The Joys of Summertime: Curacao + A Half Marathon

Summertime is upon us! We've had some truly great weather recently, with temperatures generally peaking at or below 80 degrees. Really a blessing compared with years past when it wasn't uncommon to see several days in the 90's during May. I have been taking full advantage; keeping my windows open during the day and enjoying long walks with Barkley in the evening.

Mr. Barkley, out enjoying the nice weather

Meanwhile, my summer calendar is really filling up quick. We've gotten our summer vacation plans squared away - Curacao was the winner from my previous post, so looking forward to that in early July. We'll be staying on the western end of the island, in Westpunt, which is about 40 minutes away from the capital of Willemstad and considered the "quiet" side of the island. Apparently all the best beaches are located here, and it's supposed to have a very "small town" vibe, with only a hand-full of restaurants and limited lodging options, most of which are apartment-style vacation rentals. The place we're staying at, Marazul Dive Resort, was rated #1 on TripAdvisor for places to stay in Curacao. Marazul is a collection of individually owned seaside villas perched atop a small cliff, with stairs leading down to the ocean for easy access to snorkeling and diving. We rented ours through Vacation Rental By Owner (www.vrbo.com) - a website I had seen in passing while looking for a ski condo this past winter, but never really taken seriously. However, I must say I have been quite impressed with our rental experience thus far. I received a response to my initial inquiry from the owner within the hour, along with with a detailed description of the condo and pricing for our stay. I followed up with a phone call the following night, which resulted in a nice chat about the condo and logistics for our arrival. The owner then sent me a detailed "Arriving in Curacao" packet, with helpful information about All Things Curacao; on par with the advice you'd find in a guidebook, but much more personalized. Needless to say, I am a bit excited for our next adventure! 

Marazul Dive Resort (source: http://www.marazuldiveresort.an/)

In other news, I signed up for my first half marathon - the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon on October 7th! The route follows the capital area greenway along the Potomac River near Washington, DC area,  starting at Mt. Vernon Estates in Virginia, and ending at National Harbor, Maryland. I still need to finalize my training plan, but am thinking I'll need to start training in early July after our vacation to Curacao. Not really looking forward to the 7am (6am?) wake-up calls that will be required to "beat the heat" for my long runs in July & August, but I am looking forward to having a goal to train towards, and to push myself to do something new. Unlike the 5k runs I've done in the past, I know I won't be able to "wing-it" for 13.1 miles, so it sounds like I will be spending quite a bit of my time in late summer running in the shade of Umstead Park. BRING IT!

[Source: http://www.runwashington.com]

Goals vs. Reality

Somehow, it's already May (!!!), and that means that we're already 1/3 of the way through 2012. Hard to believe, but it got me thinking about the goals I set for myself back in January. With summer just around the corner, I've come to the realization that my "free" weekends are going to be few and far between for the next few months. I love being busy, but it's made me realize that in order to accomplish all the things I set out to do at the beginning of the year, I'm really going to have to get moving on making my goals a reality. I'm not sure how many of my friends/acquaintances actually read this thing, but part of the reason I'm putting my goals up here is so you guys can hold me accountable; so please - call me out if I start slacking :). I was going to list all my goals, but apparently I am a little long-winded, so I'll start with my Health & Fitness Goals for now.

Goal #1: Yoga 2x per week (1 paid class/1 free class)

Reality: Yoga 1x per week. As much as I'd like to get more yoga into my schedule, I've realized it's just not possible with my other commitments. AND THAT'S O.K.

Goal #2: Running (>30min) or walking/hiking (>1hour) at least 2x per week.

Reality: I'm walking all the time with my dog, so the walking part of this goal is easily achievable. It's the running part that's tricky. I've been getting 1 run/week in fairly consistently, but realize I really need to get 3 runs in per week to be at my desired fitness level.

Plan for achieving my goal: Designate specific days of the week as "run" days. Participate in weekly "run clubs"; make plans to go running with friends (establish an "acountabilibuddy"); bring run gear with me and change at work so I can't get distracted once I get home.

Goal #3: One bike ride per month (>10 miles).

Reality: I've only been on ONE bike ride this year :(. I love a good road ride, but it requires a big time commitment and plans can easily be thrown off by inclement weather or severely limited by the cold short days of winter. I'm starting to think I might have to tame my ambitions and revise my goal to one bike ride per quarter. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to find time for more biking next year.

Goal #4: Compete in at least one event per quarter (running race, triathlon, etc).

