Winter fun- part one

It is Monday morning and I'm back in the office. Looking out my window I see a blizzard, it is rare that is snows like this in Utah, it is not only coming down like mad, but there is major wind to contend with. Visibility is next to nothing.

It is hard to believe less than 24 hours ago I was loving winter. Here is a run down of what E and I did this weekend:

On Friday we went over to Yonosh's house for a fantastic dinner. Mike is back in town and he cooked mole enchiladas with steak, which were to die for. After dinner we just hung out and chatted, everyone has been away so long, it was great fun to catch up. Oh, and for the record, there wasn't enough room at the main kitchen table so Yonosh and Mike shared the couple's table, which was quite funny.

On Saturday E and I woke up late, packed our overnight gear and snowshoe stuff, and headed up to The Homestead. (We got a gift certificate to spend a night up there for Christmas). The Homestead is a really old Utah hotel that was built on some natural occurring hot pots, so in addition to the historic feel of the hotel, you get hot mineral baths to soak in, so we were pretty stoked.

We were also lucky, because Saturday was beautiful, weather wise. We have had so much snow and cold weather this year, that most days have been gray with a very weak amount of sunlight. We Saturday was clear and warm (it is sad when you say 35 degrees is warm) so before checking in, E and I drove up the canyon near Midway Utah to find a snowshoeing spot. We pulled to the side of the road and explored in an area that was prime for snowshoeing. In addition to a great little summit with some awesome views, we walked along a little river and really enjoyed our time outside. At one point E and I were both so warm we hiked in only our base layers.

After about two hours on the mountain, we headed to The Homestead and checked in. Our room was nice and large, and even had a little sitting room. We explored the grounds of the hotel (which is spaced out between many buildings) and checked out the hot pots. At dinner time we headed to Heber (only about 15 minutes away) and drove around the old main street looking at the wonderful homes and multitude of deer roaming the streets. Soon we arrived at the Snake Creek Grill for dinner. We had heard of this place through reviews and awards they had won, and were quite excited to try it. We were blown away! What a great place! We ordered really really tasty onion rings for an appetizer, spinach salad, E got trout and I got pasta for dinner, and then a HUGE gingersnap cookie ice cream sandwich for dessert. I really like this photo because the lights are blurry but the sign is clear. Weird...

Once we were fully stuffed with very tasty food we returned to The Homestead to soak. The mineral baths were nice and warm, and the hot tub under the stars was fantastic.

The next morning we packed up and had a really yummy (and included!) breakfast in Fanny's Grill. I ordered crab cake Benedict and OJ. As we sat there next to the two story fireplace we watched a half dozen deer walking through the fields on just the other side of the windows. The snow began to fall lightly, and more heavily, and it was beautiful to watch.

Before we headed home E and I went to Park City. I wanted to look in a couple of shops and also take some photos of Hazel (a new doll!). It was cold and busy with Sundance in Park City, so after a quick look around we headed home.

What a nice weekend.

PS- Last night we had dinner at my aunt's house, but I'm hungry for lunch now, so that will have to wait for another post.

Awesome new website I found

Have you ever heard of EarthAlbum.com? It is a Google Maps program and Flikr merged together. Sound neat? All you do is click on a country, and up comes a slide show of the most amazing photos people have taken in the country of your choosing. So far my favorites are China, Russia, Thailand, and Norway. I also really like Alaska's photos.

Here are a few that I especially liked, when you get a moment, check out that website!

The first photo is from home sweet home, Utah. Yes, I live in a very beautiful state.
This photo was taken in Svalbard. This is not just a mythical place from The Golden Compass, it really exists! It is an island north of Finland.
And a photo taken in China.
And Niger.

It is fricken freezing

Utah is fricken freezing lately. Right now it is a nice and warm 17 degrees, and when I say warm, I mean warm. Today started at zero degrees, so 17 is absolutely balmy!

It is hard to live through January, this time of year just seems to go forever. I am ready to hike, bike, BBQ and spend time outside.

