Get out your wallets.....

cause I am going to have to start taking donations for little R.'s "Therapy Fund". Seriously I think I scarred my child for life today.......

Before picking him up from school I stopped at the mini-mart for a diet Coke & I threw a bag of gummi bears up on the counter for my boy as a little treat

So as he climbs in the van & tells me what a great day he had, I hand him this bag of yumminess....

R: thanks mama! Can you open them?

Me: Sure thing buddy!

At this point I notice he puts a single bear in his little mouth with a grimace and then swallows it whole. What the???? The boy LOVES candy, any and ALL candy...he would eat it 24/7 if I let him......

And then it happened....the tears started to flow.......by the bucketful.....accompanied by silent sobs. No drama.....I sat there dumbfounded as I watched my son's heart break in slow motion.....and yet I had NO idea why.........

Me: Baby, what's wrong?

R: I can't do it......(at this point he hands the bag of gummies back to me )......I just can't eat them

Me: Does your tummy hurt?

R: No mama....I just can't eat Dadu's babies. (at this point he totally fell apart in my arms)

Yes....readers meet my son's very best friend in the whole-wide-world, Dadu. He loves this bear like most little boys love their dog. The innocent love of a child..... They go everywhere together. R. was devastated when he realized Dadu couldn't go to kindergarten with him. And what did I do....I tried to feed him Dadu's babies???? What kind of mother am I????? Holy crap!

And if that wasn't bad enough, for the next 2 hours he would just spontaneously break out sobbing and say "I just can't get it out of my mind...." It was just so pitiful!

So, yes, I get the Bad Mom of the Year award...maybe even the decade.....I totally (even if accidently) messed with my 5 year old's head big time today.....

Monday Randomness.........

yep, I have been a bad, bad blogger....but, in my defense I have never claimed to be a good one :)

yes, I have neglected this poor blog but I have been uber busy with various facets of my life

it' soooooooooooo cold & sooooooooooooo dark & it's not even Thankgiving yet :(

I have loads of photos to share but d@mn blogger won't let me upload them today.....ugh!

have any of you seen Old Navy's new holiday bath & body line? While I was standing in line to return a pair of jeans for R. today, I "sampled" their Green Apple Cider lotion.......hey, my hands were super dry & I love yummy smelling stuff. All I can say is eewwwwwwwwwww.........that was 8 hours & a dozen handwashings ago and I still stink to high heaven. Let me warn you, that crap smells like Hall's Cherry Cough Drops. Yuck! I don't know who in creation thought that smelled even remotely like apple-anything but they were sooooooooo wrong! Save you $$$$$

So what food are you most looking forward to on Thanksgiving????? Me.....hmmm.............I think that would probably be good ole white meat turkey! Yummy! Well & a side of gravy would hurt either :)

Holy Questions, Batman!

Without further ado................

Kellen: We (in the lower states) are so fascinated by Alaska (being dark part of the year, is there snow all the time, how cold does it get, can you plant a garden...?).

Yes, it is quite dark throughout the winter months. We live in the Mat-Su Valley about an hour outside of Anchorage. During the height of winter, the sun 'rises' at about 10:30am & sets by 4pm. Frankly, it sucks! You know its sad when my hubby & I head to Walmart to 'soak up the rays' of the fluorescent lights! But we have it much better than the people who live further north (yes, you can still travel about 750 miles futher north) in Barrow get 3 solid months of darkness...the sun does NOT rise at all! On the flip side, summer ROCKS! We get 20+ hours of daylight! There is nothing like playing with your kids outside at 11:30 at night and it is still daylight! Talk about the ultimate summer vacation! Here is my all-time favorite photo....it is a time-elapsed image of how the sun travel s across the sky throughout the day here on June 21st each year...uber cool!

No the snow doesn't stay year-round.....our's melts sometime in April.....each area of the state is a little different. The only places that retain snow are the highest elevations, like the mountain peaks & such.

In our area, the winter temps often dip down to about -20 degrees F. but in the summer we also get up in the 70's and 80's.... The worst part is the windchill. We live in a windtunnel because we are situated between 2 glaciers and boy do the winds howl! It gets pretty bad, but we manage. To put in perspective though, our kids are required to go outside at school until the temps drop below -10 degrees F. Needless to say we invest in warm winter gear :)


And YES you can have a garden, especially in our region. The Mat-Su Valley is the only area of the state can support true farming. We can grown a variety of vegetables..... plus squash and cabbage get incredibly large....think of what that all the sunlight can do! The giant veggies are a huge attraction at our State Fair every year.


Krystyn: Do you find yourself sleeping less hours during the Summer when there is so much daylight?
Yep! It is pretty amazing how quickly your body adjusts! There are studies showing that the average Alaskan sleeps about 10-12 hours a night during the winter and less than 6 in the summer! Somehow the sunlight just energizes you!

Kate: Do you love it? What have you gone back to school for?

Uhm...most of the time I love it....the are definitely the downsides.....long winter, being so far from our families, being so far from everything in general....but still I am not ready to leave. I don't know if we'll stay here forever, but for now this is home.
I am back in school finishing a BA in History while concurrently working on a post-baccalaureate K-8 teaching certification. My first degree was in Early Childhood Education, but that isn't what I want to do anymore! When it's all said & done (2 years from now) I'll have my certification & my M.A.T. (Master in Teaching). Wish me luck :)

EC: once heard (from someone in Alaska) that almost everyone carries shotguns in their home because you never know when a random bear or large animal will happen upon your home or area in which you live - is this true?

Hmm...come to think of it most people here do have guns! Where we live we don't necessarily have them in case animals come near our home, although a black bear set up residence in our subdivision recently. That being said, it is pretty common for people to take a gun with them when going hiking, fishing, etc.....cuz there is a good chance you might run across a bear. We have several friends who have bear skins on their walls that they didn't go out hunting for...essentially they killed them when the bear snuck up on them in the woods.

