a christmas for 2

Well Christmas this year was a big change from Turkey Day. Instead of 39 people together it was just Sam and I. We had decided to just have it be the 2 of us this year and hang out at Lake Chelan enjoying ourselves. I have to say there are arguments for both sides but it is great to have a balance - 39 people on both holidays would have been too much and just 2 for both holiday might have seemed a bit lonely.

Instead of the craziness and bustle and 3 tables at Thanksgiving and a houseful of people and children running about it was Sam and I just relaxing and hanging out. We had planned to go skiing on Christmas Day but instead went on Christmas Eve with my sister and nephews. On Christmas Day Sam decided staying put was a better idea though I think this may have had something to do with his quads and how they were feeling after the previous day of skiing though he never fessed up to it.

Instead he said he wanted to just hang out together and go for a walk and spend most of the day eating. Of course our best intentions to just make it a total hang out day didn't quite pan out since I can't actually seem to sit still that long but we were actually able to just sit down for a few hours together over dinner and go for a walk though we didn't have the white Christmas Sam had been hoping for. Have to say an 8 pound ham goes a long ways with only 2 people eating it. Ham sandwiches and ham and eggs will be served for quite a few meals to come.

I did find out this year the absolute best time to hit Costco is on Christmas Eve just before they close - who knew? Since it is such a zoo the rest of the year I might just have to make this my new holiday tradition. While others may have more traditional holiday traditions I think my new one of hitting Costco may be the best one yet. Walking up to the cash register and having them just waiting for us to show up was a whole new experience and the front row parking without having to circle the lot a few dozen times was almost surreal.

So no matter where we end up for Christmas next year I am going to make sure there is a Costco close by.

i am grateful for . . .

With Turkey Day coming quickly it is a good time to reflect on things I am grateful for this year. It should go without saying but I will write it anyways that I am thankful for Sam, my family, and health so this will be about the other little (sometimes big) things I am thankful for.

1. A long sunny Seattle summer - though when it ended I wasn't ready for fall as I had gotten accustomed to long, sunny days.
2. Wenatchee apples from a local fruit stand (preferably the Cougar owned one at the turn off to Blewett Pass) - nothing else compares.
3. A closet full of shoes, though I still would like to acquire more.
4. 2 sisters who will be turning 30 in December - maybe the jokes about how much younger they are will finally end.
5. Sam who pushes me to do things I really don't want to - like docking the boat.
6. Chocolate, cheese, bread, and fruit - this should really be considered a full meal when paired together.
7. Caffeine - not just for myself though I do enjoy a good latte and diet coke but for Sam so he can eventually function every morning. Anyone who invents a way for him to have caffeine 10 minutes before waking would be at the top of my thankful list every year.
8. A boat with a shower not over the head - this has enabled me to be able to use the shower on our boat without feeling like I needed another shower.
9. Parents who live on San Juan Island so I have an excuse to make the morning Roche Harbor Donut run.
10. For the first time ever I am thankful the Cougar football season is almost over and basketball is beginning. I haven't even had the guts to check scores on some weekends until after the game.
11. Nephews who still let me pick out clothes for them - another excuse to go shopping and I can't help it if their department is on the top floor and I have to walk through all the floors on my way up.
12. Black and gray clothes so I have something to wear each day without having to put too much thought or effort into it other than picking out the shoes to wear with my outfit.

still residing at the house

November was the month Sam and I planned to live on the boat. Since November is typically a gray, rainy, and windy month in Seattle it seemed a good month for us to try our hand at being liveaboards. If we could love living on a boat in November then maybe living on a boat would be for us, especially if we survived on our current one without a washer and dryer.

Well it is 1 1/2 weeks into November and I am typing this from my house. Somehow we didn't get packed up and move in yet. We spent Halloween weekend on the boat but didn't pack quite enough to move on board. The evening of November 1st we were back on land.

We honestly meant to make November our month but then life got in the way or I just never got packed for a month. The thought of packing for a month is just a bit daunting - I know how much I bring for a long weekend and it is a good thing I have a truck.

Of course living on a boat is supposed to be in some part about living with less but I am not sure just how much less I am willing to do without. After all our idea of roughing it involves espresso that is made with a separate frother and if we are really roughing it just coffee with cream. It is one thing to stay on a boat while on vacation it is a whole different deal to do it when you have to get up and go to the office every day. The shoes I will need alone might require their own suitcase.

