Skiing, Day Three

Mike was really looking forward to visiting Vail on our trip. We decided to this on Wednesday. We hopped in the car for the 45 minute trip to the bigger mountain (6 miles of skiing versus something like 4 at Breck). I wasn't feeling too zippy, which should have set off warning bells. But, alas...

The trails were nice and wide, the snow was groomed beautifully, and the mountain was our oyster (??).

We did some great runs in the Game Creek Bowl (and I did more tree peeing), then we headed to the Big Sky Bowl. Mike really wanted me to try the groomed intermediate bowl there, but I wasn't having any of that... I was scared and stubborn. So, we had to take a 4 mile traverse (in non-skiing terms, this is basically a snow covered road) to get to the bottom of the mountain. It totally sucked. Had I known how grumpy we both would be after taking it, on top of my leg fatigue from the day before, I would have skied the bowl. The things you learn in hindsight. Unfortunately, things went even more downhill (ha ha) from there. It was an altogether bad day. Mike was terribly disappointed and I felt bad for being such a PIA.

He did get this great pic, tho :)

The pros got a few pics with a great view...

We headed back to Breck at 1, after skiing only 12,335 vertical feet and taking 9 lifts. Truly suckilicious. Mike got some fresh air at Breck and skied another 6,000 feet (4 lifts) before calling it a day. In retrospect we realized we should have had a plan. Vail is just too big to blunder around, skiing here and there, without knowing where to hit and how. We're better positioned now for the next trip, and I hope to make amends for the foul up on this one.

Dinner out was a quiet affair. We headed to Downstairs at Eric's for pizza, then off to Crepes a la Cart for dessert. The pizza wasn't our favorite, but I could LIVE on those crepes!

We also began our search for the best shirts we could find for Connor and Fiona. This was no easy task...

One more day of skiing, then the trip home. Are you tired yet?

Skiing, Day Two

After a great start to our ski trip, I was psyched to begin our second day of skiing. The sky was clear, the slopes were beautiful corduroy, and I was RTG!

Heeding Mike's warnings about altitude sickness that can occur at 2 miles above sea level, I decided to drink lots of water. This was good, but did have a side effect -- I peed like crazy. I finally got tired of running to the nearest lodge and started a new solution. Tree peeing (yeah, most people do tree skiing -- not me). Hey -- it took care of the problem!

The day really rocked. We did 22,740 vertical feet and took 17 lifts. The pros uploaded 7 snaps of us (3 more just went missing -- they never got turned in :( )

Not only was Tuesday our second day of skiing, it was also Valentine's Day! Michael took me out to a lovely French restaurant, Le Petit Paris Bistro. The food was lovely and I was so lucky to have the best guy ever!

Skiing, Day One

Snow rained down on the mountain after we went to bed on Sunday night. We awoke to several inches of powder in the morning. I hadn't done real powder skiing since I was little, and I was pretty rusty. We also needed to take some time to get to know the mountain. What trails and lifts we would like the best.

Mike at Peak 10

One of the cutest things we saw was one of the many adventure parks for kiddos. Unfortunately, we were not able to go in :)

Connor and Fiona would have loved this

The day was good. I skied until 2 pm (we started at 9 am); Mike continued on his own for another hour. At the end of the day, I did about 14,000 vertical feet and 11 lifts. Mike topped out at 18,750 vertical feet and 15 lifts. Our EpicMix pass actually tracked all that info for us, along with giving us access to free pictures taken by pros at the top of certain lifts (you get to pay for high res images). The three pro photos from Monday are below.

We went back to the room and shed the protective layers that kept us cozy all day. We were so glad we brought enough gear to keep us comfortable in flying snow.

Yes, all of those clothes for just two people

We had a relaxing drink over at Cecelia's way before the raucous crowds arrived.

Then we headed to Hearthstone for an amazing dinner. All local Colorado foods, served in a Victorian home-converted-to-restaurant. If you go to Breck, this is highly recommended.

More to come; I still have 3 more days of skiing!

And We're Off

We managed to get all of our stuff out to Colorado without incident. We got our rental car and were relieved that everything fit...

While we're here, I just want to note how nice and clean the car looks... 5 days and 300 miles later, the story was different...

Anyhoo, we headed to Breck with our aspirations for a great trip...

The foothills, about 30 miles west of Denver

We arrived at the Marriott Mountain Valley Lodge in Breckenridge around 2 pm on Sunday. The 450 sq ft held a full kitchen (complete with oven and dishwasher), a pull-out sofa sleeper, chair, queen-sized bed, bathroom and balcony. This was just fine for us.

