Missing Family

I just got a call from my Aunt Colette letting me know that my Aunt Teri is not doing so well. To give you a little background info: She had to watch two sons die, her husband had throat cancer, she was a breast cancer survivor, and now she is fighting cancer again. She and my other aunt took a trip to Florida the other week and had a wonderful time together. But, she started to get dizzy a week into their vacation so they came back to MI. Turns out she has cancer in her brain that is pushing against her nerves- or something to 'cause her dizziness. So, the doctor's explained that the outcome does not look good but they will do four radiation treatments just to keep up the fight. They also explained that she has to spend at least 90% of her time in a wheel chair because her body is so weak now. The sad news is that my family called in for hospice help. They don't know when she will pass away but the doctors let us know that she will be leaving us soon. I cried when I heard the news and wished to God that I could be home supporting my family. I don't like to be away in bad times or in good times. It makes me rethink what I am doing here. So, all I can do for now is to pray for her and hurry home to be with my family. My Aunt Teri and I have a wonderful relationship, and we have some pretty awesome memories. I hope we can make a few more before she leaves. If you read my blog, please simply pray for my Aunt Teri. Thanks.

Quick Thoughts Session

I've decided to make a list of some thoughts I've been having about life in general... take them however you may:
-being away from family drives me crazy sometimes.
-be around people who care about you and who help you make good decisions.
-eating only guacamole for dinner is fine with me.
-I was introduced to ear plugs this year and they are magic!
-three isn't always a great number; some people just like two and even one.
-do what is best for you, but don't screw the people around you.
-be honest about what is bothering you.
-enjoy lame movies (i.e. Kung Pow).
-okay, I admit that I am obsessed with Twilight.
-when someone asks "where would you like to eat?"... don't say "it doesn't matter."
-more than one person can be working in the kitchen.
-my friends can help themselves around the house... I tire of playing host.
-Therma-flu does help some nights...
-if you can't make your present house feel like a home... then what the hell?
-I'm tired of feeling like I am still in college.
-they say every 10 seconds a dog is beaten... well, my dog is now a statistic... I joke!
-ah, why pine over someone who probably isn't worth your time?
-dreams about losing your teeth and vampires in one night may not be a good sign.
-you should probably listen to other peoples' conversations because they might expect you to listen to everything they say (so they don't have to mention the conversation a second time).
-bitch sessions always come back to bite you in the tush.
-perhaps I should get a journal so some of these thoughts are private... (but what if others have the same thoughts as mine, wouldn't they like to know someone is in the same boat?)

Cama-i Weekend

So, we had a pretty fun weekend here in Bethel. We said goodbye to some friends, we sang karaoke, we gave bread away, some of us kicked butt singing Disney songs, some of us fell down stairs, one of us had fruit and veggie salad in their sleep... etc. Overall, it was great. We didn't have a giant snowball fight this year, but we did play a monster game of Apples to Apples. It's going to be sad next year when a bunch of us will be missing from our little clique. Maybe we'll find some new grasshoppers to train and be our friends. We'll see. I'll post some pic's from Cama-i weekend later (appropriate pictures... we promised Kale).

Iditarod

The Iditarod was one of the greatest experiences to date. It was so exciting watching all of the dogs jumping around, barking at eat other, ready to start the race. We volunteered as dog handlers and had to take a class before we were allowed to handle. I was able to handle for my favorite musher: Sebastian Schnuelle :) I got his autograph on my arm band and we got our picture taken together. I'm so obsessive because that picture is now sitting on my desk at school... but, ah well. As soon as i get a digital copy of the picture, I'll post it here. I would volunteer again. It would have been nice to see the real start in Willow, but I had to catch a plane that evening to go back home. My friends Jess and Kara had fun too. They were able to handle dogs for Mitch Seavey's son Dallas. They like Sebastian, but they've decided that their musher was younger and cuter, so now I think he is their favorite. Overall, what a cool experience and I recommend everyone to try it.

Seward Cruise

We went on a nice trip to Seward for spring break (Kara, Jess, Angie and I). On this cruise, we saw a pod of orcas, a humpback whale, a couple of sea otters, and some mountain sheep (dall?). The orca's were so close to the boat! I was hoping to see some sea lions on the beach, but we didn't. We did see, however, some seals and a sea lion at the Sea Life Center in downtown Seward. Now that was cool. We got to touch sea urchins, sea cucumbers, star fish, some mollusk things, and a bunch of other under water creatures. And, I saw my favorite fish to eat- halibut! These fish are so weird when they swim around because it looks like they swim horizontally rather than vertically. Look up a video on Youtube 'cause it's hard to describe. But, they are yummy fish to eat ;) I would love to take my class there; it is a great hands-on center. Overall, it was an awesome trip and the cruise people baked us cookies before we left the boat, so we had some warm yummies in our tummies when we left. Warm cookies just make you feel happier.

Reindeer Run

During Fur Rondy in Anchorage, they had a reindeer run down a main street. Well, not "a reindeer" but several male reindeer who spent several hours getting to know a female reindeer. People were allowed to run with them down the street towards a female in heat. I don't think anyone got hurt... It was crowed and cold, so I didn't see much. I wussed out on the second heat and had to go into a store to warm up. Then, we just left to go get coffee and take a ride south towards Girwood. It's a funny comparison to running of the bulls in Spain... running of the reindeer in Anchorage. A nice tradition!

Moose in Anchorage

While we were driving back to our hotel from our trip to Girwood (after seeing a moose in a parking lot there), a moose was right outside of our hotel! So, we sat there for a while to take some pictures. We could see the moose from out hotel door. That's pretty darn neat, seeing two moose in one hour! He was just standing there eating branches from a tree. My friend Kara actually got out of the car to get a picture with it. I told her I don't think moose are friendly. Think about it: a moose in the winter time searching for food :)

Catch Up

Yeah, it's been a while, but let me do some catching up. I'm still in Bethel, Alaska teaching Kindergarten. We still live in the same apartment. School has been keeping me busy. Right now I'm trying to teach my kids about nursery rhymes. It's surprising that so many kids up here are not taught these simple rhymes: Jack and Jill, Humpty Dumpty, Little Bo Peep, or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. So, my plan is to have kids start learning these rhymes so it can improve their language and rhyming skills. Enough about work though. My roommates and I have joined dance classes. I've joined the jitterbug class and my roommates are doing salsa dancing. So, nights after practicing we practice in our living room :) Aerobics has also started back up so I'll be doing that MWF and dancing on TH. It's good to keep busy through the winter though because the cold will drive you crazy here! So now, I am counting down the days until spring break. My two friends, Kara and Jess are visiting me from Michigan. We're spending a week in Anchorage :) And, I've made them sign up to be dog handlers for the Iditarod! I can't wait, we might be on tv :) Neat things happen in Alaska :) Well, I'm typing this on my lunch break and I kinda want to finish lunch. We'll see how long it takes me to make another blog:)