Happy January!

Here it is January thirty-first already. One month down, eleven to go. How time goes by so fast without you even realizing it?

I heard someone on the radio just now talk about New Year's Resolutions. My "goals" have sort of been going well. I have been cooking one thing a week. I made my dad oatmeal cake for his birthday (Grandma Jane's recipe- let me know if you'd like a copy. It's pretty awesome), I made sticky buns which were ok, not like my pastor's wife makes. I may have to try it again, but we'll see. My mom made turkey soup from scratch so I made quick biscuits to go with. I made woopie pies, and wasn't thrilled with the recipe I used. The cake was flat (too wet) and the filling was too hard. And of course, I've had to sample what I've made which made the ten pound I had lost come right on back. Dang nabbit. I think I may have to scratch that "goal" from my list or at least change it from desserts to anything but.

My job has been quite surprising. It seems that all of the hard work put into revamping the kids program early in December is seemingly for nothing. Our busiest day so far was right before New Years when we had about 30 kids. It was a crazy day, to say the least. We should have had more days like that. This past Saturday we were busy again, but only 20 kids in the morning that for some reason dwindled to 4 or 5 (maybe 6?) by the afternoon. Not that I necessarily blame parents/grandparents. Our winter has been awful until yesterday (we have gotten 6-8 inches in 2 days which is amazing). We don't have a daycare, hours and staffing has been cut tremendously to save money throughout the resort. It just seems like no matter what job field I'm in, there's always a problem with money. I know it's everywhere- in every job field, but it feels like I'm Eeyore with the black rain cloud following me around sometimes.

I've been fighting a cold for a week. Sunday it started getting the best of me and I left work early to go home and sleep (which is ALWAYS good medicine). On my way home from work yesterday, I bought vitamins, zinc lozenges, and Alka-Seltzer cold medicine. After taking lots of zinc and Airborne (good stuff), I feel much better; a little stuffy, but so much better. I ate lunch with a family who had sent their daughter to ski school for 2 years and the dad told me to take zinc to get better. Good stuff! He also told me a story about being turned down for job after job, getting sick, landing in the hospital, getting out of the hospital and interviewing for 2 jobs and getting offered both. He told me, "In other words, don't give up on what you want to do." Funny how God talks to me- though others when I need it most.

So following his advice, I went online today to sign up for an education course to renew my license but there's a snag. Trying to pay via credit card, they didn't have my experiation date. Is it another sign?? Or am I looking to much into it all? gosh.. why does everything have to come with speed bumps! I don't like slowing down or not knowing where life is taking me!!!!

I should have gone to the library today to get the second book in the "Girl with the Dragon Tatoo" series. I'm listening to my new Adele CD (21) currently. Good tunes- she's so beautiful and has such a beautiful voice and songs. I also purchased one of my last U2 CD's for my collection- "October" (the delux edition, of course) and Frank Sinatra's "Best of the Best" and George Michael's "Listen Without Prejudice". An interesting combination of music, if I do say so myself. I loved that George Michael album when I was in junior high. I have it on tape somewhere... hahaa....Gotta have Frank! And the U2 album is a great early punkish one of theirs. A little treat for me. yeah.

Well, it's starting to get darker and colder. I have laundry, knitting and a 70's sci-fi movie calling my name. Day's off are good!

lazy day

Today is my "Saturday"- the start of my "weekend". I work Thursday through Monday and consequently have Tuesday and Wednesday off to relax and do non-work/non-skiing things like sleeping in as late as I can (usually 8 or 9), making pancakes just for me, reading, checking emails/facebook, doing laundry, paying bills, etc. It is nice, however, that on my day's off, the bank is open when I need to put in a paycheck. Good stuff!