This year we've had an amazing amount of snow. Just on Monday it snowed another 16 inches, and nothing is melting. At our condo complex there is so much snow at the end of the street from plowing the roads they've had to come in twice to move the built-up snow to another location so they could plow again come the next storm.

This weekend will be fantastic, however, E and I are going up to the Homestead which is a hotel in the Utah mountains surrounded by natural hot springs. I am pretty excited.

Sometimes I wish

Sometimes I wish I could "live" the life of my doll Violet. Why you ask? Check out what she is up to while I'm at work here in dark, cold and gloomy Utah.

What Violet is up to

Gnarly sprained ankle

Friday was not a good day for me, for one E and I were feeling sad about quite a few things: friends moving away, E's lack of a new job, and the issue of children because I want them and E is not ready, etc.

Anyway, after finally deciding to spend the night in, I was walking down the stairs with a blanket and a book and tripped in my heels, and twisted, and tried to catch myself, and twisted again. I didn't fall, per se, just stumbled. Once I was at the bottom of the stairs I realized how much my left ankle hurt. I tore my high heeled boots off and grabbed my already swelling ankle. E ran to get ice and medicine while I sat on the floor trying not to scream from pain.

Well the swelling did go down, and I was able to very carefully walk on it the next day, and each day it is feeling better and better (yesterday I even returned to the gym!). Well after giving my ankle a few days to heal in some flat shoes, I tried my boots on again today while getting ready to go to work, and realized that the entire base of the heel is cracked, broken and pulled away from the shoe. I've never broken a pair of heels before, and this isn't just a break, it looks like a monster got to the shoe.

I guess I got a pretty gnarly sprain and I'm going to need some new boots to wear to work.

Figure skating dreams

Isn't it interesting how memories have such fierce ways of showing themselves years later? Lately I've been thinking a lot about my years as a figure skater.

When I was six years old I went to an ice skating birthday party and fell in love with the sport, and a year later I was enrolled in lessons and quickly advanced though all the levels that public lessons offered. By the time I was ten I was in private lessons, had my own set of beautiful ice skates, and I remember being so proud that I had landed my first jump, the waltz.

I wasn't as talented as some, and didn't advance as quickly as others, but I did advance, and before my 13th birthday I had landed all my single jumps (except the dreaded axial), advanced to camel spins, sit spins, and lay back spins.

The memories that have been rushing back are the hours I spent on the ice before and after school. I remember the carpet texture from the warm up room, and the smell of the bathroom where all the skaters changed (it always smelled strongly of toothpaste) and the feel of the ice after the Zamboni had gone over it.

The thing I miss the most (and the thing that keeps popping up in dreams) is the feeling of skating fast. I could skate as fast as anybody with back-crossovers. I loved zipping across the ice, feeling my heart pound in my chest, and being totally worn out after an hour of speed conditioning class.

Sometimes I dream that I have gone back to skating, and all the jumps and spins I had struggled with previously come to me as quickly and easily as those first skills did. I wake feeling a strong need to get back on the ice, to stretch my legs, and to land all my jumps. But when I do go to the public skating rink, I find that I can't do what I once did, and those difficult jumps that I once struggled with will always be just a part of my memory.

Our kitty Mabel

Mabel is one of our three kitties. She is such a wonderful sweet little girl. Today she was on the bed sleeping, and I just knew I needed a photo.

Children?

I have been thinking a lot about children lately, and when I would like to start a family. I always thought I would start trying when I was 27, well I'll be 27 this April, so that is quickly approaching. I want to be ready, and I want E to be ready.

I truly believe that spring birthdays are the best (what can I say, I'm an April baby!), so if I want to have a baby in the spring of 2009, that means I need to conceive this August, and when you put it like that, it is really scary, that is soon!

Summer loving

Damn, it is really really cold here in Utah, the kind of cold that bites your skin and chills your core. I think it is quite yucky, I really don't like January as a whole, I've decided.

