Ho Ho Holidays!

Every year, the holidays come and go...but this year was especially festive...

A new tradition in our household, we made lefse, and it was a full team effort!

You know what they say, just a little lefse, it'll go a long way...

This year, I had a couple friends in town for Thanksgiving--Jason and Niiki from Gone with the Wynns!  It was a fun reunion after our Best of the Road adventure. They came with a fully stocked kitchen inside their RV and made us some yummy homemade cinnamon swirl pancakes.  Mmm.

My dad took us on a hike at Roxborough, and we went on a little photo frenzy.

As usual, I made the yiftis.  And then I got to lick the bowl.  Fair trade.

After a big Thanksgiving dinner, we sat down for a game of Ticket to Ride, my new obsession.  My brother and dad were very serious with their strategy, and Jason and Nikki were great competitors.  It was like we warped back to the Best of the Road days!  Once again, they won.  Can you believe it!  :P

 

We had a FaceTime chat with my grandma in Minnesota and al our relatives...isn't technology neato! Just one of the many reasons to love your iPad.

Later that weekend, we took part in one of the silliest celebrations of the year--the Boulder SANTA CON!  My friend Duzer invited us up to Boulder for some shenanigans on Pearl Street--it was quite a sight!  Santas, santas everywhere! 

 I was the "present".  :P

Too fun!

Embracing the true holiday spirit, it was fun to spend time around home around the holidays.  I helped decorate the tree with ornaments we've acquired in a lifetime and I also helped make Christmas cookies!  Mmm.  I was lucky to spend the holidays with my family before heading up to the mountains for some winter fun.

 

 

 

Dog Sledding Adventure with Sony NEX-5 and Sony Action Cam

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, did it happen?  

Thankfully, I'll never have to worry about that, because I always travel with a camera in hand.  :P

We got to travel deep into the Colorado backcountry to see the peaceful winter scenery behind a pack of happy dogs trotting into the wilderness.

We came armed.  The Sony Action Cam was a fun waterproof accessory to test out in the wintery conditions.  Kinda fun watching the action from the iPhone app controller!  And, it's got loads of accessories to suction cup mount it to a snowmobile, or stick it on your head while you zoom around the trails!  Winter, here I come!






The NEX-5...
Light and compact size, rad!

Shallow depth of field, love it.

Manual and auto controls--sweet!

Low-light shooting, dig it!

Fun wi-fi option, YES!

What more could a girl ask for?

Looks like I've already got the selfie mode down already, too.

The cameras, and the memories, did not disappoint.


Thank you, Sony, for sharing your toys with me. I'm so excited to get to know these gadgets better!

Gardening Fix

We're getting down and dirty, doing some pretty cool DIY projects in the backyard.  Today, gardening tools and beauty tools go hand in hand.

The day starts with hair and makeup.  You've got to look good to get your garden on.  :P

With cameras rolling, we planted the most beautiful gardens,

 

and for a girl like me, who has never planted a thing in her life, I have to say it turned out quite nicely.  

We carried on throughout the day, rain or shine...

What a great team!

 

And continued taping into the night.

As it turns out, I do have a green thumb...thanks to my superb director Lisa Crowell!  What a pro!  

Stay tuned for our fun new web series debuting in the Spring of 2014!  :)  

 That's a wrap!

Can't wait to do it again!

Mountain Correspondent

If you love the snow, the mountains, and FUN, you'll LOVE my latest project!  As Mountain Correspondent for Colorado Ski Country, I will be producing wintery videos showcasing Colorado ski resorts!  I'll take you behind the scenes to some of your favorite ski resorts like Aspen, Steamboat, and Telluride, explore hidden gems like Sunlight, Powderhorn, and A-Basin, cool deals, and much more!  And, I'll need some snowboarding buddies…Come along for the ride, or at least catch the adventure on Colorado Ski Country's YouTube channel:

Check out my video line-up so far:

Kickin' off the 2013-2013 Ski Season on Opening Day at A-Basin

Early Season Snowmaking at Loveland Ski Area

Mountains of Savings at the 2013 Colorado Ski and Snowboard Expo

Ticket to Ride: 5th and 6th Grade Passport

Be sure to check out the Colorado Ski Country blog with lots of great updates from the mountains! http://blog.coloradoski.com

Making "IT" Happen

Some people take comfort in knowing their path, knowing where you're going, how long it will take to get there, and knowing that whatever "it" is, that "it" is indeed possible!  But, sometimes, such evidence does not exist.  Sometimes, you just have to take a chance and blaze your own trail.  

