Giving my first to Boreal!

I stood at the edge.

My heart is thumping and I don't know if I should do it. Behind me, the sun has started its slow descend towards the tip of the mountain. I can feel the air getting colder.

To go or not to go. Which one would I regret more?

I have already given up once, walking away with a deep sense of disappointment, chiding myself for the lack of courage. Do I want to live with this regret forever?

Just do it! Say a prayer and go!

God must have heard me, because suddenly a Japanese family appeared. Grandma, Mom, Dad and Child. The child couldn't have been more than 5 years old.

Like me, the child stood on the edge, waiting for the green signal.

"Kocchi, kocchi!" the mom yelled.

The child followed.

So did I.

And down the steep slope I went.

Unfortunately, they disappeared as quickly as they appeared. I lost them as I reached the toughest part of the slope.

I am on my own.

Breathe... breathe... plan a mental route... look where you are going... don't hit the trees... don't run off the cliff... remember what the instructor said about tucking in the butt... now go!

Zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom... and WRAGHHHHH.

I made it down the steep incline but lost control at the bend. Suffered a mouthful of snow as I tumbled and skidded to a stop on my back.

I sat up, took a deep breathe, dusted off snow from my face, and unlocked that one ski left on my foot. 

My back seemed to be pierced with a thousand needles. I don't know if it's because I have scratched my raw skin on snow, or because snow has found its way inside my clothes. Maybe both.

A guy I didn't noticed before was staring at me some feet away. I must have looked pretty dumb when I fell.

Or is it because I'm grinning silly to myself?

I looked up the steep path where I came from again.

I DID IT! I went down a BLUE SLOPE all by myself! No way!!!

I feel like I'm on the top of the world, not down on some slope retrieving my other ski.

I dialled Panda's number.

"Dear, are you still at the bar? Can you spare me another 30 minutes? I want to redo one of the slopes. Oh, it's nothing." I will tell you about it later because if you know you won't let me.

That euphoric sense of taking a leap of faith. Achieving something you have only dreamt of.

I skied away from the fallen spot, still grinning, more than eager to rejoin the queue at the ski lift.

******

WE DID IT! We had a one-day ski trip to Boreal Mountain Resort over the President's Day long weekend.

Actually, Panda was the hero. He took up the impossible task of waking me up at 5am, driving us to Mac to have breakfast, then continuing on for more than 3 hours to Truckee.

All because I really love to ski.

He would sit patiently at the bar, watch movies on his Nexus, look after my shoes. OMLH.

Oh my lovely husband.

Anyway, we were blessed with fantastic weather on Monday. It snowed two nights before, so we were able to see fresh snow along the road as we drove. Something that I missed on previous trips.

Greetings from the sunny blue skies

The runs at Boreal

When we got to Boreal, I was admittedly a little disappointed. Compared to the more established ski resorts like Northstar and Squaw Valley, Boreal seemed a little rundown.

The signage wasn't clear, the staff didn't look friendly, and it appeared like they weren't ready to handle the crowd that had suddenly descended upon them.

By the time I got through the chaos and collected my skis, it was more than 2 hours later. I barely had time to warm up before the 12.15pm lesson.

Waiting to get to the payment counter

Still waiting...

Finally saw snow light at the end of the line tunnel

Just one more photo! I got to go!!!

I got a little grumpy over the long wait and thought to myself, this place needs Marcus Lemonis, the guy from CNBC's The Profit, to turn it around!

Then I met Darcy, the spirited ski instructor, whom I'd always remember as the one who asked me to watch out for my jutting butt. ("You gotta watch out for that butt, Grace!")

Darcy not only corrected my ski posture, she also turned my impression of Boreal around. It was impossible not to warm up to her antics.

As I whipped out my phone to snap a photo of the snow on the trees, Darcy told us she never had to buy sunscreen because people kept dropping stuff off the ski lifts.

When summer comes around and the snow melts, they would find phones, wallets, rings, sunglasses, gloves, tubes of sunscreen, bottles of beer (seriously?)... Like a scavenger hunt.

Love taking ski lifts

Up on the mountain as we got off the Cedar Ridge ski lift, Darcy gave us a geography lesson.

"Over there, you have the Sugar Bowl. That's the back of Northstar," she pointed. "Right over there is Castle Peak. And this is East towards Nevada, West towards California."

What an awesome view we have up here!

That's Darcy in the centre.

