Another year is here — hello 2019!

I’m finally starting to feel human again after getting sick just two days into the year. I don’t know if it was the flu or a virus or what but it really took me down.

how most of my first 2 weeks went down. First tea with lemon and eventually back to my beloved coffee

I went hiking that night and just couldn’t keep up with my group. I felt lightheaded and tired. The next morning i was full on feverish and achy and that lasted a couple of days before the head cold and chest congestion folded into the mix. Yucko!

Let’s just say it was a lovely “extra” gift from Mr. SOTSS this holiday. He was sick first. But he did give me another gift for Christmas that was AWESOME!

He booked us a ski weekend in Vermont for that last weekend of 2018. I felt bad that he was sick but he was a trooper and we had a great time.

snowboarding and sniffles

We are both super grateful that I didn’t get sick until AFTER the trip because I am not the a trooper type when I am sick. I’m actually the biggest mope and whiner you’ve ever met when I”m sick. 

All smiles waiting for the lift up for our first run of the day

Skiing always makes me feel like a big kid. Oh wait, maybe it’s the pigtails 😉

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Another Memorable Winter Vermont Weekend

Well hello strangers?

I cannot even believe it’s been almost a month since I last posted. Well, yes, I guess I can. It’s becoming quite apparent that my blogging frequency will remain this way for a while. My feet are improving slowly and I’m going to test the waters with some easy run-walking starting next week and I truly hope to run a few 5ks this spring. I also registered for the super popular Spring Lake 5 miler that I have run a few times and spectated a few times. That’s in late May. I actually ran it last year as my initial toe injury was healing but just a month later I was back to limping 🙁

 

I got back Sunday night from such a lovely weekend getaway in Vermont with Mr. SOTSS.

A historic beauty!

The Inn at Weathersfield: a historic beauty!

This year’s trip was a little different than our last 3 trips because Mr. SOTSS’ sister was getting married. So instead of going at the end of January we went a month later. And instead of going to West Dover, VT we headed a bit further north to Perkinsville, VT to the Inn at Weathersfield, where the venue of the wedding would be.

inn-weathersfield

(You can read about our previous ski weekends here, here and here) First, let me say this Inn was the most quintessential bed and breakfast and the owners Richard and Marilee were so welcoming. I couldn’t help but notice this note that Marilee wrote to Thomas, the original owner of the Inn (when it was just his residence back in the late 1700s)

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We arrived Wednesday night just before dinner and basically had dinner and settled in.

A toast by the fire.....welcome to Vermont!

A toast by the fire…..welcome to Vermont!

Fresh baked cookies were waiting for us in the room daily!

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It was really a bizarre weather day, reaching 80 degrees at one point on the drive up. But thankfully Thursday morning we woke to temps below freezing because that’s what a Winter Vermont weekend getaway should be! Breakfasts were AMAZING!

Farm fresh eggs with lots of veggies, homemade sourdough toast, bacon and potatoes along with the very important first cup of coffee....heaven

Farm fresh eggs with lots of veggies, homemade sourdough toast, bacon and potatoes along with the very important first cup of coffee….heaven

Michael, the awesome chef made a veggie scramble. We’re talking eggs with carmelized onions, sauteed spinach and peppers and fresh sharp cheddar cheese. They source locally for all their ingredients. Oh and homemeade sourdough toast and even homemade grape jelly.

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Next up was a day of skiing. We went to Okemo Mountain which was about a half hour from the inn. I struggled a bit at first because there were some icy spots and a lot of groomed trails. But eventually my confidence gained and I felt less wobbly.

 

Still sporting my 25+ year old skis. I always giggle because NOBODY has skis this old anymore. But they work and I'm not ready to invest in new equipment that I only use once or twice a year.

Still sporting my 25+ year old skis. I always giggle because NOBODY has skis this old anymore. But they work and I’m not ready to invest in new equipment that I only use once or twice a year.

Okemo

Okemo

chairlift selfe

chairlift selfe

 

Friday and Saturday we got to snow shoe on the grounds of the Inn. We went as a group with the bridal party on Friday and then just the two of us on Saturday. I love being outside in nature and I love snow. It was so quiet and beautiful and I just couldn’t stop taking pictures.

:)

🙂

I love the way the tree trunks and limbs create such a beautiful pattern here

I love the way the tree trunks and limbs create such a beautiful pattern here

Hi there

Hi there

And the light filtering through the trees.....sigh. so beautiful and serene.

