Looking back at 2010

This post is dedicated to our family and friends who have been so integral in our lives even though we’re not always able to see as much of each other as we would like. As another year is coming to a close it’s a good opportunity for reflection and to be thankful for what we have — each other, good health, a roof over our heads, loving friends and family and fur-dispensing husky dogs.

WARNING: This blog post is uncharacteristically long. Grab a sandwich. And maybe some chips.

2010 – A Recap

Turning a House in to a Home
Turning the Coco Cabana (which is not a loving nickname) from a house in to a home has required a lot of hard work. Have I ever shared with you that the previous owners would snowboard down the stairs? There are gashes to prove it.

Thanks to family who came to visit us but does not understand the meaning of “relaxing,” our backyard — where the house’s nickname originated from — has been returned to a blank slate. Not impressed? Well, you will be.

There was a rickety deck with a gazebo placed upon it, and on that gazebo there were bamboo mats nailed to plywood with nails much too long that poked you. And they were rusty. On the other side of the backyard was a hole with a tarp over it to create a koi pond. Covering that hole in the ground was a makeshift tent with more bamboo mats. But in the center, in front of the sandpit, was the largest fire pit you’d ever seen. The previous owners would burn their Christmas tree in it. Observe:

I have to admit it looks kind of fun, especially in the way our neighbor has narrated this video, but be that as it may, what a better way for me to show you how freakin’ big that fire pit was!

Internally we’ve come a long way, even with just the paint colors. But, then again, any color choice we made would have been an improvement from the dingy gray, lime green and poop brown. Then came the new floors — no more brushing the carpet! Think I may have mentioned this before, but the husky fur has permanently lodged and reduced the effectiveness of the vacuum so that I had to brush the carpet. But no more!

Oh and another note on the floors – if your contractor suggests that you don’t go to Home Depot or Lowes because they won’t have enough materials in stock – listen to him.

And then we also got new countertops. So shiny, so purty and with blue specks. What else can I say, they’re countertops.

Seeing the World. Sort of.
2010 provided lots of opportunity for travel, some for work, but mostly for pleasure but they almost always ended in misadventure.

Take for our example, the first trip of the year which was to go snowboarding. To get to Flagstaff’s Snowbowl, we’ve found, requires trekking up a very long, winding road up a mountain and when the parking lots have reached capacity the road is shut down. This means that after you’ve parked, stood in line for your rental and ski lift that you will not be able to go back down the mountain and drop the dogs off at Puppy Day Camp as you had originally intended.

Then a lot of that home ownership and clean up happened and our next trip out wasn’t til Summer time. The time when everyone needs to get out the hell out of the desert.

Like when I went to Mexico to visit family.
To read more about that trip, please check out the post Return From Mexico.

And then a glorious Fourth of July weekend in California.
To sum it up: games, food (lots of food – as in fish tacos and fruit salsa), more games, relaxing and great conversations all weekend long. No fireworks though. But, really, no one missed them.

Then came the unexpected, but much enjoyed Sabbatical in Maryland. I joined the Unemployed Club for a month which was very bittersweet but I am extremely thankful for that time with my family.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The highlights are these:

• Time on the boat. “I’m on a boat!”
• Enjoying coffee at Frederick Coffee Company — my favorite coffee house of all time — and taking photos with my bff while a man is sleeping in the corner. Photobomb if it was planned?
• Seeing Rodrigo y Gabriela at Wolf Trap.
• Hiking at Gambrill Park, my brother’s favorite place to do donuts and make videos.
• CRABS!! Sweet, savory Maryland-style crabs. Thumbs up all the way.
• Visiting with family and matching your wardrobe. Intentional or not.
• Alexis and Brad’s wedding. My, that song sounds familiar. I kid!!
• Eating at Volt with mother dearest and discovering Port for the first time. Read the review Foodies Rejoice and plan your trip to Frederick just for it. Worth it.
• A trip into DC for the Zoo and Spy Museum.

Sorry about the duplicate images. WordPress is kind of a jerk sometimes.

Despite the mosquitos, humidity and now snow, Maryland is a beautiful place. Revisit this Scenic Tour.

Then it was Vegas, Baby! The pictures aren’t up yet, mostly since they need to be doctored up and are just evidence that I do enjoy myself an adult beverage every now and then and less then and more now. But we did have the best sushi we’ve ever had in our lives. Sushi Samba. If you go to Vegas, go to Sushi Samba. Period.

Ah yes, Vegas also inspired us to get a slot-o-machine for our man den. We’ve become bigger risk takers since the house we’re betting against is our’s.

And the last trip of the year was our search for Fall and the changing of the leaves. Another classic misadventure.

Milestones:

• Saskia turned 3.
• Zander turned 2.
• We turned 3 and 10 (married and together).
• Pesco ovo lacto vegetarian for almost a year. Come January.

Welcome 2011

The year of enriching ourselves. Since we work hard (and I’d argue that we do), so it’s time to play hard. But in everything, I think we should strive for balance.

The goals and/or New Year’s Resolutions are as follows:

• Doing something for someone else. Big Brother/Big Sister, perhaps.
• Respecting creative outlets: Making time for writing.
• Round is no longer an acceptable shape: Using the weights that were purchased for P90X. (Seeing if I can go longer than 3 days on P90X. That was shameful, just shameful.)

Thank you

In closing, I would like to thank you for a.) reading this entire post and reading my blog at all and b.) being so loving and wonderful and an integral part in our lives.

Wishing you a very Happy Holidays!!!!