Lunacy: Finding Sanity in Life's Little Things

Trying to win an iPad!! Wish me luck.

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:51:00 +0000

I’m posting this to enter a contest on offered by Brad’s Deals at Sweetney! I want to win the white iPad 2! Wish me luck. Considering that the screen of my iPhone is still broken (and I'm trying to hold out until at least July to replace it), it would make me happy to win an iPad. I hate that I covet Apple products, but I'll admit it! I do!

Latest Woodworking Project :: Knockoff Wood Locker Cabinet

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 21:07:00 +0000

I just posted about my latest woodworking project over on my other blog. Check out the details here: http://www.handyhausfrau.com/2010/11/latest-woodworking-project-knockoff.html

Marathon Running Playlist

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 03:00:00 +0000

I mentioned in one of my last posts that I've taken up running. Long story short - after reading several very inspirational books, I realized that I don't have to be the fastest, I don't have to be the best. I just have to put one foot in front of the other and run. And I have to say that I'm loving it. I'm averaging 15-20 miles/week right now. I'll admit, there are times during each run that I find myself hating the moment. But overall, running has become a mental challenge for me. I love seeing if I can run farther or faster than...myself. I'm a competitive person, but I've never been a good enough runner to be competitive at this sport. However, I can be competitive with myself. What a fun mind game!

Part of the fun for me is discovering new music that makes me happy while I'm running. Although I've started slow and started with reasonable distances, in my heart of hearts I would love to work up to running the Denver Marathon in October of 2011. In honor of the year ahead in training (and all those races that will hopefully fall into place along the way), I've created a marathon playlist. I'm always looking for new songs, so feel free to leave your ideas in the comments. Enjoy!

Accidentally In Love - Counting Crows
Ain't No Other Man - Christina Aguilera
Black Horse and the Cherry Tree - KT Tunstall
Bleed It Out - Linkin Park
Boom - P.O.D.
Break Your Heart - Taio Cruz & Ludacris
Brick House - The Commodores
Califonia Gurls - Katy Perry
Candyman - Christina Aguilera
Close To Me - The Cure
Come On Eileen - Save Ferris
Consequence Free - Great Big Sea
Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
Dancing Queen - ABBA
Don't Let Me Get Me - Pink
Fergalicious - Fergie
Find Your Love - Drake
Flagpole Sitta - Harvey Danger
Freak On A Leash - Korn
Freedom '90! - George Michael
Fuck And Run - Liz Phair
Gimme More - Britney Spears
Gives You Hell - The All-American Rejects
Grey Cell Green - Ned's Atomic Dustbin
Heaven - DJ Sammy & Yanou featuring Do
Hello City - Barenaked Ladies
Hey Ya! - Outkast
Hey, Soul Sister - Train
Holiday - Madonna
Hot N Cold - Katy Perry
I Don't Feel Like Dancin' - Scissor Sisters
I Don't Want To Be - Gavin McGraw
I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
I'm Walking on Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves
If I Can't Have You - Yvonne Elliman
Just A Girl - No Doubt
Kids - MGMT
Kill YOur Television - Ned's Atomic Dustbin
Kiss Me Deadly - Lita Ford
Life Is a Highway - Tom Cochrane
Live Like We're Dying - Kris Allen
Lump - The Presidents of the United States of America
Move Along - The All-American Rejects
Nothin' On You - B.o.B. featuring Bruno Mars
OMG - Usher
One Night in Bangkok - Vinylshakerz
The Only Difference Between Matyrdom and Suicide - Panic! At the Disco
OOH AHH...Just a little bit - Gina G
Perfect Gentleman - Wyclef Jean
PJ & Rooster - Outkast
Poker Face - Lady GaGa
Punch In Punch Out - Seven Mary Three
Rehab - Amy Winehouse
Right Now (Na Na Na) - Akon
Say Hey (I Love You) - Michael Franti & Spearhead
Sex On Fire - Kings of Leon
She Gave Good Sunflower - The Black Crowes
Show Me Love (Safari Remix) - Mobin Master
Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) - Beyonce
Smooth Criminal - Alien Ant Farm
Spaceship - Benny Benassi
Spam - Save Ferris
St. Teresa - Joan Osborne
Stickshifts and Safetybelts - CAKE
Suddenly I See - KT Tunstall
Sun Children - Nickodemus
Take the Time - The Freddy Jones Band
The Takeover, The Breaks Over - Fall Out Boy
Tangerine Speedo - Caviar
Taste of India - Aerosmith
Tiffany Blews - Fall Out Boy
Totally Fucked - Spring Awakening Soundtrack
Toxic - Britney Spears
Typical - Tickle Me Pink
Under 21 - Save Ferris
Wasting Time - Kid Rock
Welcome To Paradise - Green Day
When I'm Up (I Can't Get Down) - Great Big Sea
Women and Men - They Might Be Giants
You & Me & The Bottle Makes 3 - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Zombies Ate My Neighbors - Single File
4 Minutes - Madonna
Send Me On My Way - Rusted Root
1, 2, 3, 4 - Plain White T's
U + Ur Hand - Pink
Paralyzer - Finger Eleven
Back To One - All One Surface
Cold Hard Bitch - Jet
Last Living Souls - Gorillaz
I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
Hum Hallelujah - Fall Out Boy
American Girl - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
I Never Knew (Remix) - Gloria Gaynor
If I Didn't Have a Goiter - Johnny Socko

Spiderman in Paradise

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:02:00 +0000

What more could a 5 year old ask for than to have his face painted like Spiderman and to eat his first caramel apple ever while strolling lakeside in Keystone, Colorado? We spent the long weekend in the mountains with great friends, amazing food and tons of laughs. You couldn't ask for a better end to summer than cooking S'mores over the grill on a star-filled night in Breckenridge. We are so lucky to have fun friends and to live in Colorado - which truly is paradise.

