Sunday, July 29, 2012

HELLO WEEKEND!!

Well what a great weekend! I wasn't sure things were going to play out as planned.. and technically they didn't exactly but it still turned out to be a great weekend!!

Yesterday Mel picked me up at lunchtime at work.. I was all ready in my capris and tank top, super stoked to hike the Trail of Blue ice! But on our drive south we started to notice it clouding up! Well let me tell you by the time we got to Portage it was FREEZING, WINDY and RAINING! Seriously we left Anchorage at 72 and sunny and got to Portage where it was 59 and raining.. WHAT THE HELL!?! Mel and I talked about getting out from "under a dark cloud" of being so miserable in our surroundings and the flippin' dark cloud followed us!! So we toured around the Begich Boggs Visitor Center http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/chugach/home/?cid=stelprdb5251094 and took some pictures around the visitors center but honestly it was just too friggin' cold to go hiking! My ears were hurting and my hands were freezing, poor Myles didn't have a jacket on account we were expecting shorts weather, Mel wore my sweater because I just happened to have a jacket with me.. we weren't expecting weather like that AT ALL!

Regardless of the shit weather that we should absolutely be use to by now we decided to make the most of our time up there and being out of Anchorage and touring around as much as possible! We still got amazing pictures, which I sent out yesterday! We really had a great day, and although Ive already been there a couple of times the pictures are different and we stopped at places I too had never been, it was an awesome day! Myles naps just happen to fall into place nicely as well which is always a plus.. he does so well on all of our outing's, its so great!

Last night Jason and I decided to go to the Firetap Alehouse for dinner! I really didn't feel like cooking and we need to do some grocery shopping so we headed out! Jason got this massive Calzone, I wish now that I would have taken a picture of it because it was hilarious!

Today we got up and headed to ARCTIC THUNDER 2012 at Joint Base Elemdorf Richardson (JBER).

Check out the info: http://www.jber.af.mil/arcticthunder/

The show was amazing, we toured around looking at all the airplanes, we went into a few and got to see some amazing airshows! The raptor was amazing, the the thunder birds.. what a great show! I sent out the pictures already via snapfish so I hope you all enjoy! If there are any of you that are not on my photo emailing list and would like to be just let me know!

We met up with Jason, Mel and Mr. Myles for awhile and then everyone headed out! By the time we left there and actually got off base it was after 5pm so again we were lazy and decided to go out to dinner. I wanted to go grocery shopping but Jason was completely against it, so he decided on Lonestar Steak House! We had dinner, came home.. Jason said he was getting RIGHT in the shower and then in bed.. he made it to the couch and was asleep in minutes! I made lunches and had a shower and thought I would blog for all of you before going to bed.. plus its only 7:30pm.. haha Jason has been in bed since 7pm.. lazy bugger!

So back to work tomorrow unfortunately!! I hate my job.. I'm just trying to suck it up but I honestly hate it.. I'm looking so forward to Tuesday even though Jason and I have dentist appointments! We were thinking about checking out the Anchorage Zoo afterwards but we'll see how it plays out!

I hope everyone had a super great weekend! I am being so much better about blogging just like I said.. haha!

Friday, July 27, 2012

Are we there yet????????

What a long fucking day! What a long fucking week in fact! I don't know what is going on, this should be our busy time and it sure as hell has been and its putting me in a horrific mood!! I swear its always dead in here when we have nice weather and I'm stuck looking at it instead of enjoying it!!

Tom & Deanna were barely around yesterday and then Deanna stopped by quickly in the afternoon to let me know they had an unsuspected funeral at 2pm.. who gets notice of a funeral an hour before its happening?? and then they were leaving to go fishing and wouldn't be back until late Sunday night so I would have to be on call.. BULLSHIT! I didn't sign up to be on call all the time. So I said that I was leaving early on Saturday and wanted to double check what constituted early to them and she said whenever I wanted! So because both Jason's are getting Sunday off work Mel and I are going to head up to Portage and hike the Trail of Blue Ice with Myles for a couple of hours and then who knows!! The guys will be working a 12 hour day tomorrow, and then Sunday we will all get together and head to Arctic Thunder!

