Sunday, April 21, 2013
America's Cup Sexiest Man- Poll
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
And now I have a pie tin complex
Have you ever considered what your famous last words might be? I'm sure a lot of people that blog think about what sort of verbal legacy they'll end up leaving. Well, I hope my saying, "... and now I have a pie tin complex." during the raft-up isn't all I have left to say. It is however, when I decided I had had too many pickled peppers and "Peter" was getting away from me. Let's make this clear. I hadn't had anything to drink and I am literally speaking about pickled peppers and I do just say crazy things like that all the time.
Just like the day I told Jeremy that I'd go ahead and take the helm of his Dad's 28' Hunter on a gusty day. That doesn't sound so crazy right? Well, it is. Sailing in Colorado is not like sailing on the coast. On the coast, the wind travels in a reliable and constant direction. On a lake, depending on geological structures around it the wind changes direction and speed in the snap of a finger. So, this moment of crazy talk happened about two years ago. Up to that point, my sailing experience entailed mostly sun bathing and retrieving refreshments for anyone aboard, and I had gotten very good at coiling rope. That may have been where my confidence in helming came from. So, thinking to myself, Hey, I can coil rope with the best of them I bet I could helm this thing. Yeah, makes sense right?!
So, Jeremy says, "Hey, do you want to take the wheel?",
and in my coiling-fool confidence I say, "Sure!"
We're going along, I'm feeling the wind in my hair. Looking at the wind vane like I knew what I was looking at (no, I didn't) and then thinking, if I just hold our course we'll be fine and Jeremy will be back soon. Well, I was wrong. In my mind he piddle paddled and messed around and then two minutes after feeling the nice breeze in my hair the wind kicked up and in my strong desire to hold our course (Why not, it works in movies) I heeled the big boat over so far I think Jeremy almost would have peed himself if he weren't so busy scrambling up the stairs and grabbing the wheel and then yelling at me about how I can't do that. So then after he saved the boat I yelled back at him and told him that he was the dummy that put me in charge!
So, lesson learned. I had no business helming that boat with only the knowledge of how to coil, and sailing is far more than feeling the wind in your hair and holding your course. After that point, my sailor privileges were coiling rope, retrieving refreshments, and sunbathing. I did however, take more interest in using the Sunfish (single-sail/man boats) to learn more on how to read the wind and what to do with the sails and boat with the wind, because at that point I had a sailing complex.
My sailing complex- not so terribly different from my pie tin complex. In fact, most of my complexes are pretty simple- seems oxymoronic. The great thing about being apart of a sail club is that you don't have to be a strong sailor to be a great part of the group. I am good a coiling rope, but what I'm probably better at is throwing a party. So, I signed up to host the sail club's annual raft up. This year, I decided to make the party last all night by hosting a post raft-up party at the docks as well. The raft up is relatively simple to organize. I asked that everyone bring at least one thing that you can carry with your fingers and I had a prize for the best dish (Weird Al CD... oh boy!). I sent out an e-mail invite for the raft up and the post-party "Trick or Drink" and I made waterproof martini-glass shaped invites for the "Trick or Drink" and placed them on the docks and up at the club house, so I felt like everyone was pretty well informed. Just in case, I made sure to ask everyone that I spoke with if they were going to be apart of the raft-up and "Trick-or-Drink".
At the raft-up we had 13 boats, the food was really good, and the company was excellent. A number of us fell out of our boats and had quite a swim to get back, and several people made the trek from one end of the boats to the other. I love the mingling! And.. the pickled peppers... "And now, I have a pie tin complex." ... Awkward silence... And now it's time for me to go set up for the "Trick or Drink"! So the boats began to break-up and head back to the docks for our costume party.
For the Trick or Drink I brought illuminated balloons filled with helium and with the help of club members placed them on the bow of each boat on the docks, passed out glow bracelets, and then enjoyed some drinks and everyone's costumes. For those who didn't dress up I had clown noses and fireman hats. Jeremy and I dressed up as Popeye and Olive Oyl, Jae as a skeleton ninja, and Jameson as Jenga (an Beyblade character). We served green jello shots- Margarita and Mojito (supposed to be spinach) and the boys got candy from club members (they're pretty spoiled up there). The adults finally wrapped up the party sometime after 1. It was a seriously late night for me. Then finally, at the idea of another club member- we wrapped the dock up with "Caution" tape just for fun. Everyone said they had a great time, and surprisingly enough no one seemed to be in really bad shape considering the evening we had.
