OUR TRIP TO SNOWSHOE, WV

I'm sitting here about to watch the premiere of The Biggest Loser {thank heavens Jillian is back..the show was hurting when she left-who's with me?} and am in somewhat denial that there's a full week of work ahead of me. There won't even be a 5 day weekend attached at the end...it's just so shocking.

Leave it to Sunday nights after a trip and the holidays to give me a big ole reality check! However, I'm actually happy about it. Not that I haven't fully enjoyed sleeping in, going on a trip, drinking hot chocolate with bailey's, spending time with family, 5 day weekends back to back, and so on {if you wouldn't-we can't be friends ;)}, but this girl is in serious need of an actual routine! One that actually involves work and staying on a schedule.

That's not to say Snowshoe wasn't a blast in a beer glass because it was. Literally. 

It was our first time to Snowshoe, WV but we had heard really great things about it and since Billy's family loves to ski, we were all about giving it a go! Billy's brother and Dad were originally supposed to come with us, but unfortunately couldn't make it at the last minute {another blood clot in the family-yikes!} so our Aunt JoAnne came with us, along with Billy's mom, twin sister {you knew Billy was a twin, right?}, and best friend Cory. We LOVED Snowshoe...it's like a big, gorgeous village with incredible views! We couldn't believe how huge it was and all of the restaurants and places to stay were so nice. We stayed at a part called Seneca that is really centrally located on the mountain and we had a balcony that you literally could walk off of and you were right at the top of the slopes to start skiing. It was awesome.
 
 {view right by our room}

the Village area....





{Seneca-where we stayed!}

{front view of it from the street}

{our balcony}

Here's some things I learned from our trip {lists are the most fun anyways}:

-I wanted to take a picture of every little thing covered in snow. Didn't matter what it was. Turns out the snowy mountains, the village, the trees, and the slopes are beautiful scenery. It was so white and snowy everywhere...our surroundings were absolutely gorgeous and a bit fake looking. Take a look...

-BIG fan of snowmobiling. In fact, I like it more than skiing. I kinda love it. Our first night in Snowshoe, Billy and I randomly booked a 1 hr snowmobile tour and it turned out to be one of our favorite parts of the trip. Something about being able to go 60 mph up the slopes, in the dark, and through the woods gives me a rush. Highly recommend snowmobiling friends. Fun times.

-The sunsets were some of the best I've ever seen.

-You haven't experienced cold weather unless you experienced Snowshoe mountain this past Friday. I thought I've been freezing cold before, but no, I was WRONG. It was 10 degrees and extremely windy...let me explain that to you: you couldn't walk outside without all body parts fully covered or you would freeze, burn, then turn into an ice-sickle in 45 seconds. I tried taking my gloves off outside to get a picture at one point {an innocent task I thought} and within a minute my fingers felt like they were being cut off. HOWEVER, I also learned you can still have fun skiing outside in this weather-you just have to wear 3,952 layers if you want to survive. It was funny because the other days it got up to 30-40 degrees and it felt like a HEAT wave. 

-Slopes with bars at the bottom are heavenly! Especially ones that served drinks in mason jars. ALL of the bars/restaurants at Snowshoe served their beer in mason jars, which obviously made the trip 3x better. You ski for a bit..get to the bottom of the hill..and bam-there's a BAR! Genius. Everyday our routine was to wake up, ski for a couple hours, get some beers/wine, ski some more, sit in the hot tub until we turned to prunes, and go out to dinner. It was perfecto {even in the cold temps}.

{this drink should be called heaven: hot chocolate, bailey's, peppermint.}

{his and hers winter socks and some tea by the fireplace}

 {also spent some time at night in the amazing, cozy lobby drinking wine while watching things such as Full House...}

{Billy and his best friend Cory}

-Skiing is a serious work out. Some of the slopes at Snowshoe are 3/4 a mile - 1.5 miles long and your legs definitely feel the BURN after many runs. Muscles I didn't even know I had are still hurting me....

-Having hardly any service the whole trip = a good thing! As much as I love my instagram {@katiewkrysh-find me!}, twitter, fb, texting, etc. a break is equally as lovely. There was only one area where we were staying that got service, so I made sure to only update on our down time. On the other hand, you really have to make sure you stick together as a group at Snowshoe because there's no way to call anyone if you get split up! 

-Hot tubs and sauna's on ski trips? Mandatory.
So are really awesome outfits on the way there.
Billy was my picture victim for this because mine was even more ridiculous.
Think: maxi skirt, snow boots, and a sweatshirt. Fashion at it's finest! 

the end!

