Due North

On hospitality...

2012-02-02T13:57:00.002-09:00

One of my favorite things through middle school and high school (and probably earlier even though those memories aren't as clear...) was that friends always felt at home at my parents' house. There were no requirements to be welcome there- and frequently when we talked about planning movie nights or jailbreak get togethers (a form of hide-and-seek...) my house was at the top of everyone's list. In college and after, I have wanted wherever I lived to carry the same sentiment- come as you are, you're welcome. It is something that has been engrained in me from the beginning.

The idea of hospitality is etched through scripture; as such, it is a personal goal of mine and a core value of this ministry. A couple times each month, I am hosting a game night for co-workers, friends, and any others they would like to bring with them. We've done this two months now, and it has been a great success! I love having people over, cooking for a group, and gathering together around a table to play games. It's been a great way for me to get to know people I don't see every day as well as an opportunity to hang out with my co-workers outside of work. I think I am beginning to understand why hospitality gets so much attention in scripture... If you have any ideas for games, recipes, or something else that might add to our bimonthly game nights, please contact me!

More skiing!

2012-01-24T20:07:00.001-09:00

With the temperatures dropping below zero frequently, it is wonderful to have temps above zero at the top of the mountain (a.k.a. inversion). Based on my limited knowledge, when inversion occurs, there are often clouds hovering below the top of the mountain. Today, was a perfect example.

I went skiing with Kathy and Tara. Kathy and I started out on chair 3, warmed up with a cup of coffee and then headed up top. The cloud cover from the bottom of the mountain stopped us from seeing the top of the mountain, and also blocked all the direct sunlight. As we made our way to the top of the mountain, the tram took us through the clouds and then up above them. Skiing in this was so weird for me! It was so beautiful, to be up above the clouds. On the way down the mountain I decided to take some pictures all along the way: starting out above the clouds, then skiing through the clouds, and then skiing beneath the clouds. I hope you enjoy!

Tara getting ready to head down Mighty Mite (from the top of 6 down to the upper tram terminal)

Kathy and I at the Upper Tram Terminal

View from above the clouds

skiing through the clouds, able to see above and below, but not through

skiing below the clouds

below the clouds again... you can see the gorgeous sunset peaking through on the arm

above, through, and below... crazy, right?

When it's cold outside...

2012-01-20T22:10:00.128-09:00

...the sun is out!

...the sky is blue!

...and the air is clear for a gorgeous sunset!

I enjoyed what turned out to be my favorite day of skiing so far! Even though it was C-O-L-D (and by C-O-L-D I mean like BELOW ZERO) my friend and co-worker, Ingrid, and I decided to hit the slopes. What FUN we had! There is a funny thing called inversion that happens frequently here... it gets warmer up on top of the mountain than it is at the base of the mountain. Today there was an 11 degree difference between the base and the top of chair 6! Once Ingrid and I left chair 3 (lower mountain) and ventured up to chair 6 (the top of the mountain), it was like skiing at a different resort. We were in direct sunlight (for like 3 minutes at a time!!) and thanks to the inversion, it felt significantly warmer. We spent the majority of the afternoon on the slopes with only a break for coffee. It was a beautiful day from start to finish- good snow, perfect light, deep conversation, and great fun!

PS- When it's cold outside... nature may give you organic mascara... ;-)

Avalanche Dogs in Action!

2012-01-14T21:33:00.010-09:00

Alyeska takes part in NSAA's (National Ski Area Association's) annual National Safety Awareness Week... an event highlighting resort safety education efforts while increasing slope safety. For Alyeska, this meant a lot of cool things, my favorite of which was an avalanche dog demonstration. Our ski patrollers and dog handlers are fantastic at what they do!

beautiful bluebird day - look at those mountains! The two pups are Yuki (right) and Fundy (left).

Yuki and his handler, Tim, playing catch with snowballs.

Yuki playing in the snow

Yuki again... beautiful pup!

The demonstration involved 3 of the dogs digging out buried patrollers; it was so cool to see them in action. Each demonstration got more difficult... the youngest dog watched a patroller run and dive in a hole (where he was buried by another patroller), then the dog was released to run and dig him out. The second dog also witnessed the person being buried, but had so much more snow to dig through. The third dog had to locate a person who had been buried before the demonstration began, and then dig him out. It was awesome getting to see the different stages of training, as well as meet the dogs and the ski patrollers. It is comforting to know that in the UNLIKELY event of an avalanche, there's a team of well trained, intelligent, motivated, and hard working individuals (and dogs) to see to everyone's safety. You can read a little more about the Avalanche Dog Program at Alyeska here!

SO much SNOW!

2012-01-12T18:54:00.001-09:00

Scott took this picture while we were skiing

You know, after a couple blizzards and all... we have a lot of snow outside! The snow this winter has been phenomenal, thus creating a beautiful and busy winter here in Girdwood. I worked a lot of hours at the resort through the holidays, but things have slowed back down. I found myself a little under the weather so to speak, but I am happy to report that I'm over that!

It's been kind of cold lately, with temps at and below zero. One day while at work, I noticed it was TEN degrees warmer at the TOP of the mountain than it was at the base! (5 at the base, 15 at the top) I've become quite fond of the 15-25 degrees range; much warmer than 25 and it feels... hot. It was almost 30 when I went cross country skiing with my friend Tara, and it really was too warm...

This week it has been warmer, with lots of snow! Tuesday the winds were so intense (gusts up to 65 mph) that the mountain was closed. Closed mountain = closed ticket office! With my unexpected day off, I read, relaxed, and got a little cabin fever. After a week or so of taking it easy (fending off sickness) and a day of healthy relaxation, I just had too much energy. I met up with Tara and helped her shovel her deck, and then we went cross country skiing. Consider the excess energy burned! I was wiped after that (in a good way)!

The past couple days have been my "weekend" and if you really can't guess what I've been doing... I'll tell ya - skiing! I spent a couple hours out there yesterday and another couple hours today. Scott has been coaching me and I'm starting to feel like I can really ski. I am slowly (but surely) beginning to learn how to ski different terrain as well as more difficult runs. He is a great instructor!

