Holiday Houseguests

Most of you know that I have been playing host this holiday season. My family was generous and loving enough to visit me up in cold Colorado while I work through Christmas week. My sister came out on the 19th and spent a week here.

She really is one of my best friends...I love spending time with her. Many times we found ourselves laughing so hard we were crying. I got her up on the mountain, not that I saw proof of that. She had some major pain from her ski boots, so I never actually go to ski with her. She might try it again some day, but I must say I am not holding my breath. She was my only hope of familial skiing fun, but what can you do? She did end up loving snowshoeing though. That is also another sport I will be taking up (since I got a pair of snowshoes for Christmas!), so we can bond over that instead!

We ate at some great restaurants and some not so great ones. But at least I got to hit the town with her. We went to the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse for dinner and an adventure one night. It is about 45 minutes from home and is in the middle of the mountains...in other words, in the middle of nowhere. You get your snowshoes or your cross country skis and you set out for the yurt (a nice big tent in the middle of the woods). It was about a one-mile climb to get there. No electricity or running water (yup, outhouses are available for your convenience!). The atmosphere might be more rustic, but the food is far from it. Very tasty and unique! My sis and I had elk with a blueberry sage sauce...yummy! After the 4 course meal, you strap on the snowshoes again and hike it back to your car. It really is a great time and amazing food.

My parents were supposed to come in last Thursday, but if you hadn't heard (yeah, right!), there was a little blizzard that hit Denver. So, their flights were cancelled and then were rebooked to come in Christmas Eve evening. My sis and had some more quality time together before they came, but were glad to see the parentals on Sunday night. We had a great Christmas. I spent the majority of it in the kitchen (shocker!) and then had to work that night. The fam came to the show and they loved the Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats. I was just looking forward to my bed at the end of that one! I am very grateful that I wasn't alone for the holiday!

My parents are still in town and we are just having some quiet time at home and my parents coming to our shows at night. We did have a little adventure when my mom tripped and fell in my condo and needed to get 5 stitches in her chin. Never a dull moment at my house! And the leftovers...oh my. I went from having only one small shelf in a side-by-side refrigerator to a full fridge and let me tell you, not a single bit of shelf space is not being used right now. I really need to keep my cooking in check! Ok, most of you don't complain about the cheesecake or the holiday candies that are in the fridge right now...but yeah, need to cut down!

I am really looking forward to a bit of respite next week. I am flying back to the DC area on Sunday for some rest and relaxation and some friend time. I am getting a bit lonely (minus the company which I have had my fair share of, really!), so I want to be amongst friends for a few days. I really am quite lucky with the visitors and I get another in January when my friend Dave is up here with friends for a ski vacation!

Hope everyone else's holiday season has been merry and bright...I love being where it actually looks and feels like Christmas...I even saw reindeer on Christmas Eve...who else can say that?!

I'm in Heaven...

Yesterday was such a happy day! I went up on the mountain, finally. It was snowing, so the visability was low, but I skied for about 3 hours. Oh, I loved it. I have been bitten by the ski bug, definitely. Every time that I had gone in Utah and California, I enjoyed myself, so I didn't imagine that I would all of a sudden hate it. But I wasn't sure how much I would remember of how to actually ski or if I would want to do it often. Yeah, no worries…I am hooked. And because of the free life pass and owning my own gear, I can go whenever I want! That is a great feeling. My calves are talking to me today….so sore. My sister is going to be in town this week and she is taking a beginner lesson and then has a 2-day lift pass. I will go up with her for some of those 2 days. I am so excited about that…and it should be a great way to spend some time with her. We can help each other get off our asses when we fall! She is such a natural athlete that I am sure she will pick it up quickly. But her being a CA girl now, I don't know how she will do with the cold! Haha…she'll kill me for that comment!

For all those that have never experienced skiing…I recommend. Come visit me…it's worth it, I promise! The thrill of going down the mountain, the solitude on the mountain, the beauty of nature all around you. Nothing quite like it…

Birds of Prey World Cup

I just wanted to post some photos I took at the Birds of Prey World Cup ski race held here at Beaver Creek. It is the only men's World Cup race in North America...pretty damn special, actually. The most amazing thing is that my parent organization, Vail Valley Foundation, runs this event. Haha! So, I got a VIP access pass. I went on Thursday and saw some of the Super Combined Races. Tomorrow I am going to see some slalom races. It is kind of cool.

Oh, and also, last night the Vilar Center was the venue for a USSA dinner/wine tasting. Got to meet many of the top USA skiers. Pretty damn cool...not that I know who any of them are! But I will definitely be learning while living here... :)

So, here are the pictures...


A racer coming into the finish line...don't even ask me who it is!


A pic of some of the mountain and the spectator stand with the flags of all the participants.


Snow covered trees on the mountain. It was like 5 degrees this day...absolutely freezing, but sure is beautiful.


Me and my coworkers (Jen, Martha, then me!). Yes, that is our "uniform"...can you tell?!


A last pic of mountain...and the bottom of the finish line...