Sundance Film Festival

Sundance Film Festival is a little shindig put together by Robert Redford that you may have heard of. It happens every January in Park City so, since I live here, I figured I'd check it out!

While I can't say I was the best Sundancer ever, I did make it to one premiere. I waitlisted (didn't actually buy any tickets despite signing up for the locals pre-sale) with my friend Julia and we made it into A.C.O.D., a comedy about adult children of divorce starring Adam Scott (from Parks and Recreation), Amy Poehler, Richard Jenkins, Catherine O'Hara and Jessica Alba. It was hilarious!! I highly recommend seeing it if it gets a wide release! To make things even better, I got to sit in the front row during the premiere...about three seats away from Jessica Alba!

 

Unfortunately, I got sick the second weekend of Sundance (and the first weekend was half-marathon/Las Vegas weekend), so I wasn't able to experience much of the nightlife. But, hey, that gives me something to look forward to next year!

30 Questions: Love Language

What is your love language?

I don't know the first thing about love languages! So, I took a quiz and it tells me my love language is "Quality Time."

"In Quality Time, nothing says 'I love you' like full, undivided attention. Being there for this type of person is critical, but really being there—with the TV off, fork and knife down, and all chores and tasks on standby—makes you feel truly special and loved. Distractions, postponed activities, or the failure to listen can be especially hurtful."

Seems about right to me! There are few things that upset me more than people flaking out on plans that I've been looking forward to. I like to think I'm dependable and wouldn't do that to other people, so I'd really prefer if it was the same in return! 

30 Questions: My Body

What is your favorite part of your body and why?

My eyes!

I've always loved my eyes. It took me a few years to accept an eye color that doesn't quite fall into the existing color categories (I wore blue colored contacts in high school because I didn't like people asking me what color my eyes were), but regardless of their color, I've always loved them.

Sometimes they're very blue. Sometimes they're very green. Most of the time, they're kind of an icy mint-blue shade. My friend Katrina once referred to my eye color as the color of Siberian husky eyes. 

Here's a few samples of my varying eyes for you...

Minty blue-grey (I know...super flattering picture!)

Blue

Green

Dark greenish blue

Minty

30 Questions: Popular

What popular notion do you think the world has most wrong?

I'm not 100% sure that most of the world has this wrong...but I'm going to go with the notion that different is bad. 

I think different is amazing.

People who dare to think differently are the ones who change the world. Without differences in opinion and background, we would never see any sort of change. Difference makes the world go round.

"There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" - RFK

Think different!

Half Marathon COMPLETED

Despite basically not training, I did it! I finished my first half marathon this weekend in St. George, Utah!

It was super cold at the starting line (around 30 degrees), so the first two miles were pretty rough. I had a little bit of a hard time breathing and I couldn't feel my feet because of the cold. Finally, around mile 2, my feet had warmed up enough that I could actually feel them and my breathing had become more regular. Around mile 4, I started feeling fantastic. Miles 4-8 were awesome...great scenery, a good mix of uphills and downhills, a random person who I met and ended up running with for awhile.

When I hit mile 9, though, it got pretty tough. I could feel my IT bands tightening up and the bottoms of my feet were not feeling the best. The 2:30 pace group passed me right around that point, which suddenly gave me a new surge of energy. I was anticipating a time around three hours, so seeing that I was doing so much better than I thought was a huge encouragement!

For the rest of the race, I chased the 2:30 group, sometimes walking, sometimes running. Around mile 11, my feet hurt too badly to keep up with them, so I just tried to keep them in sight. That strategy worked and I ended up finishing in 2:33:40! I was pretty pleased with that! My training consisted of a few 3-4 mile runs on an indoor track and I've never run any race longer than 4 miles, so I was very happy!

I do have to say that my favorite part of participating in a half marathon was the pre- and post-race meals.

I NEVER let myself eat alfredo or fast food, so it was quite the splurge and I enjoyed every bite!

Also enjoyable was the trip to Las Vegas afterwards! My afternoon was spent sipping cocktails poolside at the Trump International.

