a year and a month later

Our one year anniversary came and went and until now I've neglected to make any record of it in writing. To celebrate our inaugural year of matrimony, Col and I had decided that we wanted to try and recreate our wedding weekend in Stowe.

It was a frigid weekend, starting in the single digits, then plunging even colder. First, we nutcrackers decided we would go snowboarding. Brrrr! After two runs in the chilling temps and feeling stiff on icy terrain, we thought the Trapp's outdoor hot tub sounded much more appealing. So we left the mountain and drove over to Trapp to check in.

The views from that hilltop never cease to give me pause. And having had been to Austria just a couple months prior, I remarked to Col, "It really does look like Little Austria up here."

The folks at Trapp had left a bottle of bubbly in our room for us with a card welcoming us back. We popped it open and enjoyed a glass while we looked through a book of our wedding weekend that I'd made for Col as an anniversary gift.

After totally reminiscing about that magical day, we went to the hot tub to soak in some steam while contemplating the view of the frosty green mountains.

Later that night... dinner at the Lodge. In symbolic reference, I wore my white felted wedding shrug and my green suede wedding shoes. We ordered a bottle of our favorite wine Morgan, which we had special ordered to serve at the wedding and which was now magically on the wine list. We enjoyed a rich, satisfying feast and finished with our cake topper, which had been made fresh for us as a one-year gift from Trapp. Chocolate and vanilla speckle cake with maple cream filling and maple cream cheese frosting. Oh my! I especially liked that they had recreated a miniature version of the snowflakes as well.

Next morning was even colder if you can believe it. Too cold to ride. Lucky for us, Colin's parents had ordered us up some morning massages. I can't remember the last time I was that relaxed. I was in a quiet, reflective stupor for the rest of the day.

oooh, bébé!

My sister has been pregnant for the last 9 months, so it should go without saying that eventually she would have a baby. But for some reason, it just didn't really register to me this time. The due date came and went; and we just kept going about our normal business. We went snowshoeing together, we went out to eat, we got sister pedicures.

A week after her due date, I was getting off the chair lift with a couple of friends when I got a text from Emi: she seemed to think the baby might be coming soon... the next thing I know, I'm back at home later that night watching Lady Gaga hatch out of an egg on T.V. and we get the call, "it's a boy!" A boy?! And he's here?! Oh my goodness! And it was Emi on the phone; she had just barely given birth and sounding amazingly well. The babe's name is Theodore Laurence and, in honor of his Spanish and Italian heritage, they're calling him Teo (pronounced tayo; the Spanish/Italian nickname for Theodore).

I've met him three times now and I think I can say with surety that, for one, he is real and he is here and secondly, that I know we will be great friends. Welcome baby!

in the woods

It's official. I'm a snowboarder. And the other officialness is this: (Mummy, Joan, please avert your eyes) today I rode the Butt Crack. That's right, the Butt Crack.

Up until now, I've been all about the powder, the little jumps here and there. I'm not about the speed. I just like to play in the snow. That's what I like to do.

It all started a few weeks ago, when Col and I met up with Taylor one day snowboarding and the two of them convinced me to go in the woods. They picked out a trail that was totally mellow and nice and flat. They let me take my time. I was scared. The turns are faster and tighter, but I couldn't believe how much snow was in there. All that powder!

A couple of weeks later, Mark and Kathleen came up for the weekend. We all decided it would be a good idea to do that woods run again. It was a good idea. It was fun and Kathleen couldn't get enough of it.

So as of today, I had only been in that one part of the woods a few times. But I hadn't been in any other woods. I just didn't feel ready. Col and I had a really fun morning riding around all over, meeting up with friends, grabbing powder wherever we could find it. Then we went inside for a warm up and in the middle of stuffing his face with samples of Cabot Cheddar cheese, Col said to me, "I think you'd really like Butt Crack."

