Hello, 2011!

Yes, I know, I'm a little late on this, but hey, at least I haven't disappeared this time!

So 2010, "the year of so many hopes and dreams," as I believe I dubbed it last year, is over. And what a year it was! Europe, the Paralympics, a wedding - it's like I wanted to do it all in one year...and did! 2010 was a blast and a whirlwind, but 2011 brings with it new hopes, new dreams and new opportunities. The future is always more interesting than the past, just because it hasn't happened yet. I can't wait to see what's around the corner!

Undoubtedly, this season can't be as exciting as the last one, but there are still interesting events to look forward to. In February, I will be participating in my first ever Canada Winter Games. These Games are modelled on the Olympic Games and are designed to give younger development athletes (and artists) an opportunity to compete in an environment similar to the Olympic Games, only instead of competing for their country, they compete for their province or territory. The Games will be held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and promise a fair share of their own fun and excitement. This year's Games will be the first to feature Para-Nordic and Para-Alpine events. I will get to ski with my Paralympic teammates, Courtney Knight and Mary Benson again, as well as to meet new promising young skiers. Check out the Games' website for more details.

Before the Games, I will be competing in a few local races and at Eastern Canadian Championships (which are, of course, always local). And after the Games, there will be Nationals in good old Canmore again. This time, they'll be integrated with the able-bodied Nationals as usual. And that's the plan for this season.

The season, so far, has been off to a very slow start: Ottawa, which never really had a lot of snow to begin with this year, lost all of it on New Year's Day. We got some of it back late last week, but conditions are far from ideal. This weekend, I'm racing the Nakkertok Invitational at the Nakkertok Ski Club. We went there on Wednesday night to check out the trails, and we could literally check them out - that is, there was not enough snow to really cover them up. So it was a very bumpy ski to say the least! We really really need some more snow...so please, everyone, send us your snowiest thoughts tonight!

Okay, I've rambled on for quite a while now. I'd better get some sleep before tomorrow's ski. Good night from the Nation's Capital.