running to the mailbox

Why is it that I am still excited to go out to my mailbox? Most days my mail consists of 6 credit card offers, 3 catalogs full of items I would like to purchase but can't afford, 1 catalog from an unknown company full of junk, coupon flyers to restaurants I have never heard of, a real estate postcard showing me a house for sale in my own neighborhood (really am I going to bother to pack up all my junk to move 1 street over), at least 2 magazines we actually did order but never get around to reading, letters looking for a handout, and my absolute favorite - bills.

I am a bit amused with myself that I still look forward to getting the mail. Really most of it just goes directly into my recycle bin and the few items making it into my house go into the recycle bin when the paper pile starts getting a bit out of control in our office.

Once upon a time - ok now I sound like a fairy tale but it does actually seem like one now - I received mail on a regular basis that was actually made it worth visiting the mailbox. Letters (before my mother realized email is how all of her children communicate and needed to jump on the technology bandwagon so she could hear from us on a semi-regular basis), hand written invitations before the Evite invasion, and even the occasional check.

The best time for mail was in college when I received care packages but I haven't received homemade cookies in the mail in quite some time, longer than I care to admit. Somehow I must be a bit delusional and believe since once upon a time cookies showed up along with a check from mom that it could still happen and I better rush out and get them before they get stale. Guess until it sinks in I will still look forward to my jaunt across the street in hopes of chocolate chip cookies and a big check.

thumbs up

There is a saying that goes you don't appreciate something until you lose it. Well right now I am appreciating my right thumb, because it is broken. Lets just say when exiting a car make sure all of your body parts have exited before the door closes. Having to open the car door up again to get my thumb out isn't on my list of recommended items to do again. Most of us learned this as children but guess I must be a slow learner. I now know quite a few things you need your thumb for:

1. Typing the letter "n" on your keyboard - never noticed how many words have an "n" in them.

2. Buttoning your pants - never realized most of my pants have a top button until now.

3. Opening any package.

4. Using a mouse - ever try using your left hand if you are right handed - bit tricky.

5. Styling your hair -lets just say mine isn't looking good and ponytails are out as well - 2 thumbs needed.

6. Working out - good news is that I don't have to do push ups for quite a while now.

7. Writing -my handwriting was getting pretty bad before since I mainly type everything but now a 1st grader would put me to shame. Good thing no one ever really checks the signature against your debit card.

8. Preparing a boat for docking - guess I will be elevated to captain status for a bit instead of first mate.

9. Shaving your legs - the left hand misses quite a few spots I must say.

10. Golfing - I now have an excuse for my game now.

I could go on and on but I think you get the picture. Problem is a broken thumb is a pretty boring injury. When I went to the Doctor 2 days later he reminds me this is an injury he primarily sees in children (I only went under duress, I mean really what are they going to do other than say yep its broken and give me a mini splint). I really need to come up with a better story - the car door isn't really cutting it and just gets me a laugh instead of sympathy.

3 of my favorite guys

Sam, Levi, & Justin in front of the Gorge at the Inn at Sagecliff. Tanya & I decided to get in a mini vacation and stay there for 2 days. We had stopped on our way back from Pullman at Trellis (the restaurant at the lodge) and once we saw the pool we were sold.

Nothing like sitting by the pool while the kiddos play and we just relaxed with some books and snacks - almost as good as the beach but only 2 hours away! Since we didn't leave until Sunday Sam & I headed out in the boat on Friday evening to Bremerton for a seafood fry. We left early Sunday morning and were at Sagecliff by noon - now that is maximizing your summer. But then when summer is short you have to take advantage of it.

opening day spirit

We just received this picture of our boat on the opening day of boating season. The Cougar Yacht Club bought this huge maroon W flag for us to fly on our mast. I would definitely say it makes a statement - we were hoping someone got a picture for us as it was a bit difficult for us to get it ourselves while we were on the boat underway.

