Update

I am so lame! It's been a few months since my last post. Part of it is because I couldn't even remember my own damn blog address since our hard drive crashed. I guess I'll try to summarize a little about what's been going on:

We have a roommate. His name is Travis. Travis and I started at Lithtex NW around the same time, so I've known him for 3 years. He really doesn't stay here much (maybe one or two nights a week), so it works out great for us. He pretty much lives with his girlfriend, but isn't ready to make it "official" that they live together. I guess he still needs his "man cave" to run to for whatever reason. We still have a guest room (for those who may be wondering): we moved stuff around and put our spare bed into the office. So we still have a room with a bed for OUR guests!

I have joined the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary. After being fingerprinted, blood typed (I am O positive, by the way), and have had an extensive back ground check, I have been cleared and accepted by the Department of Homeland Security. What is the Coast Guard Auxiliary, you ask? "The Auxiliary assists the Coast Guard, as authorized by the Commandant, in performance of any Coast Guard function, duty, role, mission or operation authorized by law." We do harbor patrols, vessel safety checks, teach boating safety classes, marine environmental protection, and search and rescue operations. We work side-by-side with the United States Coast Guard, and have the same training that they do in all procedures. The Auxiliary is the "Reserve" of the Coast Guard, except as with other branches of military reservists, the Coast Guard Auxiliarists are not paid. However, we get our gear supplied to us by the Coast Guard, and we are given the same medical coverage/benefits as do full-time Coast Guard members. I will be officially sworn in next month, and start the Crew Academy in February, which is every-other Saturday through June. I have already taken an all day course on how to assess and reduce possible hazards during a mission. I'm pretty excited about it. Especially about Crew Academy: I'll get to jump into the cold Bellingham Bay water (in a dry suit) and be "saved".

Jeremie, Maggie and I spent the week of Thanksgiving in Florence, Oregon, for our "annual" trip to the sand dunes (although we didn't go last year). We had three straight days of blue sky, and some crap weather, too. Thanksgiving Day was a down-pour, but we were planning on staying at camp around a fire anyway, awaiting the turkey to be ready to eat. Six of us even walked the quarter-mile from camp to the "staging area" (the main place to off-load our atv's) at 11 o'clock at night . . . under the influence . . . without flashlights . . . and proceeded to climb up the staging hill dune (it's probably at a 40 degree angle and 250-300 feet tall). Part of it was crawled up. Part of it was falling up. I was sweating more doing that than I do at the gym! It made us appreciated our ATV's more, that's for sure. And we didn't get caught, either (public intoxication, entering a National Recreation Area after closing time, indecent exposure . . . not me, though: another female member was apparently too hot climbing the dune and had her shirt off before reaching the top). The only bad part about the trip, however, was when Jeremie's step mom, Noel, rolled her ATV on the day after Thanksgiving and fractured her pelvis. We spent most of that afternoon in the emergency room. She had to stay in the hospital overnight, and it made for a VERY long day the next day, especially since she didn't get out of the hospital until 3:30 p.m. It was a very long drive home (we followed behind them in case she had to use the restroom 'cuz his dad wouldn't be able to get her out of the truck and onto the comode by himself). Fortunately, Noel didn't have to use the bathroom and kept taking her pain pills. We made it home by 12:30 a.m. on Saturday the 28th.







We went and cut down our Christmas Tree on Sunday the 29th, and had it decorated and all the lights put up outside on Monday the 30th. We've never had it done so early before, so that was nice to be able to do. Except for the fact that we were putting up our outside lights in the pouring down rain! But that made the hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps warm us even more!

We no longer have our boat. Most of you know that we have been in a financial crisis since last October and have had to "give back" some of our toys. We shouldn't have gotten the boat to begin with, but it was fun while it lasted, and we definitely have stories we'll remember.

Maggie went and saw Santa Claus last weekend for a S.P.O.T. Fundraiser at Skagit Gardens. I think she told Santa she wanted pizza and beer for Christmas.






That should do it for now.