Photostacker Wannabe

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:08:00 +0000

I love the look that you can achieve with the Photostacker screensaver on Macs. There's also a free shareware program you can download that will replicate the effect on your PC. I'm a PC girl - for now. Always have been since most of corporate America uses them. And I've always worked with and in corporate America. Now that I've been fully freelance for five and a half years - and it looks as though that status is going to stick, even after the boys are in school, I'm thinking it might be time to switch to my first choice - a Mac. I've been eyeing one for several months, and a little birdie told me that I might be getting one for Christmas. We'll have to see if I can be a good girl the rest of the year and maybe Santa will bring me something wonderful.

Meanwhile, in switching the look of my blog, I wanted to duplicate the effect of Photostacker in my new header. Whadd'ya think? A summer full of fun photos and a half-hour in Photoshop, and voila - a new header that makes me happy everytime I look at it. I've been playing with some animation, too. So those photos might rotate in a few weeks. For now, the static Polaroids make me smile.

I'm Back...and "This, too, deserves its own post!"

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:36:00 +0000

It seems like I've been away forever. I wish I could say that I had some grand excuse, but I just needed a break. Two blogs, a full-time mom job, a part-time writer/marketer job, a husband, and a dog who is pushing the geriatric envelope have taken up much of my time and energy.

Thought I'd share some of the things that have been on my mind and inspiring me over the past several months:

1. It would be easy to say that my break from blogging was a technology hiatus. Although this wasn't a conscious decision, maybe that's truly what it was. Coincidently, I heard this story on NPR this weekend. It seemed to explain (or at least provide a convenient excuse) for my lack of blogging, tweeting, etc.

Digital Overload: Your Brain On Gadgets

2. Speaking of NPR, a friend of mine from college just published his first book and it's receiving great reviews. He just finished an interview on NPR about the book, titled Interstate 69: the Unfinished History of the Last Great American Highway. You can listen to the interview here. I'm so proud to say that I know Matt. I could write amazing stories about all of the talented people I know from my college days.

3. I've started running. If you know me, you know that I'm a self-professed "running hater." I ran in Junior High because my older brother ran, and I just assumed that's what everyone did. I have literally tried running a total of 10 times since I was 14. So the subject of running definitely deserves its own post - which will come soon. For now, just know that I'm been putting one foot in front of the other and running! Feels good, too.

4. Both of my kiddos started school. I have a brand-new Kindergartener. This, too, deserves its own post. I have watched a confident, polite, caring "big boy" blossom before my eyes. Anyone who says kids shouldn't go to preschool needs to meet my kid. Before two years of preschool, Alex was shy, unsure of himself, easily overwhelmed by sensory stimulus. Now, he's a completely different boy. Yes, some of it is maturation and good parenting (tee-hee), but I have repeatedly thanked his preschool teachers in the last two weeks for the safe, caring atmosphere they created for him during those key developmental years.

5. Ben started preschool. Same school and teachers that I was singing the praises of above. He is loving every minute of it (which I knew he would), and it warms my heart to hear him talking about "his new friends." Although he did tell me that he didn't want to invite any of his new girl friends over for a playdate because girls "go potty too much." Amazing how the 3-year-old brain works.

6. We've entered the wonderful world of karate/tae-kwon-do. The boys were begging me to take lessons. Ben is too little, but Alex LOVES, LOVES it. This, too, deserves its own post. I never thought I would want my kids taking martial arts, but the discipline and respect woven into the forms have won me over. More on this in a later post.

7. I've been inspired by several bucket lists recently. In particular, this one. I love the idea of 101 things in 1001 days. Although, as I'm doing the math, I'll need to accomplish one of these major life things every 10 days for the next 2.75 years. I might have to rethink the timeframe or the number of items on my list. "This, too, deserves its own post" seems to be the theme of this entry. So, you guessed it - I'm working on this life list.

8. That's it for now - except to say that the other day "Dude Looks Like a Lady" by Aerosmith popped up on the iPod shuffle. You remember: "Do me, do me, do me, sue me. What a funky lady. She like it like it like it like that." Alex (our oldest) got very quiet for a minute, looked at Kevin and said, "Mommy is definitely not that 'Funky Lady.'" I love it!

Keystone Winter Culinary Festival :: OMG! Could Life Be Any Sweeter?

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:34:00 +0000

We went to the mountains with an old friend this weekend. He was in town surprising his new significant other with a ski trip to Colorado. It's always fun to spend time with people you've known for years and see new aspects of their personality emerge when they're loving life with a new partner. Our friend was happy and centered and positively glowing (if it's possible for a guy to glow)!

Saturday was spent at Keystone reintroducing our friends to skiing after many years off of the sticks. That night, we met up with some new friends and headed up the mountain to the Keystone Winter Culinary Festival. The event was truly a first-class experience all the way around. We received our Grand Tasting passes and boarded the gondola just as the sky was turning to pink and the sun settling in behind the peaks in the distance. It was a cozy ride up and fun to revisit runs that we'd skiied down earlier in the day from high up in the air.

The second gondola dropped us off in front of The Outpost Lodge. It had been transformed from the everyday cafeteria-style eating place to an old world alpine chalet. The night started with complimentary etched wine glasses and a yummy champagne toast. Then we strolled from table to table sampling foods made by the staff from Keystone Ranch, Ski Tip Lodge, Alpenglow Stube and Bighorn restaurants. My favorites were the scallops that were perfectly cooked and sat atop some sort of mushroom reduction and a mushroom terrine shaped like a flower. I also loved the duck dumpling that was accompanied by a spinach salad dressed with ruby-red pomegranate seeds. I've never thought of salting my spinach salad. The salty touch from the seasalt combined with the bitter spinach and arugula and the sweet little pops of pomegranate seeds was an amazing combination.

So the food sounds great, right? Let me introduce you to the evening's main event - at least for our group - the desserts. Take a look at these pictures.

Chocolate-mint cannoli "ice cream cones" and chocolate cups filled with Cappucino mousse

See that stick on the left? Rice Krispie Treats, fresh strawberries and miniature fudgy brownies doused in a chocolate fountain. Truffles and berry cups with silky creme fraiche lining the bottom.

A cheeseburger, you say? Wrong. That Big Mac-like creation was actually the sweetest cupcake you've ever tasted. Amazing isn't it?

