2009 resolutions in review

In 2009 I decided to try resolutions I would look forward to and want to do so I thought I should see how I did.

1. Try out a new recipe at least once a week - for the most part I accomplished this though sometimes it would be a couple a week or then I would get home and just go for the old standbys. . .
2. Don't pass up any opportunities to travel - I am sorry to say in 2010 I didn't travel nearly as much as I would have liked but at least I visited our neighbors to the south in Mexico and our neighbors to the north in Canada. Both countries could use another repeat very soon. And I plan to do it the same way - Canada by boat and Mexico by plane at least for now.
3. Eat more of the good chocolate - mission accomplished and then some! This may have been the easiest resolution to keep and I discovered new brands I love like Theo's and Choxie.
4. Go out to dinner with friends or have them over at least once a week - well looking at my credit card statements from the past year I definitely got the eating out part done though I needed to have more people over this year.
5. Take a day off at least once a quarter for no good reason - done, now I think I need to shoot for 2 a quarter.
6. Spend more time doing crafts with the nephews - not as much as I would have liked but we did do their photo albums again. Maybe next year I can actually do one for myself at the same time.
7. Take more pictures - what I should have said here was to actually organize the pictures I take and stop deleting all the ones of me I don't like which is pretty much all of them.
8. Shut off my cell phone occasionally - does it count that I turn it to silent at night while sleeping? Sam would beg to differ and remind me of all those times where I didn't even turn it off at night. Sorry - but if I remember correctly your phone was the one with the alarm going off the other night - not that I would keep track of things like that.
9. Spend more time in the water - a pool, a lake, the ocean - while I didn't grow scales I did spend more time in the water and I could always use more time in the water - warm water that is.
10. Work on my Spanish - while in a Spanish speaking country - well I went to Mexico and tried to speak Spanish though the locals may not have realized what exactly I was trying to say.
11. Book our trip to Italy - didn't do this I am sorry to say but isn't it good to still have things to look forward to?
12. Reach out to old friends I haven't been in contact with recently - did a little better but I am sure some of my old friends may be reading this and don't remember I did so I will have to keep working on this one.
13. Try a new restaurant at least once a month - now this was a fabulous idea if I do say so myself. Several times with a few friends we checked off 2 or 3 in the same evening having appetizers. Yum just thinking of some of the new places my mouth is watering - though I am sure my hips and waistline will attest to how often I found new favorites.
14. Have a date night with Sam at least once a week - done and needs to be on my list every year.
15. Redecorate at least one room in my house - as amazed as everyone will be this is one I didn't do this. This doesn't mean there wasn't any shopping done but not a single room got redecorated this year, maybe this means it really is time to move.
16. Have more fires - in our fireplace and out in the fire pit on the deck - had more fires in the fireplace but not on the deck though that could have been that we were gone almost every weekend and we haven't quite figured out how to get a fire pit on the boat yet.

Going through this list made me want to have a redo on almost all of them but we will see if I can get just a bit more creative and try not to recycle all of them even though it is hip to be green.

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.