Tony Brewer

I have always loved downhill skiing.  Ever since I was first introduced to it by a friend, as a teenager, I have gone downhill skiing every chance I get.  My idea of the perfect family winter vacation is to pack up the family and ski gear and head to New England for a couple of weeks in January.  There are a lot of great east coast ski vacations that I’ve been to in the past, but my favorite place is to Ski Vermont mountains.  Stowe is the perfect ski resort town.

The Green Mountain Inn is a wonderful place to get lodgings for a ski vacation in Vermont.  They offer suites, apartments, and townhouse accommodations.  They have modern amenities and Jacuzzis in many of their rooms.  The Inn has a swimming pool, a restaurant, and a health club as well.

Nearby the Inn are many activities that can be enjoyed by the entire family.  I’m hoping to take Teri up there this winter and we’ll enjoy a sled dog ride, a romantic sleigh ride for two, and a little bit of snowmobiling too!  Of course we’ll be doing a lot of downhill skiing as well; that is my favorite activity and the whole point of going up there (besides a little romantic getaway, that is!)

I was just reading an article on the Time.com website about the environmental damage that George W Bush is planning to do in his last 100 days in office. According to the article, Bush is planning on allowing more power plant air pollution, change the Endangered Species Act, and loosen controls on water quality regulations. I can remember when he first took office how upset I was over the environmental assaults he performed in his first 100 days, it sounds like he plans to do just as much damage as he can in his last 100 days too! I guess this is just his way of slashing and burning the village that has been plundered and raped for the past eight years!

I’ve been hearing that the fashion trend for jewelry is moving away from the traditional yellow gold and towards the sterling silver metals.  The problem with sterling silver, as far as I’m concerned, is that it tarnishes.  I much prefer the non-tarnish properties of titanium.  You get the same beautiful colors and sparkle, but in a tarnish-free metal that is extremely durable.  I understand that one of the benefits of titanium jewelry is that it is hypoallergenic.

With Christmas shopping in mind, I’ve been looking at some titanium rings to buy for Teri at the website called titaniumstyle.com.  I really like the one that has a black pearl set in the ring.  It is very striking and I’m sure that she would love it.  I might buy her a titanium necklace to wear with it, too.  They have a really nice selection of necklaces on their site.

The titaniumstyle.com offers a free lifetime warranty on their jewelry, and they offer free lifetime refinishing.  They’ll even provide engraving inside their rings.  Maybe when Teri and I eventually decide to tie the knot and start a family, we’ll exchange titanium wedding bands on our wedding.  I like the inlaid ring designs that incorporate more than one color, making them more versatile as fashion accessories.

I usually recycle the newspapers that we get.  We subscribe to the Sunday paper, in order to get the Television Guide and the sales fliers and coupons.  We’re usually too busy to actually READ the news, and end up throwing the newspapers away.  I was therefore very happy when my sister called today and asked us to save all of our newspapers to give to her because she is planning on burning a lot of wood in her fireplace this winter to reduce her energy bills and she needs the newspapers to help start the fires.  I was more than happy to agree to letting her take them all!  Saves me the trouble of having to take them to the recycling center!

I have tried very hard to listen to many of the nutrition experts regarding healthy eating and try very hard to follow a healthy lifestyle.  Having said that, I find that it is difficult to find good breakfast foods that are healthy and don’t leave me hungry a short while later.  I don’t understand it at all – the experts say that a good bowl of fiber rich cereal should keep me “full” for hours and yet I always find that within forty five minutes of having had a bowl of fiber rich cereal I am hungry again and need to have a snack. 

Unfortunately, by then I’m usually not at a location where I can reach for something healthy to eat.  The only time I can go for a longer period of time after breakfast without eating is if I eat something that is high in protein.  I’ve been doing a little bit of research about increasing the amount of protein in my diet, and how to fit it into my busy schedule.  I’ve found a website called energyfirst.com that sells a good quality whey protein powder and protein shakes that would be easy to incorporate into my busy life.  The powder comes in vanilla and chocolate flavors and dissolves instantly in water.  I think I’ll order a bottle of the vanilla flavor and add it to my breakfast routine, see if it helps keep me full longer!