Life is Great!

Back in AK

2009-08-18T20:22:00.001-07:00

I am back in AK ready for another school year! It was nice to be home and see family but I always appreciate being back in my own apartment and a routine I am used to! However, I do miss my friends and family back home...to bad I can't have the best of both worlds right! Well, I will update more pictures later when I have them on my computer!

What is going on?

2009-03-21T23:26:00.000-07:00

What is going on in my world lately? Mmmm...interesting question. Well, I work, go to Tae Kwon Do, and sleep. That is about all. I went to Nome last weekend to get out of town for a bit. That was fun. Did a shot of Wild Turkey with my dad (of course he was in Wisconsin so it was over the phone). I popped my hip out of joint today during Tae Kwon Do so that kind of hurts right now. I scrubbed the kitchen floor and bathroom down today. Well, as interesting as this is that is all the update I have now!
I hope life is more interesting for others right now! Have a great rest of the weekend!

Can you believe it... more snow!

2009-02-20T22:18:00.000-08:00

Here are some recent pictures of the snow situation up here. The first picture is me trying to walk up the stairs (okay, actually just showing you how much snow. Can't really walk up those steps right now). Our window is completely covered with snow and we have snow drifts taller than me! It is great! I has finally warmed up a bit but I think another blizzard is on the way! Enjoy and send me tickets to Hawaii! This is short because I am talking to Megan and you know me...can't multi-task very easily.

Got Snow?

2009-02-15T13:03:00.001-08:00

Snow, snow, and more snow! It has been snowing and blowing off and on since last Thursday. What do I live in Alaska or something? Oh, wait I do! All else has been going good. I have been going to Tae Kwon Do practice and enjoying it a lot. I enjoy the workout and the challenge the instructor presents. That is about all in my world right now. Not too interesting but that can be a good thing too! Enjoy the day!

I'm still here!

2008-10-11T18:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, for anybody that does read my blog I apologize for the lack of information and pictures I have posted. I will give you quick update of what is going on in my life. The snow has started to fall which is nice because everything looks prettier. The negative is it means winter is creeping up fast.

We are almost finished with Quarter 1 already and that is unbelievable. I have a wonderful group of first graders that love learning and are well behaved. I think they are the most polite group of kids I have worked with. I have liked all my classes but this class is very polite saying things like, "Thank you, ma'am." and "Please, may I..." It is awesome. Of course, once and a while they drive me crazy but they are only 6 and 7 year olds!

Continuing on my exciting update is that I am the cheerleading coach. I enjoy the time spent with the 5th/6th graders who have chosen to be a cheerleader. They are dedicated and work hard to show that they are dedicated and want to travel to Unalakleet for the Wrestling/Cheerleading tournament in November. That is about all the exciting things happening in my life right now. Work, work, work!

Life is still going good and that is the important part. Hopefully, I will get some of my pictures downloaded onto my computer to post them. Hope all is well for everyone else out there! Enjoy the weekend!

Got Fish?

2008-08-30T16:27:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday, I went on a fishing trip with 6 other teachers and our tour guide (one of the parapros from school). We went to a place about an hour boat ride from Stebbins called Piqmiktolik (spelling is wrong). It was a great boat ride out and when we got to the river you could see the salmon swimming! So we got the poles ready and started fishing. I had an old reel which was fine except it did not work right so I struggled all day. The first salmon I got broke my line, took my pixee, and made me step in the water which filled my boot up! It was a wonderful way to start the day. Of course this was about 9:30 in the morning. Thank goodness it was warm out! We spent a good amount of time there and we moved to another spot for the remainder of the afternoon. Everyone was getting fish but me (I guess I was not holding my tongue right). That and everytime I got a bite I was fighting it in and it would wriggle loose before I could pull it in. Oh well! It was a wonderful day of fishing! If we kept everything we caught we would have had about 90 fish. We kept about half of them. The picture is the container full of salmon. I now have lots of yummy smoked salmon to eat! I hope I am able to have more adventures someday!

I'm back!

2008-08-06T11:35:00.000-07:00

I have returned from my summer vacation. It was great to visit my family and friends, see new places I have never been, and to see places I have been before and enjoy. Even though it was a nice summer it is nice to be back home in Stebbins and have time to relax before getting back to work. Here are a couple pictures from my summer.

This is my favorite place in Berlin, Germany. It is the old bell tower of a church that was bombed during the war and the new church is the the right (honeycomb building) and the new bell tower is behind the old one. The inside of the new church is surprising. It is brightly colored stained glass. The outside does not do it justice.

This is a picture from Tallinn, Estonia which is an old medieval city. When this picture was taken I was on my way to find the cannon tower to tour the inside.

