Happy Valentine's Day!

That picture is from one of my favorite sites http://www.stuffonmycat.com/ perhaps you have to be a cat lover (which I might not be...) to appreciate it, but there is some funny stuff on there. Steve sent this to me this morning as an e-Valentine.

We are finally getting some snow! We have hardly had any this year and now we are supposed to get over a foot! I will be surprised - pleasantly so - if we get that much. Sugarloaf is supposed to get over 2 feet! I am playing hooky on Friday and we are going skiing! I need to keep breaking in my new ski boots! I hear it can take over a season! ugh...

Tonight we are celebrating the overrated Hallmark holiday with me cooking a "special" dinner: caramelized onion and goat cheese salad with balsamic vinaigrette, salmon with a balsamic reduction, roasted new potatoes and sugar snap peas. For dessert? A Cold Stone ice cream cake! YIPPEE!!

My Sweet Nadia

It's been a while I have seen Nadia. For those of you who don't know, Nadia is the 2 year old daughter of my dear friends Peter & Vivian. I refer to her as my niece and she calls me Auntie. It's been hard being so far away from all my blood related nieces and nephews (in MD, NC and NV), so I feel fortunate to be close to Nadia. She is the most beautiful, funny and smart little girl I know.

On Friday Steve, Chris (our good friend) and I went to PVN's house (abbreviated Peter, Vivian and Nadia) to get take-out and spend some time together. I had not seen Peter or Nadia since before I went to MD for Meagan's baby shower - it's been almost 3 weeks! (I am fortunate enough to see Vivian at least once a week.) I know it doesn't sound like that long, but when I am used to seeing them at least once a week - it seemed like forever. When I first came in the door, Nadia started saying "AUNTIE" both verbal and signing and would then would point to me, she did this several times :) She let me hold her for a long time, snuggling into my neck and being so sweet. I can't believe how much I missed her! She is growing up so fast and learning more all the time... I feel like when too much time goes by without seeing her, she is going to forget me... thankfully she didn't.

Here are a couple of pictures of Nadia:
The first one is of her and the blanket I made her for Hanukkah, the second is Exasperated Nadia (apparently not pleased with the leggings she had to wear under her dress) and the 3rd is Auntie and Nadia. It's clear I absolutely love this little girl.

Craving Caramel Corn

I have very fond memories of my mom, Meagan and I sitting on the green couch in our duplex in Sugar House (Utah) eating warm, gooey, chewy caramel corn with spoons from the popcorn bowl. Yes, we had a bowl dedicated to popcorn. Popcorn is a big deal in my family. We used to have it at Donee & Grandpa Rick's house every time we went over. Grandpa Rick has used a variety of methods over the years but the current - and my favorite - is the pan on the stove (see image on the right). I think this makes the best popcorn. I digress... I was talking about my memories of caramel corn. I remember being 8 years old, in my body cast and being such a pain in the butt! My poor mother, the only things I remember willing eating during that time are pepperoni pizza and caramel corn. I'm not sure how she managed to tolerate me for those 3 months...

Last night I decided I was going to make it. I had the ingredients (listed below) and was ready to go... I was only missing 1 thing - a popcorn popper! I was talking to my mother on the phone telling her I was going to try cooking it on the stove like Steve does, she suggested I could cook it in the microwave. I responded with yeah, that would work, except I don't have a microwave! She thought that was a riot.

I managed to pop the corn without burning it, and it turned out pretty well... not as perfect as Steve's, but good enough to be covered in caramel. I got all the ingredients in the pan and realized I added white sugar not brown! GRRR!! Start over. Next batch I totally over cooked to the point that this morning it was like a brick in a bowl!

I refuse to give up, especially when it comes to cooking something... I will try it until I get it right at least once. I bought everything I needed on my way into work this morning - including a candy thermometer so I won't cook it past the soft ball stage which is clearly what happened last night.

