Lisa, Larry & Ben

Thought I would introduce you to the Anderson Family, since you will soon be seeing many photos of them on this blog. They left California last December and are waiting for us in to join them in Mexico. Their son Ben is one year older then Jack. It will be nice to have another family to cruise with. One misconception, when I tell people we are sailing with our son Jack for two years, is that it will just be the three of us out their floating on the water .....kinda like the Shinning with Jack Nickelson........ And yes, there may be moments....but there is a large community of families sailing, so we will not be alone. One reason we choose to join the Baja Ha- Ha ( the sail boat rally - which has close to 160 entries already!) is to connect with other people. After all, it's not just the experience of traveling and living on a boat for two years - it's the people we will meet along the way that will make this trip memorable. People like Lisa, Larry, and Ben.

10 day count down - and things I know I will miss

WOW oh WOW. My head is spinning. Been provisioning the boat now for a week solid. Every little space is filled with the things I feel I can not live without, at least in this moment., and our water line is about at it's max. Spent an embarrassing amount of $$$$ @ Whole foods and Trader Joes. Which is now leading this monkey mind into what I will miss. Certainly this is not in order of priority, just things popping into my head as I type:

Whole foods & Trader Joes & my Thursday farmers market ( we have such an abundance of quality USDA food here in the US -I will miss the ease of nourishing the body)

Monday nights with Brian, and Tuesday/Thursday 6am with Camille ( two very special people who I will miss beyond words )

Alex and Blake ( wow - just typing their names is making me cry )

Girl Friday with Lara ( My Soul Sister) and the CRIB - OH how I will miss this annual event with the pack of yogi's.

M & M - I will miss seeing you, and laughing with you. I know we will phone and e-mail - maybe every day? Atleast every week! Holding hope that you will meet us on our journey Thank you for taking care of our home. You are the salt of the earth - the soul of the soul, and two of the most trusted, and dependable, and, well......the list goes on and on, people I have ever met.

April - I will miss you - and hope you come to Bali to see me - SERIOUSLY, so we can deepen our connection, and talk about this trip when we are in our 90"S.

My fantastic group of other girlfriends - you know who you are - and I am so grateful for each one of you.

NEIGHBORHOOD YOGA - I closed down the group classes a few months ago to gear up for this trip - I often think about each one of the students that I have been blessed to guide. I am holding them in my heart for eternity. They taught me that I can teach, and what I have to offer ( MY HEART - which has been mostly shielded from the world ) is safe to share, and of value.

My cats Summer and Winter. ( thank you my beautiful sister Shelley for always being there when I need you)

My closet and pantry and kitchen - life on a boat is a challenge. ( space is very very limited)

Amazon and Zappos.com - what can I say - I love to shop at home and have packages show up at my door.

While I will miss all of the above, in a way that makes my stomach hurt, I am a willing participant in leaving my wonderful life behind, in seach of......... myself, a deeper connection to truth and love, and a more simple life with out so much stuff. And then there is the ocean......which I cannot wait to call home.

Home Schooling, Boat Schooling, Unschooling

Jack and I opened his 4th grade school material today. Before we did - we each set an intention, and vowed to not get stressed with what we may find inside this 25 pound box....... The first word that JUMPED out at me was Inspire. Yes!!! This is my intention - to inspire Jack, and instill a love of learning. Jacks intention was to do his best, and to be patient with his teacher - awwww. Ok, he gets a star for the day. From the outside, since I havn't taken the full plunge into the program yet, I have to say - the Calvert system looks amazing. The text books are BEAUTIFUL, the core reading for the 4th grade includes Robinson Crusoe, Island of the Blue Dolphin, and Mighty Men = perfect.

Snuck in another trip

We took some time off of gearing up Santosha for it's two year sail and headed to Catalina for a few days for some fun. We tried out our newest toy, a stand up paddle board - which as it turns out, is a great full body work out! Also used our sun oven for the first time and made pumpkin bread!!! I was shocked that it actually worked! It will be handy to have once we hit the tropics - and don't want to use the oven to avoid more heat inside. From what I read, you can cook everything in it. Very green indeed. Also in this post, a view from our kitchen - and a shot of the Avalon Harbor. We are four weeks out from moving onto Santosha. Will we really do this???? Stay tuned............