Goodbye 2014!

Today is the last day of work for 2014. My last run, last party and last blog post for the year. Last year at then end of the year, I wrote down all the things that had made 2013 better than not. This year I wrote them down as the year progressed, so I wouldn't forget. I think it's a wonderful reminder of all the good things that happened. I also love to make goals for the year ahead, so I have something to work for and look forward to. Some are pretty generic, things everyone puts on their New Year's Resolutions, and some are definitely unique to me. So with that, here's all the things that made my 2014 great and everything I'm trying to accomplish for 2015!

My 2014

• The Seahawks winning the Super Bowl!!
• Thailand & Cambodia - Such beautiful countries and a wonderful trip.
• Cooking classes - through work and in Thailand. I love learning how to make tasty meals!
• George Strait's Cowboy Rides Away Tour
• Team USA and the World Cup
• My vegetable garden - learning how to grow them and being able to eat my hard work
• The Only Way Is Essex
• The Sounders winning the Supporters Shield!!
• Losing 1/3 of my goal weight loss (10.2 lbs so far)
• Running over 100 miles
• The Real World - seasons 24-29...great drama to watch while working

• Climb Mt Kilimanjaro
• Cook dinner more often than not
  • Use real foods
  • Go shopping weekly
• Continue saving for an emergency
  • $10,000 by end of 2015
  • Stop spending money on unnecessary stuff.
• Continue losing weight: 20lbs
  • Maintain a food journal
  • Exercising 3 days/week, minimum
• Blog once/week
• Get a new job
• Read twice as much as 2014: ~35 books
• Run 200 miles

So happy New Year everyone! I hope you have a great 2015!

Ski Patrol and Kilimanjaro

Sorry for the delay in posts! It's been a busy fall with getting ready for the holidays and family. But I have exciting news! We've officially put money down for our climb up Mt Kilimanjaro! We begin the ascent on July 12th, 2015 and hopefully summit 7 days later! We except to leave Seattle on the 8th to have enough time to get there and a day of rest to catch up from jet lag. Only 210 days left to get in shape and save enough money! Eek! We still have to decide on a safari, but we're looking at a seven day trip from Good Earth Tours that looks good. Sadly, it seems like we won't be able to volunteer as every program wants either a 3 month commitment or an outrageous amount of money. Instead, we will probably spend a few extra days on the beaches of Zanzibar. I know, life is rough.

I've been training really hard for the last three months, doing a TRX suspension trainer class on Mondays, running (the worst!), playing soccer and hiking on other days, and I even decided to go active again this year on the ski patrol. Since 2006, I've been a member of the Cascade Backcountry Ski Patrol, but for the last couple years, I've been inactive due to travel and other activities that didn't allow me to complete the time commitment needed. This year, I figured since our minimum duty day requirement is 10 days, that is 10 days I am guaranteed to get out hiking, skiing and getting used to being on top of mountains.

We had our first day last weekend as a full patrol, reminding us how to tie knots, navigate with a map and compass, and search an avalanche slope for potential burials. There was about 6 inches of snow on the ground, and it was pouring rain, which made it hard to pretend there was an avalanche, but we made it through. And the rain really tested my gear and made me realize none of it is as waterproof as I previously thought. I may need to get some new stuff before we leave for Tanzania. I'd hate to get half way up the mountain and not be able to continue because of hypothermia from my wet clothes. That would be so awful!

All that being said, we're going through a massive warm spell right now in Seattle and all of our snow is melting away! How am I supposed to spend the Christmas holidays skiing the slopes (I mean, training for Kili) if there's no snow?! So I'm currently working on my snow dance, hoping we get more soon so I can get out as much as possible this season. And in the mean time, I guess I'll stick with the running. Sigh.

On an unrelated note, my friend Amber recently painted me a picture and wrote a story inspired by my travels. She's so creative and talented, I wish I had half her ability to tell a tale. You can read about it and see the picture here. I highly recommend reading the rest of her blog as well as she really has a great way of making stories come to life.