marthateresa

why i hate moose-es. the start of an interminable list.

2012-01-17T14:26:00.000-08:00

i am nonsensically offended by their gangly-ness and molting.
a 12 foot bull moose blocking Neah's path to her "business" location first thing in the morning doesn't bode well for my temper, neah's barking, or her bladder.
see numbers 1 and 2.
darwin's theory is lost on this animal. it is the stupidest thing alive and i am not sure why they aren't all dead.

oh...and we got some of this: hoarfrost, so you can read the last year post, since that's all there is to say about that.

And about the house....we are still waiting to hear from the seller's bank. This could take months. I promise i will let you know if i ever hear anything.:)

big girl update--confusion.

2012-01-10T14:55:00.000-08:00

we didn't want to look confused. i really hate looking confused unless i'm doing it on purpose to be obnoxious. i have enough letters behind my name now that i should always look smart and competent. smart and competent and have killer shoes. killer shoes and confused lead to bad things (think barbie).

so there we were, standing in this townhouse, snow pouring down, walking from room to room turning on lights while christina our agent followed us turning them off. we'd wander around again with this lights on lights off game, moving in no coherent pattern, aimlessly moving through the two stories to decide if perhaps this was home. which led us back to the kitchen area, next to the doggy door, which i can already tell you neah will be afraid of, and to our confused looks.

so, we understand normal sales and we understand foreclosures, but what on earth is a short sale and why does it take so long? clearly i think there should be ominous music that accompanies those two words--ominous music that sounds an awful lot like britney spears' toxic for reasons i can't explain. anyways, i could hear christina explaining, through the imaginary din of britney's singing, that it was called a short sale because essentially the seller has to make up the shortfall between what we offer and what they owe the bank in order to prevent foreclosure and credit demise. so we offer, the seller agrees and then the we send it to the bank--the two/four of us supplicating at the threshold of power brokerness. and we wait.

wait, huh, i think. i am pacing, counting the number of footsteps from the bathroom to the kitchen. clearly i still have the confused look, or maybe now it is just the attention span of a 5 year old look, because i derail the conversation to discuss painting the cabinets a fun color. adam turns back to christina with his list of questions about timeline and process. i pace back out to the stairs, contemplating area rugs and whether "Count Clockula" (my grandfather clock that Court so lovingly named as it lived in its coffin for a year) would be able to find a home in this place. i'm cautiously optimistic. maybe just cautious.

that was last thursday. saturday was spent wandering around furniture outlets--discount, too fancy for anchorage, and amish ones--in search of a whole host of things we don't need. although, i am pretty sure i need a blue washer and dryer. today the package went to the negotiator at the bank with the seller's signatures and ours scrawled across enough pages to give me carpal tunnel syndrome...

and now we wait on what could be the longest closing in the history of buying a house. if you have an in with property-gods, i would appreciate a sacrificial chocolate chip cookie or something being offered up on our behalf.

nye

2012-01-06T09:30:00.000-08:00

I found a video to show one of my girlfriend-sisters of what we did for New Years Eve...and then i figured i would post it here, because it's pretty dope. Clearly, it isn't this year and i stole it from youtube.

definitions

2012-01-03T14:21:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning i took the neah monster out at 7am so she could do her thing. When i came back in i told adam it was cold outside.

**note: we have a thermometer that strips or adds clothes depending on the temperature outside.
i try to avoid this little exhibitionist like the plague.**

as any good non-clairvoyant can tell you, his question was "how cold?". since we all know i am prone to slight exaggerations and embellishments to make stories more dramatic and, therefore, more interesting. not to disappoint, rather than cite an actual temperature which would have required looking at little mr.-i-take-my-clothes-off, my response was "cold enough that my nose hairs froze on the second step."

yes dear friends, temperature is now defined by how fast nose hairs freeze. and for those of you who insist on actual degree calculations, minus six F is a two step freezing.
Surely you say to yourself, the little guy wouldn't be streaking around on the thermometer in -6, would he. Alas, it is true, the little temperature guy had his hat, mittens, jacket, boots and scarf on.

Wounded Knee

2011-12-30T10:21:00.000-08:00

If you know me in real life, you know that i am passionate about justice, about raising a voice for those who have been silenced, about fighting white privilege. Yesterday i couldn't find the words to talk about this subject----the massacre at wounded knee--because my heart was heavy, full, laden with grief over the hatred of those who conquered the americas.

Here are some Lakota stories of this incident: http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/eight/wklakota.htm

My friend Layli wrote a brief blog about this as well: http://samimi-extremie.blogspot.com/2011/12/and-about-wounded-knee.html

As always, history is written by those in power---and the truth so rarely is reflected in these histories. For example:

"There is nothing to conceal or apologize for in the Wounded Knee Battle - beyond the killing of a wounded buck by a hysterical recruit. The firing was begun by the Indians and continued until they stopped - with the one exception noted above."
"That women and children were casualties was unfortunate but unavoidable, and most must have been [killed] from Indian bullets...The Indians at Wounded Knee brought their own destruction as surely as any people ever did. Their attack on the troops was as treacherous as any in the history of Indian warfare, and that they were under a strange religious hallucination is only an explanation not an excuse."

...excerpts from an official investigation of Wounded Knee initiated at the behest of Congress, written by General E. D. Scott
http://www.dickshovel.com/WKmasscre.html

So today i ask you all to do what our forefathers could not bring themselves to do in the first place: honor our Indian brothers and sisters, send prayers for the souls of those who have gone before, those who lost their lives to the racism of the descendants of Europeans, those who were stripped of their culture, placed in boarding schools, beaten for speaking their native tongue and lost their heritage, and those who continue to battle the ramifications of alcoholism and racism on the reservations and throughout this land they so honor and cherish.

a non-whiny post about the dog

2011-12-29T12:00:00.000-08:00

Neah was gifted two wonderful toys over the xmas holidays. It took her 1.5 hours to destroy each of them.

The first was a tennis ball with arms and legs---like the one on the right of this photo. She grabbed it by the foot, shook it furiously, smacking herself in the head with its various appendages. It took her no time at all to dismantle the tennis ball in the middle. Then she devoured a foot, dismantled the string legs and got the rest confiscated.

Dismembering toys....oh my!

The second was from her grandparents and was a different color version of the ball on the left. She loved it. Shook it, threw it, pounced on it, and was protectively hiding it when i went to bed last night. However, this morning, there was a heap of felt pieces where the ball used to be and a slightly shamed but mostly proud looking Neah standing over the carnage pile. Oye Vey!

So, Neah thanks you for the presents. She doesn't apologize for destroying them, but is grateful she had something new to tear up because the gutted raccoon and skunk are getting boring.

Mostly though, this is a post about how crappily dog toys are made. Some we have literally have not survived for more than a few minutes. As it turns out, Maya (Raina's doggie) destroyed her version of the first toy in no time, too. I've come to the conclusion that either dog toy makers are brilliant capitalists---they know we can't resist and purchase pretty fun things for our dogs who destroy them, instantly requiring new toys--or they are evil brilliant capitalists--deliberately making crappy toys that fall apart instantaneously for the sake of being brilliant capitalists.

Either way, if one of you knows something my little shredder can't destroy, please please send along its name and i will buy like 50 of them.

whirlwind tours

2011-12-28T16:45:00.000-08:00

Note to self: if there are people around who remember BWC phone pass codes, your cell is not safe and you may end up with pictures of a bendy doll version of a famous female Alaskan as your background. I can't post it here, but if you want it, let me know and i will email it to you.

Our whirlwind tour to Seattle was just that. Adam at one point joked that clearly this trip we were going for quantity rather than quality---since an hour and a half seemed to be the longest bonding time we got with anyone. As we ran up and down from Auburn to La Conner, WA, we were grateful for many things. Here is a small list of our gratitude-s:

Wonderful parents who shower us with love and drive us to the airport on no notice.
Adam's grandparents (3 of 4 are still with us), who share such love, great stories, family history and jokes!
Cousins.
Rooein, his car and his apartment, and Kara for kidnapping him so we could have his car and apartment.
Getting to spend time with A's siblings and fabulous nephew and nieces.
Party mix (aka Chex mix, aka Adam's favorite part of xmas)
Amazing friends who we miss terribly. Please move to alaska. please.
Will the Corgi.

meanwhile---if anyone is a travel agent who can swing sweet deals.....hit me up.

an ongoing series of unfortunate events--pt.1

2011-12-23T12:17:00.000-08:00

my mom loves lemmonysnikets (sp). and i kind of feel like that line is how our house hunting is going. this is a story about me not being the grumpier of the two of us. also, i think it might be part of a series.

we started looking in earnest last weekend, driving along icy roads with our hopes clinging to the hood of the car. we found two properties we really liked...and quite a few that would not be worth getting out of 480 sq feet for. one was a cute stand alone house with slate floors in the kitchen and bathroom, an immaculately landscaped back yard and general feeling of awesomeness (aside from the fact that there was a giant pair of antlers in it and the skin that must have come from the antler's owner over the edge of the bed). it had a regulation horseshoe pit, established veggie plantings, and a greenhouse

The other was a larger zero lot line, read: townhouse, with a huge backyard and separate laundry room and spacious bathroom. it's open floor plan made you feel like it was a proper house.

After getting excited, we lost a bidding war for house number one on monday (see the post about the mortgage). we turned around and offered on the other one. After what felt like an interminable amount of time (12 hrs), i noticed the status had gone to pending on the website. anticipation filled my heart....were we really home owners!

nope. the other one was already pending sale. that meant we had seen a house with a bid already on it. at this point, somehow, i became the calmer of the two of us as adam became very frustrated. having both we really liked slip through our fingers was painful at best. last night it snowed seven inches. i'm thinking that the housing gods were trying to bury our disappointment.

not to be melo-dramatic (i see you all snickering out there) but it is really exhausting putting so much emotional energy into finding a house. looking to see if you can make compromises, decide if it is really what you want, and then lose it from between your fingers. well, that and having to look at houses where tenants leave half eaten food all over and dirty underwear on the floor.

Moose versus Dog

2011-12-21T13:08:00.000-08:00

Stolen off youtube....obviously.

It was late in the evening last night and i heard a distinct barking, the kind of bark that only means one thing: moose. I ran to the window and peered out to see. The wet snow had been falling pretty hard for about half an hour and the parking lot looked like it had a fresh coating.....except for where the moose and the dog were. Because i can't remember the boxer/pitt/lab mix's name, we are going to call him "Dog" for ease. Moose shall henceforth be known as "Big Girl". The owner, who will eventually appear, shall be called....nevermind i can't come up with an appropriate name that isn't sarcastic, rude or foul.

Dog and Big Girl were in the middle of the parking lot. Big Girl stood at least 8 feet tall and dog is a Medium large creature about 45-50lbs, We have met Dog before and Neah played with him. Dog is about the same age as Neah. So Dog was barking and puffing, acting tough and charging the moose. I watched this dance between Big Girl and Dog for a good 60 seconds before I began to wonder where on earth Dog's owner was. There's was no one calling for Dog. (Neah by this point had smelled the moose and begun to flip her ish in solidarity with Dog). I watched as Dog chased Big Girl across the parking lot and into the trees, a sort of two steps/bounds/hops forward three back affair, until they eventually disappeared into the yard that leads to the illegal gambling ring house.

Realizing i had stuck gold for the blog, i stayed at the window....still wondering where the hell owner was. Finally, about a minute or two after Dog chased Big Girl into the trees (they weren't far because i could still clearly hear the barking), owner sauntered up the sidewalk and strolled over to see where Dog had gone. Mind you, Dog is snarling and barking and clearly moving farther away. Owner yelled "Come" repeatedly---which i assume in dog language means "you go get that moose Dog!!" before yelling DAMMIT DOG COME HERE, tying his shoes and trekking into the woods after them--all of this in a truly laisse faire, i am sure the dog will mind me and come back here, non-chalant kind of way.

What ensued was 15 minutes of yelling, barking, and the sound of the yelling and barking getting more distant.

I began to fret that there would be no ending for this epic story---i mean, clearly i had to figure out what was going to happen so i would have a decent story to tell all of you. i remained glued to the window, peering between the slats like the creepy old lady who spies on the neighborhood children. Another 15 minutes of relative silence and then i saw a shadow come down the street.....holding its hat and muttering. It was owner and owner was NOT followed, although he kept lookin over his shoulder like he thought it would magically be there, by either Big Girl or Dog.

So far, no lost dog listing on craigslist...so i am hoping they found him.

one revolution around the sun

2011-12-19T12:00:00.000-08:00

a year ago, i had just graduated from law school. i was in my sweatpants, chatting with early guests, watching heidi save the cupcakes, loving how layli took such good care of me as i got ready, hugging mona for the first time that weekend, fighting back tears because my whole tribe was in one place--coming from as far away as london, beijing, and kuwait.

it was the only sunny day in december, perfect and peaceful.

it is hard for me to realize i have been away from the people i adore for a year. i am a nostalgic creature by nature---and i find myself rolling around in the pictures of that day, lost, wading, searching for hugs from two dimensional arms and listening to silent laughter.

i've learned a lot this last year.
here are ten things i don't mind sharing publicly.

think twice about a pet when you have only been married a week.
think twice about staying in a 500sq ft apt for an entire year.
think twice about not getting snow tires....it might result in both cars getting into accidents in the same week.
i am not a patient person....and that is no one's fault or responsibility but mine.
my overplanning causes underplanning by my spouse....conversely, when i refuse to plan, he gets super organized....hmmmm.
the secret to happiness may just be not going to bed at the same time....or getting another xbox remote....or adam being able to shoot things. choose your own best answer.
no marriage is perfect, but if you chose the perfect partner you always keep growing.and love each other at least equally with how crazy the other person drives you and that matters most. :)
think twice about a pet when you have only been married a week
if one of you is a nomad, living at the end of the universe might not be the best plan ever....or make sure you have a large travel fund.
heidi's mom was right-----kindness is always better than rightness.

fishy fishy.