Of course my babies! Did you think I would leave them out of my summer vacation? They were happy to see me when I got home and sad to see me leave. Aren't they adorable!

Wow!

2008-05-24T17:49:00.000-07:00

I do not need to put words to express this picture. I was in Unalakleet for the week for an extra work week. It was a busy week with work to be done but I did find time to relax. Some friends from other sites in my school district and I had a bonfire on the beach. We then were still having the bonfire as the sun set. It was so awesome watching the sun go down over the Bering Sea. This is one of the many awesome pictures I got. By the way it was after midnight by the time the sun set completely.

Whew!

2008-05-15T18:14:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it to the end of the year. Our water supply is back up, it's light until midnight, kids are tired, teachers are cranky, and we are all ready for the end of the year. School ends tomorrow for us! It has been a pretty good year. My favorite moments are when students come in and have made connections from what they learned in school to their lives outside of school. One day in April I had 4 girls excitedly knocking on the school door. I could not figure out what was wrong but when I went to the door they were about jumping out of their skin because they were so excited they found a caterpillar on the tundra. They wanted to add it to the butterfly net they had in their Science class. Of course, I allowed them to come in off school time and we added it to the butterfly net. The caterpillar was named Flower. I was so excited for the girls.
Over all it has been a successful year! We learned lots, drove me nuts, and laughed (most important). I look forward to another year in Stebbins!

Here is a picture of the girls with Flower.
From left to right: Maria (not in school yet), Diane, Gina, and McKenzie (3 older girls from my class)

Got Water!

2008-04-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

Well, it is official. We are now on water reserve. So I am becoming resourceful. Since I have been wanting the snow to go away for a couple weeks now. I am really glad we have tons of snow. This is how my roommate and I will brush our teeth, wash our face, and other small water duties for a while. I went out and filled up a couple of tubs and will have to fill up again tomorrow I am sure. Well, thought you would find that interesting! Enjoy your showers...I can't have one for a couple days! Life in bush Alaska!!

Grocery Shopping with Katy

2008-04-10T21:35:00.001-07:00

So Katy (the 4th grade teacher) and I took a quick trip to St. Michael's to grocery shop. Katy was in desperate need of some food for her home. I have a Honda and like to go driving. It works out great! Well, this time we were quite loaded down on the way home. This is Katy on my Honda. I also had a backpack full of yogurt and other random things. Never figured I would ever go grocery shopping this way. It was about 23 degrees above zero...heat wave! Now it is back to cold. Please send warm weather!!

A little late but whatever!

2008-04-10T21:24:00.001-07:00

Mom and Dad in Nome. We were waiting for Lance Mackey (winner) to come in during the Iditarod. It was about 2:00 a.m.

Watch out dad! We went for a walk and found a hill of snow to play on!

Mom and I at the Nome National Forest on the Bering Sea. Bet you did not know Nome had a forest!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T21:56:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter everybody! It was a wonderful day of relaxation for me. I was not planning on doing anything as far as Easter dinner and then a lady that I chat with sometimes invited me to her family Easter dinner. It was great to be around a family for the holiday. I could not be around mine but to have kids running around, laughing and playing was the best way to spend Easter. The family made me feel so welcome and I felt right at home. It was really a blessing. Of course, I would have rather been with my family but this helped with the loneliness of being so far away. Thank you to Theresa Jack and her family for making me feel so welcome!

I also got to eat some yummy food...I got to eat moose stew (always yummy) and I got to try goose for the first time (also yummy). For dessert I ate Eskimo ice cream which is called akutuq (spelling probably wrong). It is berries, lard or Crisco, and sugar.

Whoo Hoo!

2008-03-07T19:30:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you all but we hit up in the 30 degree weather this week. Man, it was nice to walk outside and not freeze my eyelashes together. I was talking with my dad last night and he said it was like 12 degrees in Wisconsin. Ha, Ha, Ha...you all should come where it is warmer. Hopefully, it won't be too warm for the mushers and dogs to get safely to Nome for Iditarod! I hope it is not too cold though either since my parents are coming up this week. Well, enjoy the weekend and I will get a picture of my mom and dad on the blog and their little excursion to Alaska!

Nice view!

2008-02-19T20:17:00.000-08:00

So, because it has been snowing and blowing around...this is the current view out my window in the apartment. The snow has piled up and I have my own little sledding hill but I need to get the window open first. That might pose a problem!

This is what the back of the school looks like right now. The snow is piled up high and it is still snowing! It is so great to have so much snow! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Crazy Winter Weather!

