A Look Back at 2011: Our Year in Review

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy New Year 2012!

The prospect of a new year brings hope, adventure and trepidation on the unknown; the possibilities of great things to come, new challenges to overcome, and the promise of personal growth.

During medieval times, farmers and their families would go out into a pasture and place a flat cake on a cow's head. They would then dance and sing around the cow until it was agitated enough to throw the cake to the ground. If the cake fell in front of the cow it meant good luck in the coming year. If it fell behind the cow, the farmer could expect doom and poor luck. Another old New Year tradition calls for making sure the cupboards in ones house are full as the new year rolls in, lest they remain bare all year long.

There is yet another old custom which says the first person to enter the home after the new year begins is believed to hold special significance in the life of the household. This tradition is known as first footing. The best luck and prosperity comes to a household if the person is tall, dark-haired and arrives with gifts of coal, silver, bread salt or evergreen.

As we say so long to 2011, we thought we would take a look back at the year and count our many blessing the year brought to us. You are invited to come along with us for our year in review.

January
Our family was truly blessed this month when we grew by two feet. On January 28, Erin married Renai Rodriguez. We couldn't be happier to have such a fantastic edition to our family. Erin and Renai shared their special day in Mesa, Arizona with many friends and family who traveled great distances to celebrate the occasion with them. We had a great time dancing the night away and feeling the love. Lynette and Scott also celebrated their 20th anniversary.

February
February is the shortest month of the year but it was not short on good fortune. On Feb. 4th Erin and Renai returned safely to South Korea for their second year of teaching. It was hard to let them go, but it was exciting to know they were returning to begin their new lives together. Erin and Tressa celebrated their birthdays on the 11th. In mid-February, Scott and Lynette began their scuba diving training. What a rush to be able to breathe under water!

March
March brought many new changes for our family. For starters, after 40 years of dependency, Scott quit smoking! It was a very long month for him, but he was triumphantly successful after many previous attempts. In the process, Scott gained a new found appreciation for chewing gum and a five-gallon tubs of Utz cheese balls, which helped to take the edge off the really, ummm, difficult times. Our scuba lessons continued, and we gained new confidence learning to remove our masks underwater and feeling what it was like to be 30 meters down and lose our oxygen supply. That’s when you are truly thankful to have your best friend for a scuba buddy! Oh yeah, we also decided to sell our house. (The last home improvement projects were finished and we were starting to get really bored, just as you have come to expect from us!) We listed it, and the ‘for sale’ sign went up in the front yard.

April
April flew by really fast. Scott and Lynette officially became certified scuba divers after successfully completing their final scuba test. Our Scottsdale house was officially listed for sale, which meant constant cleaning, client showings and looking for new digs. Tressa started the application process for the University of Texas-Austin and Erin and Renai began making the final arrangements for their eagerly awaited honeymoon. Jax, our incredibly entertaining schnauzer, turned six.

May
Along with warmer weather and Spring flowers, May brought our first and second offers on our house. But alas, they were not meant to be. Oh well, as it turned out, we had a change of course. Rather than staying in Arizona and purchase a new home there, we decided we needed some well-deserved adventure.(Can you say wanderlust?) Scott’s job with the Veteran’s Administration was allowing him to be in “virtual” status, meaning, although his duty station was in Austin, Texas he could live elsewhere and work from home—officially. My job, writing for a web site, was also a work-at-home position, so we decided to pick up stakes and ‘live the dream’—but where? In May, Tressa put the finishing touches on her college admissions essay. Erin and Renai discovered some new joys of teaching. Without much deserved fanfare, Rishi, our dainty and demanding diva Shih Tzu, turned five.

June
This month, we experienced our first alligators in the wild (or on city streets devouring living creatures the middle of intersections,) comb white sandy beaches and eat amazing fish and clams at the “Moon Under Water.” It was all made possible when by Scott doing work-related training in the Tampa area, and Lynette tagged along so he wouldn’t get lonely. We had a remarkable time exploring St. Petersburg, Tampa and the surrounding areas. The beaches in the Clearwater area are remarkable: Bath temperature water, sand like talcum powder, and more seashells per square inch than we’ve ever seen. Just before boarding our flight home, our realtor called us at the airport and announced we had an offer: THE offer. We took it!

