Leap Day Resolutions

I am not the kind of person who can handle New Year's Resolutions. There are many reasons I avoid them. One, failure. Typically I am traveling around that time of year so any attempt at making some sort of statement of what I am going to do with my life becomes an instant failure as I will never get it done while I am on VACATION! Two, everyone does them and I don't want to be cliche. Have you ever gone to the gym New Year's week or the entire month of January. There are people there you have never seen before and won't see again after February 1st. Three, I think you can choose to change your habits any old day you want. You can start a "clean slate" every morning if you like, so why glob it all up on just one particular day that one particular calendar says is "new."

Of course, all of this got me thinking. With all the changes in my life there are a few things I would like to make a pact to do differently, not least of which is to start keeping up with my blog again. Here I was staring at this day that only happens once every four years. Now there's a day that is special, truly unique and a great time to lay on the line a few of the things I would like to do differently this year. What better way than to start with my long abandoned blog. (In my defense, Carrie Currie pointed out to me that I had a pretty good excuse as to falling behind on things given that since July I have not been in my "home" for more than 10 days in a stretch.) But enough! Enough with the procrastination and excuse making. It is time to seize the day and stick to a plan. I don't have kids, so I don't have an excuse.

Resolutions:
1. Read a new book every week. This comes from the simple fact that I write better when I am reading. In addition, it actually inspires me to get other things done and now that I have my handy dandy iPad I really have no excuse not to. I did start this resolution early with the Hunger Games series and then a horrible little book that somehow drew me in at the end. I still can't decide whether I liked it or not, but you can read it for yourself if you want to suffer too. "Bumped" is the title.

2. Stick with my blog. This means at least a once a week post about something. There is enough that happens, I must have something to say, right!?

3. Finish my projects. Now this is a long list and I think I need to tackle it monthly. One project a month until they are done. Many of you are going to laugh, but my March project is going to be to finish the wedding album I have started, separated and worked on a million times yet still have not finished and/or ordered. Lisa was married a month after me and with her OCD surely had hers done within a week after the honeymoon and she managed to make a person already. So...no more excuses there. Happy due date Lisa!

4. Get back into my Yoga kick. Not that any of you care about this, but I promise you, the size of my butt does! I have chosen a profession that keeps me planted firmly on my ass far too much which means I need to make an effort to get up and move. I realized this year how much I miss working at Sea World and running around all day. Man, that was fun.

5. Travel more...not just to see family but forcing my husband out of his comfort zone and going places. The truth is, he does like to travel, it is just the nagging work thing that keeps him stressed. Well we are going to be perma-travelers now for work, so I intend to extend that experience.

I think 5 things is enough. I reserve the right to revise and rework my list as necessary. Okay...let's see how this goes. The image is only to showcase that today was apparently the beginning of winter for Mammoth, so if snow can choose a new beginning so can I! :)

Barbados, Monkeys and Moving....

So, my jumping back on the horse did not work exactly as planned. In my defense I ended up on a last minute trip to Barbados limiting my computer time and leaving me feeling inspired yet unable to log in, a tragedy, really, I swear. We swam, played in the water, fed fish and monkeys, pet turtles and in general just relaxed. My sister and I cleaned up at poker, her because she kept getting major cards on the River, me because I lucked out and called my brother on his many, many bluffs. But after a week of wonderful vacation time, reality came crashing down prior to leaving the adorable little island.

My family and I spent all day in the airport to have the powers that be FINALLY cancel the flight and a mere 24 hours later I made it home. While we waited I temporarily thought I had been transported to a psych hospital as one lady had a full on melt down complete with screaming as though the entire world was conspiring against her to keep her from getting back to the States. I would have felt a little bad about it but right before the announcement was made she had confessed she had missed her flight the day previous due to getting to the airport late, thereby her being stuck with us was more her own doing than anything else. After speeding through the maze of the Miami airport, breezing through customs after wisely avoiding the lady who chose to go into the US Passports only line when she clearly had a passport from another country (it was red not blue), and making it back through security and to my gate as they were boarding section 2. Bottom line, I made it home.