Here's a glimpse of just a few of the platters in the dessert room. Sorry for the blurry photo. My hands were actually shaking due to a sugar-induced food coma at this point. Right before I was greeted by this Bacchanalian-display of chocolatey glory, I got a text message from our friend. We were still sampling wines and licking our plates clean of the cheesy fondue with crab meat and asparagus. The text delivered one very simple command: YOU NEED TO COME TO DESSERT!!!

You can see why. By the way, I just googled "Bacchanalian" to make sure I was spelling that chubby little devil's name correctly. Right next to the spelling was a definition - "orgiastic festivities." This couldn't be more accurate - at least gastronomically. I was greeted with another glass of champagne, ushered over to a counter where one of the chefs was assembling caviar and crab meat atop a creme fraiche-slathered blini. As I took the last bite of that pre-dessert morsel, I was swept past a small polka duo, complete with lederhosen and the requisite accordian. One of our party said, "I actually felt like they were singing to me. I wanted to say, 'Aw...you shouldn't go to all that trouble, singing just for me.'"

Beyond the musicians were these platters of yumminess...

And to top it all off, a cup of coffee. Not really - actually a striped-chocolate teacup filled with some Bailey's Irish Creme concoction and topped with a chocolate coffee bean.

Towards the end of the evening, we found out that the pastry chef responsible for this unbelievable spread was named Ned. If I hadn't been so distracted by the next culinary surprise, I would have found out which restaurant he works at. All I can say is that women the world over - at least in the general vicinity of Keystone - were saying Ned's name in their dreams on Saturday night.

We bundled up and headed off into the crisp Colorado night. Boarding the gondola, we were given thick fleece blankets to keep us warm for the ride back down the mountain. Looking out, we could see a million stars above us and the snowcats grooming for the next day's runs below. Beneath the din of our laughter and animated chatter, I could hear one very quiet word in the mind of each of us - at least the women. Ned, ned, ned...is what drifted off into the night.

**Update: I've since done some googling, and I'm 99% sure that the aforementioned Ned is Executive Pastry Chef Ned Archibald who runs Ned’s Bake Shop in the Keystone Conference Center. Run - don't walk and do not pass go - to this Bake Shop and savor all of the tastiness!!

The Handy Hausfrau (DIY Website) is Live

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 04:56:00 +0000

I've finally got the new website in full swing. You can check out The Handy Hausfrau here. My latest project is a DIY Portable Spice Kit. You'll find a full tutorial as well as a downloadable PDF of the vintage spice labels I created.

I can't wait to test it out on our next trip to the mountains. No more searching for those little handi-wipe sized envelopes of crushed red pepper left over from the pizza delivery last year! Enjoy.

Father-Son Rites of Passage

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:40:00 +0000

Today was a big day for Kevin and Alex - particularly Kevin. It's every parent's dream to wake up one day and realize that they can share their interests with their children. Kevin's main interests right now? His family (immediate and extended), friends, skiing and hockey.

I can only imagine how a father imagines that tiny baby boy that is cradled in his arms, grown up and sitting beside him on the couch for football Sundays or hiking through canyon country together or tossing a baseball back and forth in the yard. I know these are things that Kevin imagined. And he's honest about the fact that he loves each stage with our boys, but the older they get the more and more connected he feels - far from the days of them crying out for me because I was the primary source of food and comfort.

This morning, Kevin took Alex skiing - just the two of them. We spent all weekend skiing with friends - a couple who has a son smack between Alex and Ben in age. The boys had a great two days playing together, and the dads each took a day to hang out with the boys while the moms (lucky me!) and the other dad skiied. We were all set to drive home from the mountains on Sunday night, but Kevin suggested that we stay so that he could take Alex skiing today.

I dropped them off at Arapahoe Basin and Alex's last words were, "Skiing is more fun than playing, Mommy!" Those are strong words for a 4 1/2 year old. I could tell that he was so excited to share this time with his dad. They had a great morning skiing together. Alex rode not only the "kids lift" but the "grown up lift" too. They stayed on the green runs, but Kevin even told me that on the steeper parts, "Alex skiied down faster than you do." I'm not sure of that, but I was so happy that they had such a great time skiing TOGETHER. Not a dad dragging his son down the mountain. Not a toddler whining his way through the day. But father and son doing something that they love - together.

Tonight, the fun continued. My little man and my grown-up man went to their first hockey game together. Alex has been excited for weeks to see his first "alive hockey game." The boys love to cuddle on the couch with Kevin while he watches his beloved Redwings take the ice on television.

Tonight, the boys headed out to watch those Redwings take on the Avalanche in person. Alex was beaming - feeling like the big boy who gets to eat hot dogs at the game, stay up late and see the hockey players in real life. They're not home yet, but it appears from the picture above that the real life version was just as great as his expectations.

I've always known that Kevin is an amazing father, but today it was thrilling to witness this friendship that he's building with his boys as well. I can only hope that it will continue for years to come.

Featured On

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 06:25:00 +0000

Ben's birth story was featured today on DesignMom. Many thanks to Gabrielle for linking to the post. I've met several wonderful people today as a result of the post - including Leigh. I'll be featured next week on Leigh's blog, Marvelous Kiddo, in her birth story series. Check out her blog. It's a beautiful combination of organic-chic.

My Powderhorn post was linked today as a "family-friendly Powderhorn write-up" on Joel's website, Colorado Powder Forecast. Let's hope that snow keeps falling over on the mesa. Happy skiing to all.

Meanwhile, I'm hard at work on my latest endeavor. For a quick peek, check out my new blog at The Handy Hausfrau. It won't be packed full of content for another few days, but feel free to snoop around in the meantime. Be sure to follow me in the Google Friend Connect Sidebar on the new site. Becoming a friend now means you'll never miss a post once the creative projects start coming.

DIY Blog Coming Soon

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:55:00 +0000

With the purchase of the new ski condo, and my commitment to furnishing and decorating on a dime, I've made a decision. A new blog is on the horizon! Stay tuned in the next week for updates on the new blog where I'll post all of my DIY adventures. I'm really excited to get going on my first project. I can't wait to share all of the details.