I'm frequently asked by friends and family (in the lower 48) if I'm sick of the snow yet... if I miss anything about Atlanta (other than people & the pups)... if the darkness (late sunrise, early sunset) gets to me... My answer? I'm finding more and more that even though I miss my family and friends terribly, Alaska really fits well for me. The pace of life in Girdwood, the people, the value set, the seasons... I just feel like I'm where I am supposed to be and where I am designed to be.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T18:50:00.001-09:00

Sam's Visit

2011-12-30T22:49:00.001-09:00

A few weeks ago, I got a text from Sam telling me he was booking his flight to come spend Christmas with me! Imagine my joy- my first Christmas (ever!) away from family (big sad face), he was going to be here! (happy face) You may or may not know that I love the guy, and that we've known each other for almost a decade. In so many ways he is a piece of home, and he's my best friend. I cannot even begin to explain how great it was to have him here!

We spent a lot of time skiing the mountain, hung out with friends at Mosaic on Wednesday, spent one day at our friend's kennel, had dinner with some more friends on a couple of nights... and that is about all there was time for! Time passed so quickly but it was SO fun having him here! One of my favorite moments was on a day that I worked (oddly enough)-- just the fact that when it came time for my lunch break, we were able to meet up and share lunch together. It really is the little things that mean so much!

View of the Arm from the Upper Tram Terminal
(where we had lunch one day)

the beautiful chugach mountains

skiing in the bowl at sunset

helping out at the kennel

me and sarah

above the clouds
(that building is the Upper Tram Terminal)

beautiful day at Alyeska

on Christmas day, me, Sam, Ellen, and Scott delivered goodie/gift bags to all the lift attendants. Totally a different way to spend Christmas morning, but WAY fun!!

I can't wait until Sam comes back to Alaska... In the mean time, who's next?! :-)

Time flies...

2011-12-28T19:27:00.002-09:00

My sincerest apology to those of you who have been faithfully checking for updates... and a sarcastic one to my ever-loving family who has been giving me a hard time. :-) The past month has been busy and wonderful! Work is great- I work with some of the best people, and I actually love the challenges that come with customer servicing. With the holidays, the resort has been full of life and activity.

Mosaic is going great (our Wednesday night community Bible study group)- earlier this month we tried something new... a creative expression, if you will... we're going to be trying out a lot more new and creative things at our gatherings. Here's a picture of individual takes on the scripture we read...

It was a lot of fun, and I'm really looking forward to more (and different) expressions in the coming weeks! Also this past month... I spent a good bit of time getting ready for Christmas. Thanks to friends and family, I was getting boxes and presents and goodies and cards almost every day in my post office box! I was able to decorate my condo (thanks, Mom!) and help the Capshaws decorate. It wasn't until I did some Christmas shopping, though, that it really began to feel like Christmas! There was one day a couple weeks ago that Jenn and I went shopping together and I really enjoyed that time... It was fun to shop for friends and family, but it was some much needed quality time with her, too! From then on it really felt like "the season". I mailed off a couple of boxes and cards the next day (along with getting a few packages I was not expecting!) and that kind of started the Christmas bug in me. :-) Around that time, too, I began to count down until Sam's visit. He came the 20-25th, and I'll share more about that later. Throughout December, the days were getting shorter and shorter (until the solstice on the 22nd) ... I've been going into work before the sun comes up, and getting off of work after the sun sets, and no, I'm not working long shifts!!

For those of you long-time blog readers, you'll remember the terrible, horrible the last time I decided to house-sit for someone for an extended amount of time. For those of you newer ones, here's the reader's digest version: Atlanta flooded, and by flooded, I mean my sister got evacuated from her apartment because half of it was underwater and oh-by-the-way roads were under water too; the cat got sick, like requiring-the-vet and special-medication, has-to-be-confined sick; dog threw up (and I don't do vomit); I had an allergic reaction to the cat... great week.

I've been house sitting over the holiday for some great friends, and aside from the power going out (no power, no heat, no running water, concerned about keeping a ton of fish frozen), the battery in the smoke detector dying so it beeped every 60 seconds for 24 hours (it would require an extended ladder to replace the battery- which isn't laying around), the house alarm being on backup (and beeping every 60-90 seconds), the pup being on special medication (and not able to run/go down certain steeper stairs), the other pup freaking out due to the beeping, and the doorbell getting stuck (and dinging incessantly until I unplugged it)... it's also been a great week (or two...).

Ha, it sounds more dramatic than it has been, but I'm convinced that I'm either really good at this house sitting thing (I can handle anything...?) or I'm really bad at it and should never consider it again! So that is what I've been up to the past several weeks... What about you?

PS- I hate to blog without a decent pic (or 2) to share... My friend Tara took this beautiful pic one evening several weeks ago...

Welcome to Girdwood...

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-27T22:06:00.004-09:00

Wednesday night, our Mosaic group got together for a potluck Thanksgiving meal! It was such a great evening, and a wonderful way to spend the holiday since most of us couldn't be with our families. Truly I have so much to be thankful for! I posted this on Facebook and Twitter... What if we woke up tomorrow with only the things we were thankful for today...? I have thought about that a lot over the past couple days. There are so many things and people I am very thankful for. My parents. My sister. My grandparents. My cousins and aunts and uncles. Friends so close they are family. Our golden retrievers and goofy great danes. My friends- old and new. The gift and the opportunity to be in Alaska. My cell phone (I lost it for about an hour Wednesday night and it was a most awful feeling). Snow. Sunshine. My warm and comfortable condo. The post office and mail. The internet and email and SKYPE! Art. My Keurig brewer. My job. My coworkers. Being able to ski. My God. I could go on and on and on, and I will- I will continue to look for those people, those things in my life for which I am grateful, and strive to have a heart and an attitude of gratefulness, appreciating the invaluable gifts and blessings I've been given!

friends!

Me talking/laughing with Mandy... knowing Jenn has the camera pointed at me

Jenn and Max

just some of the spread!

I hope you all have had a wonderful thanksgiving!!

Settled!

2011-11-20T08:46:00.000-09:00

I am officially and happily moved into my new apartment! It is tucked in at the bottom of Mt. Alyeska, with less than a mile to walk to get to work (at the ticket office!). So far I've only had two days at work, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it! I'm also really enjoying getting to know my coworkers; and, they have been so patient and helpful in training me! I think it is going to be a great fit for the winter season.

