This is common at most of the resorts around New England. Our snow is mainly very frozen and not the fluffy powder that west coast skiers enjoy. I’ve been skiing these slopes for well over twenty years now. I’ve had a few bumps and bruises along the way, but this weekend, I encountered a close call.

It was around 7PM on the frigid slopes of Jiminy Peak. The lights were on for night skiing. A big thrill for me since the slopes are a vast ghost town at those hours. More people enjoy skiing through the day, which unfortunately doesn’t leave much snow to play with at night, rather it turns into one big skating rink. I headed down a trail I had been skiing all day. It was a trail I felt pretty comfortable with and was well lit.

Then, it happened. I was making my way down to the base when I came across a side of the slope with a number of jumps. I thought for sure I was able to handle it. I looked twice to make sure there were no visible ice patches, and none were to be seen, by the naked eye anyways. I continued along, then made my way onto one of the jumps when suddenly up in the air I went, backwards, legs over the head and a hard landing on my neck and back. I hit an ice patch.

At first, I thought I was okay. After all, this happens from time to time, even for us professionals! I picked up my skis which came dislodged from my boots and continued my way back down to the chairlifts. It was there, that I had discovered I was quite soar. My neck had become tense, and my right thumb badly bruised. It was clear to me I had to end my night. My body was aching from the fall.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt every bit of the fall. My neck stiff. My thumb barely movable. It’s every skiers worst nightmare. I was pretty beaten up from the course. I threw on some Icy Hot to relieve the tensions. It seemed to work. The stinging pains were slowly fading away, though only for a short time. After the fall, my whole body was soar over the weekend!

I’m a fighter. I’m a strong believer in fighting through the pain. For the most part, it works! I went back out and skied again the next day, and by night fall those sharp pains I felt in the morning seemed to have calmed down, only acting up once in a while to let me know healing needs to take place!

I can’t remember the last time I was in this bad of a skiing accident. They happen all the time! Even for experts, the slopes are a challenge and are too often a force to be reckoned with. Skiing is a very dangerous sport. When someone tells you to be careful out there, they mean it every literal sense!

All and all, it was another awesome weekend, despite the injuries. I’ll be back out on the slopes next weekend. After a week of rest, I should be as good as new to take on another fall!

If you’re looking for a weekend getaway up north, but don’t want to spend the high ticket prices of the ski resorts in northern New England, then Jiminy is your destination. When I’m not in Vermont training, this is my hangout, and for good reason. There’s so much to do that just spending a day here isn’t good enough!

I arrived to the mountain on Saturday morning just before noon. The place was packed. Weekends here are very busy and is often the playground for those traveling up to the Berkshires from the city. I had to park my car in the lower lot which was parallel to the vacation club and get bussed over to the base. Not a bad trip, and just under 5 minutes!

As I got to the base I headed over to the ticket window and purchased a two day pass. For about $120, I was in business to ski the weekend away in paradise, and as soon as I got to the lift lines, I realized so was everyone else! The lines were long but moved quickly thanks to the speed of the Berkshire Express lift, which is the main lift to get you to the summit and as soon as you reached the top, you are face to face with some of the most impressive views of the Berkshire mountains, some even snow covered!

Saturday was a gorgeous day for skiing. The sun was shinning. It was warm, and there was a slight touch of winter in the air as flurries passed by. The powder was great and every slope I skied down was like butter. Easy!

Sunday, however, was a whole different story! Not only was it bone chilling cold, but the winds were really kicking making it feel as though temps were well below zero! It was, without a doubt, one of the most challenging days I’ve skied this season. Yes, the powder was fantastic even still, but the winds were harsh. So harsh, I was even getting pushed back up the slopes on the way down them! If you’re a skier, you know that’s a challenge.

I had an 8 hour pass for Sunday, good until about 7PM. I couldn’t survive the last hour. As the sun went down, temperatures began to get even colder, and the wind was becoming even more abusive. I decided it was best to head on down and enjoy dinner at a little place called Powder Hounds, right on the edge of the resort. If you’re looking for good food in a ski lodge atmosphere, this is the place for you. Powder Hounds knows how to deliver fantastic hospitality, but an even better meal! I ordered the blue cheese bacon burger along with one of their famous Powder Hounds root beers. After a day of abusing myself in the bitter cold, this made everything worth while!

I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend in the Berkshires. It was memorable and Jiminy Peak delivered on every expectation I had set for them. In fact, I think they have gone well above and beyond!

