Cindy Hval

It seemed only fitting that the first event of the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships I attended was Monday’s Novice Ladies Short Program. To say that I’m a skating novice would be an understatement. Though I’ve written about the sport extensively for the PassportToGold2010.com blog, the closest I’ve been to actual skating was in second grade, when I sported a Dorothy Hamill haircut.

Knowing that every year my New Year’s resolution is the same (to regain the figure I had at 21) this Christmas my husband thoughtfully provided a gift to get me going in the right direction. No, I didn’t find a personal trainer under our tree, nor did I discover a gift certificate for liposuction. Instead, Derek bought me a Wii Fit Plus. Wii Fit is an exercise-themed game made by Nintendo. You step on a balance board and it measures your weight, tests your balance and tells you your fitness age. The Wii Fit Plus is an enhanced version of the original game. I think the “Plus” means extra frustration at no extra charge.

When Leslie Nelson met Deb Farnsworth last year, she couldn’t have imagined their friendship would result in a community project that changed her entire house. Nelson just wanted to change her life. Farnsworth leads a Celebrate Recovery group at Valley Real Life church. The ministry focuses on those “struggling with hurts, habits and hang-ups.” Farnsworth recalled their initial meeting. “Leslie had come out of a dysfunctional, abusive relationship and was a recovering meth addict. When she told me her story, crying, I asked her, ‘What do you want?’ ”

In the midst of unearthing Christmas decorations, I surveyed the downstairs family room. Actually, “wreck” room is a more apt description. Green and red bins burgeoning with tinsel and ornaments perched precariously on tabletops. Blue bins overflowing with winter garb towered with ominous instability in opposite corners. And stacks of paper on the floor revealed last year’s resolution to stay current with filing has been a dismal failure. Overwhelmed, I looked for a place to sit. And then I saw it – my rocking chair. Banished to the basement when my youngest grew too big to cuddle comfortably with me in its confines.

As someone who has lived most of her life in the Spokane area, I consider myself quite familiar with the city and all its amenities. But when an invitation crossed my desk to see Spokane through a visitor’s eyes, I was intrigued. The CVB (Spokane Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau) offers a four-hour class to train Certified Tourism Ambassadors (CTAs). The class, part of a nationally recognized program, educates frontline hospitality employees and volunteers by providing information about the region’s attractions, history and assets. “More than 400 people have completed the program,” said Gina Mauro, visitor services manager for the CVB.

Autumn is usually my favorite season. School starts, football takes off, and I love walking in the sunlight’s last hurrah on crisp fall afternoons. But this year, as the last of autumn slipped away with daylight saving time, I found myself falling into a funk. An early freeze had robbed our neighborhood trees of their annual explosion of fall color. Instead of vibrant gold, red and russet, the leaves turned dim, dusty shades of brown and then fell dispiritedly to the ground. Our lawn faded, and gray foggy mornings enveloped the area in a dreary shroud.