I was happy to be back in order to catch up with all the goings ons of my husband while I had been away. Within minutes of reuniting he got the phone call we have been waiting for. A job offer that does not require us moving clear across the country. Very exciting.

Being a girl, we are used to are varying emotions. My first emotion was excitement. A little sadness because while I didn't want to move across the country, I did love the idea of spending some quality time with the fam, but not sure that is worth uprooting our lives twice in two years. I quickly jumped on the Mammoth/Tahoe/Carson bandwagon and started thinking about all the things that needed to be done. Suddenly the move was reality, not just an abstract idea as it had been for the past few months. Within minutes I was in tears. Chris stood there looking utterly baffled. He was stressed about moving but experiencing so much relief from staying on the left coast that as far as he was concerned there was absolutely noting to be sad about. I, on the other hand, was experiencing the 'we are really doing this and I am leaving all my friends behind' moment.

I am a logical person. I know this response makes zero sense given the fact we will be a short drive or flight away versus living all the way in Tampa. I was going to leave the same people if I had to move there. Chris did his best to comfort me but could not shake the confusion. He went straight to the "solve the problem" mode, which entails asking such ludicrous questions such as "should we not move?" "do you want me to turn down the job?" and "why are you crying?" We made it quickly past the tears phase and into the acceptance phase. My rational head returned and I was able to see all the positives. The happy reasons this is all a great thing, including getting to ski all winter, hike, bike and camp again and most of all, with my new plan, save a little money for a year or so. That's a whole other conversation....

Too Windy for Fun...boo hiss!

I am beginning to think Chris and I might be some sort of wind gods or something. If only we could truly learn to harness the power, we could use it for good instead of for evil. We made it up to Mammoth, finally, since the wedding the last great wind storm of 2010. The purpose of the trip was to pick up our ski passes and maybe take advantage of some of the early snow. Instead we seemed to attract tornado like wind the scope of which made the lift terrifying and snowboarding impossible.

Plenty of beautiful snow was falling but due to the windy conditions Chris wanted to wait a few days. I couldn't blame him, he gets cold easily and no one wants to have their face snowblasted...it hurts.

It seemed a little windy in the morning but no big deal. Now, I have lived in and been going to Mammoth since 1996 and I can say I have never experienced a wind like this one. We arrive at chair 2 excited and ready to go. I am excited, Chris is freezing. But he's being a trooper and we head to the lift line. We suffer our way through as it is even pretty windy at the base. Finally on the lift we are trying to stay warm as the lift stops part way up the hill. The wind is blowing us practically sideways. Now, not only does this cut through our clothing making us as cold as ice cubes but also it is swinging the chair in a way that even frightens me. I love heights, climb to the top of everything and here I was suddenly feeling that the wind from our wedding day was nothing and I was about to fall off a chair dangling 50 feet in the air. Our wedding was gorgeous, but it was so windy I ripped my veil off my head in the middle of the ceremony. I had kind of forgotten it until I saw the DVD of the wedding. Now I begin thinking of how to use the wind to my advantage. Of course my mind goes to the idea that as long as I stayed pointing downhill and landed on my board I could probably navigate my way down. My snowboard could act a bit as a sail floating me to the snow. That thought only lasts for a second before I realize my knees would probably blow out the moment I hit the bullet proof snow below me and I am likely to be unable to move, this isn't a sail attached to my feet but a lead weight, duh! At least we have our helmets on, oh wait, no, I have my helmet on, my husband thinks they are unnecessary. Has his life insurance kicked in yet?

We make it safely to the top, where when we stand the wind pretty much makes us stand still. We push our way to the slope and manage to feel our way down despite being able to see pretty much nothing. Needless to say, a single run, that was all we managed, and it was back to the warmth and safety of the house. Hopefully our next trip will be more successful. Maybe I should try and wish the wind elsewhere? Are there any good books on how to control your wind magnetism? Right now I am just looking into the costs of a wind farm...maybe we can buy some cheap land in Mojave.