The winner of the contests- first was to the member that gained the most interest during the Sailstice. They received a... I can't remember his name CD. It was just something I found in the $5 bin at Wal-mart and the guy had a crazy look on his face. And the winner of the best dish?! The boat French Temper for the beef skewers. Originally, the club said the jalapeño poppers, but those were mine and I couldn't award myself Weird Al (darn!). Okay, so I may not say, pen, or gasp anything worth keeping in any books, so I suppose I'll just have to settle for being a great party planner for the sail club. It was a lot of fun, and I was under budget!
Jalapeño Poppers
26 medium/large fresh jalapeños
3- 8 oz. blocks cream cheese softened at room temp.
2- 8 oz. blocks neuchatel cheese softened at room temp. (you know, to make it healthier)
2 Tbsp Tequila
2 Tbsp Lime Zest
3 Tbsp finely cut cilantro
3 Tbsp finely cut green onions
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp fresh cracked pepper
50 pieces pre-cooked bacon
1) Halve, de-seed, de-vein jalapeños. 2) Cream together cheese, tequila, zest, herbs, sugar, and pepper 3)Fill each half generously with filling 4)Wrap with bacon 5)Cook on a low grill when ready to serve. I made it a day ahead, and cooked 2 for Jeremy to try (that's why the 26 jalapeños)
Margarita Jello Shots
1- package lime jello
1- cup boiling water
2/3- cup tequila
1/3- cup triple sec or orange liqueur
Mojito Jello Shots
1- package lime jello
1- cup boiling water
1- cup Coconut rum
1- dash peppermint extract
Just like the day I told Jeremy that I'd go ahead and take the helm of his Dad's 28' Hunter on a gusty day. That doesn't sound so crazy right? Well, it is. Sailing in Colorado is not like sailing on the coast. On the coast, the wind travels in a reliable and constant direction. On a lake, depending on geological structures around it the wind changes direction and speed in the snap of a finger. So, this moment of crazy talk happened about two years ago. Up to that point, my sailing experience entailed mostly sun bathing and retrieving refreshments for anyone aboard, and I had gotten very good at coiling rope. That may have been where my confidence in helming came from. So, thinking to myself, Hey, I can coil rope with the best of them I bet I could helm this thing. Yeah, makes sense right?!
So, Jeremy says, "Hey, do you want to take the wheel?",
and in my coiling-fool confidence I say, "Sure!"
We're going along, I'm feeling the wind in my hair. Looking at the wind vane like I knew what I was looking at (no, I didn't) and then thinking, if I just hold our course we'll be fine and Jeremy will be back soon. Well, I was wrong. In my mind he piddle paddled and messed around and then two minutes after feeling the nice breeze in my hair the wind kicked up and in my strong desire to hold our course (Why not, it works in movies) I heeled the big boat over so far I think Jeremy almost would have peed himself if he weren't so busy scrambling up the stairs and grabbing the wheel and then yelling at me about how I can't do that. So then after he saved the boat I yelled back at him and told him that he was the dummy that put me in charge!
So, lesson learned. I had no business helming that boat with only the knowledge of how to coil, and sailing is far more than feeling the wind in your hair and holding your course. After that point, my sailor privileges were coiling rope, retrieving refreshments, and sunbathing. I did however, take more interest in using the Sunfish (single-sail/man boats) to learn more on how to read the wind and what to do with the sails and boat with the wind, because at that point I had a sailing complex.
