Wintertime Fun: The Guru Crew Goes Dogsledding

You know I have a love/hate thing going with ski vacations. I love the idea of them. Rosy cheeks, cute ski gear, the wind wooshing through my hair as I slalom down the hill.

The ski vacation, in reality, is something I don’t love so much. Because it involves none of these fun things and, worse, it includes work. More work than a 9 to 5 job, and you’re doing this work while on vacation.

Clearly, I am not the only one with this problem because mountain resorts have caught on. They now offer a whole host of activities that let you be in the great outdoors without breaking a sweat, much less a bone.

Exhibit A: Dogsledding. The guru crew tried it earlier this week and the verdict is in: thumbs up.

 

Here’s how it works: You and your 10 year old sit on a sled, which is pulled by a team of 10 dogs and guided by a musher, who stands behind, as you glide through the forest. The dogs gallop along at a good clip while you admire the scenery and pretend like you’re doing the Iditarod.

Christina, the musher, tells you all kinds of interesting dog facts, something the 10 year old really enjoys. And she tells you interesting facts too. Did you know you can go dogsledding even in summer?

Except then it should be called golf carting. Because in summer they harness the dogs to a golf cart and whisk you through the forest. Am not sure this set up has quite the same allure. Why bother with dogs at all? Why not just drive the cart?

But I’m quibbling with details here. If you live in a snowy area and enjoy nature, don’t quibble and book this offbeat, mountain experience. Rosy cheeks guaranteed, without the frustration of ski boots or lift lines. How’s that for guru good?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Cheer (& Snow Shoveling & Squat Walks)

Hope you’re having a great holiday, filled with rest, relaxation and well chosen gifts. We had lots of that around here today, including some gifts that were the biggest hits and cost the least amount of cash.

How is that even possible?

Santa brought his “A” game and the robotic dog, Zoomer. The 8 year old liked Zoomer, but it was the play list my fella downloaded onto her Kindle that really sparked the 8 year old’s interest.

The Kindle wasn’t new. Neither were any of the songs. But the fact that the playlist was loaded onto the 8 year old’s Kindle, accessible anytime, anywhere, was positively intoxicating.

 

The playlist gives the 8 year old power, specifically the power to start impromptu dance parties… which she immediately did. Over breakfast. You might have wondered what could give your Christmas quiche that special something?

The answer is Jay Z and some squat walks. Throw in a chest pump or two. Takes Christmas brunch to a whole new level.

Sometimes, a little personalization is all it takes to get a gift to the next level. This was the premise behind today’s most unexpectedly popular gift: the shovel.

It is true that my fella received a snow shovel for a gift today. (He asked for one!) It is also true that he loves it, far more than the sweater or the book he also received. He loves the shovel because of the inspirational sayings the Dynamic Duo wrote all over it.

The Dynamic Duo had free reign for this project. I told them to write encouraging phrases, things that would motivate Dad to do his best snow shoveling.

 

Here is what they wrote: “Dig harder”, “Watch your back”, “Use your guns” and, my personal favorite, “Show us what you got”.

We didn’t have a white Christmas today, but the whole family is excited for the next snowfall. The new shovel coupled with the 8 year old’s playlist?

Merry Christmas indeed!  

Free App That Increases Free Time: Can It Be?

Sometimes there are products that are beyond unnecessary. Such as numbing spray for your feet. This newly invented product eliminates the aching feet that result from wearing high heels.

 

It eliminates the pain by also eliminating any and all feeling… in the body part that is hurting but also keeping you upright, balanced and in motion.

I’m not a science girl, but it seems like this would be an important body part to be able to, um, feel.

This is not a necessary product and, in fact, sounds downright dangerous. But here’s another new product that is the opposite: “Beat The Traffic” is my new, favorite app because it is the trifecta of things I like: necessary, non-dangerous and free!

BTT is a free app for your phone. It pinpoints where you are and shows you how fast traffic is moving on the major highways in your area. If the highways appear in green, all is good. If they’re orange, it’s stop and go. If a section appears in brown, traffic is at a dead stop so take the back way, pilgrim.

So easy, so quick! BTT is your own personal, traffic reporter (minus the annoying d.j. banter and car crash sound effects). In a world that sometimes abounds with these irritating things (and high heels… and high heel numbing cream!) it’s better to focus on life (and traffic) enriching elements instead.

Guru girls & guys, start your engines (but not before you’ve checked BTT). (Click this link to read more about "Beat The Traffic".)

 

Increase Your Happiness: Wear These Pants

Whew! Is December over yet? Guru girl has been on the run, trying to get everything done. I haven’t broken my cardinal rule: always wear mascara. But I have broken my friend Jane’s, which is: you can’t wear yoga pants all day.

You actually can wear yoga pants all day. But it’s not pretty and worse, I’m not fooling anyone that I’m actually going to the gym… after the mall and the grocery store and the post office and the school.

I wear yoga pants because they’re easy and comfortable. This is precisely why I fought the skinny jean trend for so long. Because skinny jeans are the exact opposite.

Until now.

I just found some skinny jeans that I love so much I have given them a nickname. I call them my happy pants. Because it makes me happy just to put them on.

That’s how fantastic they are. The Ann Taylor skinny jean is as easy and comfortable as your favorite yoga pant. The jeans are made from some miracle material that is somehow stretchy, forgiving and beyond flattering.