I've been finishing the book "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" most of the day and haven't done much else. I need to finish knitting a hat for a friend of mine who is living in England for a few months- the girl I met on the train from Australia. She saw me knitting so I thought I'd send her a hat to keep her head warm from the damp. I had better get it done before summer! I also have thank you notes to write. My parents thankfully instilled writing thank-you notes when my brother and I were young. We hated writing them, but now I love them and think of myself as old fashioned in this new technology age where everyone texts (except me) and emails. That's so impersonal but yet I do it because I have to. There's just something about a hand written note (or typed- those that got a Christmas card from me).



Freeport Town Wharf



I should have gotten my thank-you's finished a few weeks ago. Last week on my "weekend" I went to Maine to see a friend of mine before her last chemo procedure. She had lung cancer, but had surgery and chemo to take care of it. My mom got a call from her yesterday and she said it was her worst bout of chemo and if she ever got cancer again, she would NEVER have chemo. Ugh. that's not good. I was so glad that I got to see her. I also got to spend some time at LLBean and drive though the real town of Freeport- off the beaten path. Good times.

bull moose at LLBean

Long drive, but it was a great 2 days. And all I bought at LLBean were wool socks that are thin enough to wear with my clogs. Gotta be warm!

On my ride either to or from or around Maine, I was thinking of my "bucket list". I have it written somewhere- things I want to do before I die. You know you have one- maybe it's not called a bucket list, but it's a list of things you'd like to do in your life. I can't find mine, but I know some of the things on it and I came up with a couple more-
(in no particular order)


1. Go to see all of the Major League Baseball Parks
2. Go to all the state capitals
3. learn to surf (in Hawaii)

4. Ski Tuckerman's Ravine (and live)

5. Go to every lighthouse in Maine

6. Go lobstering (set and bring in traps)

7. Go ice skating at Rockefeller Center

8. Go to an opera in Italy

I know there's more, but I can't think of them right now. So do share some of your bucket list!

where's the snow???

One week down.... 51 more to go in 2012!

I hope your first week of this new year has been good. Work at the ski hill has been slow because of the up and downs of the weather. It gets cold enough for us to make snow, and a day later it melts because of rain. grrr... I just read/heard that we're supposed to get a big storm this weekend which will be great because it's Martin Luther King weekend. Most people have Monday off- not all schools do. Let me give you a little background.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a civil rights activist and preacher in the 50's and 60's. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968 and the great band U2 wrote a song Pride (In the Name of Love) about MLK. Last year, Dr. King (yes, he got his PhD in theology/philosophy) got his own memorial in Washington, DC. We celebrate his birthday, January 15, on the 3rd Monday of January. All federal and state offices observe his birthday and are closed. When I was in elementary school, we went to school on his observed birthday and we learned about what a great man he and other civil rights activists were. About 15 years or so ago, Vermont decided that all schools would have that Monday off so that kids/families could observe the day together and go to various MLK celebrations. Recently (+/- 5 years), Vermont or at least Addison County Schools decided that kids WOULD go to school that Monday to learn about MLK, but would have the following Monday off as an inservice (teachers have meetings, kids have off). At least we learn about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and what he did for our country.

Enough of the history lesson for today. I finished work early because no one was skiing.We had some kiddos this weekend, which is good. Yesterday was exciting. My computer's network connection has been giving me problems on and off since we opened mid-December. Yesterday I totally lost connection. Usually, I would go over to the box zip-tied to the wall and unplug it and plug it back in, and it reconnect and be fine. Not yesterday. The guys at Killington IT know me well and I'm sure never want to talk to me again. I'm not stupid when it comes to computers and I try to figure things out on my own (I amaze my parents at my computer knowledge- "you can change the background picture? How'd you do that???" that's me, amazing Moriah) So, back to my network computer problem. I need to connect to the Killington network to see students who are coming in skiing, sell tickets, look at instructors schedule and private lessons... lots of stuff. The great guys at IT came down TWICE to save me. I now have a wireless internet connection (that went on and off a few times today, but I got it back much quicker without a call to IT) and the internet connection connects much better and is faster which is always helpful. No more unplugging and plugging back in the power source!! Whoo hoo! It's the little things that make my job a wee bit easier...