We went down the green slopes again and again to practise our parallel turns. At the end of the 90-min lesson, I was given a registration card for the Take 3, Ride FREE programme.

That means I get a big discount when I return for the 2nd and 3rd lesson - only $45 for Level 4 and up. After that, they will issue me with a free 2013-2014 season pass. How awesome is that!

I am so excited. I can hardly wait to come back.

Please, season, don't end so quickly!

Take 3, Ride FREE - do not lose this card!




Me on solo after the ski lesson

My unexpected souvenir. Guess my bag collected some snow when I fell! 

Mount Rose ski trip!

 

“玫瑰、玫瑰，我爱你！”

I would like to dedicate this song to Mount Rose, the place where the FC family had an epic ski trip to end year 2013! Ok, I confess that Panda and I totally tagged along for this one - we had no plans to travel in December other than that home trip. But when the FCians said they were driving up to Mount Rose and Reno to ski... how could I resist!!

Since we are on a budget life here, there's no way we could afford too many nights of hotel stay. The gang was planning on a 4D3N trip, which was too much for us. So after much discussion with Panda, the finance director, we decided to attempt the impossible. Drive up to Mount Rose at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning to join the gang, ski the whole day, stay one night at Reno, ski the next day, then leave the gang and drive back before it turns dark. Woah. Pushing our bodies' limits.

In the end, the plan turned out really well because I got too excited the night before and couldn't sleep much. We woke up at 3am, decided to change and have breakfast at McDonald's (except that it was too early for the breakfast menu). Then it was onwards to Mount Rose, stopping only once to buy Starbucks as we got nearer to Lake Tahoe.

If there ever is a thing called 'sleepily excited', this is it:

And then 4.5 hours later, we arrived! We even got there before the rest of the gang! Woohoo!

I, being uber excited, bounced off almost immediately to rent my skis and practised on the bunny slopes before taking the ski lift up to Ponderosa. The thrill of zig-zagging down a run, especially the first time where you don't know how steep it would be, was electrifying. I loved the adrenaline rush!

Then the gang arrived around 11am, after a hearty breakfast. (Apparently, the buffet breakfast at Peppermill Resorts, where we were supposed to be staying, was reallllly good!) After renting their skis, they joined the beginners class with little Z following them. Over the two days, they moved from beginners class to next-step class, and we took the ski lift up to do the green slopes over and over again. They liked it!! I'm so happy to find skiing buddies!!

Although it was only a short 2D1N for us, I was really having the time of my life, skiing two days in a row. Panda, the ever patient husband, said he had a great time napping in the car too while waiting for me. He was awarded "The Best Husband" award by the gang - LOL! Well, thank you for carrying my shoes around, and for helping me get food and water! My feet was blister-less this time because of "The Best Husband".

We started the return journey at 4.30pm, when the slopes closed for the day. It was perfect timing as the sun was setting and we could see how beautiful Lake Tahoe is.

One of the things I'd miss when I go back for good this year, would be the amazing road trip scenery!

(Post-script: I forgot to mention that Mount Rose's package - ski lesson, equipment rentals, lift pass - easily costs half the price of that of NorthStar and Heavenly. That's what made it so awesome! The only thing for parents with kids is, there's no sledding allowed! We did see a small area for kids to play with snow about 5-min drive away. )

What's up?

Am having so much activities (read: fun) that I could barely catch my breath. After a whirlwind 2 weeks back home to see our families, with birthday and Christmas celebrations snuck in between, we are finally back in FC!

Well, I wish we could say we are back to our quiet lives but looking at what we have done the past month, I don't think so...

Those old bones still rock!

The Leows made full use of their freedom (little L was in HK) and organised an epic clubbing night last month! I never imagine Panda and I going to a night club with transgender dancers but I must say the 'girls' at AsiaSF impressed me with their antics!

I especially loved our waitress - I shall call her Big Mama - who got Panda so red in the face with her teasing and flirting. When I told her hey that's my husband you are touching, Big Mama stage whispered in a manly voice: "Don't worry, I won't get pregnant!"

The most spontaneous award has to go to April, who led the pack on the 'blow jobs' - place your hands on their chest and get the shot glass out from their thighs or cleavage. I sent my sister a photo on that and she went "Eeeeeeeeee!" But actually, it was quite hilarious.

Big thanks to the Leows for that fun night out, which by the way, ended off at a KTV where everyone was almost ready to collapse from exhaustion. Old age.