And the light filtering through the trees…..sigh. so beautiful and serene.

snow shoers

snow shoers

even a pop of blue sky

even a pop of blue sky

group shot!

group shot!

"just pretend we're having a casual conversation"

“just pretend we’re having a casual conversation”

 

And then the reason we were all there…..the wedding…

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Hi there. Happy Monday!

Last week seems like a distant memory. Monday and Tuesday it poured rain. Tuesday evening Mr. SOTSS and I saw the movie The Founder, the story of how McDonalds came to be. the-founderIt was very important that I saw it because my cousin wrote the movie! Isn’t that cool? He also wrote The Wrestler, Big Fan and Turbo. robert-siegelAnd then Wednesday I had jury duty….hard to believe I stressed so much about it. jury-dutyI lucked out and only had to serve for a whopping hour and a half! I was home in the afternoon and took Duncan out to the park to celebrate that the rain had passed and we could finally enjoy some sunshine.

Yay for sunshine and no more jury duty

Yay for sunshine and no more jury duty

I also went on another night hike which I’m really becoming addicted to.

Thursday I worked a ton but got out for my once-a-week run (still trying to rest the darn hamstrings!). A short run that felt hard thanks to the super high winds.windy-run

And then Friday began my super fun weekend getaway with Mr. SOTSS. He booked our 3rd annual ski weekend in Vermont as a Christmas gift for me. And this year was just as fun.

Two years ago was when I had that little snowmobile “incident”. Last year we stayed at the same B&B as this year and let’s face it, the best part of the trip might have just been the amazing homemade breakfast options they served. Spiced apple waffles that were the perfect texture….soft and doughy on the inside and crispy and flakey on the outside. There were also homemade cinnamon rolls and coffee cake.

cinnamon-roll

Cinnamon roll!

Yes, I took a 2-day break from the whole healthy eating thing. But I’m back on the wagon today.

We drove up Friday morning with a stop at my friend’s house to drop off Duncan. He is very lucky to get that extra hour and a half with me before drop-off.

Wait? Am I going with you to Vermont?

Wait? Am I going with you to Vermont?

Road trips are my favorite. I'm such a traditionalist. A little hand holding and some good tunes.

Road trips are my favorite. I’m such a traditionalist. A little hand holding and some good tunes.

After grabbing dinner we just settled in for the night.

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Today I’m going to recap my Mt. Snow ski weekend in Vermont and tell you about my healthy car snack options. I’m recapping everything but races lately and I’m quite ok with that. =)

I’ve got races coming up in March, April and May so indulge me for the next few weeks with these recreational winter fun posts =)

Friday morning Mr SOTSS and I headed up to Vermont with a quick stop to drop off Duncan at my friend Nicole’s house. 

doesn't matter if it's 1 hour or 6 hours. He just lays on my lap the entire time

doesn’t matter if it’s 1 hour or 6 hours. He just lays on my lap the entire time

napping in the car

napping in the car

Waiting for us to pack up the truck

Waiting for us to pack up the truck

This ski weekend was a gift from Mr SOTSS for Christmas. He gave the same gift last year only we chose a different bed and breakfast this year. I love traveling, especially road trips. There’s something so enjoyable about spending the long hours in the car listening to tunes and talking about so many things we never seem to get to talk about normally. Road trips aren’t complete without snacks because, let’s face it, I can get really cranky if I don’t have access to food. Usually I make poor choices for snacking when traveling but I had just been online reading about healthy snacks at nuts.com and then saw this cool “snack hack”:

nuts_new_year_snack_hack_v02I was so inspired that I packed up some healthy stuff like apples, almonds and cranberries, a granola bar and some pretzels.

unsweetened applesauce, apples, raw almonds and dried cranberries, pretzels, and fruit and nut bar

unsweetened applesauce, apples, raw almonds and dried cranberries, pretzels, and fruit and nut bar

As we approached Vermont it started to snow. It was exactly the way it should be when you’re driving up for a ski weekend. So picturesque!

Welcome to Vermont

Welcome to Vermont

We checked in to the bed and breakfast just before sunset and I forced Mr. SOTSS to take some pictures of me for the blog. He is so tolerant.

me and the sign

Welcome Weary Travelers. HA!

 

Me and the sign and the actual inn More »