Skiing

We spent the past weekend with family. Wayne came all the way from California to visit us in chilly Idaho. We had a lot of fun eating, playing monopoly deal, bowling, and skiing.

I was able to go with the boys, aka Wayne Michael and Kevin, skiing up to Grand Targhee. I was really nervous as I have only been downhill skiing two times previous to this, but they all encouraged me and helped me improve. At the beginning of the day I was feeling butterflies in my stomach, but after spending the first part of the day going down the "kid fun runs" I was ready to head to the top of the mountain for a longer run by the afternoon.  

The best parts of the day were:

#1 -  Skiing. I LOVE skiing. Every time I go I learn to love it a little more. One day I dream of owning my very own ski's.
#2 - Improving my skiing abilites. I hardly had to pizza and was able to really figure out my S turns. There were only a few times where I panicked because I was picking up speed. I was able to figure out what to do when I feel like I'm going too fast. I feel leagues ahead of where I was level wise.
#3 - Spending time with Michael boy. It was especially fun watching him patiently help, encourage, and be proud of me. Michael would do S turns as we went down the hill and I would follow in his tracks. This helped me SO much. He made it so I was visually able to follow and could get a better understanding of what I was doing. Also, when I would take off Michael would yell to me what to do, i.e. "Turn right!" or "Turn left." He was a great little teacher.  
#4 - Hitting a little patch of ice and taking off into the pine trees. This resulted in me practically hugging the tree while I regained my footing. I was laughing, Michael was laughing and I'm sure the people on the ski lift above me were laughing. *Side Note: there was no falling in this occurrence*
#5 - Watching all three of the Dill boys in their element. They each LOVE to ski and it's so fun watching them be able to do it together. I'm glad they invited me to spend the day with them. They each gave me a few pointers, were so patient with me, and were simply delightful to be with.
#6 - The lady at the ski rental place putting my boots on for me. I could definitely get used to that!
#7 - Grande Mas nachos. The man making the nachos most definitely knew how to make nachos.
#8 - Michael stopping to see if I was following him and me running over his pole in the process.
#9 - Watching 3 year olds ski. Yup! They were better at skiing than me. I definitely felt a little silly.  
#10 - And finally... getting a hot cocoa at the end of the day. It was a great way to warm up and defrost.

All around it was a wonderful day and there was only one fall for me. I was showing Michael that I could stop using the "french fry" technique versus the "pizza technique" and I simply tipped over when I turned around to make sure he was watching. I was laughing so hard I it took me a while to get up.

For me, it was a perfect ski day. Thanks Wayne for taking us and for being a part of teaching me to ski! I can't wait to keep on improving so together we can do some double black diamonds. ;)

24th Birthday....

Not to long ago I turned 24. The big 24... one year closer to 25, eeeks!

Needless to say it was a great birthday. I got to spend it with my siblings, and parents.

Heather, my little sister, works at the Hogle Zoo as a teen docent. She had a few tickets to get into the zoo and decided she wanted to take Mom, Michael and I to the zoo and give us a grand tour. So the last day to use the tickets she had, aka my birthday, we went to the zoo. I haven't been to the zoo in years and I loved every minute of it. It is so much different than I remember as a kid. There are so many new fancy exhibits and animal enclosures. It was especially fun to watch Heather. She knew all about every inch of the place. She knew every animals name and would talk to them as if they were her closest friends. It was the sweetest thing ever. She insisted that we have lunch at the "Beast"-ro and that it was the most delicious place to get a meal. Heather was 100% in her element, I think that is what made the visit to the zoo so great. That girl is going places and that girl will do BIG great things in world. Here are a few pictures from the zoo trip.

The day just continued to be full of more memorable moments. After we got home from the zoo I decided that I would make my favorite gluten-free cake. Mom and Dad went to the grocery store, Michael was napping, Adam was in Dad's office and Heather was in her room. So, Mickey (the dog) and Albert (the bird), were left alone to bake in the kitchen. (These are important details!) So, things in the kitchen were going well. I had the cake batter all mixed up and the oven was heated ready to bake. I found the only three round cake pans I could find in my mom's cupboard. The recipe says you need to use two 9" cake pans, but I could only find three 8" cake pans. So, I poured the batter into two of the 8" cake pans. This was my thought process. "It says 9" pans but it's a gluten free cake that is pretty dense... so, I should be able to get away using 8" pans. Yeah, I'll just use the 8" pans." So, I put the two pans into the oven to bake and set the timer.  