Not to say I am not going through with the idea because I am it just won't be in November. Now I am shooting for January. With the holidays coming up I am not so sure I will be able to cook all the holiday goodies in my oven. It has no temperature on the oven other than turning up and down the gas height. It is pretty much a guess how hot it is. Warming stuff up and cooking things where temp doesn't matter is just fine but anything with a precise temp is a no go.

Actually January might be a bit more of a challenge. That time of year Sam is usually more than ready to try and head to a warmer climate. If we can make it together that month we might just be ready to start pursuing this liveaboard deal more seriously.

I am just wondering how much of a challenge it will be storing the skis on the boat and if I can somehow rent a washer and dryer for a month. That is really my biggest concern. I just remember all too well not having a washer and dryer in college and what a huge deal it was when I finally got an apartment where we had a washer and dryer in the apartment. It was such a luxury and I am going to have a very hard time giving that up.

The cooking part I can deal with - I mean Seattle has some very good restaurants I still haven't tried yet. Plus I can always live on cheese, chocolate, fruit, and bread though I am not sure how many times Sam will think that is dinner. Actually not having a washer/dryer could work to my advantage - there are always new clothes to buy and in January there will be a ton of sales. Problem solved, though after Sam sees all the new clothes he will be the one pushing for the washer and dryer.

This is sounding better and better all the time. January is going to be a very good month.

a creepy cruise

Friday night after work we were set to head out to Des Moines for the Halloween cruise our yacht club was holding. The weather had other plans for us and with the wind and waves steadily increasing arriving in the dark didn't seem like a great idea. We instead headed out for some appetizers and dinner and planned to leave the dock in the morning.

Friday evening/early Saturday morning the wind really picked up. Our boat was actually leaning sideways into the dock as the wind blew us against it. Not only do I get to lean when we sail now it seemed I got to lean while trying to sleep. Neither seem to be a favorite of mine. Feeling glad we decided to stay put, I was happy at least our leaning was taking place while we were securely tied to the dock.

Saturday morning the forecast seemed to be wrong and the winds weren't dying much. Our promised window of opportunity to head out according to NOAA was at 11 in the morning. But as we left the fuel dock at 11:30 the winds hadn't died down much at all.

Halfway across Elliott Bay Sam asked if I wanted to turn back but when given the choice of facing a few waves and wind or missing a Halloween party I chose the party. But I did qualify my decision with the caveat that the waves had better not get much bigger. Sam held his tongue and didn't remind me that the wind was gusting the most at Alki point - a place we still hadn't cruised past.

At the place where the winds were the heaviest we hit some pretty good sized waves - the kind where your boat rides up the wave and then crashes down hard. Hard enough that the whole boat shakes and you begin to hope that it will stay in one piece. Fortunately I chose function over style and don't have glassware on board and since my cupboards are packed full things stay in place primarily because they don't have anywhere else to go.

I was feeling pretty good that in spite of the water breaking over the dodger and getting wet when I leaned around it that I was holding up well. I wasn't nervous and I felt like our boat was really in no danger. I might have the makings of a sailor after all though I did think that the long open water cruising still might not be my thing. There was no way I could ever sleep through something like this and I really enjoy my sleep.

Past Alki the waves didn't seem quite as large and Sam wasn't getting soaked with every wave - just every 3rd or 4th one. By this time he had convinced me to grab his foulies for him and at least the water was dripping off now. When I felt like it might improve a bit we suddenly saw a kite surfer cutting right in front of us. Sam slowed down so we didn't take him out and we both stared in awe as he went directly in front of us then came back around and right behind us caught serious air.

Here we were on a decent sized sailboat and knew that many would be skipping out on the cruise due to weather and now right out with us on the sound was someone on a very small board flying across the water. I had been a bit impressed with my calm demeanor and willingness to head out in less than ideal conditions but the kite surfer reminded me that I have no daredevil in me. It is much easier to be brave when the chance of your boat capsizing is very slim and you have plenty of provisions on board. I had gotten a bit wet but only because I had sat on the side and leaned out behind the dodger and didn't duck behind it quick enough before a large wave caught me.

We made it to Des Moines and pulled in to the marina in time to get the boat decorated for the Halloween. It was worth it just for the fact that I got to not only have my house decorated for Halloween I got to decorate a boat as well.

