Skiing into 2009
Friday, December 26, 2008
Happy day after Christmas to all my friends online!
On my last post, I sent you all some lovely pictures of a thin layer of snow in my backyard. I obviously wasn't listening to the news and didn't know that the mother of all storms was blowing our way. And boy, did the Pacific Northwest get hit. You know it's unusual when little ole Seattle makes the national weather news. We haven't been hit this hard since I was in grade school. It was exactly what every kid dreams of--school closures, sledding hills, and snow angels. I'm sure there was more than one mom in town tearing her hair out, trying to figure out how to finish her holiday shopping/cooking/cleaning with the kids home. :) Worse yet, the mail was totally lost. UPS, Fed ex, and good old Uncle Sam were as shut down by the snow as everyone else. I don't know about my neighbors, but I can tell you that after feeling awfully superior that I'd finished my shopping online, I was totally bummed to discover that several of my packages were stuck only a few miles away and wouldn't be delivered in time.
The good news was that my son's flight was unaffected and he made it home on time, as did my brother and his family, who had taken a week in Hawaii. It seems impossible to believe that only two months ago I was sitting on a beautiful white sand beach.. Here's the beach, in fact. It's on a small island called Mnemba. 
Now here I am, bundled up in layers and layers of clothing, watching my own breath. And skiing...
Here's what I have to say about skiing. From a distance, it looks like a fairly low impact sport. I mean, you're riding up to the top of the mountain in a chair, and then you're sailing down in the deep snow, letting gravity do it's thing...and then you try to do it when you're out of shape. And that's me right now. Totally out of shape. I went to Africa for a month and my only exercise came when I lifted my fork, and then I came home and I was behind on the book for 2010, so I sat down and started writing. I told myself I had no choice--it was raining in Seattle, so how could I run? Every day, I thought I'd run the next day, or I'd go to the gym. But then I'd stay and write another page, or shop for christmas presents online or go see a movie (I had to see Twilight, didn't I???). Anyway, the point is that for two months, I didn't work out much, and man am I paying for it now. I'm trying to keep up on the slopes with my twenty year old son, and it's killing me. Killing me. Today, I had to literally drag myself off the slopes and onto the sofa, where I collapsed, gasping.
So, New Year's resolution #1: January 1st I start running again. This goes along with resolution #2, which is that I quit eating everything in sight and saying, "it's Christmas," to myself and others. :)
Resolution #3: I read more books by authors I've never heard of. This year I discovered Michelle Richmond and Chelsea Cain. Who knows who'll I'll discover next year?
Resolution #4: Spend less time doing nothing and more time doing something. Volunteering my time and efforts to my favorite causes--breast cancer research, books to Africa, local families in need.
That's the list for now. I still have a few days to compile the rest of it. How about you? What resolutions are you all making this year?
Well, as out of shape as I am, the snow is calling to me again, and I must answer. What can I say? Skiing has been in my blood for most of my life. There's nothing I like better than riding the chair with my son and watching him fly down the slopes, hearing his laughter whoop out over the snow. So, here I go again, teeth gritted, determined to fight my own body for supremacy. Wish me luck...just as I wish you all luck, good fortune, good friends, and time with your family in this lull week between the end of one year and the coming of the next.
And don't forget the True Colors contest. The entries are literally pouring in. I hope all you fireflies have earmarked your entries...
Aloha for now...
Kristin
