Progress
Hi friends!
When last I left you, your darling Ela was in tears at the bottom of the Snow Valley bunny hill. Since then, Jason took me for a second lesson, which was slightly better. There was a lot more standing, some controlled 'floating,' and even some appropriate stopping. There was not, however, a whole lot of fun. I was still really frustrated with my inadequacy, and Jason was doing a very good job of being patient with my cranky attitude. Leaving the hill after 4 or so hours of up the carpet down the hill, I was starting to regret agreeing to learn.
The Christmas season then leapt upon us, and I was kept busy writing finals and getting gifts together. My finals went really well - even the one that I wrote in 35 minutes. *grin* It was the last final, and I was SO ready to be finished. We had a really nice 'graduation' banquet,' where the girls looked lovely and the boys looked handsome, and one of my classmates delivered an absolutely perfect poem about our experiences as the class of '08.
Christmas was wonderful. Christmas Eve Jason and I were with my family at K & B's house. We ate a nummy dinner, exchanged gifts, and played with Jake's new Wii. Big Brain Academy? So much fun. Sadly, Jason wasn't feeling 100%... and he started feeling worse as the night wore on. Christmas morning we opened our presents for each other - I got him symphony tickets, Starship Catan, and Carcassone: The Castle. He got me Mulan, Finding Nemo, and Leonard. Who's Leonard? Leonard is a Warm Buddy sheep, and I love him. He is SO cute. SOOOOOO cute. And I love him deeply. He's wonderful. He's the best gift ever. :) I also got PJs and Christmas socks from mum and dad... and snowboard pants.
My old ski pants didn't like to stay up, as they didn't have a belt or drawstring, and the slid down off of my yoga pants all the time. My new ones are gorgeous, and they have an adjustable waistband. Well, you can guess what new snowboard pants mean... they mean it's time to try again. I mentioned that I was heading to the hill today, and my uncle asked if I'd like to take my two cousins along with me. These two Californian boys are both natural athletes, and had been once before, so I readily agreed. If it had required me to attempt to teach them something, I would have said no way. :) Jason had to work, which is too bad, so it was just the three of us who went out to the hill. And you know what? It was GREAT! The boys had a couple rough runs to start, then figured it all out. By the time we left, they were going off a jump on a slightly more difficult hill... one that I'm so not ready for yet. :) They looked fantastic.
How did I look? Well, not quite like them. I'm not a natural athlete, and I have a healthy respect for what gravity can do to me. That being said, I did a pretty good job. My drifting (the bit where you go down the hill from side to side) is looking good, especially heel-side. I need to continue working on my toe side control - it's hard to move from side to side when I'm so worried about mowing someone over. Dangers of going down the hill backwards, I guess. :) I'm also getting a lot better at standing up from a seated position. And the coup d'etat of the day is that I can get off the carpet, strap in my 2nd foot, and snowboard the more level portion of the hill. It used to be that I'd get off the carpet, UNSTRAP my 1st foot, and walk over to where the hill is steep enough for me to get going when standing perpendicular to the hill (the easiest way to control your speed). Now I can board that part of the hill by switching from being parallel to perpendicular. Because it's so level, I can control my speed while I'm doing this. The next step is to practice switching from parallel to perpendicular while going down the steeper portion of the hill.
It was so great to go out and spend 4 or so hours on the hill and to really enjoy it. I'm sorry that Jason didn't get to share my first day of enjoyment - given that he had to put up with so much crappy attitude earlier on. But at least now I'm feeling more ready for Jasper for NYE. I'm going to go tomorrow morning, too - and continue with my practicing. After that, I'm going bowling with my cousins which should be very fun. Possibly also painful, given how my arms are feeling after pushing me up onto my feet a zillion times today. :)
I am really looking forward to our New Year's Eve in Jasper. Turns out the hotel has a hot tub, which will come in wildly handy after a day on the slopes. :) Our NYE reservation is at the Fiddle River Seafood Restaurant, and it sounds like the food should be really good. Plus, the day that Megs and I spend reading and lazing (while the boys board the harder runs) is going to be excellent. I can sense it from here. :)
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and I wish you the best in 2008!