I said, "I will do it if you really think I will like it, but the thought of it really scares me." So he suggested we take a trial run in some steeper woods. It went well and after that, he said, "I think we should do it."

"Who named it the Butt Crack?" I asked. "And why is it called Butt Crack?"

"I dunno, some old schoolers, probably. It's called Butt Crack because the shape of it is like a gully and you can snowboard up and down the sides of it. You'll love it."

I was intrigued. And well, as I mentioned before, we did it. It was awesome. We were the only two people there the whole time and I did pretty well for a first-timer. At the bottom, we arrived at a little stream, which we had to jump over to get back to the main road. I suggested we take some photos as proof. So here's the proof. I can't wait to go back to the Crack :-)

I'm different than I was

I realize that I've changed. I'm different now than I was 10 years ago, 5 years ago, even 1 year ago. Some of the change is represented by tangible things. Things I can measure and say, "Well 10 years ago, I would have done X, but now I do Y." These have to do with the way I spend money, the way I spend time, the things I yearn for, the way I prioritize my social life. Stuff like that.

But there are other ways I've changed that I can't quite put my finger on. There's a deep pit in my belly that tells me, "things are different now" and "I'm different now."

And then every once in a while, the pit deep in my belly will say to me, "I think you're in the middle of changing RIGHT NOW," and I'll feel butterflies down there in the pit and I'll feel sad and nostalgic for a bit. And then I'll feel excited, because whenever things change, after the sadness, there is newness.

more snow

Finally, a good snow storm in Burlington. Make that two. One on Wednesday and one last night. The storm last night happened in a matter of a couple of hours. It was absolutely dumping. Emi and I went snowshoeing out on the golf course (the snow was blowing sideways!).  Then Hannah and Richard and Isaac came over and we all had family night dinner (sans Col who was en route to Germany for work). Kev made us barbecued ribs. And Hannah and Richard made the most amazing ice cream sundaes with warm stroopwafel cookies and strawberry sauce.

During our meal, it was thundering and lightening AND snowing! By the time dinner was over, the roads were a mess, but I was determined to drive home. I dropped Isaac off at his place, made it all the way to my driveway and then proceeded to firmly stick my car into a snowbank with my car protruding out in the middle of the road. Scary! Dangerous!

But by good fortune and because I live downtown and it was Saturday night and there were tons of people walking about, going to parties, enjoying the snow, I was able to get some help within seconds. It look three groups of people banding together and a person with a shovel to dig/push me out. But finally they did it!

I couldn't get in my driveway and I couldn't park on the street cause of the parking ban, so I waved them all a thank you goodbye and, with hands still shaking from the traumatic experience, drove back to Emi and Kevin's to park my car. Hannah and Richard were still there. The three of us walked home together.

The weather got rough during our walk. By the time we got to my place, it was after midnight and we were totally covered with icy chunks of snow. I could not wait to cozy up with the kitties and go to sleep.

Next morning, I woke up super-early and Kev and I drove to the mountain for some fresh powder. The conditions were amazing. We rode and skied hard all morning. We discovered new hidden trails I've never been on before. It was great to spend some quality time with my bro-in-law.

Later in the day... I met up with my two amazing sisters for a due-date pedicure. That's right, it's Emi's due date today! But she's still as preggers as ever. Which means that we sisters can keep on bonding and hanging before bk2 comes along. Wonder when that will be...

relishing winter

I'm back from my little sojourn of the mind. January was mostly spent, if not burning retinas behind a computer screen at work, then burning brain cells in front of Seinfeld. I have no guilt. I put so much pressure on myself all of the time, I made a conscious decision not to do so after the holidays.

Lately on weekends, I've been, not vacuuming or grocery shopping or doing other mundane chores. I've been at the mountain snowboarding with Col, with friends. Having fun, enjoying winter, enjoying life.

Ah January. This time last year, we were resting our weary bods under a Kauaian sun. Now... we relish the fresh snow.