Ski Chronicles

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**IF YOU ENTERED MY VALENTINE'S DAY POPCHIPS GIVEAWAY, CHECK YOUR EMAIL! I JUST CONTACTED THE WINNER!**

If you're sick of me talking about skiing and travel, you might want to take a break from my blog and come back in a week or two. Just kidding. Don't leave. I would miss you too much.

On Friday, we headed up north to Boyne Mountain for a ski weekend. My husband finished work a little early, and I was able to work from the car, so we left in the afternoon for what should have been a zippy 3-hour drive up the coast. It ended up being a 5-hour terror-filled drive with icy conditions and whiteouts.

We survived. :)

Driving conditions? Not impressed

Once we were finally settled at the resort around 8 or 9, we headed out to a restaurant that is on the resort grounds, called Pierson's. It was PACKED, so we waited about an hour for the table we got, but I was poured a mighty stiff Old Fashioned, so I forgive them.

Cheers, strangers!

Saturday morning, we were up bright and early (meaning my husband managed to shake me awake after an Old Fashioned-induced slumber). We had gotten over a foot of snow overnight, so my Mr. G was adamant that we experience the fresh early morning powder.

Yes, we are obsessed with our dog.

We got dressed in our slope-ready garb, said goodbye to the pup, and headed out. We are blessed to stay in my in-laws' condo, which is ski-in, ski-out, so it is pretty easy to get onto the slopes without wasting too much time.

View from the bedroom we stay in

We took a few runs before our friends showed up to ski/board with us. While we waited for them to get their gear, we headed inside the lodge for some coffee. In our haste to get out the door, we failed to imbibe in the obligatory pre-slopes warming ritual. Tisk tisk.

The rest of the day consisted of skiing, skiing, and more skiing, and then a late lunch and a few drinks at one of the restaurants on the resort grounds. 

...followed by my now rituatlistic post-ski hot soak. I have now had two baths in the past year, and this is a lot for me! I am going to call this a success.

Post-soak, I got ready to go to dinner with my in-laws. They had reservations at Twisted Olive in Petoskey.

We will have one of everything, please.

This place is so supremely cute, I just couldn't get enough. They set out a bunch of pastry-like desserts on the fireplace mantle, and had me salivating from the moment I walked in the door.

Hey, you're not an Old Fashioned!

I started with a delicious, islandy cocktail and then moved on to a charcuterie plate before the main course...

Chanting *Don't think about Bambi* *Don't think about Bambi*

...venison. I have not had venison in a while, so I don't have much to compare this to, but it was amazing. Very tender, kind of like a well-executed pot roast. I forced myself to eat it slowly, because it was just that good.

Pretty sure my husband wishes he married this instead of me ;-)

One more thing: chocolate cake. When the server mentioned that it was "lava cake"-like, we were all over it. This is pretty much my husband's favorite edible thing on earth besides bacon, so we had to have it.

After dinner, we hit up The Snowflake Lounge for one more drink before hitting the hay.

Sunday morning, I somehow managed to sleep all the way until 9am. This is very rare for me nowadays, but apparently I needed it after a day of skiing and 4 drinks. I had planned to hit up the spa for a workout and some sauna time before heading out of town, but by the time I ate breakfast and woke up from my hibernation, it seemed like a waste of a spa day, so we hit the road in stead.

Goodbye spa, hello gas station.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• Do you ski? Snowboard? Have you tried both? I've mostly skid but snowboarded once. I definitely am more comfortable on skis, but want to push myself to learn better snowboarding form.
• Have any rituals for after a physically exhausting day? I love a glass of wine and pajamas, but when I am having a ski holiday, I am all about the baths!

Frozen Lake and Thai Food - 6 Things in 6 Days

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We're six days into 2014, and I've got six things I'm loving about life so far.

(1) Brunch. Did I mention it is my favorite meal of the day (like 1000 times)? I have tried a lot of the staple breakfast nooks in Holland, but I am sure there are many more for me to try.

