Back from vacation, back on the program

While I have tons and tons of things that have happened over the past couple of weeks, I may not be able to type all of them -- the overwhelming problem right now is that I smashed my right middle finger in the door of my car just as we arrived at home from our vacation on Sunday. It was stuck to the point that I couldn't remove it without opening the door...THAT's how bad it was. While the pain was amazing, the idea of it being stuck in there almost made me cry more...and, believe me, I was crying! I don't think I broke my finger, but it is very purple, swollen and has a huge gash. Dr. DB has been taking very good care of it and today it is feeling good enough to actually use to type. But it still hurts A LOT if I touch it the wrong way. You'd be surprised just how many little bumps your fingers take in a day...

Anyway...

Our vacation was spectacular. Those of you who are my Facebook friends have seen photos and have seen my frequent updates from the road, slopes, etc. Truly the best ski vacation ever.

The place we stayed was amazing -- though looking a little run-down from the outside (and actually located over a liquor store!), when we walked it, it was like "wow". Beautifully redone apartment. Huge windows looking out on snow (we could see a snowy mountain from our bed). Gorgeous kitchen (nicer even than I have at home!). Private outdoor jacuzzi overlooking the mountain. Amazing. We were very pleasantly surprised since this was supposed to be our "cheaper" option this year!

PD2 and her two daughters came with us for the first 4 days and it was truly a treat to have them with us. The 6-year-old (darn, I always forget what I call her here!) had her first ski lesson ever and did great. She was on the lift and the bunny hill with me and her mom the second day and I truly believe she will learn quickly. At least quicker than her Helen... ;-)

Having said that, I actually did an intermediate run on my birthday!!! FIVE TIMES, thank you very much. I was so scared...and so proud of myself. It was exactly 5 years since my first lesson...I am sure I am the person who has taken the longest of all time going from beginner (green) runs to intermediate (blue). I am far from comfy on blue, but I am now confident that I can handle any green anywhere, anytime. And I can do the blues...yay!! This was a HUGE thing on my b-day.

Another friend joined us the day after PD2 and her kids left...he stayed for three days and it was so nice to have him with us. The last couple of days was just DB and me...and that was NICE too. :-)

Basically every day followed a similar pattern:

- Get up fairly early (not later than 8 or so);
- Eat our healthy breakfast (on plan nearly every day);
- Mosey over to the slopes between 10 and 11;
- Ski for a few hours;
- Have a beer;
- Go home and get in the hot tub;
- Have another beer;
- Go to dinner
- Go to bed by 10.

Yes, ski vacations are TOTALLY relaxing!! But the beer part is NOT good. While I ate pretty well most of the time, the beer took its toll. I gained. Not as much as I feared, but I really really really have to get back on the wagon because now I've got 10 pounds to lose to get to my lowest weight...and 10 more after that. I'm lucky we skied every day...without that, I would have gained a lot more. One of the bright sides is that I am still 15 pounds less than after ski/beer vacation last year. ;-)

DB and I both got a cold in the middle of the week and it's taken a while for us to kick it. But mine seems to be mostly gone now and my health focus is on this darn finger.

We are both so totally stoked about skiing that we are looking for a cheap rental to go up this weekend...I'm not optimistic that we will find one since it is a holiday, but who knows? I'm also not that excited about putting my finger into my ski mitten... ;-) We do have two other 3-day weekends already booked for the rest of the season...having our season passes makes this very affordable for us. :-)

DB was awesome on the actual birthday: he cooked me breakfast, encouraged me on the blue ski run, and even set the alarm on his phone to go off at the exact time I was born so we could smooch and celebrate. He also got me the subscription for the downtown theatre again -- we enjoyed our "year of dates" last year so much!! This is in addition to my slammin' new ski boots (which were, I'm sure, instrumental in my improvements this year), some cool electronic stuff for my Droid and some beautiful earrings that I had admired in a store recently. Oh yeah, and yellow-lensed ski goggles (for days without sun). He spoils me. I am a lucky woman.

Best. Birthday. Ski. Week. Ever.

And now I've got to try to catch up with all of you!! :-)