Are your big cities like our bit cities?
Anchorage is our largest city, and while it is has everything you need, it is still behind most major cities in the Lower 48. We go 'outside' and just drool over all the shops, and restaurants, and activities....okay its topics like this that make me want to move......ugh!

Finally - Doesn't it ever bother you that you can't just "drive across country" like someone would if they lived in NY and wanted to go to California? Do you ever feel landlocked?

Honestly, that is the one thing that probably bothers me more than anything else. Like I said, we have been here for 11 years and before that we were in Europe. It has been years since I have been able to just go on the quintessential American Road Trip. It is pretty frustrating! My mom-mobile (aka the magnificent minivan) is itching for the open road!


Brittany: Oh boy I hear ya.... I grew up in Stark County, Ohio so I have heard it all! up here a lot of people are from the Pacific NW, so they are clueless about anything east of the Mississippi. When I say I am from Ohio I might as well just say a "pasture out in the middle of podunk!"

Kami: No Aldo...while we are getting more stores all the time, the selection still pretty well stinks! :)

Lunanik: I guess the question that springs into my mind is...why live in Alaska?? I don't want to sound rude, I've heard that Alaska is wonderful, but...live there? permanently?
We moved here in 1996 when my hubby was stationed at Elmendorf AFB. It was supposed to be a 4year tour....we ended up staying 8 years on active duty & then he retired after 20+ years service in Sept 2004. We still haven't made up our minds whether we'll stay permanently or not..... only time will tell.....

ohmommy: what clothing items do you put on the kids before venturing outside? What are the best gloves, underwear, etc,,,?

Layers! Layers! Layers! And we don't skimp, even the slightest bit on quality. I have friends who buy the $14 Spiderman snowboots from Walmart up here & I just cringe.....its bloody cold people! So we stick with stuff that is well insulated, and temp. rated. Brands such as Columbia, Lands Ends, Obermeyer, L.L. Bean, etc rate their products to tell you what temps they are suited for. We make sure the kids have WARM gear & we always have spares. You can't afford to have a mitten go missing around here without a spare......oh yeah, mittens over gloves.....your own body heat is better at keeping you warm than any glove.....
And my kids LOVE Acorn socks...they keep the tootsies uber toasty!

cry it out (Mike): As to your request, does Holling still live in Alaska? How about Dr. Fleischman? What ever happened to Chris? (And my real question is ... do Alaskans get a lot of questions about that show? Or is it just me?)

LOL! Good one.... oddly enough I never watched Northern Exposure during it heyday because we were overseas. But once we moved here I learned that the 90's series was based on the small town of Talkeetna, home to the world famous Moose Dropping Festival...yeah you gotta see it to believe it...

When we first moved here there were a lot of questions about the show...but that seems to have died off on recent years.

alexandra's world: Have you seen a difference in climate lately? Like, less snow? The whole global warming thing... I'm obsessed with it now!

Hmm.... its hard to say. Each & every winter is incredibly different. We still get incredibly cold & tons of snow. And we haven't seen the extreme temp. increases in the summer like the rest of the US. I am sure there are effects, but not to the degree the Lower 48 is experiencing them.


And last but certainly not least......my dear sister Femmie: Wait...I do have a question... when does Alaska get to come home??? That seems like the best question of any posted, and I bet the crazies on the phone don't ever ask that one! We sure do miss you guys...and we aren't shoveling snow yet...does that persuade you at all?
Good question...I really don't know sweetie! while I'd love to say soon, it's only been less than 6 months since we were there last. I wish I had an answer...... Hopefully a isit is in our near future. And as far as moving, I am gonna have to keep working on the hubby with that one....he wasn't impressed when he MSN ranked Canton among the 10 worst cities for jobs in the nation.... ugh! But you know I love ya! :)

Someone commented that they were suprised to see our house- whilewe don't live in igloos, our houses are so different from Lower 48 houses. They totally lack in architectural detail. They are built to withstand the elements...period! I love to go outside & see all of the "pretty" houses (yes, I am whining...)

Ya wanna hear something really lame...I get mopey about the weirdest things......I hate that I have never lived anyplace where there has been a Target (but we are finally getting one next year.) I hate that we don't have pumpkin patches and apple orchards. I hate that we don't live close enough to go to an amusement park for the day. I hate that there are only like 3 places to have your kids birthday party, so believe me those 3 get old really quick! I hate that I get to wear short & flipflops less than 3 months out of the year. I really hope that someday I get the chance to live in a warm climate, even if just for a short while. When I was little I wanted to live in Florida more than anything.....I think I got my directions confused somewhat..... I hate that just to get my family out of state it costs a minimum of $2000! And I HATE that no one will ship anything of a substantial size to AK....no Pottery Barn desks or IKEA...it stinks! Okay...enough whining already ........

Anyway...thank you everybody for your questions & all of those of you who left awesome comments ( I am sorry I didn't mention everyone...I gotta get back to my schoolwork...but I'll be sure to visit all of your blogs soon)! I really enjoyed them :)




**** And yes my kids call my mom "Gma"...not just Gma, but Grandma-Gma. It's quite funny. When D. was little, my hubby nicknamed my mom Gma, cuz he said Grandma was just too long to say. Well it backfired....my kids actually lengthed her name......

It's officiallly here................

Winter that is......I can't deny it any longer :(

Driving to class last night was absolutely miserable........the roads were 'yuck' and the crazy drivers even 'yuckier'........it's always this way with the first snow of the year

And shoveling this

Means its time to break out this One of the few good things about winter here is that it's the perfect time to indulge my hot beverage cravings. While I often make homemade hot chocolate for the kiddos, I like to have the flavored ones in the packets (above) that I can whip up when I need a quick 'fix'. Last year I totally flipped for Bigelow Tea's Eggnogg'n Tea......oh my....if you can get your hands on this stuff, it is perfect with a splash of milk. Simply divineJust the other day I was killing time in Fred Meyer after Kindergarten pick-up & happened upon my new obsession: Bigelow's Pumpkin Spice Tea! This stuff is like true love in a cup :) Again, a bit of Splenda (or sugar, if you please) and a dash of milk = Perfection!