For those ready to try for themselves:

dry popcorn, kernels picked out

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup light Karo syrup

1 cup butter (not margarine)

2 cups packed brown sugar

cook to softball stage, poor over popcorn. I like to add peanuts. Can form into popcorn balls or eat from the big bowl with a spoon :)

All about boots

Steve and I went skiing this past weekend, and it was a bit chilly but very sunny with excellent conditions. One would think I would be totally psyched to ski... yeah, not so much. I have been getting increasingly frustrated by lack of progress - more bluntly put - I suck. I didn't used to suck, but I seem to be getting worse. My boots KILL my feet and it is like some sort of torture to put them on and do a run that is more than a bunny slope. Seriously - these should be used by the mob to get people to talk. I keep thinking I can tough it out... I will get better... It's to the point where I am embarrassed how slow I am so I spend the majority of the time skiing by myself. Thank heaven Steve bought me a Nano for Christmas so I have some company. Don't misunderstand - my friends offer all the time to ski with me, but I say no, knowing it's not fun for them to do the wimpy runs... (I miss my ski buddies Nancy Senecal and Stacy Garrity, they didn't seem to mind the green trails... Nancy Riggs is runnin' with the big dogs now - when she isn't working)

After our first run on Sunday as we were riding the lift back up I started to cry... I was telling Steve how badly my feet hurt, skiing isn't fun for me, I am not getting better I am getting worse. He told me to head into the ski shop and get another boot fit. *I already have custom foot beds in my boots that were supposed to help with the pain. So I did. And what do you know? My boots don't fit (duh!). The guy told me they are a size too big, that's why my arches cramp up and why my feet go numb, why I can't control my skis, why I can't make a good turn, why I am working so hard at something that is supposed to be fun and why I am not getting any better. What a relief to know it isn't ME, but my dang boots! Then of course he offered to sell me a pair for $300 - but that includes fittings for the life of my boots. I have looked online and from what I have found it is a really good deal for these particular boots. See? Aren't they pretty? Here's the thing - I want to ski and ski well. I don't want to give up. I'll keep you posted...

Speaking of pretty boots - here are the pair of NON skiing boots I really want... these boots are made for walkin'! I have had my eye on them for some time... and will continue to have my eye on them until I start working at the Osprey and have some spending money. So for now I just drool over the picture :)

It's good to be back

As you may or may not know I had taken several months off from the gym. I realized at one point I had been going pretty consistently (3+ days a week) for over 7 years! I decided to take a break for a while - long background story that I will get into at some point. It was so great to be back! I go to Women's Fitness in Brunswick http://www.womensfitnessstudio.org/ and it is so clean, doesn't have that nasty smell like co-ed gyms have... it's really nice. I have met some great women that I have a really good time with and that I have missed for the past several months.

This morning I was in the Body Step class (step aerobics) http://www.lesmills.com/site/programs/bodystep-group-fitness-program.aspx at one point during the routine the instructor says "Great job, Adrienne!" After the track (song) was over I turned to Ann and said "Ha, it's painfully obvious who the favorite is around here" referring to myself, obviously and she responded with "Well, Anna (instructor) just just feels bad for you because you're gonna fall during speed track". (the next track, and as the name indicates - it's fast!) Yeah, she was right - I FELL!! I landed like a upended turtle with my hands and knees in the air kind of rocking back and forth for a second, it was so funny!! I got up, looked at Ann and we about fell over laughing. Of course this was after I called her a name that rhymes with stitch for jinxing me. Thankfully, I wasn't hurt and was able to continue. On my way out the woman at the front desk asked if I needed to fill out an incident report for my injury... that Ann, she's always such a joker! It really was a great way to start my day. Already I am feeling an improvement in my overall mental health from just one week of exercise. Now, if I could just loose weight as fast as I gain it...

I am so happy it's Friday! Tonight I am getting together with my friend Carla who I haven't seen for so long! She is getting married! We are going to catch up and hopefully start planning the wedding, oh how I love a wedding :) Tomorrow morning we are headed to Sugarloaf http://www.sugarloaf.com/mountain.html to ski... I haven't been for weeks and I am excited to see our friends and be outside enjoying the fresh air. Sunday is the Super Bowl - but who cares? The Pats aren't playing so I have lost what little interest I might have been able to muster.

Let's Get It Started

After several requests from my siblings - I am starting a blog. It'll be interesting (to me) to see what I will find to write about. I'll try to keep it updated and somewhat informative.