Go Cougs!

marriage test

I have determined the true test of a marriage - docking a boat together. Unlike parking a car docking has many more challenges involved including wind, dock size, dock height (for jumping off and knowing where to place those fenders), currents, and the most difficult part - usually multiple people involved.

When Sam and I had our first boats they were small enough and light enough that he had to get us close enough to the dock for me to jump off with the lines and then I could pull the boat in or hold it until he could jump off too and then we could both pull it in. Sometimes Sam wanted me to jump off much sooner and further away from the dock than I chose but or the most part it worked pretty well.

There were plenty of misunderstandings and mishaps along the way - the time I fell off the side the Maxum being one of the biggest. Somehow we weren't on the same page or even on the same boat it turns out when I ended up in the sound. It wouldn't be quite so bad but Sam was late for a sailboat race and he was a bit more concerned about getting to his race then waiting to see if I was going to dry out anytime soon (yes this is my version but then when you are writing the story you get to use your version).

Note to all spouses - even if you are late to a very important race checking to see if your wife is all right and finding her some dry clothes might be a much better choice than being the first boat to cross the starting line.

So after 14 years of boating together we thought we had this docking thing mostly down and really preferred our guests didn't get in the way. At least we had it down until we got our new boat. First time we try docking together Sam gets us close to the dock and I jump off and start to try and pull it in and got a big surprise - I couldn't manhandle this boat. Turns out 12000 pounds (plus about 3000 pounds worth of gear and supplies) doesn't get pulled into the dock by one person. Guess we had to come up with a new plan.

Luckily this was the only upside to our paint color being wrong since we now had all summer to get it figured out and then we could start with fresh paint this boating season. Now we actually had to communicate with each other before we got to the dock and have a plan as to what we both needed to do.

There have been plenty of tense moments when we both had entirely different ideas of what should be happening and plenty of blame for the other person since they were clearly at fault. After all if Sam would have gotten us closer to the dock, or not quite so close, or I would done better with the long jump it would have been a piece of cake and we wouldn't have rammed into the dock or almost taken out the boat next to us. One can always hope there will be assistance at the dock but that is a big risk - after all you are trusting someone you have never met and don't know if they have ever even docked a boat to help bring your boat into the slip. This can be much worse than dealing with the known quantity on board - at least then both your names are on the insurance card.

It has been the true test of our relationship even more so than being in the 2 person kayak together. Though the 2 person kayak was a must easier solution - from here on out we both get our own kayak.

It turns out we have gotten much better though there still can be quite a bit of yelling from both parties, well ok mainly me, but we almost have it figured out. Well at least until it is gusting 20+ and boat next to us only left us an extra 6". I do think this docking thing is an excellent test of your marriage though my mom probably really has it figured out since she lets my dad handle all of it. It then becomes entirely his responsibility and if anything should go wrong his fault as well. Of course they have been married for 40 years now so they might have a jump on us on how this docking thing should really be done.

bbq factor

As I was reading about our weather in hopes of seeing an improved forecast I came across the term "Barbecue" Factor". It seems this refers to days when the temperature gets to at least 60 degrees since then we are much more likely to throw something on the grill. Unfortunately the BBQ factor for Seattle this year is at a measly 17 days which is the lowest number since 1904. I think is a great way to measure our weather.

Here is to hoping we have many barbecue days in our summer this year. Happy grilling.

rain rain go away

Rain rain go away and come again in November. I just read today that so far for June we are averaging 10 degrees BELOW normal. This is chilly since June normally isn't a warm month here in the Seattle area. In fact this is the coldest June so far on record when they starting tracking such things back in 1891.

It is hard to be worried about global warming with weather like this - in fact I am hoping for global warming around here right about now. It is pretty hard to take something like global warming seriously when I am thinking about wearing gloves and a scarf in June, seems like global cooling may be a more accurate assessment.