That was the case when I decided I wanted to be a travel video journalist.  It's not a job you ever see on Craigslist or Monster.com.  It's not a job that comes with a job description or projected path or even a desk.  

But I, like the the other successful entrepreneurs gathered here had this in common: a very open-minded, passion-driven, risk-taking type personality willing to take a shot at having it all. 

When my former ad school professor, Brett Robbs, invited me to speak in the Making "IT" Happen session during the first ever Cultural Caffeine series at CU Boulder, I was flattered.  The only problem, I haven't made "IT" yet, or have I?  I began to think about the idea.  

As we celebrated Brett's retirement and new direction, we studied the career pathways of my fellow entrepreneurial CU grads.  I sat among many talented creatives, each offering honest advice to curious students, ready to graduate into the big pond.  Welcome to the 'real world'.

What did we find out?

Well, if anyone had recorded those moments, they could have written a book.  We covered a lot of ground.  I was pleased to look into the crowd and notice an attentive group, filled with many nodding heads and occasional scribbles in notebooks.  Even I, found myself taking notes.  We talked about taking risks.  Sometimes you do have to say no to the promising job and move to Korea and teach English or go to Costa Rica and go surfing for a year.  Those character building life experiences can be far more valuable than a year of work on your resume.  We talked about priorities.  Do you want to have a job and have a life outside of your job?  Do you want your job to be your passion?  Do you want to have a family?  A nice house?  A new car?  Do you want to be creative?  Do you want to own your own business?  If so, you probably don't want to own your own business.  :P  No matter how you answer these questions, the paths you choose will have consequences.  You have to live with those consequences.  So choose wisely, and you will be rewarded.  :)  We talked about money.  Sometimes you get big paychecks, and sometimes you don't see a cent.  What's really important to you?  We talked about making mistakes.  Sometimes, we mess up.  And sometimes, that's the best thing that could have ever happened.

These are not the things you learn at in a typical class. But here in the ad program at CU, we were all drinking the Kool-Aid.  Somehow, over the decades of like-experiences we all had in the J-School, it was clear there was a consistency in our thinking.  Our minds were exercising in a good way, different than you would learn in more linear programs, but a wonderful representation of the process to become a more active, more passionate, more well rounded person.  Good stuff, good stuff indeed. 

A few things I did not share, but I will share now:

1. Be persistent. Be present. Never quit. 

2.  Do what you love.  Be it traveling, filmmaking, or snowboarding, like me, if you find something you love to do, you'll never work a day in your life.  Money will come.

3.  Make a plan.  Screw the plan.  Sometimes you have to throw your plans out the window.

4.  Reach for the stars.  Follow the shiny things.  Elusive moments will appear, and when they do, grab hold of them at every opportunity.   It may not make sense.  But in time, those stars will form a beautiful constellation, and it will all make sense.  Your path may not be a straight line.  Embrace that.  

5.  Build alliance with people you admire, people who are smarter than you.  They will inspire you, and teach you and challenge you to become the best you can be.  Make friends with your peers, the people you can trust and can share questions with and confide in, people you can grow with.  These will be the people who will join you at the top.  Get to know the people who admire you, those who follow your footsteps, those who look up to you.  These will be the people you can help along the way.  They will be forever grateful for your gift, and they will give you the humility when remembering how far you've come.  

 

Thanks, Brett, for encouraging us to observe the world--my observation journal was a fun opportunity to step back and spy on life.  Thanks, Brett, for daring us to think differently, to appreciate the good and bad ideas, get beyond those first level thoughts, and push ourselves to dig deep.  Thanks, Brett, for bringing lots of color into our day to day lives, reminding us to be different, be yourself, just as you did with your undeniably fashionable ties!  Thanks, Brett.  Best of luck in your new direction, we hope we can return the favor and inspire you during this next chapter of your life!