2011-12-15T15:16:00.000-08:00

when we were little kids, we always had a tropical fish tank. i think this was the parental solution/prevention of more gerbils (read: rapidly procreating rodents). invariably, there was always at least one fish that had "ick" which is apparently a technical term for some kind of fish-sickness. we each had our designated fish, the most notable of which was a silver dollar fish named "silvery" that belonged to Anna. Silvery, much like neah the dog, was afraid of everything. now, i'm going to ask you to put your psycho-analysis of what kind of horrible person i am for doing this on hold, but.....i decided that it was really funny to flail my hands at the tank and watch this flat silver fish swim with all its might to the opposite corner and bang into the edge of the aquarium. needless to say anna was not impressed with her older sibling's antics.

anyways, that whole, long story was just to tell you we had fish that we were attached to as kids and didn't eat much fish. They had faces. Nemo can't be eaten. Silvery didn't deserve panic attacks. what that meant was that i have been struggling for the last 20 something years to learn to like consume fish. at this point, i've gotten to where i am okay with white fish (you know the flounder, tilapia and halibut of the world) because they don't taste like fish and i can convince myself its something else.

in an effort to broaden our diet, i've been trying to make more fish. this week's attempt was a success, however!! Creamed leek and tilapia over brown rice with corn bread. Also...not at all related to fish, i've started making my own chili seasonings, which are much better than McCormicks if i do say so myself. a light kind of went off in the last week and i stopped really adhering to recipes and started just throwing stuff in and tasting.

adam, of course, is taking full advantage of telling me how amazing my cooking is---not because he actually likes it but because he doesn't want to have to cook. i guess i told him the ill fated story of how my father ended up doing all the cooking in our house and he's trying to avoid it like the plague.

so, to all the fishys of the universe....i will cook you. beware.

another martha's a big girl story.

2011-12-08T17:25:00.000-08:00

I'm about to tell you another martha-teresa-big-girl story. you know, the ones where i attempt to assert myself on the universe Adam is either epically embarrased by whatever it isi have done or completely oblivious. This time it is the former and not the latter.

we went to meet with a mortgage broker yesterday. i was scared. let me rephrase, i was overly optimistic prior to hearing her go "i think the best i can do for you is $$$", which truly might as well have been $5 because it sure wasn't the cool million i was thinking it would be in my head. anyways, i had created a magical delusion in my head by which school loans would be in some other mythical category than other debt. i had tricked myself into believing they would see "attorney-at-law" and allow us to have up to what we thought we could afford rather than what THEY think we can afford. hah. my jedi mind tricks don't work on mortgage brokers.

She politely told us something about the magic debt-to-income ratio for a mortgage and i really should not have picked up the credit report because the combination of the two and the uncomfortable chair created a magic portal into the twilight zone, where Adam's credit score ended up higher than mine. anyone who knows us knows that only ONE of us is a planner, is meticulous about HER credit, and pays all bills in advance just to make sure that there is absolutely no bad things on HER credit report. Where the hell was the Chesire Cat, because clearly we were down the rabbit hole here.
and there it was, not only did adam have better credit than me (by like 20 points on one out of three reports, not that i'm counting), but my dream of instantly moving into a colassal alaskan home with southern exposure, scenic mountain views, a sauna, wood paneling and moose that roam freely between the master house and the adjoining smaller in-law/parent house dissapated. Well, figuring that out sent me from quietly in shock to creeping toward hell hath no fury like the women in my family. I could have sworn i thought about escaping, but when i came back to i was sitting in front of a very kind lady who surely did not deserve my surliness.

apparently adam thought about kicking me, when i said "are you serious" in that tone that means, "screw you." I managed to get it back together eventually, but there's an important lesson here for future forays to funders: keep m&ms nearby in case of emergency.
you see, sometimes my heart just feels too full--like a dementor attack--hence the chocolate. as the nice showed adam all the cardboard boxes under bridges we could get for the $$$, i had a flashback to a conversation with Heidi over the weekend, where i found myself repeatedly saying that this growing up thing REALLY is for the birds (in words that can't be repeated on this blog). The realities of adulthood snuck up on me this week---friends and acquaintances losing children, concern for parental well-being, the attempt to buy a house, etc. At the same time, there is such joy too. New babies, watching pee-wee hockey and laughing for half an hour, the unconditional love of a pet, stolen glances with spouses, the creation of dreams, new marriages, and love letters from far away.

for a moment i felt like Q, needing speed to slow down. and then it was over. we stood, shook hands, smiled politely, and walked out into the snow on the hunt for the perfect cardboard box--with me mulling over my bad behavior, equally confused between what happened to me and how adam turned into the planner about this house thing.

my own FAIL blog

2011-12-06T16:44:00.000-08:00

I was having a good morning, mostly, for like ten minutes.
It started off a little rough---i took a shower and came back to find this:

Yup. evicted from my own spot on the bed. at least it is her head and not her other end on my pillow.

Instill in dog a sense of Mar's space on bed = FAIL

Then i went out to the car. Seems the ice might have hurt the plastic underneath the car a little last night. Read: the ice almost acted like a fulcrum. i tried kicking the ice first with my boots, but that only managed to hurt my foot. So i thought i would wack at it with the ice scraper to try and break down the ice-wall preventing me from backing out of the parking spot. this seemed like a genius plan---surely my industrial Alaskan ice scraper was up to the challenge. and, for a moment, i was a hacking diva, little chards of ice flying away from the car until....
I broke the scraper in half--yes.

Remove Ice by hitting ice wall with scraper like hitting a hoe in dirt = FAIL.

then i got to work---where for a second i thought i had a monster stroke of genius and solved the problem that has been perplexing me for weeks. At least, i was sure enough that i went around telling everyone i am a genius. I drafted pages on the theory---and then as if on cue at 3pm, I discovered the legislature thwarted me with its wording. Read: i can't read english right.

Solve complicated contract/elections law question (aka read english) = FAIL

i'm thinking maybe no cooking dinner tonight.

please confiscate the internet

2011-11-30T16:35:00.000-08:00

...from my possession because clearly i cannot be trusted. I surf aimlessly while i rework wording in my head---flip through celebrity sites when i am trying to put arguments together.

I keep looking at craigslist pets, looking at cute puppies i want to bring home. Lord knows, i should know better, afterall that's how we ended up with this:

she came to us 11 months ago. It's crazy to think how much bigger she's gotten, but how she's still as playful, nippy, and skittish as she was then.

i keep looking at this picture reminding myself that the ones in the ads are super cute too and we don't need another neurotic mess on our hands---clearly three of us is enough!!

despite my constant bitching about the dog, she is seriously a sweetheart, very obedient and very protective of her herd. All of which are wonderful qualities. She never bites in anger or frusteration, likes to cuddle in the mornings, and is very funny.

all of which, i try to forget when i go back to switching back and forth between the puppies who need homes and the work i am running in the background.

Chinook winds did not materialize. Yet another reminder not to pay attention to the weathermen in Alaska.

Chinook Winds

2011-11-29T11:46:00.000-08:00

Neah was going ballistic....and then i realized,
she was defending the house from this moose,
who was looking for her because she's so loud.

The other week my girl Amelia was dissapointed when we started talking about the weather. I didn't know how to explain its central role in my existence, that each day is determined by what's brewing, and that i never know for sure what lies in my future because the weathermen are less right here than they are in seattle---which is to say NEVER.

However, there's a storm a brewin in the Gulf of Alaska--set to bring blizzard conditions to some areas (not ANC) and perhaps (hold your breath for it) warm up the weather enough for RAIN. i know. there are two burning questions in your mind:

Mar, you said it was like 6 degrees, how on earth is some storm in the GULF of ALASKA going to warm it up enough to make it rain.
Rain on top of that 31.4 inches of snow this month you've been whining about--how does that work?

Well, good points my wise friends! A Chinook wind is a very strong and brings with it warm winds. It can dissapate up to a foot of snow a day by causing evaporation and blowing it away. Also, it can change temperatures by up to 30 degrees in a matter of hours, although not usually that extreme. It can also cause blizzards in places that don't get warm enough. here's the wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinook_wind .

Apparently this happens here sometimes in like January---looks like we are in for a long winter and makes me think of Chris and Leili out in Ft. Smith and wonder about their weather. Point being, no one likes when this happens---because, in answer to number 2, it invariably turns all roads/surfaces/etc into ice skating rinks.

Yuck. On a brighter note, it warmed up to 21F yesterday and i was so excited that my nose hair wasn't freezing that Neah and I played outside for 45 minutes. Small victories.

on why static electricity is not my friend.

2011-11-25T14:14:00.000-08:00

the post is about more than that, clearly, but i think the proper story to start with is a little about static cling. winters here are really, really dry--like my lips have been chapped for three weeks and i use chapstick constantly and drink lots of water to no avail--dry. humidity in the house can get down to single digits. for the last week or so, it's been hovering around 30% and so we weren't using the humidifier, relying on the rice cooker and my incessant steaming up of the bathroom to keep the humidity high enough that a cactus wouldn't die from drought. this created two distinct problems.
The problems with no humidity:

my fine hair stands more or less straight up, like i stuck my finger in the light socket or had a bad day with a crimp iron, unless i grease it down. then i look like a homeless bum.
the extra comforter on the bed, a fuzzy velour thing in moss green, in combo with neah ootz-ing around, causes sparks. seriously. at night, with the lights out, when the dog moves you can watch her get zapped by electricity from the blanket. sort of funny, sort of think the aspca might come take her away.

Yesterday, we were thankful for good friends, great food, and a DOPE sledding hill. Best sledding hill ever. We spent two hours sledding on various and sundry sliding devices. Adam and Matt tried every variation of two person intertubing possible to get down the hill going over massive bumps without falling off. The one resulting in sucess involved Adam sitting on Matt's lap. LOTS OF FUN, but very frozen hands. I think we are somewhere around 6 inches of fresh snow in the last 24 hours...helllllo powder. Which is a good thing, because Adam and I accidently ran into Daniel, over Sarah, and then all fell over one run...four adults lying in various stages of upsidedownness in the snow cackling like 6 year olds.

And we got this yummy treat from the parentals who live in humidity heaven--USVI.

Happy day of rememberance for the things we are grateful for, remembrance of the things we took from others to get here, and honor and respect to those who came before us.

seester

2011-11-22T04:22:00.000-08:00

of the 6 pictures of people in my office, she is in 3. i miss her alot, but don't tell her often enough. mostly, i would like to sit on our old sofa, eating popcorn, bickering, poking, doing seester things.

she's a bad ass, working on a ph.d, likes to swim in monster sized fish tanks, and i suspect likes coral more than than other living thing on the planet.

She's pithy, funny, charming, and beautiful. And today is her birthday.

Happy Birthday to the Best Sister a girl could ask for. I LOVE YOU.

us.

2011-11-16T10:28:00.000-08:00

Here's what we were up to this weekend:

keep on rollin, rollin...

2011-11-15T10:34:00.000-08:00

i spent an entire night going up and down escalators. i HATE escalators.

another whole night getting on and off the DC metro.

the one that started it all involved going up and down elevators nonstop.

last night was seven hours of cab touring the rural israeli countryside looking for a village i had been to but couldn't seem to remember the name of.

three nights before that, i was on planes flying around for no apparent reason.

in the last week and a bit there have been boats, snowboards, motorcycles, walking and trains...always a different place, always a different reason/underlying story: vacation, searching for something, a wedding, adventure, visiting friends.

I'm starting to run out of new modes of transportation....and am not excited about the prospect of hours of camel riding, donkey carts or tricycles.

more cabin lust.

2011-11-10T16:31:00.000-08:00

There are only a few months of the year it actually gets dark out at night. In the summer it is because of the perpetual twilight. In the winter, the snow reflects the lights and everything is bathed in an orangy haze. I can tell it is winter deep in my bones not only because there's a good foot plus of the white stuff out there but because the scent of wood fire places fills the air in the evening.

it always makes me think of sitting wrapped in a blanket in front of a hearth----spelled too close to heart to not notice that the heat is what warms our souls. This in turn leads to my decision that if we buy a house here, it damn well better be a log-cabin kinda house because that's really the only acceptable kind in Alaska. which in turn leads to searching for pictures of cabins and finding this beautiful creation in Idaho.

Alright, now everyone bow your heads in prayer to the log-cabin God and repeat after me: O Log cabin God! God of all that is wooden and warm and beautiful. Please grant that mar can have a house she loves in the 49th State. Thou art the generous and kind and the merciful and the bearer of all beautiful houses. Ah-men.

trivial things.

2011-11-09T13:57:00.000-08:00

i really like this picture...the light is great, sky is blue, there's an incredible museum in the background, and really, who doesn't love missiles. I like to look at it and let the warm calm come over me.

yesterday at bedtime, while a "brrrricane" was hitting the west coast of Alaska, the temperature was a nose hair freezing 6F at our house. Luckily, and for reasons completely unknown, it had warmed up to 14F by the time i headed off to work this morning. i clobber into work wearing my huge snowboots, parka and eight hoodies. i pile it all in a corner like the little kid who turns up at kindergarden with too many clothes on.

the other day the mailbox froze shut, as in lock will turn but metal door will not open--at all. after hitting it with everything i could think of to no avail and being told my the apt complex manager that maybe using a blowdryer (until she realized there was no plug) or hot water (until she realized all my mail would get wet) would work, i eventually got one of those flamethrower lighters for fireplaces and a hunting knife and pried it open after heating up the edges of the box. Let's add that one to the list of #thingsineverthoughtiddo. Seriously, if anyone had been watching i would have looked like the craziest person on the block trying to break into or torch my mailbox.

When i relayed this story to Adam---expecting him to be impressed with my ingenuity and prowess at getting ish open--i got a "that's nice, next time can you use the screwdriver instead of the good knife." Harumph. Genius is lost on mortals.