They are genius! Pair them with black boots and a slouchy shirt and – presto! – you have a stylish outfit that’s as comfortable as your gym gear.

I got my happy pants last week and have tested them out on several different days. There’s no butt or knee bagging out issue, as can sometimes happen with stretchy materials. They also look fine if you have to do a mid-day switch into tennies and a fleece to walk the dog &/or trundle stuff around in the house that you still haven’t fully unpacked.

Handsome and hard-living, these are the 007 of pants

 – the Sean Connery 007, not that creepy Roger Moore.

The picture doesn’t do them justice. Throw caution to the wind and order them online – if you do it soon, Ann Taylor’ll give you 50% off your whole order… which means your happy pants will only cost you $45, a fact that will make you even happier. And Moneypenny too. (Click this link to go to ann taylor's website to view the modern knit slim pants.)

2 Top Titles: "The Husband's Secret" & "The Silent Wife"

 

Clearly I’ve been watching too much “Homeland”. Because when I found out every important political leader from every important country will be at the funeral for Nelson Mandela this morning, I got worried.

It doesn’t seem to be a good idea to have all these important people – and Oprah! – gathered together in the same place.

What if there’s some kind of terrorist event? Who will run the world then? And the Oxygen network?

I blame these paranoid thoughts on my “Homeland” obsession, but books could also be the culprit. I just finished two of them that were based on the same disturbing premise: most fellas are up to no good (and some women too!). Especially if they’re attractive, successful and good with kids!

There are four, interwoven storylines in The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty. They’re all hook you in pretty much immediately because you really like the characters – the girls and guys both – so you want to find out what’s roiling the waters of their seemingly happy, suburban lives. Let me tell you. The secret is a total shocker, one that not even paranoid me guessed!

The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison plays with the same concept. Only in this book, Harrison leads with the disturbing truth: successful therapist in her early 40s kills her own husband. Harrison spends the rest of the story showing us how it got to that point. Even though we know how it ends, the story somehow manages to be both suspenseful and gripping.

Both books ask you to rank bad choices. It’s like that ethics game where you have to rank who is the worst in terms of ethical flaw. Can good people do very bad things? Are those choices ever justified?

So many moral quandaries! The books are like an episode of “Lost” without the confusing time travel. For a good, quick read try either book. They will raise your paranoia level but not about polar bears.(Click this link to go to amazon.com to learn more or order "The Silent Wife" and "The Husband's Secret". )

One Great Read: "The Goldfinch" by Donna Tartt

I just took 30 seconds out of my day to look at the Kardashian holiday card.

Really.

And earlier, when I saw a poster about the casting call for “America’s Got Talent” happening in Denver on Saturday, I took another 30 seconds to think about it.

For the Dynamic Duo have many talents.

And then I snapped out of it. My interest in trashy television is going to get my parenting license revoked. So I am just saying no to the “America’s Got Talent” casting call.

America will simply have to watch some other elementary schoolers burp “America The Beautiful”. My two will be busy reading this weekend, in an attempt to enrich their brains and offset the negatives of having a pop culture fiend for a mother.

This prescription works great for me. Whenever I go on a trash t.v. binge, I simply follow it up with a literary fiction binge.

So I just finished The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. It was excellent and multi-layered and 1,200 pages long! It was also chock full of symbolism and meaning and thoughtful messages about our life and times, but mostly it was just a really good read.

The book’s about Theo, a 12 year old who lives in New York City and has the misfortune to be visiting an art museum the day some terrorists blow it up.

Theo survives, and The Goldfinch is the story of Theo’s next 18 years as he cobbles together both a makeshift family and a sense of himself. He’s survived the unthinkable, which is good. But then he starts to make choices himself that are unthinkable, which is bad. And Theo’s friends and neighbors aren’t exactly paragons either.

But just as you start despairing for our society and wishing you’d just watched another Kardashian marathon instead, Tartt brings it around to a conclusion that feels honest for the characters and – huzzah! – inspiring to the reader.

I love books that keep you thinking days after you’ve finished them. That’s staying power. And, in a world that churns through ideas and new, reality stars every week, there’s something to be said for a book that not only talks about legacy but makes a bid to become one. (Click this link to learn more about "The Goldfinch", available at amazon.com, for around $15.)

Ready, Set, Go: Gentlemen, Get Your Stocking Stuffers

It wasn’t until I was enjoying a tranquil walk this weekend with my friend Sarah that I learned she walks with a switch blade.

Yes, a switch blade. Sarah doesn’t mess around with matters of personal safety. Neither do I. Which is precisely why I don’t carry a switchblade. Am pretty sure I could inflict some damage with a knife, but not on any bad guy.

Which is why another friend encouraged me to carry rocks in my pockets. Rocks to throw at the bad guys in my neighborhood. Bad guys who travel in packs, specifically: coyote packs.

The big problem with this solution is that my aim is terrible. So I was excited when I came across this new gadget: the clip on personal alarm from the Container Store. It goes for$14.99.(Click this link to go to the containerstore.com for more info.) When you pull the alarm off your jacket, it emits an ear-piercing shriek, perfect for scaring off a mongrel or two.

The clip on alarm would be a great gift for the switchblade carrier, I mean urban walker, in your life too.

Nothing says I care about you and your health like a good, old-fashioned, personal alarm. But if you want to continue to risk personal life and limb with your switchblade, the Container Store has you covered there too, with some very cute retro ice bags for $12.99.

Stocking stuff away, guru girls & guys!