Recipes I Love

I must be in the mood for updating and organizing, because just like my Project Skinny {R4} page, I've also updated my "Recipes I Love" page. All the recipes I post there are tried and tested on my own family and have become regular stapes at my house.

For example, Cookie Butter Banana Muffins... I promise you, you will never eat plain banana bread ever again. Perfect for lazy Sunday mornings. Double the recipe. There, can't say I didn't warn you.

I'll make sure to add to it as I go. Being on a health/fitness kick right now, I'm trying hard to find healthy (good tasting) recipes. If any of them make the cut, I'll be sure to post them as well.

Happy eating!

Project Skinny {R4}

Some may have noticed, others may not, that my Project Skinny page turned from {R3} to {R4}, meaning I've moved from round 3 to round 4 of my weight loss journey. What's that they say? 4th times a charm? With me, I guess that's the case. I found success in Round 1, but reverted back to my old ways and soon, the weight came back. Round 2 & 3 was a lame attempt at trying to recover, but this time, it will be different (it has to be different).

I'm going back to what worked, including blogging about my journey here on this blog. This blog is about me and my life, so it seems appropriate. It also holds me accountable and reminds me of how far I've come, and how far I have to go. My first post titled "New Year, New Goals, New Me" is already up. I'll write about the ups and downs, the misery and the joy. Wish me luck...

1st Family Ski Day of the Season

I'm not sure what Utah's issue is this year, but for a place known for its "greatest now on earth," the lack of snow has been so disappointing. As a result, our first family ski day of the season didn't take place until halfway through January!

The school district where we live gave the kids a Monday Day Off, so we pack a lunch, loaded up the ski gear and headed down to Brighton Ski Report. Chris hadn't skied there for nearly 10 years and we knew that because the Salt Lake area kids would be in school, the resort wouldn't be so crowded.

And we were right. It was virtually empty.

And this photo was taken in the middle of the day! No lines, no crowds, no collisions with other skiers, etc.

And I forgot to mention that the snow was perfect! 15" of new snow had fallen in the last 48 hours. We could have done without the overcast ski, but we can't always have it our way, now can we?

"Gorgonzola" Park

We've passed Gorgoza Sledding Park (part of Park City Mountain Resort) many a times on our way to Park City, but never stopped. Needing a conveyor belt to take you back up the hill after you come down seemed... sissy to me. Plus, I'm a little cheap. Paying to go sledding? And isn't part of sledding in the winter having to hike yourself right back up the mountain. That's how you stay warm, right?

But then New Year's Day was coming up and our family and some good friends were looking for something fun to do -- with all our kids, ranging in ages from 11to18 -- that we'd never done before. So, we decided to try it out. And I'll tell you what... I've decided that sledding is all about going up and down the runs as many times as your can, so if you need to pay to use a machine to do that, so be it. It's worth the money, I've decided.

Perfect way to start the New Year. Beautiful day, out of the smog, and the temp could not have been better.

"Dopey" clearly wasn't worried about her ears getting cold. And for some reason, saying Gorgoza Park was difficult, so she renamed the park Gorgonzola Park.

cutest google squished cheeks ever.

You just stand there and hold your tube. A few minutes later, you're to the top. Genius! Chris and his buddy were trying to figure out how to raise the capital for a sledding park like this in Logan.

If you want to go to the very top, you just hop on your tube and get pulled up. Use caution getting on your tube, otherwise, your head might end up in the Resort worker's groin, which would be highly embarrassing. But I'm sure that doesn't happen to everyone -- just me!

It's a bit of a drive from our house to Park City, and it was a little pricey, but certainly a family event that we should repeat yearly.