I’ve read a few people say that Twitter and Facebook are killing the blog. I’d have to say that’s mostly true for me, as my last post on 7 Minute Miles was now more than a month ago. My current Twitter count stands at 6,581 updates and I’ve uploaded more pictures to Facebook lately than I have to the photo gallery. I do like having all three, though, and will spend a little time this month sprucing up this site (WordPress plugin updates, update/remove the stamps sections, page review for out-of-date info, etc.).

So, what’s new? I’ve been at Fortune Bay for seven months now and have seen a lot of snow and ice. The lowest temp I’ve witnessed on the outdoor thermometer was -38F, but the MINI has always started right up. Strangely enough, the Twin Cities has received a lot more snow this year than we have. I’ve been told the snowmobile trails were still pretty good, though. We lost a little bit of snow cover last week, but it’s cold again this week and there is a bit of snow in the forecast.

I moved from the resort hotel to a house on the west end of Lake Vermilion about two months ago. It’s way bigger than I need, but the resort owners gave me a great deal that goes through the end of April. Don’t use the hot tub much, but it has satellite TV and wireless internet (and warmth). Lake Vermilion is a huge lake, so it takes about 25 minutes to get from Fortune Bay (on the east end) to the lake house.

Work has been going well. The winter is the slow season, so we try to do technology and facility upgrades now when there aren’t as many people around. My department has upgraded several key systems and I’m now working on an internal web site for employees to use for training and knowledge retention. Business levels have been above expectations, so maybe we’re finally seeing signs of the recession ending soon.

It’s tough being away from the family, although I still see them almost every weekend. The kids are growing up so fast – hard to believe my oldest is now a teenager! Two more years and I’ll need new car insurance. Wow. I miss a lot of my metro friends too and have been trying to keep in touch online and on Fridays – I usually work four ten hour days each week, so I can usually visit on my “day off.” If I haven’t talked to you in a while, please give me a call (218-248-0468) or drop me a line at dk@7minutemiles.com and we’ll get something scheduled.

I’m signed up for two marathons this year (Grandma’s on June 18 and Twin Cities on Oct 2) and have my name in the New York City lottery again too. It’s been a tough winter for running, but I have tried to stay active with the new snowshoes and cross country skis. Boston was the goal for this year, but now that the goalposts have moved, it may not happen for a while. I’ll still try, though, as I need to lose 20 pounds anyway.

As I posted on Facebook, my birthday last month was memorable. I had a business meeting that morning in Two Harbors, so I spent the rest of the day skiing at Lutsen. On the sixth run of the day, I fell on “The Plunge” and crashed into a safety fence. One of the support poles did a number on the left half of my face and I was a bloody mess. No concussion or broken bones, though. The ski patrol cleaned me up and I drove to Grand Marais for dinner at Sven and Ole’s Pizza. It took about three weeks to clear up, but my face is finally back to its old ugly self.

That’s about it for now – not much on the calendar the next few weeks. Might be a Phoenix trip in early April if I’m good…