 I'm not going to lie Ive been having a really hard time with my weight.. I know what you're all thinking but honestly it bothers me.. therefore its valid! I feel so awful about myself all the time, getting dressed everyday is a horrible experience. So Jason and I have been going to the gym faithfully for an hour and a half, we have been eating SUPER healthy.. but I'm seeing no difference! I'm going to have to get with Mel and get some more work out plans that I can do in the morning before I go to work.. haha although I'm not a morning person AT ALL and finding the energy to do that should interesting!

Anyone have any tips on things they do when they are feeling crumby about their weight? I'm thinking about finding a yoga studio in the area that would accommodate my hours at work!

So that's really all that's going on here, thought I would blog while I had some time.

Jason went fishing again last night in the creek because Kris's wife said that the reds were running but he didn't see any or catch anything so I don't know. He has been trout fishing down there for a couple weeks on and off but he hasnt brought anything home, I dont know if he can even keep them from down there if he catches them. Maybe tonight would be a good night for a walk!

Hoep everyone has a great weekend! I definitely plan too!

Thursday, July 26, 2012

AIR SHOW!!!

Two blogs in one day.. brownie points! No?

I mentioned the air show in my previous blog and then this afternoon at work I heard someone outside telling everyone to look up and I went out and they were practicing!!! It was great! So then tonight Jason and I went out for Jason to get his haircut and then to Target, on the way out they were practicing again!

CHECK IT OUT!






Naturally Jason was sooooo excited about this! So now its a for sure, we are absolutely going to the air show on the weekend, somehow! Jason is so busy, I got home at 6pm and he wasn't home so I started dinner.. we were suppose to have turkey burgers on the grill but I don't know how to work charcoal, so at 6:30pm and not having heard from Jason I figured I might as well start them via other means because for all I knew Jason was going to be working until 10pm. The turkey burgers turned out AWESOME, Jason was home by 7pm and we still got a lot accomplished! Good night in my books!

When we got home from Target Jason decided to go fishing for a half hour, so I am watching some of my taped shows on the DVR and perusing ebay.. love ebay!

Hope everyone had a great night!

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Is anyone still out there?

Well long time no see all! My apologies for not being around in the last two weeks but as you all know we were so blessed to have visitors that I couldn't bare to take 5 minutes to write about our time together because that would mean being away!

What an AMAZING time we all had, it was SO GREAT to have family out here, to see familiar faces everyday, to experience new things together.. and most of all, my favorite part of the whole visit.. family dinners.. oh how I miss family dinners! No I don't JUST miss my moms cooking, although I'm not complaining about that either.. I miss the laughs, the camaraderie, all of it!

Well as I'm sure you all know on Saturday July 7th everyone arrived, quite late! honestly if I already didn't think it was going to be the longest day of my life waiting their flight was delayed like 6 hours and they didn't get here until almost 9pm!! Jason and I had planned where to take them to dinner, and the whole day and night was spent sitting around waiting.. it was awful!! Naturally when they got here everyone was exhausted!

Saturday morning (no I'm honestly not going to detail every day and minute of the trip, I'm just going to provide you with highlights!) we went out for breakfast, to what I think we can safely say was Dad's favorite Anchorage Restaurant.. The City Diner.

City Diner is one of our favorites as well, especially for breakfast but when Dad asked for white vinegar and they delivered I knew it was going to be a hit! After breakfast we hit the Saturday market downtown and the souvenir shopping began! We ventured to the grocery store as well, as everyone was anxious to see the difference.. and let me tell you the difference in Alaska vs any other State is quite impressive to a Canadian!

We really just spent the day enjoying each others company, Jason and I both had to go back to work on Monday! Thankfully nothing was going on work for me on Monday and Deanna not only took me to Costco so I could get some stuff for while everyone was here she also let me go home early!.. LET MY VACATION BEGIN!

Tuesday Dad, Uncle Stick, Jason and Josh headed to Seward VERY EARLY in the morning (3am) to start their halibut fishing adventure! They caught a bunch of fish which was GREAT and didn't get home until late that night. Mom, Aunt Bren and I had a great girls day! We headed downtown and toured around all over, we had dinner out.. it was great!!

To be honest I feel like our time flew by way too fast, we saw and did a lot but thinking back I cant help but wonder where the time went. We went up to Flattop and saw a Mama moose and her baby, we saw the numerous breath taking views Alaska has to offer. Unfortunately the weather wasn't completely cooperative while they were here either.. however it only snowed in the mountains and no in the city, so I will consider that a plus!

