My Little Blue Kayak Blog – Page 21

Best Commute Ever!

I used to commute in Boston traffic, yes BOSTON traffic. I bought a house 17 miles from my work and my commute was over 1.5 hours each way. There is nothing more frustrating than crawling, mile after mile attempting to get somewhere you don’t even want to be. Every morning I would look for the road sign that would let me know how many minutes the drive to reach the tunnel would take. On a good day it would say 8 minutes. On a bad day it wouldn’t bother to give the number of minutes, it would say traffic starting at exit… This sign would often dictate what kind of day I was about to experience.

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I Quit!

How many hours a week do you spend working at a full-time job? What if you include your travel time, your lunch hour, the extra time spent to look professional, the time it takes to de-stress after work? That 40-hour work week is starting to use up 60 hours of your week.

What do you earn per hour? What if you subtract the cost of your travel to and from work, what you spend on eating out for lunch, coffee, snacks, what you spend escaping from thinking about work? What if you subtract what Uncle Sam takes? That $25 per hour is starting to look like $14.

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The Sting of Loss

Last week, my honey and went for a bike ride on one of our favorite trails. It was a beautiful day for a ride and we packed our helmets, a pump, snacks, water and bike gloves. We planned on doing 15 miles or so and then grab lunch at an Italian Restaurant nearby. This place has garlic knots to die for! Unfortunately we never made it to the restaurant and I am still craving those garlic knots.

A few miles into the ride I heard her quietly say “ouch” and when I asked what was wrong she said she had been stung by something. My initial thought was “oh, no big deal it is just a bee sting.” Then a large glaring light bulb, that looked more like a spotlight the size of Texas went off in my head. My honey is allergic to bee stings.

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A Storm is Coming!

Have you ever witnessed a Lake Storm?

As you know, I am a Lake Girl! I love the lake. I love the quiet, the solitude, nature at its finest. On a beautiful, calm day at the cottage, I am outside from dawn to dusk. I love to dip my feet in the water while kayaking, to drink my tea while waiting for the sunrise. I lay in the sun and jump in the water whenever I get hot. I keep busy by raking leaves, cleaning out the boathouse, and sweeping the decks.

On days like these, I can be out in a kayak or swimming and not even see a ripple to break the surface of the lake. When the lake is calm, you can look down and see the rocks, logs, and fish swimming below. The water looks almost turquoise. The skies overhead are an amazing blue and the sun is streaming down with a handful of clouds providing brief moments of shade. I love days like these. There is nothing to break the relaxation, the quiet, the gentleness of the day.

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Go Out and Play!

When I was a kid, school was not really my thing. I went, I did the work but it never came easy to me. My favorite class was gym where I could at least blow off some steam by running around and getting some much-needed exercise. Sitting still is hard for me! I spent the day thinking about what I would do when I got home from school.

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Please Get Away

There is something to be said for getting away!

One of my goals for 2016 was to go on a bike trip with my honey. The purpose was to spend a few days getting away from home, doing something we both enjoy. Glad to report this goal has been met and thoroughly enjoyed.

I found us a rustic cabin in Pennsylvania that had Pine Creek in front of it and a bike trail behind it.

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Our Family Bond

There is something special about FAMILY.

I spent 25 years living away from my family. Not because I wanted to be away, it just kind of happened. I moved to Boston at the age of 22 with 3 close friends from college. My plan was to stay for 1 year and then do something different. I had an amazing year and I found a job I liked, friends I loved and important relationships along the way.

Then I blinked and it was no longer 1988 but 2013 and I wasn’t 22 I was 47! How does that happen?

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Why Procrastinate Joy?

I have never thought of myself as a procrastinator. I am the type of person who likes to get things done and get them done on time, if not early. I don’t like the feeling of being late or letting someone down because I didn’t do my part. In college one of my best friends was a procrastinator. She would have a 10 page paper to write and start her paper at 10PM the night before it was due. Her boyfriend and I would stress out for her! I don’t know if she did her best work under pressure or really didn’t want to do it in the first place. But she simply couldn’t prioritize finishing her work before the final whistle was about to blow.

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No Willpower Needed

When people talk about diet and exercise the conversation often turns to willpower. Willpower as a reason for success and the lack of willpower for failure. I am no expert but I don’t think anyone has enough willpower to resist eating the things they love or to force themselves to engage in activities they hate with any regularity (at least not without turning into a raving lunatic).

Personally, no amount of willpower will get me to go running with you and no amount of willpower will get me to skip a piece of my sisters chocolate peanut butter pie. I mean – seriously???

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Is a Tiny House for Me?

Living Large in a Tiny House

From my perspective, tiny houses are all the rage. I see them posted all over the internet, Netflix, Facebook. Why are people (including myself) so fascinated with a house that is smaller than many sheds? I read different measurements that would qualify a house as tiny. Some say under 300 square feet, others say under 150 square feet. Regardless of the actual size, I have seen some beautiful, tiny homes that I just want to reach out and hug!

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