I mean, yes, we still go snowshoeing, and often times we have little trips planned (like this years trip to the Homestead), but for the most part, January is long, dark and cold. By the time I get off of work, the sky is already turning to dusk as I hustle to my car to try to escape the cold blow, only to find my car just as bone chilling. By the time I get home I am so cold I often wrap in a blanket to defrost for a half and hour. By then it is dinner time and it is fully dark outside. What is a girl to do at 7:00 pm when it is fully dark out? E and I end up watching a lot of movies, playing on the internet, or going to bed rather early. Rarely do I even leave into the dark cold night.

What happens to this cold, slovenly girl? I dream of spring, summer and fall, when the days are longer, the air is warmer, and I have energy to move.

In my daydreams I've been thinking about all these seasons, and realized I've taken my international trips in different seasons, so here is to dreaming of spring, summer and fall:

The first time I went abroad was to London in 2005. E and I went in mid March, so, what I consider spring. It was cold and rainy (very London-like) for the first part of our trip, but then warmed up near the end, so warm that is didn't even feel like March.

I've taken too international trips in the summer, one to Tanzania, and the other to England. The first two photos were taken by me (giraffes) and E (elephant) in Tanzania in July 2005.

And then we visited England in the summer of 2007. First we spent time in London, but then went out to the Cotswolds and soaked in the beautiful English countryside.

The last international trip E and I have gone on (other than Amsterdam on the way to Tanzania) was Italy in the fall. We went to Italy in September of 2006 for our honeymoon!

Happy oh eight

Happy New Year! Ah, how good a four day weekend feels, why can't all weekends be four days?? And now I'm in the middle of a three day work week, again, why can't all work weeks be three days?

On Saturday and Sunday E and I did nothing. We put our Christmas decorations away on Saturday (after a huge wrestling match with our fake tree, it is not fun to put those things away) and then we took a nice long nap! That night we went over to my aunts for Yagnesh's Indian feast, yum yum! Sunday rolled around and we wanted to get a piece of furniture we had seen at Costco. E really wanted something to store his new CD player and receiver in, and there was a beautiful piece at Costco. It was quite tricky to get this HUGE piece home. First we needed to borrow my dad's car, then we needed to load the thing, then we needed to drive home very slowly so it wouldn't fall out the back (it was so large, the SUV wouldn't even close), then unload at home. It was so heavy I had no hope up lifting it, and luckily a nice neighbor came over to help us load it inside. Once we had it inside, it was easy! The piece was fully assembled inside the box, so we just cut the box and pushed it into place. Pretty sexy huh? (Sorry about our horrid green carpet, it is so bad...)

And inside, E's new toys!

On Monday we headed down to the farmhouse for a two day get away. This was an extremly special trip, because before now, the farmhouse has always been closed in the winter. This year it was decided that we'd keep it open so the pipes would not have to be emptied, and the house would not be vacant for half the year. Anyway, we headed down on Monday morning and stopped at our FAVORITE place for lunch, Little Acorn. This place is a dive, it is so nasty inside. I swear, even the seats have two inches of grease built up on them, but the food is so tasty! I ordered a cheeseburger combo, and for $3.85 I got a huge cheeseburger with really yummy sauce, a huge pile of fries, and a drink. I was one happy camper!

Once we got down to the farmhouse we looked around the yard, I took some photos of my dolls (Lei Mei is so cute, don't you think?), and warmed up inside. Chelsea and I were a little antsy to go play in the snow, so we decided to drive up to the bike park to take some photos of our dolls skiing. We tromped through the knee deep snow to take some really fun photos of the girls on the little ski hills. The sky was clear and the snow was untouched, and we had a great afternoon. We played longer than expected, so when I got back to the car to call E, and say we were headed back, he said "I'm glad you are safe, I thought you were eaten by a Yeti!"

Violet skis down a really big hill!

