I know the snow has been the bane of many at the moment but there are some instances that an abundance of snow is a blessing.  Personally, I like all kinds of travel but I think I’m more of a mountain/snow person than a beach/sun person.  Those who know me know that I’m happiest when I’m at the top of a mountain soaking in the view before I hit the slopes with my husband and family on our snowboards.

I had only ever gone riding in the west (CA, UT, CO, AK and BC in Canada) but recently I had the pleasure of being invited to experience Sugarbush Resort in VT.  The fun thing was that not only was it my birthday weekend (which I got to share with my best friends) but also, I got a chance to experience a Learn To Ski/Snowboard weekend.  After almost 20 years of snowboarding, I figured I was ready to ‘Learn to Ski’ again.  The last time I put on skis, I was in my late teens and they were straight skis and super long.  (Yeah, and I may have been sporting a headband and raybans as well.  So like totally awesome!) The technology has changed so much over the past two decades and I was ready to give it shot.  My daughter skis now and I thought I would be great to be able to have the choice to ski or snowboard.

Me & My BFF's Chris & Shanna

So as a guest of the fabulous folks at Cabot Creamery and Ski Vermont, we joined Susie and Chelsee of We Are Not Martha and Robyn Moreno of BePracticallyPosh to take the ‘First Timers’ challenge.

Sugarbush has a really amazing program where if you are a true first-timer to skiing or snowboarding, for only $230 you can take a 3-Day First Timer Package and then at the end of the third lesson, you get a SEASON PASS to Sugarbush.  What a brilliant way to not only encourage learning but also incentivize them to keep coming back to enjoy their new skills.   Sugarbush is only a few hour drive from Boston, Providence and New York and if you like to fly (like me), it’s a quick one hour flight into Burlington and just a 40 minute drive to Warren, VT from there.  It really IS perfect for a weekend trip with the family or a couple of friends.

So our weekend was to show it’s never to early (or late) to learn to ski or snowboard. In our group, we had ladies representing 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and 50 year-olds and yes, one wonderful newbie who was finally learning to ski at 60. Her kids had skied for years and now, it was her turn!

Here’s a video of our Team Snow How experience at Sugarbush.

There is no way that I could do a better job of showing what our weekend was all about than the girls at WeAreNotMartha did so check out all the fabulous details there.   The folks at Cabot and Ski Vermont really thought of everything.  You could tell how much care was put into the entire experience.

I’m not surprised though because the more I find out about people behind Cabot, it makes total sense, they do things from the heart…but that’s a whole other post.

There is still so much time left in the season and you might as well put all this snow to good use.  Here’s more information about Sugarbush tickets, accommodations and special events.  They also have great women’s programs and a resourceful ‘Parent’s page’ that answers a bunch of questions you might have.  I highly recommend it.

Thanks to our hosts Roberta Macdonald, Jen Neary and Candace Karu from Cabot, Kathy Murphy from Ski Vermont, the impressive President of Sugarbush, Win Smith, along with our instructors Gary and Meredith and ski legend John Eagan as well as renaissance-man (pro-snowboarder/video producer/graphic designer/cool daddy)  Sean Neary for the Team Snow How video, his bad-ass designs for our Drop goggles & gloves and for escorting me on one last run before we had to go.

Thanks again for such a lovely experience oh and by the way, that habanero cheese is ree-dic-u-lous!

Note: I attended this event where my travel, accommodations and lessons were gratis. There were no obligations to recap my experience and all opinions in this post are my own.

As we approach the holiday season, amidst the chaos, I tend to reflect about the things I’m thankful for, the things I can’t wait to put behind me and the things I’m looking forward to in the new year.

We recently connected with the folks at a new site called GiveBack.org that helps anyone set up their own personal giving foundation and organizes everything in one place.

Here’s a quick video about how it works:

The site was founded by Stephen Paletta who won $1 million dollars on the TV show Oprah’s Big Give in 2008 and was charged to give it away. (No pressure there, eh?) As a result of this process,  he and his team created an easy way for ANYONE to set up their own charitable giving foundation.  They’ve developed a really simple, organized (& free) was to manage your charitable giving whatever the level.

