back to work already?

How is it that a 3 day weekend is even shorter than the normal 2 day weekend? That has got to be one of life's unanswerable questions. As kids Tanya and I had questions we didn't think had an answer and now I am going to add this new one to the mix. After all I don't think we ever figured out if walking in the rain or running in the rain made one wetter.

Maybe part of it is that you look forward to the 3 day weekend and then the anticipation makes it even shorter or is it that you pack as much as possible into the 3 days. I just know that they go by even quicker than the normal weekend which is saying something. Work often goes by quickly but a holiday is over it seems before you even have had your first morning latte.

Guess it means we had a really good time over Memorial day weekend. We went with a group to Des Moines Marina. Funny thing is that we weren't super excited about the destination since that is where we kept our first boat. We kept it in a storage unit and then dragged it out and had to use the hoist to put it into the water.

If you ever want to give yourself an adrenaline rush try using the hoist for the boat the first time after getting your 5 minute demonstration - trust me that will do it for you once you see your boat swinging in the air and realize you are responsible for it. You definitely make sure your insurance is up to date.

For those unfamiliar with this contraption it is a bit like a crane with straps you put around your boat and then gently (hopefully) lower into the water. I do have to say though my heart rate always increased a bit every time Sam used it. The fun just started for Sam then since he still had to put on the mast and sails. Since he had chosen a sailboat I had told him early on this would be his responsibility and he was never able to convince me otherwise.

Like every place else Des Moines has grown quite a bit and it was a great marina, so we were pleasantly surprised. Maybe part of it being better than our memories was the fact our boat was already in the water with the mast on. The marina was very clean with restaurants and shops close by. There was even a very good butcher shop that sold smoked beef tri-tip which was so good we consumed it for breakfast.

Monday we had a brief memorial service on the fishing pier where we dropped flowers in the sound and read a brief prayer. Definitely good to remember what Memorial Day is for and how much we appreciate those who have served our country. Luckily for me I had 2 sisters, dad, and grandpas who all served so I didn't have to - thanks! We know the uniform isn't really my color and that I would refuse to do push-ups which would get me kicked out quickly.

I am already looking forward to the next 3 day weekend - wonder how quickly that one will go by.

officially "old"

It seems that I have officially become old. There seems to be a moment in life when you realize you aren't as young as you think you are. For me it happened because I am complaining about what things cost. I called my sister Tanya and told her I just barely kept my gas charge under $100 when I filled up my truck and I couldn't believe gas was over $4 a gallon.

I was very happy I actually stopped at the gas station before I hit empty. She called back and left me a vm saying diesel was now at 4.999 and Corey only gets 8 miles to the gallon in his truck. Then she added we are now old since we are now complaining about what things cost. Guess she is right since as a kid I didn't understand why grownups were always talking about how much things cost vs. what they used to cost.

Now I finally doing the same thing myself so I must be getting old. Why I remember when I could fill put $5 of gas in my car and it would get me quite a ways and would last a week. Now $5 won't even get me to work now. Granted my car then was a Sprint that got the best gas mileage ever - which begs the question of why cars that are deemed fuel efficient still don't come close to reaching the almost 50 MPG I could get on the freeway.

Of course I am not sure it would ever pass a safety inspection now but it was a great car. My senior year of college I had to share it with Tanya - if you thought sharing toys were tough when you were little try sharing a car in college. Luckily I got the better end of the deal being the older one since the car was parked at my apartment though she was welcome to walk or take the bus to come pick it up if needed.

Now the "old" part has been verified since I was just rambling on about the "good old days." Wow - it has officially happened though I will still be in denial. On the other hand my sister Carla, being 9 years younger, constantly reminds me just how old I am and I have ignored her for awhile.

I have decided I will remain in denial and try and remember not to complain about what things cost at least until I really do put $100+ worth of gas in my truck. When that happens I will definitely be complaining once again so instead I will keep trying to fill up my truck earlier and earlier keeping it below the dreaded $100.

through the locks and on the sound again!

The boat finally made it out of the boat yard and back to its home at Elliott Bay Marina. Luckily we got it back just in time for a great summer weekend. Temps were in the 80's on Saturday which is hot for us especially after only making it into the 50's for most of our spring so far. No global warming going on in Seattle this year.

We picked up the boat by Fishermen's Terminal and then took it through the locks. The locks are always a bit of a challenge with so many boats jockeying to get in. To add to the mix you always seem to have a few boats who haven't gone through before so they aren't aware of the protocol - big boats first and then the boats who have been waiting.

If you have a 50' boat you most likely don't want to tie up next to a 20' foot boat on the wall - even without taking a physics class this seems to be a disaster in the making. Sam and I have had some humorous experiences in the locks (like the time someone on a small Bayliner without a head had to improvise and have his fellow boaters surround him with large beach towels) to some not so funny times (like when a boat hit us in the locks and when another boat came untied when the water level was decreasing). Luckily this time wasn't so bad - but then maybe we were so excited to be on the boat again with sun that we were in a much more mellow and forgiving mood.

Sam was able to tell immediately the keel work had made a huge difference so look for us in race postings - okay maybe we aren't that fast but our speed did improve! Hey on a sailboat it is all relative - .3 of a knot is huge. For those power boaters laughing at us just remember while motoring we only burn less than a gallon an hour! Well this is what Sam reminds me of when I lament how long it takes us to get anywhere and how I still long for a powerboat sometimes.