That night we made all sorts of treats, warmed up the kitchen with Old Betsy (the coal stove) and ate and ate and drank and played games. Chelsea got an American Girl game for Christmas, so we played that. E was a great sport, and played as Kit, but we didn't win. After the game we watched a really fun movie called Stardust. Have you seen it? It was quite good, and very funny. At midnight E and I kissed and then we finished the movie!

On Tuesday after a late start and a yummy breakfast E and I headed up Skyline Drive with our snowshoes. We love to go up the mountains in the summer down near the farmhouse, but had never ventured up there in the winter. The road was snow-free and the snow was deep. We parked by the side of the road near the top of the summit, and headed west. We wanted to reach a little ridge so we could look down on Mt. Pleasant. Once we reached it we sat down, enjoyed the view, and commented on what fun it is to snowshoe in new places. Plus, my new outfit looked kickass. Soon after we checked out some huge snow blocks that had broken off the ridge, these are what cause avalanches. E and I felt safe checking them out though, because they were already broken. I took this photo of E near the snow chunks, and I think it looks so neat, really like an Arctic adventure!

Once we got back to the car we headed back down the mountain, back to the farmhouse, and I took a nice nap. We left the farmhouse far to late in the day on Tuesday, and didn't arrive home until around 11, but we had a great time down there in the winter, and look forward to going back soon!

A year ago today...

A year ago today Grandpa Joe died. I still miss him like crazy.

Fantastic Christmas

Oh what a fantastic Christmas, it was magical. Last year at Christmas my Grandpa was dying and the family was in high stress mode, plus it was the first Christmas after my parent's divorce, so it was a hard year. This year was completely the opposite. Everything was perfect, and my dad and mom (and their new respective loves) both joined me on Christmas Eve at my house, and everything was great.

Let me start at the beginning (sorry if this is a bit long):

On Saturday the 22nd, E and I met our good friend Ashley for lunch at our favorite Middle Eastern place, Mazza. We exchanged gifts (thank you Ashley) and had a grand old time. Plus, I love the food there, so it was sure to be great. We then went to Costco, the store, etc and ended up at home that evening just in time to get ready for my Dad's birthday party. We had my siblings and my dad over for a Italian pasta, salad, and pecan pie. Everyone seemed to have a good time.

On Sunday E and I were very lucky indeed, we were done with our Christmas shopping, so we decided to head up to Snowbird for our new favorite tradition, a day at the Cliff Spa followed by drinks at the Aerie Lounge. The spa was great, the day was cold with constant snow and cloudy skies, so the hot tub on the roof was fantastic. The steam room, sauna, Solarium, and heated outdoor pool all were wonderful, as always. After fully spa-a-fying we headed upstairs to the Aerie Lounge where we got wings and spiced cider with rum. Yummm!

Monday was Christmas Eve, and E and I had a busy day. After prepping our house for the large cocktail party we were going to host, E and I headed over to his families house for a doll's Christmas. Our dolls exchanged gifts (yes, I know I'm lame, but it is fun!) and Violet came home with lots of goodies, but the best of all was a wonderful Christmas photo album full of all my doll's Christmas photos. Thank you Chelsea.

Once we returned home we finished getting ready for our party, we set up the bar, made about 15 appetizers and waited and waited and waited! E and I joked that nobody was going to show up, the snow had moved in and the roads looked pretty bad. Finally everyone started to show up, and it was fantastic! First my brother and his new girlfriend Natasha, then my Mom, Chuck, Melissa, and Chandler. Soon after that Logan arrived, then E's family and then my Dad and Kimmie. We had a full house, but it was wonderful! My Mom and Dad were fine together and my Mom and Kimmie ended up chatting for awhile. E's family seemed to have a great time, and everyone got along perfectly. The snacks and drinks were a big hit too, we ate and ate and the spiced wassail was gone in no time. It was wonderful.

Natasha, Chandler, Brandon, me, Kimmie, Dad, and Melissa

David, Chelsea, Connie, Steve and E

Chuck, E and Logan hang out in the kitchen with the wassail
My cute brothers and Natasha.

After the party was over I was so tired! E and I filled each other's stockings (another tradition) and headed to bed.

