"Life is so much better when you live it!" -Tara Peterson

As New Year's approached this year, I was craving doing something very different than years past. Typically, I spend NYE with my family, eating a big meal and playing games which I love to do and it's always a riot but this year I was restless. I wanted to play!

A couple of weeks back, I was invited by a friend to go snowboarding for a beginner's day on the slopes. Too bad for everyone else, I was the only one that showed up! So patiently, my friend spent the day teaching me how to go down a mountain w/ my two feet strapped to a board. I had been snowboarding many years back but never got good at it so I gave up. I was already a little better than I remembered, I didn't get as tired as I used to and I was having way more fun! However, I knew I was going to have to stick with it to play with the big kids some day.

When the invite came to go to Steven's Pass for New Year's, I was so in! Most of my evening was spent on the kids’ slope avoiding small children and other beginners. With each run, I got a little braver. The other challenge I faced was the chair lift. Being the chicken I was, this was my biggest fear because I knew that if, I mean, when I fell, there was a good chance another skier or snowboarder would railroad me when they got off the lift. I had one successful chair lift exit out of four but with each face plant, I got faster at getting back on my feet, into the binding and heading down the slope!

In addition to night snowboarding, the plan was to snowshoe up a mountain, as far as we could before midnight, then ring in the new year on the mountain. The climb was pretty steep in places and the 'ring leader' decided that the best way to get down some of these tougher spots was to sit on your butt and slide down. So he went first and the rest of us followed, including his mom who turned 58 on New Year's Eve! Admittedly, I was a bit scared but I am so glad I did it anyway because as soon as I started sliding I instantly felt like a kid again! This was so much fun!

I didn’t start this blog to share my awesome snowboarding skills or butt sliding techniques. I started it because I want to encourage others to push themselves to actually “live” life, be brave and do new things. Whether you end up liking it or not, do it anyway. How else will you know? So far, any time I’ve challenged myself to do something new, weight training, running, hiking, writing, coaching, meeting new people, snowboarding, butt sliding, etc. I have never regretted it! My only regret is that I missed the first two and half decades of my life not living.  

While I intend to keep doing new things to challenge myself I also want to share these experiences with everyone else. So, as much as I am able, I will write about my experiences which could be anything from a daily workout, experiences with my dog, training for a race, life lessons or new recipes. I also want to hear from you, the reader. Tell me about your adventures, your strengths and struggles. Give me your feedback on this blog or ideas you have for me! (I ask that you keep the language clean and appropriate.)

I’m learning that life is constantly presenting us with new opportunities, big and small. It’s up to each individual to decide how they want to handle those opportunities. As I mentioned before, I’ve never regretted doing something new but it took me a long time (maybe too long) to get to a place where I felt comfortable attacking new adventures. And maybe I’m still not totally there but I’m so on my way! My hope is that others will be encouraged to get off their 'youknowwhat' and go LIVE! Ready, set...GO!!