Just Another Day

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Today was a very lazy day, which was much needed! I feel like I’d been going since I left for Anchorage 2 weeks ago. It’s been a good busy, though. Better than just sitting around Unalakleet.

Friday night we went to Holt’s for a St. Patrick’s Day party. There are a few pictures up in the gallery from the night. It was the first time I’d actually celebrated the Irish event. We had a good time and apparently weren’t ready to wrap it up when we headed back to our apartment. So, we went and visited with Deb and Jason until around 2 in the morning.

Saturday I went to the Stampin’ Up party and made 4 cards. I’m pretty impressed with them, despite the fact that each has a special flaw. Their cute. (I didn’t come up with the ideas on my own… just followed a pattern.) Then last night we had dinner down at Johnson’s before having the crew up here for a movie night. We projected Lord of War on the livingroom wall and The Incredibles on the bedroom wall – so both adults and kids could get a theater-like experience. It was fun.

Bill and I took advantage of having the projector here and watched The Longest Yard today. That’s about as productive as I got! 🙂

Sounds like everyone back home is doing well. Grandma finished my painting and is stewing over ideas for her next. I’m happy to hear that! Lo is doing fine – though she sounded a little tired today. Ape’s busy as ever – she, too, had a very social weekend.

That’s all for now! Take it easy, all!

I’m missing another sister’s birthday. (Sigh) Wish I could be there to sing, make angel food cake (that’s what we always had on Ape’s b-day), and whoop it up with the rest of the fam. I’m sure they won’t have trouble celbrating without me!

I’m in Homer now, and it is GORGEOUS! My hotel is at the end of the spit, and my room has a balcony overlooking the beach and the ocean… mountains rest right behind the water. Work has gone well the past couple of days. Implementation gets better each time I visit, and I’m happy that the schools continue to progress. I have to stop and remember that they’re really only seven months into the process. They’re going to get great! Today we were at a Russian Old Believer school. The children are so beautiful! They speak Russian at home and come to Kindergarten with very limited English. The girls and women all wear the traditional home-sewn dresses. I want one! The women wear bonnets, and all the girls have long braids. It’s so amazing that this little place even exists and I’d not known about it prior to this year!

Anyway… tomorrow is a team meeting. Thursday my boss and I fly out to Nanwalek (a neighboring village), and I’ll head off to Anchorage later that evening. It’s a full week, but I’m happy to be here right now. Things in Unalakleet were getting way too crazy with all the Iditarod stuff.

So – everybody e-mail or call April to wish her a happy 27th!!! And don’t hesitate to drop me a line either. 🙂 I miss you!

Sunday, March 12, 2006

The weekend is a blur. It’s been so incredibly crazy between Bill having to schedule all the boys and girls basketball tournament broadcasts and meeting with people on the Iditarod stuff… he’s barely been around, and I’ve been using the time to work. Yuk!

We did go down to Holt’s for dinner last night, which was wonderful. It’s always such a wonderful change of pace to share an evening with the group. It sounds like we’ll be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day there as well. I’m looking forward to it.

I am supposed to be on my way to Anchorage right now, but the plane is late. So, I’m just waiting around the apartment until it finally lands and takes me into town. I’m hoping I’ll still be able to catch my flight into Homer tonight.

Sounds like I missed a good “Guess Who” concert last night. I was a little bummed about that… but happy April and Dad got to go whoop it up. 🙂

Hope everyone has a great week!

Bill’s student broadcast team is featured on Cabela’s Iditarod coverage page. It’s pretty cool.

http://www.cabelasiditarod.com/coverage_2006/cov06_mar10_03.html

Friday, March 10, 2006

I’ve only been back in Unalakleet 29 hours, but I feel like this past week didn’t even happen. There was so much to do today, so I started the day with coffee at Tiffany’s. Stacie is in Anchorage with James (he’s been ill), so we of course missed her. Our friend, Deb, had today off though, so she joined us. It was so nice to visit and catch up.

I plowed through work this afternoon and left just enough time to put some pasties together for our dinner company. There are two “extras” up this weekend working with Bill and John, so we had the crew over for dinner. The pasties were a hit, and we finished off with some hot fudge pudding cake. I hadn’t made either in ages. Still, I’m feeling a little too house-wifish on days like these!

