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A Glimpse Inside Our Vermont Vacation

I can’t believe it’s already Christmas Eve! We’ve had such a wonderful time here so far but the time is flying! This is the first day I’m not skiing, instead spending my morning with my mom and sister in law baking Christmas cookies! I have a few different posts I’ll be doing today, one about last night’s sleigh ride and another the workouts we’ve done so far.

A Glimpse Inside Our Vermont VacationBut, for right now, I thought it’d be fun to give you glimpse inside the snow globe, aka what we’ve been doing each day.

Breakfast The past few days are some of the busiest ski days of the season since Vermont received fresh powder and there are so many families up here for the holidays. Therefore, each morning our alarm clock went off at 6:45. After getting dressed, before hitting the slopes, we’ve eaten a protein filled breakfast at home that will hold us through four hours of skiing. My usual breakfast has been a bowl of 0% Chobani, blueberries, raspberries, banana, and Bab-A-Louis Bakery granola.

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The weather each day has been around 20 degrees on the mountain and therefore I’ve dressed warmly to ensure I enjoy myself. The last thing you want to be when skiing is cold!

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Here is what I wore each day, which takes advantage of my favorite winter running gear as well! Up at the top of the mountain the temperature dropped to a wind chill of 5 degrees!

I was warm and toasty until yesterday around noon when the temperature plummeted and the winds started gusting. But overall, this gear was perfect for four days of Vermont skiing! As you can tell, most of this is pretty inexpensive or dual purposed winter running gear. Since Bo and I only ski a total of 4-6 days a season each year we haven’t invested in anything beyond ski socks, pants, jackets, and goggles. I think the next thing I’d invest in is either a helmet or boots.

Stratton Mountain  As always, we had a blast skiing Stratton this year. It’s about 15 minutes from my family’s home so while it’s further away than Bromley, the conditions are about 10x better. Most of our visit they had at least 4 different lifts open and over 40 something trails. Each person in our group, whether skiing greens, blues, or black diamond trails was happy with the options available even though the windy conditions limited some of the lifts. I love that Stratton offers multiple green and blue runs from the top of the mountain versus just blacks. Our group had a great time riding the lift or gondola up the mountain together, taking in the sights and watching people take on the moguls under the lift. This was also the first year that I felt comfortable enough as a skier to go down blue and green runs by myself versus having lesson. That in itself made me thrilled to be out there!

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The snow capped trees reminded us of something out of a Dr. Seuss book they looked so unreal!

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Lunch

We’ve skied each day from 8am-12:45, making it home by 1:15 for lunch with the whole family. It’s been an easy way to save some money this trip while also taking advantage of delicious leftovers and catching up with everyone. I’m trying to enjoy a healthy breakfast, lunch, and snacks during the day so each evening I can enjoy a few glasses of wine and delicious dinner. This is one of the ways I find balance while on vacation, especially when I know that in a few short days I’ll be on a beach in St. Croix!

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Afternoon Adventures

Each afternoon my mom and dad have driven into Manchester or to a nearby town to explore and see the sights together. Grafton was the cutest of the towns we visited, decorated in fresh white snow and holiday decorations!

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I love this historic home’s decorations including a traditional fruit wreath and the lamp post with a warm hospitality greeting of pineapple, ribbons, and greens.

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Vermont Skication

This year, my holidays are split into three parts:

  • Vermont Skication with my aunt and uncle
  • Family Christmas in Vermont with the Rudolph, Diamond and Myer families
  • St. Croix with friends

Since Tuesday evening, I’ve enjoyed lots of quality time with my Aunt Rusty and Uncle Randy both at home and on the slopes.

Yesterday, after a quick 4 mile run and weights session at their local gym, my uncle and I headed to the Bromley Mountain for a few hours of skiing. While Bromley is definitely smaller than Stratton, where we normally ski, it was a great place to get back in the groove after 9 months off skis. The weather was overcast and mild, reaching 35 degrees by mid afternoon.