Reality: Does the SPCA K9-3K Dog Walk count? Well, in my book it does :). This goal is as much about the community & fundrasing aspect as it is about the exercise & competition aspect. The SPCA K9-3K was an excellent event, and I was happy to be able to bring together a small team of fellow dog lovers to raise money and awareness for the cause. Go Team Barkley! I do want to do a few more races this year, but I haven't found the next event (if you know of any fun races for a good cause, let me know!). One race I do have my eye on is the Jingle Bell Run/Walk for arthritis in December, which was a great event last year.

Sea of Dog Walkers at the SPCA K9-3k in Raleigh

Goal #5: Train & run a half marathon

Reality: I know this will require some dedicated training, but I still think it is a very achievable goal. Currently researching potential races and investigating training plans. Looking to complete this by Nov. 4th (end of daylight savings) at the latest.

Goal #6: Attend 1 yoga workshop per quarter (attend 1 out of town retreat or other all-day event).

Reality: No workshops attended so far, BUT I have been trying out several new styles of yoga, which has helped to improve my practice and exposed me to a new community of yogis in Raleigh. Thanks to Groupon (or was it Living Social?), I tried out a new downtown yoga studio - Vault Yoga - during the month of February (you can read my Yelp review here), and also attended a few Anusara ("heart opening") Yoga classes with the ever-insightful Lila Rasa Brown at Evolve, which were quite different than the Prana Flow classes I had been frequenting for the past year.

I'm only just now starting to appreciate how different the various styles of yoga really are; I used to think that the only type of yoga worth doing was the really athletic type (generally classified as vinyasa flow), but I have since come to appreciate more thoughtfully paced classes that focus on alignment and/or relaxation. My favorite classes are still the sweaty, fast-paced classes that challenge me with new and exciting arm balances and inversions that seem impossible at first, but become achievable through consistent practice.

Plan for achieving my goal: I have already signed up for a 3-hour workshop at Evolve this month, but I don't think additional local workshops will be a priority for me. I've realized that the main things I want to get from this goal is to (1) increase my involvement in the yoga community (2) expand my yoga practice by refining and improving my technique (3) challenge myself by taking my practice outside my comfort zone.

It is easy to get attached to a particular style of yoga or to become comfortable with a certain teacher/yoga studio. I like this feeling of belonging, and that is a big part of the reason I consistently go to the same studio and attend the same classes. However, through this goal, I want to break out of the routine. To grow. To have a story to tell.

So, I'm really focusing on finding an out-of-town retreat where I can do these things. As much as I'd love to fly off to India or Thailand or someplace über exotic like that, it's just not going to be feasible from a budgetary stand point. I've only done some preliminary research, but I'm intrigued by this option: http://www.yogaville.org/. Apparently Yogaville is a nationally recognized Ashram located near Charlottesville, Virginia. YES, an Ashram; like the one Liz went to in Eat. Pray. Love. Y'all know what I'm talking about. Too hippie? I haven't quite decided yet, but it just might be perfect :).

Goal #7: Get at least 7 hours of sleep each night.

Reality: This goal alludes me like no other. It should be easy! Why am I so challenged by the concept of going to bed before midnight! It's not even like I have insomnia - I fall asleep just fine. There's just so many other fun things to do at night; like catch up on blogging!

Plan for achieving my goal: A schedule. Yes, a very detailed timeline of events that must happen in order for me to get to bed by midnight. Home by 7:30. Dog walk by 8:30. Dinner by 9:30. Limit computer time to 1 hour. Allow some time to "chill" by watching an episode of House Hunters International. Read a little. Despite my best efforts, I am not having the best success sticking to the schedule. But at least I have plan :). Next week for sure.

Vacation Plotting

Lately I've been spending a lot of time plotting out my next vacation. For me, it is an all-consuming process, but I love it. I love researching the options, learning everything I possibly can about a place, finding the best deals, and selecting the perfect combination of location, hotel and flight to make for an unforgettable vacation.

Of course the first step in this process determining where in the world to go, and there are nearly always constraints involved. Time can be a consideration, but in this case I am planning to take a full week off from work (9 days total, including weekend), so plenty of time to go just about anywhere my budget allows. While not set in stone, I am thinking that the week of July 4th would be the optimal time to take this week off, mainly because July 4th falls on a Wednesday this year and I will already have that day off (thereby saving a vacation day). As I mentioned in a previous post, the places that initially topped my list were the Pacific Northwest (Vancouver/Seattle/Portland), and Northern Europe (Sweden, specifically); partly because I have good friends living in each of those locations and partly because those are two regions I have never visited before. However, a quick search on Kayak.com (my favorite flight search engine) reveals that airfare prices to Europe during the summer months are ridiculously expensive, and totally out of my budget. So, Pacific Northwest? 

Then there is the question who you will be traveling with and what their preferences are. While I like to think of myself as a fairly independent person and savvy traveler, I do not enjoy vacationing by myself.  I've done the solo-vacation a couple times before; back in college, before I owned a digital camera (hence no pictures here). Honestly I'm still surprised my parents agreed to let their 19-year-old daughter spend a week in southern Spain and Portugal, and then again as a 22-year-old traveling around Italy for a week. Don't get me wrong - these were both amazing trips! And because I was by myself I got to do exactly what I wanted each and every day. However, traveling alone gets lonely pretty quickly - especially at meal time. Been there. Done that. Conclusion:  I can be flexible about where/when/how to travel if it means I get to travel with people I care about. 

So I suggested the idea of a Vancouver/Seatte/Portland trip to my boyfriend-come-travel companion and got a lukewarm response - he wanted to go someplace TROPICAL. Okay, I get it...the Pacific Northwest isn't the most glamorous spot for a vacation. And we certainly wouldn't be coming home with a suntan. In contrast, the visual images conjured up by the prospect of a beach vacation are certainly tempting: a  piña colada on a white sand beach, gazing onto turquoise blue waters with the sun shining down overhead. But in July? Won't it be hot? What about the hurricanes? 

July is definitely the off-season for the Caribbean, but as I've learned from my research, that doesn't mean it's a bad time to visit. Temperatures are fairly consistent year-round, so it's only a few degrees warmer during the summer. Hurricanes can be a concern, but July is really only the start of the hurricane season, and any that do form this time of year are more likely to affect islands that fall within "the box". The U.S. and British Virgin Islands are inside the box, along with several other  islands in the Lesser Antilles, so those were quickly eliminated from our list of possibilities. The Dominican Republic and The Bahamas were also crossed off the list since I had visited those islands on previous trips. 

Accessibility has turned out to be a major factor in narrowing down our list of posiblities. Many islands in the Caribbean do not have direct flights from the U.S., which often means an extra day of travel (and added expense) to get to those places. If we were traveling on a larger budget, these remote options would be a very intriguing option. Several interesting places such as Tobago, The Grenadines, St. Vincent and Bonaire were eliminated from the list of possibilities for this reason. 

Still up for consideration: Curaçao, Jamaica and Barbados. Each of these destinations would be interesting in their own right. Now it comes down to deciding how much we value a unique adventure (Curaco) over a relaxing all-inclusive (Jamaica), or if possibly Barbados will win out with better flight connections and the promise of good weather. Lots of factors to consider, which hopefully we'll sort out over the next few weeks. The adventurer in me is routing for Curacao. The lazy vacationer in me is routing for Jamaica. The budget traveling in me is telling me to just run the number and pick the cheapest one. But it's not that simple :). Thankfully I have the community of reviewers on TripAdvisor to provide helpful tips and photos on a level of detail I wasn't aware existed (really an amazing resource for planning any trip). And of course my handy library-issue guide books: Frommer's Caribbean 2011 and Fodor's Caribbean 2012 (I couldn't imagine planning a vacation without one!). 

Willemstad - Capital City of Curacao (Source: Wikipedia)

Montego Bay, Jamaica (Source: Wikipedia)

Chirst Church, Barbados (Source: Wikipedia)

My Recent Obsession: IKEA

Or more specifically, making IKEA products look even more awesome than they do in the store. And wouldn't you know it, there is an entire website dedicated to such an obsession: http://www.ikeahackers.net/. OH YES THEY DID. Unless you're planning to spend your next few weekends attempting to complete ridiculously complicated projects, I suggest you resist the urge to click on the aforementioned link. But when it's cold outside, sometimes you just need a nice, solid, time-consuming products to sink your time (& money) into. All in the name of HOME IMPROVEMENT. Such were the circumstances that led to my recent projects.

PROJECT #1 - Modern/Organic Curtains for less than $30 
 DIGNITET Curtain Wire & Clips from IKEA +  6' X 9' Canvas Dropcloth from Lowes, for a total cost of 12.99 (wire system) + 4.99 (clips)  + $10.98 (drop cloth) = $28.96; hard to beat for a complete window treatment.