Oh, and the dog has started doing this thing where she jumps up at 2:30 the morning and takes over the entire bottom third of the bed. i drew you a diagram because i am sure you care. NO CRITIQUING the fact that i drew stick beings or that i am the same size as adam and the bed. she also needs to fluff her space on the comforter before she lies down. I'm plotting running netting around the bed to thwart her.

East-siiiiiide

2011-11-07T15:31:00.000-08:00

Ok Left coast....i gotta tell you i miss home. home being the generic word i use for anywhere i like better than somewhere else at any moment in time.

i told adam people were nicer on the east coast and he said it was just because i am nicer on the east coast. that might be a fair assessment.

We were on the east coast because we went to the wedding of my dear sister from another mother, Ilissa. She married her blushing bride Lisa amidst 30 foot high stuffed pink poodles at the Visionary Art Muesum in Baltimore and they set off into Eurpoean honeymoonness.

Since i had been banned from bringing my camera and someone *ahem* forgot to bring his to the wedding, i have only this one picture. Thank you, Orlando.

Strangely, it snowed in Baltimore the same day we got our first snow here in Anchorage. It was 1972 the last time that area (the east side one) had snow before halloween.

Undaunted, we trekked out to Gettysburg. Adam is a big revolutionary war buff; and thus, the rented Mustang convertible learned more about the battle than it wanted.

Here we are at stop number two....where Adam is unimpressed i have somehow obtained the camera and am snapping away photos....mostly artsy ones, which seem to have been deleted before i got to upload them.

Then we headed into DC. All i can really say is that if i never see another Smithsonian it might be too soon and I LOVE MY FRIENDS.

My heart got soooo filled up with love and light and hugs and multiculturalism and good food that I don't know what to do with myself. Sometimes i forget that i am blessed with people in my life who i don't have to speak with for years at a time and it feels like just yesterday, with magical strings that tie our hearts together. Karine, i'm talking about you babe. CONGRATS TO BAHIE AND IAN---love you two sooooo MUCH. xoxo.

Neah update: she has now decided PetSmart is her territory as well and that the people there are her herd...so now she barks there too. Oh yeah, we came back to a foot of snow in the last 48 hrs. She LOVES the snow....bounding like a crazy dog. the pic below was taken at 6 inches. We got another 6 overnight last night.

Diggin out the car in foot high snow drifts does not equal fun.

concise summary

2011-11-04T14:43:00.000-07:00

I love DC.

Yeah, i said it, begrudgingly. We spent the last week roaming around Balitmore/Gettysburg/DC. I intend to put up some pics and tell better stories once i sort through Adam's photos.

In the meantime, here's a list of things i am beyond thankful for over the last week:

For Adam's excitement to see the Nation's capitol....our night walk to the monuments and his willingness to drive like an aggressive east-coaster.
For getting to be a part of the wedding of two stunning brides, Ilissa and Lisa, in a venue with 30 foot stuffed pink poodles and sooo much love.
For the fact that the freak snowstorm didn't prevent any adventures.
For the kind hospitality of Elizabeth and Shane.
For Scott and Karine, such amazing friends even when i go into radio silence for years.
For the American History Museum's section on the historical portrayl of African Americans in the US media.
For getting to spend precious hours with one of my three BFFs....love you Derick.
For getting to meet Kristie....and understanding the "popcorn" story ;)
For getting a great hotel rate (haha--seriously a DC miracle).
For remembering what it felt like to feel at peace in a city (and be warm both physically and mentally/emotionally).

morning routine

2011-10-25T11:11:00.000-07:00

It is 6:30 in the morning and it is pitch black out except for the faint orange of the halogen lights in the apartment complex. For most of the night, Neah decided that the humidifier on Adam's side was not her friend and was thus streched like superman on the floor next to my side of bed. Much like you and I would turn our pillows to feel the cool side on our faces, Neah shifts rug area periodically to get a cool spot.

For some reason completely unbeknownst to me, the alarm went off at 6:30, pulling me out of a dream where i was packing for a backpacking trip with Derick to South America. Neah, knowing the alarm means at least one of us is vaguely awake, lept onto the bed and situated herself in the crook of my knees between Adam and I. Adam has learned to stay as still as possible once she is on the bed because as soon as he speaks she pounces on his head, licking his neck and face furiously--attempting to clean the sweat of night and sleepiness from him. Me, she doesn't care about so much. i can talk and she just wants to be petted.....but Adam, oh no! Once she has forced him to get out of bed to avoid the smelly Neah shower, she licks the sheets where he was, trying to lap up the last tastes of him before she curls into a ball and looks depressed we are getting ready to leave.

This is my morning. Every morning.

Adam's old.

2011-10-24T11:19:00.000-07:00

In honor of Adam's birthday this weekend, here's a list of his loot and two videos of his adventures.
Loot:

Snowshoes and accompanying trekking poles
Snowboard magazine
Hat that turns into a Balaclava
Blue Fox t-shirt
Dinner out
Assorted cards/love from parents, grandparents, and in-laws
FB birthday shout outs from far and wide

We were at a bar that is going to have the Anchorage Hells Angels Halloween party. No, i didn't see any bikers while we were there. For the first hour or so, there was blaring country music and the only food i could find was stale popcorn. I was pretty sure that i was in hell. After a round of darts, Adam decided to change up the music---which also livened up the bar quite a bit. This is what happens when Adam and Matt get dancey:

We finally had to flee when the music went back to country and Matt couldn't stop singing along. Dia and I held our heads in shame---feeling the onset of "dog ran off with my ex-wife" headaches.
Big thanks and love again to Dia, Jake and Matt for coming out to play for the birfday!! Much love to Neah, who slept in until 10am on Sunday with us.

snow?

2011-10-20T10:32:00.000-07:00

8 am bore an uncanny resemblance to 3am this morning--dark, cold, cloudy. The air is getting drier and i think the humidifier may have to come out from wherever we managed to stash it last spring.

As we headed for doggie day care (the once a week sojourn where neah learns that she is in fact a D-O-G), i realized i didn't have my glasses on. Oh well, technically i don't need them to drive, it is just a preference thing....but i could swear that i kept seeing precip falling out the sky. it was sporadic--i couldn't prove to myself i wasn't seeing something.

The windshield had tiny microscopic wet spots; but, there was no freezing rain sound and i was suspicious of the way the mysterious precip was falling. After dropping Neah off--(for her grandowners: she couldn't get in there fast enough or be more excited)--i called Adam who confirmed my suspicion:

Mystery Precip: World's tiniest snowpellets. And so it is....

Sunrise: 9am

2011-10-19T12:29:00.000-07:00

It is our 10 month anniversary. Yes. i'm counting the months for the first year--giving us a little pat on the back until we cross the magic hurdle of year down, check. Its strange to think that we have been together for around 3 years now--feels longer and shorter all in one.

It also seems so short a time ago that my folks were here, stalking moose and being awoken at 3am by the sun coming up. Now, the sun doesn't rise until 9ish---even the dog sleeps in. we have agreed to turn on the bedroom lights when the second alarm goes off, since oversleeping is way too easy. The darkness seems to have an exponential relationship to my consumption of these:

Nom nom nom. Thank you Mona, for the Hot Cocoa. Thank you Costco for the mangoes. Thank you heater under the desk for keeping me warm and at a pleasant 76 in my office.

An Adam update....

2011-10-17T14:55:00.000-07:00

Since a lot of the people who kindly read this blog are originally friends of Sado....this blog is about what he's up to. I know you usually glean this vicariously from what me and the dog are doing....but here's one all about him. Today, he's out in King Salmon...see the map. It is just to the west of the Katmai Reserve (you know, where all the pictures of millions of grizzly bears fishing are taken).
He's at this: http://www.adn.com/2011/10/17/2124678/results-are-due-later-today-for.html

Adam's been working on the Save our Salmon Initiative about Pebble Mine. Today, the ballots will be counted, since out in that Borough all voting is done by mail. And so, he has gone to watch the counting.

While it's pretty cool for him, it means that i get to go to Yogurtland (think Seattle Red Mango) in the airport when i go to pick Adam and Scott up later. a-mah-zing.

Blustery

2011-10-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

Today is an Eeyore day. It's blustery and dark...like the universe is screaming that i should have stayed in bed. Can't say i want to argue with it. So, i figured the way to make is better is a couple of little vignettes.

1. When i was 17 or 18, i made a pen pal friend named Emma. Emma is my tall, blond, california girl. She and I would write long letters back and forth---epic novellas of our lives, with pictures, postcards, and trinkets. it was the kind of friendship every one dreams of---you have your adventurous, crazy friend who spends winter holidays in Thailand and writes you marvellous stories--just like the movies. Our chances to see each other are always too brief--business trips extended by a day, weekends in NYC. We've gotten slack in our old age with the letters, but i am determined to resuscitate them. At any rate, for our wedding, Emma (and her handsome Aric) gave us the two most used appliances in the kitchen--a coffee/spice grinder and this griddle. Since i am presently on a pancake addiction--eating nothing but pancakes on weekends--i spend a lot of time thinking about Emma, her mix tapes, and how much i adore her. Jayet Khalee--your place is empty my dear.

2. Adam called on his way home from work last night insisting it was snowing lightly. So far, he's the only one that saw it.

3. i am scared of the dark. seriously. mostly because i'm scared there's something that can see me that i can't see that wants to eat me. flashback to the cougar in the woods in high school. this is probably why i prefer large urban environments. so last night, when i take the dog out....there's a weird rain/leaves falling/give me the heebeejeebees noise. i freaked, the dog freaked, i think we thought we were both going to be part of some x-files episode.

Also, if anyone can tell me why laundry bags don't seem as well made as i remember them being like a decade ago (with an answer that doesn't involve a reference to an Asian country) i would be grateful.

southern churches

2011-10-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

I haven't had the need to tell you that it gets into the 20s here during the night, or that the dog is apparently a favorite at day camp, where she gives kisses and loves on everyone. I haven't told you that i have mastered the length of time the car must warm up to get all the frost off the windows or that it is starting to be dark when i arrive at work in the morning. I haven't told you that i managed to polish off an entire bag of dried mango (like 3lbs) in 4 days. I haven't told you how overwhelmingly excited i am that Suzanne is coming for a quick visit on her way back to Seattle from Juneau (yes i know its the wrong direction). And, i haven't told you that we are beginning our countdown to Ilissa's wedding/DC/some of our east coast besties, that i stare at my closet not knowing what to bring or wear, and that 60s sound like sunbathing weather.

Instead, i will tell you that my sister lives across the street from a church in GA. Feel free to insert your own comments about how that could be any corner in the state. The one across from her however has produced this plethora of funnyness over the last couple months:

Church is having a hash sale. I think they mean the potato side dish, but it's funny nonetheless. [anna]
"Live so that they don't have to lie at your funeral"
"Sign broken. Message inside."
"Forgive your enemies, it messes with their heads."

Big long exhale

2011-10-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

First--thank you all for the suggestions of hobbies and things to shoot. Clearly, i need to be more specific. There were some great ideas in there---and i am going to try to learn to do some of these things. Sadly, however, all things with string are out because the Neah dog likes to tear anything with thread to smithereens.

This weekend Mona was here....I stole this picture from her and love it even though her eyes are squinted shut from the sun:

We had a glorious weekend of nothingness, skyping with our third, playing with the Neah, buying presents and getting back some good medical test results for me. It's wonderful to spend time with people who have known you in strange situations--wars, food poisoning, addictions to the West Wing, deep tans, chain smoking nonsense, etc, and who still appreciate just who you are for the sake of you. I am very blessed she was willing to brave this morning's frigid 28F to come play with me while Adam tried not to camp near an enormous grizzly bear.

The moonrise from the apartment

In the land of random facts, i didn't realize that porcupines hibernate. I mean, i can't blame them--i'd go hibernate too if i could. Anyways, on the boys backpacking trip on the Kenai they came across a groggy porki who saw them, then slowly, grumblingly, turned around and stuck its butt in the air to quill them if needed.

Seeing the grizz didn't make Adam think it was a good thing Neah didn't come, but the porki did---as he figures she would have ended up with a mouth full of quills.....No doubt.

Also, a quick note to say that my sister, Anna, is basically the most thoughtful and sweetest woman ever. yesterday was a bit of a rough morning for me and i came home in the afternoon to find a beautiful flower arrangement and stash of chocolates. <3s the sister.

low pressure light

2011-10-06T14:59:00.000-07:00

Truth be told, i have relatively little goin on. i work normal hours, go home and play with a dog who loves me and who everyone thinks is the sweetest thing (when i'm not around), get to have visits with friends every half year or so, attend Baha'i things when i can, and contemplate the fate of the leaves outside. in comparison with the last 5 years (war, moving, crazy schedule, moving, bar) this is kind of a breeze.

So, i found it ironic when it finally got really cold yesterday mornng, the air shrunk (compressed, whatever) and the low pressure light popped on in the Tuscon's dash. First, i didn't know what it was. i took me a long time to realize that it was a picture of a slightly squished tire. which led me to contemplating how i function much more effectively under high pressure. then i thought about my wedding ring...and how the stone setting is baseless, held in place by the pressure from two sides. seems my ring is more me than i initially realized.

which leads me to today...lunch. eating dried mangoes from a bag that assures me are "naturally delicious", remembering how my hair was once the same color as these mangoes, and mulling over all time low mortgage interest rates.

I need some indoor hobby suggestions---ones that do NOT require space (ie painting). Please comment suggestions below. Also, please remember that i do not own a gun, so shooting things...moose, artic squirrels, etc is not a valid hobby.

3 sleeps

2011-10-04T11:25:00.000-07:00

Until i get to squeeze Monza to death...i'm antsy and giddy and all kinds of wound up. and I'm kicking the boy out of the house so he gets at least one backpacking trip in this year. it almsot makes me forget there was frost on the INSIDE of the car today.

also, in the land of things that make me happy is this amazing woman:

finally, my dreams have been weird lately. Strange combinations of old faces (like people i have known for long time) in places they have never been. i'm constantly moving in the dream, always travelling on cars, planes and trains, always searching for something. people who haven't haunted my dreams in in a long time have been turning up--luckily none of them are angry or upset. everyone in the dreams is on the move...a couple have included bus stations and connection hubs. i wake tired and my calves are sore like i have been walking all night in my sleep. i'm sure there is some elusive meaning...but i'm too sleepy to figure it out ;)

always late to the party...