How are your goals for 2012? Thank goodness I didn't have a resolution/goal to loose weight (I do, but I didn't write it because that's just cliché) because I think I've gained the 10 lbs I lost 2 months ago! darn holiday cookies and candies...  but I have been working on my 5 goals or at least #3. New Year's Eve I made Tortiere (French Canadian Pork Pie) and that was pretty good. The other day- Thursday- I made a pumpkin roll. I had never made a jelly roll before and didn't think we even had a pan. Of course we did. Whew! The pumpkin roll was pretty good, too, by the way.

Saturday, my mom wanted to make a soup. She cut up carrots (that I grew), potatoes, onions, garlic, celery while cooking a few pieces of bacon to mix in the soup later. When the bacon was done, I cooked the veggies in the bacon fat (can't waste good oil!). While that was cooking, I put the left over pumpkin that I didn't use in the roll and another can in a pot with some heavy cream and a can of chicken broth and mixed that well. Add the veggies, salt and pepper and cook until the potatoes are done. I crumbled the bacon, stirred and scooped out the soup and put shredded cheese on top. ooh... good stuff.

Not sure what's next for the cooking item of the week. Woopie pies maybe? mmm.... haven't had one in a long time. I have to get on the other items on my list- 1. money for a course... I get paid this week and need to look at what courses I might be interested in that I have to take. blah. #4- grow something- I need to look at my seed catalogs and get ordering. #2- go somewhere new... I'm still working on that- the year's still early. And I'm always working on #5- having fun! Hope you are too!

I think I'm going to get back to knitting... stay warm and pray for snow (at least in the mountains!)

2012 already?

Today, according to the Julian calendar that 98% of the world uses (the other 2 percent don't care) is the beginning of a new year. As for me, it was just another day that I got up and went to work.

For the last week or more, you and I both have been bombarded with lists of the best and worst people places and things of 2011. Apparently this is what statisticians live for- the last week of the year. Seriously? We all know what happened in 2011 both good and bad. But it is good to be reminded now and then. So, with that in mind, because I loved stats so much (I had to take 2 stats classes in college- regular and psychological stats) I have come up with a top 10 list of my own things from 2011.

(and in no real importance) we start with

10. Helping with the 14 or more baby calves we had this year. We lost a couple which was heartbreaking and always will be. Surprisingly, my dad takes it hard when an animal doesn't make it- he loves them all and has such a good heart.

9. Going skiing in April at Jay Peak with some skiing friends. Incredible conditions and I felt like a pretty good skier (finally!)

8. Raking and tedding hay with my dad and getting sunburnt/tan. Riding in the tractor is not only fun, but makes me feel good and useful at least a little bit.

7. Starting my blog. It's a good outlet and I suggest it to anyone. I'm not as faithful at blogging as my cousin who lived in the Republic of Georgia was, but I do what I can when I can. Sometimes I have nothing to say (or nothing new or interesting to say) and I don't want to blog just for the sake of  "ooh look at me". I would like to say I have more integrity than that.

6. Picking spruce tips for Harpoon Brewery 100 Barrel Series brew aptly named Spruce Tip Ale. I volunteered to pick as much as I could in a 5-6 hour time frame and picked over 7 pounds. For every pound we picked, Harpoon gave $10 to the Vermont Foodbank on our behalf. It was an honor to be part of the donation to the Foodbank and part of this awesome beer (if I do say so myself...)

5. Being crowned "pie princess" at my friend Becky Griffen and Suzi Lepkowski's family reunion this summer. You're saying, "what????" Let me explain....

