Our Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve Day Mr X and I headed up to Winter Park Resort for some snowboarding. The snow stayed fresh all day because it snowed constantly - it was great! By the afternoon most of the crowd left as well, presumably to prepare for whatever Christmas Eve festivities they had planned. It was fantastic. We stayed until the they stopped operating the lifts. We had a dinner planned that evening at the lodge on the top of the mountain so we were staying late anyway but because it was snowing so much we decided to get a hotel room across the street from the resort so we wouldn't have to drive home late at night in the wintry conditions. So after we finished snowboarding we went to our hotel and got cleaned up and then headed back to the resort. They had carolers out singing, a bonfire raging and everybody was preparing for the torchlight parade down the mountain. Loads of skiers hold a red torch in each hand and then ski down the mountain in a very organized pattern so that the viewers are greeted with this:

Of course all of this happens during a spectacular fireworks display accompanied by holiday music. I loved every minute of it.

After the show was over, Mr X and I hopped onto a gondola and rode up to the top of the mountain for our Christmas Eve dinner. We had great food, great service and then we rode back down and went back to our hotel where we hit the sauna for a good long while and then got ready for bed and read the Christmas story from the Bible together.

Hot Sulphur Springs

After cross-country skiing last week, Mr X and I drove a short distance to Hot Sulphur Springs to soak or tired muscles. It was 3 degrees when we got there. We've been to these springs before in the summer. Most of the pools were too hot for me back then but this time, due to the incredibly cold temperatures, I could soak in even the hottest pools. While we soaked in a pool our flip flops would literally freeze where they sat next to the pool. Our wet hair froze in mere seconds on contact with the cold air so we kept having to periodically get our hair wet so it wasn't a block of ice on our heads. Anybody that walked from pool to pool was engulfed in a billowing cloud of steam en route to their next hot pool of choice. It was rather amusing to watch. We soaked in various pools for nearly an hour and a half before we decided to head home. It was a great end to our day. (And just for the record, it was -1 when we left the hot springs.) 

Pre-Holiday Excursion

On the Friday before Christmas, Mr X and I decided to head out for some cross country skiing. Our area had just gotten some great snow and the sun was out and shining. It was perfect. I think we managed about 7 or 8 miles total. We did half and then had a lunch break for some homemade chili and then we did the other half. We plan to go again a couple more times before our holiday break is over. Here are some of our photos:

Holiday Lights

Thursday was both Mr X's and my last day of work for the year. We celebrate by heading out to see some festive lights at the botanical gardens with some friends:

Homemade Holiday Treats

Most people reading this blog already know this, but every year I like to make some homemade holiday treats to put in pretty little boxes with the purpose of delivering to neighbors and friends. Here's this year's cast of characters:

Dark Chocolate Walnut Fudge

Penuche Fudge

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Dark Chocolate Florentiners*

Milk Chocolate Florentiners*

*A note about my Florentine cookies: They've morphed over the years - the bastardized result is more like a Florentiner and some Almond English Toffee had a baby. I happen to love it.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

The weather here has indeed been frightful - but only in the sense that it's been bone dry and winter weather has been severely lacking, much to my disappointment. I really have no use for cold weather unless it comes with snow - I love the snow. One of my all-time favorite things is a White Christmas. Right now it feels as if we may have a Brown Christmas. But there are still a few days left and I continue to be hopeful.

Christmas Decorations

The past 3 or 4 weeks have been a whirlwind. We traveled for Thanksgiving, which was followed by a frantic dash to do all of the typical holiday preparations: Write and mail cards, finish up the holiday shopping and mail everything out, decorate for the holidays, bake holiday treats for gifts, etc. I also had a large share in organizing a holiday party for about 30 women and then a week later I was in charge of decorating for our church Christmas party. In between all of these I had a week long work trip. So yes, it's been hectic and that's why I've neglected my blogging. I'm optimistic that the remainder of the month will be slightly less demanding - and so I've managed to put a blog post together.

Snapshots of our home's festive surroundings: