Good morning, friends!
For the past several years, I’ve been invited to Festival College, which is a leadership conference for the managers of Festival Foods. Festival is a grocery company, and I just love working for them. They welcome me with open arms and I coax smiles out of their attendees. They had 375 people this year, so their event coordinators run everything like a well-oiled machine. 🙂 It takes place at the Kalahari resort in the Wisconsin Dells, so when I’m not working, I get to relax at the indoor waterpark and run in their hotel gym. 🙂
I took photos of the cocktail and social hour…
…entertainment (the Badger band and Brat Pack Radio!)… 
…award winners…
…senior staff and guest presenters…
…and I captured the atmosphere of the event.
After a few days inside, I was happy to log a few miles outside. I consider myself so lucky to live in a town with the Green Circle, and it runs right through my neighborhood. If I head out from my house, within a mile and a half, I find myself in the sculpture park. So cool! 
I was happy to be home, and Brian and I bundled up on Saturday to head over to Bull Falls Brewery for their annual Bock run. It raises money for the Honor Flight program, which is incredible in its own right and is a tear jerking cause. 😀
Backtracking a little bit- I guess I forgot to mention during my sixteen miler that I took a mega digger. We were a half mile in to the run, and I tripped over a heave in the sidewalk. I tore up both of my knees, though my right one was worse, then I had to run the remaining 15.5 miles with skinned knees. Anyway, since I had that knee wound, I couldn’t wear pants to the Bull Falls race, so I had shorts on, even though it was in the 20s. Brr!
I ran into a few friends while we were waiting. Hi, Nicki and Kim!
They had two races- a normal 5K, and a hilly course they called the Bock Buster. Of course, I couldn’t just run the regular race, so we lined up near the front of the pack with the rest of the Bock Buster runners.
The race itself was, indeed, a buster. Holy hills! The upside was that it was mostly uphill the whole way out, so it was downhill on the way back. I have a relatively new Garmin, so it notifies me when I set records, and I set a record for fastest mile on the way back in during this race. There were also adorable notes to cheer us on! 
Brian and I came in somewhere around 29:30. 
I hopped right on the massage table, then hugged it out with my best friend, Nikki, who ran the 5K! 🙂 
I’m pretty experienced with races, so I’ve learned to bring dry clothes along to change into afterwards. I hate that sweaty chill! I even brought a blanket this time, and the beer helped warm me up. I had something brand new this year- carmelized beer! They took a hot metal rod and stuck it in my beer to melt the sugars, I guess. I’d never even heard of this! It was delicious. 
After we mingled and visited with everyone, even this bearded monster that loves Nikki ;)… 
…we headed over to Amy and Chris’ house. We took a quick shower and headed out for a wine tasting and dinner. The wine tasting was at Lil’ Ole Winemaker, and we had a great time!
After the tasting, we went straight to Thrive for dinner.
We talked about wedding stuff, and laughed, and had a grand old time. Thanks for the fabulous day, friends!
As always, thanks for reading! 🙂
Up next? An impromptu concert, my 18 miler, and meetings in Minneapolis.
Miles this year: 182.35
He was bright-eyed and wide awake during our shoot, so we had the opportunity to play a little bit! What a cutie. Congratulations, Klesmiths!
I finished editing another pastry from 
I packed my suitcase for the weekend, then we headed over to a Green Bay (Titletown brewery!) for a kind of surprise-going-away-get-together for my TU friend, Aaron. We’ve fished together a couple times, 
Good luck, Aaron! We all love you and we’ll miss you. 
We all piled in the car (yes, I’m clutching a bottle of champagne)…
When the party was over, we all hopped on the trolley for a mobile party! We sang Irish songs and drank and laughed. 🙂
We stopped at a couple different bars and I even jumped in to play tambourine with a band! 
Thank you for a fabulous St. Patrick’s day, Hoffman family! 
They’re known for their egg rolls, but all the food was delicious. They were so sweet to me, and they packed up all the food after the shoot for me to take home for dinner. They even included a bottle of that orange-y drink… I think it’s called Thai tea. It was kind of like a spiced iced tea with milk and sugar.
Thank you for your hospitality, Lemon Grass Noodle House! We’re happy to have you join the downtown businesses. 🙂
We set up the booth and worked on Friday afternoon, then slept soundly in the hotel, and I woke up early on Saturday to go for a run along the big lake.
It was a cold, windy run along the water, but Marquette is a beautiful place. Even though I was tired, and it was cold, I’m glad I woke up early for this run. I always am, but it doesn’t make it any easier to get out of my nice cozy bed. I hit up Marquette’s co-op for breakfast (and coffee!), then we worked at the booth all day Saturday. A couple years ago, on a trip to Marquette, we found this 
…and we hit the road for the four hour snowy ride home. 
I loved working with the translucent fruit last week, and I left my lighting setup to play with some other subjects for fun. I think this amaryllis is beautiful!
I got out of the office for a cool evening shoot at 
Elbow Room is a classic Wisconsin hometown bar, found tucked in the corner downtown on the square. Their motto is, “No Fancy Drinks!” and they are a big supporter of live music. The bartender is the creator of the world’s largest trivia contest, and there are always interesting people there to talk to. Thanks for inviting me over!
The guys from my TU chapter rented a van, and we all piled inside for the trip. The film itself is comprised of short fly fishing stories, so we get to hear about several different locations and styles of fly fishing during the course of the film. They even featured a girl this year!
I always leave the film tour inspired to get out on the water, and travel, and as always, to try new things. The videography is really amazing- it’s been fun to watch the progression of videos over the last few years.
This is Stef. She’s an absolutely stunning woman (seriously, those eyes!), with a sweet personality and a powerful creative streak. I met her on dance team back in my high school days, and it was really fun to reconnect with her over a couple shared brides as clients. The salon is beautiful, and filled with fabulous products! 
Thanks for bringing me in, Kasha staff! It was a pleasure working with you all! 
I had a busy week, but was able to steal away for a Skype coffee date with my first sole sister, Nancy. 
Nancy moved to warmer climes last year, so we’ve only been able to keep up our dates virtually. 🙂 I hope to get out to the Vegas area to visit her soon!
Of course, I ate them as soon as I was done, and I washed it down with my newest favorite food- bug macaroni and cheese!! 
As a fly angler, I have a special appreciation for all things buggy. 🙂
…and I finished off the work week with a beautifully rich French Napoleon from Andersonville’s 
I spent Saturday at 
I hurried home on Saturday night, and packed for Sunday… the highlight of my weekend was a trip to Chicago with this little love… 
…my niece, Ember! ❤ My sister, Erin, and I had a chance to catch up, and I spent a little time down in Chicago, including lunch with my cousin, Max. 
A whirlwind week, filled with my favorite things. With spring around the corner, spirits are high!
Marathon training is ramping up! 🙂
That is the Wisconsin River a couple blocks from my house. I still ventured out in the cold to go to Green Bay TU’s annual banquet. They have the biggest chapter banquet in our state, and their banquet committee is filled with exceptional volunteers. I was even lucky enough to win an air compressor! Brian was absolutely thrilled.
Just when I thought I’d had enough ice, I had a photo shoot with some iced coffee. 🙂
I love poached eggs.
The ceremony was at St. Therese, where my Grampie built the altar. It was a sweet and short ceremony.
I’m lucky. ❤
This event was held in Oshkosh, and my best friends Amy and Nikki came out to help me sell tickets. We spent the night relaxing in the hot tub and drinking wine. It is a strange “girls’ night” but we love it. ❤
artist & athlete | a glimpse into real life, Heidi style 