I Heart Alaska

One of my most favorite things to do in the whole world is drive. Especially on crisp, clear days I just enjoy hopping in my car, cranking the tunes, and enjoying God's beautiful creation. It gives me LOTS of time to think, consider and ponder things going on in my life but it also gives me the opportunity to take pretty pictures, my second favorite thing. So, here are a few pictures from the drive and of Denali taken from the Anchorage airport.

~ Denali from Across the Inlet~

~Turnagain Arm~

~By Whittier Turn-Off~

An Ode to First Loves

Despite the fact I'm slightly anti-Valentine's Day, I thought I would reminisce a bit with my first loves... and if you don't know who they are, you are no longer my friend.

Procrastination: It's a gift!

A special shout-out to the one and only Spode for enabling me to participate in one of my favorite activities-- procrastination. Oh yes. Real friends let friends procrastinate. So here we go-- six weird things about me:

1. From the age of 6 until the age of 18, I subscribed to "Log Home" magazine and was an avid watcher of "This Old House" and "New Yankee Workshop". Sometimes, I still tune in.
   
2. I hate carrots. I think they're gross and they make me want to vomit.
   
3. I know every single word to Veruca Salt's song in "Willy Wonka"...
   Daddy, I want a goose. Gooses, geeses. I want my goose to lay golden eggs for Easter. Least a hundred a day. And by the way...
   
4. It is simply impossible for me to sleep with my closet doors open... but my bedroom door has to remain open at all times.
5. Up until the moment I came out, my parents thought I was a boy. They hadn't even chosen a name for a girl, so basically their reaction was, "Crap! Now what are we going to do?!"
6. When I was 3 years old, I began sleeping with a stuffed pig. I still sleep with him.
   

So there you have it folks. Six weird things about me-- Now it's YOUR turn :)

Tag--> Kristy, Mel, Philip, April and Susie

My Week

This past week, dear bloggers, has been superb!

Last Thursday I took the afternoon off to go play in the sun and the snow. While we planned on snowshoeing around Eklutna Lake, the snowshoes weren't so necessary. Along with the 47 degree temperatures we had that day, Philip and I actually felt a WARM breeze while "snowshoeing" beside the frozen lake. We did take some wonderful pictures though...

So, it was a fun trip despite Philip not feeling so well (I could post a picture of that, but he wouldn't like that so much and contrary to popular opinion I am nice sometimes!)

Then, due to the abnormally warm temperatures that quickly sunk back into the 20s, April & I spent most of Saturday chipping our driveway free of iced-over ruts so that we could actually get up the driveway. Three-hours later we decided we were finished. The driveway could still use a bit of maintenance but it'll do for now. The rest of my Saturday was spent with Philip, who went with me to see "Beauty & The Beast" and then to Carrs to purchase vast amounts of snacks for the kiddos who invaded my house on Sunday afternoon to watch the Colts dominate the Bears!! Woo-hoo!!

I had in impromptu lunchdate with April on Monday and bought two uber-cute pairs of shoes too! Tuesday brought about the first session of Weekday School (a once-a-month after-school program for elementary aged kids), which went well, and a dinner date with Philip :) I do believe I successfully wooed him with my BBQ cups (if you don't know what they are, you're missing out!) because he fell asleep shortly after eating and didn't wake up in time to make his curfew. But, you know, I love nights like that. Sometimes stressful days turn into wonderful nights spent in quiet solitude with someone whom you care for a lot. And that's precisely what happened.

So, that basically brings us to today. I'm not feeling 100% but I'm sucking it up for Jesus so the kiddos can learn just a little bit more about Him :) I better get to doing my job!!

When hyperventilation is good...

I realized today after answering many questioning IMs and messages (including one from my dad and on from my sister... oops!) that I have yet to tell the online world exactly what's been taking up most of my time lately. However, if you care not to dealve into my personal life, please refrain from reading anything beyond this point.

Here we go...

His name is Philip and he's the band director at a local high school. As typical of many relationships these days, he picked me up online via Facebook & MySpace searches. After about a week-and-a-half of messaging and chatting I agreed to meet him in person... though it did take a session of hyperventilation and more than one friendly phone call to get me there! But I'm glad I took that leap of faith. Things are going swimmingly! We may not have all that much in common but those differences are what keep us on our toes, I guess.


Many of my friends have already been running thorough background checks and nothing has surfaced yet so he must be the nice guy I tend to think he is! If you'd like to check on him yourself, he has Facebook, MySpace and a blog as well.

So, there you have it. That's the news. The end.