I have been super busy!

At least that's going to be my excuse for not blogging in over 2 months! How sad it that?! The worst part is I feel like so much has happened but not really. Alaska summers are beautiful as long as it's not raining. Which we have been getting rain almost every day for the past few weeks which is pretty lame. We haven't really gone and done too much lately. We did a 5 mile hike a few weeks ago which was nice. Here is a view of Anchorage from our hike!

And we went to see the Portage Glacier which was amazing! It was really windy out on the water though and it was kind of spur of the moment. Poor Justin had on shorts, flip flops and a t shirt!

A few other happenings.

• I currently have a 4.0 in college which is pretty awesome. It isn't easy but I know it will be worth it in the end.
• I am unemployed at the moment. Don't really want to get into too much detail but my job and I found different things important in life and at the end of the day I had to do what was right for Justin and I in the long run. I have a few things I am looking into and will let you all know when I finally start working again. In the mean time, Justin is enjoying home cooked meals and a clean house!
• Summer is quickly coming to a close to Alaska and this makes me sad and excited at the same time. As beautiful as it is I am almost a little ready for snow! We are looking forward to having a white Christmas this year!!

We miss everyone very much and think of you often! I promise I will try to keep this blog updated with all the interesting (and not so interesting) every day life happenings here in Alaska! xoxo

It's been fooorrevvverrr!

I know. . I know. I feel like I haven't been posting anything in weeks! Truth of the matter. I feel like this life is so normal to me that I forget it is new and exciting for everyone else. I don't even know where to begin. First off the weather has been gorgeous. The sun has been out a lot of as long as the wind isn't trying to blow you over (which is does a lot!) it really feels like springtime back in SC minus the humidity. Which I might add is AWESOME! My hair looks great here when I take the time to dry and flat iron. Speaking of hair, I added a little color to mine. Picture to come after this weekend. I did a few blonde highlights and a few red lowlights. I really like it. And since I wont be spending half of my time outside or by the ocean this year, I figured these locks weren't going to change color themselves!

I start back to school on Tuesday (Yay!) And honestly, I really am excited. I feel like this is finally the end for me. We are stationed somewhere long enough that I can finally finish. While I wait to get into the RN program, I am taking classes towards a medical assistant/phlebotomy technician. I figure it will keep me busy and hopefully teach me a lot of things I will need to know.

I feel like Justin and I really haven't gotten out and done a whole lot here yet. First of all bears are awake. And we don't have a gun or bear spray yet. Might I add they have been sleeping all winter so what are they looking for? Food. . And I don't want to get in the way of a hungry bear! Although we haven't seen bears yet ourselves there was a siting at one of the base gates yesterday of 3 black bears. Sad I missed them however we have been bear stalking ever since. I would like to see one from a safe distance. Like in my car. We have been eating at lots of local restaurants here however. There aren't many chain restaurants here aside from fast food places so that has given us a chance to eat local stuff which is exciting. Here's a run down.

Humpy's - This is a cool little dive bar type place. It was featured on Man vs Food where he did a seafood challenge. We did not do this. I ordered a blackened salmon burger and Justin ordered a blackened halibut burger. We split each so we could get a taste of both. . Seriously. Best food ever. Both burgers were amazing. But then again we are in Alaska with fresh fish and seafood.

Glacier Brewhouse - I went here once without Justin with a few girls I know. I had a few different things since we all ordered apps and just shared. The hummus here was amazing. And I also had a shrimp and smoked king salmon Cesar salad. Delish. Really. I could eat that salad all the time. And the salmon of course was fresh and tasted like no other salmon I have ever had. When Justin and I went we split the shrimp and okra po' boy sand which. It was good. I liked it more than Justin but then again he doesn't really like to go outside of his "box" that often.

The Moose's Tooth - We went here for Justin's birthday. It like a pizza place. But better than any other pizza I had ever had. I had the Spinach Garlic Chicken Pizza which was Roasted Chicken, Portabella Mushrooms, Spinach, Roasted Garlic, Ricotta, Diced Romas, Mozzarella, Provolone and Garlic oil. Justin had Santa's Little Helper which is Pepperoni, Blackened Chicken, Steak, Bacon, Red Peppers, Cilantro, Mozzarella, Provolone, Marinara. Amazing food. And their beer is amazing as well. I had a raspberry wheat. Loved it. Justin had a little of everything. It was his birthday.

Samurai Sushi - This was probably the best sushi I have had. It is a really small place but had a lot to offer. I of course has sushi. I had the Hot Night Roll which is shrimp tempura, crab meat, avocado, cucumber and topped with spicy tuna. Justin had beef bulgogi. It's a Korean beef dish which he had not had since he left Korea. He was very happy that we found this place since they have Korean food.