And if you are a WW member like me, the good news is this stuff is 0pts!!! (No, I don't count the milk because I literally use less than a Tbsp per 16oz mug)

So...while I loathe shoveling snow, it made me smile to fill up my 'goodie' basket......just in time to settle in for a long, long winter...............

Speaking of winter.......I was on the phone the other day with my insurance company that is based in Texas & the Customer Service rep. launched into the "20 questions about Alaska" thing......

For the 11 years I have lived here, I have been asked literally thousands of questions about Alaska. I have come to accept what should be a 2 minute call turns into a half an hour discussion on life in the Great Land. I don't mind at all.....it just stinks when you're in a hurry.

So dear lurkers...and loyal readers alike.....ask me anything you want to know about Alaska and I'll answer your questions in my next post! Ready...set...go...................

Grandma love........

My mom soooo spoils my kids...in a good way...but I mean really spoils them! They have a tradition that she buys them the small Starbucks travel mugs at practically every holiday (okay...just the 'major' ones) & they love it! It's their special 'thang'! Anyway, my kids were all bummed out that "Gma" was gonna miss trick-or-treating with them this year 'cuz she is away work. But she surprised them yesterday with a special delivery (via moi...) of Halloween Starbucks mugs & $10 gift cards to get their Frappe on! They were oh-so-happy!

As little R. says "Gma rocks!"

And speaking of Halloween surprises, we got "Boo'd" tonight! The kids were sooo thrilled & they are now plotting their Boo strategy for a few friends!

Real life experience # 5 (I think)....

okay I haven't done this feature in a long, long while but I think it is time to bring it back baby......

take it from me......if you leave the house for a few hours and you return home to realize the whole freakin' place wreaks....yeah, seriously wreaks....of uber stinky canned dog food nonetheless...do NOT spend 45 minutes trying to eliminate the source of such smell by fumigating your house with Lysol ...yeah, I mean the garbage can, the dog kennel, the kids rooms, etc......first check to see if your dumb ass left a full can of Iams open on the kitchen counter, instead of putting it in the dog's bowl the morning, where it rightfully belongs....just in case you were wondering....



***I intend to make this a new feature of my blog. I consider it my civic duty (***cough cough...choking on my own line of crap here***) to help others learn from my mistakes*****

A girl's gotta love a good challenge....

Like I don't have enough on my plate right now (you know I should be doing midterms).....

While it was probably not intended as a challenge, I love a question that challenges me to think. And I love random info, so I am going to challenge all of you as well. Nilsa presented me with this question regardling my last post:

If your classmates were playing the same game amongst themselves, how would they describe you and your 30-something pal?

Hmm...good one Nilsa! They would probably say something along the lines of this:

They-who-have-nothing-better-to-do-than-give-colorful-commentary-on-fellow-students.....yes, these 30-something wannabes (don't they realize that 30 is sooooo old) that sit in the back of the room giggling hysterically about who-knows-what. Seriously, they may have mental issues....either that or they have NO lives, if they find this class so freakin' funny. While we are all here for the benefit of higher education (*okay, this is stretching it a wee bit*) , they are obviously content with paying thousands of dollars to the University for the sake of a good laugh.

Oh, and if fellow students were to describe the one that looks like this separately it would be She-who-drinks-too-much-damn-Diet-Coke-and-appears-to-be-in-desperate-need-of-a-day-at-the-spa.
So my fellow bloggers....how would you be described??? Give it your best shot! And feel free to to analyze me as well...I have thick skin, I can take it!

***Disclaimer: In case you are wondering, I really am not a mean spirited person. IRL, I am actually really friendly! I was just raised in a family with a incredibly weird sense of humor. Everything & anything is fair game for, as my mother put in in my last post's comments, colorful commentary. Take for example this ancient post.... this is a running joke with my sister & I. We just can't help ourselves. And if that isn't enough of an excuse, blame our parents!

Let me tell you a tale.......

Just sit right back & you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip

That started from this arctic port aboard this tiny ship.

The mate was a mighty sailing gal, The skipper a profess-or

Sixty passengers set sail that day for a three hour tour,

A three hour tour…..

Okay, I am definitely NOT a song writer....in fact this little diddy (the of course is totally stolen from Gilligan's Island) was a fellow classmate & my attempt to stay awake in class last night. Yeah pretty sad, I know. Honestly the class is pretty decent.....okay, don't laugh at me.....my Wednesday night class is senior level History, specifically History of Film: The Disney Studios. Yeah, for senior level course it is a bit of a fluff class, but overall it is pretty good. Our professor approaches the class from the very origins of the Disney studios & the incredible impact Walt Disney himself had on American culture. It really is pretty cool....in fact, it is one of the most popular classes the University of Alaska Anchorage offers.

Okay....so why do I need to 'keep myself awake' in such a great class? Well the one down fall to the class is the endless hours we spend watching the 'bonus features' attached to the original Disney classics. For example, last night alone we watched 2 1/2 hours on the making of Bambi before we even started the movie. A total of 3 1/2 hours watching the big screen. Holy crap.....

So my classmate & I have taken to quietly entertaining ourselves to make the time go by a bit faster. It is sad that a pair of (*cough*) 30-something moms must resort to such measures...... The above song is just one example. We have also become amateur psychoanalysts. So let me give you just a brief run down of a few of our oh-so-interesting case studies.......

First we have She-who-wants-to-be-an-artist.

