Starting the New Year Off with a Splash

Nothing like starting the New Year off with a splash.

To herald in the New Year I joined some of my teammates from Team Blaze and ran the Hangover Handicap 5 Mile Race this morning. It was c-c-cold. My car said minus 1 degrees F which is about minus 20 degrees C. But after the first mile or so I warmed up and it was just breathtaking running around Lake Coeur d'Alene. 

After the race we headed over to Sanders beach to join all my other crazy friends to do the Polar Bear Plunge in Lake CDA.  Yes...that's right.  Plunging into a frigid lake. Hold on...lets back up....let me just give you a little background here first.

Doing a polar plunge is on my bucket list.  When I found out there was one at CDA on Jan 1st I figured "why not".  I mentioned it to some friends here and there.  Most thought I was crazy....but to my surprise a number of my friends got onboard with the whole idea and agreed to join in.  So fun...its always better to do something ridiculous with company. 

FUN

So I met Matt, the kids( yes they were eager to join in too) and all our friends at Sanders beach and prepared to plunge. Did I mention that it was a teensy bit cold????

MAD



I was actually surprised to see so many people there. These Pacific Northwesterners are a tough lot.  Snow all over the beach and icy water won't stop them. Then there was a countdown...( and a polar bear in a boat).....and in we all plunged ....all 19 of us.

{This series of pictures really makes me laugh - you can see how cold it was just from looking at the expressions on peoples faces}












Got the year off to a great start....so far 2011 is looking gooood. 

Happy New Year

I'm not really one for looking back.  I don't spend too much time reviewing or rehashing things that have happened.
Live, learn, move on.
 I'm more of a now person or a tomorrow person...Not a yesterday person. Which is why I blog....so I can keep some kind of family record.  I don't scrapbbook.  I hardly ever even print photos out anymore.  So this blog allows me to capture today and happily move on to tomorrow.
Today is a big day though. The last time we will ever see 2010.  It has been a great year for our little family.  We completed our first year of homeschooling, we travelled, we met new friends and spent time with some old ones.  On a personal note, I fell in love with triathlon.  I ran over 800 miles (nearly 1,300km) and biked about the same number of miles.
But even though 2010 has been great I'm already eagerly anticipating 2011. I can't wait to see what is in store for us in the NewYear.
Happy NewYear everyone....see you in 2011!

Winter Wonderland

What's not to like about snow? 
Really...it's absolutely beautiful. It makes everything look so clean and new.
Yes...I know it makes travel more difficult...it certainly managed to mess up our holiday plans.  But there is something very pure and delicate about it that I just love. 
Bring it on, I say :-)

Pictures from our yard after last night's Winter Storm. 

Crafting up a Storm

With no school, no work and no organized sports I have had a little extra time on my hands over the last few days. So it seemed like a good time to pull out the knitting needles and the sewing machine and get some serious handmade goodness going.

Here are the results so far:

Knitted blankets - 1 completed and another started

Slippers - 1 set done (for myself of course). I used the tutorial here....super easy.




Christmas gifts (yes I know this is ridiculously early to be talking about next Christmas already) - 3 completed, 1 nearly done, 4 others started
New quilt for one of the kids - still in the planning stages.

Lots more crafty ideas swimming around in my brain.