Snow City Cafe - Sunday we had breakfast here. I ordered an eggs Benedict with king crab cakes. I don't even think I need to go into detail how good this was. Justin made his own omelet which included reindeer sausage. He really liked it. Tasted like cubed ham or something to me. Either way this place was really cool and run by hippies. Which are my favorite.

I think that is about it. We are trying to get out more and more now that the weather is nice. And I promise I am going to try and update my blog every day from now on so I don't miss out on so much. I miss everyone back home tons. xoxo

Happy Easter!

Justin and I decided to have a seafood dinner today. It was amazing. Crab legs, crab cakes and shrimp. All of my favorites. Not to much new here which is why I haven't posted lately. I did start work this week which was good. I was going crazy sitting in the house all the time. The job is good. Seems easy enough which is nice. It will be nice once I start back to school. Which happens next month. I can't believe it. I feel like there is finally an end in sight for school. I am soo ready to be done. I will have a hard schedule for the next year or so but it will all be worth it in the end.

Justin and I went downtown yesterday just to walk around and check out some local stores. I wish the weather was nicer because I would have taken pictures but it was cloudy and gloomy so pictures will have to wait. We did eat at Humpy's for lunch. It is a cute little dive where you seat yourself. The food was beyond amazing. I had a blackened salmon burger and Justin had a blackened halibut burger. We split them so we could each try both. Probably the best thing I have ever had in my life! I am so looking forward to doing things like fishing and camping this summer. . Crazy, right? Who would have thought I would look forward to camping! It is getting warmer everyday and with that comes more sunlight every day. Right now it doesn't get completely dark until around 10:15 or so. This will be an interesting summer and I can't wait! As much as I love it here I do miss everyone back home. It is nice to talk to everyone and Skype sometimes. Pictures are coming. . I promise! =)

What a day!

I have had the craziest day so far and it's only 2pm! But first I will catch you all up on "Alaska" stuff. As of right now, Alaska is the only state that doesn't have a veterans museum. Sunday all of that will change with the opening of the new veterans museum. Justin and I are planning to attend which I am pretty excited about. Something new and exciting to do! We also have started planning our summer trips and things that we would like to do. I am so looking forward to seeing new things in Alaska. The snow is almost completely melted and hopefully we won't be getting anymore of that stuff until next year!

Now for my crazy day. Justin left for work and for some reason I wasn't able to fall back asleep. I called my dear friend Trisha and talked to her for a while. And I might add that I miss her like crazy. Being able to talk and Skype is nice but not being able just to hang out stinks. Plus she has the most gorgeous baby and a pretty cool husband too. Then I called my Memaw and talked to her which is always nice. I am so looking forward to a visit from her and my grandpa while I am here. My grandpa's brother actually lives in Alaska. Upstate though in a town called Barrow. Which I learned today he is the mayor of. . pretty cool, right? So anyway, after all that catching up I decided to try and get some sleep. Took a nap, woke up, took a shower and made lunch. As I am sitting on the couch eating lunch, the doorbell rings and the dogs go crazy! I look out to see a little boy standing there. He was maybe 3 years old and in his pajamas with snow boots and a dog. Super weird. When I open the door he asks if he can come inside my house. Umm, no. I don't know you and you don't know me. We "talked" for a while. I found out he took his dog (whose name in Flin) out for a walk and then he got lost. The dog wasn't on a leash but seemed nice enough but very scared. The little boy said his dog was very nice but I know how dogs can be. When I tried to look at the tag on the dog's collar, he turned and snapped at me. Just the chance I knew I had to take to try to find this little boys home. I finally was able to see the address and walked the little boy all the way to the end of our street and to his house. His front door was open but the screen was closed. He didn't want to go inside and told me his daddy was at work and his mommy was upstairs sleeping! Really?! How do you fall asleep and let your little boy escape from the house. I finally convinced him to go inside and made sure he stayed inside for a while before I walked back to my house. Looking back I probably should have rang the door bell or something but honestly I was in such shock and soo mad about the situation it's probably next if I didn't. I don't have kids so I try not to judge but I just don't see how something like this could have happened. This mother is not only lucky her little boy ended up at my house and I was able to find his way home but lucky that she lives on base. Because it's sad to say but in this world today, her little boy could have easily disappeared. The sad thing is I am sure this happens more than I know about. Just breaks my heart for this little boy who was such a doll. It is a lesson for me for sure.

. .