2011-10-03T16:48:00.000-07:00

From Adam, Matt and Jake's hike on Sunday

alternative title: how we spent 5 hrs in Costco.

in another life, i was a trendsetter, a fashionista, an 80s child diva turned 90s spiral perm princess. i wore color coordinated outfits with matching scrunchies. i rocked my pink sweatsuit and red boots at my third birthday party and cried when the snow touched them (good little southern girl). i was rainbow-brite hair color queen for a decade or so in my 20s. i love huge shiny jewelry and i still love my pointy toed stilletos, even if i can't walk in them in the snow.

part of me wants to burn all those photos, and part of me wants to keep them for when i'm 80 and no one believes i was ever cool.

while my shoe collection has been holding its own pretty well over the years, i've been slow to keep up with the technological trends. i refuse to buy a book without pages, held out against cameras that didn't need film, waited as long as possible to avoid getting a touch screen phone. i still don't have an iphone or an ipad and can't tell you how to turn my contraptions into mobile wifi hotspots.

Matt and Jake

i've been slow to keep up wtih store trends too....it took me four years longer than everyone else to get around to sauntering into the Swedish heaven known as IKEA.

So this weekend, after feeling productive about getting the chips in the windshield on Adam's car replaced, we snuck ourselves into Costco to peer around at prices. i whimpered, discovering fancy scales for cheaper than the ugly one we just got, and nectarines at literally a third the price of the grocery store. five hours and an executive membership later, we found our new winter happy place...replete with peanut butter filled pretzels and jumbo bags of m&ms. The amount of money we will save on Coke alone will pay for the membership. alright america, i know---i'm late, but i get the obsession with Costco now.

oh, and the pictures are because it snowed heavily on the boys when they went hiking on sunday, while i napped :)

I've been waiting....

2011-09-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

Not just for Mona to arrive in 8 days, but for this to show up on the forecast.

afternoon pickme up

2011-09-28T16:01:00.000-07:00

stolen from Sjona....me encanta.

why my husband might die in his sleep tonight.

2011-09-26T12:54:00.000-07:00

it is dark out when i wake up now. while i like it on one hand because i can sleep past 4 am without waking up, the dark and cold mean i do not want to get out of bed. i swapped out the beautiful quilts for a qualifill comforter this weekend--another month or two and i will add the Chilean wool blanked i acquired almost a decade ago on Chiloe.

this morning, we did the dog/shower shuffle. i take the dog out while adam jumps in the shower--he's the slower of us, so he has to go first. i stumbled towards the lights, flipping on every light in the house i could find, and then wandered over to stare at the temperature gauge. it is remote sensored to outside, so i know what temperature it is by number and because the little man puts on more or less clothes depending on how warm it is out. 37F. i shuffled to the closet and found my parka. Neah spazzed out, chasing something imaginary---might have been a vole, but i didn't see it--and smelling the frost. yup, first frosting. i remember thinking how frost meant freezing and 37 wasn't freezing, but with a coffee deprived brain all that thinking sounds a lot like COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLD and Crunchy.

i dutifully informed Adam it was 37 outside when he emerged from the steamy bathroom. But, when i got out he clarified---it wasn't 37, he said.....it was 31 and i should have put my glasses on. i almost cried, but responded with---how the did we get somewhere where it is below freezing in September??? to which, let me preface by saying i managed not to scream in response, adam retorted, "no idea...i wanted to move to Florida."

ARGGGGGGGGGGGGH. Grrrr. Hissss.

40F....

2011-09-23T16:58:00.000-07:00

happy friday.when we were off on that camping trip, i took a bunch of pictures of weird mushrooms....and today is the day you get to see the one that looks like a cracked egg.

Weeping egg mushroom

this morning was a whomping 40 degrees at our little apartment. i should probably remember that the next time i pull on my hoodie over my t-shirt, slide feet into flip flops and head out the door to convince the dog to do her business and not to try to play or eat the leash at 745 in the morning. Let's be real though, the coffee hasn't worked its magic at that time of morning and i, therefore, cannot be held accountable for whatever stupidity ensues. also, for the record, i haven't broken out the winter jacket yet, just the vest....and i've only worn that once.

tastes like pig ear?

also, in tribute to football season, neah tried to bite the football. alas, her mouth isn't big enough. adam did rescue it before she managed to remove the laces....she was working hard on them. it bounces and moves differently than her tennis or baseballs....so it took some getting used to.

And last but not least is the start of dinner the other night...quinoa, chard, and my favorite hand towel. while one of the ladies i work with will ACTUALLY be making moose in the kitchen (slicing up a kill from last weekend) i will stick with the moose/mess theme on the hand towel.

two weeks and one day

2011-09-22T12:17:00.000-07:00

in two weeks and one day i get to do this again:

I am beyond excited that Mona is coming to visit for the long weekend. I cannot wait to squeeze her, hear about all her adventures, and watch West Wing. We will go walking, not hiking, sit in yummy restaurants and laze about.

In other news, i think i am the dog's problem. when Adam drops her off at day camp, she just whines and acts sad he is leaving her. when i drop her off all hell breaks loose and she barks like a nutjob.

also in other news, when it is like 47 F in the morning and i go out in my hoodie with wonder dog, i'm not actually cold. i take her out in the morning because i am scared of the dark...i have no idea why....and refuse to take her out at night. about the cold thing--i'm not sure if that means i'm slowly adapting to anchorage or if i have a really good hoodie or if the part of my body that acknowledges cold has just thrown in the towel out of frusteration at the permanent state of affairs.

Termination Dust

2011-09-20T11:11:00.000-07:00

"Termination Dust" is an Alaskan phrase for the first time the snow falls on the mountains....terminating summer (and effectively for me, fall) and announcing the beginning of snow tires and winter. my fearless co-workers gave me advice today on how to not get killed driving the first time it snows and it sticks (expected in roughly a month). per ususal, i stole the shot from the local webcams at borealisbroadband.net. Here's what to do, click on the photo so it becomes giant and look at the mountains for the "dust".

hello, fall. now go away.

2011-09-19T17:54:00.000-07:00

When Anna and I were little, sometimes in the fall we would go driving in the Appalachain mountains with Bob and Lissa to see the leaves. Beautiful oranges, reds, yellows and greens in the Great Smoky Mountain mist. the leaves are one of the things i miss most about the east coast. it was like someone's paint brush exploded and covered the world in rich colors.

In the last two weeks, the area around anchorage has completely changed colors. it went from a lovely, rich green to a shade i would rather not admit is yellow and falling off. yup. fall comes the second week of September and stays for about two weeks. this time next month, there should be snow. afterall, we are above the 60th and snowtires are legal again.

This is the webcam from between our house and my office. there are three important things about this photo.

at about 3 o clock, there is a drive through----it's a 24 hour doughnut place.
this is the start of rush hour. oooooh the traffic. (evil cackle thinking of other's traffic)
if you make it big you can see all the leaves are turning.

habitat to call our own.

2011-09-16T16:41:00.000-07:00

One day, neah, adam and i will have a home. until then, i will spend free moments looking for pictures of homes i love and dreaming of winning the lottery. here's today's collection:

68 mil anyone?

bali?

heaven

a bear-tale.

2011-09-15T15:51:00.000-07:00

You know the saying about something being a fish tale...you know, it was THISSSSSS big (with arms dramatically outstretched). so forget fishtales, this is Alaska!! Let's change that to a bear-tale.

This week was my last Ruhi Book 8 Unit 1 class. It has been a real joy both to me and to Adam who gets to go hiking the night I am at class. He jokingly calls it God-class, but really, we both get to do magic for our souls---me through Ruhi and him through nature.

So this week i get home at 930, its dark outside and there's no sign of adam, neah or matt. i know they've gone to an area that's supposed to be closed because of a bear running over some guy (literally...not maiming) a couple weeks ago. when they finally appear at like 1015, they start telling me in excited voices how neah chased off two bears with her ferocious barking. i asked, "seriously?" like 8 times before they finally admitted that no, in fact, they didn't see any bears, although she did bark at some phantom in the bush that could have been a bear. or it could have been nothing. with her both are about equally plausible.

gullable, folks. also, you would think i should have figured out when my spouse is not speaking the full truth....gullable.

Booties, bike, and a bear??

2011-09-10T14:56:00.000-07:00

Sadly, this is going to be epically less dramatic than watching her prance, highstepping down the stairs. Here's Neah's first time running in the booties with the bike. Adam only had to run over her a couple times today ;) It does give you a good idea of the pulling that caused those damn blisters.

Oh, and the crazy neighbor downstairs says there was a good sized black bear in the back yard two days ago.....

pawgress report.

2011-09-09T13:42:00.000-07:00

Here's Neah's Day Camp Report card:

Too bad Domino (her friend from last week, too) is the world's most slobbery English Sheep Dog EVER. Also, apparently Neah dominated the slide...because there's a window to the kitchen and she wanted attention from the humans.

two

2011-09-07T13:49:00.000-07:00

my weekend can be summed up in two pictures:

This is mostly what we did all weekend. The boys stuck things in the fire to see if they would burn. We learned that pennies evaporate, bottles melt, so do marbles, and bottle caps don't change. Then they argued about who messed up the fire and tried to find ways to dry out damp wood.

Believe it not, within three minutes of getting her bone, the dog began to dig and promptly buried it. I had never seen a dog actually do that....god only knows where she learned it. But instinct is everything, so there was a massive pit that had to be filled in at the end of the weekend from repeated bone protecting.

southernisms

2011-09-06T14:15:00.000-07:00

it may surprise those of you who didn't know me as a child or adolescent to discover i have a rather thick southern accent. it creeps up at inopportune times like when i lose my voice, am terribly sleepy or have been yelling at concerts. it is thick. my whole cadence changes and i sound like an entirely different person.

the first time (apart from "fixin to", numbers, southern states and naming single objects at a time) where i noticed i had picked up a weird word habit because of the accent was grilled cheese sandwiches---which until i was 13 i thought were GIRL-Led cheeses because little girls ate them. in my accent it always came out GRLLED cheese....so i never knew where the I went. ah the embarassement of high school lunches.

the monotone bland accent nonsense from nowadays was cultivated over years of practice at boarding school, where i systematically taught myself to speak without the accent--it drove my bff crazy. most of the time, i have no problem jumping back and forth between the two (southern and bland) and can occasionally throw in a third that sounds like english is my second language. i speak spanish with a chilean accent, depsite my best efforts otherwise.

anyways, this weekend i discovered another of my southernisms, which i am documenting here to prove i was right. our campsite (see blog posts later this week) was covered in granddaddy long-legged spiders. of course, when i called them that Adam and Matt immediately announced i had the name wrong and that they were called daddy long legs. nor did they let me live it down for three days.

because i do not like being wrong, i looked it up.

Tahdow.

No. I didn't get it wrong. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pholcidae and http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_130290.asp both agree with my name choice. so there.

how to embarrass your pet 101

2011-09-02T11:56:00.000-07:00

Heh. Adam and I were DYING laughing in pet smart when we first put them on her. Here's to my dressage dog.

first day of day camp

2011-09-01T11:40:00.000-07:00

this morning i got up, went through the morning routine and hustled neah out to the car, bringing along some food and treats. she clearly thought i had lost my mind since she never goes anywhere this early. we walked into pet smart where neah anxiously relieved herself on the floor (yeah, great way to start the morning). she then proceeded to bark and shy away from the people at puppy day camp. finally, the nice girl there asked if she was better when i wasn't around--that they had another dog who is overprotective of its "father", but is fine as soon as dad goes away. i replied i didn't actually know, but i was more than willing to wander away.

forgive the crummy phone picture.

i headed up the aisle and the barking stopped. lo and behold, as soon as i was out of sight neah the ferocious turned into neah the love bug, kissing the pet smart people and wanting to be petted. it seems I am the problem.

i called (like all anxious pet parents) to check up on her a couple hours later. They said she was busy herding an english sheepdog, wrestling and playing and doing great.

i figure this feeling must be just the slightest akin to all those parent friends of mine who dropped their children off for the first day at school---you hope they do well, make friends and don't pee on the wrong things. Often they freak out until mom dissappears, then no worries.

anyone want to share their first day of preschool stories to make me feel less crazy?

punching bears

2011-08-31T13:58:00.000-07:00

there are techniques to preventing yourself from getting eaten and they vary by types of bear. did you know this? here's my summary (ahead of our weekend camping trip):

Brown Bear: Play dead.
Black Bear: Fight hard
Polar Bear: S*&^ Out of Luck

last night adam and matt came home from their hike to announce that they had seen an entire herd of moose (aka 3) and that they had wrestled them bare handed. clearly these guys are going to have great "fish" tales to tell one day. then they decided to tell me it was right before adam punched a grizz in the nose. Like KAPOW.

uh-huh. right.

then, today i find this article, where homegirl seriously punched a bear in the nose:
http://www.adn.com/2011/08/31/2041534/juneau-woman-saves-her-dog-by.html

Adam says the only reason it didn't eat her was because "...the bear thought she was feeding it and then she took the snack away and it was confused."

in the fields of Tar-Jeh

2011-08-30T17:07:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time....in a far away land called Alyeska, there lived a young man. The young man was a handsome fellow, with green eyes, a fetish for Sanuk shoes, and a compulsive need to smell things.

One day the young man and his bashful bride went wandering in the aisles of the field of Tar-Jeh, in search of new cleaning product for their millions of loads of laundry.

