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.

Breckenridge - Snowboarding Season II, Day 5

My goal for this season on my snowboard was to get down a green slope without falling. I accomplished that today. I also got down a blue slope. Actually, I only fell once and it was not a bad one onto my knees. I finally feel like I'm getting the hang of this. It was also my first time at the Breckenridge mountain. So far those slopes are my favorite. Their blue slopes are more like other mountain's greens. They are also very wide and it wasn't crowded. I was very excited at the end of the day.

I had driven up with my co-worker, Leigh, her husband Dan, their friend Patrick and Ben. Patrick and I were the only 2 on snowboards, but he was a beginner also so it worked out well. I think we both were able to improve as the day went on.

The Nutcracker

I've been thinking about going to see the Nutcracker for a couple of years now and just had not gotten around to going. I think I had caught bits and pieces of it on television around the holidays, but I never really knew the story. It was an excellent ballet; the most entertaining I've seen yet.

Prior to the show I also had a quick dinner at Nine 75. The lobster tacos were excellent.

NoRTH restaurant with Megan

Megan's suggested blog entry: "Megan and I went to a restaurant in the Cherry Creek area called North that is so cool, they spell their name like this: NoRTH. However, Megan and I were not apparently not cool since we got carded and then ended up ordering the same entree. However, it was still a blast!"

Copper Mtn - Snowboarding Season II, Day 3

I went snowboarding at Copper Mountain on Sunday with Ben, Travis and their friend Jen. It was a bit chilly. Actually it was freezing, perhaps below zero? The mountains had gotten tons of snow. It doesn't hurt to fall when there is half a foot of fresh powder to fall into. When I wasn't falling, the feeling of snowboarding over fresh powder is awesome; it's almost like you're floating.

I was able to make some progress and improve quite a bit. I still had quite a few falls. Actually Jen spent most of the day with me and when describing my falls she said I looked like a "ragdoll". That's also a good description of how I felt. The upper half of my body went one way while the lower went the other. My volleyball knee pads are working well - no more bruises! I swear I'll be an expert by the end of the season. Of course, I'd settle for making it down one run without falling. If you haven't guessed already, that's not a picture of me snowboarding - just some inspiration.

Parade of Lights

I went to Denver's Parade of Lights. It was cool to be at a parade held at night. They had local highschool marching bands; the bandmembers had lights on their uniforms and had decorated their instruments (i.e. the trumpets all put their instruments in decorated boxes and cutout holes for their hands). It actually made me miss that time in my life a little - to miss marching band? I never would have thought it. It's like the Rose Bowl Parade except instead of flowers, lights. I've said it before, this town is really into lights. They also had giant balloons. If it's a giant balloon dog - the spectators chant "spin the dog" and you can get the volunteers holding it to spin the balloon. You don't see that in the Macy's Day parade.

For dinner I went to Potager. They only use whatever vegetable are in season and organic foods. We had a squash soup, spinach salad and vegetable lasagna. It was excellent.

Christmas Decorations

I was going to wait until after the holiday season to buy some Christmas decorations on sale. Michael's was having a good sale now 40% off, so I bought a few to get in the holiday spirit. I decorated my fireplace (click on the picture to see it larger).

Random Link:
I get monthly email newsletters from GT. I found this article about the future of the world's economy interesting. http://mgt.gatech.edu/news_room/news/2005/friedmantalk/index.html

The Snowboard

I bought a snowboard, bindings and boots this weekend. I started shopping for them a couple of weeks ago. For some reason, the snowboard designers insist on making womens boards extremely girly with flowers, butterflys, etc. They even have boots designed to look like a Louis Vuitton bag. Seriously, you're covered from head to toe in layers of clothing that make you look 2x your natural size and you care if your board matches your outfit? Very silly. I think I managed to do okay with this one. A sky theme - fitting for me. Don't worry mom, I also bought a helmet.

Christmas Lights

Denver, the city as a whole, is really into Christmas Lights. Many more buildings have lights and decorations then Atlanta. The Denver City and Council Building is lit to mark the beginning of the holiday season. This tradition first started in 1935. It's the most elaborate lighting of a building I've ever seen.

This story was posted on one of the Denver news websites: "In 1914, 10-year-old David Jonathan Sturgeon lay dying, afflicted with an incurable disease. From his bedroom, young David was unable to enjoy his family's Christmas tree so he called to his father, electrician David D. Sturgeon, and begged him to light the evergreen tree outside his window so he, too, could share in the holiday season. The young boy smiled as his father dipped plain light bulbs in colored paint and strung them on the tree. People came from miles around to drive slowly past the Sturgeon home, marveling at the beautiful glistening tree. While it is impossible to say exactly when and where the first outdoor tree was lit, proud Denverites believe it started in the Mile High City with David and his father. In fact, in 1945 NBC broadcast a tribute to Denver and the Sturgeon family for originating this beautiful tradition."

Thanksgiving Day

I spent Thanksgiving with my aunts, Joan and Ellen. I had dropped off my free turkey from the hospital at Ellen's on Sunday. I baked a pecan pie for the first time. It's actually a relatively easy thing to make. It was a little bit gooier then I was hoping for but still edible. We then watched the Bronco/Cowboys football game and the movie "Scotland, PA". The movie was Macbeth set in the 1970's with a fast food restaurant instead of a castle. I've never read Macbeth, so I missed the references. The movie was a strange one, a black comedy that was shown at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.

Snowboarding - Season II, Day 1

I went snowboarding for the first time this season. I went with Kerri, Travis and Ben to Keystone. The bunny hill at the base of the mountain where I took all my lessons last season wasn't open yet. We rode the gondola to the top to the other practice hill. It was more challenging then the one at the base and just about what I needed to refresh my memory from last season. We spent the morning there. The mountains have gotten more snow then usual for this time of the season; there was great coverage. After lunch we got on a green (beginner) slope and began to head down the mountain. It took quite awhile to get down. I was doing well up until then and hadn't taken too many bad falls. Ah, but the day wouldn't be complete without just one. It's the flat sections that get me; I haven't quite figured out which edge of the board I should be on. I could have included a beautiful picture of the mountain in this entry. It was a gorgeous day - really warm with clear blue skies, but I didn't bring a camera along. Instead I'll give everyone a taste of the reality of learning to snowboard - a picture of my bruised knees. Eileen, how do ya like those hematomas? Probably should have worn the knee pads Raj lent me. Also, I should get moving with my hockey pants idea. Between my falls I also took a minute to appreciate the beautiful scenery around me and that I could spend my day learning something fun and that it's so easy to get there. In the words of a ski bum, "sweet".