I wanted a clean, simple window covering that was both modern (clean lines) and organic (good texture, natural pallet). I had been admiring various components of this window treatment since spotting them on Pinterest a few weeks back:

• Clip drapery rings that can turn any piece of fabric into "curtains" (available at Target)
• Using a painter's drop cloth as a curtain:  Shabby Love, one of the many DIY blogs I attempt to emulate, has a great  Drop Cloth Shower Curtain Tutorial. 
• Not implemented here, but my original plan was to paint on a yellow chevron pattern, as shown by Kristen F. Davis Designs in her Chevron Curtain DIY post. Although I still love the idea (and already purchased the paint!), I determined that it just didn't fit with the existing design elements in this space.

PROJECT #2 - Sleek, Modern, All-wood bed frame for less than $100
Full/Double FJELLSE Bed Frame ($49.99) & SULTAN LADE wood slats ($30.00) from IKEA + Minwax Walnut Stain from Lowes ($15.77) = $95.76.

I wanted to upgrade my simple metal bed frame to something a little less squeaky (the dang thing squeaked every time I sat down or turned over). My first thought was, "I'll just build a bed!" (how much harder could it be than building a dog bed?). So after a few hours of furious Google searching, the best thing I found was Ana White's step-by-step plan for a "Much More than a Chunky Leg Bed Frame", which really does look fabulous. But one wonders:( 1) how long will it actually take; (2) what is the likelihood that I will screw this up and;  (3) will I actually save money? For me, the answers were: (1) probably much longer than I think; (2) "high"and; (3) probably not much. 

So, I turned to IKEA, which happily offers this cheap, unfinished, all-wood options for the eager do-it-yourselfer (yay, me!). Further inspired by brilliant do-it-yourselfers such as Manhattan Nest's glorious FJELLSE hack: A Whole Mess of Staples, I was ready to turn this simple bed into the bed frame of my dreams. All I needed was a little wood stain....

So after sifting through lots of wood & screws...

And spending an entire weekend attempting to successfully stain a bunch of pine wood (mind you, I live in an apartment, don't have any power tools (e.g., a sander would have been nice!), and it was the middle of February when I attempted this project (i.e., stain does not dry quickly when it is below freezing outside), the finished project finally emerged about four days later than my original estimates:

A few disclaimers:

• Shipping cost to have the frame/slats sent to my house =$20. Less than the gas I would've spent to get  to the store + reduced stress from worrying whether or not it would fit in my car + 4-5 day 'instant' gratification arriving at my door step = worth it, for me.
• Staining a piece of furniture is NOT - *definitively not* - a piece of cake. Actually it is pretty difficult, time consuming and easy to screw up. If you ever hear me talk about doing such a thing in the future, please remind me that it is a BAD IDEA. Alternatively, I suggest getting yourself a nice can of spray paint (in whatever color suits your fancy) and you will save yourself a pile of trouble & time. Slap a layer of polyurethane on top, and you won't even be able to tell it's spray paint! 
• Resist the temptation to put together the various wood pieces until AFTER the staining/painting/spraying phase has been completed. Otherwise, you will inevitably be faced with a bunch of hard to fill-in nooks and crannies (I speak from experiences, as someone who put together both the headboard and footboard before being forced to undo my steps) 
• Consider your choice of slats carefully. I simply bought the cheapest option on offer, which I probably wouldn't have done if I had it to do over. Don't get me wrong, the SULTAN LADE slats are perfectly adequate. A lot of people talk about having issues with the slats falling through, but this hasn't been an issue for me at all (side note: this related video is hilarious!). My issue had to do with the level of firmness afforded by solid wood bed slats, which was a little too firm for my taste. After sleeping on the slats for a week, it isn't soo bad (with the help of a memory foam mattress cover), but I would suggest paying a little more to get the more flexible  SULTAN LURÖY ($50 for Full/Double) or the even more luxurious SULTAN LAXEBY ($120 for Full/Double).

Small Town Arkansas

Over the holidays, I spent five days in Arkansas visiting friends and family; exploring all my old haunts and checking out everything that has changed since my last visit. Each time I visit, I am struck by how "small-town" the place feels; it's the sort of perspective that only really comes from being away for a while. By Arkansas standards, Fayetteville is actually a decent-sized city (as of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 73,580 - the 3rd largest in Arkansas), and when you consider the Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area as a whole, the population exceeds 450,00. Despite these statistics, I run into someone I know just about everywhere I go; every other business is owned by a friend, acquaintance, or someone otherwise connected to a friend or family member; everywhere I need to go is less than a 10 minute drive away. You know, Small Town.