* I thought you might appreciate her stylish 'do. If you are interested, I could get you the name of her hairdresser. Note the two-tone color...very chic*

This is our most unusual case. Every week this classmate shares her 'artwork' with us which looks remarkably like this......

While we are not qualified in the area of the arts, we are intrigued by said classmate's ability to create incredibly detailed 'lives' for her cartoon characters. Honestly, it's kind of creepy......let me elaborate:

She-who-wants-to-be-an-artist: Wanna see my new stuff?

Us: uhhhh....

She: Yeah, this is some of my best stuff....

Us: *Blank stare*

She: This is Olivia (shows us a 2x2 inch black & white sketch a female head) and she is 34 & married. She has 3 kids, but the middle one is her favorite. But she has anxiety attacks & her husband is sleeping with some lady he works with. And Olivia had a very traumatic childhood.....blah, blah, blah.....and last week at the grocery store she had an confrontation with a lady that goes to the same hair salon......blah, blah, blah.... (this goes on forever)

Me: Uhm...have you used her in other drawings....

She: Naw...I am too busy 'creating' her in my mind.......

Yeah, creepy! And this isn't an isolated incident. Every week there is a new character.....a simple drawing, with an incredibly elaborate 'life'. okaayyyyyyyyyyyyy then......

Then we have He-who-carries-a suitcase. Yeah dude carries a full-size suitcase to class every week to carry his school books. Upon arriving to class, he slings it up on the table & sets up 'camp'. In case you are wondering, he only carries textbooks & notebooks in the case. But I keep waitng for a dead bosy to fallout of it. Seriously...who carries a full-size Samsonite to class?

Then there is She-who-talks-a-lot. The girl that worked for Disney for less than a week but claims to be a Disney expert. And she all of, maybe, 22..... And we spend the entire class listening to her try to talk oer the professor or the documentary. Ugh...shut up already. And last night she decided to make herself at home & brought a bean bag chair to class. Yep, she just plopped down at the front of the room & made herself comfortable..... Hello?? This is college...

And finally I will tell you about They-who-need-to-get-a-room. Yep, they sit right in front of us...and make-out constantly. WTH?? This is not the place people! And when they do come up for air, he feels the need to try to strike up a conversation with us. Yeah....we'll pass thanks. You know, we should probably cut her some slack. I mean how can she possibly resist him.....with his mullet, Britney Spears hooded sweatshirt worn under an 'official' Howarts (of Harry Potter fame) Corduroy blazer. Yeah..he is smokin' Any girl should be so lucky.....NOT!

So there you have my Wednesday evening in a nutshell :)

Holiday confusion.....

While I should be thinking about this,I can't seem to get this off my mind!Yes, folks...just 69 shopping days until Christmas. Now before you throw stones, let me explain that I am not a "Christmas junkie." While I absolutely love the holidays, I am not one of those people who start decorating the day after Halloween. I avoid the Christmas displays that are already popping up in the stores like the plague... I'll check them out come very late November. However, I do like to get a jump on my Christmas shopping! I hate staring down the barrel of the Xmas shopping-gun in the middle of December, knowing I am under pressure to get my shopping done. So I start now...buying a little here & some more there, in an attempt to be done prior to December 1st.

So now, I am plotting my strategy....who gets what & where can I get the best deal. Living in the Last Frontier, I rely heavily on web shopping. While we have a fairly decent selection of stores in Anchorage (and surprisingly growing number of stores here in the Valley), I LOVE the ability to shop at home without driving from store to store. Hmmmm...this ties into my previous blog entry...less time in my van equals less gas...yada, yada, yada........you get the picture.

The kids are actually pretty easy this year. For a while now, we have been trying to help our kids understand how to be grateful for all of our blessing & focus less on mounds of gifts. For the last couple Christmas/birthdays we have encouraged them to select one main thing they would really like. They have come to realize when they get too much stuff, they get overwhelmed & it makes us all a little crazy. I thought they would have a difficult time grasping this concept (especially little R.) but surprisingly they have totally embraced it. So we get them one main thing & then , of course, they get gifts from our extended families. The item we get them is usually fairly big & then we focus on doing things like angel trees & such....it's amazing how they've shed the "I want presents mentality." They have learned to think beyond themselves.

So this year D. wants a compound bow like this one. She loves shooting archery with her dad & is hoping to joining junior leagues at Fletcher's in January. She has been shooting a recurve for a while now, but she ready to step up her game :) And all R. has been asking for for over 6 months now is a Nintendo Wii. While video games are not my favorite thing, at least this is semi-interactive. And it is all he has asked for...seriously......Okay.....I caved. He'll be so excited Christmas morning! And I keep reminding myself that with these presents we are NOT bringing a gazillion miscellaneous toys into the house. That thought alone brings me a bit of peace. :)

So now I have begun thinking about all the other gifts that are on my list to buy. A favorite around here for the kids friends are holiday PJ's. Last year I wasn't sure how it would go over, but it was such a hit. I have been been asked once this year already if we were planning to do the pajama-thing again. You betcha! They are practical, apparently the kids think they're fun, they are reasonably priced (amazing, in fact!), and well.....you get my point. Oh, did I mention the parents of said kids love the fact their kids have matching jams for Christmas morning photos! It may sound cheesy,but believe me it is really neat! So if you are interested check out these PJ's at The Children's Place. They come in 5 uber cute colors, plus the quality is fabulous! We have bought them for the last 3 years & let me tell you the oldest ones still look like brand new! And if you do decide to purchase a pair or 5 be sure to use this awesome discount from Coupon Mountain. Seriously, how can you go wrong at only $13.20 a pair (with the discount). Anyway...enough Christmas chat for now........

So...if you have any great Christmas ideas for this year...please, oh, please share with me :)

Blog action day.....

So I was cruising the blog circuit this morning (in attempt to avoid working on my Ethics midterm) & I discovered on Love is Blonde that today has been declared Blog Action Day. It is a day set aside to address environmental issues.