Kitchen and breakfast bar

Photo taken from couch, TV and balcony to the right, bathroom to the left of bed

The best part, though, was the location. we were about 50' from the Quicksilver Express lift at the base of Peak 9. Ski in, ski out, baby!

View from our balcony

It would be great if the adventure stopped there, but we are fun kids. Sooooo.... We locked the keys in the car! Yiperoo... Right along with all of our baggage and the food from the grocery store where we had just stocked up. Good. Times.

Thank God for AAA. The driver came out and spent close to 45 minutes working the lock. The shitty little Chevy Traverse (you could not pay me to take one for keeps) had some kind of mind lock that kept all the normal things from working. The lock just would not pop. The poor guy finally had success and we retrieved the keys and our good. Whew!

Since we had such a tough challenge on our first day, we thought it was only right to assuage our difficulties with margaritas and Mexican food at Mi Casa.

The margarita was good. The food, not so much. Fortunately, we ate at the sister restaurant, Hearthstone the next night. It was amazing...

And so that wraps up the first day of our trip! Stay tuned for more on our adventures!

Ready, Set...

But are we really ready?! With our trip to Colorado fast approaching, we began gathering gear like squirrels gathering nuts. This and that and the other thing all got put in the pile on the couch, divided down the center to be "his" and "hers".

We did our share of running here and there to get more of this and that... I, for one, stocked up on some gear I feared was lacking -- long underwear (light and medium weight), sports underwear (wicking -- very important) and toiletries (I am a girl, after all). We washed the gear we were using -- jackets, pants, layering materials -- and nervously checked and rechecked our piles.

We added the level 2 items -- good to have but can live without -- including a variety of cables for the iPads (to watch Netflix or movies as needed on the resort TV), headphones, street clothes and cameras/supplies. Music and maps for our navigation apps were checked and movies were rented.
Travel documents were stapled, organized and double-checked. These ranged from the trip itinerary (thank you TripIt you ARE a lifesaver!), to the rental car certificate and pages and pages of trail recommendations.

When we did the final packing on Friday, February 11, we were more that a little surprised. We had a lot of stuff!!!! So much for being careful...

We have never taken so much on an airplane before!

We each carried on our Tranpacks (the grey bag at the front of the photo and its twin in red at the rear). These contained our ski clothes, my helmet, and one of Michael's boots. The long blue bag was home to our skis and poles. The blue bag on top of it had my boots and Michael's other (it and the skis being our one item). The big grey duffel held our street clothes, toiletries, and Mike's helmet. The white tote was my second carry-on and Mike's little carry-on isn't visible here.

So, we packed them, we had to carry them. Holy moly!

I'll continue with tales of our adventure over the coming days. Stay tuned!

Scribble Maps

The geographer is me is all over this: Scribble Maps

Composting

Mike got me my first composter many years ago as a birthday gift (for which I asked). This retails for $169 today.

This photo is from Gardners.com; I do not know who this man is

He also got me the super hot compost starter so that we could get a jump on the process (retail $18.99).

 

We have used our composter non-stop since getting it in 2005 (I think). It is such a lovely source of good material for starting new plants and for sprinkling on our existing perennial beds. I'm thinking about compost again since Spring is on its way to see us -- pretty soon!

If you are interested in composting, you may consider checking out this great guide on which composting method is best for you over at TreeHugger. Their primer covers all the bases and will help you get started.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I found this interesting infographic from Hotels.com 2012 romance survey...

Whale Song

I first took an interest in whales in 2007 when Mike and I went to the Dominican Republic. It was then that I learned the humpback whales from the coast of Massachusetts and Maine migrate to the DR for the winter and have their babies there. We were lucky enough to see some of the humpbacks from the shore during our visit.

Mike and I went on a whale watch in October and had a really nice time. It is something we definitely want to do again. I will take a look at the recent whale sightings so I can even get to know some of the whales we may see.

So, when I came across this article in TreeHugger today, I was very interested. I think it is really cool that whales from different parts of the world sing different songs!!! I hope you read the article!

Opera

Most of us think of music when we hear Opera. It makes sense. I recently discovered the word to mean something else entirely -- an incredibly beautiful camper introduced in 2010 by YSIN. Her design is remarkably like that of the Sydney Opera House.

 

Sydney Opera House

This beautiful luxury camper is made overseas -- I think in Australia. She includes a teak veranda, two electrically adjustable beds, ceramic toilet, top-loading fridge and LED lighting.

The inside can't be described as anything less than beautiful. Storage options are thoughtful and the look is very classy yet minimal.

