Tag Archives: Winter

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Cold Weather is the Best Time to Eat Ice Cream

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This may be a be a personal preference but I think it’s the best preference.

Winter is the best time to eat ice cream.

“Whaaaaaat?” is what some of you probably are saying. Why on earth would you want to eat cold things when it’s already cold? Why would you want to make yourself colder? Isn’t summer the best time to do this?

I suppose logically that would make sense. If you’re hot, you’ll want something to cool yourself down. And granted, a cold drink is always refreshing especially on a hot sunny day and you’re sweating and your throat feels parched. There’s nothing like an ice cold beverage quenching your thirst when that happens.

But that’s also a beverage. Have you really tried eating ice cream when it’s hot outside. IT MELTS. And it gets into a puddle and soon you’re covered in a mess and you wonder, why did I just spend money buying this.

Seriously, this is why ice cream tastes better in the winter. THINGS DON’T MELT. Plus I think your taste buds are also heightened. I went out yesterday with some friends to eat some gelato. It was pretty freaking cold in Northern Virginia yesterday and the gelato place we went to happened to be located in an area where the wind was blowing SUPER hard. But guess what? It was the best darn gelato I’ve eaten in a long time. Did I feel colder after eating it? Actually no I didn’t. I felt refreshed though.

If you don’t like feeling cold then that’s your thing. That’s why hot drinks also exist during winter time. Actually it’s the best of both worlds. Because during the summer, no one REALLY wants a hot drink when it’s super hot outside. But during winter: you can have both.

Ice cream. Frozen yogurt. Milk shakes. Frozen custard. Gelato. Root beer floats. They all taste better in the winter.

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Blades of (non) Glory

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skating

When I was growing up and watching the Winter Olympics, I wanted to be a figure skater. When you’re a young girl, that’s the best sport ever. Plus, two of the best US figure skaters at the time were Asian American. So naturally I wanted to be like them. There was one small catch: I’d never been ice skating before.

In fact I didn’t get to go ice skating until senior(?) year in high school. And it actually wasn’t horrible. I mean there was no way I could ever see myself doing a jump and landing on that tiny blade but it was fun to get out on the ice. I remember having a good time with my friends skating around the rink. I did it again in college too and once again remember enjoying myself as I was actually pretty good at moving around the rink at a decent pace.

Fast forward to this past week.

It appears that winter sports and I just don’t seem to mix anymore.

We already know how I don’t ski, though I gave it a shot. Well, this past week I went ice skating due to a friend’s birthday. Even though it’d been about a year and a half since I last went to our local rink, I wasn’t worried about it. After all, I have a 100% record of NOT falling on the ice. I know, it’s hard to believe but it’s actually true!

I was a little nervous because the worst part is always when you get on the ice for the first time. But then, that feeling of being terrified never really went away. The weird part was I found myself unable to really move on the ice.

Believe it or not, I can actually skate. You wouldn’t have guessed it from that night but I used to be able to move pretty darn well, at least being able to hold my own. But yet that night, I found myself lapping the rink exactly six times in 60 minutes. Yep. It took me ten minutes to get around the rink each time.

Michelle Kwan I was not that night.

More like this instead

I think it’s the fear of falling and not being in control. I hate that feeling. It’s also probably the fear of breaking my ankle and it’s a risk I’d rather not take. I just could not get my feet to move faster than a turtle’s pace no matter how much I wanted to.

The strange part is that two years ago, I went ice skating at that exact same rink and I was perfectly fine. To be honest I think part of it was due to not feeling like I had to one up someone anymore. When you already feel like you’re the worst at something among all your friends, instead of trying to do better, I think I just sort of give up. But when I’m with someone who is worse than me (especially if there’s a hidden motive), I feel the urge to out do them and it motivates me to do better.

This is not to say at all that I didn’t have fun. I actually did. Trying to concentrate on not falling was quite the challenge. I think though that unless something drastic happens, my ice skating days are probably numbered. It is ok. I gave it my best shot and I’m ok with it.

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My (non) adventures in skiing

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Winter has arrived and with it come ski season.

You know that time of year when people get excited to go down a mountain with two planks strapped on their feet and two poles in their hand.

I’ve gone skiing once in my life. It might probably the only time in my life.

I’m a huge fan of watching skiing during the Olympics. I enjoy watching all the downhill events as well as the freestyle skiing events. I can give or take cross-country but that’s mainly because the US isn’t really good at it so I have no real incentive to watch.

Skiing was not something we did in my family growing up. Both my parent are from countries where snow just does not exist therefore they are not big fans of it. Snow was a hindrance that needed to be shoveled away immediately and not something to play in. Therefore they saw no reason as to why we should pay money to play in snow. Plus we lived at least 4 hours away from the nearest ski resort so it really was out of the question. My youth group never went on skiing trips and I was never invited by any of my friends to go with them so I went 29 years without ever seeing skiing in person.

Honestly it never really was that big of a deal to me missing out on it. Now snowboarding I would have loved to have done because that just seems really cool and the people who snowboard are even cooler.

Then I moved up to the Northern Virginia area and the group of friends I was in had nearly everyone being a hard core skier. Like these are folks that get season passes to the resorts around here, go on ski trips almost every weekend, all own their own skis, and go out for trips out west just to ski. Most of them either grew up in snowy areas where they had to ski (or die) or their families growing up placed skiing as a priority and so they learned at a young age. Clearly I was not in their league.