Now, about the apartment... It is a cozy efficiency, that surprised me by having more than enough room. Thanks to my mama, who has mailed several packages, I already have this place feeling like home. Added bonus... I have a gorgeous view of the Chugach mountains out my window. Here's a couple pictures...

my bedroom and living room :)

icicles out the window

see the mountain through the trees?

more mountains

Fireplace (between bed and window) - the only source of heat!

my kitchen

dresser (between bed on the left and entry on the right, across from kitchen)

bathroom

beautiful tile work in the bathroom

So, officially, welcome to my home! (At least, my home for the next 6 months.)

For Thanksgiving this year... on Wednesday, we're having a community thanksgiving meal (everyone's invited!). It will definitely be a thanksgiving unlike any others I've ever had, but at least I'll be making my grandma's pumpkin pie. :-) And, I'm really looking forward to spending that time with friends. Tuesday, the mountain is open for pass holders, and Wednesday it opens up to all, so we're going to be busy Wednesday-Saturday (at least?) at the ticket office. I'll be working those days, for sure! I hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving holiday-- enjoy your family and friends --don't take that time for granted!

Had to share...

2011-11-13T09:25:00.001-09:00

Years ago, my sister and I gave our parents an afghan blanket for Christmas. We submitted a picture (of us with the two golden retrievers) online and they made it into the blanket. Over the weekend, my sister took the danes (who miss their Aunt Chelle oh-so-much) home to visit family... I got this pic from my sister this morning, with the following caption.

Dakota sitting on Aunt Chelle's head...
I think this is the closest you and Dakota will be for 2 years...

It made me laugh and cry at the same time. In other news, today is moving day! I am moving into my new place as soon as I tear myself away from this neglected blog. :-) I went snowshoeing Wednesday night with a friend after Mosaic (our weekly Bible study). It was SO beautiful out, with huge snowflakes coming down... would have loved to share some pics but it was a little too dark out for that. Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T19:41:00.001-08:00

Sam and I carved this pumpkin in college - it took like 4 hours
and to date, its the best (and most recent) pumpkin I've carved.

Friday night was Girdwood's Halloween carnival. The Day Lodge was all decked out with decorations, games, people in costumes, and lots of candy. I volunteered to read "spooky" stories to kids. It's something that the PTA (I think?) organized, and apparently it was a big hit last year... this year, too! It was a fun way to meet some families in the community and celebrate the holiday.

Today, I was at the school for the Junior Achievement program. I am really having fun with the class. The teacher and the students are great! Economics was never a favorite subject of mine (what the JA program is based on) but we've had fun making it interesting! Hope everyone has enjoyed their candy and costumes and Halloween fun!

What a difference a day can make!

2011-10-30T14:00:00.000-08:00

So, granted these pictures aren't yesterday and today... but... we did get a significant amount of snow overnight and there was no snow on the ground yesterday!! These sets of pictures are taken from roughly the same view... It literally was an overnight transformation!

Mt. Alyeska

Alyeska Highway

Girdwood Post Office

Here's a couple more just from today...

the driveway

pretty trees

the driveway again

Take a walk with me...

2011-10-27T10:49:00.001-08:00

There are bike paths and walking paths all over Girdwood and along the Turnagain Arm. There is a beautiful path between Girdwood and Bird, one that Aly and I walked earlier this week. Click on any of the pictures to zoom in (to read).

Aly with her stick along the path

Another evening... another walk... I caught a BEAUTIFUL sunset!

And yet another evening... this was just last night... Beautiful sunset with a little alpenglow...

Trip thru Mat-Su to Valdez

2011-10-17T11:47:00.008-08:00

So while I am still waiting/looking for a job and an apartment, I joined my friend on a 2-day trip from Girdwood (A) to Valdez (B) last Wednesday and Thursday. What a trip! It was a lot of fun hanging out in the car, driving, and listening to music, looking at all the glorious mountains surrounding us the whole way there. Along the way, we stopped at the Matanuska Glacier (or Mat-Su Glacier) ... its the orange dot circled in blue on the map below!

I've never been up close and personal with a glacier before!! It was so cool... We stayed there for about an hour just looking around, taking pictures-- really loving being outside in the gorgeous, warm, clear weather!! Here are some of my favorites:

Crazy beautiful, right?! Looking at that last pic, it amazes me that all the ones before it were a part of the same glacier... who knew?! Definitely not me... After playing here for a while, we hopped back in the car and headed straight for Valdez, wanting to get there before it got too late.

The next beautiful stop along the way was at Thompson Pass - it had really cooled off and the sun was setting, and we just had GORGEOUS 360* views! I took a 180* view with my iPhone... hopefully it turns out well enough for you to appreciate the beauty!

And of course, there are pictures, too...

We got checked in at the hotel, ate at a local restaurant (there aren't any chain restaurants there either haha), and crashed pretty quickly. Thursday morning we went for a short hike in Valdez, then headed to Worthington Glacier. That glacier was big, and pretty neat, but didn't hold a flame to Mat-Su in my book!

Reflection

Valdez

Beautiful blue water thanks to glacial silt :-)

Valdez

the hiking trail

at Worthington Glacier

The rest of the day it was mostly cloudy, and there were virtually no views from the highway. For those back home that are familiar with the AEDC road... coming back it felt like we were on the AEDC road for hours - highway lined with trees, 55mph zone, and because it was cloudy we couldn't really see past the trees. We went through two iPods on the way home! It was such a fun trip, I am SO glad I went-- so awesome to see more of this beautiful state and hang out with a good friend!

Today I am helping out with the Junior Achievement (JA) program at the school. I am really looking forward to getting involved in the program, as well as getting to know the kids at the school! It's been raining a lot the past couple days, but today there are blue skies and sunshine again-- I suppose I should take advantage of it every chance I get!

Crow Creek Road

2011-10-16T09:54:00.001-08:00

On Tuesday, after looking at a couple places to rent and dropping off a resume, a friend and I headed up Crow Creek Rd (here in Girdwood) for a short hike. I've hiked to (through?) Crow Pass before, but things definitely looked different this time of year! We didn't hike all the way to the pass, just took a 45-60 minute hike for some views and pictures, which I am happy to share with you!

me on the trail

the view from the trail
(and the same mountains that are behind my head and washed out in the pic above)

the view up the trail

I just thought this was really pretty!

Wednesday-Thursday, we took a trip to Valdez, and I'll be posting about that soon!