The first full Saturday they were here we all travelled down to Seward Alaska to get on the Northwestern Star (I believe that's what the boat was called) with Major Marine tours and we headed out into Resurrection Bay in the Kenai Fjords National Park for an amazing expedition!! We saw Sea otters, sea lions, puffins, hump back whales, an orca (ya, Mom it was definitely an orca) tons of birds, waterfalls, and this AMAZING turquoise water, you would have sworn you were in the Caribbean.. minus the cold of course!


There it is.. feel free to do a little reading if you have a minute...



We had pretty good timing because as we were getting ready to get off the boat the rain started! We managed to get off the boat and have dinner in this really cool restaurant that was made out of old train cars, so we literally had dinner in an old train car! On the way home we stopped at a gravel pit, in the rain so we could shoot Jason's gun. As you well know handguns are illegal in Canada, so Dad was dying to shoot it! Turns out he wasn't the only Lone Ranger in town though.... Aunt Bren was a pretty good shot.. lady is G'd up from the feet up.. she was straight up Gangsta! She even purchased a bandanna...






I hope shes surviving back in a world of few weapons! Wait until mom posts the pictures of her and Dad in Walmart checking out handguns! haha!

Unfortunately I had to go back to work on Wednesday but before that we managed to have a beautiful day at the Portage Glacier and through the Trail of Blue Ice in the Portage Valley! We went to Girdwood and had a great lunch at Chair 5.. it was a great day! The pictures from that day are amazing!

The rest of the week working was terrible!! Thankfully everyone managed to still get out and see things! They went to Hatchers Pass which they said was amazing, unfortunately Jason and I haven't made it there yet! We had dinner at the Sourdough Mining company.. its this cool restaurant that has been made to look like an old Mine and the food is GREAT! Mmmm corn fritters!

If you can believe it I even had to work on Saturday, the day they were leaving! We all got up early (Jason with a new found cold) and headed to.. you guessed it.. CITY DINER! I worked until 4pm and then bailed on account that it was dead and I wasn't going to miss out on anymore time with everyone! We ordered pizza and had a quiet night.. until the goodbyes.. god the dreaded goodbyes! I did so good, I didn't cry all night until they got up to leave (although I cried mostly every other night that we when I would go home, dreading them leaving). I don't know why the goodbyes are so hard, maybe because I don't know when we will see them again.. maybe because I know there wont be that familiar face to have dinner with.. its hard. I do really well with being away from everyone, I have Jason and we have friends but its just not the same.. and as great as every visit is.. its so hard to be reminded of what you're missing.

We had many great dinners, how can you really beat fresh halibut (let me tell you, you cant), we had MANY great laughs! Someone taught Jason a new card game (chase the ace) and that was good for a laugh.. it was just an all around amazing visit and I wish that it could have been longer!!

Since everyone has been gone not much has gone on! Sunday Jason had to work a 12 hour day so I cleaned up around the apartment, went out and did all the grocery shopping and what not because we really hadn't been at the apartment at all in the last two weeks! Having said that there wasn't much to get on account that all the shopping they did for their rental house came to our house when they left!

And just on that note..  www.homeaway.com stellar idea! they got a beautiful house and a good rental car WAY WAY WAY cheaper than they ever could have renting a car and staying at a hotel! That really is the best way to travel!!

So that's it, Jason and I are on a diet, going to the gym every night! haha all that wonderful cooking came at a price! Besides that I am going to be more diligent about blogging! Jason and I are determined to make the most of the month of August because September is basically winter again and I will be working all of September with no time off.. haha also the price you pay for having time with your family! WELL WORTH IT THOUGH! So this weekend we are headed to an air show and I will make sure to blog about that!

I hope everyone is well, sorry to keep you all out of the loop for so long, but I warned ya's all I wasn't going to be around much!!

Thank you Mom, Dad, Uncle Stick and Aunt Bren for an AMAZING visit and all the wonderful things you did for Jason and I while you were here.. we greatly appreciate it and cant put into words how much we miss you guys! Things really just haven't seemed the same around here! We love you guys tons!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Visitors??? YES!

