travel Archives - Page 49 of 74 - My Healthy, Happier Life

ashleyd / February 5, 2012

Dance Party and Soul Food

What do you do after two days of skiing?

Ensure that your Northern friends are familiar with Soul food and then dance off all the calories with a 3 hour dance party.

Our Saturday dinner menu was a group effort and included suggestions from just about everyone.

Menu

Oven slow roasted baby back ribs

Pork slab collard greens

Macaroni and Cheese

Cornbread

Tomato and corn salad

You would never know that the group was sore and exhausted after two days of skiing. Everyone surrounded the kitchen island, sipped on their drink of choice, and helped make dinner a success. Even though the guys didn’t have a grill for the ribs they made great use of the oven and their rub to deliver succulent and flavorful baby back ribs.

We all crowded around the dining room table for dinner so we could enjoy the feast together.

When you get off the slopes at 4pm and you’re done with dinner by 7pm there is plenty of time for fun festivities.

Such a wonderful weekend with amazing friends. I wish that this headache didn’t have to deal with a four hour drive back to the city right now, but luckily I can collapse in the back of the Tahoe and fall asleep.

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ashleyd / February 5, 2012

Conquering Fears

Phew, what an amazing day on the mountain.

Today I finally conquered my fears of skiing down the top of the mountain. Three years ago, I let my fear of heights scare me out of skiing down the mountain, even though the run was a green and something within my ability level. That day, my fear of falling and failure caused me to stop after about 100 feet of the run and sit in the snow, in tears. My friends who had so kindly invited me up to the top to ski down with them were far ahead and had no clue that I wasn’t behind them. After thirty minutes of crying and freezing my ass off, a snow mobile picked me up and took me down the mountain.

Today, after my final morning lesson, the group asked if I wanted to join them for a run at the top of the mountain. I surprised myself when yes came out of my mouth. I’ve focused on overcoming my fear of ice, gradual declines, and hills the past two days. Today I knew what to expect on the run and how to respond.

The pressure of being with the group actually helped me as I knew that I wanted to look good while they were watching and looking good means having good form. Hearing my husband scream in elation as I passed him on the slope was the best feeling in the world

I am so happy that I pushed myself outside my comfort zone today after my lessons and spending the afternoon on the slopes, conquering greens and easy blues with Margaret, my afternoon ski partner. Skiing with Margaret was a judge free zone since we’re both at a similar ability level. We were able to give each other suggestions and tips while still laughing when we side stepped down the icy patches before finding our rhythm in the powder.

I’ve decided that my favorite time on the slopes is between 3-4pm when the sun is starting to set and casts a warm glow on the snow.

I Thank you gang for giving me the courage to try conquering this path again, three years later!

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ashleyd / February 4, 2012

Vermont

Greetings from Vermont!

Each year, Bo and I invite a number of our friend up to my family’ home in Manchester Center, Vermont. This home is my happiest place in the world. Over the years we’ve created amazing memories with our friends and family in this home. A large fireplace, inviting kitchen, space for 15 people, and a location that’s perfect in both the winter and summer.

Last night, we left New York around 7pm after Bo got off work. The drive from New York to Vermont is a simple and beautiful 3.5 hour drive. 035 We stopped for dinner about an hour into the trip and unfortunately our choices were limited to Starbucks and Roy Rogers. I made the best of it by buying their Caesar salad and adding the sandwich’s turkey, lettuce, tomato. Sure, my dinner was a bit expensive for a rest stop ($15) but it was filling and surprisingly delicious and filling. We arrived around midnight and within minutes we continued our tradition of opening the wine immediately.

By 7am the house was alive with excited skiers and the oatmeal and coffee were warm for enjoyment.

I enjoyed a warm bowl of cinnamon oats, banana, granola, and peanut butter. This, paired with a cup of coffee, was the perfect skiing fuel.

We spent the day skiing at Stratton Mountain, which is located fifteen minutes from the house.

While the snow conditions weren’t ideal, we all had a blast. There were far less crowds than last year and the sun was shining down on us all day, helping raise the temperature to a balmy 22 degrees.

Since I only ski once a year, I normally start with a half day of lesson. Luckily, Bo’s best friend, Scott, was willing to split the private lessons with me today which meant that I was able to enjoy a full day instead of a half day.

Norm and Scott were a perfect pair for a challenging day of skiing and day drinking!

As my skiing partner know, I have the ability to ski quite well, even gracefully, until I hit a steep pitch. If it intimidates me, I free and immediately want to start crying. What can I say, I’m human. But, today, I conquered my first blue run with their assistance and clearly lived to tell the story.