My sailing complex- not so terribly different from my pie tin complex. In fact, most of my complexes are pretty simple- seems oxymoronic. The great thing about being apart of a sail club is that you don't have to be a strong sailor to be a great part of the group. I am good a coiling rope, but what I'm probably better at is throwing a party. So, I signed up to host the sail club's annual raft up. This year, I decided to make the party last all night by hosting a post raft-up party at the docks as well. The raft up is relatively simple to organize. I asked that everyone bring at least one thing that you can carry with your fingers and I had a prize for the best dish (Weird Al CD... oh boy!). I sent out an e-mail invite for the raft up and the post-party "Trick or Drink" and I made waterproof martini-glass shaped invites for the "Trick or Drink" and placed them on the docks and up at the club house, so I felt like everyone was pretty well informed. Just in case, I made sure to ask everyone that I spoke with if they were going to be apart of the raft-up and "Trick-or-Drink".
At the raft-up we had 13 boats, the food was really good, and the company was excellent. A number of us fell out of our boats and had quite a swim to get back, and several people made the trek from one end of the boats to the other. I love the mingling! And.. the pickled peppers... "And now, I have a pie tin complex." ... Awkward silence... And now it's time for me to go set up for the "Trick or Drink"! So the boats began to break-up and head back to the docks for our costume party.
For the Trick or Drink I brought illuminated balloons filled with helium and with the help of club members placed them on the bow of each boat on the docks, passed out glow bracelets, and then enjoyed some drinks and everyone's costumes. For those who didn't dress up I had clown noses and fireman hats. Jeremy and I dressed up as Popeye and Olive Oyl, Jae as a skeleton ninja, and Jameson as Jenga (an Beyblade character). We served green jello shots- Margarita and Mojito (supposed to be spinach) and the boys got candy from club members (they're pretty spoiled up there). The adults finally wrapped up the party sometime after 1. It was a seriously late night for me. Then finally, at the idea of another club member- we wrapped the dock up with "Caution" tape just for fun. Everyone said they had a great time, and surprisingly enough no one seemed to be in really bad shape considering the evening we had.
The winner of the contests- first was to the member that gained the most interest during the Sailstice. They received a... I can't remember his name CD. It was just something I found in the $5 bin at Wal-mart and the guy had a crazy look on his face. And the winner of the best dish?! The boat French Temper for the beef skewers. Originally, the club said the jalapeño poppers, but those were mine and I couldn't award myself Weird Al (darn!). Okay, so I may not say, pen, or gasp anything worth keeping in any books, so I suppose I'll just have to settle for being a great party planner for the sail club. It was a lot of fun, and I was under budget!
Jalapeño Poppers
26 medium/large fresh jalapeños
3- 8 oz. blocks cream cheese softened at room temp.
2- 8 oz. blocks neuchatel cheese softened at room temp. (you know, to make it healthier)
2 Tbsp Tequila
2 Tbsp Lime Zest
3 Tbsp finely cut cilantro
3 Tbsp finely cut green onions
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp fresh cracked pepper
50 pieces pre-cooked bacon
1) Halve, de-seed, de-vein jalapeños. 2) Cream together cheese, tequila, zest, herbs, sugar, and pepper 3)Fill each half generously with filling 4)Wrap with bacon 5)Cook on a low grill when ready to serve. I made it a day ahead, and cooked 2 for Jeremy to try (that's why the 26 jalapeños)
Margarita Jello Shots
1- package lime jello
1- cup boiling water
2/3- cup tequila
1/3- cup triple sec or orange liqueur
Mojito Jello Shots
1- package lime jello
1- cup boiling water
1- cup Coconut rum
1- dash peppermint extract
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Sailstice- An International Day of Green Sailing!
I thought it appropriate that my first actual post for this blog would fall on a weekend where a lot of people are introduced to sailing. Yet, for me- that was not the case, so not ENTIRELY appropriate if you want to get anal about it.
I was introduced to sailing when I was 21, and I was about 8-9 months pregnant (Ha! This posting is actually getting more appropriate because we are celebrating Jae's 9th birthday today). That would mean it was May or June 2003. Jeremy was invited by his long-time friend at the Carter Lake Marina to crew for a race he was sailing in. Thinking back on the whole situation Jeremy has earned some 9-year old brownie points. I'm sure if he would have preferred to make it a boys day, but he invited me along to be "Rail Meat".
There are only two things that stand out in my memory when people ask me about how I got started. The first, I had the pleasure of meeting the family that runs the Carter Lake Marina, which was my first exposure to really great people who care, and have a passion for the lake. The second- well, not as pleasant, but a great thing to know when going into sailing: Competitive husband/wife teams are not for the feint of heart.