But I love it. I love going home to Arkansas, because it is so different than life on the East Coast. I wanted to share a few of the places I visited and the Arkansas-isms I encountered along the way. 

Tokyo Sushi , which apparently has no website (WTF), has been reviewed on a couple predictable sites:

Urban Spoon, Yelp and one less predictable site: Now That's Cookin ,an Arkansas food blog. Apparently this is my Mom's favorite sushi restaurant, so I was mildly shocked when she fought the temptation to introduce my brother and I to the owner (common occurrence on past restaurant visits). We had a small crisis with the parking situation here. In 2010, the city started charging for on-street parking downtown, charging a whopping $0.50 per hour during the day, a whole dollar per hour at night. Local residents are outraged. The rates seem pretty reasonable to me; especially if it means being able to park directly in front of the restaurant. Anyways, we parked. And were promptly greeted by our friendly waiter who offered us FREE edamame, FREE salad and FREE miso soup, which is apparently their "special" every day. Not bad. Sure made up for that $0.50 we had to pay for parking. And the sushi was delicious too!

Mount Sequoyah, a small hill (mountain?) overlooking the historical area of town. Home to the Mount Seqoyah Retreat & Conference Center, along with many beautiful hillside homes with georgous views, it is also the starting point of a series of little-known trails ("The Mt. Sequoyah Woods") that criss-cross their way along the east side of the mountain. Perhaps much of the reason for the trail's anonymity is that their development is recent; according to fayettevillehistory.com and historicwashingtoncounty.org, nearly 70 acres on the east side of the mountain were bought back by The City of Fayetteville and The Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association in 2003 with the purpose of protecting the area from future development and to make it accessible for everyone the community to enjoy. My family has made it a tradition to do a hike here on Chrismas Day the past few years - it's a beautiful, rugged area not more than a 3 miles from downtown, but you would never guess it while on the trail. 

Fayettechill (TM), the new hotness for the sorority/fraternity-type at the University of Arakansas. This is an impressive entrepreneurial effort by a recent U of A grad that appears to be pretty successful. Somehow this guy has convinced all the local outdoor stores to carry his clothing line, with great product placement to boot.  Fayettechill is a catchy brand name, and the founder certainly seems to have some business savy, but he's just selling T-shirts. Is that really sustainable? Seems like it would be tough, but another home-grown retailer has been at it for the past 20 years: Houndstooth Clothing Company. Maybe I should sell T-shirts.

Arsaga's Espresso Cafe  - With 5 locations in Fayetteville, it has been the coffee shop of choice for  Fayettevillians over the past 20 years. Each location has it's own personality, but all have great coffee, friendly service, and a fun artsy vibe created by uniquely designed spaces.  The cafe's success and loyalty of their customers may be part of  the reason that Starbucks didn't enter the local market until 2006. TWO THOUSAND AND SIX! And you thought Starbucks was taking over the world. Not in Fayetteville. To date, Starbucks only has 2 locations in town.

Shine Salon - Owned and operated by a spunky woman named Sunshine, this salon embodies all that I love about Fayetteville. I mean, where else can you find a stylist named Sunshine? The decor is simple and bright, with a funky antique couch and mid-century coffee table rounding off the waiting area. Sunshine is always friendly and talkative, but also refreshingly honest with her cynical comments and witty banter that she offers up to even her newest client. Every time I've been there I gain some kind of helpful info; last time I got a private viewing of the latest  Beyoncé  video and advice on what cell phone to buy! Now that's service.

New Year's Resolutions: A look back at 2011

Happy 2012, folks!

Thanks to all of my loyal blog readers (there seem to be about 8 of you out there) -- really, thanks for reading! And those of you who have stumbled upon these pages via a Google search, I appreciate you stopping by. If this is your first time stopping by, I hope my ramblings don't bore you too much and you'll come back for more. BTW, I highly recommend signing up for the e-mail updates (see right side bar for more info).

As we move into a new year, I wanted to take a minute to revisit my goals for 2011. You can call them resolutions if you wish, but I prefer to think of them as goals - not so much something I hope to change about myself in the coming year, but rather milestones I hope to achieve. This was the first year that I actually wrote down (well, more like typed up) my goals and revisited them periodically throughout the year to check my progress. Many of these goals are simply guidelines by which I strive to live my life - habits I hope to adopt that haven't (or had not) yet become habits. Throughout the rush of daily life, I found it helpful to keep these simple goals in mind, to keep a focus on what really mattered.