Friday afternoon after I picked my skis up from the ski shop I spend time at up in Pittsfield,MA, I drove my car back home to good old Litchfield County where I made my way over to Mohawk Mountain in Cornwall. Mohawk continues to have special meaning to me as it was my first job growing up. Believe it or not, that was ten years ago!

Mohawk has always been my favorite local mountain here in Connecticut. Not only do they always guarantee snow since they invented it, but the views are absolutely incredible from the top as you look over to the Taconic mountains in New York. It will leave you speechless that we have such undisrupted views of such an incredible landscape right here in our own backyards.

As the sun went down Friday night, it was time for me to ski under the lights and what a delight it was! The snow was good! A few ice spots to roughen me up a little bit, but all and all, a rather gratifying experience as I spent a solid four hours on the slopes. To elaborate, that’s four hours of non-stop skiing. If you think that’s bad, I went back on Saturday morning to do it all over again! Yes, another four hours of non-stop skiing.

The conditions on Saturday were even better. For one, it wasn’t as brutally cold as it was on Friday night. No need for a hat, it was a bluebird day out on the slopes as the sun splashed my face with color by the end of the day. Every run I made was well worth spending my money locally. Mohawk just knows how to deliver it’s guests expectations, even despite a rather tough winter!

By the way, did I mention they also offer Snowga?

The advertising industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. Advertisers have been working up a sweat all year long in preparation for this one event, in fact, they even pay top dollar just for a thirty-second slot!

This year, we’ve been getting plenty of sneak previews of these ads from our good friends at YouTube. Last night, I sat on the couch with my iPhone just watching the numerous previews available. I’ll be working the night of the big game, so I’ll be missing out on all of this!

The previews were, at best, well thought up. This year, Toyota even brings Ferris Bueller back!

Spend some time on YouTube when you get some down time. You’ll be amazed at what you find on there for the Superbowl this year. It seems pretty endless, though I’m sure those big marketing companies didn’t post everything they have up their sleeves on there! It’s a fierce industry filled with competition. They don’t want to let too many secrets out of the bag just yet. After all, they did pay top dollar for a mere thirty-second air time!

We are a nation built on trust, and it has occurred to me that, over time, we have trusted the groundhog more than today’s weathermen, if that doesn’t say a lot then I don’t know what does.

So today, Chuckles, here in Connecticut, proclaims an end to winter. Maybe he didn’t see the sudden falling temperatures that we’ve had today and a sky that resembled snow by the afternoon. That’s one point for old man Phil.

Why are we trusting groundhogs again?

Recently, my friend, and fellow blogger, Kristen Colapinto, took a ski trip up to nearby Catamount, a beautiful mountain set in the heart of the southern Berkshires and adjacent to the New York border.

Obviously, Kristen loves to ski just as much as I do, if not, even more! Take a look at her latest posting to get all of the juicy details on her awesome day out in the mountains: http://www.socialvixen.com/travel/today-ski-day-at-catamount-in-hillsdale-ny/

Googling myself, (Oh, lord.) doesn’t require much effort than a few strokes of entering your name in the search and voilà! You are then faced with everything regarding your name online. Most of what I find about me are pertaining to the articles I have written on my blog, or about my affiliation with The Register Citizen. It’s a pretty cool thing to see as I scroll through the past and present. At times, I can even find old MySpace posts. Remember that site?

Then, there’s things that will completely just throw you for a loop. It will have you questioning everything about the accuracy of the Internet. In a recent search just this week through Google’s image search of my name, I found an image of The Situation from MTV’s hit reality show, The Jersey Shore.

I’m not quite sure how I fit in there. Yes, I am Italian, but I’m not orange nor am I a stereotypical Guido. I don’t fancy myself in expensive clothing and I surely would never live in Jersey! No offense, New Jersey, you’re just not my style.

So, how exactly did this come about? One would have to conduct a massive amount of research to find out. I’m guessing it may have to do with the affiliation of my cousin, and actress, Amber Valletta, who was also pictured under the search term of my name, which makes you wonder, how does Amber even come close to Mike? I’m not a female.

Google has a mind of it’s own! I’m not quite sure it knows me as well as I know it. We’ll need to work on our relationship a little better.

Around 7:30AM I’m checking into my morning shows via my GetGlue app which are then shared out to my social media sites so that my family and friends can see what shows I’m tuning into.