Lots of walking

2011-10-08T23:00:00.001-08:00

Hiking the North Face Trail for a staff meeting. Amazing.

The last stretch of the trail was in snow! In October! What?! And, you can see the snow line creeping down on the mountains in the background...

One of the cool things at Alyeska is that if you hike up, you can ride the tram down for free! That is the Hotel Alyeska at the bottom...

Today I volunteered at the Girdwood Health Fair with the Girdwood Rotary Club. Rotary organized the fair and was one of the sponsors. I mainly helped with registration, and got to meet a LOT of people! It was a really great event offering low cost blood tests, free flu shots, mobile mammography unit, free health screenings, and health education. The fair was 9-1, and after helping tear down, I walked around Girdwood a bit. Today there were BEAUTIFUL blue skies (that I haven't seen since Tuesday... see what you TN/GA'ians take for granted? ;) haha - I laugh because people here are used to going much longer between blue sky sightings!) ...and anyway, I couldn't help just wondering around a bit, taking it all in.

Busy Downtown Girdwood ;-)

The Post Office. I have a mailing address now! Check out the "contact" page!

My favorite picture of the week... Glacier Creek from the foot bridge. Isn't it gorgeous?

On a random note... Fun meals I've enjoyed this week:

- Moose meat chili

- Reindeer sausage soup

- Gourmet, homemade salmon fish sticks (baked in a tempura and something else breading? Egg free!)

- Grilled halibut

Day 1: The Journey's Just Begun

2011-10-05T22:26:00.001-08:00

The Turnagain Arm from the plane

Fall Colors from the plane

Driving from Anchorage to Girdwood

Hello to all- I safely made it to Alaska yesterday, and following an afternoon of running around Anchorage, I arrived in my new hometown of Girdwood. Great friends, George and Kathy, have graciously opened up their home to me until I find a place to call my own. Kathy cooked a moose meat chili Tuesday night and oh my goodness-- it was delicious!

Fall colors in Girdwood

Today I did a little unpacking and headed over to the Capshaws' for brunch. Jenn is also a phenomenal cook, and has found a delectable way to make fluffy pancakes without eggs! (Substitute = banana.) The walk to their place was just beautiful... I loved every step- especially crunching leaves as I walked!

Crunching Leaves

More Fall Colors

After brunch, Jenn and I looked around at some possible apartments and talked about potential jobs. I am so glad there are people here already that are walking through this with me-- that I'm not alone! I spent some time this rainy afternoon inside updating my resume. I am excited about finding a new job and getting to meet more people in the community.

Tonight, a group of friends from Mosaic got together for an "Apps and Games" night (apps as in appetizers). So much fun! It was great to see some faces that I haven't seen since my trip in February, as well as getting to meet a couple new ones. We played Catch Phrase and laughed a TON! (Thanks, Mom, for getting that game for me!)

It was a great day and a great evening that builds my excitement about being here. I'm looking forward to many, many more!

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

2011-09-30T05:03:00.000-08:00

... 'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again

It's true! Bags are packed/shipped and I fly out Tuesday morning, very early! I am flying standby, so hopefully I will be on that first, early flight out of Atlanta. This has been a tough week. Between getting all my stuff packed and shipped, and trying to spend time with friends and family and saying goodbye ... ouch!

I am truly so very excited about being in Alaska next week! There is nothing I want more-- but goodbyes (no matter for how long/short they are) are always bittersweet. A big thank you to all of you for your thoughts, prayers, and support. I could not be doing this without you!

Packing!

2011-09-27T11:23:00.000-08:00

Montana wondering about all those bags

I head to Alaska in T minus 1 week! I've been packing, and sorting, and donating, and pitching... As I've looked through everything I own, packed the things to send to Alaska, packed things to send home/put in storage, the pups have done their part...

Dakota with a hanger

Packing is exhausting

Packing was a little difficult... My room is not very big, and Montana wouldn't leave my side. I had no space to turn around! Dakota, on the other hand, was much more interested in my suitcase. It seemed that every time I packed an article of clothing, she UNpacked it and dragged it into another room... I think packing took twice as long as it needed to.

In other news, I have a renewed appreciation for my camping gear... how little it weighs and how small it packs! Camping gear I'm taking to Alaska: sleeping bag & liner, sleeping mat, pillow, towel, soap, first aid kit, tent, hammock, jet boil cooking set... I took two pictures, one before (with all my gear outside the bag) and one after (all my gear inside my bag)... Check it out :-)

Before...

...and after!

Wedding Whimsey

2011-09-22T15:19:00.001-08:00

September 10, 2011 was a very special day! Two of my very best friends (Meagan and Laura) picked that to be their wedding day... and both honored me by asking me to be a part of their weddings. 2 weddings in 1 day. Didn't they make a movie about that?! Somehow it all came together and I was able to enjoy sharing that day with two bridesmaids dresses, two ceremonies, two receptions, and two best friends. :-)

Ring Bearer, Maid of Honor (me!), and flower girl

Meagan, a Beautiful Bride!!

me with my parents

Sam, me, Meagan and Kevin!

bridesmaid, BEAUTIFUL BRIDE, & the maid of honor

me with my parents at wedding #2

me and Laura

me with Laura and Mitch!!

What better way to see all my friends from Tennessee than by celebrating two very special friends' weddings?! Both weddings were beautiful... Meagan & Kevin, and Laura & Mitch, thank you for including me on your special days, I love you all!

It's the Final Countdown...

2011-08-22T05:54:00.002-08:00

Man, that Europe song is everywhere... ;-)

One month to go until I move to Alaska! It's unbelievably close... and oh so exciting. I've had so much fun the past couple of weeks meeting with families and churches, small groups and Sunday School classes, sharing how everyone can get involved! What a fun, new, exciting endeavor...

This weekend... Sam and I went to the Aquarium on Friday to celebrate my birthday. I really love going to zoos and aquariums! We saw the new Dolphin Tales show and watched the otters play for a long time. I think those are my favorite!

Beluga Whales

Jellies

River Otters

Albino Alligator that wanted to bite my face! Creepy!

Go Vols!

Creepy Octopus

Sea Otter getting ... medicine? Something from a syringe anyway ...
Sure would be great if Montana were this eager!

Sea Otter

Okay, so this guy kept trying to get over the wall to "his girl" and apparently unsuccessfully;
the employee told us after each failed attempt he goes to the bottom to pout.