• You create your ‘foundation’ easily by registering via Facebook Connect or by name and email.
• You select and  ‘follow’ the charities that you’re interested in by dragging them into your Charity ‘tool bar’.
• Then, whenever you desire, you can make a donation to any officially recognized U.S. charity.
• Then, at the end of the year, they provide one tax deduction document for you to use.  (Ah, a nice change from scrounging for receipts in my make-shift filing system at home.)

What I really love is that 100% of your donation goes to the charity of your choice.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO START YOUR ACCOUNT TODAY?

Sorry to ‘shout’ but we’re coming up on the dreaded Black Friday and Cyber-Monday and you may be planning in to partake in a little online shopping.

If so, why not do it from your GiveBack account via to the hundreds of retailers on GiveBack’s shopping site.  This way, you get your purchase anyway but you also get up to 15% of your purchase back into your GiveBack foundation so that you can donate it.  FTW!

To get some first-hand accounts, check out what Isabel Kallman from Alpha Mom, Gabrielle Blair from Design Mom, Liz Gumbinner from Mom 101 and Allison Worthington from Blissfully Domestic wrote about their recent experience with GiveBack.

So, why not sign up now (they’ll even put $5 in your account to get you started) and post a comment letting us know that you registered.  Now, through December 31, 2010, GiveBack will be selecting one account per day to match the donations up to $100.  Since they just got started at the beginning of the month, I’d say your odds are pretty good (for now) so what are you waiting for? 

Give thanks and GiveBack.

Have you opened your personal giving foundation yet?

As I try to teach my 7 year old daughter about responsibility (doing chores around the house, saving money, etc.), I find myself pulling out classic ‘mom-isms’ like “Well, honey, your bed isn’t going to make itself.”

I recently decided to take a hard look at my own responsibility for taking care of myself.  As much as I’m in denial that I’m not getting any younger and that I have to be realistic about my eating habits and exercise regimen,  I’m a super-busy stress eater and when I’m in ‘spinning plates’ mode, steady self-control is usually the first to go.  The next thing I know, there’s a Starbuck’s pumpkin scone in one hand and a chai latte in the other. (Curse you Starbuck’s for being across the street from my office!!)

But, in the same way that my daughter’s bed isn’t going to ‘make itself’, neither is healthy food.  It takes some planning and intention however, as I’ve recently learned, it’s not as hard as you think.  You know the saying, ‘Fail to plan, plan to fail’?  It holds true for healthy eating especially if you’re a busy person.  I mean, it’s so much easier to grab something simple and processed from the pantry or office snack drawer and pop it into your mouth on the go right?  BUT I recently began something that, for me, has been making a big difference – pre-prepping veggies.  It’s part of my plan.

I go to the grocery store on Sundays, select a wide variety of fresh vegetables and then come home, get out the cutting board and literally like 15 Tupperware containers and I get to work.  Slicing, chopping, cutting.  Onions, tomatoes, green & red peppers, zucchini, squash, cucumbers, celery, mushrooms and more.  I basically have my own salad bar all ready to go in my fridge.  I add some black beans, edamame, garbanzo beans then I have mixed greens, spinach and baby arugula.

Each morning, (ideally after attempting exercise of some kind), I fire up the extra virgin olive oil in the pan, throw in a variety of the prepped veggies, saute, add eggs and voila!  Then before I leave for work, I grab a selection of whatever strikes my fancy that day, throw it into a container with the greens of my choice.  Add either tuna, hard boiled eggs or maybe even meat from dinner the night before.  I pack some individual sized hummus and celery with some apples and peanut butter or cheese stick to tide over those afternoon munchies and I’m out the door.  When I get home at night  exhausted, I don’t have to order out because it’s literally quicker to make something using the food I’ve prepped than getting take-out AND much cheaper I may add. (Big love to the frugalistas out there!)

The main point is, that you DO have to take responsibility and make a little effort but a little planning goes a long way. It’s only been about a month so far but I’m already feeling much better and my whole family is eating better as a result.

How do you take responsibility for your own health regimen?