Are the holidays over yet?

In the past four weeks, I have surely eaten more than my fair share of cookies, candies, breads and just about anything else that converts to pure sugar as soon as it enters my blood stream.

And we still have New Year’s yet to celebrate! Ugh.

I know what I need. A workout.

Luckily, I know just the place to go. About a month ago, before I really started in on the holiday binge, I tried a new workout: BarreAmped.

It just about knocked me to the floor. But right about now, I’m thinking that’s exactly what I need to get rid of these excess calories I’m building up.

If you’re searching for a new workout, too, check out my article: Blanaced Barre & Pilates Opens in Wayzata.

Or go straight to the Balanced Barre & Pilates web site to sign up for a class.

I got to try something new this summer. And I got paid to do it.

I took an early morning spin on a stand up paddle board, and this article — A New Way to See the Lake — was the  result.

The fine ladies of Wai Nani Surf & Paddle taught me the ropes. Their stand up paddle boarding club is a big hit in the Lake Minnetonka area, and after trying it out, I could see why. It was a calm way to enjoy the water, and wasn’t hard to learn how to maneuver the board at all.

In fact, I’m one of those pictured paddle boarders out there in the middle of the lake.

A bright spot in my spring was getting to meet Sigourney Weaver.

Ms. Weaver came through Minneapolis as part of the Smart Talk women’s lecture series. I was a featured blogger for Smart Talk this year, and getting to meet Ms. Weaver was a great finale to a wonderful series of events. I couldn’t believe how tall she was!

And of course I posted haiku about Sigourney Weaver‘s talk.

I also taught English composition courses at a local technical college this spring. I’d forgotten what a chore it is to grade papers! That task kept me out of trouble — almost.

I did find time to escape to San Diego.

And my haiku’ing partner, Alison, and I were interviewed about our haiku habit by another haiku-minded site. Check out the finished interview here: Five Questions for Haiku By Two.

I survived winter! Granted, I’ve lived my whole life in Minnesota, so I’m used to the long drag of dark and chilly months that comprise winter in these parts, but this year it feels like a major accomplishment to have outlasted winter. We had so much snow! What was the final count? 90 inches? Almost 90? Just over 90? Well, you get the idea. There was a lot of white stuff covering the ground.

A key to surviving a snowy winter is to keep busy and not let the snow stop you from getting out there and having fun, and I tried to do just that.

It helped that I had a monthly date to attend the Smart Talk Connected Conversations lecture series in Minneapolis.

As an official Smart Talk blogger, I got to go backstage and meet the amazing women who came to town, like Bette Midler, Alison Levine, and Isabella Rosellinni.

I penned haiku about each of the events that you can read on Haiku By Two.

Luckily, the speaker series isn’t done yet and I still have a couple more events too look forward to this spring.

I also continued to review restaurants for Metro Mix, a web site about all the great things to do in the Twin Cities. And I kept up with my freelancing business by continuing to write articles for my regular publications.

Now that spring seems like it might actually be ready to appear, I’m feeling re-energized. The extra hours of sunlight are helping me dream up new projects. I’m excited to see what spring has to bring.