I don't even know how to title this post. As I sit here watching the countdown to the government shutdown, I am feeling so many different emotions. I must say that I do love Anderson Cooper. He knows his stuff, he speaks his mind and takes up for the military. I am in complete disbelief that this budget deal should have been done LAST year. The fiscal year is over in September 2011 and they aren't clear on a budget? Aren't we halfway through the fiscal year already? 6 extensions? Just seems crazy to me. I am upset that the people that fight so hard for this country might not get a full paycheck. What if they only fight half as hard as they could for this country? That would be not only unacceptable but it is not the moral code of any soldiers I know. The worst comment I have heard so far through this whole thing is where one law maker made that comment that she couldn't afford to give up any of her $170,000 a year salary due to the fact of "things going on in her life". Really? But you don't give the military the option to get paid or not. I hope that everyone can come to terms and agree on something. Not only because of course my income is on the line, but for everyone else as well. I have never seen or remember hearing about such a thing as this. Let's hope for the best. Right now, I am not too hopeful and am preparing myself for the worst. Just in case.

Before I close this out it just came across that they came to an agreement. This will keep the government funded until Thursday. Which is good for us. My only concern is what about next year? Or the year after. And it was said that since the senators are so tired from this whole thing they are probably going to take the weekend off. Well I am glad that they get a break since this was so hard on them. But lets hope that they come back to work on Monday with their heads on straight and really trying to work to get a solution to this problem. Being a military spouse is never easy. This is just something else that I signed up for and will deal with. . but not without a little anger. =)

Vegan?

Today I watched a re run of Oprah which I am now wishing I didn't watch. She had a challenge for her staff to all go vegan for a week. Didn't seem too bad and I thought it would be full of interesting information. I have slowly been cutting meat out of my diet for some time now. First pork and then beef. Now pretty much chicken, turkey and fish are all the meat you will find in our freezer. Not that I have anything against people who eat meat but it is a personal choice. Trust me. Justin loves a good steak or burger. After watching this show and seeing what happens in slaughter houses, I think I am slowly going to try and at least become a vegetarian. Driving to Alaska we passed plenty of slaughter houses and I always got a little emotional about them. I don't want to be someone who forces my beliefs on everyone else. Like I said, this is a personal choice and I know for a fact I will have to continue to cook meat for Justin. Which is fine. I just feel like I need to finally do this instead of thinking about it for another 3 years. New home, new job, new lifestyle, right? That being said, I think I am going to check out a book they had on the Oprah show. It's by Kathy Freston and called Veganist: Lose Weight, Get Healthy, Change the World. We will see how this goes. Since I just went to the grocery store yesterday, this is going to have to wait a few weeks. Plus I would like to read the book first. I will let you know how it goes!

A little bit of everything

I feel like since we have gotten to Alaska that things have been a little crazy! We have been in this great state for about 2 1/2 weeks now. I must say that I am in love with this place. Although we haven't gone out and done much yet, the city is great. I was recently on the "job hunt" which I must say I hate! I just don't like going in and talking to people about me. You don't realize how much you don't like talking about yourself until you have to do it. I ultimately got a job here on base. It is about 2 minutes away from the house. When you first arrive to Alaska or right before you go on a deployment, you have to get all your cold weather gear. Now those people will be coming to be for that! It is Monday - Friday from 7:30am to 4:30pm. Not too bad. And I can come home for lunch which is awesome. I don't start until April 18 so it gives me a little time to unpack and relax. As much as I would have liked to work off base in as an admin again, this job just seemed right for me right now. It looks like school will be on hold at least until the fall for right now. I am pretty sad about that.

We are in the process of getting unpacked for good. It seems to be taking longer than I would like. I forgot how much stuff we actually have. I will try to get pictures of the house up this week. Trust me, you don't want to see it in it's current condition. Total mess. On a side note we got about 2 inches of snow today. Yes. April 5 and we are getting snow. The good thing is it warmed up and most of it has already melted.

Things are suuuper expensive here. Everyone warned me but I should have really listened. A regular bottle of Olay lotion here is around $9. Crazy, right? Plus there is no Bath and Body Works or Victoria's Secret. Soo, my dear mother has already shipped me out a care package! 2 birds one stone luckily! She stocked me up on some things and it will end up being cheaper for me in the long run. As sad as I am to be far away from family I must say the one thing I am excited about it getting packages from them! And the fact that I can at least Skype with everyone and get to see them. I am going to try and get better about this blog and updating it. I keep forgetting that what is normal life for me is still new and exciting to everyone back home! I miss all my friends and family like crazy! The race is one to see who will be the first to visit us. I look forward to showing our new home off to everyone! <3