January 25, 2014

Camelback Vortex

The Polar Vortex is back ... for the third time. As I write this the temperature is -3°F with a windchill of (feels like) -22°F.
I can't believe I left this to come back to the arctic!
I was in Scottsdale, Arizona for a work conference earlier this week. It was also a mini getaway ... beautiful resort and awesome food. I went with a work colleague and she convinced me to hike up Camelback Mountain the first day we were there. Holy moly rocky is that climb a beast and going down isn't any easier! The view was beautiful when I was able to catch my breath long enough to look at it (the following photo is my coworker Jen, not me).

I made it half way up ... someone  told me I was 3/4 up but I finally saw the markers and was pretty pleased that 1) I made it up as far as I did and B) I hadn't seen the markers before I did or would have stopped sooner. Jen made it all the way to the top and said it was really hard as you had to climb jagged rocks with your hands. Maybe I'll go back some day and make it up even higher. For now I will let the memories of a warm beautiful sunny day climbing a mountain carry me through the latest vortex.

January 21, 2014

Bullets & Links

What I'm loving:
  • My treadmill ... I do 30-60 minutes a day with a break here and there for commitments/laziness. This is major for me. I even broke out in a jog ... twice ... on two separate occasions. Who would have ever thought?! Yay me and since today is Tuesday I'm counting this as my first Take It Off Tuesdays post of the year because this is my blog and I can do what I want here (within reason of course)
  • A smart, sexy man who loves his wife and kids, isn't afraid to show it and knows how to use curse words to emphasize a good point
  • Only 15 days until the XXII Olympics ... where's the torch
  • I made homemade caramel sauce and feel like I conquered Mt Everest ... how beautiful are my apple crostatas with salted caramel?! They taste even better than they look if you can believe it.

What I'm not loving:
  • Cancer ... my friend's mom has it, two of my friends have it and it sucks. Big time.
  • Food waste ... this is provocative and I am on a mission to be more conscientious. On that note, I used leftover half & half singles and sugar packets from a recent catered office event for the crusts of my crostatas above ... I sort of feel like my great-grandma who took sugar, creamer and jelly from restaurants

January 6, 2014

Trouble on the Tundra

This was the title of a local newspaper article about our weather. We're getting hit hard here in the Midwest, but so are lots of folks (except the coasts).

On the bright side, the winter Olympics are in 32 days and summer is only 166 days away!