Lionfish ... rawr!

That evening we saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at a local church. One of "my" teenagers is an incredible dancer, and the choreographer asked her to dance in the production. She was the most beautiful, elegant ear of corn I've ever seen ... ;-) After the show we met a couple of Sam's siblings for dinner in Atlanta and to hang out.

Lexie, I am so proud of you and I love you tons!

Saturday, I relaxed and took care of some things around the house before heading out my friend Shannon's bachelorette party. She is getting married in October (I'll already be in Alaska!) and I was thrilled to be able to spend some time celebrating her with all our friends!!

Emily (our hostess!) and Shannon, the bride to be!

Me & Shannon

A weekend with Bethel

2011-08-08T07:04:00.001-08:00

This weekend, I had the privilege of sharing about Chugach Resort Ministries with Bethel Baptist Church in Sevierville, TN. The pastor of the church is a friend from my college years; we both were involved in the Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) at the University of TN - Knoxville. Chris and his wife, Kellye, have incredible hearts for ministry and missions, and it was a real honor to spend the weekend with them and share with their church about Alaska and what is happening there.

On Friday, I was invited to speak to their VBS... their missions offering was given to my ministry. Chris thought it would be neat for the kids to meet the missionary they are supporting, and I'm sure it was... but I think I was the one who got the real joy and blessing out of the whole thing. The children at Bethel are incredible. With hearts of gold, they welcomed me to their church and had a lot of questions I loved answering. Are there polar bears? Is there a lot of snow? Is it dark all year long? How many puppies are there? Do you have to fish and hunt for all your food? Have you ever seen a moose? Are you going to live in an igloo? Can't you just hear them asking? Kellye made igloos for the offering buckets for the kids... how cute!!

Saturday, a group from Bethel came to the cabin and grilled out for dinner. It was awesome to get to spend time with the families that came just hanging out, going on a walk, and sharing pictures from Alaska. One of the ladies brought me an egg-free "cake" for my birthday! It was actually like a dessert-sugar-butter-cream cheese ball served on graham crackers...yum!! Sunday, I was invited to share some more about the ministry in Alaska with the children, youth, and congregation. It was such a sweet time for me. I had so much fun with Bethel, you would have thought I'd known them for years, not simply hours!! Already this church holds a special place in my heart and I'm so honored by their support and involvement with the ministry in Alaska!

We're doing Big Stuf!

2011-07-24T15:29:00.003-08:00

On Monday, three teenagers piled in my car and our caravan carrying 16 more headed south to Daytona Beach for Big Stuf Camp. It was an awesome week and I really enjoyed the quality time with some of my favorite teenagers! Andy Stanley spoke at the majority of the sessions. Donald Miller (author, Blue Like Jazz) and Jon Acuff (author/blogger, Stuff Christians Like) each spoke at one, too. We got to preview the new movie based on the book, Blue Like Jazz. All are great communicators and I got a lot from their talks-- so did our students!

One of our students connecting with a student in Kenya! As part of the "konnekt" theme, Big Stuf paired each person at camp with a child in Kenya to write letters to all week!

Looking for letters from our Kenyan students!

Daytona Beach

Enjoying the beach!

Enjoying church group time!

Our students with pictures of their Kenyan students!

"You make beautiful things, You make beautiful things out of the dust."

More "konnektions" with students in Kenya!

Ravenn and me after session

Aren't they so cool? (ha ha!)

some of my favorite people! (me, Sam, Shad, Jacob & Sara)

I really enjoyed getting to connect with my students, visit with Jacob and Sara, be challenged and worship freely in each session! The memories are treasures I'll keep close while in Alaska the next couple years! So far, I've reached 10% of my support raising goal. I am so excited to see how the vision for this mission and ministry is catching people's hearts! Let me know if you would like more information on the ministry, on partnering with me, or if you know of someone who would like to hear more about it!

Me too!

2011-07-18T14:40:00.001-08:00

Last weekend we went to Piedmont Park to hang out with friends and enjoy live music coming from the Park Tavern. We took the puppies of course... Dakota sat in someone's lap the whole time and Montana had zero interest in settling down at all!

The music was fun - Christmas in July (?!) with a few fun 80s songs in there. Apparently the band is a cover band, and they were definitely entertaining! We hadn't been there too long before a big storm rolled in... I managed to snap a picture at just the right time!

Some of you know Montana has been on anti-seizure medicine for a couple months now... We give it to her in a syringe, and she hates it. She groans and backs up trying to avoid it. It only took about a week of watching before Dakota felt she was missing out. Far be it from us to deprive our puppy of anything she wants... so I suggested to my sister that she should offer Dakota some water in a syringe. Would you believe that she fought it, just like Montana, but as soon as Jen went to toss it out, Dakota was jumping at it? Jen offered it to her again and she slurped it up... so it goes, whenever Montana gets her medicine, Dakota gets some extra water in a special way!

Happy 4th!

2011-07-04T06:14:00.001-08:00

I can already smell burgers on the grill...

Max, Cate, me, and Elie

A very happy 4th of July to you all! I'm typing away at the computer this morning while Jennifer is running the Peachtree Road Race. I dropped her off at the start, and I'm sure she will run great!

This has been such a rewarding weekend. Wednesday evening I drove to Tennessee, stayed the night with my parents, and left Thursday morning with Mom for Champaign, IL. I had my Boot Camp Support Training seminar this weekend to help me prepare for Alaska!

Steve Shadrach was the keynote speaker, and offered a lot of insight on the process. (More on that below...) I appreciate the training, but in all honesty, I am really grateful for the LOCATION of the training!

By being in Champaign, I was able to stay with my great Uncle Lou and Aunt Mary, next door to their daughter and her family, Alicia and Achim, Max, Elie & Cate. It was such a sweet time spending the mornings/evenings with my family. Being in Atlanta, I rarely get to spend quality time with this part of the family and I will cherish the time we had together this weekend!

Aunt Mary, me, and Uncle Lou

Cate, me, and Elie

Now on to the seminar... for anyone raising support to be a missionary, I would highly recommend the Body Builder's Boot Camp. It's two long days and lots of material, but I'm excited to put into action what I've learned. Not that I have anything to compare it to, but I would sure say it is the best bang for your buck! The seminar offered some great resources and ideas for newsletters and ways to stay in communication with supporters; I'm really excited about that!