As if pulled by a magnet, the young man found himself in front of the natural "green" detergents (you can tell because they put a big green leaf there to make sure you know), compulsively smelling each in turn and demanding that the bashful bride do the same until, after what seemed like the better part of the afternoon, he finally settled on an acceptable scent.

Ladies and Gents, i am honored to introduce Adam, the king of compulsive smelling. Believe me, the only place worse than the detergent aisle is the hand soap aisle.

Alaska State Fair

2011-08-29T15:53:00.000-07:00

Since i didn't die of cancer last week, we decided to celebrate by going to the Alaska State Fair. Firstly, these chickens freak me out. Especially the one with the gross head.

Now, with that said, i was surprised by the fair. The fair, which is out in Palmer, is of course considerably smaller than the one i was used to from North Carolina. I expected acres of livestock and produce, miles of games and ride after ride of goodness. instead there were 5 rides, mostly tea cup variations/ferris wheels, about 100 yards of games, and enough stands selling hot tubs to last all of Alaska.

High points were definitely that we went to a lumberjack show and checked out the huge veggies:

Rumor has it that there is a world record setting pumpkin coming in this week---1800lbs or something.

on drugs and dying.

2011-08-25T17:11:00.000-07:00

This week was not so fun, but judging from other people's facebook statuses i don't think i was alone in my illness this week. mine perhaps more than others turned me into a crazy drama queen. thus in an attempt to garner sympathy for Adam, i am telling you all this overly personal story.

Tuesday morning i awoke feeling weak, but didn't feel like i was running a fever. Thinking it was too early in the morning to be a complete woos, I went to get my cavity filled/repaired and came to work. this tooth has been the bane of my existence for a year now--it has taken 5 trips to 2 dentists in 2 states to get it properly done. love the new dentist in alaska--in and out in under 30 minutes, no pain, no Novocaine face.

By noon. i had chills and the lymphnodes on the right side of my body were large and weirdly sore. i've been on antibiotics for another thing, so it seemed strange to be sick on them. i had turned the heater on and off more times than i knew was possible to try and compensate for my constantly changing temperature. A quick search of webmd, coupled with my rash and bruising, left only one option--i was clearly dying of stage 4 cancer of any one of all equally horrid types. Since this was the case, there must only be hours left on earth and i should definitely spend it in bed reading Alice in Wonderland rather than staring at a computer screen having problems subtracting 3.5 from 5.

As i pulled into the parking lot at home i called my PA, Rachel, to ask if she thought i needed to come in. i got an appointment for 7:10 that night...tuesday is late night at the clinic, thank god. Neah looked thoroughly confused at my reappearance midday but clearly understood something was wrong because she promptly laid down and didn't get up again after i took her out and dramatically collapsed on the bed declaring to her in no dog-uncertain terms that i was dying.

By 6, when Adam came home to take Neah hiking, I had chills and everything ached. i informed him i was pretty sure it was cancer and he had better hurry home from his hike. as you can imagine, he doesn't believe in my powers of webmd.com, either. So, after muttering about ruing the day my husband left me dying to go on a hike with Matt, I packed myself into the car and arrived at the clinic about 20 minutes early. Fortuitously, they had been about to call me because of a cancelled appt before mine.

The first indication i wasn't crazy came from my blood pressure 129 over 86. Tachycardia. i am always 110 over 68-72. second was the fever...100.8. i am usually around low 98.something. We worked our way through everything....could this be mono? could this be strep? Rachel was 90% certain that all this might be a bad allergic reaction to the Septra i had been taking. Either that or it was the strangest virus ever. I told her i was still pretty certain that my Internet searching was right and i was dying of cancer.

However, after thorough inspection and a throat swab, the Septra was confiscated and off i headed toward the grocery store with a new prescription for Gatorade. i clumsily stumbled my feverish incoherent self around the grocery store, certain that if i was not dying of cancer then i was at least infecting everyone with the plague, searching for gatorade, a thermometer, and the chocolate almond milk Adam had made a point of mentioning i should get when i said i would have to go to the store after the doctor.

Armed with all this i went home, curled up on the sofa, compulsively checked my temperature and prepared for imminent demise.

Then, the long wait for the end of life began.

Apparently, it is going to be a really really long wait because yesterday morning i was a blissful 98 degrees. The huge lymphnode and rash were still there, but my head didn't feel like someone was sitting on it anymore. I stayed home, playing it safe and diligently checking my temperature until i levelled off at 98.4. Today, the lymphnode is still tender, but decreasing along with the rash.

Turns out I'm allergic to Septra. Who knew!!

music. no vale la pena.

2011-08-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

so, an unanticipated result of living out here is the lack of new good music. Alright, i admit that Mos Def is in town tonight playing a concert at Mooses Tooth and i am not going, but it's been a minute since i got ahold of some jamz before they hit the airways and got beaten down because of repeat replay. D, Freda, Nedz, feel me??

brace yourself. thus, the heavy rotation play list looks like this:
Moment for Life- Ms. Minaj
Roll-up Whiz Khalifa
Cosmic Love--Florence and the Machine
Good Life--One Republic
How to Love--Lil Wayne
Best Thing I Never Had--Beyonce

if you think this looks a little sad, because i ain't disagreeing wit'cha, then you should be helping a sista out.

bells, bears, bwahah

2011-08-22T17:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday around lunch time there was a major bickering match going on in our tiny little apartment. Not involving me. I know---you are in shock it wasn't with me. Adam and Matt (our newly moved to Alaska from iowa/ohio friend--just kidding, kansas) were gearing up to go backpacking when Matt hoisted his backpack on. The tiny apartment filled with the sound of a herd of Santa's Reindeer at Christmas. If you are thinking jingle bells, good guess.

Neah looked at him strangely (i think it was the first time she's heard bells) and Adam started practically yelling about how ineffective and annoying bells are. And how Matt better take the bells off or they weren't hiking. Ok, truthfully I can't really remember what they said, but the point is that since loudly arguing is Adam and Matt's favorite sport, said bickering match ensued regarding the bells....and continued out the door with them as they left for the great wild yonder.

For anyone not from the north or the woods, the bells are "to alert the bears you are coming." Except they don't work: http://www.adn.com/2011/08/21/2024983/bear-runs-over-hiker-on-chugach.html. This is yesterday on the trail Adam and Neah hike often. It is about 10 minutes from our abode.

Then again, maybe the bells just get you run over and not eaten, in which case--jingle on Matt!! Personally, i think the snarling australian shepherd will be a bigger deterrent to the bears--she definitely makes more noise than bells, but who am i to deny safety precautions and prevent sharing the holiday spirit 4 months early.

rainy friday

2011-08-19T11:44:00.000-07:00

it has been a rainy week and i can feel it affecting my mood. i slink around a little more, slump lower in my work chair, pull the heater closer and eat more fruit. in general, i have felt really blessed by the sunniness of Anchorage in comparison with Seattle. but the sun is setting now by 10:30 and as the days grow shorter my desire to wrap up in a blanket, drink tea quddus makes, and nap or watch endless episodes of West Wing with Mona dramatically increases.

last weekend, neah and i spent quite a bit of time hanging out at the University Lake dog park. i had been really nervous about taking her by myself--convinced she was going to run away or acost a biker. there are no fences around any of the Anchorage dog parks, which added to the concern about her running abilities. At any rate, i put on her zap-collar, took her to play frisbee for 30 minutes and then off we went. lo and behold. my dog actually comes to the command "come" when she's off leash!! she made lots of puppy friends and only tried to eat one biker, who started to say mean things to her at which point i literally yelled "dude, you just rode through a dog park--are you kidding me??". actually, i think that section is multi-use, but you kinda have to know that if you ride a bicycle through an off-leash area, it's potentially bad news bears. anyways, she sprinted through the woods, went swimming with some lab puppies and a spaniel and had a blast bounding around until her paws got blisters from the fast turns to change direction. in return, i got a good walk, peace of mind about her not being mean, and a calm dog.

sigh.

2011-08-16T17:24:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel a lot like this guy. Photo credits: Bob Tansik.

to the 8 legged creatures...

2011-08-04T15:05:00.000-07:00

Dear Spiders.

I am not pleased to have to acknowledge your existence. However, there seems to be a striking increase in the number of you who are lurking in the last week. Please remember that circa 1984 we developed an understanding, wherein i would search every room before bedtime and kill all of you or have someone else kill you. while i recognize that you may now think you are safe because the other human in my home doesn't like to kill living things, i would like to remind you i have no such qualms. this reminder notice covers not only the home, but also extends to the work place, the car and anywhere else i find you within death distance.

Please consider yourselves on notice that i will kill you, yo mama, and yo cousin, too, if you decide to come visit me again.

Worst wishes,
me.

Neighborhood watch

2011-08-01T15:45:00.000-07:00

It's the neighborhood watch sign. We've all (at least in the US and Canada) seen it. Usually it means that the little old ladies in the hood will sit around peering from behind curtains not updated since the 1980s and call the cops when hoodlum teenagers prowl around with skateboards.

(BTW, I do think there is an illegal gambling establishment in a creepy building just past our apartment turn off...but that's beside the point. At first, i thought maybe it was an NA/AA thing, but Adam thinks its a gambling op based on some cryptic comments from a taxi driver one time.)

Anyways, in our neighborhood it means that this:

Lissa's ridiculously cute pic of Neah

has discovered that a window or door was left open and is ferociously announcing the presence of anything that moves within a 500 yd radius of our apartment. Day, night, rain, snow, sun, anytime. Seriously, ANYTHING and perhaps even somethings that aren't there. Who needs little old ladies when you can have this??
So, i'm willing to pimp her out. Who needs a watchdog?? Small fee, house trained, responds to cheese and carrots, will probably bark at you, too....

Shakey shakey, Wakey Wakey.

2011-07-28T10:56:00.000-07:00

There are a few times of day i really don't appreciate. 6am is one of those. 2:30 in the afternoon another. I'm a big fan of 4am stumbles through the front door, post-Waffle House future of life discussions. I love the feel of exhausted stomach muscles from too much dancing, quads that just so slightly burn, and feet that are screaming 'get me out of these heels'. I love 1am reading curled up with husband and dog. well, not so much the dog, but she really likes to be exactly where we are, especially if we are in any kind of physical contact.

the point of this story though is that i do not like 6am. nothing good happens at 6am. today being no exception. at 6am today: the earth started shaking. I was jolted awake out of a rather strange dream, involving me locking and unlocking all kind of cars, to find that the room was moving. mind you, sometimes i am sure the room is moving and it's not. but this time, yes, definitely moving. i remember distinctly thinking, wow, my first night-quake. the dog rolled over and snorted--also irritated at the rather shaky wake up from the not-a-during-the-night-quake. adam appeared to sleep soundly through. except, it was 6 am and the sun had been up for 2 hours already. of course. 6am. nothing good happens at 6am.

Weekend adventures

2011-07-26T13:09:00.000-07:00

Adam's parents joined us from Seattle this past weekend--staying for a long weekend to enjoy Linda's birthday. It gave us an opportunity to take them adventuring! Adam loves the Tunnel to Whittier--so we did the drive through this one way, 2.5 mile tunnel carved straight through the mountain on Saturday, along with the obligatory trip up to the top of Alyeska. Luckily, the one and only moose to make an appearance this weekend also appeared on the drive back from the Portage Glacier visitor center, fulfilling Dale's one request.

Sunday, we decided to head out of town the other direction. Anchorage was bogged down in a cloud bank, rainy and cold. We hoped that by getting into the Valley, we might escape the yuck. Sure enough, no sun but no rain either awaited us about 100 miles toward the interior. We headed to the Matanuska Glacier, a valley glacier:

I stole these photos from Linda's facebook...some she took and some Adam did.

We stopped first at the state park and did a little nature walk/hike thing. Then we headed down into the valley. You can access the glacier from a private campground by paying your left leg and signing your life away.

It is MUCH colder by the glacier. **insert smartass remark about it being ice, so duh it's colder**. We trekked down towards the melted mud and found this lovely little glacial lake. To get onto the pure icy part, you cross a series of boards and metal grated bridges across the mud--some of which were a little precarious.

We eased onto the ice--and at some point very close to the start I decided that while lovely, i was not dressed for ice hiking. It was COLD. I crouched on a picnic table, watching Adam lead his folks deeper onto the ice for the perfect family picture.

Then, Adam vanished over the edge. I prevailed on Dale and Linda to hike back out off the ice to the warm picnic table with a better view from which to watch for the reemergence of lost-Adam. Finally, we ended up calling him (yes, there is cell service on the glacier but no where else on the drive out there) to ask him kindly to return. He had snapped these awesome photos from the area we wimped out of.

the universe rights itself

2011-07-22T15:01:00.000-07:00

i used to lie on an ancient yellow couch. it would suck you in, holding your soul between its pillows. it comforted away fear, exhaustion and anxiety. the sofa had been around too much goood juju to absorb the issues of any one person who laid on it. instead it just radiated goodness through you, until you had no choice but to succomb. the couch spent part of its later years in the room of one of the people i love most in this world, in an assuming building, close to the bottom of an incredible monument in the middle east. from the couch you could hear the utz-utz of passing techno music, voices ~~yelling~~ chattering in arabic, and the cackling of said loved human as episode after episode of southpark played on the tv.

today, that human was accepted to a prestigious internship with the Hague on the Yugoslavia tribunal. i am endlessly proud of the man he has become, in no small part because of the original owner of the yellow couch.

hell MF-yeah, babe. Well done, indeed.

Eau de WOAH

2011-07-14T10:59:00.000-07:00

Yet another saga of the bathroom for you. But first, some preparatory side notes.
On some people, perfumes and cologne is yummy. It emboldens their i-dont-know-what. It fills the air around them with some kind of magical power, extending their aura and whirling you into their world. Those are the scents that linger in your mind, catch you off guard when a stray breeze hits your face, or cause waves of nostalgia. Those scents are the ones that you come to anticipate when you see the person and can't fathom not accompanying their smile, loving hug, or cheek kisses. For the rare few, they wear their perfume better than stilletos--creating power and drama and mystery.

