So You Want to Sail Around the World

Castaways

Castaways

Me:  “How about we buy a boat and sail around the world?”

Winnie:  “OK.  But I’ve never been on a boat before, and I don’t know how to swim.”

This was a bit baffling, as I had been sailing regularly since moving to Seattle in 2000, and started swimming before I could walk.

Me:  “Would you be interested in trying a short sailing trip to see if you like it?”

Winnie: “Yeah, that sounds fun!”

A few months and an Introduction to Sailing class later, we were flying to the British Virgin Islands to pick up our charter boat for 2 weeks of cruising.

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

merryxmasMerry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

It’s a lovely 60 degrees in Taipei, and the holiday spirit is alive and well.  It has been a great year and a great holiday season

We’ve had some delicious holiday parties with friends and family

Christmas Party with My Chinese Class

Christmas Party with My Chinese Class (home made pulled pork!)

Made some great food for another party with home made pizza dough, goat cheese stuffed dates wrapped in bacon, and home made cookies

Yummy

Yummy

We learned that GCCjr has the correct number of fingers and toes

5 Toes

5 Baby Toes

and GCCjr had his first visit from Santa Claus

babysfirstxmas

Happy Holidays to you and all of your loved ones.  May 2015 be the best year yet

Jeremy and Winnie
Go Curry Cracker!

The GCC Christmas Tree

All 9″ of the GCC Christmas Tree

7 Minute Taxes

It’s that time of year again, when the stars align and wonderful things happen.  No, not the holidays.  Tax time!

That’s right, before the end of the year we need to implement all of those tax minimization strategies that allow us to defer, minimize, and eliminate taxes

I just completed this process for the year, effectively completing our 2014 taxes.

Total time?  7 minutes

I have tax time down to an art.  Here is how I did it

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3 Days in Penghu, Taiwan

Our Private Beach in Penghu

Our Private Beach in Penghu

In the fertile waters off the southwestern coast of Taiwan is a small island chain known as Penghu.  During the summer, the people of Taipei flock to the sandy beaches to ride banana boats and jet skis, and in the winter windsurfers descend upon the islands in chase of the next great gust

During the remainder of the year, there is nothing but fishing and relaxing.  And us

Taking advantage of the low season and a break from school, we headed to the islands to eat fresh seafood, read some books, and explore the unique geography

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