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I didn’t want to get too warm so I only wore the OUC Half Marathon technical t-shirt and Nike running tights, which were unlined, under my ski pants and ski jacket. I also discovered that Pro Compression socks make awesome ski socks!

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We did a few runs together warming up before he headed for the black diamonds and I spent the day skiing solo on the green trails. Oddly enough, I really enjoy skiing on my own. I love taking in the sights, enjoying the cold, fresh air, and focusing on practicing the skills I’ve learned during the past two years of lessons.

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Bromley randomly had really cute, wildlife cartoon signs along all the trails.

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After a day of skiing I was pretty exhausted. Therefore, since I was in charge of dinner last night, I went with the simplest thing I know how to make that always delivers: roasted chicken. I followed my normal perfect roast chicken recipe and made a salad and reheated the previous night’s roasted root vegetables while the chicken cooked.

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The chicken turned out wonderfully and both my aunt and uncle enjoyed it along with a glass of Chardonnay while watching Road to Perdition.

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This morning, since the weather looked so nice when we woke up, Uncle Randy and I headed over to Stratton Mountain, which is about 15 minutes from the house, for a morning of skiing.

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Stratton had four of their main lifts running, including the Gondola which goes all the way to the top. After doing 2 runs on the smaller, shorter greens I decided I was ready to conquer my fear and head up the gondola. Last year I did this run with Margaret a few times after 2 days of skiing. Today, I rode the gondola to the top on my own and was so excited when I stepped out. The top of the mountain was gorgeous, above the fog, and looked like a winter wonderland!

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I spent the next 2 hours doing the long green and blue runs from the top, making friends along the way with a few other skiers of a similar skill level. We would follow each other down the mountain and then chat on our way back up the gondola. It felt good to realize just how far I’ve come in two years of skiing. The beautiful sights didn’t hurt either! Check out all the snow and blue sky!

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After four great hours of skiing we headed back home for an afternoon of decorating. I hope I get to come back and see Frosty at least once more this trip. But, if the weather doesn’t allow, these 2 half days of skiing have been the perfect dose of winter to get me into the holiday spirit!

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Your turn: Are you a skier? If so do you prefer the trails that are sharp and fast or do you prefer winding your way down the mountain?

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A Beautiful Day of Skiing at Stratton Mountain

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We were blessed with a gorgeous day on the mountain yesterday! Everyone, ranging from those who spent their day on the top of the mountain enjoying moguls to me, who enjoyed a half day lesson and then a few afternoon runs on my own.

We were all out of the house by 9am, ready to take advantage of our time on the slopes! IMG_1494IMG_1493IMG_1492IMG_1495

Within minutes we had our rental gear in tow and were ready!

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Meet Debbie, my instructor for the morning!

IMG_0226I know my ability and knew that a half day lesson would be better than trying to explore the slopes on my own and fall constantly. I’ve only skied four times in my life and therefore still do not have the form and skills necessary to enjoy a day of skiing.

Debbie was the perfect instructor! She was patient, she had some great insight on my form and skills, and she made me laugh the entire time! One of her goals is to make sure that each student has an "instructional mantra" to remember while they are out on the slopes on their own.

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Even though I was limited to the lower slopes such as Tamarack, Daniel Webster, and Webster’s Way, I had a great time and perfected my form.

My mantra, by the end of the day, was "Butt, Core, Smile"

If I make sure to keep my butt lifted, core engaged, and smiling the run is 100% better! I mean really, as she said, it’s not like there is a toilet to sit down on when you’re skiing. :) The improved which she taught me yesterday meant that I’m barely sore today. A HUGE DIFFERENCE FROM LAST YEAR!

We took a quick lunch break to toast to a wonderful day on the slopes. Nothing tastes better than a cold beer mid-day!

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I spent the rest of the afternoon tending to my favorite skier. Unfortunately, he tweaked his knee on the moguls on his last run of the morning.

But, I still had time for an hour and a half on my own. It was so much fun, especially since I didn’t fall at all which meant I was nice and dry all day!

IMG_0239IMG_1524IMG_1523  Next up, making dinner for 17 people and pleasing everyone! ;)

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