My mom and I both are friends with Becky and Suzi and family (I went to college with Becky and worked with her mom Rose in the kitchen at college). Every year, they have a pie eating contest. Rose makes 8 or 10 cream pies (no, no apple or anything like that) and I've been told that Becky, my friend, is the reigning Pie Princess (no other females dare try to enter other than Becky and Suzi). Alas, I was forced (yeah right) to enter. Both guys and girls are timed together and luckily we get to choose our flavor. I'm not a big custard fan, but Rose made strawberry cream pie that I had to have. Alright, to make a long story longer, We all get our pieces (most of which had melted because it was like 98 degrees that day...) and away we went. I was watching Becky and someone said "Becky, Moriah's almost done" and she made a squeal and I looked down and ate my last bite, hesitated, and said, "Moriah, done!" Becky let out a shriek, but in a good natured way. I had overturned the pie princess! I don't make many public appearances with my crown, but here is proof of my winnings:

4. Taking part in the Gift of Life Marathon in Rutland in December. A few years ago, Rutland had a blood drive and set a national (maybe world?) record for most pints of blood taken at a blood drive. This year, the Red Cross collected 1855 pints in Rutland missing the record by only 113 pints. I waited almost 4 hours to give, but it's worth it when you know you may be saving a life!

3.  After not working all summer (for pay), literally praying for a job and getting Hurricane Irene and a job for 2 months with great pay. Not only did I work outside for 10-12 hours a day, I worked with some great people (not all of them...) and I got to see first hand at the destruction and the reconstruction that we Vermonters (and the Maine and West Virginia and other Guard troops) can do when we need to. Every day on my way to work, I drive along route 4 in Mendon, VT. Google or Bing it and look at pictures. I look at the sides of the hills and how trees are barely hanging on and how this will effect us for many many years to come.

2. Getting a full time/seasonal job for the winter! For the past 4 weeks or so, I have worked hard to get my area of ski school at Pico ready and going. This week has been crazy- coaches calling in sick, me trying not to go over on my hours but trying to make everyone happy, running around to get food, wiggling internet cords for my connection to work, (thank you Andy Myers for all your help!) picking up spilled hot chocolate, yelling at kids not to punch, kick, or bite each other, wanting to tell coaches and parents the same, but happy that I have a job and can still make kids laugh and ski (sort of).

and my number one for the year 2011 is...

1. My trip to California with my mom. I had wanted to do it in 2010 since that was the year she turned 60, but I didn't have the funds. I planned it all out (mostly- I do like some spontaneousity... like spontaneously making up words like spontaneouslity) We flew from Burlington to San Francisco and took a shuttle to our very nice hotel. We spent a few days in San Francisco and toured Muir Woods which holds a forest of Coastal Redwoods just north of the city. My mom's dream was to see the Redwoods "just like I saw in the National Geographic when I was a kid". We later took a train south to Sequoia National Park to see the Sequoias that are the Redwoods of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. My mom was ecstatic and in awe of the trees. Even though I lost her camera, I got to give her a present she and I both will never forget. How great is that???

All in all, 2011 was a pretty good year for me. I don't have a full time teaching job, but I have a job!

I know that people make New Year's Resolutions- promises that no one ever seems to keep. Instead of resolving something (isn't that a cleaning product?), why don't we set REALISTIC goals? such as:

1. save money to take a class
2. go somewhere new
3. cook one new item a week
4. grow something
5. have fun!
 To me these are realistic and even things I have to do (take the class). Yes we all need to eat healthy and exercise more and loose some holiday pounds. That's a given. But instead of focusing on the seemingly negative, lets focus on something we WANT to do!

Try it! And have a Happy and Healthy 2012!

fun facts about 2012

fact #1- some weirdos think the world is going to end this year because the Mayan's ran out of calendar space.

fact #2- this year is a year of 3's. 2012 is leap year (has 366 days- read about the Julian Calendar), Presidential election (ugh- more political commercials), AND the Summer Olympics.

fact #3 August has a blue moon (2 full moons in one month)

fact #4 I have run out of fun facts- enjoy 2012!