In the last week!

Last week, the coaches decided to take a look at the scheduling because some of them were working weeks straight without a day off. In honesty, I can probably count on both my hands the number of days that Kevin has had off since I arrived two months ago. And that includes his time off for Christmas, New Year's, and two hockey breaks (for the pro team).

This past week they decided to give Kevin two days off and we wanted to take full advantage of our time. On Tuesday, we decided to head to Innsbruck to do some shopping to get ready for our guests coming this week. Our first stop was IKEA and as we were pulling in, I pointed out a guy that looked a lot like one of our roommates a few years ago. Well, Kevin didn't agree with me, but he did think the guy's friend looked familiar. After we parked the car, we started walking towards IKEA and the two guys. The one guy called out Kevin's name and as we moved closer, Kevin realized that he played hockey with the guy six years ago in Phoenix. Apparently, the guy is playing hockey in the second league in Italy (about 2 hours from us) and was in Innsbruck for a few days hanging out. How random is that? Seriously, what are the chances that we would be in Innsbruck, at the IKEA, at the exact same time (when neither of us live there)? It's nuts!

Moving on...our shopping day was a success. We got tons of good smelling candles for the apartment and this is a big deal because they are hard to come by in Italy. I got two dresses; one, I am planning on wearing for my cousin's rehearsal dinner in June so I don't have to worry about that anymore. And we loaded up on taco and fajita seasoning, which you can't find in our town.

Kevin's other day off was Sunday (yesterday) and we spent that on the ski slopes. We woke up bright and early, got bundled up, and drove the whole two minutes to the gondola that would take us up the mountain. Instead of ski school, we opted for a private lesson for me from Stefano. Luckily, I had met him a few times previously because he is friends with some of the guys on the hockey team and a bonus is he speaks English pretty well.

My lesson got started on the exercise track and I managed to stay on my feet the whole time. I also warned Stefano during this time that a lot of cuss words would be flying out of my mouth so he shouldn't be shocked. After about 20 minutes, he thought we were ready to conquer the blue course (I did not agree) and we hopped on the lift. We chatted as we were up there and it never occurred to me until we were almost to the course that I had no idea how the hell to get off the lift. Do I jump? Do I fall? Oh no...apparently, I have to ski. But I don't know how to do that...that's why I'm taking a lesson! Well, it was pretty disastrous. Stefano gave me a 1-2-3 count, I stood up, and started sliding forward and down, but couldn't stop. But don't worry, I was caught before I fell.

We continued down the blue course with a couple breaks in between. Three and four-year-old kids flew past me and made me even more embarrassed than I already was. About half way down, I couldn't feel my legs anymore so I told Stefano my legs were like jello, which he didn't understand. My right leg had atrophy, my left leg wouldn't do what I wanted it to do, and my brain was on overload. Luckily, we made it to the bottom of the course (it only took us 45 minutes) and Stefano gave my report to Kevin. Apparently, I did a great job (yeah right, you liar), but I need more lessons (thanks Captain Obvious). At that point, I was done skiing and wanted to sit for a bit. Kevin and I grabbed a coffee and then I let him ski for a while longer before we headed home. All-in-all, it was fun, but hard work. But I look forward to getting back out there once my legs feel normal again.

To Ski or Not to Ski!

Kevin and I went and got fitted for our ski equipment the other day and I still haven't figured out if I'm more scared or excited. I'm actually losing sleep at night thinking about it. Why? Because I'm a 29-year-old woman who has never been skiing in her life. Hell, it took me 5 minutes to figure out how to get the boots on during the fitting. Kevin still can't get over the fact that I've never been and so far, everyone I've told looks at me like I'm crazy.

I was born and raised in central Illinois where you can see ten miles down the road in every direction. We get snow, but very little and very sporadically. In any given December, it will be 60°F one day and then 20°F the next. In Springfield, you'll even have a hard time finding a hill to go sledding on.

In addition to not having the environment or landscape for skiing, I didn't have time as a kid to go. As a gymnast for 14 years, my weekends were spent at meets with my mom and my dad was either with us or at work. Our family vacations were usually spent in a city where I had a meet (my poor brother and sister) and we never went on vacations in the winter. So, when and where exactly was I supposed to fit in some ski trips?

Kevin definitely has more faith in my athletic ability than I do because he thinks I will catch right on and be a 'skier' by the end of the year (yeah right). I, on the other hand, am not so optimistic. I'm pretty sure I'm going to face plant in the snow on more than one occasion. My only goal is to get off the slopes without a broken bone.

This will be me in a few days.

Kevin has suggested I YouTube some skiing videos to help me learn the basics. But I bet you can guess what I won't be doing. Instead, I've opted to go to Ski School for 2 hours with the kids. I don't care that I'll be the oldest person there or that someone is probably going to have to help me get dressed. If it will help me avoid an ambulance, sign me up.