The Best Day of Boarding Ever!

Have you ever had an absolutely perfect day? You know, one of those days when the entire universe seems to have miraculously aligned just right for you and life is uncharacteristically blissful?

I had one of those days on Friday. Despite the current officialness of spring, we got hit by a snow storm on Thursday that dumped heaps of snow in our mountains. It was the lure of that fresh snow that convinced me and Jason to skip work on Friday and hit the slopes at Brighton Resort.

The weather forecast for Friday predicted temperature highs in the twenties and gusty winds, so we were expecting a cold blustery day. We were therefore very pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be sunny and calm. With highs twenty degrees warmer than predicted and oodles of soft powder covering the mountain, we were in boarding paradise.

Jas on the lift-he is oogleing the snow.
Jason on the lift-I have no idea what the silly face is for.

But not only did the stars line up perfectly to create the ideal combination of sunny weather and fresh snow, they also seemed to favor me with unprecedented boarding progress.

For years I struggled to develop my toe-carving skills but only had limited success until the end of last season when I finally had a breakthrough and figured out the basic toe-carving motion. I was unbelievably excited about that breakthrough and this season I have been attempting to refine my still sub-par carving abilities. Although my skills have improved with every boarding outing, my carving was still pretty shaky…until Friday. Amazingly, on Friday everything came together.

That's me under all that snow attire with a perma-grin!
That's me under all that snow attire. You can't tell but I've got a supremely satisfied look on my face.

All of a sudden my carving became nearly effortless. I didn’t have to concentrate and steep hills didn’t intimidate me. I was completely floored by this unanticipated achievement and having a fabulous time! You just can’t beat the feeling of gliding gracefully over fresh powder while soaking in sweet sunshine-especially when you are genuinely surprised that somehow, suddenly, you are able to do this.

What an incredible day and what an incredible sensation! Thanks to my new skills I feel like I can now claim that I am a “boarder” rather than just someone that goes boarding. Hallelujah!

Unexpected carving success + unexpected lovely weather + luscious new snow + no crowds = the best day of boarding ever! We will definitely be boarding again soon, though it will be hard to beat such an utterly perfect day!

Partying Like a Patty

Jason and I are of very mixed national descent but, as far I know, the only place in the British Isles that we don’t have ancestors from is Ireland. However, that fact doesn’t stop us from celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.

My Shepherd's Pie-delish!
My Shepherd's Pie

This year, in honor of the green holiday, I decided to prepare an Irish meal for Jason. I made Shepherd’s Pie for the main course, courtesy of Rachael Ray, and for dessert I made an apple crisp recipe that incorporated Irish oats and Irish whiskey. It all turned out quite scrumptious and Jason and I enjoyed our candlelight dinner with the sweet sounds of U2 playing in the background.

My apple crisp with whiskey enriched whipped cream.
My apple crisp with its whiskey enriched whipped cream.

And, of course, you can’t truly celebrate St. Patrick’s Day without turning something green that was never meant to be that hue. So, I added food coloring to our bottle of Martinelli’s until it was a shocking emerald shade.

Jas guzzling his green brew.
Jas guzzling his green brew.

So, considering our lack of Irish lineage, Jas and I may not have any apparent reason to observe St. Patrick’s Day but, since we love to party and get down, we think that is reason enough.

Salt Lake City Loves Thriving Ivory!

Jas and I went to see Thriving Ivory back in October of last year and the show was fabulous, so when I heard they were coming to town again I had to get tickets.

We didn’t make it to the concert in time to see the first group perform, but we saw the last two bands that played before Thriving Ivory. Generally, concert goers have low expectations regarding the opening bands at smaller events such as this one. So last night I didn’t expect much from the opening acts. However, to my surprise, I was very impressed by both the opening bands that we heard, Company of Thieves and State of Shock. I was so impressed, in fact, that I bought both of their CD’s.

Company of Thieves played with plenty of energy. It was great to see their lead singer, a chick, tearing it up on stage. The audience members responded to that energy by being much more enthusiastic than you would expect, considering that most of them probably had never heard of this band before.

Me with State of Shock
Me with State of Shock

State of Shock, a band from Vancouver just beginning to play in the U.S., also performed with a lot of passion. You could tell they truly loved what they were doing. I got a chance to chat with them after the concert. They were the nicest rockers I’ve ever met, very friendly and accommodating. They were more than happy to oblige my request to have a picture taken with them. I’ve been listening to their CD and am happy to report that I’m digging it. Their music is catchy and fun, good toe-tapping tunes.

Thriving Ivory rocking out
Thriving Ivory rocking out

And as for the main attraction, Thriving Ivory, as anticipated, did not disappoint. Like last time, they put on a great show and the audience definitely enjoyed themselves. It’s easy to see why Salt Lake City is Thriving Ivory’s favorite place to perform. With girls screaming “I love you” whenever there was a quieter moment, you’d think you’d just stepped into a Jonas Brothers concert. But I guess I can commiserate with the screaming masses, I too love Thriving Ivory. I love their music and watching them perform, and I love that they’ve found such a captive audience here in Salt Lake City; I kind of feel like they’re my homeboys. Next time they come to town I can guarantee that I will be in the crowd cheering them on.

My sole complaint is that I wasn’t able to get a picture with the band this time. Unlike at their previous show, last night I remembered to bring my camera with me, but also unlike last time, people weren’t allowed to take pictures with the band afterwards. I’m sure the band members were exhausted; they looked like they were worn out from touring. And they were very sweet to hang around, following the concert, to sign swag. But man, I just wanted a good picture after the dismal state of the iPhone ones I took last time. So I waited in line, only to hear when I was close to the front of the line that they weren’t permitting any pictures to be taken. How sad! Oh well, my pixilated picts will have to do for now. Maybe next time…

Still, it was a tremendous show. I enjoyed all of the bands, which is a rarity. And I loved seeing my Thriving Ivory boys again. I hope they will return soon.