*highly recommend heading to Snowshoe if you love to ski/snowboard! Thank you to those who recommended snowmobiling there :) Would love to make it back there again!

Back to the Biggest Loser thing....
I know a lot of people aren't big fans of the show {like my husband}, but you can get so much motivation for your workouts from watching it. Watch it for that reason alone! Some of my favorite exercises are ones that I've seen the trainers do on the show where I wrote them down so I could do them at the gym myself. They also give tips before and during commercials to help your diet. As you can tell, I'm a big fan of the show, but just wanted to go into a little bit more about why I am. It's incredibly motivating and reminds me to get my booty to the gym!

On a "I have better things to be doing besides watching tv but I'm going to watch tv anyways" note...
WHO is excited for the Bachelor tonight with Sean?

Yeahhhh! Report back tomorrow with your thoughts.

-Linked up with lovely Sami today for her weekend update blog hop-

xo.

Snowshoe on Dwellable

A NEW YEAR WITH NEW BEGINNINGS

Oh, hey there!

I can officially say happy twenty thirteen!! 

When we were celebrating the other night, I just had this feeling 2013 is going to be a great year. Not that anyone ever predicts a bad year {what fun would that be?}, but I still had that feeling. 2012 was one of the best years for us, and I can only hope it stays that way. I'm excited to see what is in store for myself, KC&CO, and in our little family! For new years eve, we went out to dinner with some friends to McCormick & Schmick's, and then ended up at Columbus' newly opened casino. We had a great time and I bet you can imagine the crazy good people watching we had at the casino. It was pretty fantastic, ha ha. I told myself that no matter how late we stayed out {ended up being around 2am} that I would make it to spin class at 10am the next morning, and I did! I'm determined to stick to those goals I told you about Monday.

 

What I Wore: Dress-H&M, Blazer-old {not sure}, Tights-Target, Shoes-Macy's. 

 

This is one of my best friends who is due with her baby boy at the end of this month!

We are so excited to meet him and I know Marissa is ready to pop him out. ;)

 

 {yep, our Napa glasses got some use NYE.}

Anyway, what have we been up to? 

Well, our tree and Christmas decorations were put away the other day, and now our house feels totally bare. I think I need to invest in some more house decorations to make up for this! I know I should have some riveting post to start the new year, but the truth is one day work weeks get to me. And by get to me I mean I soak them up in every way possible. Like even standing outside in the 20 degree temps to get pictures with Billy and Rocky in the snow. Completely normal and acceptable, right? I think they turned out so cute, and were worth braving the cold temps for. I'm excited to frame some of these!

The holiday break hasn't quite ended for us yet. Remember when I mentioned we are going skiing? We leave for our weekend ski trip to Snowshoe, WV early tomorrow morning! We are so excited to ski with family and friends in the mountains and I've already reserved one of the hot tubs for myself. I told the staff at the resort to hold it for me with a sign that reads, "Reserved 24/7 for Katie Krysh-don't even think about stepping foot in this hot tub." Kidding. I wish. But I don't plan on moving out of it every single night. Billy will have to pry me out with offering wine, or something equally as good. Steph will be hosting Saw It. Pinned It. Did It link-up by her lonesome tomorrow, so link-up with her if you're interested! It won't be the same without me {I know, I know}, but try and make do. ;)

I promise I will be back next week fully refreshed with some great posts to share to start this new year! Also, I will be contacting the winner of my last giveaway via email today. I haven't forgot!

Linked up with Pleated Poppy for "What I Wore" 

xo

GET YOUR BUTT IN GEAR IN THE NEW YEAR

Hi friends! Happy {almost} 2013!

What better day to dig deep and find some motivation in the new year? Yep, I'm talking about getting your butt to the gym. I've decided I want to start doing more fitness/health posts in 2013 because the other week I noticed I stopped writing about it for awhile. Not anymore. They are making a comeback folks. 

Alright, so..for me--I personally slack with my eating habits in November and December {you are to thank Thanksgiving and Christmas} and the gym just gets pushed aside from time to time. The other months of the year I eat healthy and am in the gym 4-5/week, so I like to think of it as my little break period. It happens and indulging during the holidays is ok, but you also have to know when it's time to get back on track. That time for me? Now. Not just because it's a new year, but because I want to feel healthier and get back on track. 