It was a boating weekend since we also took it out on Sunday as well with some friends. We even jumped in the sound (okay I did after everyone but Sam had done it) but quickly climbed out - well if I could have I would have jumped out as well. Unfortunately it was back to work on Monday to pay for all of our fun.

loans that are changing lives

Just $25 can help break the cycle of poverty. I had read about this previously but I finally just got around to signing up now that I have started the 29 giving challenge.

Kiva is non-profit which lets you loan money to the working poor around the world. It is a lending site for no interest micro loans where you can choose the entrepreneur in whom you would like to directly invest instead of giving to an organization to distribute. When your loan is repaid you can then choose to withdraw it or loan it to someone else to give them a chance to expand their business. Throughout the loan period you can receive updates and monitor the progress of your loan.

http://www.kiva.org/

29 day giving challenge

I have decided to start the 29 day giving challenge tomorrow. Each day for 29 days you give a gift to someone. Your 29 gifts can be anything -- material objects, money, your time, smiles or kind thoughts. I am hoping I can work on the piece where it isn't always money & material objects I am giving but also my time as well.

http://www.29gifts.org/

money - where does it all go?

The dreaded b word - budget. It is a word that strikes fear in my heart. I really don't want to know how much I spend on eating out, heating our house, and more frightening on cute shoes. Even worse is seeing how much we spend now on gas which cuts into my shoe spending. I have resisted all budgeting software to date but I finally found something relatively painless (and free!) which even breaks down your spending in pie chart format if you so desire. It is http://www.mint.com/.

You sign up by loading your account information and then it will track your purchases for you and put them into various categories. Initially you may have to change the labels as it might not recognize the merchant. The tool sends you a weekly update to show your top merchants and categories if you don't want to log in too frequently like myself. So far it seems to be working well with little effort on my part. Just thought I would share something that has made my life a bit easier without having to put my nose to the grindstone or my fingers to the keyboard.

back to 1st grade

So last Thursday was my first day teaching the Junior Achievement program to 1st graders. Not having much experience with 1st graders other than when I was one much longer ago than I care to recollect and when I tutored them in college I turned to my nephew Levi who is in 1st grade.

Levi states he is really NOT a phone guy so telling him his Aunt Kayla needed advice was the secret to getting him on the phone. The lesson plan was a bit convoluted so I wanted his feedback on what he thought would work. The 1st lesson was about families how they are different and how they work together.

I asked Levi how I should introduce myself and if I should tell them a bit about his background - he told me that they weren't going to be very interested in a long introduction and didn't care for much detail on my life. I also found out cool pencils and animal stickers are a great reward and I didn't need to bring in treats as they bring their own lunch to school. This part I wasn't sure of cause I did remember I enjoyed treats myself but figured he knew best.

He also told me the students would want to talk about themselves and I should make sure to call on different students each time. Levi also reminded me they like to help out and to have them help me pass out the various items. I asked him who was in his family and he told me his mom, dad, Oscar (the family dog) and his little brother so that was a good reminder that kids view their pets as part of the family though this is something I still agree with.

Well Levi's good advice and suggestions paid off. The students weren't particularly interested in a long bio of me and they all wanted to participate. The stickers and pencils were a huge hit though I heard a few of them eagerly offering to trade with their neighbors as I had handed out a wide variety. Most were eager to share and some were so excited when I called on them they went blank and realized they had nothing to say after all.

All in all I thought it went well - much better than Sam's experience though I had 1st grade in Issaquah and he had the Alternative High School in White Center so that could explain it. Personally I wanted to volunteer with younger children for whom an adult guest teacher is a treat and put myself in a situation where I couldn't mess it up too badly if I had stickers to hand out at the end.

Thanks to Levi for reminding me what matters to a first grader and that it was about them and not me. The lesson for tomorrow is about needs and wants which should prove interesting and might be a good reminder for me as well. I do know that teaching wasn't ever the career path for me and this served as a good reminder. Definitely respect those who can control a class of 1st graders by just asking them to freeze!

back on the boat again . . . finally

Just in time for opening day Sam got his boat back for the weekend. We didn't know if we would even have the boat back as the keel didn't get put back on until this week. Being a sailboat the keel was a bit critical for us to get on the water. Weds we got the news we would have it for the weekend but we would have to drop it back off at the boatyard on Sunday to have the keel become symmetrical.

We picked up the boat Friday evening after work and headed over to SYC after frantically loading it up and trying to clean it up a bit. Saturday came with rain but by parade time it had cleared up and while it wasn't sunny it wasn't too wet. Tanya, Carla, Dave, and Paul joined us on the boat for the day and to help with our Go Cougs chanting.

Plenty of Cougar spirit made for a great day on the water and after stopping by Meydenbauer Yacht Club in Bellevue for the hamburgers they all convinced me to raise the sails. Yes I know I had to be convinced but when Sam was putting on the sails himself Friday nite at 6:30 it does make me a bit nervous to test them out. Sam was excited to be back on his boat if even for a short weekend.

Sunday was beautiful and sunny so it was a great day to take the boat back and the good thing about taking it back to the yard was not having to go through the locks with all of the other opening day boaters. Once again I think the Cougar spirit definitely outdid the Huskies which after all is the reason for the Cougar Yacht Club to be in existence. Go COUGS!