July
After briefly flirting with a move to Miami Beach, Scott and Lynette decided to make San Diego their next home. After all, it was one of our favorite spots on Earth. We made a whirlwind weekend trip to get our proverbial ducks in row: line up an apartment, kick the sand at the beach and eat fish on the pier with Jax and Rishi. Mission accomplished on all accounts! On July 30th, escrow papers were signed and the U-haul truck was loaded, so we decided to drive off in the sunset—literally. Our two decade-long dream to live near the beach was finally becoming reality. Tressa had also found out she was accepted to the University of Texas at Austin, and would start in the fall.

August
It may be the‘dog days of summer’, but August turned out to be a BIG month for our family. Just as we started to settle into our new digs, Erin and Renai took off on their month-long Northern African/Middle Eastern Honeymoon. The highlights were swimming in the Dead Sea, Living with Bedouin tribesmen in Wadi Rum where they rode camels across the desert, “snowboarded” down sand dunes and drank from Lawrence of Arabia’s spring. They dodged mobs in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, toured pyramids and paid homage to mummy kings and fallen Roman soldiers. They visited the ancient hidden city of Petra, the Temple of Hercules, Jesus’ baptism site and picnicked in the park on local fare for Ramadan. In Istanbul, they picked figs from roadside trees, shopped the street markets and oohed and awed at Hagia Sofia. Meanwhile, back in the states, Tressa received her UT-Austin acceptance letter and enrolled for classes and Scott and Lynette continued our exploration of San Diego, often with dogs in tow. Scott celebrated his birthday by eating fresh fish on the pier (our favorite spot) and Renai celebrated her birthday in a far-away land.

September
A promise is a promise! Being true to our word, we traveled 16 hours to Seoul with our knees firmly tucked under our chins to visit Erin and Renai on “their turf”. It was a fantastic experience and they were perfect hosts. The highlights were, of course, spending time with them touring the city/countryside. We visited the World Famous Kimchi Museum, Olympic Village/Seoul Museum of Modern Art, a Buddhist Temple, Seoul’s highest point where lovers hang personal locks in a gesture of unity, the Emperor’s Palace and we rub noses with the North Korean soldiers at the DMZ. We shopped street markets, ate like Koreans and visited a Dog Café, a curious spot where 36 canine hosts amused paying guests with their robust and spirited antics.

During the trip, Scott fell in love with Holly’s, a local tea and coffee shop that served delicious pastries (which he still longs for to this day) and we laughed until we cried at Dr. Fish, a café/bookstore/ fish spa. That’s where hoards of small to medium-size albino fish mercilessly attack your feet to rid any dead skin that might (inevitably) exists. Think pedicure by ichthyoid! At first, it was unsettling, even alarming to have dozens fish at once attacking every inch of our feet—including between our toes. I think the loud ruckus from the shock of it all was equally alarming the other patrons trying to enjoy the solitude the bookstore offered. I say this because the otherwise soothing, softly playing background music went up several decibels to cover up the “loud Americans.” It was awesome! Lynette celebrated her birthday with a Lotte Milkis mustache. YUM!

October
Scott and Lynette spent most of the month house shopping.After 16 moves in the last 20 years, the thrill of the hunt was there, but the size of the thrill is greatly dependent on the size of your budget.After 67 houses and two failed offers, we finally went to escrow. We looked at houses from North to South, East to West, not a region of San Diego County was left unturned. And where did we find “the one”? Right next door to the apartment building we were living in. Go figure! At least it’s an “easy” move. October is of course, Halloween, one of our family’s favorite times of year. This year we celebrated the occasion with a Doggie Costume Contest at Seaport Village in San Diego. Jax was a K-9 Cop, complete with “CHiP” sunglasses and working handcuffs. Rishi was a ‘haute pink’ diva witch. Erin and Renai handmade their very creative costumes again this year, and earned rave results for their costume party river cruise; In ghoulish fashion, Tressa put a spell on Austin. We also celebrated another auspicious event: Renai tossed her glasses forever after undergoing Lasix.

