I love spring. Sure, my allergies “reappear” after a winter of hibernation, but it’s worth it. There is nothing like opening my windows to let in some fresh air!
I started spring cleaning in my office, too. As our business has grown, my office space gets more and more cramped. It’s fun to reorganize my photography gear, though… I always find props I’ve forgotten I own and, inevitably, a few spare memory cards. 🙂
Abbie has loved the warmer weather, too- we’ve been out running a bunch!
I’ve taken her along a lot lately, because I won’t be running as much after the marathon. 🙂
I spent my last taper week busy with both work and play, and a little of “doing my civic duty.”
Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters hosts an annual Conservation Lobby Day, where they gather conservation-minded citizens together, teach us how to lobby our legislators, and let us loose on the capital. Actually, “let us loose” doesn’t exactly describe it- they made appointments for all of us with our respective senators and representatives, and gave us our personalized schedule when we checked in. Thanks for being awesome, WLCV!
My friend, Jen, spent some time behind the podium…
…and Matt joined her to show us how to demonstrate effective lobbying.
There were a lot of people who came to the event, which was held at Monona Terrace. I love that facility, though I think I’ve only been there for music conventions and weddings, so this was a nice change of pace! 
Trout Unlimited had a good showing, too! 
The WLCV staff gave presentations on the main topics that we were going to share our passion about with our legislators. It always helps to have some facts in your back pocket when going into a meeting. The topic that resonated the most with me was from Helen.
I’ve see Helen at many different water events, and I love her approach. This issue also really matters to me… as most of you know, my degrees are in music and education. I don’t have a background in science or natural resources- no hydrology, geology, soils, fisheries, or anything related to conservation. I heavily rely on our DNR scientists to tell me what is needed and necessary regarding having a sustainable and healthy ecosystem here in Wisconsin. Sure, I know how to catch a trout, and I have a few ideas regarding how to make things better environmentally, but I don’t know enough to make big decisions on my own. I’m continually surprised when some politicians think that they can make big decisions in other fields while knowing minimally the subject at hand. In that case, maybe I should be the head of the fisheries department? I’ve seen a few deer on the side of the road, does that make me qualified to make decisions about deer hunting licenses? I love that Wisconsin has lots of opportunities for people to make their opinions heard, and gives experienced anglers and hunters a chance to weigh in on issues (like though the Conservation Congress), but we still need professionals to help us make educated decisions and set guidelines. I don’t think there is weakness in asking for help from experts- I think that is a sign of an intelligent leader, and it is definitely a better fiscal idea to have your own staff than to contract out to other scientists.
Anyway, we reviewed the main issues, ate lunch, then I ran rampant all over Madison. 😉 Our Capitol is a beautiful place! 
My first stop was at Rep. Katrina Shankland’s office.
The assembly was in session…
…but Katrina’s staff met with us. I was excited to meet Annika, since I’d emailed back and forth with her many times! 
Annika took us down to see if Katrina could pop out to check in with us, and she did!
Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to see us, Katrina (and thanks for taking our picture, Annika)!
I had a short break before my next meeting, which was filled with an interview for a new organization called Love Wisconsin. I’ll share more about that collaboration when I have it! It was fun to be on the other side of the lens. 
I was taking pictures inside of the Capitol building and had a couple TU photobombers…
…and before I knew it, it was time for my meeting with Sen. Julie Lassa.
We crammed a whole lot of water-lovers into her office, and she was very kind and receptive to our concerns. Thank you, Julie! 
Thank you for organizing such a great event, WLCV! I hung out with my conservation friends for the night, then stopped at my accountant (my Aunt Tina!), and made a quick stop at Bloom Bakery on the way home. Bloom is in Middleton, and they specialize in gluten-free and vegan pastries. Gorgeous and delicious.
On Friday afternoon, I took my boat out for the first paddle of the year, and it was every bit as fabulous as I remembered. 
I spent Friday night shooting the awards banquet for the School of Business and Economics here at the University. 
I love shooting this event. Those SBE people sure know how to put on a beautiful banquet and an efficient awards ceremony. Congratulations to all the award winners!
Saturday morning was a haircut and blowout… 
…and final prep for Sunday’s race.
Up next? My ninth marathon recap. Thanks for reading, friends!
Miles this year: 232.65
I burned off all that gummy candy with a super windy and hilly nine miles with Lydia on the Wau-king trail. 
We refueled with beer at Chain Bar, and I headed home to pack for a crazy week.
