Want to know a sure sign of spring? Nope, it’s not the return of the robins (although, I do love this!). Or a groundhog not seeing its shadow. It is me a buying a new climbing/yoga tank top to add to my collection! It has become a sort of ritual for me. This year, my latest lovely is the prAna Mariposa top. And it is lovely!

Back of prAna Mariposa
I usually go for the cute strappy-back tanks and this one definitely has this feature with a double criss-cross back. It also has a shelf bra, which is a must.
I tested this top out both practicing yoga and climbing at the gym. In both cases I found it to be very comfortable and well behaved! Meaning, my favorite thing about this top is the fact that it stays in place. It is made with Veeda fabric which consists of 45% recycled spun polyester/45% spun polyester and 10% spandex. Sometimes I find that my yoga and climbing tops have too much stretch in them and it is like pulling on a rubber band to get it to stay over the tops of my pants- and it stays for a while, but tends to creep up. Not so with this top, I didn’t have to pull it back down once. And it is silky smooth to the touch.
Mariposa is featured in Plum, Waterfall (both shown), and Black. It retails for $65. For more information visit prAna.

Pretty in the front too!
Valentine’s Day has about an hour and half left in my part of the world until it fades away into the cold, dark night. I’ve never been very fond of it myself, even when I was married or in a relationship. It’s like it’s trying too hard or something, it just seems hollow.

My Valentines
After reading one of The Climber Girl’s (Sara Lingafelter) blog posts about being her own Valentine, it made me think of how I spent today and my weekend. I spent it with people I like being with doing things I really like to do. Those people were my kids and my girlfriends. The activities were climbing, snowshoeing (being outside), dinner/dessert/wine, and just being together.
I had a talk with one of my friends over the weekend about guys. We both agreed we didn’t really have the desire to give up what was important in our lives – our free time to climb, to be in a relationship. For me, my kids are #1, my job/career #2, climbing and friends #3 (sorry y’all, I’ve got kids to feed!). If I was involved with someone that didn’t climb I’d have to sacrifice my precious climbing time to build our relationship. I’m just not willing to do that right now. I gave up so much of myself in a past relationship, I am just not willing to do that again. And, if it is not right with someone, I know right away. I have honed that skill!
Maybe that is selfish, but so be it. I feel like I deserve to live on my own terms, not answer to anyone. I’m sure someday I will be ready to make the compromises that are needed to have a healthy, strong relationship. But not right now. Or maybe I just haven’t met “him” yet. Either way, I’m good and I think I will go on doing some special things just for me, like spending most of Sunday at the climbing gym and maybe even buy myself a new little prAna tank to wear and not feel the least bit guilty… Thanks Sara!