P.S. Brunch staple? Lipstick on a white mug. I may not always have time to get ready for breakfast, but I personally am convinced there is no excuse for a lack of lipstick. ;-)

(2) Frozen lake. I am amazed by how pretty it is to look out on the frozen and snow-covered lake. This lake is kind of a bay area off of Lake Michigan, and Holland is sandwiched around both of them. Despite having Lake Michigan water, it is just small enough to freeze over. I watched a coyote (I think?) prance its way across the lake yesterday, so I'm going to state that it's entirely frozen with certainty.

(3) Overload of cuteness. My dog naps. Like all day. The most pampered of them all...

(4) Snow. Holy Snowpocalypse, is it really coming down. I know this is happening everywhere, but I still can't get over it. I have that excited feeling of "Maybe we'll get a snowday!"

Yeah. Right. Ain't no snowdays in online marketing...

(5) Fire. Likely as a consequence of (4) Snow.  When it's cold outside, is there anything better?

(6) New restaurants. This is thai food, which my husband randomly suggested. It had been a year probably since my last thai adventure, and I have no good excuse for having waited. I am a sucker for curry dishes, but I am trying to reign myself in after a laundry list of holiday indulgences, so I went with some lighter fare (Pad Pak) and split chicken satay with my Mister.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• What is your food of choice at thai restaurants? I am looking for some new options!
• Do you live somewhere that is being hit by this snow storm? How much have you gotten?

WOTDs, Muller Yogurt, and Gratefulness

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Muller Greek Yogurt Corner in Caramelized Almonds

After my long runs this week, I refueled with the yogurt Muller (by Quaker) sent me to try out. It was definitely delicious, and had just the right ratio of creamy to crunchy. This was their "Greek Corner" product (they must know I love Greek Yogurt!) in the Caramelized Almond flavor. It rings in at 220 calories, with 13 grams of protein - exactly what my body needs after a long run! You can find more info on that particular one here.

Now, the workouts!

This week was full of variety. I generally make a plan and try to stick to it, but it's fair to say that I fly by the seat of my pants fairly frequently, so things tend to take their own form as time goes on.

Half-dead Following My Fiance Around The Gym

Wednesday
9.5 Mile Run, Abs Work

I totally skipped my favorite ever Pilates class on Wednesday, but let's be honest, after a 9.5 mile run, my body was just not into it. Some of you big fancy runners out there probably could have made it happen, but my body just isn't used to doing that much work in one day, so I skipped. Instead, I followed my fiance around the gym and timed him on my phone as he did his weights exercise. What a good soon-to-be-wifey, eh? :) I also squeezed some ab exercises in there, but that was all I could handle.

Thursday
Weights Work, Full Body

I focused on my upper body routine: shoulders, biceps, triceps, chest, and upper back with free weights, then on machines. Then, moved down to abs on the ab crunch and ab rotator machines. Then, I topped it off with the leg press, leg extender, etc. You know, all those leg machines that are in a row at the gym. Whatever you call them... I did 'em.

Friday Before Ballet Burn

Friday
Ballet Burn

This was a first for me! I was cramming in a workout before mojitos and cuban food at Havana, so this class was perfect. It made me sweat, but not so much that I had to wash my hair (score). I was honestly really surprised that it was as difficult as it was! I was totally sore for two days. This being my first ever ballet workout class, I'm calling it a success!

Weights and Such for Ballet Burn Class

Saturday
8.5 Mile Run

Saturdays have sort of turned into my default long run days. I just end up with a bit of time to spare mid-day, so I've been trying to put it to good use. I was planning on making this another 9 mile run, but I started having some weird calf pain. It basically felt like my calf muscle was dead weight. So, not knowing what that meant and not wanting to injure myself, I pulled back to a walk for a few minutes to cool down and then hopped off the machine around 8.5.

During this run, I watched The Lucky One, with Zac Efron. I got through most of it but then finished it on my Tuesday run. It wasn't the best thing ever, but it was definitely emotional enough to keep me engaged during my run. Also... Zac Efron is pretty. And the kid in that movie is super cute. What's not to love, right?

