Olympic Fever

I should be prepping for tomorrow's classes, but - instead - my eyes will be fixed on the TV tonight. I already know that Lindsey Von is going to do her thing on one of my favorite trails at Whistler. And I can't wait to see what Shaun White pulls out of his snowboarding helmet.

I've loved the winter Olympics for most of my life, but I wasn't always such an alpine fan. Instead, back in the days of Nancy, Tonya, Kristi, and Oksana, I was absolutely obsessed with figure skating. I knew every skater and recorded VHS after VHS full of ice skating competitions. Occasionally, my mom would join me in watching the majestic routines, and she would usually comment on Dick Button's critical commentary. I was reminded of these fond memories when I ran across this story in my headlines. Nothing is quite as effective as the Olympics at bringing out critical commentators.

Ah, well. Looks like Louie Vito is about to shred the halfpipe...

Seizing a mountain...and then some

Two of my interests are colliding: bankruptcy and snow sports.

Although I want to say that it's a good thing we took our most recent trip to Whistler when we did, the reality is that little will change in day-to-day operations in a bankruptcy of this magnitude. Still, I'm curious to see what, if any, effect this will have on the Olympics and on the rest of this snow season.

Lenders to Auction Whistler During Olympics

Whistler!

Since this week marks six months of marriage and four years of our relationship, we booked a trip to Whistler, B.C. for this past weekend. Despite rain and less than perfect snow conditions on Saturday, we had a brilliant time.

We strolled through the village, which is festively decorated in lights in anticipation of the Olympics beginning in 33 days.

We rode the Peak 2 Peak gondola, which is a bit terrifying when the fog makes it look like you're about to ride into the clouds, but which is also an extremely convenient (11-minute) way to get from one mountain to the other.

George was extremely patient as he waited for me when we rode together. He's about a million times faster and more experienced on a board than I am. For our second day on the mountain, I opted to take a lesson so that George could go and explore some of the more challenging runs while I got some instruction. Turns out, I actually look and feel like a snowboarder after a challenging lesson and lots of practice. Thanks, Marius.

We also took some time during those runs to rest our boards and enjoy the view. So beautiful!

Thanksgiving Weekend

It's been a busy month...and an especially busy Thanksgiving weekend.

On Thursday, we enjoyed this feast with our friends, Samantha and Brian, and a few of Brian's co-workers. YUM!


On Friday, I outlined all day while George ran errands and took care of things around the house.

Yesterday, we went snowboarding at Mount Baker with some diving friends, Seon, Ki, and Ricky. Although I'm paying for it with a lot of soreness today, I'm so pleased that I actually remember how to snowboard. Sorry, skis, you'll have to wait for another time.


Today, we continued our tradition of buying a fresh tree and pine wreath at Red-Wood Christmas Tree Farm. Our tree is a noble fir this year, and I've decorated the wreath with jingle bells.
There is a chill in the air. Christmas cards have been ordered. Christmas shopping is underway. Finals are just one terrifying week away. Yes, it's that time of the year for sure!

February Update

George and I have experienced a busy start to the year. We have some construction going on at our house (stay tuned for future posts), George has been working really hard, and my semester has been very busy so far.

This weekend was a great break from the hustle and bustle. We went for a boat dive on Saturday. We had been out of the water for months, so we really appreciated getting out.

Yesterday, we went to Mt. Baker with some friends for a day of snowboarding. Last weekend, Tina and I (and Tina's sister) took a boarding lesson. We were both excited to spend the day falling and being beat by the mountain. And, by the end of the day, we were both successfully turning our boards to use both edges...thanks to persistence and some tips from the experts (Jamey and George). It was a spectacularly sunny day spent with friends in the snow. Does it get any better than that?