One of my big tasks to accomplish today was to unpack my suitcase and get my clothes washed. I then re-filled the suitcase with clothes for next week’s trip to Homer. This is the last visit to Homer I have this year, and I think it’s going to be a good one.

I’m hoping that tomorrow night we’ll get to borrow an LCD projector and watch a movie on our wall. Maybe I’ll even pop the Stouffer’s in the oven and pretend to have a night out on the town. 😉

Apparently Grandma has started painting a picture for me. I told her I’m not coming home until she does. It sounds like she’s having a good time. I certainly hope so. She and I made a promise that we’re not going to waste this summer away sitting on our behinds. I’m still working on talking her into doing some tubing. 😀

Well, time to look at reading my latest People magazine. It’s important I stay current on the worlds most important events!

Wednesday, March 8, 2006

Funny how my first year of marriage is probably as single as I’ve been in the past eight years. I’ve spent more time by myself, in hotels, and talking to people I don’t really know in the past eight months than ever before. Tonight, I called Bill to tell him I was eating supper at the McDonald’s inside Wal-Mart, by myself. To which he replied, “Oh no, you’re one of those people.” Of course, those of you who remember me from college will note that it was always my goal to have dinner inside a Target or store of the like. Mission accomplished. 😉

April’s birthday is coming up next week. She probably doesn’t believe that I had her card picked out even before we talked about the fact that her birthday is exactly a week away tonight. It’s okay – she’s going to love the card.

I haven’t talked to Lo in some time now. Apparently she’s back in the hustle and bustle of things. I know she was at bells and choir practice and probably the Lent service tonight. That’s one thing I’ve missed ever since I left for college. I used to love Wednesday night services and the whole Lent season. I need to make a better point of observing it even when my routine is, well, not routine!

My computer calander is counting down and reminding me that soon I will be enjoying some fun in the sun. Shoot – that reminds me, I went to Wal-Mart specifically to get sunscreen and I didn’t get any. Figures.

Tomorrow I’m going to pick up some fresh and frozen grocery items to drag back to Unalakleet with me. I really haven’t taken advantage of my time “out” in that respect. Better late than never, I guess!

Alright, time to go read and get ready for bed. Would love to hear from you all! 🙂

Thursday, March 3, 2006.

Can you believe it’s already March?

I had a very nice weekend in Anchorage, though Bill was kept busy with ASTE sessions. I think he ended up teaching 4 additional sessions that he wasn’t even scheduled for. It must be nice to be flexible! Anyway, we did get to see a movie and have dinner at the Sea Galley. (I’m suddenly into sea food.) We watched Firewall, and I was only half impressed. Perhaps that’s because the gummy treats I chose were only half impressive as well.

Sunday I got to hang out with Barb. We met at Starbucks and walked around the mall for a short while before heading back to steal Bill away from the tech stuff. I wish we had more time to hang out with our families. It was so nice!

I ended up having to buy a few new clothes (darn), because I ran out of clean ones by the end of my trip. The initial plan was to wash them when I hit Anchorage, but the hotel we were at was too fancy to have a laundry room. Instead, I would’ve had to pay big bucks to have somebody else washing my undies. No thanks.

So, I’ve had 2 days back in Unalakleet by myself. Bill was supposed to fly here yesterday, but the wind here kept planes from making it it. Tiff invited Stacie and I down for dinner since our hubbies were weathered out. The Currier’s made it as well, so it was a fun evening. Luckily, Jason drove us down the block and a half – the wind and blowing snow was way too harsh to walk in.

Today I’ve been busy doing work stuff. There’s always plenty of that to do. I also finished making a pan of tiramisu. I think I’ll post a picture of it on the gallery. I’m pretty impressed, though I’ll admit I don’t know how tasty it’s going to be.

Ape and I are thinking it’s time to move back to Dad’s and take over the place FOREVER. I like the way that girl thinks. 🙂 Got to talk to Lo and Dad as well, and I got an e-mail from Mom today. How lucky am I? At least we can stay somewhat connected!

