10 Things I Learned on Ski Trip 2012

1. How to do The Wobble and The Wop and the Copperhead Road dances

2. That goggles and face protection is necessary not optional when skiing while it is freezing cold and snowing.

3. Leaving the laptop at home while on vacation is a good thing.

4. There is a sports company called "Head" and they make a snowboard that says "I *heart* HEAD" which totally sounds very dirty when you see a guy carrying it and are not aware of said company.

5. A snowboard or a guitar can instantly make a guy way hotter than he would be without said items.

6. Hot chocolate with a shot of Bailey's and a shot of Kahlua and lots of whip cream is the yummiest drink ever when you are freezing cold.

7. It might be smarter to buy my own skis if we keep doing this trip every year instead of renting (or at least my own boots because those things kill my feet!).

8. People are buried facing east because when Jesus comes back He will come from the east supposedly.  (And the sun rises in the east. and The Son rose on EASTer. and we make Easter eggs and eggs are eaten in the morning which leads back to the sun rising in the east.  This blew our minds for some odd reason.)

9. Bunk beds can actually be really cozy and comfy.

10. You need wool socks and toe warmers to keep your feet warm.  Layers of cotton socks will not do the job when it is freezing out.

And that is all for this totally random Wednesday post :)

Ski Trip 2012- Snowshoe, WV

I had so much fun on this year's ski trip!  This group has been doing this annual ski trip since 2006 and over the years we have just about perfected this thing.  We go somewhere different almost every year, not everyone gets to go every year, and there are always new friends that join us but one thing remains the same- we always have a good time.

This year we went to Snowshoe, WV and we apparently picked the perfect weekend because they got their first big snow!  Fourteen inches over the four days we were there.  This place was so big!  It had two different ski areas and shuttles that ran between the two and also to all the lodging and houses.  Our house wasn't skin in/ski out like last year, but we only had to walk to the top of our driveway to catch the shuttle!  Here is the house we stayed in:

I stuck to skis this year.  I didn't want to waste the whole time trying to learn how to snowboard again.  I stuck to the green slopes after last year's terrifying blue slope.  It was fun though because there were so many green slopes and they were so long!

We got in late Wednesday night.  Thursday morning we slept in and took our time eating breakfast and getting ready.  We got to enjoy an amazing view:

We headed over to the Silver Creek ski area since the Snowshoe slopes closed at 4:30.  We hung out at the bar downstairs until 4:00 so we could get the cheaper night ski lift tickets.  There were only two green slopes at Silver Creek but they were both long though. There was an "easy" option and a more challenging option one of the guys showed me towards the end of the day once I got my bearings on the skis again.  We got to see a beautiful sunset from the top of the mountain:

Around 7:30 we decided to head back to the house since it got pretty cold once the sun went down.  The other half of our group had arrived and we had a fun night playing Apples to Apples, hot tubbing, and just being silly.

I ended up sharing a cozy, tiny bunk bed room with my friend's cousin.  I was a little bit nervous about sharing a room with a guy, but it was not bad at all.  Here are Ellie and Heather enjoying our cute bunk beds:

Friday we got up a little earlier, made breakfast, and got our ski gear on so we could make it over to the Snowshoe area for skiing.  Half of our group had stayed up until 5 am and didn't make it out with us.  They really missed out because this was the best day of skiing I've ever had.  We got out there around 1:00 and once we got to the bottom of our first slope it started snowing.  It was so pretty!  The wind wasn't bad and it wasn't too cold.  All the fresh snow made the skiing perfect!  We stopped for a drink at the top of the mountain about half way through.  There were so many runs and lifts so we all had to stay together or we would never find each other. It was such fun though!  We didn't even make it to every green slope!

At 4:30 when Snowshoe closed we headed over to Silver Creek.  We skied there until 6:30 and then stopped and had a drink at the bottom of the mountain to warm up before heading back to the house.  We had hot chocolate with a shot of Bailey's and a shot of Kahlua and it was the. best. drink. ever.  Two of the girls had tried it over at Snowshoe earlier when I had stuck to beer but I had to get once here because it was so freaking good! It cost $15 but was worth every penny!  Such a perfect end to the perfect day of skiing!

Friday night the last of our friends arrived.  We had a fun night playing more Apples to Apples, Phase 10, and cooking dinner.  I was exhausted from the day but was able to hang until about 1 am before calling it a night.

Saturday was freezing!  I think it was in the teens or single digits all day!  We went up to The Village first to visit the shops.  I don't have ski boots.  I've always been able to get by wearing my rain boots and a couple layers of socks.  But this day my feet were freezing!  I bought two pairs of wool socks and two sets of toe warmers.  I added those to my two layers of socks I already had on, but my feet were still freezing all day!

