Resolve

I'm happy to report that 2010 was pretty damn great, so I don't have a huge overhaul plan--just more movement in the same direction.

Resolution #1: Finish all the books I've started reading.  I love reading, but evidently I'm not overly concerned with actually finishing books.  There are bookmarks tucked somewhere in the middle of about a third of the books on my shelf.  Time to get on that!  The added benefit of this?  Quiet time after working hours, not spent watching TV.  Particularly in the winter when it's dark by the time I leave my desk, it's all too easy to flip on reruns of NCIS while fixing dinner, and stay parked with Roger and my laptop until Conan comes on and I realize how late it is.  I don't like doing it, so I'm hoping to replace the habit with reading.  So far, so good--I've already finished Kevin Runolfson's The Things You Find on the Appalachian Trail and Raymond Chandler's The High Window.

Resolution #2: Continue to build Gray Dog Media.  I read an article on budgeting that recommends a 50/30/20 designation of your income: 50% needs, 30% wants, 20% savings.  Saying I'm not at that point is a gross understatement.  It's more like 90/7/3.  I'm hoping to save enough to buy a new car this year, so that savings portion needs a serious boost!

In a move that will hopefully support the 50/30/20 madness, I'm officially making my second bedroom into my home office!  After several years of playing landlord, I've decided to take the leap.  My current tenant moves out this week, and I'll be excitedly setting up my office this weekend!

Resolution #3: Achieve a higher level of physical fitness.  In 2009, I underwent and recovered from ACL surgery.  Partly due to the fact that I was unable to ski for the '09-'10 season, last winter I gained weight.  In 2010, I lost the weight and then some.  This winter I'm returning to Bolton to coach the Mini Racers program on Saturday mornings.  I'm back at Long Trail Physical Therapy twice a week to work on some scar tissue issues, and get my left leg strength back to 100%.  Going for a well-rounded winter, we're planning a hut trip to Bolton's Bryant Cabin in February, and I'm thinking of getting myself a pair of snowshoes so Roger and I can get out and enjoy the snow on my non-skiing days.

Overall, I resolve that 2011 will be my best year ever.

Heat Wave

There's no denying it, it's HOT! My normally cool-as-a-cucumber Burlington set a new record high of 95 degrees for today's date. Roger has taken to napping on ice packs, and he refused to leave the house all afternoon. Y'know what this heat wave is making me dream about?

HUTSGIVING.

Just think of whooshing over all that icy Colorado snow as we ski out to the Section House, Thanksgiving dinner and birthday treats safely tucked in our packs, all smiles and chilly, rosy cheeks.

Only four months to go :)

Colorado Surprise!

Now a month after the fact, I'm finally going to tell you about my trip to Colorado!

Back in November, my sister Meghan's friend in Colorado set up a surprise 30th birthday party for Meg to take place in April - including surprise guests! Meg's best friend Jen, our mom, and I went out to Breckenridge, CO for an overnight hut trip with Meg and her friends. It was totally awesome! The "hut" we stayed in, the Continental Divide Cabin, is a beautiful log cabin that sleeps eight with one large main room, two smaller separate bedrooms, a wide sunny front deck, and a covered porch to walk to the outhouse. I'm just glad we were able to keep it a secret - I'm notoriously bad at keeping exciting secrets!

We drove 2hrs to Leadville, then snowshoed and skied out about 0.8mi to the hut, and even those of us accustomed to sea level did pretty damn well! The temperature inside the hut was about 40deg when we arrived, but after a few hours with the wood stove, it was over 70. Those ladies don't mess around - the party theme was "ugly bathing suits" (summer version of ugly sweater) and everyone was dressed to impress.

Rowdy games of Taboo, dinner from the grill, ice cream from snow, and plenty of wine made for a totally awesome evening. The next morning was pancakes and a snowshoe expedition on the trails around the hut. It snowed the whole first day and night, so there was plenty of fresh snow to play in.