Boot Camp Workbook

Steve Shadrach speaking

I hope everyone gets the chance for some food, fun, and fireworks today! As for me, this is the last 4th of July that I'll be somewhere dark enough to see fireworks, so I plan to see at least a few! :-)

the lake or the tropics?

2011-06-27T06:24:00.001-08:00

Yesterday afternoon I headed to the lake with Sam and the Solstice Voyager 300. It sounds fancier than it is... but we paddled around on the lake and really enjoyed being outside! It was mostly sunny all afternoon and then a thunderstorm started rolling in. The water looked so clear and so pretty... it appeared more like we were somewhere tropical than a little lake in north Georgia!

completely unedited!

also unedited, and pretty grainy... but check out the white caps! the wind was blowing so hard!

This past weekend I spent some time in Tennessee visiting with my parents and grandmother. I took this little monster on the road with me to keep me company! Rather, to give my sister a break. Puppies are hard work, but she is a sweet mess... only 35 lbs at 13 weeks!

Another road trip is on the horizon, too! I am heading to Champaign, IL soon to see some more family and attend "bootcamp," a support training seminar. This time, Mom will be my co-pilot. :-) I am really looking forward to it!

community

2011-06-22T10:03:00.001-08:00

Last night (as customary with Tuesday nights) I met with my community group. The past couple weeks we have met together on the rooftop of a Buckhead apartment building that a couple of the girls live in. We had such a great time catching up, reading 1 Corinthians, and praying together... This rooftop is becoming one of my favorite spots in the city! Sorry for the grainy pics, I was too busy enjoying the sunset to take pics before it got dark!

In case you haven't seen it...

2011-06-21T09:52:00.000-08:00

For those of you who "follow" my blog with email, an RSS reader, Google Reader, or some other similar thing... You haven't see my new blog design, or the multiple pages I've added! Here's what is new: an about me page, a page about the name of the blog (due-north), a page about the ministry I will be working with, and a few other things. Be sure to go to www.due-north.org to see it all.

Weekend Recap

2011-06-13T05:51:00.001-08:00

This past Thursday-Saturday, I went with Noonday's youth to Helen, GA to work with Georgia Mountain Resort Ministries. We had such a great trip! Thursday and Friday we scraped paint off of an elderly couple's house to prepare it for another team that will be coming in to paint. I was really impressed with our students-- while at the work site they worked! And while hanging out, they were hanging out with each other (as opposed to texting/facebooking the whole time).

There isn't too much to say about scraping paint... except that it might be more fun than watching paint dry! We had some great conversations with the owners of the home, and we were blessed with great weather (other than an afternoon thunderstorm Thursday). Other than the few workers on the roof, we were all in shade most of the time.

Friday after finishing up at the site, I was able to play soccer tennis (so fun) in the parking lot of the hotel with one of the teenagers... I had forgotten how much I enjoy kicking the ball around. While a couple of us played with the soccer ball, others threw a frisbee or jumped in the pool. Then on Saturday we floated down the Chattahoochee River. The trip was just great quality time with the group... It was good to "get outside ourselves" and do something to benefit someone else, and to relax and spend time together.

a big thank you...

2011-06-06T06:10:00.004-08:00

Can I just brag on a friend of mine for a minute? Months ago she started selling some inspirational art in an Etsy shop and when I checked it out, I found the most fantastic piece:

I don't know if you were around to read my blog post about being still but that concept is one that is really close to my heart! I loved the message of this art as well as the colors and texture of it. Since she is open to making custom items, I asked her about doing a painting from a picture of Alaska... And this is what she gives me:

So, after having two wonderful pieces of artwork that I am in love with... I asked Ms. Creative for her help to dress up my blog. I am so grateful for her willingness to share her creativity. Lindsey, thank you so much!

Check out Lindsey's blog here: http://a-heart-abandoned.blogspot.com/
and her Etsy Shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/tenthirtyone

We've Been Busy...

2011-05-26T10:39:00.002-08:00

-♥-

North Point Love Song

2011-05-13T09:31:00.002-08:00

The songs I could identify...

Don't Stop Believing (Journey)

You're Beautiful (James Blunt)

I'm Yours (Jason Mraz)

Wherever You Will Go (The Calling)

Can You Feel the Love Tonight? (Elton John)

She Will Be Loved (Maroon 5)

You Belong With Me (Taylor Swift)

Baby Baby Baby (Justin Bieber)

Total Eclipse of the Heart (Nikki French)

When a Man Loves a Woman (Michael Bolton)

My Heart Will Go On (Celien Dion)

Say My Name (Destiny's Child)

You're the Inspiration (Chicago)

Over My Head (The Fray)

Can't Fight This Feeling (REO Speedwagon)

Take On Me (A-ha)

Every Rose Has Its Thorn (Poison)

Africa (Toto)

Apologize (Timbaland)

Mmm Bop (Hanson)

If I Were a Boy (Beyonce)

I Wanna Hold Your Hand (Beatles)

All the Single Ladies (Beyonce)

Any Way You Want It (Journey)

Uptown Girl (Billy Joel)

_____________________?

I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) (The Proclaimers)

I Will Always Love You (Whitney Houston)

I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing (Aerosmith)

Come On Eileen (Dexy's Midnight Runners)

Just the Way You Are (Bruno Mars)

Your Song (Elton John)

It's All Been Done (Barenaked Ladies) ???

Anyone wanna help with the +/- 1 that I'm missing?! :-)

Alaska in February: Part 5

2011-05-09T06:29:00.005-08:00

Tuesday was another BEAUTIFUL day on the mountain. This girl forgot her camera. (I managed not to cry over it... though I was a bit put out for a couple minutes...) We spent most of the morning skiing (Sam snowboarded) with Scott, Jenn, Mike and Erin on chair 3 (blues and greens) before grabbing lunch at the Sitz. I did snag my cell phone so I could at least get a few pictures! After lunch, Mike and Erin headed home and the remaining 4 of us heading over to chair 6(?) and mid-mountain. I'm not sure what it was, but having Jenn out there with me gave me more confidence. I started finally skiing instead of traversing all over the mountain! Jenn had to leave early afternoon, but I stayed out with Scott and Sam and finally attempted a harder blue, starting at the tip top of the mountain and going all the way down. Yes, I was TERRIFIED, but it was soooo fun!

