Life never fails to surprise me...

Just a quick update on life and what I've been doing. It's been busy, fun and challenging!

• My final week at work was last week. I have a total peace about where my life is at and where it could potentially be going, and what an amazing feeling it is. 

• I found out when my Aha Moment will be airing on national tv beginning in March! I was pretty excited to see what shows I will be airing during - there are some big ones in there! Here is the schedule, if you want to check it out yourself (I don't have specific times, just the tv show it is airing during)

Tuesday, March 9 - Biggest Loser
Wednesday, March 17 - Old Christine
Tuesday, April 13 - Dancing with the Stars
Monday, May 3 - Castle
Sunday, May 9 - 60 Minutes
Wednesday, May 12 - Extreme Home Makeover
Friday, May 28 - Ghost Whisperer
Monday, June 7 - Castle
Tuesday, June 15 - 20/20
Wednesday, June 16 - Old Christine
Friday, July 16 - Ghost Whisperer

• My tattoo turned out great (despite hurting like hell)! Here's a comparison of the pic and the actual tattoo:

The artist did an awesome job! Love it, so glad I got it.

Lots of other stuff happening, but I've got to run. I'll update you on my crazy training schedule next time.

some rocks and a tattoo...

I finally did it - I made an appointment to get a tattoo.

I've been thinking about doing this for a couple of years as a way to celebrate not only my weight lose but all the changes that have taken place since then. But finding that one image that would signify all those changes has been just about impossible. Come on, look at all that has happened! There was all my hiking; climbing 14er's; adventure race camp and my first race; the 5 races following that; my love of running; mountain biking; my new and amazing friends and so on. How in the world could I find one image that would show all that?

It finally came down to one image that is pretty common on the trail - a cairn. What's a cairn? Basically it's "a single stack of rocks intended to mark a path, a territory, or a specific site." 

I've seen them all over when I hike, particularly in Moab.  There have been many times on the trail that if I hadn't seen a cairn, I would have gotten hopelessly lost. They guided my steps and kept me safe.

More than that, they signify the changes that have taken place in my life. I've said many times that the people in my life have made all the difference in who I am today. Those who place cairnes are thinking of those who will come after and those who find and follow them are trusting travelers who went before. What better illustration of our relationships with each other.

All this put together made it pretty clear that this is what I wanted to mark my body permanently with. Next up to decide - who is going to do it?

I got lucky there - a friend suggested we check out West Side Tattoo in old Colorado City and spent Friday being completely impressed with the place. I picked the artist I wanted, made the appointment (this Friday), placed a down payment, and I was all set!

So, what is it going to look like? Look to the right - that's it. The artist is extremely talented and I'm excited to see what he will do with the final product! I will post pics right here as well when it's all done.

Another step, albeit small, in this journey. 

24 hours of erock...

It's official, I have a team for my first 24 hour mountain bike race! That's right, me... the person who usually whines about having to ride her bike in adventure races and is scared of just about all technical trails. Kind of funny, isn't it?

But I have a good team, a really good team: my brother Steve, who has recently been promoted to Cat 1 racer status and is now on a professional team. The amazing, beautiful, and kick ass Melissa who mostly does Adventure Races but wants to try something new (and is coming all the way from California). And me, the weak link (but I do have the advantage of knowing the trail very well - I ride it all the time). We want to find 1 more person to make it an even 4, so if anyone out there is interested, contact me!

As with everything else I have done the past few years, I have no idea what to expect and have wondered what I'm getting myself into. I emailed my friend and another kick ass woman athlete, Jari, for advice. Jari has been the solo women's champion of the 24 hours of Moab, one of the hardest 24 hour races in the country- one year she beat all the men except the winner! And she gave me a butt load of advice and encouragement to guide me through this new experience. Despite the promise of "pain and suffering" I'm excited and pumped for this.

Check out the race here - http://www.elephantrockride.com/24_info.html.