Sunday morning the sun came out and the winds were gone. The wind was so nonexistent that Sam didn't even try and put up the sails. Guess that is the thing about sailors - they complain about too much wind and then about no wind. I on the other hand was happy with the no wind and sun part. A very mellow cruise home makes one almost forget about the previous cruise. Give me a sunny windless day anytime -well except during a race or when our motor has died then I get a bit pickier.

pumpkins to carve

Tuesday evening I convinced Sam we needed to carve pumpkins. What I really did was scoop out 4 pumpkins and had them waiting for him with carving tools when he got home. So he was actually ambushed into carving pumpkins though I am sure he had been expecting it. He knows Halloween is my favorite holiday so he has learned to go along with it.

Getting him to wear a costume every year, especially a new costume, took a bit of convincing but he eventually bought in or I just wore him down. He still draws the line at wearing a mask and I haven't been able to convince him otherwise. Sam is usually a good sport though and goes along with my crazy ideas. One year I even convinced him to play Kermit to my Piggy though he still complains about that year. I think it was just that his frog costume wasn't quite a good as my Miss Piggy.

We had some friends over to carve pumpkins but when you are the host it is a bit more challenging to carve your own pumpkin so I decided we still needed to get in on the fun.

Sam got in the spirit and started carving. I mean really if your pumpkin is already scooped out there is no excuse as the messy part is done. After he got done I reminded him that he still had 1 more to carve. He wasn't interested as the next one wasn't cleaned out and ready to go he said. Well on his second pumpkin I had actually made the hole in the bottom instead of the top of the pumpkin. Since what he thought was a really good excuse wasn't valid any longer he gave in and started on number 2.

4 carved pumpkins later between us I let him off the hook though I made him pose with his pumpkin. You can tell from his pic he isn't nearly as enthusiastic as I was.

I mentioned that the pumpkin carving contest this year during our yacht club Halloween cruise had to be completed on Saturday so our few extra pumpkins would come in handy, especially now that we had some practice. No go on that idea. While pumpkin carving is fine in our house he drew the line at the boat. Seems pumpkin carving isn't a nautical activity. After cleaning up the table and floor and finding pumpkin seed all over I may have to agree with him on this one. Though I am going to bring a couple with me but I will be loading the car after he has already left for work.

a birthday cruise

So I must be getting into this whole sailing thing since for my birthday weekend I was the one who suggested taking our boat over to Poulsbo. Now if it had been Sam's birthday weekend and choice we most likely would have ventured further but I was going for the shorter trip since I am still about the destination and not the journey. Sam is working on me still but so far the destination still outweighs the journey by far.

I blamed the fact that it was getting dark much earlier and if we left Friday after work we wouldn't get very far before dark set it. I am not much for arriving in the dark (hence part of the reason we haven't made any offshore trips) so this was my perfect excuse to just go a few hours away.

We had a 3 day weekend and the weather on Saturday was beautiful. Sunday was sunny for the morning but by the afternoon the wind had started to pick up. Monday it had really started to become quite windy. We went for a run (using this term loosely as always) and then as we were walking back to the boat decided maybe listening to the weather forecast was in order.

We should have tuned in a bit earlier. Lesson learned - listen to the weather forecast each day. It seems we learn something new every time our boat leaves the dock. A storm was coming in and it was only going to get windier as the late morning and afternoon progressed. Initially we thought about staying the night but decided we weren't too far from home and it couldn't really be that bad.

Leaving the dock turned out to be one of the most challenging parts. We were in a slip almost 10 feet smaller than our boat so we didn't have the best stern line tied. As the wind picked up it was blowing our bow directly into the dock. If we undid any of the 4 lines we would be blown forward quickly. I decided I didn't want to be the only deckhand so I went down the dock in search of help.

It must be a rule of the sea that help is easily accessible and available only when it is sunny with no wind. Coming in or departing during those times offer plenty of help but when you really want some there anyone around, probably because they listened to the weather forecast and departed a bit earlier or are hunkered down inside. I found a couple willing to help out and I dragged them down.

After much discussion and strategic planning a plan was decided upon and luckily it was well executed. A few extra hands in this instance prevented a visit to the boatyard for some cosmetic painting. I won't say it wasn't a bit close there for a few seconds but we left the dock in 1 piece and didn't take any of the boat next to us with us.