Tuesday was Christmas day! E and I woke fairly early to the most beautiful day. The sun wasn't yet up, and the whole world had a fine mist over the newly fallen snow. Our living room looked especially lovely, don't you agree?
First we pulled out the new cat nip toys for the kitties and laughed and laughed as they flipped, ran, bounced and sucked on their new toys. Then we opened our stockings, and E had filled mine with the most wonderful treats! Mini German cookies, beautiful colored pencils in a wooded box, and pomegranate juice! Then we opened our "big" presents and I got Lei Mei, the beautiful Chinese doll I had been hoping for! E got a new wool coat that looks so sexy! He also go me purple Crocs and a coat for Lei Me. I am spoiled.

E's new coat

Once our presents were opened it was time to head up to E's family's house. I was hoping for breakfast at home, but that didn't happen. Once leaving the house I was awestruck by the beauty of the world. The sun was just peeking up, and the sleepy houses looked so pretty with their Christmas lights flickering from inside. On the way, I insisted that E pull over so I could snap a photo, I don't remember any other Christmas being so beautiful.
Once at E's house our ripping of wrapping paper skills were put to the test! Man oh man are we spoiled! I got so many wonderful things! A Gap gift certificate, doll clothes, doll ski stuff, and more and more and more. Then came the final present, a huge box....

E's wonderful family got me Kit's trunk (another doll item) but it is such a great surprise, and something I had really really been wanting, but I didn't put on my Christmas list because of the price. I am thrilled because not only is it a beautiful piece, but now I have my first complete collection! Here I am when I realized what was in the box. ;)

E had been hoping for a new CD player, he is working on building a stereo system, and the CD player is the start.

After we finished opening tons and tons of presents and having a yummy breakfast we headed over to my dad's house. Now the sun was fully up, and it was truly glorious outside. The valley was crystal clear and everything was fresh and white. After hearing the very upsetting news that Brandon's house had been robbed the night before (they had stolen all his Christmas presents, a pile of sunglasses, watches, his Christmas bonus, and bracelet my Grandpa gave him, which was one of his most prized possessions and having it stolen was worse than all the other stuff put together) we moved onto presents. We all felt so bad for Brandon, but we all had things to give him, and hoped that he could still have a good holiday.

I gave all my siblings presents, and they all gave me great things too. My Dad and Kimmie went all out and got us some really special items, Ethan got shoes, a sweater, money, an antique radio (which is awesome) and water from the BMW shop (a joke of course!). I got shirts, a neat mirrored box, a sweater, and a new coat! It rocks. We also all got a box of oranges and we read the sweetest story about Christmas oranges and a little girl in an orphanage.

My new most awesome coat for snowshoeing.

Once we were done at my dad's we headed back to E's family's house for a bit. I had a chance to relax and then we packed up our gifts. I can't believe how many things we got! Holy cow, we are so spoiled! We dropped off the presents at home, grabbed a few things, and headed to my Mom's at 5:00. Here house looked wonderful, she lives in an old house in a very cute area, and her red door with a lighted wreath really set the mood for the night, I took this photo as my mom opened the door, I like it!
Once inside the spoiling continued. We had snacks, drank wine and opened more presents! Chuck had been in charge of stockings this year, and he did such a great job! He got us the neatest things that were just fun! I got sea animal toys and dinosaurs, a potholder making kit (like the kind I had as a kid), candy, a toothbrush, a mini frame, and so much more, just in my stocking! The presents were just as thoughtful, E got some GPS accessories he has been wanting and I got snow pants to go with my new coat. Also I got a really cute dress, a sweet llama toy, a cool bag, and tons of other things.
After the last of the presents were opened we ate a fantastic meal of stuffed shells (tradition in my family) and visited with the Laytons. We gave them our presents and enjoyed the rest of the evening.

E and I went home to a house that has presents stacked to the ceiling (seriously, we got so many wonderful things), three sweet kitties, and a warm bed calling our name.

Merry Christmas.