Bruises and aches and pains oh my!

So I"m finally getting back to you all about my snowboarding adventure. Quite an adventure it was. So Dave and I finally made it to Wachusett Mt. on President's Day. Both of us had that Monday off from work and what better way to spend it than sending our bodies hurdling down a mountain?

Dave has a little more experience than I do, well he's been twice before, where as this was an entirely new experience for me.
I have to admit as we got closer to the mountain I got more nervous, I think by the last mile I was ready to fake an illness or injury to get out of it...but hey what doesn 't kill you makes you stronger right?

We rented all our gear, figured out how to put on our boots and bindings and what not and prepared for our first snowboarding lesson. It was an amusing sight...me, Dave, and a bunch of six and seven year olds ready to learn how to snowboard. I felt a little silly but oh well I wasn't going to attempt a pass down any hill without some instruction. It gets better, our "instructor" was all of fifteen years old. I almost have a decade on the kid, but he had 9 years of experience where as I had zilch. So our lesson consisted of learning how to stand up on the board, strapping both our feet into the board, and two turns which once you learn get you down the hill.

We each took turns practicing heel edges and toe edges, basically shifting your weight either backwards or forwards on the board, hopefully while you remain standing which allow you to turn in both directions. I fell after or during every single attempt at a turn, well before that I was falling just while trying to go in a straight line. The six and seven year olds were totally showing me up. I wanted to give up but thanks to my mom in this situation my stubborness and competitiveness reared their heads and wouldn't let me stop till I got the hang of it.

As our lesson ended I was still at a loss in terms of getting myself down the very tiny bunny hill in any way shape or form other than sliding on my butt or tumbling head over heels. But we were left on our own and Dave was determined to get us down the hill. He had no problem because he knew what he was doing...he excelled in our lesson, and that just made me want to get it even more, if nothing other than to make myself feel better.

We moved on to the next hill, from the bottom it looked completely intimidating..but put in perspective it was a tiny hill probably as steep as our driveway in Huntington. So after a couple hours of practicing toe edges and heel edges I actually made it down at least halfway down the hill without falling. I was proud and felt rather accomplished. We went further and further up the hill as far as our courage would allow us. By the end of the day I was happy with my improvements and had the aches and bruises to show for them.

It was a fun day it of course got better as my skills improved. Nothing is really that fun when you are horrible at it. But I can see that if I practiced more I could at least become somewhat proficient in navigating my way down a hill or two. I think I'll try it again for sure once my bruises are gone that is.

So I 'll add some pictures for you guys when I get them from Dave, I would put some up of my bruises but they are concentrated on my butt so I don't think you want to see that.

Hope you are all enjoying the winter as much as I am...what winter sport should I try next? any suggestions?

Talk to you all soon and love you lots!

Katherine

Winter Sports

So I've been wanting to post this entry for a while but I'm still learning the ins and out of this blog thing...I had all these pictures that I wanted to share from my weekend but was having a hard time getting them to post.

Anyway here they are at last ...and here is a recap of my weekend...well a while ago now but still thought I'd share. All of these events seem like a lifetime ago but they were fun so I don't mind reliving them once again.

So Friday was a pretty quiet, Allison and I stayed in the apartment and had a girls night in (sans the guys) which was a nice change of pace. We didn't do much really just talked a lot, ate some candy and watched some really cheesy TV. It was a nice way to begin the weekend, relaxing and therapeutic. Saturday was a little hum-drum but I can't complain I got some chores and errands done and didn't have anything stressful to take care of. Sunday was a great day! My parents decided to come spend the afternoon with me and I hadn't seen them in a while so it was good to catch up. They met Allison after over 5 years, so that's good. We had a lovely lunch at Vinny T's where we dined on some delicious Italian cuisine. And there were plenty of left overs so I didn't have to cook for a while, THANKS GUYS!

Monday I took a vacation day and got to spend some time with Dave. I hadn't seen him in a week so it was nice to spend a whole day together, our schedules usually only allow us an evening here or there. So we spent the day doing some fun winter activities....like ice skating on the frog pond! We had gone one time earlier this winter but it wasn't exactly a success. This time around I really got the hang of things. Going during the day made for a much easier time I didn't have to worry about running into people or falling because I had plenty of time and space to do so. It was a rough start and I didn't want to let go of Dave's arm but once I did, I found my balance I was eager to go.




Here I am probably just before I fell...but hey you can't tell from the picture can you?
Dave had me laughing so much I thought I might tumble, but I held it together..well at least that time.

Here I am looking like a pro...winter Olympics here I come...ha ha.

So we spent a few hours out there on the ice...I think I found my "ice legs" if there is such a thing. Regardless I had a lot of fun and that's all that really matters.

This coming weekend I"m going to be trying my hand at another winter sport, snowboarding. I'm a little nervous, but Dave and I are going to take a lesson so it shouldn't be too hazardous at least that's what I keep telling myself. Don't worry Mom I promise to be safe and maybe I'll really like it and become a pro at that too. I doubt it but I am definitely willing to give it a try. We even convinced Allison to give it a whirl.

So I'll have to tell you how it goes...I'm sure it will be a little bumpy at first to say the least, hopefully the bumps will mostly be on the mountain and not on me.

love you all and give you an update soon!