8AM, I’m out the door and making a stop out to McDonalds for breakfast where I check in via my Foursquare app. As I’m sitting down for breakfast enjoying my cup of coffee, I’m enjoying the conversations I’m having with friends on Facebook and Twitter.

This, is the life of a social media guru. I’m constantly connected throughout the day. With Facebook, I can scroll through my feeds and event invites to see what is happening and where I what I want my agenda to be for the day. It’s also on Facebook where I’ll share the pictures I have taken throughout the day, including places I’ve checked into.

Some say, I’ve gone too far with being socially connected, others say it’s an addiction, but is it really? Is constantly being connected to the world really such a bad thing? I beg to differ. My connection to the world around me, and essentially a world that’s always at my fingertips, has deepened my relationships amongst family and friends and has helped to foster new friendships from people I otherwise wouldn’t have met.

Take the Foursquare app for instance. While sitting in line at the drive thru of a local McDonald’s, I checked into the establishment utilizing Foursquare while at the same time, one other person had checked in just seconds before me. That person, was the driver of the car sitting in front of me. We connected via the app and met in real time with a friendly wave.

Living a social media life isn’t hard, and with the advancements of today’s smart phones, there’s certainly not a lot of hard work involved either. Social media has essentially made the social world much simpler and user friendly, even to those who are otherwise introverts. Would it shock you to know that I too was once an introvert and to this day, still display a bit of it? Judging by my social platforms, you would have never known!

So the next time you’re contemplating about how much you are using your social networks, take a second look. You may not be using it enough or to it’s potential. There’s a greater good out there and social media can help you get there, one connection at a time.

Last night, I decided to really take myself out for a night out on the town and head on down to Blue Back Square in nearby West Hartford. I’m not at all a city person. I’m more of a small town kind of guy, but every now and then you just have to escape to see some sort of civilization and what life is like in the modern world. It’s not backwards!

I was on a quest for a great Italian dinner. I normally make a stop into The Cheesecake Factory, but I had other options. I made the short walk over from the parking garage to a place called Rizzuto’s, where I would indulge the night away with a deliciously cooked penne ala vodka and a tall glass of wine. Too over the top for a a date night with myself? Never!

The atmosphere was great, very lively, which is something you don’t get quite often in the small towns where things are little more subtle and down to earth. It is these types of places that make you play dress up!

After indulging in the delicious Italian cuisine, it was time to take myself out to a place called Pinkberry’s, suggested by my Twitter friend Heather, where I would indulge even more in a delicious raspberry frozen yogurt, topped off with fresh fruits and walnuts. Where have they been hiding this place? We need more of them in Connecticut! The yogurt made me think I had died and gone to heaven, and I’m lactose and tolerant! I’m supposed to have just become sick, not go to heaven!

When all was said and done, it was a fantastic night out on the town. If you haven’t brought yourself out on a date in a while, I dare you to do it! It has become one of my best rituals yet, and quite possibly it may just become yours too!

So there I was, stopped at an intersection in Torrington wondering where to go for a bite to eat. I’m always on the go, and have a diet that portrays it. Restaurants just seem to be my life so of course it was only natural to try out something new in our neck of the woods, a quaint fast food joint in Morris called Lazy Frog’s.

Now, when you think fast food, you think McDonalds. Not so fast. This is Litchfield County. Any food that is fast food in the small towns has to portray our small town ways of life, and Lazy Frog’s has done just that.

Located at the old Webster Bank location in Morris, just off route 63, sits this barn like structure that is anything but just another hole in the wall restaurant. Lazy Frog’s is fast food with attitude cooking up some down home country cooking at budget friendly prices and inside a building that screams Litchfield County!

I decided that my first time here, I’d start off small. A cheeseburger with a side of fries. You just can’t go wrong with that great American combo, and for under six bucks, I was already satisfied. For starters, it’s better than traditional fast food and probably much healthier too. Fast food on the cheap, AND healthy? I think I’ve just landed in paradise!

Once my order was ready, I headed to their snazzy outdoor patio where I sat and watched the gently falling snow transform the landscape to a bit of white. I sat down, quickly unraveled the packaging of my food, and took my first bite of the cheeseburger. Delicious! Fries? Even better, they’re home fries just can’t be beaten!

When you think you’ve tried the best, there’s always someone new to come along to prove to you that you’re wrong, and Lazy Frog’s is clearly the new king of fast food joints in Connecticut.

For more information, check them out on Facebook: http://facebook.com/pages/Lazy-Frogs/228992523800703?id=228992523800703&_rdr