u is for u are gonna see me, t is for tomorrow's when I leave...a is for absolutely frigid, h is for ha ha ha ha heeeeeee

put it together, it spells UTAH.

tomorrow I leave for vegas, and get picked up by erik and driven to the frozen tundra of cedar, utah, to chill with the westerly folks. I can't wait! and the best part is that they're excited, too. not like "oh, we have to entertain this girl who imposed herself on us."

so sophie's choice already laid it all out, but I get there late on thursday and stay till dinnerish time on saturday. not a long visit, but a good first visit, I think. and I'd like to do it every year.

I haven't packed yet. I may want to do that tonight since I leave directly from work tomorrow.

in other news, you all already know that nicole is pregnant again! I'm so excited for her, though hearing about it so long after they found out made me realize that I'm too out of touch with the eggerts' clan and I have to do something about it.

also, thanks for all your skiing suggestions. erik, you know I'm totally going to hit you up for some like fake lessons in your living room. like stances and stuff. please, you have to help me. I got some ski pants from ebay and jarrett's splitting the cost of a coat (not too major of a coat, like $60 coat) and already bought me insanely expensive gloves and a cute hat. he has goggles I can use (goggles? christ.) and I will rent everything else. now that that's all out of the way, I'm clear to just worry incessantly about the actual skiing part.

work sucks.

that's all! if you haven't already, make sure you tell nicole how fantastic it is that she's preggers again!!

skiing. SKIING.

it doesn't even look right when you spell it, that's how scary it is.

first of all, hi. how are you? really? you look like you lost weight. no, I didn't, I just colored it, but it does seem to make it look longer, thanks!

so back to skiiiiing. I'm one of those people who doesn't really like to do things I can't naturally do well. and I'm not sure that anyone is naturally good at skiing. it's something you have to learn. I realize everyone was a beginner at one point but they are no longer at that point and I am. and I'm not like 8 years old.

where I'm going with this is that I am going on a ski trip to vermont, where people go because the skiing is so good. not like going to spring mountain that's like 20 mins away from my house where people go to try on long skinny boards and throw themselves down a mountain for a day. no, the vermont people are there because it's better than everywhere else except colorado or utah and they just can't take time out to fly there instead. they are hard core.

know what else is hard core? staying at a chalet that you SKI UP TO. that's on the mountain and where you take your skis (skiis?) off and walk into your living room, sighing after a thrilling ride or 12 down the mountain.

the last time I skiiii'd was when I was about 15. and I wasn't very good at it then. and now I'm going for 5 days. in vermont. with the hard core skiers.

first off. I don't even OWN a sporty winter jacket, let alone one where it was made specifically for skiing. the sportiest jacket I own is a waist length plaid wool pea coat. I have no fleece liners, nothing with goretex, nothing that wicks moisture away from me. my gloves are knit. I don't own goggles. people, I don't even have a real winter hat - just a crocheted beanie. so not only am I going to make a fool out of myself because I can't actually ski, I'm going to do it in completely inappropriate outerwear. unless I go broke buying a coat and pants. do you know you need a neck warmer when you ski? I do have one of those - I call it "staying indoors by the fire."

I'm so distraught. on one hand, I'm kind of excited to go skiing. but on the other hand, I'm freaking the fuck out. the expense, the humiliation, and how about if I break something? because that's totally a distinct possibility.

are any of you ski-ers? (skiers? skiiiiers?) if so, got any tips?

on the home front - bella had some weird fever for 3 days that broke on sunday morning and she is now fine. however, she did throw temper tantrums, which she never does usually, in the middle of the night. about every 2 hours. it was odd. and trent is home today with "diarrhea" but I think he's just not feeling great about school these days. I didn't have time to investigate further so we'll see how it goes tomorrow. maybe he really is sick.

on the work front - things are okay, still slow. I long to be useful. I know it'll pick up soon, but it hasn't picked up yet, so I'm nostalgic for my old job where at least I knew the answers to most questions.

so please, ski tips. anything. thanks!