Mardi Gras Weekend

My friends and I
all dressed up at Ice Bar

This past weekend was Mardi Gras and Winter Carnival and it is one of my favourite traditions at Holiday Valley. Holiday Valley begins to prepare weeks in advance for the festival with the construction of the infamous ice bar, snow sculpture, and decorating.  The festival kicks of Saturday morning at 10 a.m. Holiday Valley is a family resort and offers all kinds of activities for all ages.  My friends and family like many people who attend go all out and dress up. 

I love this weekend and this year was amazing. The weather was spectacular and perfect for skiing and a BBQ slope-side. As I arrived to Ellicottville late Friday I knew I better rest up because the weekend would be a busy. I woke on Saturday to less then desirable weather, but I wasn't going to let a little snow rain on my parade, and nor would Holiday Valley. We quickly gathered our ski clothes, packed out lunched, and grabbed our beads and were off to she ski hill.

This is a huge weekend for the resort so I recommend to anyone that plans to join us next year, arrive early! Parking fills up quickly and the walk to the lodge can get very long. We arrived early, saved our favourite table on the deck of Yodeler Lodge and went out to make some runs.

My friend Jillian and I

Skiing was fabulous and it's always nice to get out and make some runs with family and friends. By 12:30 we all decide that the hills are getting very busy and its time for a cold beer and a hot  dog. 
We head back to our table and check out the Ice Bar. 
Holiday Valley never ceases to amaze me. They put on an amazing weekend with music, face painting, games, dummy downhill, costume contest and parades down the hill. 

I recommend to all of you, if you're thinking about coming to Ellicottville be sure to check out their weekend events and join us next year for Mardi Gras.

See you on the slopes;
Joanna


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Cooking for a full house

As every weekend approaches I am always faced with the same question. What will I be feeding my friends and family? This task usually includes the lunch I will be bringing to the ski hill on Saturday. Skiing is so much more to me then going down a hill, it's the whole lifestyle that comes with it. I am going to share my favourite and easy lunch recipes with you from one of my favourite blogs Two Peas & Their Pod. I love making their Slow-Cooker Turkey Chili It is easy to prepare and all I need to is bring my crock pot with me and plug it in. When you are out on the hill skiing and breaking a sweat you don't want to come to a lunch of fats and sugars. My goal every week is to make a healthy and enjoyable lunch, and this recipe always is a big success. 

 

There is nothing more satisfying then getting off the hill on a cold day and enjoying a nice big warm bowl of chili. This recipe is easy follow, and the ingredients are easy to come by. In most ski towns the grocery stores are small and don't always have  specialty  items. This recipe has simple and healthy ingredients. I love this chili because its light on the spice so everyone can add more to their individual taste if they like (if I remember to pack extra). 

When making this recipe at home, I love to serve it over brow basmati rice or quinoa.(check out my friends quinoa blog, its sure to inspire you) This makes for a hearty meal that is sure to satisfy all your hungry skiers.

I hope you are inspired to get outside today, try an activity and enjoy a healthy lunch. 

-Joanna

2014 Olympic Mania

Olympic mania has begun.  The 2014 games have begun in Sochi Russia and I Olympic mania has begun. The 2014 games have begun in Sochi Russia and I couldn’t be more excited. Again life gets in the way of me being able to camp out at home and watch the winter Olympic games. I could spend weeks talking about the Olympics, but I don’t want to get sidetracked from my main event and Canada’s Gold medal event, Freestyle skiing mogul competition. 
Freestyle skiing has been in the Olympics since 1992.  It once included moguls, aerials, and ballet. In 1994 ballet skiing was dropped from the Olympic games and moguls and aerials remained an olympic sport. 

 Canada's freestyle team was said to be the team to beat, and the critics were right.The Canadians placed first and second in both the men and women freestyle mogul event.  The women’s event was first and Canada had two sisters on the podium. Justine Dufour-Lapointe placed first and her sister Chloe Dufour-Lapointe came in right behind her in second.  Over in the men’s mogul event Alex Bilodeau defended his gold medal with fellow Canadian Mikael Kingsbury close behind in second.
I grew up in the moguls and have such a respect for these athletes.  The training they endure is not only intense but can also be very dangerous. Mogul skiing can also take a great toll on your body and these athletes have pushed through the pain to represent Canada in the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. I couldn't be more proud to be a Canadian and a mogul skier. 

Let the games continue. 

GO CANADA GO

-Joanna