The Sweet Smell of Love

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:23:00 +0000

Check out these gorgeous flowers that Kevin gave me for Valentine's Day:

He found them tucked away in a flower rack inside the door of Walmart. The rest of the flowers were aesthetically so-so, but he managed to find this gem of a bouquet. It's cold and grey today in Colorado, and these flowers make me think of a warm sunset:

Or a hot day in the desert:

We've had a tough week of very little sleep and the kids fighting croup. I wasn't expecting anything for Valentine's Day. So these beauties, combined with the cheddar, garlic and zinfandel fondue that we made for dinner, warmed me up inside and out.

Powderhorn lived up to its name...

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:25:00 +0000

I was so excited for our weekend trip to Powderhorn, but I honestly didn't know what to expect. We live in Evergreen, so we're used to skiing Summit County resorts - miles of back bowls at Vail, crammed in the free shuttle bus at Breckenridge so that we don't have pay to park, you get the idea. Big! Big mountains, big resorts, big crowds - big everything!

Let me preface all of this by saying that my husband loves to ski. He's made it his goal to ski in every month of the calendar year. He tacks two extra hours onto a business trip so that he can take one run at Alyeska just so he can check Alaska off of his skiing bucket list.

When I told him that we were going to Powderhorn, I wasn't sure how he would react. In all of his hours spent dreaming about skiing, I didn't think that this little resort atop a mesa just outside of Grand Junction had ever floated through his mind. But as the weekend got closer, we both knew how exciting it would be to share another set of ski experiences with our burgeoning skiers, Alex (4 1/2) and Ben (2 1/2).

We drove from Evergreen to Palisade on Friday afternoon. The drive was easy - a total of four hours with potty stops for the kiddos. We've always loved the wineries in Palisade, and knew we'd be cutting it close to get in a couple of tastings, but we arrived ahead of schedule. St. Kathryn Cellars is just off the highway as you drive into town. I'm not usually one for fruit wines - I'll take my wine made with grapes only please - but I have to admit that I'm kicking myself for not buying a bottle of their Confre Cellars Pomegranate Wine. It sure would make a great Pome-tini if it was mixed right. They also had a great selection of good 'ole grape wines, too. And plenty of pretzels to keep the car-weary kiddos happy while we sipped.

Next stop was Plum Creek Winery just down the road. Their tasting room is beautiful and because it was ten minutes before closing, we were the only ones in the place. We got to enjoy a sip of wine and a chat with the winery's owner, Sue Phillips. She even took us on a tour of the art outside crafted by a local artist with junkyard finds. My kids are still talking about "the giant rusty chicken" that we saw.

Photo courtesy of Plum Creek

Sue was kind enough to recommend a spot for dinner in town, but as the sun was setting, we didn't want to miss the views driving up the canyon to Powderhorn.

And we weren't sorry. We spent a lot of time over the weekend talking to Powderhorn employees about working at the resort. Many of them live in Grand Junction and commute the 45 minutes everyday. I can tell you that I would never get tired of the views up that canyon road.

We were all starving by the time we arrived, so we checked in to our condo (more on that later), and scouted out a place for dinner. Powderhorn is a small resort and since it was after 6 p.m., our options were to drive back to Mesa (about 10 miles away) or eat at the Skiers Union Cafe & Bar. We'd made plans to meet our Powderhorn host, Sarah Allen, at the same restaurant for lunch on Saturday, and were a bit concerned that we might be eating the same thing twice. But the minute our waitress set the menus in front of us, our worries disappeared.

The menu has so many choices. I had the Chicken Marsala (very tasty!) and Kevin had the Italian Sausage Pasta dish. However, the happiest diners, by far, were Alex and Ben. Before the waitress even took our drink orders, she arrived at the table with Saltine crackers to curb the "why-is-my-food-taking-so-long" kid hunger, and she'd taken their dinner orders even before they were fully settled in their seats. Needless to say, we were happy parents in the hands of a wait staff who knew that with the slightest bit of extra attention, little people can be great dining companions too. In between bites of his grilled cheese sandwich, Alex leaned over and said, "Look. They even have a fireplace in the restaurant, Mommy." Grilled cheese by the fireplace - I can foresee having to move dinners into the living room at home to compete.

With our tummies full, we walked back to our room at Goldenwood Condominiums. Want to hear my favorite thing about Powderhorn? Everything is within walking distance of everything else. They can't technically bill these condos as ski-in/ski-out because you have to cross a short parking lot, but take a look at this picture:

Photo (c) Colorado Ski History.com with my own added touches of color

Orange=Goldenwood Condos. Green=Inn at Wildewood and Union Jack Cafe. Blue=Take Four Quad Lift. Yellow=Walking bridge to huge outdoor deck and Powderhorn Day Lodge.

Kevin and I flipped a coin to see who got to keep skiing and who would pick the kids up from ski school on Satuday. I lost! But after schlepping two kiddos (one in ski boots), skis, boots, helmet, and exhausted toddler across the very short parking lot, I felt like I was in heaven.

Our condo at Goldenwood was spacious - one bedroom, one bath with a full kitchen. Although the boys share a room at home, this was the first time they would be sharing a bed. I have to admit, I was predicting cries coming from the living room when the two-year old took a foot to face from his incredibly twitchy older brother. But the boys were thrilled with their "couch bed!" (a pull-out couch) and we didn't hear a peep all night.

We toured the Inn at Wildewood the next day (circled in green above), and their rooms are perfect for a family who wants to be on-mountain and doesn't need an in-room kitchen. They also have great ski season deals like rooms at $119/night with two half price lift tickets included in the price:

Photo courtesy of Powderhorn's website

We awoke Saturday morning to at least four inches of fresh powder and there was no sign of the snow stopping. We checked Alex in at the Children's Learning Center for his first whole-day ski lesson. He's had several half-day lessons at Arapahoe Basin and loved the Mini-Mountaineers 3-week program at Echo Mountain, but he'd never spent all day on skis. He was beside himself with excitement. The staff whisked him away behind the counter, stashed his helmet and and gloves in a cubby with his name and assured us that he would have a wonderful day.

