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Christmas in Big Bear

So, in and amongst busy weeks, being sick on and off since the New Years, and some crazy work I wanted to take a minute to look back on our Christmas adventure for 2009. Laura and I got a chance to rent a little cabin up in Big Bear, Ca. We found it on craigslist of all things. The trip itself was so great to escape from the city to a place that's just a few hours away. It's a reminder of how refreshing it is to leave the city and work and also just how easy it is.

I am in a place where I know that I need to get away very soon, feeling a little claustrophobic and need to break out of my shell.

But here are some photo's from our adventure. It was Dani's first time in the snow. I know she has a jacket, shoes, and everything, at least they aren't studded with sequins.

Click and enjoy!!

Cookie Party 2009!!

Hey Everyone,
I really did not intend on getting a moment to work on these or post anything online until spring of 2010, but, alas, here they are. Show them to friends and family as you travel this year. Sorry I was late to my own hosting job, next year will be better.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

click and enjoy.

How do I get out of here?

So, sitting here at work today. Been a little slow lately. I went from covering two jobs with meetings from beginning to the end of each day and now crickets. At least until everything comes together at 7:30 at night to then deal with. But besides all of that, there are other things gnawing at me. I recently joined a climbing gym near home. I love it so far, early morning challenges and every time I workout early and eat breakfast on my tailgate waiting for work to start I somehow feel like I'm camping for the morning. Then life reminds me to go sit at my computer and wait for emails to pour in. I also got a new pair of hiking shoes, figured 6 years on a pair was a good monument to get some more and besides they had a fantastic sale. But I've been wearing them to work just to help break them in. Today I was looking at my feet perched up on the side table while I played sudoku (I told you it was slow) and got a good look at my hiking shoes. Soooo, been at the climbing gym, new hiking shoes, have a new backpacking pack I got at the end of summer that I haven't used yet. I feel a trend setting in. I need to get out.

Laura and I have been escaping lately with our adventure duo Ryan & Ruthi, but the more I get out, the more I feel weird staying in. The sun going down at ungodly hours each day isn't helping since I only get glimpses of it at lunch time and on the desktop image of my laptop. How do I escape these times where work has you captured doing things that you don't necessarily "not enjoy" but just aren't feeling at the moment? I mean I find myself partially doing what I really want to do in life, but there are those moments that I just don't really care about life goals and achievements very much. I just want to be free from a schedule and a to-do list.

I follow a couple of photo blogs that are just visual essays on the status of our globe. One is of the head White House photographer (http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/). He is able to capture these amazing images of what's it's like good or bad to sit in President Obama's shoes. Others on fashion and design Viewing the glamorous and beautiful things of the world are sometimes really depressing cause you realize you haven't made it, but yet but here are some people who have. Another is Zreportage (http://www.zreportage.com/). Often sad stories of war torn countries and hungry children. There is also the mandatory National Geographic subscription. One of the articles I read not too long ago was about a small Buddhist village. Not really a happy set of images but honest. A people who live so simply There were images of them eating together, enjoying company at all hours of the day, seeming as if they really didn't have a "job" or responsibilities except to make sure there was food on the table and a fire going in the home. This is often what camping consists of. This village wasn't just surviving though and they're not weekend warriors like I have seemingly sufficed to become. Any simple or remote people group finds ways of living very full lives with real purposes no matter how big or small with so much less daily confusion. Our dreams. goals, and desires lead to what we all deal with everyday: bills, debt, rent, credit cards, car payments, traffic, seeing your co-workers more then your significant others or friends. Why do we do this? There are times that I just wanna go all rogue and get outta here. And not Sarah Palin rogue and cause trouble but be truly self sufficient.

Laura and I started a garden this summer in the corner of our little yard. I don't know how many pounds we produced in vegetables but enough for numerous salads and so much zucchini it was ridiculous. Right now we have spinach, butternut squash, green beans, some weak tomatoes, and just had my first fig from our little tree the other day. And this doesn't include our endless supply of herbs. All of this in about 25 square feet of space. Imagine what I could do with an acre. I lived on property as a kid, at one point 100 acres with a mountain on our doorstep and a river full of salmon on our distant porch. We didn't produce anything. Nothing. Now not condemning my parents for not pursuing a life of farming or anything, that's hard work. But as humans we are not self sufficient any more, just look at unemployment. We have skills that are required of us these days for our jobs that actually have no real value. I mean, who needs producers, accountants, bankers, professional bloggers (speaking of). Our ancestors made fire, we have digitized that fire hooked it up to a tank and a wall switch that if the gas runs out or the electricity goes off it is useless. Cars that if fuel was to run dry ran would just stop in the street where they rolled. My laptop battery will only last about 2 hours on its battery, but with no internet, what would I do with it? How do I as a person not just be a weekend warrior and not be a person who has everything they own rely on surge protectors and oil pumps? I know or at least have ideas on what some of the answers can be but there' s something more to it then being "green" or joining the amish community.

We are always trying to spice things up, make it louder, brighter, cooler, but in reality we're really making it more of a pain in the ass. Our life might not make the blogs or newswires but will we enjoy it more? Will we slow down enough to grow deep friendship or see all the places in the world we dream of seeing? I hope so. I hope I get to get out soon and put my new hiking shoes and backpack to use. Cause sudoku is getting a little boring.

Cheers.

Big Bear Adventures

A couple weekends ago we spent a beautiful weekend in Big Bear, Ca, and to you as readers, all Hallows Eve. Laura and I, and our partners in adventure Ryan and Ruthi headed up after work friday to spend the weekend camping and climbing. It was a bit chilly but fun. And I love having the Rover. Still don't know what to name it but it performed wonderfully climbing over boulders and squeaking through trails. I can't wait to take it out some more.

Highlights of the weekend were a new soup recipe with new additions from our local Co-Op and Dani (our dog/child) and her adventure shoes and cape sadly. We have become those people who buy our dog clothes and a backpack. Her little jacket didn't arrive in time for the trip but she'll be ready for the next. I know, I know, but no rhinestones, strictly trail worthy. And Laura had her most successful climb yet, getting over those fears of heights. And we even carved pumpkins and used them as night lights on our little tent porches. A first for us.

Click & Enjoy!