Tonight, we head to Vancouver to begin our Christmas road trip. We’ll have an early Christmas dinner with the family and in the morning we’ll load up the kids and our gear and start heading south… I’m equally excited and nervous about what this experience will bring. I’m looking forward to seeing new places, being with the family without too many domestic distractions and seeing the sun. I’m nervous about being in the car for so long and I hope that we haven’t built it up too much in the kid’s minds. Time will tell, I suppose. The goal is to make it to San Diego by Christmas and then meander our way home in time for school in January. I plan to take lots of pictures and write updates on our journey, so stay tuned. That is, if I’m not in some kind of road coma.
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The self-imposed cooking challenge is now officially over. While I wouldn’t rate it as a complete failure, it wasn’t a complete success, either. I did manage to stick to my plan of 2 new recipes a week, and I think that I’ll continue to do that when we come back from this trip. However, I failed to fall in love with cooking. I think it’s time to face reality: cooking and I will maintain a healthy respect for one another, but there ain’t gonna be wedding bells anytime soon.
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What will 2013 bring, I wonder? I’m not one to make resolutions but I’ll admit that I want to set some new goals and challenges for myself in the coming year. I’ve already committed to 2 races and I am pondering what else I can challenge myself with to fill the calendar. I think it should be the “Year of Yes”: time to try new things and say “yes” to whatever comes my way. And I’ll admit that I am not at all sad to see the backside of 2012.
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I’m planning on ending 2012 by taking a break for news, social media and digital distractions in general. On this trip, it’s time to re-connect with my family, rest and re-charge. I’ll bring a notebook with me and actually use a pen. Time to shut off the noise for a while. Digital detox!
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I’ll leave you with some recent pics. See you in the new year.