Some of you have asked me to share my tips + tricks to keep {and stay} motivated, so I compiled a list that I hope might inspire some of you. I also am sharing at the end what I'm personally doing right now in the gym/eating habits in case you want to join me. I'm not a pro {by any means}, but this is what works for me! {sugar, sweets, etc. do NOT work for me. Go figure...}

1. Create a kick ass playlist and keep updating it: This is huge! Music = motivation. Especially when on the treadmill. I like to load up my playlist with songs that are fast, uplifting (some could argue that my hardcore rap with 10,001 cuss words aren't uplifting, but hey, let's toss that to the side...), and that push me. If you keep the same ole' playlist for all of your workouts, you are bound to get bored. Bored = not wanting to be at the gym.

Here is my current favorite playlist:

"Set it off" is probably my favorite right now. Download it, listen to it when you workout, and thank me later. 

2. Buy new shoes or update staple pieces {cute pants, new top} in your workout attire: This works like a charm for me. Take control of your normal clothing budget and instead of buying new heels or a sweater, buy a cute workout outfit that you feel GOOD in. Buy those neon running shoes you've been wanting. I typically ask for new running shoes for Christmas for this very reason and every year it gives me a little extra drive to get to the gym. I love putting on my new shoes and wearing them to the gym, but then again I am a girl who owns double the amount of running shoes vs. heels. Totally besides the point....just get yourself some hottie workout clothes.

3. Make your goals visible: Put them on paper! Whether it's to lose 10 pounds, to do abs 2-3 per week, tone up, cut meat out of your diet once per week, eat fresh/clean foods, etc. PUT THEM WHERE YOU WILL SEE THEM MOST. The more you see them = the more you will be reminded to make them happen. I make a list and put them on our refrigerator because it motivates me to keep nothing bad in the fridge and to be "good" when I'm in the kitchen. :) Other helpful spots might be: your iPhone under "notes", your bathroom, or in your planner.

*with this: set a goal end date (unless this is something you want to do for the full year-even better!) Maybe an upcoming trip? Before bikini season hits? Schedule that end date in your mind so you know how long you have to make it happen. My husband always tells me "it takes 16 days to break a habit" {not sure if this is true or not-but so I've heard}, so chances are once you get "used" to your new lifestyle/getting to the gym-you will come to love it and it will be become a part of your daily routine willingly.

here's a copy of mine...

4. Schedule your workouts: Just like you would with your other important appointments. Set your workout for a time that you know you will be able to get it done. I might be different in my thinking here because some say, "do your workout first thing in the morning", but for me, I KNOW that in the winter chances are my butt is going to sleep in that extra hour and I won't get up to make it the gym before work. Therefore, I make it my priority to get to the gym after work and don't make any other plans until after that hour. In the spring/summer, it's much easier to get up with the early morning light, so I will try to do half of my workouts in the morning then. You just want to make sure you schedule your workout for a time you KNOW you can and will get it done.

5. Go to a new location for your run, take a new class, love your gym: This might be the most important of them all. You have to love where you workout. I could pretty much be running commercials or campaigns for Lifetime Fitness. That's how much I love it. I've worked out at Lifetime Fitness ever since I got out of college, have tried other gyms, and they just do not work out for me. Stick with what you love, even if it means paying a bit more. It's worth it to me because if you don't like your gym, why would you want to go there? You wouldn't. It's also important to switch up what you're doing in the gym. If you're getting bored, take a new class you haven't tried. Me? I'm 110% obsessed with spinning. You burn a heck of a lot of calories, is motivating, helps with my running, and in return puts a huge smile on my face. Endorphins = happiness friends.

{besides the fact that Lifetime needs to clean their mirrors more often, I love my gym.}

Lastly, for those of you who've been asking-aside from my goals up top on that paper, my goals are to do spin class 2x/week, run 2-3x/week (if you're running on a treadmill-try and run/job on an incline always), lift weights on my run days, and eat as clean as I can {I know that I will have a cheat meal every week}. I really want to shed the few lbs I've gained this holiday season, but most importantly I want to tone up and get stronger. So, what does clean eating mean? {question I've got a lot} I've found that this website helps me the most when understanding what it truly means. 

*If you'd like a more detailed post about healthy eating, leave it in the comments and I'll see what I can put together. 

Hope this helps some of you! 

Get that booty lift. Those Carrie Underwood legs. The flat stomach you dream about for this summer. GET IT. ;) {that right here would be me motivating myself, too...)

xo