Well hello all, my apologies for not blogging more but to be honest things have been busy and I haven't been in the best of spirits. I know what you're thinking, my family is coming how could I not be over the moon.. well I am.. about that! The weather here has been fucking terrible, I mean absolutely terrible! Cold and miserable.. constantly! Mel and I went to the Botanical Gardens with Myles the other day and almost got carried away by the mosquito's!

The 4th of July wasn't anything exciting here, there isn't much to do and its light all the time so there is no point in going to see fireworks because you cant see them anyways! Jason had a BBQ at work and then came home and didn't feel like doing anything and by that point I was at my breaking point with my surroundings and just sobbed and begged him for us to leave. haha! I'm such a bawl ass! I'm over it now.. everyone is coming and I'm going to have some time off work and I'm sure it will all make me feel a lot better. But let me tell you this fucking place is not for living, its for visiting and then going home to a real place with real weather!! I kid you not people died today of hypothermia today like 10 minutes from where we live!!! What does that tell you?!?!

On another good note though I got my new purse this week.. Honestly its the most gorgeous thing Ive ever seen in my life.. its my own little piece of miraculous sunshine to carry on my arm!! It was purchased right off the Kate Spade website.. utter beauty! Check it out!!



Even the wrapping was GORGEOUS! I couldn't have been happier with this purse, Jason thinks I'm crazy but admitted that seeing a smile like that on my face was totally worth it!!!

Jason's been working a ton, going to have some time off with everyone though. Dad, Uncle Stick, Josh and Jason are heading down to Seward on Tuesday for a day of halibut fishing, Jason is so excited! He waited for dad to get here to go with him! He already bought a foam cooler and bags for bringing the fish home! I'm really excited to have some super fresh halibut too!


We have so much planned to do with everyone, were both super excited! Tonight we got home from getting wrapping paper for dad's fathers day gift.. I know what you're all thinking, ummm late? Well its a long story but in the end we had decided to get dad a gift card to the sportsman store here and then last night Jason decided he didn't like that idea.. so him and dad got matching sweaters.. we got home tonight and Jason INSISTED on wrapping it himself.. bow and all!! haha we cant wait to give it to dad tomorrow, especially when Jason will be wearing his!

So that's about it, Cant wait for everyone to get here.. I have a feeling tomorrow will be a really long day because they don't get here until after 4pm. Jason is picking them up at the airport and then taking them to the rental house and then picking me up at work and we'll head over!

I promise to keep everyone updated about the visit and post picture of whats going on!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Monday, July 2, 2012

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!

I haven't blogged in a long time, I'm sorry about that! You know how things are here with work and what not, and honestly I'm sorry but sometimes we really just aren't that interesting. I should be more proactive and find interesting things to blog about even if it has nothing to do with Jason and I.. just so you know I'm alive!

Mel is here.. SO GREAT! Mel is Jason Goodwin's wife, she arrived on Wednesday with their BEAUTIFUL son Myles! I'm so happy to have them here! The last time we saw Mel she was a week away from having Myles and now Myles is 10 months old THIS WEEK and Mel looks absolutely incredible! She is BELOW her pre-pregnancy weight and looks amazing! I'm taking mental notes about her eating habits, drinking habits, life in general so I can be her size! haha!

Although today was really the first day we got to go out and do something it was GREAT! I miss having someone to do stuff with, someone to chat with face to face with that I know!! Not to mention having Myles around is amazing, I love him already! We had such a great day today, we went downtown to the outside market and toured around, went to the Ulu factory, had lunch and then tea back at the apartment.. it was GREAT! We are definitely at the point in the job where Jason is going to work all the time and I couldnt be happier to have to Mel here!

Really honestly there is absolutely nothing else going on at all! Im am off work Tuesday because thats my regular day off and then I have Wednesday off as well because its the 4th of July! The guys are all working the 4th so Mel and I will probably do something, weather pending on outdoor activities!

I absolutely can't wait for the week to be over, everyone will be here on Saturday and I couldn't be more excited to see them!! I think this week is going to feel so long even thought I have the days off, isnt that always the way when you're waiting for something!

Anyways Im honestly rambling, I have nothing more to tell you! I promise to find something interesting to talk about and blog more, because once everyone is here who knows when I will have time!

I hope everyone had a GREAT Canada Day, and a GREAT long weekend!!