All things considered...awesome weekend!!!

How I Fell in Love with Skiing

If you read this blog with any sort of regularity, you probably know that I work for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. Also if you read this blog with any sort of regularity, you probably know I haven't written a ton about skiing or snowboarding.

Despite living in Colorado for a year and half, my experiences with skiing and snowboarding before moving to Park City were not super numerous. My dad tore his ACL skiing when I was a kid so, as a result, our family trips tended more towards beaches than mountains. 

I learned to ski when I was 22 when I went to Breckenridge with a bunch of fellow USOC interns. Interestingly enough, that is also where my dad tore his ACL. So, I learned to ski at the same place where my dad ended his skiing career.

First time skiing...gotta love the '80s ski pants I found at Goodwill for $12.

My first time skiing consisted of a fellow intern going up the chairlift to the top of the bunny hill with me, telling me there wasn't much she could teach me, then her skiing off to another run. So, I did the bunny hill over and over again, watching other people and just doing what seemed like it was right. By the end of the day, she talked me into going down a blue run with her. I did pretty decently until I fell and couldn't figure out how to put my ski back on. 

Despite ending my ski day on a low note, I was talked into returning to the ski hill by my lovely friends Ruth and Steven Moll, who lived in Denver at the time. We went to Loveland Ski Area a few times and had a very relaxing, fun couple of ski days. 

On one of our trips to Loveland, Ruth and I decided to go up to the top of the mountain to try out a blue run we had seen on the map. Due to terrible visibility and our less-than-expert knowledge of the ski area, we somehow ended up going down a black diamond. That remains to this day the most challenging terrain I have tackled on skis. And it probably looked like I was physically trying to tackle the ski hill the entire tire since I pretty much slid down the entire run on my ass.

My next adventure in skiing occurred when my sister decided to visit me in Colorado for spring break. I had the brilliant idea of taking her skiing. So, we drove through lots of nature for several hours to Monarch Mountain. After getting rental skis and equipment, we headed to the bunny hill. Now, if you know my sister, you know that sometimes she gets worked up very quickly. After falling a few times on the bunny hill, she pretty much decided she was done. I finally yelled at her at one point in time: "Can't is the cancer of happen!" This was a crazy Charlie Sheen phrase that we had been laughing at a few days earlier. Fortunately, it made her laugh and she eventually got the hang of the bunny hill!

Skiing sistradres at Monarch Mountain

After moving to San Diego, I didn't ski for awhile. There were ski resorts a couple of hours away, but when it was 70 degrees and sunny out in January, skiing wasn't in the forefront of my mind.

Fast forward a year. After getting laid off and taking a job at the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, I found myself in Park City, Utah. And something magical happened.

After the first snowfall of the year, all I wanted to do was ski. Even though it'd been a year or so since I'd been on the slopes, it felt like yesterday that I had heard the wind as I wound my way down a run. I anxiously awaited the resort opening dates and, a few weeks after opening day, made my way to Park City Mountain Resort with my friends Korey and Ashley.

Back in the saddle again!

Now, it's January and I'm skiing at least twice a week. I bought my own ski boots, then caved and bought my own skis a few days later. My friend Julia and I frequent night skiing at PCMR to sneak in a little bit of ski time after work. I've had two ski days with my coworkers in my department. And every single time, I just love it. My quads may be burning at the end of the day and I may have a knack for falling and injuring my hands, but it's just FUN!!

First day out on my own skis at Deer Valley

Also, I got smart and bought a helmet. PSA for a moment - please wear a helmet when participating in snow sports!!

So, in short, I love skiing. Even as I sit here writing this, I'm thinking about how much I'd love to be out skiing even though my quads hurt from skiing yesterday and I have to rest for my half marathon tomorrow.

I never thought I'd say this...but can winter please not end???

30 Questions: A Historical Dinner

If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be and what would you eat?

This is another one of those questions that is on EVERY SINGLE one of these survey things and I always hate. 