What would happen if every blog published posts discussing the same issue, on the same day? One issue. One day. Thousands of voices....

I personally think this is a fabulous idea! I'll admit in the past I avoided 'environmental issues'...call it denial or whatever, but I'm guilty. Furthermore, we are very politically conservative. And (don't shoot me for saying this) but it often seems enviromental issues & liberal politics go hand-in-hand. So we just stayed "on our side of the fence." However as time has gone on K & I, have become a bit more aware of the impact of environmental issues in general. Then I took a Physical Geography class this past summer, and boy were my eyes ever opened. Now I don't claim to be uber green...I wish I was. But dang, is it ever hard....... especially living up here in Alaska. For instance my family's eco-footprint is not pretty.

So here it is.......

A List of Really Small Things I Do To Help the Planet, Which are Probably Too Small on Their Own to Make a Difference

1. Our entire house is equipped with compact fluorescent bulbs. In fact, this was the very first thing we did right. When we built our house 7 years ago we put this bulbs in straight way. I'll admit, at that time we did it strictly for $$ reasons. After living in military housing for years & not having utility bills, we wanted to save as much moola as we could. But in time we learn they weren't just money-savers, but they also are planet savers too! Ya wanna hear the best....in the 7 years we've been in the house we haven't had to replace a single light bulb yet! Score! If you haven't switched yet check out some of this info....

2. We ditched our full-size SUV. Yep, about 2 years ago we down-sized from a Ford Expedition to a minivan. Okay...not as good as a compact or hybrid, but definitely a step in the right direction. My Exp. got a whopping 14/mpg while my van averages 25-30/mpg. I'm sure it helps that I'm not a crazy, speedy driver. :)

3. I have started utilizing reusable grocery bags. Frankly I got sick & tired of all of those dang plastic bags. I swear once the enter your house they multiply. It's scary! So I caved and bought a couple $1bags from the local supermarket & I am hooked. Not more junky plastic bags allover the place & they sure hold a lot more than the single box of cereal (I'm sure you know what I'm talking about here).

4. We have pretty much (hey we aren't perfect) cut out bottled water. I invested in a few Nalgene bottles for the family as well as a couple of this incredibly cool CamelBak bottles for the kids. They have been a huge hit. We are creating less waste & definitely saving $$. Hmmmm... I am beginning to see a reoccurring theme here.....

5. I donate & recycle as much of our unwanted "stuff" as possible. Just because I no longer have a use for something, doesn't mean that someone else doesn't....

6. And on that note, I make it a game each & every week to put as little garbage in our can as possible. Amazingly, what is hauled away every Friday has gradually decreased over the last year or so....

7. Okay and the obvious...recycle, recycle, recycle.....We try recycle the standards (plastic, cardboard, paper) and then the less obvious choices such as printer cartridges, old cell phomes, etc.

I could bore you with the list of things I have created that I want to implement around here for greater change but instead check out these 57 Tips. I'll admit it's really tough. Living in Alaska, we have access to very little 'local foods', public transportation in our town is non-existent, and we require a whole lot of energy to sustain us. Oh boy do we ever screw up our ec0-footprint with our annual flying.....seriously...it takes forever for us to get anywhere. UGH! But the key is we're trying...... If I can be honest here (no throwing tomatoes please), I don't know if we'll ever be living very green, but I think there is a enormous percentage of the population who are a lot like me. You know, wanting to do something but are totally intimidated by these people we see on TV who have given up their cars & living totally on solar or hydro-power. Uhm...yeah...that's not me. But what's key is that there is a place for the average American like me to do a little something ...and eventually it'll add up to a whole lot. Get my drift?

Hump day.....

yep folks, we are half way to the weekend! Oh...I guess that mean we are even closer to midterms next week...ugh! I digress......

Anyway, since I will be busy for the remainder of today (I have to coach Battle of the Books after school & then my History of Flim class is tonight) I though I'd leave you with a couple photos & a link to check out.....

First this is the awesome view from my front porch yesterday evening. I love autumn, yet its way too short here. It lasts about all of maybe 2 weeks. Bummer!

Second I want you to check out this uber cute kiddo in this photo. His name is Denis and he is a student in Paraguay at the New Horizon School . My aunt Sue is the lady in the photo & she is the principal of the school. In fact, about 7 years ago she left her position as a principal of a school for special needs in Ohio, sold her house & decided to devot her life to mission work by opening this awesome school in Asuncion, Paraguay. Denis is in 3rd grade & we have been sponsoring him since he started Kindergarten. We pay $30/ month & that covers his tuition, uniform, some food, & some activities. I can say it's one of the best things we've ever done. Atleast twice a year we get a letter & photos from him, and often I'll recieve a letter from his parents as well. It's been amazing to see him grow in thrive through these photos. So recently another missionary was going to Asuncion & offered to take small packets from all of the sponsors in the US to the children. We were limited to what we could put in a gallon ziploc. I sent some art supplies (because it's his favorite), a letter, some photos & well...it's not important. He always writes a thank you letter for such packages. But this time I got a suprise email from my aunt of our photos with she & Denis. Pretty cool, eh?

And you thought all I could talk about was college & vomit jokes, huh? :)

**By the way, I have to tell you how incredibly proud I am of my Aunt...I think what she is doing is amazing. There are so few people out there willing to make that type of enormous sacrifice.....wow..........

And Tuesday goes like this......

·I have a raging canker sore on the inside of my bottom lip-totally hot, I know. I wonder if it has anything to do with the immense amount of stress this semester has inflincted upon my life?