How so? Well, during the race. The guys were all very nice to me and just told me which side of the boat to sit on and where, and as I sat there I remember looking around at all of these really pretty sails that were coming out. As these sails (which I now know as the spinnaker) filled with wind my attention and calm in that vision quickly shifted to a boat where the husband was frantically shouting at his wife while steering at the back of the boat. Quickly, the shouts started to sound somewhat like a heated debate- in a foreign language. So I assessed at that moment that sailing can create some pretty contentious moments, and that if Jeremy ever yelled at me like that on a boat I would jump off onto the next boat that got close enough. So far, I haven't had to do that, but we also haven't flown a spinnaker yet.
In hindsight, the Sailstice is a far better way to experience sailing for the first time. Sail clubs all over the world offer free rides and experiences with their sail club all over the world on this day. Carter Lake Sail Club had 47 people come out this year. The morning of the Sailstice the wind was very gusty, and senior members of the club decided that for safety we would wait out the wind before taking out those new to sailing and for some- boating in general. Shortly after 11:30 a.m. the wind speed slowed enough to take out a large group that had already gathered. Groups of people where able to try out different boats for different uses cabin cruisers, racer cruisers, and racer boats. Each with an experienced sailor. I know what you're thinking, and I was not the experienced sailor, Jeremy was. So while Jeremy was really great at showing and somewhat teaching sailing- I would like to think I did a good job at reassuring people that sailing is super accessible for "Green Sailors" when surrounded by the right people- like the Carter Lake Sailing Club. Good people, great times and experiences that last forever.
I was introduced to sailing when I was 21, and I was about 8-9 months pregnant (Ha! This posting is actually getting more appropriate because we are celebrating Jae's 9th birthday today). That would mean it was May or June 2003. Jeremy was invited by his long-time friend at the Carter Lake Marina to crew for a race he was sailing in. Thinking back on the whole situation Jeremy has earned some 9-year old brownie points. I'm sure if he would have preferred to make it a boys day, but he invited me along to be "Rail Meat".
There are only two things that stand out in my memory when people ask me about how I got started. The first, I had the pleasure of meeting the family that runs the Carter Lake Marina, which was my first exposure to really great people who care, and have a passion for the lake. The second- well, not as pleasant, but a great thing to know when going into sailing: Competitive husband/wife teams are not for the feint of heart.
How so? Well, during the race. The guys were all very nice to me and just told me which side of the boat to sit on and where, and as I sat there I remember looking around at all of these really pretty sails that were coming out. As these sails (which I now know as the spinnaker) filled with wind my attention and calm in that vision quickly shifted to a boat where the husband was frantically shouting at his wife while steering at the back of the boat. Quickly, the shouts started to sound somewhat like a heated debate- in a foreign language. So I assessed at that moment that sailing can create some pretty contentious moments, and that if Jeremy ever yelled at me like that on a boat I would jump off onto the next boat that got close enough. So far, I haven't had to do that, but we also haven't flown a spinnaker yet.
Dated Postings - Sequence of Events
So, This is my first posting and already I'm finding a dilemma in my situation and a bit of a flaw in my character. These blogs are dated, and I don't think I have any control over what it says when I posted it. So I can't fool you all into believing that you're reading real time... so how do I push off onto you my experience from when I actually started it. That's what this is all about anyway- A chronological story of how I came from land lubber to hopefully someone who can hold some water. My first thought was to just publish this kind of like the Star Wars movies... give you a taste of what I'm like on the "Dark Side" and then generations later publish how I got there. Well, sailing is far from the "Dark Side" and even though Jae's hair is pretty close to a Wookie I decided that's probably not the proper format. So I've decided to subject my audience to the tried-and-true flashback format. I will try to supply a somewhat reliable timeline for those flashbacks, but I can't give any promises. So, there's my first-post disclaimer. Onto my second posting.
If you're asking yourself- the answer is, "No, I did not discuss my particular character flaw".
If you're asking yourself- the answer is, "No, I did not discuss my particular character flaw".
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