I categorized my goals into different pockets of life that I wanted to develop more fully. Each being important and in no particular order, below are a few of my goals for 2011:

Health/ Fitness

• Yoga 2x per week (1 paid class/1 free class) - This goal was met more weeks than not. During the summer months, yoga took a backseat to being outdoors, but I made it to no less than 1 yoga class each week. Love my studio, Evolve Movement, and my wonderfully caring teachers there - definitely recommend giving it a try! Also, props to Lululemon, who recently opened up a new store in North Hills, offering FREE classes every Sunday morning. I'm a huge fan of Lululemon products (especially when they "make too much") - if you haven't checked them out, you need to go to their website today (and no, I'm not getting paid to write that!)

• Running (>30min) or walking/hiking (>1hour) at least 2x per week. - During the summer months, I exceeded this goal nearly every week, walking >1 each week and running 1-2 times per week. However, I've been lagging during the winter months; with fewer hours of daylight and less welcoming weather, my nightly dog walks are often shortened to 30 minutes. I still think this is a very achievable goal, and I'll continue to set this goal for myself in the coming year. I've realized that it is essential to take advantage of my weekends and get outside for at least an hour each day (whether it be running, hiking or walking - usually at Umstead Park, The American Tobacco Trail, North Carolina Museum of Art Park or Harris Lake County Park).  I also want to get my day started earlier (at work closer to 8am instead of 9am) so I can get home early enough for a long walk and still have dinner at a reasonable hour.

• Train for event(s) - This was one of my goals that I shared with a friend earlier this year, and I am grateful that she took the initiative to suggest we run a local 5k race together - The Jingle Bell Walk/Run 5K for Arthritis, which was held December 3rd. Thanks to Kathryn for suggesting this great event, Kevin for running with me, and all my friends and family who donated to the cause! Having an event to train for really helped to keep me on track for my running goal also. I really enjoyed this event and plan to set a goal of training for one event per quarter in 2012. Maybe a triathlon in there somewhere? 

• Get at least 7 hours of sleep each night - This is a tough one for me because I always get a second wind about 10:00pm each night and decide that it is the perfect time to get a million things accomplished. Not good for getting up early and doing all the things stated above. Must learn to *wind down* at 10:00pm instead of getting wound up.

Create - Design - Imagine

• Spend >4 hours per week indulging my creative side. Painting/ making collages/ writing for the sake of writing/ cooking new recipes. - This blog has gone a long way in helping to accomplish this goal, and for that I am thankful. I've also been quite crafty this year in doing home decorating projects. A few photo highlights are provided below, including a hand-crafted doggie bed, refurbishing a couple chairs from thrift stores, and building shelves! I'm also appreciative to the wonderful invention of Pinterest, which provides for hours of creative indulgence. I am happy to say that indulging my creative side has become a habit, and I'll continue to set aside time for this in 2012. 

Homemade Dog Bed

Refurbished Chair - $10 at Thrift Store

• Read one “fun” (travel) book per quarter. - Admittedly (and somewhat shamefully) I've struggled with this goal. I blame it partly on my book selection, partly on my inability to get to bed before 10:00pm, and partly on not making reading for fun a priority. This will be on my goal list again in 2012.  However, thanks to a resurgence of reading in the 4th quarter, I have read 3.5 books for fun in 2011:
• Googled: The End of the World As We Know It, by Ken Auletta - an interesting work of non-fiction,which chronicles Google's evolution over the past 15 years and their impact on the technology industry and Life As We Know It. Critical reading for anyone hoping to understand how Google is changing the world, but I could have done without the last 150 pages, which seemed to drag on a bit. 
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, by John Berendt - Arguably the most famous book about life in Savannah Georgia (and surprisingly a non-fiction work). I picked up this book to read at the beach during our Memorial Day trip to the low country of Hilton Head and didn't finish it until the day after Christmas. Not that it wasn't a good book, but at no point did I get "hooked" on the story line. I appreciated it more for it's references to Savannah history and architecture, especially after making a trip there last February and seeing many of the sights referenced in the book. 
• The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance: A Memoir, by Elna Baker - Recommended to me by a co-worker after a lunchtime discussion about dating as a Mormon, this book kept my attention more than any I had read in a while. As the reviews suggest, it is truly a mix of Sex and the City wit and Eat Pray Love soul searching. This was a book that I stayed up way too late reading and finished in less than a week. 
• The Help, by Kathryn Stockett (in progress) -  Recommended to me by Amazon.com and everyone else I know, it's easy to see why this is the book everyone seemed to be reading on the airplane this holiday season. 