·WW weigh-in went well this morning....I was down almost 2lbs since last week. Just a few more to make up for the little bit I gained over the summer. UGH! But atleast I'm on the right track........ Hopefully I'll be able to reach goal by Christmas. I gotta be optimistic :)

·I sent my dearest hubby out this door this morning to take the kiddos to school & he returned with a garment bag of Cabi clothes for me.....now that's what I call L-O-V-E! Seriously, a mom from a little girl in R's class gave him my Cabi order (from her patry about a week ago) in the parking lot. I love new clothes...especially Cabi clothes. In case you are wondering, I got the sweater vest & tuxedo tee outfit from the "Oxford" line shown in the collection. Darn copyright won't let me copy a photo, or I would show you.

·Have I told you that I think my daughter must have been switched at birth in the hospital?? Get this....the kid loves Algebra. Okay, that is just bizarre. I mean my 4th grader can do Algebra better than I can (or my hubby for that matter.) Does anyone else see something wrong with this situation?

· I just had to share this photo that I took of R. this summer & was just now able to get it off my cell phone. Yes, people this is a pic taken with my hot pink Razor. We were in downtown Anchorage at a park in the city. And the uber cool thing....it was take at about 10 o'clock at night. Have I told you I adore the 24 hours of daylight in summer thing?? Sweeet.....

Overheard today in our second home....uhm...I mean the minivan...

As we're driving home from R's kindergarten fieldtrip today I overheard the following comment:

"So what if you looked in your pocket and there was vomit in it, but you didn't vomit...."

All I can say to that is eewwwwwwwwwwww.............................only five year old boys, I tell ya!

All aboard...the Random Train of Thought...

where it stops...nobody knows:)
·It's 34 degrees...and my kids are playing outside for the sheer fun of it. For what it's worth, I think they are nuts....but I won't tell them that, cause exercise is always good for little kiddos! And just in case you are sitting there wondering what the big deal is, let me show you how kids in Alaska dress to play outside in 34˚ weather.........


Short sleeves, even some shorts...but by golly don't forget the stocking cap. And the only reason my child (the one in the middle) isn't wearing a cap is cause she has all that stinking hair & she claims it's "too warm for a hat".
And no it's not just me...some loser mom who allows this. This is this Alaskan standard. This morning I went to the grocery store & I must have seen at least 10 adults in shorts. Mind you several of them were wearing shorts, a polar fleece jacket & flip-flops. Go figure.

· I am working on yet another paper. This one is for History of Alaska. Blech....I guess I have had a crappy attitude about this class since before it even started. Why? Uhm...the instructor required 11 texts -8 of which he authored. Uhm....let's see......if your book is so crappy that it doesn't sell on its own merit don't force your students to buy it just to make a buck. My method to avoid padding Prof. Jerk-boy's pockets......the public library, thank you very much.

·I can honestly say the state of Alaska doesn't contain enough diet Coke to get me through the next 2 years. K. keeps reminding me that if I stick to it that in 2 "short" (doesn't seem short right now) years I'll have not only my post-baccalaureate Teaching certificate but my M.A.T. (masters of arts in teaching)...but right now I just wanna give them a wad of $$$ and get it over with. ***Yes, in case you are wondering...this is Whine-fest 2007***

·Tomorrow is R.'s first school field trip. We are driving....an hour into Anchorage (& back, obviously). Please pray that they put nice little boys in my car...not the ...well, you know...the ones......cause if they put the ones in my car, it'll be one long-long drive :)

Shhhhh!!! Don't tell anybody....

What I am doing right now: randomly blog surfing and indulging in yet another diet coke

What I should be doing right now: writing a paper on the African practice of Female circumcision that is due by midnight tonight...eewwww....

There are no words to describe how badly I am dreading this......

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

I'm am sure you are all acquainted with the infamous line from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" where the teacher played by Ben Stein is truly the most boring man on the face of the planet. Well, not anymore. I am privileged (please insert massive quantities of sarcasm here) to been reading a book that makes Stein seem utterly charming. It is for my Philosophy 301-Ethics class. Pardon my French but Introductory Ethics is the most bogus piece of bullshit I have ever read. As I sit hour-upon-hour trying to weed my way through this boring text I imagine the author, Fred Feldman to look & sound just like the man above. I literally hear that monotonous voice droning on & on in my head. It is truly painful. I begged & pleaded with K. today to read my assignment for me. I mean seriously, isn't it the least a husband can do for his wife? But do you think he'd come to my rescue....oh no!.....he'd rather go to the archery range. As if....

So here I sit, racking my brains to trying to make sense of egoism, act utilitarianism and a bazillion other theories that just seem to contradict themselves. Besides you know it's bad when your text was written & published in 1978 and there hasn't been a new edition since.....now what does that tell ya....

**side note-Krystyn if you see this, please e-mail me at akscraps@yahoo.com I miss reading your blog & would love to be 'authorized'!!

Just pluggin along.....

Nothing much going on here, and yet I am crazy busy at the same time.....

· First of all, I am insanely swamped with school work. To put it mildly, this semester is a killer! I am sharing this photo of some of text books this go round. Yes, I said just some...there are more but honestly I am just too lazy to round of the rest just for a photo op.......... C'mon, I know you're jealous. And I won't bore you with the list of papers I have to write (believe me the it's lonnggggggggg, the maps & a bazillion points on them I have to memorize, the films and documentaries I have to watch, blah, blah, blah........ Go ahead...just shoot me now!

· I am getting everything together for Battle of the Books for D's school. I am coaching grades 3-6. It's a phenomenal program, but you guessed it...more reading. Atleast these books are a piece of cake for an old fart like myself. Our first meeting is next Wednesday to fill the parents and students in on what to expect between now & January. Then we'll have our first practice the following week. So as I start to hypervenilate from it all, I just remind myself that "it's for the kids" and that it'll all be okay. I put "it's for the kids" in quotes because it has essentially become the moto of our school. It's a Charter school and we are tremendously dependent on the volunteer efforts of the student's families. And considering that my kids are getting a top notch education , I have no reason to complain....... As Dorie in Little Nemo would say just keep swimming......

