Lose Yourself

Sometimes it is good to let go of who you think you are. I am an overweight, out-of-shape middle-aged woman. But I don't always have to act that way!

Last year I blogged about going to ski for the first time. At the time I had just turned 42 and weighed about 180. I wasn't in great shape, but I was doing pretty good. I was excited to try skiing. I took a class, and got a few good runs on some green (easy) slopes. I was feeling great. Then I took a wrong turn, ended up on a harder slope and totally freaked myself out. I just couldn't get past my fear. I went up a few more times, but was pretty much petrified.

This January we went on a skiing weekend with some friends again. Now I am 43, have gained about 25lbs from last year, and not in shape at all! We had a great weekend. But I only skiied one day, and was still somewhat scared. I had fun - but was VERY stiff. I pretty much locked my legs in position and was thrilled when I made it down the mountain in one piece. I paid for it with very achy legs. But the girls had made some progress in skiing and we didn't want to let it go.

So on Sunday we went to a local mountain to ski. DH had hurt his leg playing softball, and didn't ski. Some great friends offered to help me with the girls (one of which had never been on the ski lift, and we weren't sure how she could ski). We had a BLAST! And I got my skiing mojo back. I decided to pretend I was in shape and could ski just as good as anyone else out there. And I had fun. I still only went on easy trails, but was not petrified. We even went on a very easy blue (medium) trail. And I had a good time. I never fell down. I felt like I could actually do it! We are actually trying to see if we can fit one more day in skiing this season!

It felt like a bit of an epiphany for me. Just because I am a middle-aged, fat, out of shape woman, doesn't mean I have to act like it! If I believe in myself, I can achieve - and have FUN doing it!

Couldn't have had a nicer weekend!

Killing Time

3 snowy days =

lots of fuse beads (occupied the girls for nearly 3 hours!!)
TONS of cookies for the bake sale that is hopefully still this week
Spin Art
Make and explode a volcano
roller paints
sparkly marshmallows
melted candy cane hearts


hmmm...more days to come (tomorrow for sure) - what next?

Mind Over Matter

I have blogged previously about the amazing connection (for me) to running and mental exercise. I didn't start running until age 40. I did it for about 18 months. But I HATED it ever second I did it. Really. Some people talk about a runners high, or getting out there and getting some personal time. Not so much for me. I spent every minute of it wanting to stop. So for me, running was almost completely mental. Convincing myself not to stop to keep on going. stay tuned - I may try it again, but several people have told me that if I didn't like it after doing it 3+ times a week for 18 months, I probably never will.

When I went skiing for the first time a few weeks ago, I found there was a similar dynamic. But instead of hating it - it was getting over FEAR. Fear of falling, fear of sliding out of control, fear of careening off the edge of the mountain. During the lesson, I gained some confidence. This increased as I skied down the bunny hill, and made it though the easiest of the green trails. (see below video when I was feeling GOOD). Then I got cocky and went by myself down a different green trail that merged with a blue trail. Well, I did it wrong and ended up on the top of a big drop that lead from the blue trail to the green. And I got petrified. It was a big incline, and I didn't see how I could do it without falling off the edge of the mountain at the bottom. So I sort of scooted down on my butt (with 10 year-olds on snow boards shushing all around me). Then I had blown any confidence I had and was terrified the rest of the trip down. I barely made it through the rest of the trail (some more scooting involved). Then I decided to go back up and do my "good" trail again. Unfortunately my loss of confidence was now joined by my physical tiring and it just wasn't fun anymore. My legs didn't want to cooperate, and I struggled my way down.

It was so interesting to see how much my mental frame of mind went into this. It was so must less enjoyable when I let the fear in. Interesting. I will definitely try skiing again, and hope to enjoy the confidence I had here:


Don't I look like Suzie Chapstick?

also LOVE this skiing humor!

Best Hot Chocolate Ever

So with the cold weather, hot chocolate is a must. To make a proper cup of hot chocolate you need 3 things - milk (NEVER make hot chocolate with water. ick. Always use warm milk - or half & half - or cream if you must, but never water); cocoa powder, and Bailey. The variety of Bailey's is up to you - I prefer caramel Baileys - but original or mint work well too. Heat milk, pour over cocoa, add Baileys. YUMMMMMMMMMM! That says winter to me!

Blizzard-apalooza

So the DC area got hit by something like 16 inches of snow - a record for December and very unusual. The two plows did the best they could, but we still have lots of snow. The kids enjoyed sledding, although making a snowman proved difficult as this was the powdery kind of snow, and not the mushy kind. Hopefully we will make one tomorrow, as school is closed. They better have school Tues and Wed as I have LOTS of wrapping and such to do that I cannot do when they are home!!!