Beaver Creek and Martini Ranch

I went snowboarding at Beaver Creek on Saturday. Beaver Creek is just past Vail and the furthest resort on my 5 mountain ski pass. They had gotten a couple of inches of snow. I went down some blue slopes (intermediate) and over some moguls on accident (not the ones in the pic). When there's a lot of powder I'm not as afraid because it doesn't hurt to fall. It feels like falling into a pile of leaves. Here's a picture of one of Beaver Creek's runs (I didn't take it). Also, Beaver Creek is the only resort that hands out warm chocolate chip cookies at the end of the day. Yum! After sitting in a few hours of traffic, I had dinner at Cheesecake Factory and then headed to Martini Ranch to celebrate a friend of a friend's birthday. I tried their chocolate martini, but so far P.F. Chang's has the best.

Painting

I finally finished the painting for my bathroom re-decoration. I could re-work it forever; I usually end up getting frustrated and just calling it finished. So it's done.

Running and Narnia

I started my Sunday morning with a run up in Boulder at 9am. It was a bit chilly - around 23 degrees. The last time I remember running when it was that cold was for the Atlanta Half-marathon when it was near 32. Somehow 23 didn't really feel that cold to me. Perhaps from all the snowboarding I'm getting used to it? The run happens every week with the Boulder Road Runners. They meet in a bank parking lot. I thought due to the cold that many people wouldn't show up; I was surprised to see close to a hundred. The group is all different levels of runners. It was good to get out running again.
I then went to see the movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Surprisingly, I had not read the books as a kid. It was a great movie and reminded me somewhat of a cross between Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings.

Snowboarding Lesson

After my difficulties snowboarding a couple of weeks ago at Vail I figured it was time for a lesson. I took one at Keystone on Saturday. They are expensive $75 for 2.5 hours but valuable to break some bad habits. The instructor adjusted my bindings to force me to bend my legs more. I also learned the correct position for my arms and why I was probably falling down so much on the flat sections of Vail.

Great Northern Tavern

I've been wanting to try the Great Northern Tavern restaurant near my apartment for some time now. I went there on Friday. I had the lobster potstickers as an appetizer, the soup special and the rotisserie chicken. I also had a chocolate martini - I believe it's now my favorite drink.

Utensils

I finally bought some utensils to replace the temporary set my mom had given me. I got tired of having 10 spoons but only 3 forks. Originally I was going to shop around and find the best deal and a pattern I really liked. After as many months as I lived here, I decided that wasn't going to happen and I mine as well go ahead and get something already. I'm happy with my choice. I got them 1/2 off at TJ Maxx. I got service for 8 of the Lenox Butler's Pantry Gourmet.

Finally used the pan!

I finally used the stir fry pan I got for my birthday from my mom for a real recipe! I made the almond chicken we saw and tasted at the cooking demonstration. It's a simple stir-fry dish that turned out rather well: red and green peppers, water chesnuts, bamboo shoots, chicken and almonds.

Vail and Beaver Creek

I went snowboarding this past weekend at Vail on Saturday and Beaver Creek on Sunday. I liked how Vail didn't have just one main area that everyone skied down. Even the green beginner slopes had some trees to go around. I got a little frustrated going between slopes though. Most of them were connected by roads. The roads are narrow, not very steep and iced over. It's difficult to get down a slope like that on a snowboard. I haven't mastered going slow and always being on the correct edge of the board. After falling quite a few times I was ready to call it a day. Here's a pic from the slopes at Vail.

Barolo Grill

I got the Gabby Gourmet Restaurant Guide for Christmas. It's an excellent guide for restaurants in Denver. The highest rating is "Flawless and Fabulous". The Barolo Grill had gotten this rating. I started my meal there with breadsticks (the kind that are skinny and you can keep in a cup, similar to tapas restaurants) and a hummus dip. The service was excellent. I thought the food was good but not incredibly better than some other places I've eaten that haven't been rated so high. I would try the restaurant again because perhaps we didn't order things of the menu that are their specialites.

The Holidays

I headed back to Atlanta for the holidays. We went to the Georgia Aquarium on Christmas Day. One of the founders of Home Depot donated $200 million to build it. They did a good job - it definitely has a Disney feel to it. Our favorite were the sea otters. Here's a pic of the fam minus Dad (taking the picture) and plus Noah, who came with Suzanne from NY.

I flew back to Denver for New Year's. I was hoping to spend it in a cabin in Breckenridge; unfortunately I got a stomach virus on Friday night and was just lying around on my couch on New Years. I'm blaming the 9-yr old I was sitting next to on the plane back to Denver. I did make it up to Breckenridge on Sunday. Here's a pic of a dog I saw in Breckenridge. I thought he looked a little like Winnie - nice coat.