Skiing Adventure

February 03, 2010, 12:21:11 AM by ionyka in News.

I flew out to visit Raiford for the weekend while he was out in California for work for 2 weeks. On the Saturday I was out there we decided to take a bus up to Squaw Valley(SV) to do some skiing for the day. Now, I do not claim to be any sort of advanced skier. I have skied many times, although all have been in Western Pennsylvania at either Seven Springs(SS) or Hidden Valley. In doing some research after the fact, I have actual proof that skiing in California is vastly different than Pennsylvania, not just my sore and stiff body to go by. Here is a few things to keep in mind:

1. The height of the slopes at SS: 3,000ft, SV: 8,200ft.
2. Number of lifts at SS: 10, SV: 33.
3. Average snowfall in SS: 100 inches, SV: 350 inches.
4. Vertical Drop at SS: 750 feet, SV: 2850 feet.
5. Typical Snow Type at SS: Man-Made, SV: Natural.

Now the last one may not seem like much of a deal but believe me if you are used to skiing on primarily manufactured snow then you are in for a wake up call. Fresh powder snow has a totally different consistency and I learned this very quickly while attempting my first Blue Line run. After a few falls, frozen fingers and weak knees I was beginning to realize that skiing on a real hardcore mountain is no easy task. We had fun, but even now I am still feeling the effects. I did manage to take a few pictures after we got up the first lift so you can check them out below!

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Welcome 2010!

January 10, 2010, 11:07:41 PM by ionyka in News.

2010 started off with a bang, NYE was spent at RemarkCentral, the theme was a masquerade so we all wore masks and took them off at midnight. Pictures from that night are here.

I joined my friend Rebecca on a quick trip to Augusta, GA this weekend. I had a great time and learned a few things about Augusta along the way:

1. It is a small city, so there is a high probability of running into someone you know wherever you go if you grew up there.
2. When you go out to the downtown area, you need to stay in the double digits when it comes to the streets, as once you hit 9th street, you have reached the ghetto.
3. There is a really good tapas restaurant called Bees Knees Tapas.
4. It is only about 2 hours away from Atlanta, all you do is get on I-20 and it takes you directly there.
5. The store is a lot bigger than ours and I am extremely jealous!

I am enjoying 2010 so far aside from the Pittsburgh-like weather we have been having lately, hopefully it will warm up a bit soon.

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Party Recap

December 24, 2009, 11:57:07 AM by ionyka in News.

This past month Raiford and I have attended a handful of Christmas parties. First up was the Google 2009 Holiday Party that was held at Tongue & Groove in Buckhead. I would have to be honest and say that I would probably not normally venture out to a place of this nature, but for the holiday party it was reserved out. Good food, open bar and an onsite photographer made for a good time.

Next up was a Tacky Sweater Party at our friend Evans apartment. We did a gift exchange (I got a cool fashion book), wore tacky sweaters (Raiford left early so he was not present for the photo), built crazy themed Gingerbread Houses (one was a Zombie house) and watched a repeating video of a fireplace fire on the tv courtesy of YouTube.

As Raiford was not feeling well I attended a work party at Angie's House up in Alpharetta, she always has great parties. Good food (Jessie made really great Chicken Parm), good drinks (all varieties, even pink ones), good music, dancing and performances by our own musicians and of course good company (aka my local family here in the ATL). I hope everyone has enjoyed the holiday season so far and shared time with friends and family. Click images below to see pictures.

Wishing everyone a Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year, see everyone on the flip side!

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Outdoor Thanksgiving

December 03, 2009, 12:55:16 PM by ionyka in News.

This year was different in that we did not spend Thanksgiving in your typical fashion. We drove up to Pine Mountain State Park, rented a camp space and had thanksgiving outside next to a small lake. We had all the staples as far as food goes, turkey, dressing (similar to stuffing but I found out that they are not actually the same thing), potatoes, cranberry sauce (can shaped of course) and pie. It was an amazing meal, with an amazing setting. Check out pictures below!

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Cavalia

November 16, 2009, 09:26:47 PM by ionyka in News.

Raiford and I went to the Cavalia show this past Friday night. It was set up in the typical location of the Cirque shows right next to Atlantic Station. I very much enjoy Cirque shows and they are always entertaining. However, this show in particular was centered around the horse and expert expression of many of the disciplines that they participate in. To date, this is the best show I have ever seen, hands down. I was so blown away with the level of partnership between the horses and the riders. Makes me wish I did more with my riding :) If you live here in Atlanta or in a city that the show is coming to, go see this, you will truly be amazed. Being the person that I am I made sure we got fantastic seats and so we got the "Horse Lovers" package which allowed us to get into the stables after the show to get up close and personal with the horses, well sort of, they were of course eating :) I am actually close to wanting to buy tickets to see it again before it leaves! Go see it, you will love it!

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