Ski Adventures

Well were survived our ski weekend! We had a great time visiting relatives and skiing in Rossland, BC at Red Mountain.

We started our adventure on Thursday night by driving to Spokane - which is about the halfway point - and stayed with Dusty & Erin. It was nice to catch up with them although our time was short.

Friday morning we headed toward the border. It was nice weather for driving - sunny and blue skies. We arrived in Rossland around noon but didn't hit the ski hill that day because the lifts close at 3pm. We hung out with my aunt and went into town to visit a few shops and have lunch. Rossland has a really cute downtown area and although it was cold, we enjoyed walking around.

Saturday it was time to ski! Since we hadn't been in awhile we just bought tickets to a lift that goes halfway up the mountain - it was less expensive too. My major fall of the weekend came the first ride up the chairlift. You need to have good balance to get off and I didn't so my tailbone is still a bit sore but it's feeling better. We went down quite a few runs and my aunt really helped me remember my form in skiing and how to make good turns.

Sunday we bought tickets to go all the way to the top of the mountain. It was so high but a beautiful view and lots of snow. We ended up doing a couple runs on top and then skiing all the way down. Boy was that a long trip - it made my legs so tired! Sunday afternoon we headed back to Spokane and slept very well that night before heading home Monday.

It was a great weekend. Still have to upload pictures so those will come soon! How did you enjoy your long weekend (if you had one)?

Outdoorsy

Yesterday we decided to take advantage of the great weather and go outside! It was wonderful. My heart soars that it is almost springtime. I can practically taste it. And yes, I am that excited. Spring is my favorite time of year. Everything is green with the bright color of flowers mixed in and there is new life everywhere. How can you not love it?

We took Tinkerbell out to Horn Rapids Park about 20 minutes west of our house - inbetween West Richland and Benton City along the Yakima river. We had the park to ourselves for most of our time and we also took a nice walk along the river.

Can you tell she loves to run?

Soreness

Yesterday was my second workout with our trainer. He had me doing different weight workouts and also added some extra weight to ones I was already doing.

So you can imagine that today I am sore. When I woke up this morning I just wanted to lay in bed all day stretching. It felt so good. When you stretch and you're not sore you can't really tell what muscles you are stretching. But when you're sore all of a sudden you have new muscles that are now sore.

And I'm proud to report that while I didn't lose any weight (because I'm a girl...) I did lose inches. My neck lost an inch (who knew?) and so did my waist. Sweet!

So here's to my soreness - if it will drop the inches, I'll take it.

Progress Update

Well we have been going to the gym on a regular basis for about 2 weeks now. It's getting hard! I just want to sit at home most nights and relax after work. I need to start looking at working out as relaxing.

I've had two workouts with my personal trainer. The first one was mostly an orientation and I did a few exercises. This last time was a full workout - an hour of weight workouts. My arms are so sore I don't even want to wash my hair in the shower! But it's a good pain because I know my muscles are growing.

In addition to the weight workouts, we are also doing cardio twice a week. Once for fat burning and once for a full cardio workout to strengthen our hearts and lungs. Monday night we went to the gym right after work and I was looking forward to doing lower cardio - just walking on the treadmill. But all the machines were full - because it's the busiest time of the day. So we looked around for awhile and decided we would leave and come back. But our trainer caught us.....I was so embarrassed. He thought we were just leaving.....so he made us get on the stair stepper. Talk about H-A-R-D! Intense for sure. I thought my calves were going to crumble.

In addition to all the working out, we are also logging our food. After about a week of doing this, I realize that I don't really eat more calories then I should - I just eat more carbs and fat then I should. But it's been a challenge to add more protein to our meals every night. Besides eating chicken for every meal - I've been challenged to find more protein rich foods. Any recipes out there anyone?

Overall it's been good for us. It's nice to have a partner to workout with and log food with so we can keep each other accountable. And Chris has already lost 1 1/2 lbs! Sweet!