Winter and I have a love-hate relationship. Most of the time he’s rather dull and unattractive, but from time to time we actually get along with one another.

Like today, for instance, I quite enjoy these lovely warmer temperatures. But I know he’s going to turn a cold shoulder and show me his ugly face without warning. The funny thing is, I snowboard. So when I say I hate winter, people tend to ponder my choice to partake in such a winter sport. I may not exactly love the cold, but what I do love is the adrenaline rush that comes with snowboarding.

This season, my first trip to the mountain actually came on New Year’s Day for a nice evening session at Windham Mountain in New York. Really nice place! Unfortunately, only the lower half of the mountain is lighted so my group and I didn’t really have the opportunity to experience the more challenging runs. It snowed the entire time we were there so it was really nice to ride on real snow rather than the man-made stuff you find around here.

Speaking of man-made, on Wednesday night I drove up to Bear Creek for a quick two hours. Did you know they added a Waffle Hut at the bottom of the mountain? They had one of those at Windham, too. Must be the new thing.

Another thing they had at Windham was a Big Air Bag. Skiers and snowboarders launch off a small-ish kicker and land onto a huge air bag that sort of just immediately dumps you off. A few of us really wanted to try it at Windham, but riders need to wear helmets. Fortunately, Blue Mountain just added one, so perhaps in the very near future I will check it out.

Despite the cold that winter brings, the after-Christmas sales are seriously hot. I’ve managed to avoid the mall, surprisingly, but today at lunch Gap was calling my name as I walked by. I gave in. And walked out with a great sweater dress, two button-down shirts with ruffles, and a pair of tights for next to nothing. All sale items were an additional 25 percent off. How could I say no? I’m having a bit of buyer’s remorse, but I know as soon as I wear those items I’ll realize it was totally worth it.

Winter, sometimes I love you and most of the time I hate you. Actually, I just love to hate you. Spring, I am so incredibly looking forward to our reunion.