·Oh, let me give a little 'horray' that Cross Country season is over for another year! I am so proud of my girl for having the drive to do it (cause I sure as heck am not a runner) but I am always a little relieved when we have a break and the mom-mobile isn't on the run quite as much. She did great at her race, finishing her 1.5mile with the pack. If you have ever seen a XC race, there are those runners who come in way ahead of the pack (the super fast kids), there is the 'pack' (the majority of the runners seem to finish within a few minutes of each other) and then there are the runners who bring up the rear...the race is harder for them but my hat is always off to them. Here's a little secret...I always cry when the last runner comes in. I try not to let anyone see my tears, but I have to stay and watch that last kid come in. Talk about determination, to know you are last & still have the perserverence to cross the finish line. To me that is real strength. Anway...back to D. Last year she was not last, but she was farther back than she was this year by far. We'll have her final times today.... *here's a funny little fact, last year & this year she wore bib #1 for the entire district. We have no idea why, but she thought it was pretty cool.*
·As I mentioned before, I am not a runner...never have been & I don't know if I ever will be. But my daughter seems to be rubbing off on my son. Weekend before last, D. wanted to run the Titan Trail Run, a race sponsored by a local middle school. So I sign her & a friend up. And sure enough little R. decided he wanted to do it too..... Well of course that meant I got to walk the trail with my little dude. Seriously, no matter how much I dislike running, I simply can't throw my 5yo out on a 1.4mile trail by himself. So we got up uber early on a Saturday morning, but it was so worth it. And we did it.....but the best part of all was watching R's face light up when they gae him a medal for crossing the finish line. He said "Mama..this is my best day ever. I never-ever-ever got a medal before!"

And he was so bummed on Wednesday at D's race that he couldn't race too. He is only & Kindergarten and XC doesn't start until 3rd grade. So to pass the time and satisfy his need to run, this is how he spent the afternoon......

running up & down the sidewalk that bordered the starting line....in Crocs nonetheless. Crazy kid!

The dreaded "Cards"........

Our kiddos school has what the kids call "the Cards".....essentially it is how the teacher's deal with poor behavior in the classroom...this includes talking, not pay attention...pretty much everything. It goes like this...

If your card is on GREEN-you are havin a rockin good day (every child starts each day out on green)

If you have to pull to YELLOW-dude you have been warned (actually you probably have been warned twice & the teacher is trying to drive her point home)

If you pull to ORANGE-kiddo is having some issues today & gets set to the principal to get the fear of God put in them

If you pull to RED-dude your life as you know it is over, meaning you can't return to the classroom until the principal has a conference with you, the teacher & your parents.....your life seriously sucks...........

So here we are & it's day 5 of little R. going to school. As soon as he climbs in the van each day he tells me "ohhhhh mommmyyyyyy......so & so pulled to yellow today.....that is not good" and Monday he even shared that a particular boy in his class pulled to orange.....

Well, yesterday I go to pick him up & I am waiting on the sidewalk. Then I spy my very sad looking 5 year old coming down the line...........and I knew.

Me: what's up dude?

R: It was an accident.....*sniff* I'm *sniff* soooooooooo sorry (this was follwed my a floodgate of tears)

Me:What happened? (like I didn't already know)

R: (this part I hard trouble deciphering between the gigantic sobs) I pulled to yellow........

Honestly all I could think was "SHIT!". It's a incredible sunny day (which are soon to disappear in Alaska) & now I gotta be "bad cop". Crap.....why didn't he do this on Friday when his dad was home. I don't wanna deal with this (said in my whiniest voice ever)!

So little man got an early bed time & the task of telling his dad over the phone last night what had happened. Oh how he dreaded telling K. You would have thought I had sentenced him to soliatry confinement. And when I got to the class this morning his teacher pulled me aside to tell me she was shocked that he took it so very hard yesterday. She said he was truly devestated & cried (silently) for over an hour he 'pulled his card'. So I guess we'll see how he fares today..............

Kid quip of the day....

Little R. man just came running in to tell me (at the top of his 5 year old lungs...is there any other way?)


"Mom, we are boogin this party out........"



What do this mean you ask....hell if I know......apparently it has something to do with retrieving long-lost articles from behind said child's bed.....go figure....

Where, oh where, did the summer go......

it's official...





both of my kiddos are now in school.....all day each & every day.....





last week was uber hard for me...you know, sending my baby off to school....





I cried like a baby...over my baby becoming a big boy and all ......I was oh-so-sad.....





but he is lovin' it...... & his big sister is turning out to be a fabulous 4th grader

they both make me incredibly proud.....


and how cute is this.....my baby talking to his best friend, Da-doo the teddy bear, in the car on the way to kindergarten..... he was telling him to be good for mommy & that he would be home soon....
he had as hard of time leaving Da-doo as I had leaving him.......


in case you are wondering, for this mom the first day of kindergarten sucked..... you know in that weird over-protective mama bear kind of way..... *sniff*

I seriously need to learn to shut my brain OFF...

last night I came home from my last class of the semester & life was good. I was sooooooo glad to finally be finished with my Art History class. Like I said before my instructor was a complete quack. Anyway, I get home early (a first for this class), have a Dairy Queen Buster bar (did I mention we FINALLY have a Dairy Queen....) & hit the hay early with the kids. A full night of restfull sleep was mine & I intended to take full advantage of it. Or so I thought.....

I seriously dreamt some of the craziest shit last night & when I woke up and thought about it, all of my dreams had something to do with that class last night.

First I dreamt about attending the wedding of a high school friend of which the enitre theme was clocks. There were clocks everywhere. Do you think this might have anything to do with the girl in my glass who did her powerpoint presentation on an artist who used clocks in his pieces to represent how time stopped when he met his wife.....hmmm...

