In the Blink of an Eye!

Christmas is already over (we hope ya'll had a great one) and the year is coming to an end.  We can't believe how fast 2010 went!  I swear it's true that the older you get, the faster the time goes.  "In the blink of an eye" it's over.

Ken and I enjoyed Christmas Day at my brother's home in Mississippi.  About 30 family members were there, including my parents, my daughter, and her boyfriend.  Since the family is so large, we play the "stealing" game so that anyone that wants to participate just needs to bring one gift.  So much less stress!  It was good seeing family that we don't get to see any other time of the year.

Ken and I refuse to spend a lot of money at Christmas, but we like to have a little something to open while exchanging gifts with our daughter.  I gave Ken a Harley Davidson tank top* (we need to make time for our neglected bikes), a "Jimmy Buffett in Hawaii" CD, and an LED lantern that doesn't require batteries ... just wind it up!  The music and the lantern will be great for our sailboat.  Ken also got some Edwin McCain (awesome performer) concert tickets from our daughter and her boyfriend.  House of Blues, here we come!  And what did I get?  Well, I was pleasantly surprised with a Nook e-reader!  Ken, my daughter and her boyfriend put in and got it for me.  How cool!  I love to read and this will be great for living on our sailboat.  It holds over 1500 books, and I've already downloaded a few free books.  Also, the Nook allows you to "lend" your books to other Nook owners.  Sooo, if anybody out there wants to share just let me know!  *By the way, Harley shirts are so expensive, but we always hit the clearance rack - half price!  Gotta live by the cruiser budget.

Gingerbread Superdome - Home of our New Orleans Saints!

Christmas Wishes!

Well, Ken and I haven't done much regarding our sailboat preparations lately.  However, part of our cruising plan is to get our house in better shape in order to sell it this coming year.  Ken has squeezed in a little exterior work on our house whenever the weather cooperated and he had a break in between jobs.  The soffit and fascia are prepped and ready for paint! 

 We've had the Christmas tree up since Thanksgiving and my daughter and I bought all kinds of stuff yesterday for baking.  I've always thought that turning on the Christmas tunes while baking chocolate chip cookies and fudge with my family is the perfect way to get in the Christmas mood!  We'll probably be filling the house up with the scent of cookies and fudge tomorrow, then package some of it (we have to save some for us) to share with others.  The annual Christmas boat parade passed by our home Saturday night, and they really had some beautiful boats this year (where was my camera?!)  It made us think about joining the parade next year.  Looks like we'll need to get those mast steps so we can decorate Nirvana!

We've been thinking about several "future cruisers" that we've been following that have made the transition to "present cruisers" in the past few months.  Some have made passages from Texas to Florida so far, and a few have made their way down the East coast and are now in either Florida or the Bahamas.  We've followed them along the way and are learning a lot from them.  We're so happy for all of them and look forward to the day that we all meet!  We know that this holiday season will be extra special for them, as it will be their first holiday season "livin' the dream"!

  So, wherever you are for the holidays Ken and I wish you all a "Merry Christmas", "Happy Hannukah", "Kwanza" or just "Happy Holidays"!  Whatever way you say it, we wish you all good times and a new year filled with living your dreams, or at least getting close to it!

Here's a little video from Jimmy Buffet explaining what it's like to spend Christmas in the islands.  Enjoy!

Hasta luego ... until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!

Dreams Reassured!

Since Ken and I have decided to make our dream of full-time cruising a reality, our family has had some concerns that they'll never be able to spend time with us and vice versa.  Since Ken and I decided to make our dream of cruising a reality, keeping in touch with our family has always been part of the plan.  It's our hope that not only will we be flying home for special occasions, but also that our family will come visit us.  Now we already know that it will be hard for family to schedule time, but we also know it's definitely possible.  We don't plan on being in a hurry, and therefore will be happy to spend some time in a certain area in order to accomodate our friends and family. 

As we mentioned in The Plan, we hope that our daughter will spend her summer breaks with us.  We're also hoping that when she starts a family, not only will she and her husband spend time with us, but our future grandchildren will spend their summer months really getting to know us and the joys of cruising.

We came across a link today that has reassured us that our dreams can become a reality.  This link is an article written by the child of a cruising couple that suggests the best way to spend time with your kids and grandchildren is to go cruising!  She speaks of the many great memories she, her husband, and her two children have shared with her parents on their sailboat and how it has changed their lives. 