For other people, the smelly water becomes something to bathe in, overpowering and assaulting all those nearby. There's no mystery, no longing to draw closer to check if your nose is really picking up on the inner essence of person X. The scent becomes oppressive and unescapable. And this, my dear ones, is the current state of the women's bathroom outside my office.

found here

While my office has a no smell policy, apparently the building we are situated in does not. After a month of a blissfully mostly smell free bathroom, yesterday afternoon an overwhelming new scent took over--and has not vacated. It is a sickly sweet vanilla-ish perfume. I'm unclear whether it came from the woman I saw in there yesterday or whether someone decided the fake flowers needed a scent. Either way, it chokes you when you walk in the door. I swear, it reminds me of this, but in an enclosed space:

So, dear person who wears too much perfume,
On behalf of the whole building--or at least anyone with their nose mostly intact--please, please stop bathing in the perfume. One or two pumps are really sufficient. We do not all need to smell like pink vanilla bunnies at the end of the day.
Warmly. the rest of us.

parental guilt. aka am i a bad dog owner?

2011-07-05T13:30:00.000-07:00

Our little aussie shepherd---who looks much too much like a border collie--always has energy. She talks, jumps, stalks you around the house. Only after 8 miles and 1800 feet does she seem tired enough to lie down. We've been trying and trying to find a way to wear her out. Running is difficult as she tries to herd you almost instantaneously.

This weekend, while everyone else was bbq-ing, watching baseball, or waiting for fireworks, we went and rented bikes. Secretly, to her at least, we were determined to break her of her bike barking and get her some good exercise. We took to the Coastal Trail out of downtown and peddled along leisurely while Neah pulled Adam's bike for the first ten minutes. She loves running. She was doing good, barely lunging at passers by (bike, person or dog), but as soon as we stopped to give her water she felt the need to assert her dominion over all the trail--barking wildly at everyone who went by. We sighed. This was not how we thought it would go.

Clearly, the only solution was to keep her running, over bridges, past ducks, and around slower dogs. After about 20 minutes and one slightly run over paw, she was limping badly. I began my tirade about how Adam had broken the dog's foot. An attempt to peddle on with her in my bicycle basket (45 lbs of squirming is NOT helpful to one's balance) fell disastrously short when she leapt from the basket in protest.

by the time we got her home, we had figured out that the limping was due to the formation and popping of what seemed to be huge blisters on her right front paw pad and back left paw. Too much running!! We went and bough Bag Balm (usually for udders and other sensitive areas). She bit down on my hand the way a small child would squeeze while it's parent applies medication to a skinned knee or elbow. i almost cried. what kind of horrible pet parents are we?? we took her to do something fun and now she can't walk. she sort of hobbles and then lies down noiselessly.

How do i make it better and WHY on earth did she get blisters??

god music

2011-06-24T16:08:00.000-07:00

in seattle, on sundays, the techno station/dance music station changes into the gospel station. i'd drive a little slower going to school to study, letting my heart fill with the divine music, recentering. it didn't matter to me it was "jesus-music" all that mattered was that i connected with the track and felt myself get higher.

music is a ladder to the soul, or an escape hatch, whichever image you prefer. some songs just make you feel like your soul is bouncing around your chest, trying to escape and fly. last night at Feast, part of the devotions was this song:

i've been listening to it on repeat all day. it is part of a Baha'i prayer. the compulsive relistening is because i'm using it like i used the gospel station on sundays....recenter, rebalance,...i have committed.

the Alcan.

2011-06-22T12:11:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we drove up from Seattle to Anchorage in 3 days, camping for free (arriving close to midnight and departing early from great sites, legitimately), and animal spotting. Thank you Q for the tent :)

The green British Columbian forests were a wash in reds, both from wildflowers and from the pine beetles killing trees. The forests of the Yukon came with purple wild flowers, dead spruces with gray-purple hues and a few green ones that looked like some artisan giant had taken fingers dipped in blood and brushed their tops. Sunsets were stunning color symphonies, changing by the second from peach to orange, to fuchsia and then coral. Unfortunately, rain and clouds prevented staring into the heavens above.

The final animal count is: an entire herd of wood bison (like 25 including babies), 2 grizzly bears, 6 black bears (including two cubs who climbed a tree while we watched--the one sibling climbing too far out on the limb, the branch broke and they tumbled 5 feet down to the ground. their mother looked over nonchalantly and went back to eating grass), lots of moose, lots of deer, a bobcat, three marmots, an Arctic ground squirrel, two owls, and millions of mosquitoes who found their death on the hood of the car.

about Quakes of all kinds

2011-06-17T14:08:00.000-07:00

**just for clarificatin: q-u-a-kes not q-u-a-cks**

My father is unusually obsessed with earthquakes...being in them mostly. When we were in Chile early last decade it was on the wish list. Sure enough, there was one the first night which I was sure he slept through. However, he insisted it jolted him out of his slumber. So, now--nigh on ten years later--he and my mama have been here visiting and we have been awaiting the ground shake. Yesterday, they decided to take a little road trip and sure enough, no sooner were they out of town and in a car than the ground swirled (it was a swirly one for those of you familiar with how earthquakes come in different motions) and they were not here to feel it. i deem this tragedy a result of not asking God specifically enough. I asked that there be an earthquake while they were here, rather than that they get to feel the earthquake while they are here.
Starting a new job always comes with a few settling in issues. When you work at a place long enough, your body just mindlessly goes wherever you need: cafeteria, dark corner, bathroom. At my last job, the only thoughtful things about the bathroom were to check for ants twice a year when they seasonally came in. One of the first days I was here, I went into a different stall and proceeded upon sitting to be CONVINCED we were having an earthquake, only come to find out that the toilet quakes. To make matters more awkward however, i can't remember this--and am always surprised at the "toilet quake" for a split second. *insert old lady joke here*.
Last night was spent watching "Good Indian Girl" videos in an attempt to figure out how to wrap my sari in advance of Trev & Angie's wedding reception tomorrow night in Vancouver. The last time this creation saw the light of day was 6 years ago in a strange land called Lucknow--hours by train from Delhi. Let's call this adventure in dressing a "marquake" because I nearly shook myself to death trying to get the pleats right.

my no bears song

2011-06-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

"No bears!

NO MOOSE!

No mountain lions, or cougars, or mosquitoes,

No anything else i forgot to name"

"You said mountain lion twice," Adam says. i'm singing off key (the only way i know how) as we walk through heavy brush on either side. "huh, oh yeah cougar is mountain lion--i really don't want to see any," i reply. We haven't seen anything other than a few tracks to imply any of the aforementioned critters are around except the unceasing buzzing of the mosquitoes. Nevertheless, i am armed with my trusty bear spray and keep singing my song (much to neah's chagrin as she started woofing at the end of each refrain).

We were somewhere around 3 hours and 1500 feet up, too far into the valley near Chugiak to see the Knik Arm. The rain fell intermittently, not enough to deserve the rainjacket, but too much to not wear it. Neah decided to make herself a little seat to rest her legs on some grass....and give you a chance to check out her pack-pack.

As we crossed into the tundra, around 1800 feet, it became markedly colder, with some lurking snow. My song seems to have worked. Nothing moved, not even birds--well, one tried and Neah barked her displeasure. Second lunch happened on the ground, "in brown bear country" with Neah eyeing Adam's chili until he flicked a morsel towards her and me eyeing the mountain faces for any of the song's animals.

In 6 hours, we see four people.

Upon reaching the car, the usually energetic Neah curled up on my lap, nestled her head into the curve of my elbow and tried to sleep her way home. It took all her might to get back out of the car. i felt her pain--i have four impressive new blisters. At least i thought they were impressive until Adam starts telling me a story of blisters worse than mine followed by several more days of hiking. Apparently, my blisters are not so impressive afterall. harumph.

nothing in particular

2011-05-17T15:17:00.000-07:00

it has been cloudy for a few days, putting a damper on my mood. to quote Golriz, she's only happy in the sun. i think the dog agrees too, although hers might be, she's only happy when the lawnmower isn't going. i guess i should have anticipated that the reaction to the riding lawnmower would be proportionately larger than the reaction to the vaccuum, whoops. not to be outdone by the dog, i have found that the viciousness towards things that make noise can be overcome with the proper use of CHEESE. yes, cheese. the magic soundproofer/world righter. seems Adam and the dog have someting in common. plus, i vaccuumed the floor, so poor lawnmower-tized neah had to shift napping spots every 35 seconds in search of somewhere that smells like her bone pile.

yesterday, i whittled away the afternoon by chatting with this guy on skype: (funny enough, three years later we look almost exactly the same as this picture, how'd that happen?

let me tell you a little about how this occurred. i sent him an email that said, "I hate you." Mostly, i was grumpy because of the sheer brilliance of said person (not me) and his first class honors law degree. Secondarily, i was pissed because he was eating yummy food in Vietnam. Truth be told, i am smart enough to know how to get a reaction. hah. He wasn't satisfied with Gchat so to Skype we went. i was worried. Sometimes the internets get jumpy when i am trying to watch Vampire Diaries on Hulu. Would Skype have the same jumpy, lethargic, ire inducing fate??

No dear friends, it didn't. so, let it be known the world over that i am going to hang out on Skype more since my stupid phone has little to no reception inside this apartment. Then i get to see you and not hang up on you. yay. double bonus. let's all put one hand up in a high-five of solidarity for Skype. word.

toe shoes and mosquitoes

2011-05-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

It has been making it to 60 on a regular basis. i think this is what the locals call summer. My friend Leili joked that she was wearing a tanktop because it was hot..i'm pretty sure hot was 50 F or so since they are in Ft. Smith in northern Canadia. so, in honor of summer, i am listening to Bachata music, dancing in the livingroom, and continuing the job hunt. There are some great options out there, as always the question is whether they think i am a great option too. In the meantime, sing on Prince Royce.

We've been trying to allow "summer" to usher in new fun things to do. We went hiking again last weekend to some falls just outside of Eagle River. It was a good opportunity to break in the Vibram Five Finger toe shoes. I think there may be a whole series of posts about the adventures of the toe shoes this summer. brace yourselves. The first time i saw a pair of these, Logan had them in Hawaii and i was convinced that this strange shoe fetish must be some crazy hippie stuff. truth be told, the rubberized toe-socks grip better than my hiking boots, are way lighter, and dry out faster. Back to the hike: the first part of the trail was very wet/muddy. i spent the hike trying not to get my feet muddy, dantilly prancing along the edge of the trail and forging my own way through trees, much to the irritation of the dog who was pissed her herd was not being herded. feel free to mull over the idiocracy of wearing toe shoes and trying to keep them clean and pretty in the mud then sloshing though a stream. the second half, dry and mosquito filled. mosquitoes are the Alaska state bird. they are huge. they swarm. they are out to eat me alive. yes, me personally, no one else.

Back to the picture, yes that is still snow. It is in a shaded area. Also, that's a river (read stream) that comes down from the falls. We had to cross it twice. it was about ankle to calf deep. let me make this clear. THAT ISH WAS COLD. like barely above freezing. but, the shoes were great for getting across because (drum roll please) your feet freeze immediately and once numb you feel nothing. Neah, however, was PISSED that we took her through freezing cold water to see some water thing with a bunch of mosquitoes.

The falls were pretty..mostly it was just nice to get out and moving. And because there must always be a cute picture of the dog:

Time Flies

2011-05-04T22:06:00.000-07:00

Let's compare early January with early May:

Wowza. or:

current events

2011-05-02T14:19:00.000-07:00

last night, while i talked to my parents half a world away, we watched together as President Obama announced that after nearly 10 years bin Laden had finally been killed. while i listened to what seemed a momentous statement--one that hopefully provided some closure for families who have lost those they love to 9/11 and in the aftermath decade long war--i thought about where i was that day, waking up in DC to a changed world, watching the shock on the faces of those around me, understanding that the threat that so many in the world live with every day had finally come to the US.

the scenes from outside the white house make me sad. there is no joy in the murder of others, justified or not. justice does not equate with felicity or exuberant patriotism. too many have had to sacrifice their lives for me to celebrate the death of one. i honor our soldiers and their families. I honor the people of the countries we have invaded and their continued struggle. i think about those who fight against terror in their country every day of the week without hope. and i leave you with this quote from Martin Luther King Jr.:

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that"

coming home

2011-04-18T15:14:00.000-07:00

is always an adventure with a squirrely aussie.....big ups to whoever guesses what it was she shreded while we were at a friend's birthday bbq.

the one where we become alaskan

2011-04-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

tlc, discovery, all the hippie adventure channels...they've all told you: Alaskan fly little planes--EVERYWHERE. this weekend, a friend offered Adam and i the opportunity to tag along with him in his plane while he ran an errand to the Kenai Peninsula. lately, adam's been on a kick about wanting an F-18 and accompanying aircraft carrier, so i was hoping that by agreeing to go a side effect would be adam would want a cessna instead of the more expensive faster version.

We met Al on a beautiful afternoon yesterday, got a how the plane works briefing, and loaded up the picnic dinner. The picture is us above Anchorage. We flew out toward the south and headed for the heart of the Kenai Peninsula. Al's family has a cabin on Kenai Lake, which is where we headed.
I have this image in my head of family cabins which was excatly where we went. Rustic, built in the 40s, added on to over successive generations, filled with old family photos and smelling of love. Oh, and a whole fleet of old vehicles doesn't hurt either! We flew into the peninsula over Resurrection Pass, a trail Adam hiked several years ago. Adam flew us across the water and up the pass, taking a few turns to make me nervous :) it is hard to begin to even describe the wild beauty that was around us. the flight was spectacular, Al was an amazing host and tour guide, and i can't imagine anything cooler to spend the day doing. This is why Alaskan's fly, because it feels like soaring through heaven in God's country.

Kenai Lake

Resurrection Pass

Picnic on Kenai Lake in front of the cabin.