Alright – off to do some reading for work. (I think… my latest People magazine is sitting right next to The Reading Teacher. We’ll see which one I choose. 🙂 )

I’ve added a few UNK pictures to the gallery.

New pictures from Vegas in my gallery if you want to check them out! 🙂

So, Las Vegas was good. I’ll start from the beginning.

I flew out of Anchorage at 8:00 Wednesday morning. I got my confirmed window seat, and Christy and I headed to the boardroom for a coffee and a little news watching. All was well until I gave the gate agent my ticket and she noticed I’d been moved since check-in. To make a long story short – I lost my window seat and instead got the luxury of a middle seat – complete with big guy who decided my space was his space. I was extremely grouchy the whole way to Seattle. Come to think of it, I’m still a little grouchy over that one!

Wednesday night Sharon, Juliana, and I walked around Caesar’s Palace. The sights and sounds of the Vegas Strip are completely amazing. I was in by 10:30 and then had to start on my presentation. I really procrastinated on that – though I had the hard part (reading) completed.

Work was fine on Thursday. The highlight of my day was the lunch break where I got to go and see my favorite – penguins! I also got to see flamingos (imagine that), swans, and all kinds of other good things in our hotel courtyard. I wanted to bring a penguin home with me (after all, wouldn’t they prefer the Alaskan climate to Vegas?), but they frown on removing the animals.

We decided to head to Paris and tour the Eiffel Tower. It was a beautiful view, and we got to watch the water show at the Belagio from the top. Down in the casino, I dropped in a dollar and quadrupled my money on the 2 cent slots. 😀 At $4.76 I cashed out. I’m something of a high-roller. After that, it was off to the Rio for dinner, and the shuttle wasn’t due for another 20 minutes or so. We decided to pool our money and jump in a limo for the 1/2 a mile ride. I had to spend nearly all of my winnings, but it was worth my first limo ride. 😉

Vicki and I dropped a dollar each in a 2 cent machine back at the good old Flamingo. We headed over for a round of video poker, and at 10:30, I once again, had to go work on that sorry presentation. Oh well – it went well.

Today I had a cheeseburger in paradise at Margaritaville. Unfortunately, because it was a work lunch – I couldn’t get wasted away again. Instead, I opted for the non-alcholic mango margarita. Yum!

I’ll admit it – I lost another $7 as I was waiting for my flight tonight at the airport. At least I didn’t drop the extra 20 I was tempted to! I told myself instead I’d rent a “digiplayer” on the airplane to keep me entertained for the 5 1/2 hour flight back to Anchorage. Just my luck – they’re not renting them out tonight. My jackpot awaits another lucky winner at the Wheel of Fortune slots by Gate D26.

I’m now just trying to get through the remaining 3 1/2 hours with the screaming child behind me. ***Reason number 782+ we will not be thinking about kids anytime soon***

I’ll be in Anchorage until Tuesday – call me on my cell phone if you want to chat. 😀

I made it to Vegas, and I have about 5 minutes before work starts up again. So, I’ll write the more interesting details later. 🙂 – Of course, I don’t know how much information I’ll be able to disclose… what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

My time in Fairbanks went well. It was a quick two days, complete with icy roads and cold temperatures.

I made it into Las Vegas yesterday around 4:30. I got to the hotel and headed out to Caesar’s Palace for a little sight-seeing and dinner. Very cool. Who knows what tonight has in store. I’ll be flying out at 5 again tomorrow night. Another quick trip!

I got to watch the penguins and flamingos hanging out in the hotel “courtyard”. Pretty sweet. I’ll try to get some pictures and post them soon!

It’s almost Friday, folks. Live it up!

April and Trisha are down in Iowa with Amy for the weekend. Needless to say, I’m happy to hear they’re having fun but jealous that I can’t join in on the festivities.

They did some shopping, ate lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, got a coffee, and gabbed on the cell phones at the mall and driving home. You can check out my version of their day in the photo gallery.

Bill and I played plenty of Nintendo today. Now I’m off to a “crafting party” down the road.

Hope everyone’s having a nice weekend!