Too bad I didn't have a real camera... It was so beautiful to see the sun setting on the Arm (aka the OCEAN) from the top of a mountain... The building to the right is the Tram building.

See that skier, a little spec of nothing on the slope? Yeah, I skied down that run! Be proud of me...

coming down "the bowl" part of the mountain... again, it was so beautiful...

considering how clumsy I can be, yes, I wore a helmet!

Remember the pics of the Tram building and the slope with the skier that looked like a tiny ant? This is the view from the top of that slope... yep, I did it more than once!

Sam snowboarding... he's so good on that thing! :-)

Tuesday was the first day I've been on skis and felt like I actually belonged on them. I came away from the mountain that day feeling a real sense of accomplishment and in love with the sport. It is such a fun way to connect with people!

Wednesday I woke up with the blues, knowing it was my last full day in Girdwood. Sam and I had plans to go cross country skiing again, but that fell through due to poles, skis, and boots in hiding! Instead, we bundled up and took Samson (Scott and Jenn's boxer) for a hike in the woods. We found a really cool outdoor, rustic sauna built into the side of the mountain... crazy. Sam was all for trying it out sometime, I was thinking I'd be claustrophobic in there! We stayed out for a couple hours... until I got good and tired. Walking through snow is kind of tough! It wore me out quick. We got back to the condo late afternoon and got ready for Bible study... another night of great discussion! After Bible study, the 4 of us hung out and did some planning before Sam and I met up with Dario to catch up / say goodbyes.

These two weeks blew by so fast... It was my first Alaskan winter experience, and a warm one at that, but I am so eager for another winter there. I thought nothing would compare to the A-MAZ-ING summers in Alaska... But I find myself looking forward to winters as much as summers. And that, my friends, is a great thing considering I am officially moving there! The ball is rolling... and I'll keep you posted!

-♥-

Alaska in February: Part 4

2011-05-02T12:30:00.003-08:00

Sam drove us into Anchorage on the early side Saturday morning. We met up with Dario around 9 or so and he showed us what we needed to do... Dario had planned to spend the day in Anchorage at a park giving dog sled rides to tourist groups. He also set up stuff to use the event as a fundraiser for Nicolas. We started out by helping set up the chutes for the dog sled teams, putting up temporary fencing (hammering posts in, unrolling the temporary fencing, using cable tie things to attach the fence to the posts... It was pretty windy, we got cold we and were eager to keep working just to keep moving! Once the chutes were set up, Dario showed us the different size harnesses, gave us a refresher course in how to harness and unharness the pups, and walked us through how the next couple of hours were going to go. Because it was "so warm" (HA!), the pups were only going to run for about an hour before switching out the teams. (It actually was warm for the pups though...)

Speaking of "pups" ... something both Dario and Nick said (and so true) was that you can mention a dog and some people will perk up and turn their attention to hear what is being said, but that if you mention a puppy, most people will perk up and pay attention! Dario had 3 puppies there and Nick had 2 of Ugly (his BEAUTIFUL husky)'s puppies... Kala and Fiona. I hadn't heard what Dario had named his puppies so when he had a minute I asked. He told us that he hadn't named them yet, and "why didn't he do that right now" ... ha! Okay, so he pointed out the one which was romping around semi-spastically and said that everyone comments on how rambunctious she is, and since he's Italian, he's naming her Rambina... (cute!) ...then he points to the other female puppy and asked if I would be offended if he named her Chelle. Are you kidding?! No way! So he named her Chelle. Then he pointed to the boy and said, "So that makes this one Sam." Crazy, right? Now there are two sled dogs named after us!

Sam holding Sam, and me holding Chelle... haha!

Again on Saturday we got to see just how much Dario cares for his dogs. He always took such care and precision, being attuned to each of his dogs and what they needed. It kept amazing me just how eager the dogs are to run, to work, and how happy they are... tails up and wagging the whole time. It really is incredible to watch. Sam spent hour after hour helping in the chute between rides... taking care of anything and everything that needed done. Dario mentioned to me a couple of times throughout the day how much of a help Sam was and how great he was with the dogs. Dario also said a few times grateful he was that we were able to come help. I spent the entire day taking tickets/cash for the rides, manning the gate and sending the guests to the sleds. They were so delighted to get the sled ride pulled by the dogs. They kept me smiling the whole day. We made a new friend that day, too. Holly is in college and planning to move to Girdwood to pursue her dream of dog mushing. I had so much fun getting to know her and hearing about all of her adventures. She volunteered also, and floated around between the gate and the chute, doing anything and everything that needed done. The 11am-5:30pm hours went by soooooo quickly!

Me holding Kala

Sam and Fiona

After everything was taken down, the park put back to the way it started, the dogs taken care of, and the trucks packed up... we were ready to head out. On our way out of Anchorage we saw another moose, 5th one this trip I think... just hanging out in someone's yard...

The whole way back to Girdwood we were able to enjoy a glorious sunset... so beautiful!

Turnagain Arm Sunset

Saturday night Sam and I met up with Steve and CeCe for dinner at Maxine's and to hear a band play. Maxine's is a great little restaurant (ok, so all of the restaurants in Girdwood are great and little haha)... the food was fantastic, the band was good, and the company was fantastic. Steve and CeCe are two wonderful people, and we so enjoyed getting to hang out for a while!

Monday we headed back to Chugiak to help Nick again. Jenn and I found the shovels and the sled to clean up the kennels and then we helped pack the drop bags. Mushers have to get all their checkpoint bags together by a certain point, which happened to be Wednesday, so the four of us were helping Nick sort through dog food, his food, and supplies to get the bags packed. I spent a lot of time making sandwiches :-) Nick is French... and I made some interesting sandwiches for him including strawberry jam and brie cheese ... whatever works, right?? I was thrilled that we had the chance to help out Nick. He is a great guy who loves and cares for his dogs. To be able to race in the Iditarod, a musher has to qualify to be eligible to race. Nick hadn't, but because of how well he handles the dogs, the race judges/committee/whatever they are called, permitted him to run veteran Jim Lanier's team when Lanier had to pull out due to emergency hip replacement surgery. Just FYI, Nick was Rookie of the Year, the first Rookie to cross the finish line! How awesome that we were able to be a part of that...

