The Beginning; Jan. 1, 2010

My first entry, ever. I haven't even read that many blogs to be truthful. I probably only learned what a blog actually was a year or so ago. At the time I thought they were kind of stupid. Who'd want to put their private thoughts online? But I watched this adorable movie last night (with a glass of champagne), "Julie & Julia," which was intriguing to me. Well, of course, I knew very little about Julia Child, and Meryl Streep was spectacular in the part. I also really liked the juxtaposition of the two stories (both true by the way), and was a little disappointed Julie never met Julia. Clearly, Julia was an inspiration for Julie on many levels.

Julie, also never a blogger (like me), decides to blog about a challenge she sets herself to: cooking the entire set of recipes from Julia Child's cook book. NO, I'm not going to cook all those recipes (or even a few), but what was so interesting to me was blogging about something you had a passion for. I could do that. Writing about your process while in the midst of the challenge; investigating your emotions, the ups and downs, heck putting yourself out there (that in and of itself a challenge for me). Are you grasping the intriguing part yet? You're probably asking yourself (anyways I hope so), "well, what's her challenge, what's her passion?" My passion is the outdoors.

Today I wrote my first entry, in my first blog. I put myself "out there." My challenge? To kayak through the season. Yes, through the winter, which is not that demanding in northern California (well, compared to those snowy parts of the world). My challenge? To get outdoors.......cycling, hiking, backpacking, and kayaking. And if I'm lucky, I'll get to meet a few of you on-line, or on the water or trail, who may share in my challenge, my passion.