Entrepreneurship

• Start a blog - Check!  Happily blogging since May 2011.

• Sell products online (become more adept at using ebay) - Somehow this fell off the list of priorities. Need to focus on this in 2012. Plan to setup an e-bay account, maybe read some library books about selling online, and try to start by sellling some things I would otherwise give away.

• (Long Term): Maintain a base income ($1000/month) through involvement in business activities unrelated to my primary employment. (consulting, investing, blogging, etc). - Still a long term goal, and I feel like this blog is a start, but still pretty far off from making money. In 2012 I hope to investigate waysto publicize my blog more, bring in more traffic and organize blogging topics to make it more reader friendly.

Travel

• Get out of town at least once per month. This is for my own sanity, really. I've got Wanderlust in the blood, and if I don't get out of town once a month, I pretty much go crazy. Here is a summary of places I've visited this year:

• January - Chile! See all previous blog post :)
• February - Snowshoe, WV & Savannah, GA
• March - Jacksonville, FL
• April - Fayetteville, AR
• May - Hilton Head, SC
• June - Pilot Mountain, NC
• July - Hanging Rock, NC & Fontana Village, NC
• August - Charlottesville, VA
• September - Fayetteville, AR
• October - Austin, TX
• November - Charlottesville, VA & Washington, DC
• December - Fayetteville, AR & Washington, DC

Hoping that 2012 will allow for more opportunities to get out of town! So far, things are looking up with a trip planned to Colorado at the end of this month! 

• Take a trip to a place I’ve never been before (1 week vacation this summer) - I stayed local with my travel this past summer, spending a week at the beach with family in Hilton Head, SC and a 4-day weekend with my boyfriend's family in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. Both were places I hadn't been before, although neither was particularly exotic. Sometimes it's nice to explore the beauty close to home, and the remoteness of Fontana Village gave the impression of being in a different time and place even though we were only a few hours drive from home. In 2012, I hope to make a trip to the West Coast (Portland, OR/ Vancouver, BC) or possibly Northern Europe (Sweden) to visit old friends and see a part of the world that I haven't experienced before. 

• Make a point to visit/spend time with Mom & Dad at least every 3 months - Happy to say I saw my parents in January, April, May, June, August, September November, and December this year. Not bad :). Hope to have multiple opportunities to see them so often in 2012.

• Visit friends living in places I haven't visited before. - This year I made trips to see two of my best friends who live in Florida and Texas, respectively. I always enjoy visiting friends who have moved to new places - not only is it great to have a free place to stay, but it really is wonderful to meet all the people in their lives and come to know their daily surroundings - it makes phone conversations so much more meaningful when you can picture the person on the other line pacing around their kitchen or lounging on their couch as you do the same in your own home. 

• NEW FOR 2012: Vegas, baby! - Who's with me?

Home/ Auto

• Purchase new couch by April 2011- Check! Possibly the best purchase I made all year :)

New Couch!

• Continue to invest in items that make my home more comfortable and more “lived in” - This is more of an addiction than a goal these days, so I guess I've successfully made a habit of it! I could say that I'm "done", but I won't. Only that I could probably do to "diversify my investments" a bit :).

• Focus on upgrades for bedroom - Found a  nice desk on Amazon.com, paired nicely with the refurbished chair from the thrift store, added some nice bedding/pillows, topped it off with a matching pair of framed prints I found at the thrift store. voilà! I think I'm done with this project for now.

• Invest in recommended car  maintenance - performed recommended maintenance on my VW Golf until I sold the 10-year-old car in October in favor of a 2011 Mazda 3s, my new pride and joy. Looking forward to regular preventive maintenance instead of anticipating a potential major repair cost (although I loved my Golf, it was time to let it go). 

Zoom-Zoom, my Mazda 3s

Educational

• Spend time each morning reviewing online news articles - I try to peruse any news article that is sent my way. I tend to get 5-10 links/day sent to me via the e-mail list at work, a few more via my Facebook news feed, and daily update e-mails from the Triangle Business Journal (free, with great local news updates, but a little gimmicky). It may not be the most balanced way to get news, but I find I'm usually fairly well informed of all the top stories affecting my industry, region and demographic. I could do to check actual news sites more often - something to focus on in 2012!