I had such a busy day- when Brian got home, we headed up to Wausau for a ballroom dance lesson with our first dance teachers, Missy and Jeff! We hadn’t seen them since they taught us to dance before our wedding. Eight years was too long! Of course, I was too excited to see them and I forgot to take a picture, but after our lesson, we headed over to the election headquarters for our alderman Mike Wiza, and we were present when they called the vote, making Mike our new Stevens Point mayor! Congratulations, Mike. 🙂
Brian and I spent the week in the Valley, while he was at a training for work. It was pretty cool for me- since most of my work is portable, I can work from anywhere. I was able to catch up on some photo work, make all the games for Amy’s upcoming bridal shower, and shoot a gorgeous pastry (with the cutest edible orchid!) from 
On our last morning at the hotel, we went out for breakfast at this fabulous cafe- Molly’s. They had sweet potato hash browns! Made. My. Day. I loved the treadmill at the hotel, so I headed back to our room, changed, and logged a few miles in the hotel gym. After a quick shower, we packed up and headed down to Chicago to celebrate my great aunt Eileen’s 75th anniversary of being an active member of the ancient order of Hibernians.
It was a beautiful party where I got to see a lot of my family, including my brother and his family. Happy National Sibling Day!
We caught up with everyone and danced until we dropped! It’s fun to visit my Hoffman side, because I’m the short one among those cousins, and I’m 5’8″! 🙂
I think she was upset that she wasn’t invited to the party. She wouldn’t smile for me! 🙂 We left very early on Saturday morning to head up to Wausau for Amy’s bridal shower! My car celebrated a little palindrome milestone of her own somewhere in northern Illinois…
We stopped at home for a whirlwind half hour- showered, changed, styled my hair, brewed some iced tea, boxed up the shortbreads, made simple syrup, then packed it all up in a cooler and took it to the Hirn home for Amy’s bridal shower. Becky, Brooke, and I planned this adorable tea-themed shower, and it turned out beautifully! 
Congratulations, best friend! I’m so happy for you and thrilled to be your matron of honor. ❤️ 
It was the first run with bare shoulders of the year. Liberation!
Shoes don’t wear themselves down. My sidepiece tattoo reads, “Turn dreams into reality,” and that’s what I’m doing. It’s intentional, not accidental. I had two new pairs of shoes waiting for me, just itching for the right moment to make their debut.
Someone else in our home got some new duds… Abbie is a lucky girl- she got all new bling and a new collar. She lost all the tags she had when the ring stretched out, so I ran by the vet to get a new rabies tag, and the courthouse to get a new license tag, and I ordered her a new ID tag. For the record, we ordered from 
I tried out my new shoes with these three runners… 
We had a great hilly trail run together!
For my twenty miler, these girls teamed up to run with me. Lydia took the first ten miles, and Carmel took the second ten. Lydia and I ran through town, and through the reserve, and looped over toward Sentry. We ran up their big ramp… 
…until their security guard came out and asked us to walk instead, for our safety. I’d never run up there, so it was funny that we got in trouble right away!
I looked pretty 
Carmel and I looped through a different part of the reserve…
…and it was every bit as cold as it looks! I love these boardwalks, though 🙂
It was a great run, even though it was cold. It kind of felt like I never really warmed up and found my groove, but my girls kept me going by talking nonstop through the run. It is so much easier to run with the support of my sole sisters! 
Gosh, I so love sprinkles.
It sure made mine. Love you, girl!
I also hosted an essential oil class with my mother-in-love. I swear by essential oils for multiple things, including helping me sleep. 🙂 After my class, I was feeling pretty tired, and I had my eighteen miler the next day, but 
I recovered with laundry and packing for my weekend- the Trout Unlimited Upper Midwest Regional meeting. I was so excited to see my Wisconsin TU guys, my Illinois TU friends (hi, Myra!), and, of course, the staff. Dont worry, I made sure to grab some Spotted Cow to share with the guys.
Thanks for hosting this rowdy bunch, Criqui family!
And we got to catch up over dinner. Go Badgers! 
Linn and Mike, from WITU, worked with my friend, Kyle (
…our CEO gave a talk of his own…
The Weisses are fabulous parents, and I just love watching my friends grow into their new role. Thanks for letting me spend the night and cuddle with your babe! 
I was on the road early on Monday, and headed home. I love seeing that “Welcome to Wisconsin” sign.
…entertainment (the Badger band and 
…award winners…
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 
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 
We talked about wedding stuff, and laughed, and had a grand old time. Thanks for the fabulous day, friends!
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. ❤
I love it.
Up next? A shoot with a very talented encaustic artist, and two divine cupcakes.
artist & athlete | a glimpse into real life, Heidi style 