2008-01-31T21:29:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I got a couple comments on my last post about the weather in Wisconsin/Minnesota. Well, I would like you all to know that we had it before you...na,na,na,na,na! Actually, last week as in 1/22/08 we had really high winds with snow going in every direction. We had that for a couple days. So windy that planes would not fly which meant no mail. But anyway, I thought I would try to post a video again of the wind. I am not sure if you will get the full effect but it was nasty out here. The video was taken outside my classroom window. I guess we (Alaska) are sending the icky weather down. Hope it warms up for you all and I will keep you posted on anything fun going on here!

Trip to the store

2008-01-28T19:54:00.000-08:00

Well, 2 weekends ago now I took a trip to St. Michael to go to the AC Store there. The AC Store has fresh produce that we don't get in Stebbins. I, of course, drove the 12 miles or so to the store. It was a great ride. The weather was nice...about 25 degrees above zero and absolutely beautiful sunset (as you can see). The picture of me on the right is what I look like coming back from the store (good thing I have bungee cords)! I was actually not too loaded this time, usually the box in front is bigger. It was great trip! So nice to be outside!

Finally Warm Enough!

2008-01-17T22:09:00.000-08:00

Well, after it being -15 to -25 degrees the last week it finally warmed up to a little over 20 above. That is good weather to start the Honda and go for a ride. I went out for a ride tonight and it was great. It was so nice to be able to be outside and enjoy fresh air without my eyelashes freezing together. We have quite a bit of snow and it started snowing again tonight. I love winter...when I don't have to drive a car but a Honda is okay!

Back to Work

2008-01-05T18:54:00.000-08:00

Back to work I go! I had a wonderful time with family and friends in Wisconsin. It was a great 2 week break. I was able to spend time relaxing and shopping. Actually, so great that I was not ready to come back to work. Although my new year did not start very well, having waking up to cold sweats, very upset stomach, and a swollen shut eye was not the best way to begin 2008. I am not sure why I had cold sweats and upset stomach but I had a swollen eye because I had an infection in my eye. I went to Urgent Care on New Year's Day to have a doctor check it out. It is much better now and that is good. I am happy to be home in my own place with my own stuff and my own bed. I am not especially excited to have to go back to work on Monday. Hopefully, I will be doing some interesting things so I can post to the blog. Have a great start to the new year!

Waiting!

2007-12-11T18:57:00.000-08:00

Well, I am waiting, not so patiently, for Christmas break. I am so excited to go back home and see family and friends. While I wait I have not done too many exciting things. I took a couple cool pictures a couple weekends ago when a friend and I went for a ride on our Hondas (4-wheeler). We also saw beluga whales in the Bering Sea (I tried to upload the video but I am not sure it is working). If you can see the video that is great...if not I am sorry. It was great to be outside and to enjoy the fresh air. We had snow and lost it but as of today we have snow again.

Locks of Love

2007-11-27T19:29:00.000-08:00

Well, I have finally done it. I grew my hair out long enough to get it chopped off to give it to Locks of Love. I went down to Anchorage for Thanksgiving and on Friday I got my hair cut. It was weird but great. I love my new hair cut! Here is a before and after picture!

Halloween

2007-11-06T19:03:00.000-08:00

This is a little on the late side of posting but for Halloween my friend, Tracie, and I had a blast. We scared a lot of children while handing out candy. I pretended I was dead while Tracie explained that she killed me. Then Tracie proceeded to poke me to prove to the kids that I was dead. The kids were encouraged to poke me and when they did I sat up and yelled, "Boo!" The kids jumped back about 2 feet. Of course, Tracie and I cracked up laughing. The next day was fun when kids were coming up to me and poking me. After handing out candy, I went to the community hall and watched the costume contest/Eskimo dancing. It was a fun night!

Scary huh? It was not fun getting the knots out! Long hair all ratted up is really funky looking!

Let it Snow!

2007-10-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

Last night, myself and another teacher, Ben, went out to play with kids in the freshly fallen snow. It was a blast. We threw snowballs at each other, dog piled, and made snow angels. It was fun to just be with the kids outside of school time and to enjoy the outdoors. This is me, Eugene (one of my students) and another little girl playing with us. I hope it snows a lot this year.

This is just a beautiful picture I took about a half hour ago. I love looking out my living room window and seeing this beautiful sky. The water was so calm and with the rays of sun coming down it was just too lovely to pass up . Enjoy the sight.

First time

2007-10-25T21:15:00.000-07:00

Well, hello world. This is my first attempt in the world of blogging. I thought I would give this a try to have an easy way to share what is going on in my world to lots of people at one time. Enjoy and I will do my best at posting often since you all are not busy you will be able to read my blog.
Welcome to my home in Stebbins, Alaska.