Tuesday, January 5, 2010

fond farewell to 09


Dear 2009,

While many seem to be happy to see your end I am sad to see you go. 2009 was my favorite year yet though I have to admit I told 2008 as well, and I hope to tell your close friend 2010 the same thing in a year.

Your first month started out well for us. January started with chilly weather and snow but finished with sun, beaches, and incredible food in Mexico. If I had made losing weight a resolution I would have been far behind the eight ball after that trip but I had a bit of foresight and didn't make a resolution that I would have broken in a few weeks.

February brought more chilly weather but it came with skiing so that was all good. It was finished off by a birthday party for a 6 year old with Wall E being the theme.

In March you kept the snow coming and the skiing was still pretty incredible if only my skills had kept pace as my nephews were starting to give me a run for my money through the trees. I decided I am more of a groomed run skier now and will leave the trees to them. The end of the month brought us a new nephew though he had to literally be yanked into the world to make the 1st quarter cutoff. March also included my favorite new toy - a Kindle that I still haven't been able to put down since.

April and you still allowed me to go skiing and get a head start of my seasons pass for next year. It is a great month when both skiing and boating are involved and the weather was perfect for both. It also brought out some good boating weather and we got in some time on the boat though Sam of course wished for more.

May was kicked off by opening day of boating season and the Cougar Yacht Club. Again the Cougs showed their spirit and the 2 oldest nephews joined us. Their loud voices came in handy chanting Go Cougs through the cut and I am sure they will be joining us again. Memorial Day brought incredible weather and a great boating weekend in Bremerton. Sam is now a bit more concerned about currents now in a marina though.

June seemed like a Seattle July or August with all of the sun. All of our free time was spent on Zig Zag and the month flew by. We even managed to get in a round of golf in Port Ludlow but sadly our golf game showed we hadn't been getting to the courses much. We talked about fixing this but by the time November rolled around we realized it didn't happen again. Too little summer and too many things to do. Unfortunately the end of the month we had to say goodbye to Calvin our dog for 14 years. It was a great run and we had been in a bit of denial he wouldn't be with us for another year. The house has never felt so lonely and even by the end of the year I was still expecting he would come running to greet us though towards the end it did take him a bit to hear us in the house.

July was another great boating month. We spent the first week in Poulsbo commuting via a ferry and realizing living someplace where a ferry would take you into work would only work if you didn't have to be in the office every day. We took Zig Zag to Anacortes and enjoyed some weekends in the San Juans though the weekend when our engine wouldn't start was a bit more exciting than I would have liked. After that I am not super eager to do a transoceanic crossing since sailing at night isn't quite my idea of a relaxing evening. The crabs found our pots so the fresh crab alone was often worth the Friday night rush hour traffic on I5 getting to Anacortes.

August started off like how every month should - on a boating vacation in the San Juans. We had a bit more wind for our race this year except at the starting line. Once again I wished I could climb aboard after the start. Zig Zag was our new entertaining venue and we invited many friends to enjoy a sail with us.

In September Sam went to Paris over Labor Day weekend and I headed to Wenatchee so at least one of us could get in some boating over the 3 day weekend. Turns out that if it is choppy on Lake Chelan and looks like it might get a bit nasty heading out might not be a great idea. Dave was able to learn first hand how his boat handled in some chop and wind and luckily the results were good. Sam learned you can't fight jet lag when he flew in from Paris, immediately boarded Zig Zag and headed to Bell Harbor Marina, went to the Coug Game, and then headed to a wedding all within 24 hours. Turns out this might not be a good idea after all but we managed to get it all in. The month ended with a long weekend in Poulsbo where I got to see Sam run for the first time - when I convinced him it would be a good idea to train together.

With October came back our Seattle weather and tons of Halloween decorations. We spent time in Chelan and realized the lake is just as pretty if not prettier in the fall. For the first time ever I couldn't wait for the Cougar football season to end and put me out of my misery. I even convinced Sam to carve some pumpkins with me since we were too busy entertaining at our carving party to carve our own. The Halloween cruise was a bit scary with the winds and rains but the boat gave me another place to decorate since our house was already covered in decorations. It was also my first 5K where I ran the majority of it and even decided I might be up for another one.

November didn't bring the snow I was hoping for on the slopes but it did bring plenty of good food for Turkey Day and a nice long weekend. It brought some early, dark morning when I tried to get my runs in hoping I would be ready for the Jingle Bell Run.

December as usual was a short, crazy month. Even without having to do much Christmas shopping it seemed to fly by. All the holiday baking gave me an excuse to eat way too much fudge and almond roca candy. I ran the Jingle Bell Run 5K and ran the whole thing until the hill at the end but running all of it except for a few hundred feet I thought was pretty good considering. Of course I promptly undid any good I might have done with a large brunch. Christmas was a beautiful day with just Sam and I in Chelan in direct contrast to Turkey Day. The end of the month brought some good ski days so we could use our seasons passes and be happy we decided they were a good investment. 11:00 at night on New Year's I was sledding on a hill racing towards the lake so the year ended zipping by too quickly once again and I was left wondering what happened to all of it.

2010 if you are as good to us this year it will another good one. Looking forward to it but also looking back on 2009 wishing it was still here.

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