So, for anybody who is contemplating cruising or has a loved one that is planning on doing so, be reassured that it's not shutting the door on family.  It's opening the door to a whole new world of opportunities!

We can't wait to share our dream with family!  Hasta luego ... until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!

Chill At Christmas!

While sick and in bed for the past few days, I've been thinking of the upcoming Christmas holidays.  I've always loved Christmas with all its traditions such as the tree, the lights, the garland-laced mantle and the stockings hanging from the fireplace.  It's such a magical time, and I've always enjoyed driving home in the evening and seeing all the homes covered in colorful lights along the way.

I know that everybody celebrates Christmas differently, and some don't celebrate it at all.  If you don't please bear with me, as you just might enjoy reading this anyway.  Besides being a  religious holiday (which many people seem to forget, but that's another story that I won't get into now), Christmas has also become a time for parties, time with family and friends, and gifts!  It's this last thing that I think has gotten a little crazy lately.  Don't get me wrong, I love giving and receiving gifts. What would Christmas be without them?  However, it seems to me that the joy of giving has been replaced with the stress of overspending.  So many people are struggling financially (us included) and lose the spirit of Christmas.

So this Christmas, slow down (and give your credit card a break)!  Enjoy the season, the lights, the beautiful decorations, the caroling, the scented candles, the smell of baked goods in the kitchen, your relationships, and the innocent faces of children as they sit on Santa's lap in awe.  Refuse to get caught up in the retail trap, and spend only what your budget allows.  If that's baked cookies, so be it!  It takes much more time to prepare such a gift, and it is true ... it's the thought that counts (at least to those who count).  If you have a large family (like us), consider drawing names or playing a game at Christmas.  Our family started this tradition several years ago, and boy has it relieved the pressure!

Another thought for those that have the time, think about so many that are lonely during the holidays and "give" your time.  Maybe it's checking on the elderly or recently widowed neighbor, or maybe it's helping deliver food or toys to the needy.  All of things make a huge difference to the person in need, showing them that somebody cares.  I've done some of these things, and it's a great feeling to see the difference it makes to those in need.

So, I'm wishing you all "Happy Holidays" and hope you allow yourself to spend them the way you really want to.  If you love the malls and crowds, great!  Just do what's true to you (and your wallet)!  You deserve to take charge (and stop charging)!

And for those of you lucky enough to be cruising, I would imagine that your holidays will be filled with new friendships and an appreciation for the company of loved ones far away, not their gifts!  Kind of puts it all in perspective, doesn't it?

Hasta luego ... until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!


BTW, if you are buying gifts and using Amazon, clicking on one of the books on our sidebar will take you to Amazon to do your shopping.  We will make a few cents off your purchase, but you won't pay any more.  It's kind of like giving two gifts instead of one! 

Swept Away!

Within this past week I've come across several stories of sailors who found themselves in a boat that was either sinking or severely damaged, leaving them stranded in the middle of the ocean.  One story was of three young men that were stranded for 50 days after their motor broke down, another was of a young woman from my home town (New Orleans) that lost her father on a passage to Bermuda when their sailboat was overturned by a huge wave, and another was about a man who survived on his life raft for 67 days after his sailboat was damaged by a large wave.

The last story was on the National Geographic Channel this past week, and I believe the events took place a while back.  However, while watching the tv show I started wondering about what we should have on our sailboat once we start cruising.  When Ken and I first started thinking about cruising, I started researching the internet and was reading anything I could find about cruising.  In my search I came across a few articles that mentioned having an emergency kit and a life raft in the event the sailboat capsized.  We have some time to prepare, so we're not making these type of purchases just yet.  However,  while I was watching the tv show I did start thinking about what we should have on our sailboat in case of an emergency.

The man on the television show survived on a covered life raft, along with an emergency kit that he had packed.  I don't know exactly what this man had, but he did have a couple cans of water, a couple cans of food, a knife, a large fork, some flares, and three solar stills (which took him over 10 days to figure out how to use them).

For loved ones that think we're nuts, Ken and I do NOT plan on long overnight passages (for the reasons above), and DO plan on cruising the coast as much as possible!  We take comfort in the fact that we won't be far from civilization, and therefore should not be too far from help.  We also plan on always wearing the proper safety gear and keeping ourselves "attached" to our sailboat when necessary.

We'd love to hear the thoughts of other boaters, and what they think is a "must-have" for emergency preparation.  Hasta luego ... until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!