Sunday
REST!

I almost didn't, but my fiance convinced me to have a rest day. I had blogger book club eating and drinking wine club that afternoon, and didn't find time to work out before it. When we got home around 5, it just seemed like a better idea to relax for a bit and then head over to Grandview Tavern for a bite to eat and a cocktail. I had a bowl of chili, a side salad that was delicious, and a vodka soda with extra lemon.


Monday
Body By Science (Weights), Insanity Max Cardio Conditioning

Monday morning, my fiance and I got up early to hit the gym for Body By Science. We do the whole routine together, taking turns so that we can both time each other (part of the workout is lifting continuously for 45seconds-2minutes).

After work, I had planned a recovery run to loosen up my muscles from Saturday. I was thinking something like a leisurely 3 mile run (not saying 3 miles is easy - just saying I had planned to do it at an easier pace), to get everything pumping and loosen up, but not put a ton of strain on my body.

Unfortunately, I got to the gym after work and realized I hadn't brought a sports bra. Who wants to do a 3 mile run in their underwire? Not me. So, I trekked home, stopped at the Green Grocer for some cilantro and avocados for dinner, and then did some Insanity. I used to do those DVDs religiously, so to speak. It was definitely hard going back to it, because my feet and lower legs weren't used to it. 

Watching "A Few Good Men" on the TV after my iPad died

Tuesday
9 Mile Run

So, the day after forgetting a sports bra, I arrived to the gym after work to find that, while I did indeed remember the bra, I had forgotten to charge my iPad. Is it a bad thing that this had me on the verge of a total melt down? I'm super workout ADHD, so the only thing that has been able to keep me on a treadmill for run longer than 3 miles is some serious on-demand entertainment. When my iPad only had 16%, I started freaking.

But then I told myself: It will last longer than you think. And, somehow, it did. I got through somewhere around 7 miles before it died and I switched to the TV attached to my treadmill, which turned into me watching one of the best parts of A Few Good Men. "These are the facts and they are undisputed." As a former pre-law-er and avid mock trial-er, gawd, I love that movie. No shame. 

Before the iPad died, though, I finished The Lucky One with Zac Effron. No tears were shed by me, but the characters sure cried a lot. Pretty sure the people around me thought I was watching a soap opera. Next, I watched an episode of The Mindy Project. The guy from Knocked Up was in it, and I find him hilarious.


Wednesday
Upper Body Weights & Pilates Class

Justin and I have plans tonight with our "Mentor" couple from pre-marital classes at church, so I'm aiming to not get sweaty this afternoon. After all, if I have to shower and get my hair wet, I'm a goner for the day (meaning I'll proceed with sopping wet hair and no makeup, looking like a cross between a five year old girl and a wet dog. lovely). 


GRATEFULNESS! 
Yesterday, I totally forgot to do my gratefulness exercise. Here goes:
 
Dear Sidewalk Snow that is Hard to Walk through,
I can feel you sneakily giving my calves a workout. Well played, winter. I probably needed that.
Love,
Carly

SNOW!

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We're getting a big snowstorm in Chicago right now!

It's been coming down all day and should add up to somewhere around 7 inches...

So beautiful!

A few shots from the Des Plaines River Trail (North of Chicago) last weekend. This was all still on the ground when today's 7 inches began falling... should be interesting to see how much we get!











Justin wanted his dog, Hazel, to get a good workout in (she's a bit like me -- gets too antsy when she hasn't had her physical exercise!). Check out how quickly she's ready to rocket as soon as he takes her leash off...

This was hilarious to me... apparently, dogs sweat through their noses, so when they've been sprinting around for a while, they need to cool off. Hazel started burying her nose in the snow to cool off! So funny.

And a few shots of Hazel and her daddy...

I love this one in particular! Look how she walks right by his side.

See you all tomorrow! Yes, tomorrow... I've got a special, music-related post for you... ;-)