Shortly after, I started to smell something burning. And this when it started getting interesting. I opened the oven door and saw the batter spilling over the edge of the cake pans, all over the bottom of the oven. I hurried to grab a pan and put it on the bottom rack to catch any more batter that might spill over, then shut the door. I thought I was good. The burning smell only got worse. Smoke began coming out of the oven vent. I opened the oven door and... FLAMES! There were flames. After saying  "Oh shit!" under my breath, I acted calmly. I got a spoon and began spooning the burnt flaming cake batter out of the oven and into a bowl of water. I opened the back door so the smoke could air out, and I turned on the fan over the oven. Yet again, I thought all was good. A few minutes later more smoke starts coming out of the oven vent. I open the oven door and again... FLAMES! even bigger flames. I yelled for Adam. He came in grabbed the bird cage and ran out. How helpful. I was flustered, but I got all the flaming cake batter out of the oven and things were good. When I checked back on the cake a few minutes later the cake was as black as could be. I was mortified. My expensive gluten free birthday cake was ruined. My mom and dad came home. I was afraid they would be mad I had caught the oven on fire, not once, but twice. Nope, not upset at all. They said "You aren't a Worthington woman until you catch the oven on fire!" Apparently it happens a lot around there. (I only have one memory of my mom catching it on fire, I guess it has happened a lot more since I moved away to college six year ago.) My sweet mom looked at my cake, I was in tears, and said let's start over. Let's make it again. I was insistent that we just not worry about it and not waste the expensive ingredients to make it again. So, my mom got to work to redeem the cake we had. She carefully carved off all the burnt edges she could find. When she was done, it looked lovely. The amazing thing about all of this is the smoke detector never went off. If you know the smoke detector at my parents you know that it is hardly believable that it didn't go off. It usually goes off if you make toast. At least we know that if there is actually ever smoke/flames the smoke detector might not go off. Needless to say, after a struggle with the cake, it all worked out. (just like it always does) Here is a picture of the cake the third time it was a flame that day. 

The day was all around pretty great. We had a great dinner complete with honey baked ham, baked potatoes, and salad. We played banana-grams, Just Dance 2014, and simply enjoyed each others company. The day was complete in welcoming in 2014 with fireworks,  a dance party in the driveway, a visit from the Dukes, and a toast to the new year with Martinellis. Thanks to everyone for celebrating with me, for the kind birthday wishes, and for thinking of me as I turned 24. Happy New Year! 

Alrighty folks...

Alrighty folks... So, here's the deal. I've been blogging about a secret project for a couple of posts now. Well, the good news is I'm ready to reveal a little of what I've been working on.

For a long time I've wanted to do some sort of craft/project/whatever-I'm-working-on, kind of blog. I believe that last year when I was working on a scrapbook for my grandparents I even mentioned that I was going to start doing it. But, I've finally worked up enough courage to go for my dream. I've started my own little hobby business and I've even started a new blog to go with it. The blog I have started to chronicle this is: http://thedandydill.blogspot.com/ I'm full of a wide array of emotions. I'm excited to follow this dream, afraid of failing, giddy to share what I love, hesitant to put myself out there, afriad and excited to learn a lot of new things, BUT I can't ignore myself and I'm taking the risk. I really can't wait to get my toes wet and test out the waters of the craft blogging/selling world.

I have great ambitions and hopes for the coming year and I am really excited to get things rolling. I'm very excited to begin sharing some of my favorite crafts, tricks, DIY projects, decorating ideas and all sorts of other shenanigans. Be excited because this is going to be a lot of fun.

I will still be writing other stuff on this blog, but http://thedandydill.blogspot.com/ is where you can find updates on what I will be doing in the crafting world.

Also in the works, I am opening up an etsy shop where you may purchase some of my handmade items. It is not quite up and running yet, but we are well on our way to opening day.

So, here's to a fun new adventure.... May it be everything I've been dreaming of and more.

Click the image below to be directed to the dandy dill: