The Shower Shimmy Says “Good Morning America!”

March 5, 2015 By

Since Jamie and I agreed to help our rockstar friend Karla Call launch her invention the Shower Shimmy on Kickstarter last month, it has been one wild ride. From media coverage to blogger campaigns to wading through the deluge of potential distributors to meeting her fundraising goal on day 1, it is apparent people are ready for the world’s first 3-in-1 shower cleaning tool with environmentally-friendly cleaning solution.

And why wouldn’t they be? When I look at all the inventions out there, the Shower Shimmy is such a no-brainer, why has this not been invented before? I absolutely love mine and that is really saying something because I normally despise cleaning my shower.

Good Morning America contacted Karla last month about potentially appearing on their segment “Shark Tank Your Life” to pitch her product to one of Shark Tank’s investors. It was a frenzied few days as she submitted a video, which the producer loved but she was ultimately not chosen.

On Monday, she received the news from Good Morning America that they want her to appear on Friday morning! I’m crazy nervous for her but regardless of how the segment turns out, she is receiving millions of dollars worth of free exposure.

Ever the good friend, my best advice I gleaned from my own national TV experience with Jamie on NBC’s “The Marriage Ref?”

Don’t go up against the Great Pumpkin. You will always lose.

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Filed Under: Humor, pumpkins

Buttermilk’s smooth, smooth ride for families

March 4, 2015 By

Making music at Buttermilk

Breaking news: Buttermilk, the easiest of Aspen/Snowmass’ four mountains, is my new top choice for best Colorado resort for young families. Not only did they open a 7,500-square foot state-of-the-art children’s center with many nooks, crannies, hideouts, jungle gyms, rope bridges and a lookout tower, but the ski school and wide-open terrain were top-notch.

I also learned that just one day can make all the difference.

When we were at Snowmass the previous day, conditions were fine yet not optimal due to the lack of snow. However, the heavens didst open and we were blessed with glorious powder at Buttermilk.

The Grownups at Play

The mountain’s seven lifts and 43 trailers are predominantly rated for beginners and intermediates, and even the black diamond (advanced) runs weren’t very extreme so I worried we might get a bit bored until the snow hit. Then it was love at first white as Jamie and I had our best ski day of the season. Because the mountain is geared to less extreme types, the more difficult terrain was a ghost town and we had a powder-perfect playground all to ourselves that morning. If you’ve never skied fresh powder, it’s like floating on a very cold, glorious cloud.

I had a dilemma, though. When it’s snowing, the light is flat and it’s tough to see. The Lasik surgery I had in 2002 is deteriorating so knowing there would be poor visibility, I brought my glasses to wear under my goggles. However, it’s been so many years since I’ve worn glasses when working out that I forgot how fogged up they come. So, I alternated between wearing my goggles and glasses, getting too fogged up to see anything, taking off my goggles, then my glasses, getting blinded by snow and starting the process all over again. Glasses-wearing people: what on earth do you put on your glasses to keep them from fogging?

Of course, these are #FirstWorldSkiProblems and we still had a fabulous time together. Jamie and I spent much of the day on the eastern slopes of Tiehack where the runs are longer and steeper.  At one point, we spotted Hadley doing a black-diamond mogul run with her class. Supportive parents that we are, we started yelling embarrassments encouragements and as luck would have it, she had an illustrious wipe-out. Our job was done.

Buttermilk also boasts an Olympic-size half-pipe commonly seen on the Winter X Games and two smaller terrain parks.  I started gloating about my 0.0005 feet of air after launching off a jump at the Red Rover (read: wussy) terrain park until a class of local 8-year-olds nonchalantly knocked a few 180s out of the park. Tough crowd.

Conquering the Black Diamond

When we skied with the kids at the end of the day, they raved about the camaraderie with the staff.  Hadley pointed out fox tracks under the Summit Express lift and 14,018-foot Pyramid Peak shrouded in clouds. “And when we ride the West Buttermilk lift, do you know what the lift operators do at the midway loading station? If you pretend to fall asleep, they throw a snowball toward you to wake you up!”  After just one day on the mountain, both kids felt like insiders at a small resort community.

We raced over to Tiehack, determined to take Bode down his first black-diamond run. The terrain is much more moderate at Buttermilk so even the black-diamond was more like an advanced intermediate run. Without hesitation, he skied it like a champ and at 8 years old, he can proudly say he conquered his personal Everest.

Which means it’s all downhill from here for Jamie and me.

 

 

Filed Under: Family travel, outdoors, skiing

Happy birthday, Aspen style!

March 3, 2015 By

Despite having Aspen, one of the world’s most famous resorts a mere 3.5-hour drive from our house, we had only skied there once many years ago. But I’ve been dying to get back so when we were invited to visit “The Power of Four” resorts–Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass and Buttermilk–over my birthday weekend, I was ecstatic. We opted to ski Snowmass and Buttermilk, the more family-friendly of the resorts and I can understand why people love the area.

The Birthday Presents

We arrived to Timberline Condos in Snowmass late Thursday night. Occasionally, publicists will gift swag–a neck gator, some mints or a hat. But Aspen/Snowmass were so generous. Check-out this haul for my birthday, including the shirt I’m wearing!

Twinners. Or rather, quadruplers

That would have been plenty (in addition to just being there) but Jamie and the kids bought me a much-needed Sherpani purse and an iPhone 6. My phone has been on the brink of death for months and the battery dies whenever it comes into contact with cold air, a wee problem if you’ve ever been to Colorado. So, the iPhone was a great surprise!

The Skiing

We only stayed one night at the condo, which was located above the base area. Jamie and I have our own skis so we strapped ‘em on. The kids were ski-school bound where they’d get rentals at Snowmass so good parents we are, we made them run down the mountain. “Run Forrest, Run!”

We’ll call that their warmup.

Out of Aspen’s four area resorts, 3,362-acre Snowmass has something for everyone—from long, cruising green and blue runs to glades to double black extreme terrain to terrain parks to excellent learning areas. Aspen Skiing Co. beautifully caters to kids and mine fell in love with the Treehouse, Snowmass’ 25,000-square-foot children’s center with seven interactive nature-themed rooms intended for specific ages as well as a 700-square-foot climbing room.

But forget the indoors, outdoor fun was where it was at!

As you can see, Bode was really sad to have a class full of fellow dudes. Hadley had a blast in her class as well.

I was left alone with my favorite ski buddy to conquer Snowmass. The resort had not received much snow since Christmas did a great job of snow-making to compensate. That said, I really really want to ski Snowmass on a powder day because I think it would be phenomenal.We lunched at Elk Camp, Snowmass’ newest on-mountain restaurant with a creative menu of organic items prepared in their rotisserie, pizza hearth and bake shop. I told Jamie to order me a panini while I hit the salad bar, intending to get just a small for the side. That didn’t happen. It was, hands down, the best ski resort salad bar ever and I ended up with a salad the height of Everest. When Jamie started to judge me for ordering two full meals and a caramel brownie for dessert, I told him it was my birthday, something he needed to be reminded of throughout the day. :-)

Mid-afternoon, the heavens opened and God gave me my birthday gift: a huge dump of snow.

It’s like He totally knows me.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to enjoy the new snow because we had to grab the kids from ski school. We spent over an hour at the free Snowmass Ice Age Discovery Center in Snowmass Village and marveled at the ice age discoveries in the area!

The Ullr Night Out

Though some might enjoy a distinguished night out on the town, I preferred family fun at Ullr Nights. Every Friday from 5:30-9 p.m. Ullr, the Norse God of Snow, comes to life. For just $8 per person (kids 3 and under are complimentary), we were whisked up the gondola to Elk Camp’s hoarfrost land of Norse mythology with live music, bonfires, ice skating, treats, entertainment in The Tent and guided snowshoe tours hosted by ACES.

SnowBikin’. Upon arrival, Bode grabbed a Strider snowbike, took the magic carpet up the mountain and skated ?Slid? Biked down the hill. (Whatever the verb, the result was the same: exuberance). Children’s bikes are free with admission; for intermediate skiers ages 12+, a snowbike tour is offered for $69.

Slip Slidin’ Away. What would Ullr Nights be without a gargantuan snow sculpture of Ullr’s face with a slide running through the middle of it? I was content to watch Hadley and Bode at play until they played they taunted me to follow. “What’s the matter, Mom? Too old?”

If careening down Ullr’s nasal passages proved that I’ve still got it on my birthday, so be it. I climbed the slippery slope, lay on my back, crossed my arms and shot outta there like a booger gone bad. Turns out I’ve still got it…and also got a blanket of snow up my back at the bottom.

It was just a reminder of how young (or old?) I really am.

Lift-serviced tubing is a welcome new addition this year and cozily lit multiple lanes are carved into The Meadows at Elk Camp. We linked up, went solo, joked with the staff and laughed as we banked off the turns. Tubing is an additional $24 and be sure to pre-reserve your time.

I’ll tell you later about the woman who did not pre-schedule and the lovely meltdown that ensued.

We had a blast at Ullr Nights but my favorite part of the evening was our ride down the mountain in our gondola.  “It was a dark, snowy night,” I whispered and our impromptu ghost stories began as snow flew around our frosty expanse and the wind clinked through patches of crystals and aspens. Enraptured, the kids wove in their own ghost stories, a befitting end to a mysterious night that gives homage to all things snow.

As far as birthdays goes, this one was pretty darn perfect.

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel, skiing

Aspen/Snowmass for families: The Ultimate Colorado Vacation

March 2, 2015 By

“I can’t believe I really did it!” My son Bode’s cheeks were flush with excitement and big, feathery snowflakes. It was our second day in Aspen and he had conquered Mount Everest. Or, in 8-year-old vernacular, he had skied his first black-diamond run at Buttermilk.

“The Power of Four” resorts–Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass and Buttermilk–are renowned destinations but it wasn’t until we experienced the latter two resorts’ family-friendly offerings that we were hooked. Not only does Snowmass offer a staggering amount of kid activities including their “Very Important Kid” program and Ullr Nights, but its counterpart Buttermilk’s gently rolling hills and new children’s center is now my top Colorado resort pick for families with young children.

Several resorts claim to be world-class but at Snowmass, we felt like the world had literally descended upon us as we shared chairlifts with charming Europeans and so many enigmatic Brazilians we could have sworn we were at Carnival.

And it was a party! When I’ve extolled the virtues of a winter vacation to Colorado’s ski areas, I’ve had several friends counter, “I don’t like to ski.” Believe me, in Aspen it doesn’t matter–you’ll have as much fun as a family on the slopes as you do off. Here are just a few reasons why my family had a blast on my birthday in Aspen!  KEEP READING

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel, skiing, travel
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