Retrospective

This has certainly been an interesting year.

Personally, it was very good. Except for the foot thing and the wife's back issues (both on the mend), everyone is basically healthy. The kids are doing well in school. We had a fun lacrosse season. We survived no kitchen for 6 weeks. We did a home addition and remained married. The dog didn't get run over by a car despite being able escape the temporary construction fence at will. We had a great week at F8I. Goldie, my 10 year old Subaru Legacy, is still running. We got a Wii. I was able to finish a marathon and swim a mile. We hosted a fun Thanksgiving with friends. We hosted a fun Christmas with family.

Financially, it was pretty much a disaster. We lost close to 40% of our money that was in our 401k and IRA accounts. I don't even want to think about how many years of savings that is. Plus, the government managed to run up another trillion of debt we get to repay bailing out crooks. But, if that is the worst thing that ever happens to me, I'll be a very lucky person. We can pay our bills and live a comfortable life, which is much more than most other people have.

My goals for next year in descending order of fun:

1. Do two triathlons. Another family triathlon with Kate and Sophie is a must. I'd also like to do at least one myself. The NYC marathon is a bonus item here since I couldn't do it last year but that depends on my foot feeling 100% by June.
2. Coach my daughter's lacrosse team. This time around, I want to improve the practices by having a more structured plan for the hour.
3. Learn something new. I've got a couple of contenders right now. The first is drawing. I started on Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, but didn't finish it. The second is a musical instrument (not Rock Band). I have a guitar I haven't picked up in five years, but maybe something different. Bonus points for doing both drawing and music.
4. Swim 50 miles over the course of the year. Because I don't tend to swim when travelling, that works out to about a 2200 yards every week I'm at home. Easy-peasy.
5. Pass an SAP certification exam. I know the material, I just need to buck up, schedule an exam and take it.

Happy New Year!

1750

I swam a mile today. I was just planning on going for a little swim, but I was feeling good so I just kept going. It took me just a shade under 45 minutes. I'm only 30 minutes and change off of the world record pace!

29

I'm almost there on my quest to swim a mile. My stroke is still horrible, but I was only 300 yards shy of a mile yesterday. I might have been able to do it, but my goggles had completely fogged up and I decided to stop. I think it was all the great fuel I had in me.

Dinner

This was the turkey prepared for the first Thanksgiving we've every hosted at our house.

Cooking a turkey wasn't that difficult but what made it turn out really great was brining it for 24 hours before cooking. The hardest part was carving - I mangled the bird, but even in little bitty bits it still tasted great.