After we visited a few shops we headed down to Silver Creek so we could have a drink to warm up before snow tubing.  They ended up not having hot chocolate at the bar we went to so we settled for a shot and then went snow tubing for 2 hours:

They had five lanes and all the fresh snow made each run so fast and smooth.  Most of us had to call it quits before our two hours was up because it was just so dang cold.  I got to try four of the runs though and it was the best tubing I've ever done despite the cold.

We stopped by the house and then took the shuttle back to The Village so we could catch the bus to The Top of the World so we could hit the bar where we first discovered our awesome hot chocolate drink.  The Village was so cute all lit up at night!

At the bar they had live music!  The guy was a great singer and we enjoyed his songs along with our special hot chocolates and a hot apple cider drink they had on special.

We were a little bit tipsy when we got back on the shuttle.  I'm pretty sure people thought we were crazy.  That night we cooked oysters, had a little dance party in the living room, and played cards.  It was a very fun end to a very fun weekend!

Sunday it had snowed so much we ended up having to get our cars towed out of the driveway:

We made it out and down the mountain safely thanks to the boys four wheel drive trucks and good driving skills.  I would have been a mess if I had to drive in that stuff!  It was a LONG drive home but well worth it because the weekend was just so perfect! 

I already can't wait for next year!

Snowboarding is Hard!

I wanted to be cool. I wanted to be a “boarder”. Skis were just so old-fashioned. I wanted to be a cool hip chick on the slopes. That did not happen.

When I first tried skiing more than 10 years ago I picked it up quickly. Within 15 minutes, I was on the chair lift. By the end of the day I could make it down the mountain without falling.

I heard snowboarding was hard. I heard it was going to hurt and you would be sore for days afterwards. But I didn’t really believe it. I mean, I was like a natural on the slopes!

Well, the day had come to put that to the test. The day before we left, I watched a lot of YouTube tutorials on how to snowboard. I knew it was all about balance and putting pressure on your toes and heels to control where you were going. One of my friends Terry let me try out his board before we got to the slopes so I could get a feel for it. (see pic. BTW, I do not know why Mikey’s face is like that. Maybe he was saying my snowboarding skills stink?)

I convinced my old roommate Anne to try it with me. We decided to take a lesson to kick start our boarding career. We bought our lift tickets, rented our boards, and signed up for a 1 hour group lesson.

Our instructor was patient and gave us lots of encouragement, but at one point I might have said to him “Quit lying to me. I suck.” The problem wasn’t the falling. I could stand up and stay up. It was the total and complete lack of control. Mainly, it was that I could not stop. In fact at one point, I almost ran in to one of those orange construction fences they have to keep you from going into dangerous territories. At the last minute I ducked under it and sat down before I flew off into the mud. (See- I could even do the limbo on the board!)

The slush and mud was another problem. The day we went it was probably in the 60s. I was so freaking hot. I had to take off my ski jacket and got my shirt soaking wet from “sitting down” in the snow so much. The snow was turning to slush and the slush was turning to mud. It was not the soft powdery conditions you might have in say, Colorado.

The final problem was my boots. They were so freaking tight they cut off my circulation. After about 10 minutes I could not feel my feet! It was painful. I could barely concentrate on learning anything because I was so uncomfortable from the boots. Plus they smelled like a million nasty, stinky feet. I could even catch whiffs of the stench while I was ratcheting my boots to the board (which we had to do like a million times- on, off, on, off. Not like skis where you just pop them in and go!)

Needless to say we gave up shortly after our lesson. We didn’t even make it on the chair lift. Sad huh? I was going to give it another try the next day, but we went to a local winery that morning and by 2 pm it was raining and yucky out, so we decided to skip the slopes.

I do want to try again. But I have some conditions:

1. We need to go out west to Vail or Aspen where they have powder and not icy man-made slush.
2. I need at least 3 days on the slopes. One afternoon was not enough to master the board.
3. I just might buy my own boots. The boots are key and I want something comfy so I can give it my all. I don’t want mildew smelling, cheap, nasty, rental boots again.

Overall I am glad I did it, but really, that crap is hard!

P.S. If you are interested in skiing the NC mountains, it is not all bad. I would recommend Sugar Mountain though. Out of Sugar, Hawksnest, and Beech, my best experience has been at Sugar. I can’t speak for Appalachian Mountain though because I haven’t been to that one yet.

Thanks for the reminder...

Guess what? I'm single. In case I had forgotten the ad agencies, media, and retail outlets have designated a day to remind me that I am not loved. (At least in a romantic sense.)

But you know what? Even when I have been "coupled up" I have never had a good Valentine's Day. Ever.

Last year I can't even remember what I did. The Ex and I were in a weird "are we trying to get back together or are we just friends" stage. The year before that was horrible. He got me a chocolate fish in a box that made it look like it was mounted on a wall and it said "you're a keeper". I was not happy. I came to find out that he had wanted to take me to Angus Barn and get me flowers, but I somehow messed up his plan. All I could think was "and THIS was your back-up plan?!?"