Now I have always maintained if you are in a harbor or protected area and there are whitecaps or serious chop on the water one should stay put. Of course I remembered this rule after we had left the dock and after that experience I wasn't super anxious to head back to the dock we had just departed.

The good news is that for a portion of the journey back the wind was pushing us along so I am sure we saved on our diesel bill and picked up some speed. After turning the corner though this was no longer the case. Sam was pretty glad we had our davits reinforced. While I wasn't as sure when I saw the initial bill I came around to his way of thinking a short time into our trip. The dinghy held firm and the davits didn't do any creaking or vibrating that would make me turn up the music.

Actually while the waves were pretty large - some good sized ones had built up from the wind the trip back was better than I had envisioned. Guess the good thing about scarier boat trips is that it puts it all in perspective. Our boat handled well and we were never super uncomfortable or as I like to put it sea scared. Sam did tell me that he had no desire to put up the sails as it was a bit windy even for him. Glad to know that he has his limits on sailing as well. Those motors are pretty handy things as we learned this summer.

So while taking a cruise in windy and rough seas might not have been my perfect birthday outing I still had a good birthday - though I contribute most of that to a new purse, sushi, and glassybabies. Of course the day off helped since in all honesty I can't say I would have rather been at the office.

running out of steam

<
A few weeks ago I decided to start running again. Other than a few runs before my annual Seattle Jingle Bell Run the last time I had really run much at all was in high school so it had been a few years. Usually about a week or 2 before the Jingle Bell Run in December I would suddenly decide that maybe this year I would run the whole 5K but after a couple of days I would realize that maybe I should have started just a bit earlier.

Usually I would end up running about 1/2 of the Jingle Bell Run and then decide I would definitely run the whole thing the following year. Well after 5 years I still hadn't made it. Cardio just isn't really my thing - I would much prefer to go to yoga, pilates, lift weights, or anything else that wouldn't require me to perspire too much or worse to get red in the face. My face turns bright red after any extended cardio - a sign I have always taken to mean that I shouldn't bother.

But my big mouth once again caught up with me when I told my sister Tanya that I would sign up to run if any of the runs she had been doing had a 5K instead of just a 10K. Of course she found one and suddenly I was committed. I had started running a few weeks before signing up but hadn't gotten very serious about it.

Now that I had to run a 5K in 4 weeks I had to step it up a notch or 2. Tanya helpfully sent me a 5K training schedule for beginners. Well it wasn't much help since it had the first day starting with a 2 mile run. If I could run 2 miles straight I wouldn't need a training schedule. I am pretty sure within 4 weeks I could certainly add on the additional mile plus. Instead I was starting from the point of just running down the block. I needed another training schedule that started from the beginning.

After searching for a while I didn't find anything that started at the level I was at and got to to running a 5K in 4 weeks. The smallest distant I had to run on any of the training schedules started at 1.5 miles - this wasn't going to work. So instead I came up with my own plan. Of course this started with shopping - because if you can't run well at least look good doing or or look like you know what you are doing. And I can always find a reason to go shopping and buy some new toys.

I bought a GPS watch so I could time my training sessions and know exactly how far (or how much further I needed to go). Then of course I needed new sport style headphones. My new gear didn't really improve my performance but I was starting to look the part more - or until I started turning bright red after a block or 2.

My plan is now to go 3.2 miles every day that I can in hopes that if I run until I have to walk and then repeat until my 3.2 miles is done that I will continue to improve. Sam even volunteered to go with me over the weekend while we were in Poulsbo on the boat. Guess he wanted to see how far I was progressing himself. Of course I did tell him that running was my new fitness plan since that meant I could do it from the boat with no equipment (well other than my new accessories). It is amazing what Sam is willing to do if it is somehow tied to a boat.

So with 2 1/2 weeks left I need to improve dramatically or find some new running accessory that will enable me to run a 5K. Really what I am hoping is that I will get a huge rush of adrenaline and it will get me through on the day of the event. In reality I may just have to walk a bit during this one but come December for the Jingle Bell Run I might actually make my goal of running that one. Really 5 years isn't that long to wait, it will just make it all that much sweeter when I finish. See I do accomplish what I set out to do - it is just on my own time table.