Kevin and I skied over to the EZ Rider beginner's area to take a peek. Alex loves to ski, but he's cautious (like his mother). Most kids have a hard time getting their legs into the "pizza" position (snowplowing). My kid has a hard time getting his cautious brain to get his legs OUT of the "pizza" position. There are very few french fries (parallel skis) in Alex's world of skiing. It's all Pizza Hut and no MickyD's with our kiddo.

Because of this, we expected to see him trekking up the magic carpet and slowly skiing down. But, no Alex in sight... We caught a glimpse of a conga-line of four tiny students S-curving their way down a gentle slope behind their teacher. Surely, this would be him. But no Alex in sight... Finally we saw this little person with his SpongeBob helmet come cruising down the Bottom's Up slope side by side with his instructor, Holden. I'm not sure what kind of switch Holden's teaching turned on, but my kid was definitely rocking the french fries!

Little Ben had an adventurous day, too. When you grow up in a family with parents who love to ski, being a two and half year old is hard. You're too young to take lessons, but old enough to understand that you're tired of watching your older brother have all the fun on skis. Powderhorn had arranged for Ben to have a day of fun at their Children's Learning Center. However, not being 3 and not being fully potty-trained, Ben was a little young to meet the official requirements for the Learning Center. Miss Lindi and Miss Camille at the Center were understanding, though, and offered to let him take a lesson like his brother. Ben was up for it and spent an hour with Savannah. I wish I had taken my camera to capture my little boy plodding along in ski boots for the first time and screaming all the way down the tiny run while safely embraced by a hula-hoop that Savannah was holding.

Meanwhile, Kevin and I ventured out to see what Powderhorn had to offer in the way of terrain. The snow was still coming down by the bucketfuls, and this is what the Take Four lift looked like:

This was a Saturday afternoon during prime ski season, and we felt as though we had the place to ourselves. The lines were short and although the lifts weren't fast (10-15 minutes per ride), it gave us a chance to take in the scenery and enjoy the Legend of Sleepy Hollow feel that the glades had with the fog settled into the trees. And the price was just right:

The terrain was fabulous. Although, Powderhorn is small (1600 skiable acres) compared to many places that we've skied, the diversity of terrain more than made up for it. There were long lazy blue runs that seemed to go on for miles, there were runs that took us through trees more tightly placed than I care to remember, and there were boulders! Amazing fields of boulders.

From everything that I've read, we were there on just the right day to enjoy this area - without a lot of snow, many of the these boulder fields are tough to ski. As I followed Kevin (who was following some anonymous teenager) through the trees it opened up to a field filled with these Volkswagen-sized suckers. I immediately decided that this would be the pefect place to eat my lunch on a sunny day of spring skiing. Although given my directionally-challenged ski tendencies, I don't know that I could find my way back to this magical off-trail spot. For those who are curious, I think that we were somewhere in the red circled area:

Regardless of exactly where we were, it was fun trying to piece it together with the staff when we picked the kids up at ski school. Each instructor within earshot chimed in with their own favorite trail or hidden glade somewhere just off trail. And the personalized attention wasn't just for the parents either. Every kid who walked out the doors of the Children's Learning Center received a hand-written report card:

Alex is so proud that he is officially a "Linkin' Lynx" and Ben doesn't quite understand that he's still a little too young. Even after his scream-filled slide down the hill, he was still asking to ski some more.

The rest of our weekend was spent skiing - we loved the West Side lift and the crowd-free terrain that it accessed - and exploring. I pride myself on finding the most kid-friendly ways to negotiate ski resorts, so I peeked around every nook and cranny in search of a kid-friendly plan. Here's how I would do a second trip:

Alex loved his instructors both days at the ski school, and I wouldn't hesitate to enroll him again. The beginners terrain is also gentle enough that with parental guidance on the quad lift (Take Four), an intermediate four-year old could easily enjoy a day of skiing with Mom and Dad. Two-and-a-half was a little young (at least for my kiddo), but that doesn't mean he should be left out of the fun. At the top of the Take Four lift is a flat open space which probably has great views on a sunny day. (My only regret is not getting to see the world-class views that everyone talks about because we were socked in with fog and snow - not that I'm complaining though.) Powderhorn rents cross-country skis and snow shoes and provides inexpensive one-time lift rides up to the top. A toddler could enjoy a morning of trekking through the snow in snowshoes or winter boots and enjoy the ride back down the lift at lunchtime.

Because Powderhorn is laid out well, families could easily meet in the Day Lodge at mid-day to enjoy lunch together or to switch parental duties and put the tired toddler down for at nap at the condo just a stone's throw away. The Day Lodge serves breakfast and lunch in the Sunset Grille and Bar. Hang out at just the right time (later afternoon) and you might snag a free piece of pizza (like Ben and I did) when they're shutting down the food counters. The Day Lodge also has a family-friendly area downstairs. Families on a budget could easily bring their own lunch, camp out at a picnic table and enjoy a day of skiing with the older kids and playing Uno with the little guy(s). At the end of the day, the whole family could reconvene on the slopeside deck to enjoy a snack or to hand off the sleeping toddler who passed out (still chewing on his second grilled cheese sandwich from Union Jack) and still smiling after his first on-mountain adventure!

As a day trip from Grand Junction or surrounding areas, Powderhorn is the perfect place to ski. As a destination resort (for the weekend or a week), Powderhorn is set up perfectly for people who want to enjoy reasonably-priced, winter fun as a family. We'll definitely be back!

Gimme some powder, Powderhorn!

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:39:00 +0000

We're prepped and ready for our trip to Powderhorn this weekend. If the weather and the preschooler cooperate (with getting his coat on and his behind off the playgroun and into the car!) we'll be hitting some wineries in Palisade on Friday afternoon. I'm looking at Carlson Vineyards, Graystone Winery, and Mesa Grande Vineyards if we get over there in time.