In 2005 I planned my move to Raleigh over Valentine's Day weekend just so I would be too busy to worry about the singleness reminder that year.

From 1999-2002 I was with the Long Timer and he got me a card every year. No romantic message or anything, just his signature and if I was lucky a "Love" before it.

This year I will be joining 7 couples in a 3 bedroom house in the mountains. There are 2 other single people going, but the couples to single ratio is extremely high. I'm sure there will be enough PDA and mushiness to remind me what day it is. Yay me.

Just once, I want to have a movie-love type of Valentine's day. Just once I would like to be happy to be celebrating that day.

Either that or go back to elementary school where everyone was almost required to spread the love with corny little cards and candy in my homemade mailbox on my desk. Ahhh...those were the days before everything got so freaking complicated!

I want to hate this stupid card-company-created holiday. But all the pink and red and hearts and flowers and chocolate sure make it hard to hate (or even ignore).

Anyway, Happy Valentines Day readers! Don't let my sarcasm fool you...I really do mean it and wish you lots of love this weekend!

(And consider this my little homemade constrution paper valentine in your mailbox...that should be enough to make you smile!)

Pedicures, PTO, and Packing!

The weather for the past few days has been in the 70s and I love it! I broke out the rainbows this weekend for the first time in months. I love flip flops.

However, my feet are not flip-flop ready yet. I usually give my toes a break from polish during the winter. This week I plan on putting on a coat or 2 of my favorite OPI color “Strawberry Margarita”. (OPI has the best polish and colors out there in my opinion.)

I won’t have time for a shopping trip this week, but as soon as I can, I am going to head over to ULTA to pick up some new colors from their South Beach collection!



Just from looking at the colors in the flyer I got, I already have some favorites picked out:

Party in my Cabana or Feeling Hot Hot Hot for a fun pink shade

Sand in my Suit or Suzi and the Lifeguard for a lighter color

And I am loving Miami Beat for something different

Anybody have any of these colors yet? What are your favorites?

Yesterday I took a PTO (paid time off) day. My sleep situation is still not good. I started taking the 10 mg Ambien and it is just too much! It makes me loopy, knocks me out cold, and then won’t let me get up. I felt like I was loosing my mind and my body was falling apart. So I had to take a day to re-charge.

I slept until noon and then took Cam for a hike in Umstead State Park. It was the best day ever! There was no one in the forest because it was a weekday, so I let Cam off the leash and we hiked a good 4 miles. We saw a family of deer and enjoyed the warm day. We did end up getting lost for a bit. I thought I had got sidetracked on a different trail, so I ended up having to backtrack the way I came. It was so nice; it almost made me wish I had one random weekday off so I could enjoy things when they weren’t so crowded more often!

Tonight I have to bake and pack! Tomorrow after work we are leaving for the mountains where I will finally get to mark snowboarding off my list!

SNOW!

I kept saying “If it’s going to be this cold, I at least want some snow!” Well today I got my wish! We have snow and I love it. That is, I love it as long as I don’t have to drive in it. Luckily there is this little thing called “working from home”. It's still snowing and I feel like a little kid. It's so pretty!

It has been a long time since I have seen actual snow accumulation around here. Mostly we just get ice. In fact a few years ago, there was a really nasty ice storm that clogged all of the roads around Raleigh . Luckily it happened just a few weeks before I moved here from Greenville . But I heard horror stories of how it took some people 5 hours to make it home when it normally takes 10 minutes and some people had to stay in hotels because they couldn’t make it home. Cars were sliding around all over the place! I’ll welcome this pretty snow over that nightmarish ice any day.

This is also the first time Cam has seen real snow. He has seen flurries before but nothing like this! He loves it:



Cam eating snow and lovin it!



Cam trying to catch snowflakes



After a romp around the yard

All this snow is getting me excited for my upcoming ski trip in February. (I should really say snowboard/ice skating trip since that is what I plan on doing instead of skiing this year.)

We are headed up to Beech Mountain over Valentine’s Day weekend. It is mostly couples- which scares the crap out of me. Lately I have not really enjoyed being the only single person in a sea of couples. Plus, it is going to be Valentine’s Day which is tough for single people even when you aren’t witness to all the couple’s mushiness on that day.

But they are all my friends and I love being around them- couples or not. We always seem to have a blast on these group trips. We play board/card games like Truth or Dare Jenga or Phase 10. We enjoy meals together and laugh until our stomachs hurt. We fight over who gets to sleep where (I better get a bed!). We act silly and take lots of pictures and sometimes even video! There are always lots of great stories to tell.