Normally I love the weather in Seattle and enjoy the rain and gray, partly because I am so fair that I turn pink in 15 minutes and with weather like this I don't have to slather myself with sunscreen every day since very little of my skin is exposed.

I also don't have to wear a swim suit very often. This is another great advantage of living here - usually the only time you need one is if you are going for a very quick swim in any of our lakes or the sound and when you get out you immediately wrap a towel around yourself for warmth.

Right now even I am getting a bit bummed out about our weather - 50 degrees with pouring rain isn't my idea of June (and this is during the hot part of the day). I refuse to wear a coat but at lunch I was wishing I hadn't been quite so determined not to grab one this morning, instead I just cranked up my seat heaters to high. At the rate it is going I will need to start wearing a life jacket to go outside.

On the bright side my yard is quite green and the trees I recently planted should be doing quite well if they don't drown first. I also saw our air quality is excellent right now as well so we will rust out first before encountering any harmful effects from air pollution.

10000 steps a day - not even close

I bought a pedometer just over a week ago to track how many steps I was getting in a day. What a shock and not in a good way. Turns out I wasn't walking far at all.

I can blame my cute 4" heels but turns out even when I take them off at the end of the work day I still don't get many steps in. I was blown away at how hard it is for me to get in 10000 steps. On Saturday when we went to Silverwood Theme Park we only got in 7367 steps - how is that possible since I felt like we walked all day long. Yesterday I got in 5172 steps but that included taking Calvin (our dog) for a 25 minute walk at what I considered a brisk pace.

Granted I am not using the pedometer in the morning during my DVR exercise routine but I am mainly doing strength training and yoga so not many steps there and it certainly isn't close to the 5000 I am missing. During the workday I am barely getting to 1000 steps so that is really a large part of the issue.

So instead of emailing everyone, including those within 10 feet of my office, I am going to try and walk over to them and have an actual conversation. Shocking I know not to use email but I have to admit it is getting ridiculous when I email to others in the same office instead of getting out of my chair.

I am aiming for at least 5000 steps now (many more than I was getting before during the week it turns out) and will continue to work on increasing it. I am serious about getting more walking in but not at the cost of wearing stylish high heels - after all my shoes still fit no matter what I weigh.

***Update*** 6/9/08

Turns out to get in 10000 steps I need to visit my parents in the San Juans. On both Saturday and Sunday I got in over 10000 steps. This might explain why they can eat dessert with dinner. Maybe this is a sign that I need to live in the islands - or maybe just retire so I can get away from my computer. Just walk away from the computer will be my new motto.

jouney vs the destination

Sam and I have vastly different views on boating. He prefers the process of getting to our destination while I want to be there. Hence our different preferences in types of boats. I prefer a power boat while his passion is sailboats. We both love the water but I relax when we are in port while his relaxation comes during the journey.

I am not especially relaxed during the journey part especially if the skies aren't blue, the sun isn't out, and waves are bigger than a foot tall. The unfortunate part of that is we live in Seattle where those 3 items are rare indeed and all together only for a few days a year.

Sam on the other hand thoroughly enjoys the entire experience with the exception of my nervousness. It isn't to say I never enjoy the journey but my favorite place is in port relaxing on the boat or on shore. I am comfortable on boats but have no desire to ever sail around the world. If for some reason Sam ever decides to do this I will be meeting him in ports around the world via our friendly skies.

Fortunately for Sam I am not quite as nervous now during the journey piece but I still am much more relaxed in port or when I am close enough where I can pretend I could swim if needed. I know you won't survive very long in the Sound here but if I am within about a 1/2 mile of land I have the mistaken notion I would be able to swim to shore so I feel much safer. Sam would say that was the control piece of my personality.

Luckily for Sam he has become quite a salesperson and was able to convince me the sailboat was the way to go (though I am still holding out hope of my own powerboat someday - fantasy maybe but then we all need to have dreams). In the meantime I will work on trying to enjoy the journey more while still really appreciating the destination.