Friday dinner we'll check out the Palisade Brewery or the Inari's Palisade Bistro - depending on how well behaved the kiddos feel like being. We're staying at the Goldenwood Condos within throwing distance of the lifts. Saturday is packed with ski lessons for Alex and playtime for Ben and skiing for the parents. This will be a much needed weekend of rejuvenation after long hours of mommy-work and marketing-work over the past few weeks.

To top it all off, they're calling for snow all weekend. Let's hope Mother Nature is on board with the National Weather Service.

I can't wait for tomorow to get here!

Thrifting and DIY Plans

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:06:00 +0000

We just sold our condo that we've owned for four years in the mountains. We're under contract to buy another one nearby with a little more space for our little family and a few more amenities for our visitors. When we bought our first condo, we furnished it with hand-me-down furniture from family and garage sale finds. I was pregnant (and incredibly sick!) so beyond reupholstering a couch, I didn't do much to spiff up the garage sale finds.

My goal with the new place is to completely transform it on a shoestring budget. I'll post before and after photos as I go room by room with the renovations and transformations. Meanwhile, I've been scouring Craigslist, Ebay and local thrift stores for budget finds. Last week I found a round oak table with two chairs that I'm going to make into a game table for the boys. All at the low, low price of $15. The next day, I scored an amazing cherry dining room table with four chairs at the Evergreen Animal Protective League thrift store for $61. It was 20% off all things with legs day, so I got the set for a steal. The wood is in really good shape. I'll need to refinish the top - but it's nothing a good sanding and resealing can't help.

Last night, I found a coffee table and two end tables on Craigslist. Total cost was $25 for all three pieces. Here are the before photos:

The coffee table has a cute design, and I think with a fresh coat of paint (I'm thinking white with black accents) and a new set of hardware, it could be a winner. The end tables are in rougher condition. You can see the water marks and scratches in the wood above. I'm hoping to have great before and after photos of these little guys.

I'd like to transform them from this:

To this:

The wood may be too far gone to restore it completely, but I think I can pop out the lower panel and fashion a shelf. With a couple of finials from the hardware store and a coat of paint (or stain if I'm really lucky), I could have two Pottery Barn knock-offs for a fraction of the cost. I'll let you know how things pan out once I get into the stripping and sanding stage.

Sara Norris Photography Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 02:20:00 +0000

I've recently found a new favorite blog called "Centsational Girl." This woman is a whiz at discovering thrifted treasures and redoing them with a little elbow grease to make a beautiful home.

She's having a giveaway on her site to win a $50 gift certificate to Sara Norris' Etsy.com store. Sara Norris is a photographer in New Mexico who takes beautiful photographs. I love this one called "Off the Beaten Path."

It reminds me of a path I used to walk through the park in Saint-Germaine-en-Laye, outside of Paris, to get to school every morning. Check out Sara's work at her Etsy shop here. She has a great eye for all things beautiful and creates images that will transport you to another time.

Busy, busy, holiday busy...

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 03:36:00 +0000

I'm been remiss in blogging for, oh, about a month. Life got the best of me with holiday happenings. Lots of shopping, cooking, entertaining, skiing, wrapping, laughing and good times shared. I'd say the blogging break was worth it just to spend the time with family and friends.

Now it's back to real life. I have a lot of things on the docket for 2010. Not resolutions, just a lot going on personally and professionally. Here's the latest run-down:

I was selected to be a guest blogger for the new Colorado Ski Mamas tour being sponsored by Colorado Ski Country.

I'll be heading out to Powderhorn Ski Resort in late January or early February to enjoy a fun ski weekend with the family. This opportunity is perfect for me because I love discovering little tips that make mothering easier - particularly when it comes to mothering on the ski slopes. I'll be blogging and tweeting about the exeperience. Stay tuned for an update on the all of the fun adventures in Mesa/Grand Junction, Colorado.

I just finished a revision on my brother's blog template. Check it out here. I love the slideshow header with rotating images. Trying to come up with a way to incorporate this into my own blog design. I'm itching for an excuse to redesign my template anyway, so perhaps this technique will be the starting point.

I'm editing a book for an amazingly talented colleague of mine, Mike Strunk. He is a photographer and writer who is finishing up his second coffee-table photography book. His photographs are stunning. I proudly display his first book, Potraits of Preservation, on my own coffee table. And I can't wait for Butch Cassidy and Outlaw Trail to be complete in the next few months. You can check out all of Mike's work, including photos and excerpts from both books, here.

After an extremely productive November thanks to NaNoWriMo, I cranked out half of my novel, Sliver of Souls (working title - still not sure what it's going to be called.) I had every intention of finishing it in December, but then life at the holidays happened. So, January is the month that I'm back on track to crank out another half. I can't wait to see what Maggie and her cohorts do next.

Just picked up a new story assignment for Purina about rescue dogs and their owners who are involved in agility competitions. I love writing these stories for Purina's publications, and I get to meet some amazing people in the process. True animal lovers are some of the most passionate and caring people in the world.

I've been in the midst of assisting with the planning of my husband's 20th high school reunion. I just finished a very down-and-dirty web design for their class to track RSVPs, etc. You can check it out here.

Lots of other professional activities - a strategic planning session this month, two more website redesigns and a new travel brochure layout for a local travel organization. The year is starting off to be a busy one, and I'm focusing on taking it one day at a time. Tomorrow is the beginning of Alex's Mini-Moutaineer program at Echo Mountain ski school. Shoud be a great day for all those little skiers.

NaNoWriMo 2009 Winner

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:26:00 +0000

I did it. I clocked it on November 29 with 50,167 words. And it felt good but a little anti-climactic. I'm definitely proud of myself. I've never had the dedication to slog through 50,000 words in one sitting - or 26 sittings, as the case may be. But the book is only halfway finished, so if I keep up with my word count, the true celebration will be on December 31, 2009 with a completed first draft.

NaNoWriMo was an amazing experience and one that I'm sure I will repeat year after year now that I've discovered its benefits. Things that I've learned:

1) I do have the discipline to write at least 1,667 words a day - every day. As I mentioned in a previous post, I tend to build up steam and take off on projects full speed ahead. Then on day four or five, I lose momentum and end up abadoning the project. Not so in this case. In fact, even when I skipped a day (or two when we had friends in town on the second to last weekend), I still had the willpower to face the keyboard the next day.