Harding Ice Field: the largest in North America

As you can imagine, the photos don't do any of this justice. Flying over the ice field was incredible--like being on the top of the world. i am so grateful for the kindness of new friends, the beauty of nature here, and sunny days.

notre dame

2011-04-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

this is a belated post. clearly. since you all know i am in alaska, not france. due to reasons that made no sense, my flight out of seattle on the way to israel was an hour delayed. this meant that i JUST managed to miss the only air france flight to tel aviv for 8 hrs. the conversation in my head went a lot like: well, hello paris. i didn't intend to see you without adam, but now that i have to what should i do? oh, ask my facebook friends, good call. i'm beginning to feel like i see continental Europe on layovers. I saw Rome like this, too. this time i was more unhappy about not having the film camera. my digital point and shoot didn't give me the color quality or focus depth i wanted...so please forgive the lameness of these photos.

first a short gripe: the new terminal (2E) at DeGaulle. i suddenly understand how tom hanks could live there for years. there's no bloody way out. seriously, i walked like two miles before finally realizing that the little itty bitty unmarked door was the only, repeat ONLY exit. if there was a fire and terminal 2E was burning to the ground, everyone would die because there are no marked exits. end rant.

it is about an hour train ride to notre dame. i had made a "see notre dame without your spouse" buddy who was also headed to tel aviv and he and i ventured into paris. we picked notre dame because it is not particularly romantic...seeing as how all things parisian are meant to be seen with the one you love...not the one you just met on the plane.

One of the features i had forgotten about from pictures is a statue outside of the cathedral. it is on the right as you approach and looks to be to be a ghost king and a servant, and a horse. I kinda figure this is where the inspiration for the ghost kings in the Lord of the Rings came from---seeing as how they look just alike:

So, there are lots of stained glass, interesting architecture and a statue of Joan of Arc inside. I'm going to forgo all those pics in favor of these two from the outside and one final one from the park. i love stained glass, mind you. we had two in our home growing up made by an artist friend. but like i said above the colors didn't come out properly. besides, the carving is just so intricate AND, more importantly, who can resist a gargoyle. i'm always amazed at the detail of the work, the effort and time it must have taken to complete. while i found the inside to be a bit of a money making scandal (please pay two Euro every ten feet to light candles before different saints), the artistry is really an amazing thing to behold.

Now, for our finale. Please note that in French parks, dogs are not allowed to walk themselves.

thursday=suprise package day

2011-04-14T15:05:00.000-07:00

I LOVE SURPRISE PACKAGE DAY!!

Today, a box arrived from the lovely Brooke (and Justin and Jasper). It had among it a new squeeky toy from Jasper to Neah, a dope hand blown glass gavel for me (see pic below) and some dessert creation goodies from our C&B registry. Brooke and Emily were the people who had a main hand in hiring me at Children's--for which i am endlessly grateful. Brooke is also a cooking goddess, theme party thrower, and Auntie to the ever so cute Avery.

Brooke and Justin have this dope Etsy site, where they showcase all their awesome creations. You should really check it out, especially if you are into awesome glasswear. Seriously, how dope is my gavel!! Justin once made me a set of made to order wine glasses for a Christmas giveaway--huge hit. Anyways, i'm beyond stoked, but I think Neah is the happiest of the lotbecause of the new squeeker--which she won't let me get in the vicinity of.

Thank you!!

Graduation day.

2011-04-12T13:38:00.000-07:00

first a couple of more serious things. please say some prayers for my friend Tali's son, Jack. He's an adorable 3.5 year old who is very sick with leukemia and his counts are worsening. Tali and her husband are very devout Christians with a strong faith in God and prayer. as a firm believer in prayer myself, any additional positive thoughts or wishes i'm sure would be appreciated.

also, i want to give thanks for a moment that the nice man from downstairs is okay after having fallen through some ice at the dog park. he and his wife are the ones who let Neah out for us when we are out of town for too long during the day. i am grateful that there was someone nearby and that they were able to act quickly. The temperature has been rising well above freezing and clearly even the solid looking ice is not so much anymore.

graduation was not mine or adam's. the dog finally graduated from puppy class. mind you, we aren't sure what the requirements to graduate are, but we suspect them to be showing up and not being totally neurotic. Here she is in her graduation cap:

puppy class has been an adventure. we (and i'm using "we" generously since i ditched neah and adam for a couple weeks in there) started with four dogs in the class and at the end it was just these two:

Ranger and Neah. Ranger was an abandoned sled dog. Unfortunately for Ranger, his owners feed him too much and he's looking "plump". Neah likes to pounce on his head.

the ones that didn't finish were:
1. some kind of schnauzer mix named Bo, who made a lot of barking noise, but was doing better. he was hampered by embarrassed parents who didn't work with him at home

2. an overly anxious german shep named max whose family was somehow more anxious than he was. I think 120lbs of dog was just too much for them.

So, now we have our monday nights back and one slightly better mannered puppy who barks anytime a door bell rings, including on the tv. but she is beyond cute--see, here's my proof.

we take her on nightly walks to a park nearby--where she gets to run/bound free, unless/until a person on a bike comes by. she's decided that the fact that they are in/on a moving vehicle is a personal affront to her, or she wants to herd them, i can't tell which. this also covers cars. hopefully, we can get that sorted out soon.

introspection.

2011-04-05T13:01:00.000-07:00

**first a side note: anchorage (which had melted like 80% of its snow when i landed last night) welcomed me back this morning with this:

i have not been a nice person for the last few months. the bar and job hunting have been challenging. the trip allowed me some time to face up to all of that and to decide i need to remember to be a better version of myself. to that end, i'm lucky to have a husband who loves me despite my best efforts to drive him crazy. i wrote this a year ago for him, but it still stands.

for so long, i wrote in search of you

but, i looked in all the wrong places,

dug through the ruins of my nightmares--

the relics of my misplaced idols--

the faded photographs of echoes long gone.

so deep in my confusion

i almost lost my best love.

and you, with your time less patience,

unsung heroism and humble strength

never lost your faith in me.

you raised me up

from my manic playground,

held me tight while i shook

and trembled, pushed and tested

until i learned a new meaning

for unconditional.

until i relinquished the chains of my self bondage

and learned to truly love,

to believe that the magic of that word could be mine.

you are the greatest gift of my life,

the greatest partner for my soul.

yellow wildflower season

2011-04-03T01:08:00.000-07:00

it is yellow wildflower season in Israel and this is a rare post with a couple of mar pics in it.

we went hiking south of jerusalem-at bet guvrin. about a decade and a bit ago, i went there on a weekend bus tour. the only problem was, being all of my late teens, i was definitely NOT paying attention to where i was. this meant that the last 12 years were spent trying to remember where on earth this one particular park was. bet guvrin has these crazy caves. i had wanted to bring adam here, but in my mind it was farther into the negev desert and i couldn't locate it.

there are a variety of trails and routes. school children ran amok over the site along with busloads of tourists. the parental units opted for the long route. clearly none of us thought this through because we all got various sunburns and levels of crankiness at the end of the 5 mile snackless sojourn. the lone building is a church.

the israel parks authority is denoted by a baby ibex (see left)
and, because we tansiks must always take at least one lizard picture a hiking trip, here's my buddy the chameleon, who clearly knew it was yellow wildflower season.

Yad Vashem

2011-03-30T09:20:00.000-07:00

Several years ago, they opened a Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. Time had never permitted me to visit until today. We went early this morning, parked in a proper makeshift parking spot in the underground garage, and ventured through several seas of tour groups in chinese, spanish and english. The main portion of the building itself is concrete and tent shaped. Inside is dark, with endless multimedia--you are bombarded and surrounded by images from the time you set foot in the door.

For me, the beginning felt extremely claustrophobic and antsy. I nearly ran through the first few rooms, trying to make space (perhaps symbolically as well as physically) to absorb the powerful information. I wondered, to myself and aloud to anyone who would listen, whether this was part of the planning---to create a disconcerting trapped feeling, pushing you out of your comfort zone and into the history of a people who were completely annihilated. The statistics were gruesome, as were the pictures. At every turn, there were stories of each family with heirlooms, stories of the resistance, stories of fighting against fate. My soul began to ache about half way through as we walked past a glass covered area of the floor beneath which were thousands of shoes from those who had been taken to the gas chambers. A guide nearby said the glass had been put down to allow people to peer at all the shoes, but now people walked around the glass like it was sacred. Passports, suitcases, pictures and stories lined the walls. Tears flowed from visitors I slunk past. My heart continuously broke at the thought of the hatred that it takes to commit such atrocities and the ability for that kind of hate to continue to exist throughout the world today.

At the end, there is a room--wherein are books upon books of the names of all the dead. It is a room full of light in comparison with the rest of the exhibit-and it left me feeling as through the volumes were heaven's great list.

shalom

2011-03-24T03:57:00.000-07:00

there's no pic of the cute dog this week...because i ditched her and Adam and took off for one last visit to see my folks serving in Haifa, Israel. Unfortunately, my visit coincides with the first bombing in almost three years....

So....love from northern israel!
Maybe some pics in a few days.

Alaska Ski Train

2011-03-20T18:32:00.000-07:00

We got up at 530am yesterday, grabbed backpacks full of provisions, borrowed snowshoes and our spirits (the in your body not added to the body kind), and headed to the train depot. It was our first trip on the Alaska Ski Train to Curry. The trip was actually a gift from a beloved co-worker of mine, Dena Brownstein, for our wedding. She wanted to give us a unique experience and this she DEFINITELY did.

On the train you see many of the following:

1. Polka Band

2. Costumes:

3. Great Views (Denali/McKinley on right):

love,

ah, exercise, how i missed you

2011-03-16T18:06:00.000-07:00

**for anyone reading this as a facebook note, the pictures have better layout on the actual blog:www. martha-teresa.blogspot.com Go see!**

Neah is attempting to trick me into playing with her, coyly dropping tennis balls at my feet and putting her head in my lap with tug-o-war-triangle in it.

Lately we've been busy doing puppy training, trying to socialize her, and trying to break her of the instinctual drive to herd us. One night a week we shuttle her into the car (thank god we are beyond the puppy motion sickness now) and take her to PetSmart where a kind lady teaches us how to not kill her. It is a class of four: a terrier that doesn't like anyone, a pound saved sled dog that just wants to pull and hates if you touch its feet, and a german shepherd with severe anxiety. I wonder how people would describe us!

Here's Adam and Neah at our class working on loose leash walking. He does the practices, since i have all day to work on it at home with her. Some days are great. Actually, any time she isn't really interested in some smell or other is great. When there is a smell to be discovered my arms get one hell of a workout.

She's over 30 lbs now. They expect her to be just under 50lbs in the next couple of months. We are waiting for her massive coat and uber-shedding to begin :) We try to take her walking in the park--but she's super afraid of mountain bikers and cross-country skiiers....so it is a little daunting for just one of us.

Rhetorical question: How on earth did i let Adam talk me into getting this dog? For anyone debating Aussie ownership, you should know that she wants to be with us ALL the time, she sheds, and you really ought to have a good yard or trail nearby to haul her on. About the co-dependant thing, never more than 5 feet away (unless there's a yummy smell) is where she would stay at all times if we let her.

Anyways, that obviously doesn't stop us. So, we've been doing some classic cross country skiing on this trail. Well, not this section of it yet, but soon:

We used some of the wedding money (THANK YOU) to get me a set of cross country skis. The key to success with Anchorage winters seems to be to get yourself out in it. We figured having a sport we could do together, easily and cheaply, would be good both for our health and for our mental well-being. Alas, the bar kinda killed the plan temporarily, but we are back in full swing (having gone twice this week and hoping to get in one more before i head to Israel to see Bob and Lissa early next week). There are a lot of trails here in Anchorage and we have been exploring Kincaid park. Adam and I both really enjoy it, although I'm sure i need a technique lesson or two hundred. It is a great work out that doesn't leave you all burnt out feeling afterwards. Bonus that the scenery is beautiful. So, we were out on the trail and Adam whizzed down the hill and i followed, only to realize that there was a moose just off the trail. Neither of us can stop yet without falling over....so just prayed the moose was not so interested in us going by. I did get a pic of the people that came after us, so you know how close we were:

Also, i need to tell you that, despite my initial misgivings about the plethora of mooses...there really are a ton of them. We saw this one driving out of the park. He kindly stopped to pose for us, although he wouldn't answer to Adam's "moosey moosey" call, before wandering off when the car started up again.

Japan.....

2011-03-11T14:14:00.000-08:00

My heart feels caught in my throat, helpless and wrenched from my chest. it is impossible to go back to the regularly scheduled mundane blogging about the dog when there is such great suffering. i realize this suffering occurs daily around the world and i do wish that we were paying better attention to sierra leone and others struggling each moment for their freedom. for me, Japan's suffering just hits a little closer to home.

A friend from high school was in Sendai. There's no notice of where, how or if he is okay. Another good girlfriend from highschool had to sleep in her office in Tokyo over night, her family is safe, but their home destroyed.

my thoughts and prayers remain with them and the rest of the country.

Iditarod

2011-03-06T20:49:00.000-08:00

We missed the start of the Iditarod yesterday (the ceremonial one) in Anchorage because i was taking the last of my licensure qualification exams--a professional responsibility one. So, today, we got in the car (sans Neah the motion sick) and took off for Willow, Alaska--12 miles out of Wasilla. This is the view from the car:

The start is held on Willow Lake, which is completely frozen over. There were 62 mushers and their dog teams competing this year, including Canadians, a Scot, and a Jamaican.

Each team had a set start time two minutes apart. In between, the announcers shared lots of personal information about each person.

Bonus is free hot cocoa--as long as you aren't fasting ;)

The dogs just want to run sooo badly (love the hot pink booties!!):

This series is one guy:

And proof of life:

Fasting...ready, set...