I had SO much fun, I decided that I need to do it again. But my 30th is still several years away. Then I realized this year is my golden birthday - I'm turning 27 on the 27th of November! Thanksgiving in a hut? Yes please!! The dates we want are open for reservation on June 1st, so I've been doing my best to recruit my party guests. Yeah, a destination birthday party is a lot to ask for, but it's going to be a totally awesome time. Right now we are considering the Section House, which is a much farther ski, but the trailhead is right in Breckenridge, and we'll stay two nights instead of one. And c'mon - Thanksgiving in a hut!!

Post-op Play-by-play

It's been a long time since I've updated! Here's the short version:

•My ACL reconstructive surgery on April 10th went smoothly, complete with lovely pain meds. Thanks to a "nerve block," I had almost no pain for that first day! Being prepped for and then rolled into surgery was scary, but then all of a sudden I was in the recovery room with my parents, so then everything was okay.

•The Roger Walkers were wonderful, appearing each morning and evening to take the often less-than-willing Little Sir for his walk. As time went on, he got worse at letting others take him out, but they didn't give up! Thank you all very, very much.

•The pain was well-controlled with pain meds, but no one had warned me about the boredom! I watched lots of movies, did a whole book of crossword puzzles, and the days blurred into each other. Barely being able to get around my apartment - or even shower - took its toll.

•Ten days out, I had my first post-op appointment to remove the staples and open the brace - hooray!!
(Also, whoever decided that comparing the staple removal to "bee stings" would be comforting should be stung by 12 bees in a row).

Since then, I've been going to physical therapy three times a week at Long Trail PT, working hard to regain my range of motion. It's been very slow and painful, and each additional degree of flexion is a victory. Keith, my PT, is awesome and I adore his energy and encouragement.

I'm a little behind where I should be in regaining my range of motion, but Keith keeps telling me that by the 6-month mark everyone is at the same place. Up to 78 degrees so far! The type of reconstruction I got (tibial ligament) is said to be the most traumatic in terms of recovery, but the strongest in the long run. At this stage, I can certainly attest to that first part!

At this point I can drive short distances, walk Roger short distances unassisted, and walk as far as Speeder's on Pine aided by brace and one crutch. I'm greatly looking forward to summer fun as my mobility increases. Next weekend's Field Day will be a spectator event for me, but hopefully I'll be back in action before too much of this nice weather passes me by!

Just a little post...

to keep you all posted.

After losing my job at the end of January, I was spending 3-4 days a week teaching at Bolton Valley. I continued skiing with the office team I put together for the corporate race league every Thursday night, and had a great time doing so. Um, until that last one...

Sports fans, I blew out my ACL.

It was my second run of the night, I was on my new skis. The whole team had been putting up great times, and we were all in a rowdy mood. Racing against VTKiwi, I slipped out of a gate and over-corrected...then over-corrected again, and before I knew it, I blew out of the course. As I was falling, I could feel the twist, and knew it wasn't going to be pretty. I got my first-ever ride in the ski patrol sled, after which we decided it was actually only a sprain. Hooray!! I took my baggie of snow (icepack) and happily walked to the bar with my team.

The next morning, I could barely move it or put weight on it. Not cool. Went to my doctor, they got me right in for an MRI at FAHC. That afternoon I had the results: ruptured ACL, bone bruise, and pulled LCL. I met with the surgeon the following Monday morning, and he basically told me if I ever want to be a skier again, I have to get the surgery.

So that's that. I have a month of PT, which I affectionately refer to as my 'Jane Fondas.' After that I'm meeting with the surgeon again to schedule the surgery.

Roger was SO patient with me when I was still in a brace and on crutches. He quickly figured out that we now take stairs one at a time instead of all in a mad dash. One morning on a walk, he saw a squirrel, tensed up to chase it, but then looked back at me, and kept walking. Seriously, he's smarter and more compassionate than some people I know.

