the skiing (black and) blues.

i don't usually bruise very easily.

that changed when i went skiing for the first time last week.

enter: my good friend, danger phil.

he came from madison for the day to hang out and teach me to ski. if only he would have known how much of a task that would be...

we started with the bunny hill for a few runs (highlighted below in green) and then danger phil thought it would be a fun idea to take me on a more difficult route -- "miracle." it is a blue trail, which means the difficulty level is medium. we skied down it twice and honestly...it's a miracle i didn't die. 

looking back, i had a really good time learning to ski. it was fun watching kids half my size whizzing past me at a zillion miles per hour as i crouched over my skis, silently praying that my bones wouldn't shatter into a million little pieces each time i went tumbling into the ground. danger phil says he's taught three people to ski on granite peak and i was the best. is anyone surprised by that?

i like to think i'm fairly fearless, which would explain the multiple bruises i've developed during the past week, but i turned out to be not-too-bad at skiing and hope to do it again someday (when someone else wants to pay for my ridiculously priced lift ticket and rental skis).

after our adventure, we went to the great dane to meet up with some of my little sister's former flames -- 

( :

they danced on the tables.

i watched.

AND NOW FOR THE VIDEO YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR.

here's me skiing.

enjoy.

things that are delicious.

surely you've guessed that in some of my spare time, 

i've been getting creative with food.

remember that caramel i made from scratch?

pop that in the microwave for a few seconds, add to vanilla yogurt and mix in some pieces of green apples and you've got a very tasty 

(and pretty healthy) dessert. 

last week, i also tried my hand at chocolate meltaways.

they taste like the name sounds -- 

pieces of chocolate that melt when you eat them.

kind of a mix between fudge  and boxed chocolate candy?

i also made a variety of bite-sized desserts 

for this weekend's super bowl party.

here's my array of buckeyes (chocolate covered peanut butter balls -- an ohio delicacy) and cake pops.

in case you don't know what cake pops are, they're kind of a combination of cake, lollipops and popsicles (sort of). you make a cake like you usually would, crumble it up, add some cream cheese, sugar, milk and mix it all together. roll the batter into balls and then put them in the fridge until they hold their shape. after a few hours, you can put a toothpick in them and dip them in chocolate coating (i used the same kind that i used for my buckeyes so they had a hard shell) or frost them and then add any kind of decorations you want. 

 also at that super bowl party, 

i got a delicious surprise during the half-time show --

 happy birthday to me ( :

oh my goodness.

has it really been almost a month since the last time i posted here? yikes.

well, no worries, friends. i have a plan to make things up to you. 

i have readied four (yes, FOUR) blog posts that are scheduled to appear in the next few days. prepare yourself to catch up with my life, including my 25th birthday celebration, spontaneous trips to madison and A VIDEO OF ME SKIING FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER. if that doesn't make you want to come back for more, i don't know what will.

well, let me start by saying i've been working a lot lately.

it seems like ever since i moved to wisconsin, the place has been a hotbed for political craziness. my first interview ever (in september 2010) was with a gubernatorial candidate at one of his "brown bag lunch" outings. now, he's our governor and it's been a wild ride ever since. i went to madison last month as people gathered from across the state to turn in millions of signatures in an effort to recall him. 

 there have only been two successful governor recalls in U.S. history.

could this be #3?

 as a journalist, i'm not really allowed to pick sides here but it is interesting to see history happening right in front of me.

 i spent a frozen day in eagle river for the world championship snowmobile derby. all of these people stood out here pretty much all day to watch the races. also they wore animal fur hats. 

 also in some of the saddest news ever, my driver's license expired this weekend and now my last ties to the buckeye state have been officially severed. 

 apparently i was supposed to get my new license within 30 days of moving here so i suppose a year and a half later is almost as good. 

i also (!!!) had a very delightful time at the DMV. 

i know.

WHO KNEW THAT WAS POSSIBLE?!

the guy who took all my money and information chatted with me about ohio sports and football and even told me to have a nice day when i left. my new license should be here later this week. now i will be an official wisconsinite.

anyway. stay tuned for some great updates.

this time...for real.