2) I can make the time in my day to crank out 1,667 words. In fact, using Write or Die, I managed to crank out an average of 1,800 words a day in 45 minutes. I used the online program and set the settings to Normal Mode with a Strict Grace Period. I did three word sprints each night at 600 word for 15 minutes each. At the end of each 15 minute sprint I pasted my words into my Word document, saved, took a breath and reset Dr. Wicked for the next sprint.

3) These were not quality words, but they moved the story along. And in the midst of the ramblings that will surely be cut in the second draft, some gems appeared. Whether it was a secondary storyline or a small scene that really worked.

4) Dialogue is my comfort zone. If I'm taking all the time in the world to write, I can create some good descriptve passages, but when I'm sprinting through wordcount, dialogue is a natural place for me to settle. My dialogue scenes help me work out character development. How a person talks tells me a lot about their personality. With each of the characters I've created - even the minor ones - I can hear a distinct voice. The conversations also help me reveal backstory and move a scene along. When I go back to edit, the dialogue passages will need to be significantly tighter, but for now it's a good tool to move the plot along.

5) The biggest obstacle for me is fear. Every time I sat down at the keyboard, I had to recognize that I was scared. Scared that I was wasting time on a pile of dreck, scared that was creating a document that would prove to the world that I'm incapable of writing fiction, scared that I was jumping into a great abyss not knowing where the story was going or how I would find my way out. I had to acknowledge this fear and type in spite of it. And believe me, that's not an easy thing to do.

6) But at the end of every night's session, I was energized. I typed through the fear and somehow emerged at the other end. Things happened in the scenes that I could never have predicted, a character took on a personality that I hadn't imagined. Standing on the other side of fear is much better than being too scared to give something a try. I may not always feel talented or creative at the end of a writing session, but at least I feel brave. And when it comes to greater life lessons, brave means a lot more to me than creative.

7) Although I didn't have very much interaction in the NaNoWriMo forums, something about knowing that other people were slogging along with me was spirit-boosting. When I sat down last night to crank out my first set of words for SaNoWriMo (Sara's Novel Writing Month - i.e, December), I suddenly felt very alone. Sure there were a lot of writers out there still writing, but the cameraderie was gone. It took every ounce of my new-found writer's bravery to continue putting words on the page. But, I did it!

NaNoWriMo came to a triumphant, albeit quiet, close. And SaNoWriMo began with a new found tenacity and bravery that I didn't know I had.

NaNoWriMo :: Day 18

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:26:00 +0000

Word Count: 30,684
Morale: Off the charts

What a great writing night. Everything just flowed. Some nights I worry so much about the structure of it all. Worried that people are talking too much, worried that flashbacks are cliche, worried that this whole effort is nothing but a playful whim that won't be fit for human eyes at the end of it all.

Tonight, there was no worrying - just amazing writing. I learned lots of new things that I didn't plan for. For example, Maggie's grandfather died of cirrhosis due to his alcoholism. He was an alcoholic? Didn't know that until tonight when I was writing. And in Maggie's recollection of him from her childhood, I wrote what is possibly my favorite scene so far. All of the writing advice out there talks about "show, don't tell." That statement is always drumming in the back of my head while I'm writing (along with Fall Out Boy and Single File drumming in my head while I'm writing, too). This seen tonight was the epitome of "show, don't tell" and I didn't even have to think about it while I was typing.

Maggie and her sister are now on a quest for a hidden pond on the family farm, and Maggie's had some huge discoveries about these voices that she's been hearing. I could keep writing all night, but I'm afraid if I go too far tonight, it will be like pulling teeth to get the words out tomorrow. I'd prefer to stop while I'm in the groove and go watch "Glee."

Happy writing to all. As I said before, the good golf shots are the ones that keep you coming back. This shot tonight was a hole in one. I'll definitely be coming back to the NaNo game tomorrow.

NaNoWriMo :: Novel Writing Dictation Style (Jott and Evernote)

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:58:00 +0000

I think I've discovered the key to allow car commuters extra writing time each day. Sure we've all heard of the pocket tape recorder, but how often does that tape recorder transcribe all of your notes for you? Yes, there are digital transcription kits you can buy. And, I'm guessing if I owned a Mac, there is probably "an app" for dictation. But this combination that I've come up with seems to work for me. Now the trick is to keep the kiddos quiet enough when I'm driving the soccer-mom mobile around all day so that my dictations aren't filled with, "He's hitting me." and "He took my juice."

First, download Evernote for your desktop. If you haven't tried Evernote yet, you should. In this program, you can create "notebooks" to hold digital notes, pdf files, and more. When you're surfing the web, you can highlight particularly intersting passages. Press the little green elephant in your browser bar, and the text from the webpage along with a link is automatically sent to Evernote for storage. Receive a great e-mail that you want to save? Forward it to Evernote and it will be filed. You can snap photos and send them to Evernote. Personally, it's been the perfect tool for me in researching my novel - and Christmas gifts to give this year - and keeping everything organized.

You can tag all of your "notes" with keywords so that if you remember a recipe you saved for Crab Bisque but have no idea where you filed it (hopefully in your "recipes" notebook), you can search by keyword "bisque" and it will pull up any tagged messages.

Here's where this gets even more useful. I just signed up for Jott. They have a week-long free trial and then the most basic service is $3.95/month. With this $3.95, you get unlimited 15-second voice-to-text conversions. These dictations are transcribed by Jott and can be sent to your Jott notes. You can also send text messages to friends, reply to e-mails while driving, dictate appointments to your Google Calendar, update your blog, update your Facebook status, sends tweets - all just by calling the Jott phone number and speaking into your phone. You can also take this one step further and download the free Jott app for your iPhone. Then you don't even have to call Jott. You just dictate into your Jott app and tell it where you'd like the jott to go.

I set up the Evernote e-mail address as a contact in Jott. You can also e-mail notes directly to Evernote for filing. I can dictate an e-mail to Jott and it will automatically be placed in my designated Evernote notebook.

