I just had to post this picture as it was the best example of some of the things I have been doing instead of blogging! Thank you to many folks who reminded me that they would like to hear from me. Well, though I have not been posting my days away, I have been cooking and I am still sailing.

Meet the lady in the plastic bubble…Cheryl Zurbrick, Ph.D. student at the University of California – Santa Cruz. She does come out of her bubble and she blogs….

Cheryl has inspired me to de-fragment my WordPress memory bank and type once again. Please check out her blog to follow along with our current cruise. You will find lots of pictures, some fun and plenty of science. Cheryl and the entire group she is part of are reasons this job can be an amazing experience. Their passion and commitment are obvious and they create a certain level of exuberance that makes cooking while bobbing around the ocean for nineteen days easier. Thank you, Cheryl!

Now, go read her blog and don’t miss the post titled “Oceanography”. How anyone can work at sea, blog daily, bake cupcakes and write a haiku is so far beyond me, it is a bit scary.

I love it. A new logo and a bit of dusting and cleaning of the site. Well Spiced Life owes it’s birthright to Sue Cline of Cyclonic Consulting. I will take credit as the birthing coach and now I am raising up this baby through content development. However, without Sue, I would have no voice, no vehicle, no blog matter to speak of.

Thank you, Sue.

If you are in need of a creative problem-solver, a web architect, or an intuitive consultant, check out Cyclonic Consulting. I have deep respect and gratitude for the access and support I have gained with Sue. On top of that, she is an amazing pastry chef and a great person.

Nine what, you ask? They are not resolutions. Instead, they are little hopes and dreams. Nine things I would like to learn or experience in 2009.

A friend recently challenged me to think of ten things I learned in 2008. I thought my head was going to implode. 2008 marked my entry into the blog-o-sphere or, as I think of it, the Great Plains of Social Networking. My list could be created out of a set of icons. I learned about tweets and twits, facials on a book and terms like search engine optimization. In my day, people would talk about “hooking up”…now you get linked in. It takes a lot of time just to try and keep up!

Well, I am not one to look back for too long. I find it much more adventageous to look forward. In doing so, here are my nine for 09′:

1. Go slow! I want to focus on recipes that rely on the art of slow food.
2. Acquire a copy of “1001 Foods You Must Taste Before You Die” and start checking items off the list.
3. Visit and tour three farms in Delaware.
4. Create how-to-videos to post on Well Spiced Life. (send me ideas/requests!)
5. Take a winery tour in Virginia on the Eastern Shore by kayak.
6. Incorporate recipes for diabetic and gluten-free diets into my toolbox.
7. Research, save and find a buddy to go in on a share of a CSA.
8. Go South to get a fix. As in a fix of real BBQ and ribs.
9. Work on an outrageously delicious recipe for a duck meatball.

Ok, that is it for me. How are you going to spice up 2009? What is on your list?

Comfort, ease, efficiency and economy are wonderful things in most cases, but their effect on cooking has been devastating.
~ Russ Parsons

How to Pick a Peach, The Search for Flavor from Farm to Table

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