Love,
Elizabeth
When last I left you, your darling Ela was in tears at the bottom of the Snow Valley bunny hill. Since then, Jason took me for a second lesson, which was slightly better. There was a lot more standing, some controlled 'floating,' and even some appropriate stopping. There was not, however, a whole lot of fun. I was still really frustrated with my inadequacy, and Jason was doing a very good job of being patient with my cranky attitude. Leaving the hill after 4 or so hours of up the carpet down the hill, I was starting to regret agreeing to learn.
The Christmas season then leapt upon us, and I was kept busy writing finals and getting gifts together. My finals went really well - even the one that I wrote in 35 minutes. *grin* It was the last final, and I was SO ready to be finished. We had a really nice 'graduation' banquet,' where the girls looked lovely and the boys looked handsome, and one of my classmates delivered an absolutely perfect poem about our experiences as the class of '08.
Christmas was wonderful. Christmas Eve Jason and I were with my family at K & B's house. We ate a nummy dinner, exchanged gifts, and played with Jake's new Wii. Big Brain Academy? So much fun. Sadly, Jason wasn't feeling 100%... and he started feeling worse as the night wore on. Christmas morning we opened our presents for each other - I got him symphony tickets, Starship Catan, and Carcassone: The Castle. He got me Mulan, Finding Nemo, and Leonard. Who's Leonard? Leonard is a Warm Buddy sheep, and I love him. He is SO cute. SOOOOOO cute. And I love him deeply. He's wonderful. He's the best gift ever. :) I also got PJs and Christmas socks from mum and dad... and snowboard pants.
My old ski pants didn't like to stay up, as they didn't have a belt or drawstring, and the slid down off of my yoga pants all the time. My new ones are gorgeous, and they have an adjustable waistband. Well, you can guess what new snowboard pants mean... they mean it's time to try again. I mentioned that I was heading to the hill today, and my uncle asked if I'd like to take my two cousins along with me. These two Californian boys are both natural athletes, and had been once before, so I readily agreed. If it had required me to attempt to teach them something, I would have said no way. :) Jason had to work, which is too bad, so it was just the three of us who went out to the hill. And you know what? It was GREAT! The boys had a couple rough runs to start, then figured it all out. By the time we left, they were going off a jump on a slightly more difficult hill... one that I'm so not ready for yet. :) They looked fantastic.
How did I look? Well, not quite like them. I'm not a natural athlete, and I have a healthy respect for what gravity can do to me. That being said, I did a pretty good job. My drifting (the bit where you go down the hill from side to side) is looking good, especially heel-side. I need to continue working on my toe side control - it's hard to move from side to side when I'm so worried about mowing someone over. Dangers of going down the hill backwards, I guess. :) I'm also getting a lot better at standing up from a seated position. And the coup d'etat of the day is that I can get off the carpet, strap in my 2nd foot, and snowboard the more level portion of the hill. It used to be that I'd get off the carpet, UNSTRAP my 1st foot, and walk over to where the hill is steep enough for me to get going when standing perpendicular to the hill (the easiest way to control your speed). Now I can board that part of the hill by switching from being parallel to perpendicular. Because it's so level, I can control my speed while I'm doing this. The next step is to practice switching from parallel to perpendicular while going down the steeper portion of the hill.
It was so great to go out and spend 4 or so hours on the hill and to really enjoy it. I'm sorry that Jason didn't get to share my first day of enjoyment - given that he had to put up with so much crappy attitude earlier on. But at least now I'm feeling more ready for Jasper for NYE. I'm going to go tomorrow morning, too - and continue with my practicing. After that, I'm going bowling with my cousins which should be very fun. Possibly also painful, given how my arms are feeling after pushing me up onto my feet a zillion times today. :)
I am really looking forward to our New Year's Eve in Jasper. Turns out the hotel has a hot tub, which will come in wildly handy after a day on the slopes. :) Our NYE reservation is at the Fiddle River Seafood Restaurant, and it sounds like the food should be really good. Plus, the day that Megs and I spend reading and lazing (while the boys board the harder runs) is going to be excellent. I can sense it from here. :)
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and I wish you the best in 2008!
Love,
Elizabeth
Labels: Christmas, Jason, Megs, Snowboarding
posted by Elizabeth @ 16:23
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