I just dictated this message "Now, I'm trying this with Evernote to see if this will work. I'm telling a story about a small boy and his dog who were walking down the road one day. The sun was shinning brightly, and everyone was happy. And, my son is on the floor watching me. " Five minutes later, it appeared in my Evernote files as a digital file. You'll see that "shining" is misspelled, but aside from that, it worked perfectly.

I can speak roughly 50 words in 15 seconds. I was speaking at a normal pace so that the Jott technology wouldn't get confused. If you purchase the Pro-edition of Jott you get unlimited 30 second dictations. So, for a commuter, it would only take 17 dictations to meet their daily NaNoWriMo quota. Get home, open up your Evernote, copy and paste your text into a new document, clean up the punctuation and/or spelling errors if there are any, and you're done writing for the day.

Brilliant!

*Just a note, I don't know anyone at Evernote or Jott - and they don't give me money, free services, or even candy. I just like the way their stuff works!

I just discovered Jott.com....

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:36:00 +0000

I just discovered Jott.com. I'm trying this out with my blog to see if I can post directly from my iPhone.
listen

Powered by Jott

NaNoWriMo :: Day 16

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:31:00 +0000

Day 16 Wordcount: 27,252
Day 16 Morale: Good

The story is chugging along nicely. We had a clever flirting scene last night with my new love interest. So happy that he's in the picture. He's funny and hot, too. Can't wait for he and Maggie to see each other again.

We're getting to the point where Maggie is going to make a lot of discoveries very quickly. I'm anxious to see how all of this plays out. I've been reading the NaNoWriMo feed on Twitter, and it seems like others are writing about zombies or elves or magical kingdoms in which loads of things are happening. Bombs, arrows, battles, deathcount, etc. I'm starting to wonder if there are enough things happening in my book.

If I were to diagram the scenes thus far, you would see that Maggie and her cohorts spend A LOT of time talking to each other. Dialogue must be my story spine - the way in which the story plays out the first time around. Sort of a question/answer session that reveals deeper motivations and character elements. But, I'm questioning whether they talk too much.

The book is certainly peppered with description and exposition, but these aren't nearly as rich as the dialogue. And things are happeneing. They just seem to happen a lot more slowly than I'd like right now. Kevin keeps saying to me, "Isn't that up to you. You're the one writing it. Aren't you the one in charge?" Good questions, all. And yes, I am in charge, to a point. But, these characters have kinks of their own that they need to work out right now. When I try to wrap up a scene that I feel like might be dragging, I oftentimes feel like I'm interrupting these people.

But they do have a lot to say that is guiding the story right now. So, I'm just biting my lip and listening very carefully.

NaNoWriMo :: Day 10 (The Day of Dialogue)

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:14:00 +0000

Day 10 Wordcount : 17,055

Day 10 Morale: High

I'm still on track to meet my 50,000 word count by the end of the month. The first week, I built up a word cushion, but was forced to take two days off over the weekend. Friday night we had a friend over for dinner. I spent all day running around after the kids, cleaning and picking up toys. And we spent all evening eating an amazing meal and getting caught up with an old friend. Since I've proven to myself - through my repeatedly failed efforts to get up at 5 a.m. - that I am not a morning person, if I don't write at night, I don't write.

Then Monday night, I got caught up in website design for Kevin's high school reunion. Let's be honest, had I wanted to write, I could have put aside the html and thrown myself into it, but I didn't.

Here's the great thing! I'm one of those people who starts things full steam ahead - workout programs, diets, soundtrack contests. Typically about a week into these things, if I have one stumble - one missed workout, one piece of chocolate cake thrown into the diet mix, etc., the enthusiasm goes right out the window. I was worried after my two days off that this might be the case with NaNoWriMo. But, surprisingly, it wasn't.

I sat down to write last night and I was frustrated. My characters have been trapped in this incredibly long conversation on the front porch of their house. There's a lot of pacing and talking, but very little else. As I've been writing the words, my inner editor and my inner instant gratification junkie have been screaming at them to finish up already. I didn't want to finish the scene, I didn't want to hear them drone on about their past problems, I just wanted them to get on with it. If I'm honest about it, on Monday I avoided writing because I couldn't figure out how to move them along and get on with the story.

Last night, after a great Mexican dinner, I took charge again. I wrapped up the scene - albeit, abruptly - and got my characters headed on their merry way. And this was just the change that I needed. Maggie returned to school and met up with her college roommate. And I love the roommate. She's funny and brash and has just the kind of energy that keeps a scene moving. I whipped off 2,000 words in 45 minutes without even thinking about it.

After thinking about it this morning, I've discovered the difference. Maggie doesn't have a long backstory with her roommate. They've only known each other for six weeks, so they are writing the story together as they go. They have adventures, they make discoveries without thinking about it. When she's with her family, there is all of this history and layers and loves gained and loves lost, blah, blah, blah. I need to figure out how to wade through that (and deliver the right amount of information to the reader) without it becoming a wordy mess.

I'm wondering if maybe the roommate is going to play a greater role in all of this than I originally thought. She and Maggie are fun together, and I like writing them.

NaNoWriMo :: Scene Soundtrack Contest (Part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Sara) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:02:00 +0000

Tonight's scene is at a completely different locale. We've gotten Maggie out of small town, USA and she's returning to college in the big city. Her roommate convinces her to go out to a club. I'll admit, it's been years since my years of hanging at at "Motor" in Detroit.

I need updated songs for inspiration. I'm been hanging out a lot in the emo world as far as my recent musical tastes, so I'm at a loss for a good, bass pounding club song to inspire the writing of this scene.

Any suggestions? You can still enter the Part 1 of this week's contest here.

Rules are the same. Submit a band or song that could inspire a Pandora radio station. You can leave a comment on the blog, send me a tweet at @samill1 or send me a message on the NaNo forums (I'm Colorado Columnist). I'll compile the entries. All entries must be in by midnight on Saturday. I'll announce this week's winner on Monday, and send you a compilation CD inspired by the song that you suggested next week.