• Use Sunday afternoons as a time to catch up on The Economist (read at least 3 articles out of each issue) - I'd say I have about a 50/50 success rate for this one. Some weeks I'll read more than 3 articles, sometimes none. I've found that this is a good thing for me to do during basketball/football games; even though I enjoy sports, I tend to get a little bored if I don't have something else to distract me.

• Research other interest/goals on a more detailed level by utilizing library books - I've done a lot of researching through my blogging activities, and tend to be naturally curious for details/facts about whatever I am working on at the time. However, books do offer a certain level of thoroughness that isn't available through a quick Google search. Need to focus more on this goal in 2012.

•  (Long Term): Become a certified yoga instructor - Still on my list :)

Pablo Neruda's La Chascona & Other Lovely Finds in Bellavista

January 8, 2011 (part II)

Arriving into the neighborhood of Bellavista, we soon encountered a large outdoor craft market selling various Chilean-made art & craft-type items. We browsed the shops before gravitating toward one of the more unique stands selling knitted items: sweaters, vest, neck warms; each designed with a very particular Chilean Style in hip, interesting colors. This definitely wasn't your cooking-cutter souvenir stand; we happily picked up a few items for ourselves and few more to give as gifts.

We didn't get to wonder around the craft market too long (probably a good thing for budget purposes ;), asit was nearing the time of our schedule tour at  La Chascona, Pablo Neruda's house in Santiago), which we easily found tucked away on a side street of Bellavista. We browsed the gift shop and cooled off with some iced tea in the on-site cafe The weather was was much warmer today, necessitating a bit of cooling down after our longish trek from Providencia to Bellavista.

Now, I must admit that this is where my real-time journaling from our trip to Chile ends. Upon returning to "real life" back in the States and the demands of full-time job, I quickly lost motivation to write down a play-by-play report of what occurred during our remaining hours in Chile. But I will try to reflect on the experience a bit here.

La Chascona

And perhaps it will help that this wasn't my first visit to La Chascona. No, I also visited Neruda's Bellavista home way back in 2003; back in the days before I was using a digital camera;  before Facebook had been invented; before many of the modern conveniences that we enjoy in 2011. I have pictures of this visit somewhere....tucked away in an old photo album I'm sure; certainly not available in electronic format. My visit to La Chascona occurred early in my 2003 study abroad experience, at a time when my knowledge of Chile was much more limited than in is today and my appreciation for the eccentric poet non-existent (Pablo who?). So I was thankful to have a second opportunity to visit La Chascona with the added benefit of having studied Chilean culture and Neruda's poetry in greater depth.

As Eóin's Epic Travel Blog describes, "La Chascona was actually built and named after Neruda’s third wife, Matilde Urrutia, although at the time it was built he was still married to his second wife and Matilde was a secret…Anyway, his house is just as bizarre and quirky as the man himself. It’s decked out, like all his houses, to look and feel like a ship. Curved ceilings, ship furniture, water running past the window, narrow rooms and lots of rum. You should read a little bit about his life, a life he seemed to spend constantly lying and covering things up. I suppose the title of his last book pretty much sums up his days; ‘I Confess that I have Lived’."

I particulary enjoyed Irene Gimeno Espasa's take on the life of Neruda in her post, I CONFESS THAT I HAVE LIVED: THE LIFE OF PABLO NERUDA, SOUTH AMERICA’S FINEST POET: "Chilean poet Pablo Neruda had one of those existences that do justice to life. He got a taste of happiness and love, of justice and heroism, as well as bitterness, sadness and exile."

After the tour of La Chascona, we decided to go for quick happy hour drink before it was time to head back to the hotel and prepare for my flight back to North America, cold weather and short days of little sunshine. As we enjoyed our tasty beers among the tree-lined streets of Bellavisita, Santiago summer seemed to be in full swing; groups of friends filled the cafes and street-side tables for several blocks in either direction. A warm breeze blew through the air. I could have stayed another week. Or two. 

Enjoying a beer in Bellavista

But it was time to head to the airport, which was jam-packed full of other international tourist, most of whom were destined for the same fate as myself. A fate that included a 8 + hour plane ride, followed by a not-so-pleasant experience of clearing customs at 5am, followed by many hours in the Miami airport. All ending with the realization that it is wintertime where I live. And it gets dark at 5pm. And there are no leaves on the trees. And its cold. 

Which is why it is so important to be thankful for those blazing hot days we had this past summer. 

And that is the end of my Chilean Adventure of January 2011. Now on to other blogging topics...