Dainty, dainty! Tea and pastries!

The next day, Jo and I ditched our party clothes, left the boys at home, and headed down to Satori Tea Company to meet the ladies. It's such an exquisite place that I wished I had donned something prettier, lady-er. They had a whole wall lined with tea choices and a small cabinet filled with mismatched teapots and cups. I felt the urge to put on my best behaviour in such a quiet, feminine setting. But it was so hard because HY was about to leave US for good and I just couldn't stop talking. And it didn't help that the place was quite small! Luckily there weren't many customers.

The ambience was great but the menu was a tad too pricy for its quantity - at least for my current state of housewife-ness. Or maybe it was because I woke up late and I was looking for something to fill my poor starving stomach. The sandwiches did give me enough energy to move my toes home...

Did someone say shop and ski?

I was desperate for some action during the Thanksgiving weekend, so Panda and I had a grand plan - shop till we drop for the Black Friday sale, then head right up to Squaw Valley.

Based on our experience, parking would be a nightmare as it gets late into the night, so we got to Livermore REALLY early. And we weren't the first... at 4pm, queues were starting to form. Temperature was freezing and it got colder as the sun sets... but it didn't dampen people's shopping mood. Check out my frozen smile Kate Spade and Swarovski's line, even before they open!

We were quite glad that despite our tired bodies and the lack of sleep, we managed to get our butts to Squaw Valley. The drive was pretty pleasant and since it was the beginning of ski season, there weren't much snow on the ground though it was cold.

We rested for the night and woke up early to check out the place. I had mistakenly thought that ski lessons would be available in the afternoon (no one told me otherwise when I checked at the counter... boo!), so we took the aerial tram to High Camp in the morning. I had a blast ice-skating on the upper mountain. It was only when we got down and I wanted to pay for the ski lessons that we found out they were long over and the slopes were closing at 3pm! That left me with just an hour to try the easy slope.... it was quite depressing but I still went for it! :(

We stayed at Red Wolf Lodge, literally a stone's throw from the main village. Compared to where we've stayed at Northstar, the lodge was much simpler and smaller but the kitchenette was enough to prepare small meals. By now I'm quite good at packing ingredients that can be cooked in different ways - pasta, potatoes, carrots, some kind of meat, broccoli/lettuce, onion and garlic. Salt and pepper are normally provided but bring butter and sugar along. Condiments like ketchup, and herbs like dill or parsley, are good too!

What's for Christmas?

We got back to FC before Christmas eve and the gang had a superb dinner on Christmas day, thanks to Mr and Mrs Tan! Jo and Vic had to be the most hospitable couple I've ever seen - they spent so much effort preparing the sumptuous meal for us! I especially loved the devil eggs and chocolate dipped strawberries, and will try to attempt it one day! There was also an after-dinner song and dance session and we each took turns to jiggle our cellulite for disco music. We witnessed some really uproarious smooth moves but we are keeping those photos for personal consumption!

Next up...

It has been such an exciting year, thanks to our friends, and we are going to end it on high! Where will the gang be heading next? Well, I'm not telling yet, but stay tuned... for another episode of FC adventures is about to be unveiled!

Skiing rocks!

Where do I begin?

So we started out really early. It was Sheena and Sheila's first skiing trip at Northstar, Lake Tahoe and Panda went with them to take the beginners lesson on the bunny slopes. So I decided to push my limits and take the novice course. I was so lucky cos I was the only student and had a one-to-one with a really great trainer.

So I went for the green slopes for the first time and many, many times after!!! It was like, such a big milestone for me!!! Sheila did pretty went too and I accompanied her twice on the big and easy slope. Bravo!! Then I skied down the village run and met them back at the ski rental point. It was too fun. Blisters and all included.

And then, Sheena prepared a great dinner for us while we flopped down on the sofas to rest. And then it started to SNOW after dinner! How much better can it get? Panda made hot chocolate for us girls while we try to catch snow with our hands and hair on the balcony. Haha.

It was such a wonderful day. Thank God for the good weather, and for letting us experience so much fun all within a day!




Decked in our gears outside the ski rental

Taking the lift up the mountain

Our second time in 3 months

Much less snow compared to January (a little sad)

Mid mountain

Alone and trying the green slopes for the first time

Sheila's triumph on the Big and Easy

Sustained some "injury"...

A blistery ankle. Almost like an art piece.

Dinner made by Sheena

Hot chocolate under the stars

The beginning of snow fall