2011-03-01T13:10:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since i talked about some of the things i hold dear to me on this blog. One such thing is my faith (http://www.bahai.org/) The Baha'i Faith. We are in a special part of the year right now. Today is the last day of a period called Ayyam-i-ha, which are 4 or 5 days helping to align our calendar with the Gregorian one. During those days, we do service, give gifts and spend special time and attention being joyous.

Tomorrow, adult Baha'is begin the Fast. It is a 19 day period where we refrain from eating or drinking--usually from sunrise to sunset. Here in Alaska, we fast from 6am to 6pm.

"[Fasting] is essentially a period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation, during which [we] must strive to make the necessary readjustments in his inner life, and to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent in his soul. Its significance and purpose are fundamentally spiritual in character. Fasting is symbolic - a reminder of abstinence from selfish and carnal desires." ~ Shoghi Effendi

The first few days are always a struggle for me--as i break free from my caffiene addiction and the headaches that accompany it. By about day 5, it starts to feel pretty good. What always surprises me is how much of my time a day is spent in pursuit of physical nutrients versus spiritual ones and how lopsided the balance.

So, i wish you all a month of refocus, rejuvenation, and inner peace.

weekend review...

2011-02-27T20:43:00.000-08:00

Here's our weekend in reverse....Fur Rondy, dinner in Girdwood with the scenic Kenai Peninsula, walking along frozen creek beds with the puppy (make it big, it's worth it!), and the moose at Walmart. Thank God the Bar is over.

Day One: Didn't Die.

2011-02-22T22:25:00.000-08:00

Don't stop talking to God on my behalf quite yet, but I don't think i've ruined my chances of passing given today's performance. Here we are studying Constitutional Law.

i hear darth vader's march music

2011-02-20T13:08:00.000-08:00

in my head. it is the sound of my 48 hour countdown to the Bar Exam. ok, that's a little morbid, or at least it is in my head.

So, here's what we've been up to this week. We got our bi-weekly box of yummy things from Full Circle Farms. If you sign up in Anchorage, Seattle or any of the nearby areas...which you should...we are happy to be the referral for you (hint hint). In this week's box was some yummy rainbow chard. So i made a cream of rainbow chard for dinner one night--super tasty. no pics of it, but some pretty pics of the stems. It was a simple heavy cream reduction with fresh ground pepper and salt. Blanched the chard for two minutes. DELICIOUS. It was followed by a southwestern chicken salad the next night over a combo of argula and romaine. I made a rub for the chicken from chili powder, garlic salt, paprika, corriander, salt and pepper. I know, right about now anyone who knows me is thinking--where did mar go. mar doesn't cook. well my dears the only thing i hate more than cooking is studying for the bar. so now i cook. I'm collecting baking stuff too. the wishlist is a Kitchenaid mixer, silicone mat, and those little bowls for soufles n stuff. Tana, Dhab and Dev got me this AMAZING dessert cookbook as a bridal shower present and i am so excited to have time for making this stuff starting next week.

Anyways back to the box, we got some yummy cilantro...some of which i'm keeping fresh for a few weeks and some of which i'm storing for the months ahead...in ice cubes. seriously.

In other food related news, Adam made tacos yesterday. After a few minutes of preparation, a faint, "i think there might be too much cheese" floated out of the kitchen. You can decide for yourselves:

better angle from which to judge....

And what post would be complete without news of wonder-dog. Well. right this instant she's pissed because her newfound bed just went out the door to the laundry room. But she's been watching the snowfall and pretending not to eat sheets this week:

this time next week

2011-02-16T18:17:00.000-08:00

my fate will be mostly decided. in honor of that truly depressing statement, here's my cute puppy...although at 3 adn a half months, she's starting to look less puppy like and weighs in at 26 lbs.

She's clutching her squeeky skunk. when she plays with it or the monkey, she growls and talks to them. I assume she's telling them who's boss. I know you are looking at the next one, going what is that....it's neah, sitting on my head.

"moose don't scare us, we scare moose!"

2011-02-13T14:17:00.000-08:00

"that's a good one right?" he asks in response to my question about the title of this post. Adam is refusing to write it himself....so that means the story will undoubtedly end up much more exciting and enthralling than it really was.

he came back in the house (read: hovel) from a long walk with neah in the snow and low double digit weather and said, "um...so...". my heart kind of froze for a second, but i could see neah and hear adam, so i figured, whatever it was, they were still alive. first a momentary preamble, adam likes to let neah run around off lease up the street in this weird deserted turn around with a creepy cabin in the woods. it makes me nervous because its wooded and when she gets stuck on the opposite side of something that frightens her from us, she tends to run the wrong way. Anyways, he started again...so we found the moose.

Next to the creepy little deserted cabin in the woods, there's a turnoff that appears to be where the driveway plow push all the snow. if you walk down it, you are raised up on a small hill and can see all of southeast anchorage through the treetops. Clearly, the best view of southeast anchorage is from the top of the snowplow snow pile. So, loose Neah and Adam were headed to check out the view. the snow is super light and dry right now, so it makes a musical crunching noise--sounds pretty and really great for not getting snuck up on by anything. Anyways, Neah was leading the way and was about to start up the mound when, rising like a "moose out of the snow, a moose rose out of the snow just on the other side of the snow pile." This is maybe 5 feet from Adam and 3 feet from Neah. As Adam points out, where else can you accidently sneak up on a moose?!

Adam's not a good story teller, so here's my exaggeration of what happened next. The moose, having been rudely awakened and not quite yet all with the program, stared at Adam and Neah. Lucikly for Adam, Neah chases you if you so much as jog somewhere (herder instincts). So, when Adam turned and bolted, Neah chased along after him. Also, lucky for Adam because i might have sacrificed him to the moose if she hadn't. He ran, with Neah nipping at his heels like it was a great game, checking over his shoulder to make sure the semi-conscious moose wasn't giving chase too. Nope, moosey just wanted to go back to its nice peaceful nap....and here they were, back in the hovel, only slightly surprised and apparently no worse for the wear.

And thus ends our Sunday adventures. Hope all of you have an adventure filled day too ;)

brrrr.

2011-02-12T10:29:00.000-08:00

The forecast for today said "COLD" just like that, in caps and italics, like it was shivering. I see why. its down almost 20 degrees from yesterday, down to a nose hair freezing -3F (-19C). It would probably have been helpful if i had bothered to look at the handydandy remote thermostat from outside before taking the dog out to terrorize the neighbors with her new found need to bark at all living creatures.

It didn't happen though, the looking to see if i would freeze not wearing 8 layers, because i can only think of one thing: my impending doom. make that two things, my impending doom and my really overwhelming desire to be working, seriously, i want to work, i'm good at it, and yeah. i can't stand sitting in the house. it makes me a crazy person. back to doom, in a week and a half i sit for one of the worst exams in the country. at present, i spend 10 hours a day in a folding chair trying to drill all rules of law into my head, eating endless boxes of triscuits and not much else, and contemplating what dogs dream of when they bark in their sleep. also, i'm allergic to something mysterioius in this apartment (because i never leave. my world is 400 feet big). i have no idea what it is, but it causes various parts of my face (usually eyebrows or eyes) to swell and get red. it's possible i am allergic to my hands, but that would be problematic.

my daily solace comes from having stolen/borrowed/absconded ten of my parents coffee cups out of a collection of 30 or so. today a 20 year old mug with a hen and chicklet are telling me to "Have a sun shiny day!" ok cup, work your magic!

delayed post re: Planetarium

2011-02-08T14:06:00.000-08:00

each year, adam's firm has an annual shareholder meeting. the meeting moves around their various offices from year to year and this year it was here in anchorage. i'm sure everyone was just thanking their lucky stars they got to come here in the dead of winter. anyways, the firm organizes various events to keep people entertained. since adam was the anchorage newby--he had to organize the associate event (drinks dinner and games night at the Captain Cook). The partners organized the next night's event and spouses were included. It was pretty awesome. We went to the University of Alaska Anchorage planetarium.

http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/planetarium/about.cfm

I stole their picture. click the link. anyway, its a pretty state of the art thing. I hadn't been to a planetarium since i was a kid and we went to UNC-CH's. it had one of those light globey things in the middle that shot stars up and moved them around. UAA's was an entirely different experience. we started off flying around alaska and then out into space. it goes essentially 3-D. we checked out a skull flew around inside it and then checked out a mouse and flew around inside it too. The program was on blackholes--although we spent a lot of time at the end talking about pluto and eris the 'not' planets and their 72 friends out there on the edge.
Also, i had no idea that there was a break in Saturn's rings. sure didn't show that on star trek's fly through our solar system sequence. all in all, it reminded me that while i like to think of myself as a big important person in the scope of life, i'm really this infinitisimally (making up words) tiny little thing in the grandiosity of space and time. now if only there was a way to reconcile the two.

unless you wanna talk tort rules....

2011-02-04T15:32:00.000-08:00

this is all i've got:

she likes to sleep on the dirty laundry. usually prefers adam's pile, but this one happens to be mine.
Here's us...see she's still little. please note the following important background objects: bookcase my dad made with israeli cloth and way too many books, humidifier, cross country ski poles.

shake-shake

2011-02-03T21:58:00.000-08:00

not that i'm complaining, but our apartment is a 1970s relic. So, weird things happen--strange noises, thin walls, you get the drift. i've been not so eagerly lying in bed each night for the last month talking to God about how, if i'm going to be up here and s/he's going to give the east coast of the US all the snow, (S)He could at least give me some shimmy shimmy shake shake. get your mind out of the gutter--even though i'm married and that's legit.

i've been asking nightly for an earthquake. a feel-able one. not one of those dinky ones when i'm not paying attention or i'm asleep. well, i finally got my wish.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/Maps/AK10/55.65.-160.-140.php

i done got me a 4.6 out on the Kenai! it felt like--well, if my floor was a sauce pan, like someone shook it like they were shaking something they were sauteing. yeah, no idea how to spell that. we just got a new neighbor--so i thought maybe she was doing something really strange, but no! vindication was mine when the red box popped up on the map.

moose-check.
snow-check.
dog-check.
cross-country skis-check (never been used, but are acquired)
earthquake-check.

suggestions for things to add to the list?

T-3.5 weeks

2011-01-27T19:14:00.000-08:00

Till my fate is in the hands of anonymous graders. dear god, please let everyone else take out the bottom of the curve. while i wring my hands in distress over the differences between LLC and LLPs....please enjoy my 12 week old.

halfdollars

2011-01-26T14:38:00.000-08:00

i was busy reading facebook, rueing the thunder-snow the east coast is getting. apparently it has taken over the 1-95 corridor from DC to Baltimore. anyways, i was muttering to myself about how i wanted snow, not just cold, when i finally looked up from the mound of evidence i'm perched upon to discover it is in fact snowing. farwell green eyed jealousy monster--alaska came through.

and so all was right again in the world. since it wasn't yesterday when it was raining here and snowing in nashville.

the snow here always amazes me. the flakes are from tiny to the size of half dollars drifting across the sky. snow always makes me calm--mutes the world and lets it breathe with deep breaths. it is indiscriminate--landing with the same self-righteousness on post, tree, snowbank, car and puppy alike.

it's warmer here than NYC

2011-01-24T21:55:00.000-08:00

i figure i won't be able to say that much, so i ought to take advantage of it. we went for a couple walks over the weekend with Neah. We are trying to get her more exercise to decrease her desire to eat shoes. i like to think it's working. It also gave me a chance to take some pictures of the beautiful scenery. We are always coming across views and saying that we wished we had the camera. this particular picture was taken along the Campbell Creek Trail. There's an entrance to the trail quite close to our house...lots of lovely little bridges crossing over the creek. These pictures were both taken from this little outlook bridge.... where i guess when it's warm the salmon go to spawn. According to the sign, there are four different kinds of salmon that you can see from the lookout. It is probably just less than a mile from the trail parking lot to the lookout thing. The first day it was warmer and we got an earlier start...we made it about twice the distance of the second before Neah's paws started getting cold.

i never really imagined going for walks in sub freezing weather. it's not so bad. i like it better when it's snowing for sure. Aside from that, not so much is new. There were these lovely ice sculptures in a park downtown that Adam and i went to look at on my birthday. My favorite was an enormous jaguar kind of creature....although there were two bear siblings with touching noses that were pretty dope. Some of the sculptures were so detailed. it is a lovely art....which clearly takes more precision and patience than i could ever muster. On principle--here are your cute Neah pics (post running like a banshee, neah, and trying to train neah).

i got an alaska driver's license.

2011-01-19T16:38:00.000-08:00

It was a much more involved process than any of the other's i've been through. This is the fourth state i've acquired a license in and the only one that wanted my social security card. Bummer. haven't seen that sucker in a couple of decades. Enter unforseen trip to the social security administration. Aaaand, i almost failed the DMV test. There are like 8 questions about alcohol related things that i just honestly have no clue about...nor do i need to.

Couple of quick stories. First, today it is snowing for the first time in almost a month. I finally noticed the strangest thing, but a reassuring thing. The snow blows across the road the same way the sand used to blow across the roads on the Outer Banks in NC. It makes misty sorts of patterns--beautiful, but totally obliterates any kind of lane demarcation--of which there isn't much to start with up here. That all has nothing to do with how cute my dog is.

Random cute Neah picture

Second, i'm a genius. Our door--as previously mentioned like 8 times--gets iced on the inside. As of yesterday, we realized it was time to vaccuum and it was in outside storage. The entire thing was frozen shut. Nevertheless, the door HAD to come open. Adam wanted to use a hairdryer. I wanted to chisel that *&^% out. We started with Adam's way--epic fail--when we realized that the water it was creating would just refreeze, making the problem considerably worse. Here's the chisel adventure--I'm about half way done. Score one for Mar.

Professional Wedding Photos

2011-01-18T14:18:00.000-08:00

We got the start of our professional wedding photos today...I'll post them when the DVDs come, but until then here's the link to our photographer, Daniel Sheehan's Blog...http://abeautifuldayphotography.com/blog. I want to tell you all how much I loved working with him. He caught every moment perfectly.