This weekend I had to buy new ski pants. The ones I had from my last ski trip were child’s size and were just way too uncomfortable. But it is impossible to find the right length for me in adult sizes! The ones I ended up getting are super cute, but have some drawbacks. They are white (probably a mistake considering how much falling I will probably be doing) and way too long (but I am hoping they will just bunch up around the boots and not drag too much).

I also get to mark something off my list on this trip! I am really nervous about this particular task since I hear snowboarding can be particularly painful the first time. But I am hoping I will pick it up quickly and not come back with too many bumps and bruises!

Oh and can I just say all the inauguration hype on TV is making this day super exciting too. It is a historic moment and I am inspired to see such hope and excitement in our Country!

Update on The List

I feel like it is taking FOREVER to cross the next thing off my list! (I’ve already told y’all I’m not patient at all!) I am also getting a little nervous because 2 years seemed like a long time when I made the list, but time goes by more quickly than you expect. And if I don’t get everything crossed off I am going to feel like a complete LOSER, so the pressure is really on. It would really help if I could find a money tree somewhere around here. I didn’t realize so many of these things are going to require a good chunk of change!

Anyway, here is an update on The List progress:

1. Get in the best shape of my life- the 5K training is helping with this a little, but I need to step it up! Maybe I’ll get a trainer? They really do help!
2. Try snowboarding – trying to get a ski trip planned for Feb. I guess I’ll be renting a board instead of skis!
3. Get a job I love – Still no word here. I am thinking about going back to school.
4. Take Cam to an agility class- no time or funds right now. But he did learn to “bow” recently (it’s so cute!)
5. Pay all my own bills (with no help from mom)- I plan on taking over my car insurance when I get a new car next year. (My lease runs out in April.) I’ll have to learn to budget better in order to take over the gas though, and hopefully prices will go down a little.
6. Ask out a crush- This would require an adequate crush. There are none at this point in time. Sad…I know!
7. Run a 5K- I might have to take a week off from training because I have the worst blisters on the back of my heels! Or maybe I could run in flip-flops?
8. Go to a water park and not feel self-conscious- luckily I don’t have to worry about this until at least next summer!
9. Kayak- too cold to kayak now, but I think a camping/kayaking trip in the mountains sounds fabulous!
10. Catch a fish- This can wait until summer
11. Open my heart to someone- Yeah, that would require a guy. (see #6)
12. Make a baby laugh- My friend in ATL is having a baby in Feb. Maybe I will get a chance to go out there to meet the little munchkin, act stupid and get a laugh out of him!
13. Change a diaper (no I have never done this) - I don’t want to think about this. But whatever baby laughs at me, I guess the least I can do to thank them is change their diaper!
14. Go on a mission trip- I found out about a mission trip to South Africa in December, but I looked it up on the website today and it costs $2500! That took the wind out of my sails!
15. Help a stranger- no strangers that need help have crossed my path yet
16. Find a doctor I trust- haven’t had time to investigate this yet, plus I have been pretty healthy, so there hasn’t been any motivation to do so.
17. Grow a plant- I’m going to wait until growing season for this (someone please let me know when “growing season” is!)
18. Upgrade one room in my house- My light fixture in my kitchen broke. I had already been thinking this would be the room I would re-do. So I guess I’ll do it one thing at a time. I’ll post some pics when I finally get a new light fixture!
19. Travel abroad- yeah money is an issue with this one. I might have to count Mexico as “abroad”!
20. Swim with a dolphin
21. Go skinny dipping- No…no desire to do this right now
22. Visit Washington, DC – I am trying to see if I can pull together a trip this spring to see the Cherry Blossoms.
23. Take a dance lesson- I did have a dance lesson from a 7 year old last week…does that count?
24. Sing Karaoke
25. Invest in the stock market- umm…have you seen the news? I don’t want to get on that roller coaster ride!
26. Kiss in the rain- Need I remind you? …THERE IS NO GUY in the picture right now. If I kiss my dog in the rain could that count? (Yet another reminder of how pathetic I am!)
27. Read the Bible all the way through- I signed up for this “Bible in a Year” email service. It emails you a selection each day and in a year you will have read the whole Bible! I also joined a Bible study group. We actually have to memorize a new verse each week. It takes me back to Bible School days!
28. Go see a movie at the theater- alone!- Nothing that I am dying to see right now
29. Attempt Surfing- Again…waiting for summer…too cold for the ocean right now!
30. Purchase 1 piece of expensive jewelry for myself- By the way, the other night I thought I lost one of my earrings and FREAKED out! It was just the icing on a bad day that I didn’t need! Luckily I found it in between the sheets on my bed. Note to self: Do not wear expensive earrings to bed anymore.

Oh and I finally finished my latest book! Check out my review of The Friday Night Knitting Club on my Bookshelf Blog!