the On 2 Wheels team had a great season!

And as we look ahead to the spring, Mitch and I are still undecided about our schedule. We both like CPS but are interested in trying some of the Tailwind races. Mitch wants to try an endurance race or two, and we're both considering Ore to Shore in August. But for now, I can say training season has officially hit the DeYoung house. In fact, Mitch is cranking out a CTS workout downstairs as I write. I'm scheduled for an appointment with the trainer on Tuesday. Oh joy!

Thanksgiving Weekend...

...Facebook-style.

Wed. afternoon: Surprise! Mitch brought me flowers for our five-year anniversary. It's on Thanksgiving, but he'd be hard-pressed to find a flower shop open tomorrow. I love him!



Wed. evening: Traffic, traffic! So much time in traffic! We just want to get to my parents' house...

Wed. night: Thought we'd be skipping the South Lyon Hotel this year. Not so - time to go see some good friends from high school!



Thurs. morning: Mom is so prepared - hardly any work left to do. Boys are in the boat house making our mantel. I better do some studying.

Thurs. afternoon: Family! McGrath and Eccles combined, and we're having a blast. Already talking about Irish Car Bombs on Christmas Eve. Reminded Dad we *will* be going to church that night...

Thurs. night: Everyone's gone and Dad's lecturing about something political - maybe discussing Sarah Palin? Liberal lawyer uncle said he'd vote for her over Obama if he had to choose. Whoa.

Fri. morning: Let the hunt begin! Time to find the perfect Christmas tree.





Fri. afternoon: Staining our lovely mantel. It's going to look awesome!

Fri. night: Back home making yet another pumpkin roll. Thanksgiving Round Two in the morning.

Sat. morning: Just whistle while you work...let's get this house clean. Now our kitchen sparkles.

Sat. afternoon: DeYoung Thanksgiving - so much food! I love my in-laws, especially my sweet nephews. Quality time with my sisters-in-law while they boys futilely go hunting.

Sat. evening: Christa made our Roman shades - such beautiful, meaningful touches to our new home. Between them and the mantel, our living room got a face lift.







Sun. morning: Off to Bronner's with Mom D., Christa and the kids. Hope the boys get lots of that wood cut!

Sun. afternoon: This place is a glorious Christmas extravaganza. The kids are being so good waiting for their group to go see Santa. I want to buy so many festive things!

Sun. evening: Finishing up the Christmas decorations - photos to come. Mitch showed up at the back door covered in deer blood. I think he's been initiated into the neighborhood.

Sun. night: Relaxing with a little James Bond. What a fantastic weekend!

Bright Spots

Today I had an OC (student who is a member of the Orientation Committee) in my office. She was lamenting the fact that I had stepped down as their advisor (it's a complicated, regrettable situation). She said the whole group was considering invading my office and not leaving until I agreed to come back. It was funny and sweet and sad all at once, and made my day.

Then the new president of the Ski Team, which is still stuck with me for their advisor, came in for help with the team's national registration. He was so frustrated and confused, but I helped him get things figured out. He, too, always leaves so appreciative of my help, which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. These kids are definitely getting baked goods before their races, and I'm bringing my "Go Scots" cowbell to at least one race this year!

Iceman 2009

When Mitch and I first started racing, we kept hearing about this thing called Iceman. People talked about it kind of reverently, like it was *the* race to do. Well, I'm not a strong enough rider to seriously consider this type of huge event, and I had to go to class anyway, but Mitch raced this year. He did very well, despite the move and homeownership putting some limits his training plans. Here's a quick video to give you an idea of the sheer scope of this race. Try to pick Mitch out at 1:27. He's in a green jersey, number 1656. He's on the left side of the screen and our friend Rick, sporting the Voodoo jersey, is on the right.

Food!

Fantastic friends.
Wonderful family.
Two parties at our house.
A whole mess of food.

-Tacos (a Halloween dinner for eight)
-Jello shots
-Smoked cheddar and apple fondue with sourdough bread
-Spinach artichoke dip with pita chips
-Mostaccioli (a birthday dinner for eight) with Caesar salad and garlic bread
-Chocolate cake with butter cream frosting

One amazing, exhausting weekend!

Office Strategy: Refuse to Play Games

We have a silo problem. No, not the kind with grain and such. The kind where I do MY job in MY department with no thought to how it impacts other departments. The kind where we reinvent the wheel, but all the wheels are different sizes, so our wagon just gets all mangled and stuck in the mud.

All the new material on organizational structure and the like emphasizes the need for interdepartmental roles: people who can move fluidly between functional areas and not DO all the jobs (that's just simple cross-training), but rather coordinate mutually beneficial initiatives. In other words, organizations need people who can solve the silo problem.

I'm seriously trying to knock holes in the silos around here. It makes people uncomfortable. It forces people to relinquish control. It's VERY stressful at times, trying to advocate for one department in another, and trying to get everyone to see the big picture rather than focusing on what this means for their own personal turf. But it's necessary and it's getting results.

My newest silo-destruction project started today, when my department decided to take an open full-time position and create a social media coordinator role. Without getting into a lecture on social media strategies, let's just say that our target market seeks information in a bunch of crazy ways, and responds well to information delivered in a bunch of equally crazy ways. To a certain extent, social media is organic marketing; but there are ways an institution can give the social media garden a little natural fertilizer and clear more space in which it can grow. There might even be the need for a little selective weeding now and then, too. But I'm getting dangerously close to a lecture, which I promised not to deliver.

Anyway, this is CLEARLY a marketing thing. But that department has been talking and talking and talking social media to DEATH. In fact, I might even smell some decay from here. Could be the cows. Eh. Digression, sorry. Simply put, they do not have the human resources to implement a consistent, comprehensive social media strategy at this time. Ideas and intentions are plentiful, but time is not. We, on the other hand, have access to a resource that could implement a consistent social media strategy with a primary focus on student recruitment. Sure, it's not perfect: ideally, we'd have a whole team of folks who could manage initiatives across the entire organization. BUT this could open doors: if - no, when - we're successful, the marketing folks could have some leverage and say, "LOOK! This WORKS! Let's EXPAND! Give me more BODIES!"

So, since this position will be a silo-demolishing role, I took these thoughts to the marketing office and braced myself for the gut-level "get-off-my-turf" reaction. Even with all the collaboration in which I personally engage with that department, I knew it would happen. I'd likely respond the same way. But I refused to play office games. I will not participate in politics. In all my interactions, I will wholeheartedly affirm and recognize the value of every individual's contributions. But I will not back down from a challenging situation because I know, at the end of the day, we'll only advance our mission and do right by our students when we open up and stop trying to control every corner of our respective real estate.

And it was good. Or it will be good. We'll have a couple more challenging moments, but this is the first chance I've had to pave the way for another highly interdepartmental role. And I'd like some more company out here.