But I'm going to be cliche here and go with Jesus, mainly because I'd like to hear his thoughts on all of the crazy things people like to throw around in the name of Christianity. 

As far as what we'd eat? I don't know, but I know we would drink plenty of wine.

Kickass Brownies

So, tonight as I was sitting here watching The West Wing, I suddenly decided that I needed some chocolate. I wasn't craving straight up chocolate or anything...I wanted some baked goods. Of course, a quick trip to Pinterest gave me plenty of recipes to look at. After perusing a few, I put together the delicious brownie recipe below. It's small enough that you won't have tons leftover, but large enough that 2-3 people could share it if they wanted to. I have dubbed them "kickass brownies."

KICKASS BROWNIES (small portion)

1/4 c. butter, melted
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/8 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
1 egg
1/4 c. cocoa powder (I used Hershey's because I prefer natural cocoa over Dutch process)
1/8 c. flour
1 t. high quality sea salt (I used Trader Joe's pink Himalayan...this step is super important! The salt makes the brownie!)

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a small, oven-friendly bowl or pan (I used a ceramic cereal bowl).

Mix butter, sugars and vanilla together. Add egg and mix until well-blended. Add salt, flour and cocoa powder until smooth.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Middle will still be soft.

Enjoy with ice cream or on its own!

Leo and Josh

As I do many evenings, I'm watching some old episodes of The West Wing. I figured I'd share a scene from my absolute favorite episode of the series, Noel.

Leo McGarry: [after Josh finishes an intensive therapy session set up by Leo with a trauma therapist, Josh walks past Leo in a nearby hallway of the White House] How'd it go? 
Josh Lyman: Did you wait around for me? 
Leo McGarry: How'd it go? 
Josh Lyman: He thinks I may have an eating disorder... 
Leo McGarry: [bemused] Josh... 
Josh Lyman: ...and a fear of rectangles. That's not weird, is it? 
[pause] 
Josh Lyman: I didn't cut my hand on a glass. I broke a window in my apartment. 
Leo McGarry: This guy's walking down a street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep, he can't get out. A doctor passes by, and the guy shouts up, "Hey you, can you help me out?" The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along, and the guy shouts up "Father, I'm down in this hole, can you help me out?" The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by. "Hey Joe, it's me, can you help me out?" And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, "Are you stupid? Now we're both down here." The friend says, "Yeah, but I've been down here before, and I know the way out." 
[pause] 
Leo McGarry: Long as I got a job, you got a job, you understand? 

30 Questions: Family Dynamics

Describe your family dynamic of your childhood vs. your family dynamic now.

Okay, I've kind of been putting this one off. It's not because I don't want to share my family dynamics...it's not that at all! It's just that there's a lot more to this answer than a simple "Then is was ___ and now it is ____."

So, family dynamic of childhood.

My brother, sister and I were pretty imaginative kids. My parents kind of let us do our own thing, which cultivated that imagination. We ran all over backyards and basements, dreaming up ridiculous TV shows (complete with theme songs) that we starred in. We made "potions" from whatever we could find. My parents were always there for us and we did get in trouble when it was warranted, but they let us figure ourselves out and make our own mistakes. 

Among the kids, I was sort of a silent ringleader. My brother and I would gang up on my sister (as she was the youngest and generally the most likely to tattle/whine/etc.)...but I somehow always managed to avoid getting in trouble even though my brother was not so fortunate.

And now, the dynamics of today.

We're all friends. Parents, siblings...we just hang out. Clearly, there's still a slightly different dynamic between me and my parents and me and siblings, but we all like each other. I talked to my mom and dad on the phone almost every day. When I'm home, I go out to the bars with my siblings. My whole family plays drinking games together. We like going on vacation together.

In short, it's pretty awesome.

I'm pretty blessed to have such an awesome family!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I kicked off my 2013 in Florida with my family...including my soon-to-be sister-in-law!

That's right, everyone...my brother proposed and his girlfriend Aly said yes!! I'm super excited to welcome her into our family (although she's pretty much been a part of it for awhile now)! 

Congrats to Jordan and Aly!!