Here lies the world’s most perfect snowball – that is, until it’s tossed in the air for the teeth-bearing dogs to attack and kill. While my friend Rachel was visiting from the California coast this week, we decided to go for a walk with the dogs in Truckee so they could play in the snow. This turned more into a snowball fest with the dogs tearing through the air, flipping and twisting and clobbering the oh-so-perfect snowballs. The warm weather the Sierras have been experiencing makes for nice hikes but rare snowfall, so we decided to enjoy the white stuff while there was still some on the ground. Considering that I just bit the bullet and bought a mid-week pass to Sugarbowl, we’d better get another storm soon or I’m gonna send out the attack dogs.

I have a thing for earflap hats. That thing is that I’m almost always cold and the earflap adds an extra layer of much-needed warmth. My extremely talented and crafty friend, Pren Wilcox, made this one. Originally it had a cute yellow pom at the top, but Bonnie and a friend’s dog decided to rip it off while we were in the hot tub one day. They were jealous. I get it. But then today as the dogs were playing with another skier’s dog next to the Sugarbowl Ski Resort lot, their new playmate decided to hop in my car and run off with none other than this hat! After a few minutes of chase-the-dog, I got it back unscathed. There’s just something about this hat that is so attractive, to me and the dogs.

• Get Out: Take a walk, hit up the library, a coffee shop or a bar. I’ve been hiking with the dogs almost every day lately, and I can’t describe how much better I feel about life when we’re done.

• Find Animals: Being surrounded by three swarming dogs inevitably makes you smile. They have no idea what’s going on in your professional life but absolutely love having more time to spend with you.

• Work: Get busy working on something. I’ve been taking photos and blogging here, blogging for Matter Network, searching and applying for jobs, and expanding my social media presence on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.