But as I was trying to do a bunch of stuff before turning 30, skiing once was on the list of things to do. I was invited with a group of friends to go out to western Maryland to a ski resort. Seeing as how I was the ONLY person in the entire group who didn’t know how to ski, I decided to sign up for lessons. First I went out and bought ski pants and ski socks (because normal socks won’t cut it). The lessons were kind of a joke. I barely learned how to do anything in that hour but what do you expect when you’re not paying for personal lessons. Two of my friends (who are rather good skiers) decided to accompany me on my first (and only) trip down the mountain on whatever the easiest slopes were.

I knew I was going to be in for a rough time when I fell down while we were STANDING in line. I then fell getting off the ski lift.

We proceeded to go down the mountain where I just kept falling over and over again. My problem was that it felt like I was going super fast (which I really wasn’t) and that I was going to either a) fall off the side of the mountain or b) keep running into people. Falling isn’t fun at all. You get snow down your pants and getting up is really hard when you’re not used to wearing ski boots. I honestly was afraid I was going to break my ankle again getting up. Plus the goggles I was wearing kept fogging up plus they were fogging up my glasses inside so I could barely see.

I was about 3/4 down the mountain and had fallen down yet again when I just was tired of it all and refused to get up. The following conversation may be more dramatic than what actually happened.

D: I can’t get up. Just leave me.
C. You have to get up. You can’t stay here.
D: Just leave me, I can’t do this anymore.
C: (getting frustrated) Just get up. You’re almost there.
D: No. I’m done. I hate this. *keeps sitting*
C: YOU GET UP RIGHT NOW. YOU GET UP OR YOU WON’T EAT. GET UP NOW!
D: (tries to get up but keeps falling so C has to help her) …..ok

And we eventually got down the mountain (I fell again) and I called it a day.

There’s no photographic evidence of me skiing (thank the Lord), at least not to my knowledge. And I’m perfectly fine with that. I was very sore afterwards.

I just don’t see myself doing it again. It’s an expensive sport and from where I live, you have to travel several hours to be able to do this. Plus it’s a time sensitive activity as it can only be done a few months of the year. I honestly just cannot justify the expenses for it. Do I feel a bit left out because it literally feels like 95% of my friends ski and I don’t? Yes. But then I’ve realized that I’ve tried it and I don’t like it so there’s no point in me wasting money in making myself miserable. I’m NEVER going to catch up with my friends unless I go and pay for high quality lessons and then spend pretty much every day skiing which is never going to happen.

So I’m perfectly content with going snow tubing (THAT’S fun) and/or staying in the cabin by the fireplace drinking my hot cocoa while everyone else goes to ski. Sure I wish I could join them but I’ve accepted this lot in my life. And I’m perfectly ok with it.

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The Slow and the Cautious

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Driving-in-the-snow

As I sit here and write this, it’s snowing outside. Well, ok really at this point, it’s freezing rain coming down which is going to turn to ice in a bit. I currently don’t have the number to call to check into work tomorrow so I’m hoping I acquire that soon or will have to make an executive decision about whether or not I go in. So what’s today’s post going to be about? Driving in wintery weather. Ooooh thrilling, you’re thinking sarcastically. Actually it can be depending on what part of the country you live in.

Now I know all you folks that live in the Northeast or Midwest or Alaska, or any part of the world that gets tons of snow all the time, you’re used to it. You dig out of millions of feet of snow every year, drive through blizzards, and kids have no idea what a snow day is because that’s just every day life. But see here in Virginia, we freak out at rain. So when there’s even just a whisper of cold weather, all hell breaks loose down here. You always know when bad weather is about hit because at the grocery stores all the bottled water, bread, and milk have disappeared. I’ve always wondered this though, if the power goes out won’t your milk go bad? Parents and kids anxiously wait to see if schools will close while almost everyone around here continually checks the OPM website to see whether or not the government will close/delay.

So driving in wintery weather is not fun at all up here. Most people up here don’t do well to be honest. I’m not an expert at all. I grew up in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia which is just as bad. I don’t drive a car with snow tires or 4-wheel drive. I did have a minor accident last year when I was driving out of my neighborhood and hit a patch of ice which caused my car to spin and then slam into the curb, which then ruined a tire frame, under carriage and alignment. Therefore since then I am now a very cautious driver during winter weather. This does not mean I stay shut in during every winter storm. I just drive very cautiously.

As I was driving home today from church, it was a mix of snow/freezing rain/sleet/slush. While most of the roads had been treated, there was still a lot of mess on the roads. Therefore, I drove about 10 miles below the speed limit. And it got me home perfectly safe. I think though, I annoyed a lot of people doing that because even though I stayed on the right lane and even though every single traffic report said to be cautious and drive slower than normal, there were quite a number of people who would get behind me, pass me, and then get right back in front of me. All while going ABOVE the speed limit. Which that’s all fine and dandy if you are confident enough. But you know some of the rest of us aren’t. And as long as you’re ok with that, then I’m ok with that. I just think, since Northern Virginia drivers tend to be very aggressive, that a lot of them DON’T realize this.

I am just glad I wasn’t one of the many cars that had spun out onto the side of the road today. And going below the speed limit, gripping onto the steering wheel for dear life, and avoiding ramps helped to accomplish this. Now as for PLAYING in the snow, that’s a totally different story. One winter storm down, probably a lot more to come.