So now, 11 days later, I'm doing great - I'm mobile, working on regaining full range of motion. It's my left leg, so I can still drive, and I'm off the crutches. Once I have the surgery though, I'm going to take you all up on the offers to walk Roger or pick up groceries!!

GOTTA love race league!

So, it's true I've been dreadfully ill all week, but if there's one thing I'll rally for, it's race league! Despite the fact that it was raining here in town, we had been promised snow on the hill, so we piled into Kate's car, and headed over to Bolton.

It continued to rain the whole drive there, only switching to snow once we started climbing the 4.5mi access road. The higher we got, the more the snow had built up. By the time we hit the S-curve, it was pretty messy! We lost too much speed to make it up the steep, and ended up parking the car just below it in a pull-off, and thumbing a ride up the hill.

Now, I don't make a habit of hitchhiking in general, but on several occasions I've ditched my Focus and hopped into the back of a pickup to successfully commute up the Bolton access road to make it in time for work. In my experience, it doesn't take that long - usually after just a few minutes of walking with my thumb out, I'm rewarded with a ride. And the same is true on race night - even with three of us and our equipment!

Racing was about as fun as the drive - with just a little more pain. It wasn't cold, but the snow was...sharp? You couldn't face down the hill without it stinging your face, which made racing pretty tricky! There were no lines though, and everyone was riding the same ruts so I think we held our own pretty well.

After we all got our two runs in, we headed to the James Moore Tavern for a beer before heading home. Unfortunately, there was an accident at the base of the access road, so the plow couldn't get up, so none of us could get down! Oh no, we're all stuck at the bar!!

Luckily, there was still the race league raffle to keep us entertained! Would you believe the three members of our team who were NOT there were all drawn? I wouldn't make that up. Only one Disrupter, Michelle, managed to bank a prize, now we have some team wax! Oh, and there was that time we sent Sean up on accident...

Finally the access road was opened up, and the guys drove us down to Kate's car. As soon as they pulled away though, her car got lodged in the snowbank! Right about that time, the driver of the vehicle parked next to ours arrived, and easily pushed us out and on our way! Thanks to the rainy/snowy mix, it was a pretty long trip down the hill and back to Burly, bringing to an end another wonderful race night!

And now, nothing left to do but await the posting of the official results!

RACE DAY!!

Heyyyyyyyy, DISRUPTERS!!

Are we ready for the big night?!? First race of the season, FINALLY!!

So the season is off to a rough start - first week postponed due to temps so low your eyeballs would freeze. Now we've got Bookless partying in Vegas this week, and Ebbets out with what hopefully won't be a season-ending knee injury. At least I know Prunty and Flanagan have their game faces on, they were over last night to sharpen and wax their boards. I believe Ayer is going to tune his skis AT his office today, how's that for committment?!

You are all officially invited to come cheer us on at Bolton Valley and whoop it up afterward at the James Moore Tavern every Thursday night! Lift tickets are only $15 when purchased with a racer, so drop me a line. I believe we'll be posting results in the KSV Kitchen, for you uberlocals, and results are posted online on the Bolton Valley site - and I'll most likely be splashing them all over the blog, as well.

2009: Things I'm Looking Forward To

It started as a numbered list, but these aren't really the type of thing one can easily rank.

• -The inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama.
• -KSV's Corporate Race League team, The Disrupters!
  
• -Tulip season, expanding my vegetable and flower gardens
• -Warm weather run-arounding with Roger
• -Camping, hiking, cliff-jumping w/ Roger and the boys
• -Feminist meet-ups
  
• -Home improvement projects - painting and stenciling my bedroom!
  

My new arrivals

Awww, everyone loves a new baby!

Their first night in their new home!!

Snow dreams...

So! I think these are the skis I'm going to get, the K2 Lotta Luv. A size down from the biggest, Phat Luv, one up from Burnin' Luv. Should be good to rip it on the hard pack here in the east, as well as float the powder out west!! Just have to track down a proform and order them through the Alpine Shop. And I'm gonna use my entire tax refund to buy them. Hottttt.