November
It was just a typical monthbut one for which we are reminded of our blessings.

Erin, who officially clenched his online troll status this month, is grateful for his iPad2 and the super-fast Korean Internet, and REAL cheese which he has gained a new appreciation for since moving to Asia.

Renai is thankful for the friendly dog that gleefully followed her around the Buddhist Temple during a school-sanctioned day hike because it reminded her of home and earned her top status among her Korean colleagues.

Scott is thankful for Siri, his new personal assistant and “girlfriend” (currently only available on the iPhone 4S), who hangs on his every word, does what he tells her to do, and almost never questions him except to make sure he get just what he want.

Tressa is thankful for Ivan the Terrible, (her cat minion), and for large amounts of caffeine--the key to her successful first semester at UT.

Lynette gives thanks for soft fleece and well-fitted flip flops because being comfortable is the ultimate life achievement.

Jax is grateful for wet romps on the beach, where he can unleash his inner animal.

Rishi gives thanks for chewy morning treats, belly rubs and her favorite squeaky toy that allows her to effectively communicate her specific demands, of which, there are many.

And of course, we all give thanks for our precious family and friends.

December
The month got off with a bang.Scott and Lynette spent the first week of the month in Hawaii where they ate their way across Oahu and basked in 80-degree temps. The highlights were snorkeling with Sea Turtles and other marine life at the Hon… Marine Life Preserve and paying tribute at the 70th anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor. It was an interesting experience to hob knob with some Pearl Harbor survivors, some of which clearly remembered the ship that Lynette’s dad was stationed on during the attack: USS Sumner. As a side note, anyone interested in reading the official action records of the Sumner response during the attack, click the link.

While in Hawaii, Scott gained a new appreciation for fresh mangoes, guava-macadamia nut pancakes and island-produced dark chocolate while Lynette made friends with a few sea turtles, a couple of mongoose and several locals.

When we got back to California it was time to close on the house. It turned out to be a hurry-up-and-wait situation, but we finally closed four days after our scheduled closing, which completely threw our well-intentioned plans into a tailspin. We didn't get everything accomplished as we had intended, but we got enough done to stay on schedule and move into our new digs four days before Christmas.

Since we lived next door, we decided rather than have to pack and unpack some of the more breakable items, that we would just walk them next door. Scott discovered an abandoned shopping cart outside the apartment, so we decided wheeling the items would be easier. Lynette's goal was to have the kitchen set up before the movers came with the rest of the stuff. Needless to say, we discovered firsthand what it was to be an "invisible person." We must have looked "homeless" wheeling all our belongings in the shopping cart down the city sidewalk (duh!), because the reaction from people we passed said it all. People went out of their way not to pass us. They would look the other way, look down at their feet, or cross the street.

One morning at 5 a.m., I decided to take a load over to the new house in the shopping cart. When Lynette came rolling up with the shopping cart to the garage door, the new neighbor was just getting ready to get in his car to go to work, so Lynette said hello to him. He jumped into the car as fast as he could and slammed the car door. We are pretty sure he was thinking, "well there goes the neighborhood." We're sure that was not the best first impression, but we are still chuckling about it.

Just before Christmas, Tressa came for a visit. We had a great time going on a whale watch (we even seen a newborn (one hour old) baby gray whale. It was very fun. We spent a quite Christmas this year, no tree or fanfare, just a quite and relaxing walk at the beach, and Tressa made a terrific Christmas dinner. Later that week, we had Scott's mom visit us for a few days. We were very happy to have her visit us. There are still boxes to be unpacked and organized, but we have plenty of time to get that done in the upcoming weeks.

We hope your new year will be happy and prosperous. Happy 2012!