Then I seemed to flash forward to another friends wedding at which a bunch of us (all friends from back in the day) were standing on a balcony overlooking a ballroom singing some incredibly bizarre songs. If that wasn't odd enough, one of my friends kept messing the songs up & was insisting it was because the songs were "too Catholic". Again, might this have anything to do with the dispute between our instructor & a classmate last evening over the 'heavily Catholic infulences" in a piece......

Then just before I woke up to my phone ringing, I was standing in a hallway talking with one of my lifelong friends about the fact that we are both in our thirties & unmarried. Huh.....she hasn't married yet but I've been married for almost 11 years. In fact I was the first of my friends to get married....it was incredibly bizarre..... Again, there was a huge discussion last night in class about Van Gogh, as well as a few other artists, who never marrried. Our instructor was insistent that a passionate artist has no room in their life for a mate because they are 'married to their work'.....yada, yada, yada...........

I guess instead of the Buster Bar I should have opted for something containing a dash of Grey Goose & I might have slept a bit better....................

Bad, Bad blogger.....

yeah I know I have been away for entirely too long & yes I know this isn't the first time. I guess whenever life gets crazy, it's my poor sweet blog that suffers. But I guess that is better than forgetting to pay the bills or neglecting my children. Seems to me both of those could have serious, if not criminal, consequences....so until I invent the 48 hour day, the blog will have to take the hit.

Anyway....I've been uber busy here. In case you are remotely interested here is the Alaskan Summer recap (thus far....there is still 2 1/2 weeks until school starts):

· As illuded to in my previous post...I am back in school...full time none-the-less. And today is the very last day of the semester, thank the Good Man up above! I scored A's in 4 out of my 5 classes so far. I am still waiting to see how poorly I did on my Philosophy of Eastern Religion final that I took last night. Honestly I don't think it went well at all........seriously I don't get any of it. If any of you undertsand the 'flow' of Shintoism, please enlighten me. And later I'll have to devote an entire post to the quack of an Art History instructor I have. Believe me, this woman is nuts.......

· D. had her very first experience at summer camp in July & loved it! She is already begging to go back. Girl must have some thick skin.....it rained the entire time she was there with a high temp of 65˚. Although I love the outdoors, I HATE to be cold. But she had a blast & now her brother is already begging to go. Sadly he has 3 years to wait.......

·Like the majority of the civilized world I anxiously anticipated the release of the newest Harry Potter book & once I had it in hand, there was no putting it down. I loved it.....but I cried. I cried when Harry saw Dumbledore. And I cried when it was over........I can't stand goodbyes & this one was huge! I feel like I'll never see a friend again......... why can't the series go on until Harry is like 80 or something?? Seriously?? **okay, yeah...I am a total sap**

·And while this really isn't very exciting, I am the proud owner (insert major sarcasm here) of a new range & dishwasher. Yes both of my old ones bit the dust. Really.....it was ridiculous. And when I called the appliance repair guy he told me that it would honestly cost more to repair them than to buy new. What? And when I went to Lowes in search of new appliances the sales clerk told me the average lifespan of appliances these day is 5-7years. Mine were both 6. No wonder our environment is in such a state.... the answer to everything anymore is buy new & put the old in the dump. Ridiculous if you ask me! Luckily a friend of a friend was interested in taking the old range off of my hands to 'tinker with' for a house he is in the early stages of building. "Have at it" I said...atleast it wasn't ending up in the landfill like my dishwasher & TV.

·Oh yeah...I forgot to mention the TV. The poor thing is diserving of a eulogy or something. Our 32" RCA TV finally took a dive. It happened the first day that K. was home from work. His first few days home he is up at 0'dark-thirty & he leaves me to sleep in while he vegs out in front of the Outdoor Channel. Well on the morning in question he anxiously woke me up before dawn & told me "it's a sad, dark day". At first I was confused, but then I thought back to the last few morning when I attempted to turn cartoons on for the kids & how the TV didn't seem to want to 'switch on'. We knew this day was coming for a long, long time. The question was when...... you see K. bought this TV when he was just an Airman in 1987. You read that right.....it was 20 years old. And in recent years as our friends upgraded to HDTV & plasma, we remained in the dark ages. Our old friend weighs over 150lbs & the original remotes haven't worked in almost a decade (Thank goodness for Universal Remotes!). After the appropriate moment of silence, K headed straight to wake the kids for our trip to Best Buy. He was joining his friends in the 21st century.......a HDflat screen was in his very near future. Within a few hours it was out with the old & in with the new..........thank goodness Santa had brought him an Xbox 360 last Christmas so now we can all enjoy Halo 2 in all it's HD glory....otherwise I simply son't know how we would manage.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the whole dishwasher thing went way in my favor......see I purchased a clearance model Whirpool. It was a good model, but it was being replaced & so they had dropped the price. Hey, girl is all about saving a buck or 2. Anyway....I was happy with my purchase especially since I love save money. And since the clerk had said the new models are only 'supposed' to last about 7 years why would I spend a bazillion dollars anyway. Fast forward to the Lowes delivery guys bringing in my dishwasher....except it wasn't my dishwasher. After a bit of back & forth on the matter the guy realizes the wrong one has been loaded on the truck. But no worries, they will *try* to bring the other one out today. And if not, then sometime next week. Huh? Didn't I pay for next day delivery??? Finally the guy tells me "You shoulda just kept your mouth shut lady & kept this here expensive model" *you gotta love the proper speech & all* So I call the store & the clerk who sold me my appliances tells me that if coming back out to my house is going to be too inconvienent then I could just keep the one they delivered me. What's the big deal you ask......well I 'lucked into' an $850 Bosch Dishwasher. Yeah baby! This thing is beautiful!

Well....I guess that sums up my summer. It doesn't sound busy when you read it like that but believe me the school part kicked my butt! Thankfully I have 3 whole weeks before Fall semester begins!