Well, the computer worked for one blog post. Then it died again, Hmpf. So for now here are some pics from the Utah Olympic Park.
After skiing the other day we went to see the bobsled World Cup practice runs. It was pretty amazing!
Did you think I was kidding? Oh, no friends. When you turn this unexciting of an age and have nothing going on, you need to make your own party. This is a marathon. So my birthday (which was Monday) started last Thursday. I went shopping. At the outlets. And bought stuff. Shoes, a coat, a Coach purse (which I realized I had no need for and returned) and earrings and a headband. Really thrilling stuff. But it was fun just to be out. TB, current love of my life, took me out for Chinese. This will be a tradition.
Friday I skied with MK. It was a blast. I think this was when I figured it out. We came home and got ready for dinner, which we had at the Deer Valley Seafood Buffet, courtesy of my loving mommy. Lest Buffet sound cheesy, make no mistake, I enjoyed more delicious five star cuisine than the previous “X” years of my life. 😉 And, dude, TB (reason for love-of-life status) picked out the most amazing present in the world for me, wait until you see it.
We last minute just had to run out for some drinks, TB (again, love of my life) calling out for shots. Yeehaw. We met some silly LA’ers and had a giant phony one-upping contest. Giggles and more shots. Celebrity hunting.
We totally got catcalled - which is awesome even if it's not your birthday!
I had the funniest time the next morning – Saturday- feeling faintly hungover but somehow still on skis with TB. We were a sight. We also got to see (finally) someone famous here for Sundance. Kira fell right in front of me, and Kevin Bacon had to help her up. It kinda blew her cover. Sunday we skied with Bob. I had to show off. I totally came home and fell in to a coma. We went out for pizza (last junk food of the year…) at a new fantastic restaurant that we all loved. Thanks J!
Monday was this thing called my actual birthday. SKI BIRTHDAYS RULE! My legs were wiped out from the past two awesome days, but beer helped. TB and I were “first beer” at Empire Lodge. Quality. Then we went for round two at Silver Lake. By then, we were golden. I let go of trying to ‘do it right’ and just had fun. My mom AND DAD (MOSTLY DAD) sent me some beautiful flowers (MK got me some you can see in the background too):
MK took me out for drinks and made me a cake. We really had a great night. Yesterday was all about running errands and cleaning – KD And JC get here today! Let Week Two festivities begin!
We saw Robert Redford last night. And a lot of setting up.
Click to enlarge!
Worthwhile reading: Celebs with High Stakes this Sundance.
(aka – People we’ll be stalking for you.)
And one more – actually intelligent Sundance reporting.
(aka- if you’re interested or ended up here by accident and are looking for real info.)
😉
I wanted to tell you about all the juicy excitement fueling the little town of Park City as the crazies of LA etc. head in to tear up Sundance. But living here feels different than when we visited here last year anxiously looking around the airport for celebrities.
This time around, who cares. The rented Escalades are in my way, on my birthday weekend. The people shopping at the outlets for sundresses make me laugh (albeit enviously…). So meh, Sundance. 600$ for tickets to movies I’m not sure I’ll like before I wait in line to get in, no thanks. And seriously – the main website, or any other digging I can do is not showing me anything about parties I can sneak in to. Come on. I learned from SXSW, I’ve got skill. Or not.
But instead of me complaining any more, I’ll let you read these survival tips – my fave: don’t come.
It was super cute but also super hard to photograph. Here’s the best we could do: (click to enlarge)
We saw a hot air balloon…
The slopes were freaking busy:
I did a Black run (bad idea):
And JM is here skiing in good spots:
And in bad spots (sign says closed…)
Every place that we have lived has been a learning experience. Seattle right downtown gave us real city living. San Diego, of course, showed us life’s a beach. And here in the middle of Park City ski season we are learning what it feels to be like the other 8000 people completely shocked by the behavior of the people just stopping by.
Don’t get me wrong, I can’t judge everyone. BB certainly can, and will feel free to point out every terrible non-capable-snow-driver (to keep swear words out of the blog). He’s an expert at this on the slopes as well. I’ve only noticed that there are people that act the way they always do, totally cool and normal, and people who should be made to wear giant bumper stickers on their backs that say “Excuse me”.
The driving is one thing. I like to think that when we visited even if we didn’t know exactly where we were going, we didn’t endanger any lives. I like to think that wherever we fly we aren’t that out of the loop. Our main shopping for necessities here typically takes place in the Wal-Mart, because it is the closest. Mostly since the holidays started, people are tearing that place up. No one picks up after themselves. If they or their children drop something, they walk away. One lady, instead of trying to move around me, plowed straight into me with her cart. Awesome. I certainly hope it’s holiday-shopping-itis. but I don’t think so. And if you’re wondering how I know if they’re local or not, come visit. It’s pretty clear. Tourists complain more about things they don’t like, out loud. Some people here act like you don’t speak the same language if you tell them something they don’t want to hear.
There is another kind of tourist, though. And TB was quick to point out – without them, we’d have no good people watching. Deer Valley is a premiere ski resort destination. There are homes worth more than Donald Trump out here. I’m never going to get tired of the older done up ladies trying to drag their giant fur coats through muddy mushy snow. Or the once every ten year skier:
tourista fashionista
PS – Don’t get me started on this crap – the post I found the pic from…
So the BIL is here. And I’m exhausted. Disclaimer: I know that there are a few of you anxious to hear about every mountain adventure, the ones (yay! – my favorites 🙂 ) that have trips planned out here and that can’t wait for skiing. I also know that there are some people that will check the site again in six months and hope I ended up somewhere they are more interested in. But this skiing thing is new and fascinating to me so while I’ll try to break it up a bit you can expect more of the same.
BIL made it in right before the snow. It was already coming down when e woke up and it didn’t stop until just a bit ago. After a delicious breakfast (if I do say so myself) we had to really do a number on the driveway to get out. Apparently there is a problem with the snowblower. That is going to need to be taken care of. Soon.
There are too many funny little things that happen when these to men get together; let’s just leave it at an incredible day. We skiied our first full day and even got to meet up with TB, BB, and family. Deer Valley got so much snow they were able to open up a ton more runs. And I don’t care what you hear, I tore up some deep fresh pow. (That’s what they call it around here…)
BIL is our test run. We are playing in the snow. And finding the good bars open on weeknights. And I’m trying new recipes. So when everyone comes, they’ll be welcomed with our best. Fortunately, rumor has it BIL is getting the best. I like not have to try too hard ;).
This wasn’t as much snow as they predicted, but it was enough to not be able to get the car in the driveway! MK was a darling and got us in safely. We’re headed out to ski shortly and KK gets in tonight for the whole week. They’ve opened up more runs and we’re looking forward to having a great time!
Cat Killfoil 