The added bonus is that she is small enough to be pulled by a car.

 

Pricing for the Baseline model is € 23.330,00 (about $31,000 US), not including delivery. I sure do like this.... Now if I had the time (retirement) to travel and enjoy a gig like this!

Jonesing

Mistake #1: I went to EMS
Mistake #2: I went to the shoe department
Mistake #3: I found a pair of Sorels I really really like

Redemption point #1: They were 30% off
Redemption point #2: I did not buy them
Redemption point #3: I am waiting for them to go on more sale :)

I LOVE SHOES!

Going the extra mile

Most of us go about our days doing what we are supposed to do, what is expected of us (and is often the "right" thing to do). I like to consider myself among that group.

Every once in a while, though, someone takes the time to express appreciation for our actions. Those lucky times are such an unexpected delight. I was lucky enough for someone to thank me this week, for simply doing my job.

This arrived at my office via FedEx today:

The tee shirt is long sleeved. I LOVE the pen! The coffee cup and water bottle will certainly get good use in my office every day. And... who couldn't use a Starbucks card?

Happy days. And thanks to all of my friends and family who make me happy each and every day.

My Tummy is Growling...

I want to try this...

 

Source: inspiredbycharm.com via Michael on Pinterest

Jalapeno Popper Dip

Ingredients
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
4 ounces canned diced jalapeno peppers, drained
1/2 cup shredded Mexican style cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Method
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray an oven safe serving dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Using an electric mixer, blend the cream cheese and mayonnaise until smooth.
3. Stir in green chilies, jalapeno peppers, and Mexican and mozzarella cheeses. Spoon this mixture into the prepared baking dish.
4. Mix together the Panko and parmesan cheese and sprinkle it over the cream cheese mixture.
5. Spray the Panko and parmesan with a quick spray of non-stick cooking spray.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the mixture is hot and the topping is lightly browned.
Notes: If you are in a hurry, skip the Panko/Parmesan topping and simply microwave the cream cheese mixture until hot and bubbly.
Serve this dip with, French bread, fresh vegetables, tortilla chips, crackers…pretty much anything that pairs well with cheese!

Bye Bye Patriots

Another Super Bowl has come and gone. Too bad the Pats lost. We did have a healthy snack -- Kale Chips with Toasted Nori, so I guess all was not lost.




Wish they were a little crispier. Just like the Super Bowl -- there's always next time.

Worcester's Best Chef 2012, part 2

My last post covered Worcester's Best Chef competition. This is the rest of the story :)

The event was packed; this is 1/2 of one floor of Mechanic's Hall. Food was available on two floors.

WXLO emceed the event and kept things interesting. All votes were to be cast by 6 pm so they could be tallied for the People's Choice Award. That time got pushed to 6:30. Instead, at 6:15 or so, WXLO awarded a trophy to their pick for the best chef. The selected Chef Chris Rovezzi for his excellent tortelloni.

In addition to the people's choice and WXLO awards, there were 7 chef judges who picked the official top three chefs. The top three chefs would then have a head-to-head competition that lasted 30 minutes -- an Iron Chef, if you will. 6:30 marked the announcement of the judges' top 3: Chris Rovezzi (Rovezzi's), Wilson Wang (Baba Sushi) and Dan O'Sullivan (Sonoma). They were invited onstage to speak briefly about their dishes. The cook-off was to start at 7 pm.


The Iron Chef portion finally commenced around 7:15. Each chef was given a mystery box that contained pompano (fish), sweet soy sauce, fennel and something else I didn't catch. Chef's got 30 minutes to use their mystery items along with anything in the pantry to compose a dish.

Wilson Wang (left), Chris Rovezzi (center), Dan O'Sullivan (right) preparing their dishes

Chef Wang starting to plate

Chef Rovezzi's dish

Chef O'Sullivan's dish (sorry about the focus), judges in background

The People's choice awards were presented around 7:45 as the judges conferred on the overall winner. The winners were Wilson Wang (Baba Sushi), Bill Nemeroff (Ceres) and Chris Rovezzi (Rovezzi's).  Chris Rovezzi got a lot of stage time on Sunday :)

Finally, the overall winner of the competition was announced around 8. Drumroll.... The award went to Chris Rovezzi. Unfortunately, the final dishes were not described, nor were the observations of the judges about each dish. I'm crossing my fingers that this will be a part of next year's event, since the organizer seemed to suggest it would be after I emailed him my suggestion this morning.

For more information about WBC, be sure to visit their website and Facebook page (including lots of photos). We had fun! Come join us next year!