Why I Live Here

I can't think of a better way to start the new year than at 13,000+ ft on the top of a mountain surrounded by incredible beauty and sunshine. This is why I live here.

I'm In Love

Meet the object of my affection.

This is my new car. Well this is actually a generic photo of a vehicle that is exactly like mine, color and all. It's a 2010 Subaru Forester, and I love it! I am still thinking of the perfect name for it, so let me know if you have any suggestions. Anyway, I got this car just over 2 months ago, and I only now got to really test this pretty lady out on the roads!

Denver has had an abnormally warm winter thus far. The mountains are getting plenty of snow and chilly weather, but it just isn't making its way to Denver...until today. Today is the first day of a full-fledged "winter storm;" snow, ice, wind, sub-zero/single digit temps and all. So today after work, as I said before, I finally got to test the new wheels in all their glory. I think the exact moment I fell in love was when I easily took off from a stop light at the front of traffic and quickly sped up to 25mph while everyone around and behind me was going 2 mph and struggling to move at all. I had no problems, slips, or slides at all. I felt so cool and proud of my new car. haha.

I also realized how amazing my new car was going to be when a covered pick-up truck in front of me was spinning his wheels on a patch of ice and I, yet again, had not a problem finding traction. Had I still been in the Bu (the Malibu that is) I would have definitely been in the same position as he. However, I would have known how to handle it and hopefully find a little bit of traction. And on that note, I've decided everyone who moves to Colorado, or gets their driver's license for the first time in Colorado, needs to be required to take a "how to drive on snow and ice" class. The man in the truck had no clue how to that very thing and he was not in the right place to be learning for the first time (because it was super icy!). When he couldn't find traction, instead of pumping the gas to try to find traction, or slowly moving onto snow to find traction, he pressed on the gas harder causing his wheels to spin faster and thus fishtailing all over the lane. I even saw his tires smoking at one point and I didn't realize that could happen due to spinning on ice. Of course I suppose it could have been snow "dust" he was kicking up, but it really looked like smoke.

Anyway, moral of the story: I have a new car that handles beautifully on snow and ice, and I am in love with it and the possibilities and adventures that will come with it! Yay!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Today when I woke up and looked outside it was a gray snowy morning...perfect for snuggling with my sweetie on Valentine's Day. But instead I will be working. Blah.

How are you spending your Valentine's Day?!

A-mazing...

With a capitol A.

Today, friends, is what snowboarding is all about. In fact, it's what dreams are made of.

I headed to Keystone today to snowboard with my brother, Donnie, and another friend. I wasn't expecting to see any good snow, but it turned out to be a great mostly blue bird day. The snow was fantastic; there were about 5 inches of powder on the main trails, and we found areas in the trees with over a foot of powder. We hiked up to the very top of the south bowl, all the way to the sign where the snow cat (which costs $5) usually takes people. We didn't want to pay, so we decided to walk it. It's probably about 1/4 mile up the mountain, and in over a foot of powder that can be very tiring. Needless to say, at the end of the day I was exhausted and my legs were shot. But oh the wonderfulness. I had almost forgotten how glorious snowboarding could be. The snow this year has just been depressing, but today my faith was renewed. I wish I had pictures to document the occasion, but I forgot my camera. So, you'll just have to take my word for it. Hopefully the snow will continue!

Happy Groundhog's Day

According to German tradition, if a hibernating animal sees its shadow on February 2, the Christian holiday of Candlemas, winter will last another 6 weeks. If not, legend has it that spring will come early.

Well today in Gobbler's Knob, PA, Punxsutawney Phil (the groundhog) emerged from hibernation to see his shadow. So there you have it folks, winter will last at least another 6 months...something of which I am excited for considering the winter hardly seemed to come this year in Colorado. Maybe in these last 6 weeks we'll get some snow in the mountains to finish out the snowboarding season as it should be...in powder!

Happy Groundhog's Day!

Ice Fishing - Round 2

Went ice fishing again today...this time with David and Rachel, and their dog Olive. It was really nice to see them; since they moved to Fort Collins it seems like we don't see them as often as we used to. It was a nice sunny day -- great for sitting outside and enjoying the weather. Caught lots of fish too. Successful trip in my mind!

Gone Fishin' - - Ice Fishing!

Today I went ice fishing for the first time ever. I've been wanting to try it for a while now and I finally got to. It was pretty fun too, especially since we were actually catching fish! We went to a state park up in Longmont, CO that has multiple little lakes...we only tried fishing on two of the lakes. The ice was still pretty thick, although we did see one area of the lake that had orange cones with warning tape strung between them because there was a large hole in the ice. We could only assume someone or something (maybe an animal) fell through. I took a picture, but it's not that interesting so I left it out. Ice fishing is a pretty simple activity, and it can get boring (in my opinion) if fish aren't biting. The hardest part, by far, is drilling the holes through the ice...especially if you only have a hand powered ice auger. The ice was about 6-8 inches thick, and being about the same height as the auger, I couldn't get much weight on the auger to break through the ice. BUT, I did do it, and I actually drilled 2.5 holes. I was pretty proud of myself. Between that and catching 4 fish, I'd say it was a pretty good day!

Mickey liked to play with the fish after we caught them, but don't worry, he never hurt them. All the fish survived and were thrown back to their home.

Fresh Rainbow Trout...Mmmm!

Caught it...

Cleaned it...

cooked it...

...and ate it (sorry for the lack of picture at this part of the process).

Mmmm, it was good!! Simply season fresh rainbow trout with salt and pepper, dredge in corn mill or flour, and pan fry in vegetable oil. Tasty, tasty!

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Just a few reasons why I LOVE this time of year and some favorite holiday traditions:

1. Watching Christmas Vacation on the night of Thanksgiving

2. Hanging Christmas lights

3. Picking out the perfect Christmas tree

4. Decorating the tree and house

5. Christmas shopping (minus the crowds and crazy people)

6. Getting together with friends and family

7. Baking and decorating Christmas cookies with my mom

8. Christmas music and movies

9. Sipping hot chocolate by the fire with the tree glowing nearby

10. Christmas Eve candlelight service at church

11. Driving around neighborhoods Christmas Eve looking at lights

12. Christmas morning and homemade brunch

13. Spirit of love and giving

14. Being home

15. Jesus Christ

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

And I'm not kidding! Right now The Weather Channel says it is 2 degrees outside, BUT feels like -16 degrees. The past couple of days it hasn't reached temperatures above 13 degrees and snow flurries have accompanied it all. It is seriously cold out there -- bitter cold. It even looks cold outside. A blanket of white covers most everything, gray clouds hang low in the sky hardly letting the sun shine through, and smoke pours out of chimneys across town. The trees even shiver in the wind. I've tried to avoid going out in it, but unfortunately I've actually spent quite a bit of time out and about. And every time the cold chills me to my bones; it takes me quite a while to warm up all the way to my fingers and toes (which are always cold). They say it's supposed to warm up to 30 by Thursday and maybe 35 by Friday. I can't wait! It will probably feel like a summer day. :o)