Oops, we did it again!

Yep, we've gone and left you without an installment for a couple of weeks. At least you know there will be plenty to talk about! I guess we should start by saying HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all

The promised Nor-easter certainly arrived. We had intended to get a few runs in before leaving for Boston to pick Mel up, but we both felt pretty worse for wear after our tumbles on the Saturday, so we didn't bother and had an extra couple of hours in bed instead

When we did set off, the going was reasonably good for most of the way. It was a new route to us, taking us over the border into New Hampshire, down to Mass and into Boston. It wasn't until we got close to Mass that things started to get a bit slow, but what should have been a 3 hour journey turned into 4.5 hours. But we got to the airport in time, as we'd been keeping a close eye on the expected arrival time on Annalie's BlackBerry. Mel took a while getting through though as she thought a solo, one-armed baggage handler was unloading the bags! And then her skis had to be located, but all was well in the end.

We set off for home in the continued storm. Although the snow had died down a bit, the road conditions weren't great, so it took us nearly 3 hours to make that journey too. But we all arrived in one piece.

After a couple of days in the office (for Annalie at least), on Tuesday night we headed back up to Killington for our planned Xmas on the slopes. On Xmas Eve Annalie did some work (and nursed her sore knee) while Ian and Melly headed up to the mountain. At this stage most of the weekend's snow seemed to have been hard packed and icy but they enjoyed an afternoon of runs. Then our housemate Danny turned up and we had a fun night of food and card games.

Xmas day arrived and there were plenty of snow-related gifts to be handed out before we got on the slopes. Santa brought Ian a new helmet with built-in headphones, Mel got a face mask and Annalie got some new gloves (that make her look like Darth Vader but will protect her wrists at least!), a goggle wipe (after Saturday's mishap) and a new lock for her board. Then the four of us hit the slopes for our bucket list tick off - which was to spend Xmas Day on the slopes

The snow on the first runs we tried were pretty rubbish, so we headed over to Bear Mountain to see if it was any better. There we found some really well groomed, none icy runs to keep us busy. And the snow started falling quite heavily, to top off a really nice start to Xmas.

Just after lunchtime we all went back to the ski house to start preparing Xmas Dinner, which we were determined would be the traditional turkey roast. We stuck the turkey in and then jumped in the hot tub for a bit of relaxation before the hard work started The beers flowed as well.

Dinner was a very nice affair and we were joined by our other housemates, Marc and Jaysa, who are Jewish but we wanted to include them as well. Jaysa made a fab pumpkin pie for dessert to go with our chocolate cake and cheese and biscuits, although the latter didn't get opened until Boxing Day as we were all too stuffed.

On Boxing Day just Danny and Annalie went onto the mountain while Mel went snowshoeing and Ian went shopping.

We all took the day off on Saturday as the slopes were likely to be very busy with "weekenders" and the weather wasn't all that great. So Annalie, Ian and Mel decided to head further north to try out some of the foodie factory tours in Vermont. We started out with the Ben and Jerry's Factory, which is quite a short tour but very informative and makes you realise how socially responsible the company is (Annalie is particularly au fait with this concept through all of her studies). And it included a free sample of Phish Food ice cream as well. It would have been rude not to purchase a full-size ice cream too

We then hit a Cabot Cheese store, where we promptly topped a rather large ice cream with about half a pound of cheese each! The store also offered wine tasting, so Melly and Annalie indulged, although we have to say, we might have felt a little queasy afterwards. To finish off we went to the Green Mountain Coffee Visitors Centre in Waterbury for an apres lunch beverage.

With the weather turning into rain, the outlook wasn't promising for any more decent snow on the hill so we decided to head home early on Sunday. It gave us a few days in familiar surroundings until we headed to New York for New Year's Eve. And also gave Annalie and Mel the opportunity to have their nails done

We wanted to try and get a last minute deal on a hotel to lay our weary heads after partying, and Annalie managed to bag an excellent bargain of a four star hotel in the Central Park area for $179!! We didn't know the exact hotel until we'd paid, but it turned out to be the Empire Hotel, which was just five blocks from our party venue. I think we may well be using Hotwire again! We did try name your own price on Priceline, but it wouldn't accept even $180 for a two star upwards. But who cares?!

Another winter storm blew in on New Year's Eve, making our journey down to New York a little longer than anticipated. Unfortunately the snow didn't have as much of an impact in New York itself, or is that fortunately considering we had to walk five blocks in heels? The temperature was freezing though. Although the readings were 26/27 degrees F, the wind chill was waaaayyyyy below that. We did think about venturing onto the ice again in Central Park this time, but it was sooooo cold that we froze just thinking about it.

Then back to the hotel to get ready and set for our night out . We dressed up in our finery and walked to Tavern on the Green. We were just going for the party, not dinner, and it was a good night, although we were let down by not being able to view the midnight fireworks very well after they decided not to let people out and then back in again. So Melly and Annalie ended up watching them from the middle of one of the dancefloors! A few more drinks and dances later and we were all tucked up in bed by 3am(ish!).

On New Year's morning we took Mel down to Ground Zero as she hadn't been to NY since the 9/11 attacks. The main attraction is still St Paul's Church and we had another walk around there (mainly to get out of the cold!). Then we went to one of New York's most famous discount department stores, Century 21, for a nosey. None of us splurged though and we decided it was time to leave and get home.

Friday was a sad day for Annalie as she had to say goodbye to both Melly AND Ian, who is heading back to the UK for a quick break and to see people. Although the main excuse was to go to the Arsenal vs Plymouth Argyle tie in the FA Cup So it was off to Boston to drop them both off for their respective flights. Ian was a lucky bugger and got upgraded to Upper Class on Virgin after his Premium Economy seat was double-booked! Jammy sod! Don't think he'll be so lucky on the way back as he's starting right down the back in economy.