Nick's puppy T bone that just LOVED Jenn

he's really just a big baby...

May and me

Nick and Jenn

me, Sam, Nick, Jenn, and Scott

Alaska in February: Part 3

2011-04-28T09:30:00.003-08:00

Wednesday was my first day on Mt. Alyeska snow skiing. Though I have spent many weekends on skis, I've never skied for an extended length of time (more than 3 days in a trip)... and looking at Alyeska was QUITE intimidating. Scott is a ski instructor, an experienced skier, and he spent a large part of Wednesday coaching me! It took a couple runs to get my legs underneath me, and it started coming back, kind of like riding a bike. Scott helped me improve my form, and after a couple hours on the greens, we headed over to mid-mountain for the blues. Um, I have skied out in Beaver Creek, CO, but the top of any run I skied there looked so puny compared to even an easy blue on Alyeska. I'd be lying if I said I was not totally and completely terrified looking down the mountain (from mid-mountain). :-) But... I DID IT! I skied it with a lot of coaching from Scott and a lot of encouragement & patience from Sam (he thought I was so much better than what I thought I was!). Mid-mountain had a LOT of powder... Coming down a couple of the runs, there were places I couldn't see my ski boots or skis because they were buried under very fluffy snow.

Getting ready to go down one of the runs from mid-mountain (an easy blue)

Me and Sam... That's the OCEAN in the background... Alyeska is the only resort that you can see the ocean from... Pretty cool (and pretty) if you ask me!

slopes/lifts as the sun is setting

view from the ski lodge

Wednesday evening we had Bible study and again, it was just AWESOME. Such a great group of people, great discussion... everything a Bible study should be! ;) Thursday, Sam and I hung out in Girdwood, touched base with Dario and planned to help him and Nic on Saturday, and rested. We had spent a lot of time going and going and going and definitely needed just a day to rest.

Friday it was back to the mountain!! It was fairly cloudy on Friday, if I am remembering correctly... so I think that is why I didn't take any more pictures. I spent some time on the greens and easy blues, really trying to perfect my form... Just after lunch, I turned in my skis for my first snowboard lesson. A friend of Scott's (with Sam as her assistant) taught me, Scott, and a few other friends from Rotary. That was a trip! I was the only one "in class" that was not a proficient skier (not sure if that had anything to do with me not picking it up as quickly as the rest) but I was getting pretty comfortable on the bunny slopes! The rest of the group headed to a green, but I stayed on the bunny slopes until they closed. After that run, we headed into the Sitz Mark for a cup of coffee to warm up. We had a lot of fun just hanging out with new friends. Not too much later, I traded my board in for skis again and we made a couple runs down harder blues. I got tired. Very tired. I'm sure I sounded pretty whiney, but toward the end of the day it got to be so hard just to stay on my feet ...good thing snow makes for a soft place to fall! I can't be certain, but I am pretty sure I slept REALLY well on Friday night! Saturday was a big day for us... Part 4 next time. :)

Alaska in February: Part 2

2011-04-25T06:48:00.003-08:00

If you remember, Sam and I met a local musher named Dario at The Grind on Saturday afternoon. We got to talking, and found out he owns a kennel in Girdwood. We asked if he needed an extra set of hands or two to help out. He asked if we were good with shovels... :-)

Sunday morning we were up and at 'em pretty early. Sam and I packed for Talkeetna and then headed over to Moose Meadows (a big playing field near the resort) to meet up with Dario. Dario picked us up and started taking us on something of a tour. Both of us got a little nervous thinking, hey the plan was for us to help you, not to get a tour- was there some miscommunication?! No, there wasn't, he was just showing us around, exercising his dogs! Very, very cool. The sled he uses for tours has a place for one rider to sit in a net/hammock type seat, a place for a 2nd rider to sit on a box behind the first rider or to stand, and then a place for the musher. Dario took us for a long ride, long enough for Sam and I to sit/stand in both seats.

I must say, it is a great way to get around!!

Pretending to mush ... :-)

Dario is a great guy-- loves his dogs, loves Alaska --and very fun to be around. We stopped often so that the dogs could cool off! Ha! It was like 30 degrees!! That's still below freezing, in case you forgot. Apparently the optimal temperature for running the dogs is 20 below... Unreal! He said that running in 30 degree weather is like running in 90 degree weather for us. After what seemed like a very long, very fun tour (one that we felt we should have paid for!) we made it over to his kennel. Dario showed us how to unharness the pups and where to put them. Dario told us about his day-to-day schedule taking care of the dogs: feed, water, scoop; take team(s) out for exercise/tours/etc.; feed, water, scoop; take other team(s) out for exercise/tours/etc.; feed, water, scoop. I can't imagine what it would look like if he didn't take such good care of them all!! All the dogs were super happy with incredibly friendly demeanors.

a puppy!

After shoveling (heehee) and cleaning up the kennel area, it was about time for us to head back to the condo. We were planning on leaving that afternoon for Talkeetna. We were so grateful for the afternoon we had we Dario and being at the kennel. We started the short walk back to the condos and it was so cool to see them from a distance...

Can you find the 3-story condos? Hahahaha... they look so small!

our walk back took us by the local airport... isn't it amazing?

Scott and Jenn's friend Jimmy owns a beautiful cabin in Talkeetna, and invited all of us out to stay a couple of nights. After cleaning up and getting the cards loaded, we were off... It was going to take a couple hours to get there, and I sure didn't want to be too warm in the car, so you know, I just had jeans and a pullover on... Besides, it was like 30 degrees, and I was getting pretty used to 30 degrees being kind of warm. Big mistake. When we got there it was already after dark and we were both definitely way underdressed for the (short) walk up to the cabin. This was the coldest I think I've ever been! Within less than a minute of being outside the car my fingers were hurting and every inch of me felt so, so cold! I pulled my ski bibs over everything I was already wearing, put on two coats, gloves, hat... and hoped the walk to the cabin would be short! Jimmy had spent the afternoon there preparing the cabin for us, and a fire was already going when we came in. It was amazing to walk into and so inviting! My fingers hurt so bad... it was unreal. Everyone kept telling me to put them closer to the fire but as they warmed up, they hurt! After a couple minutes they returned to normal, not that I was worried or anything, haha. Jimmy had prepared a stew and bread for us, so we sat down to eat pretty quickly.

Jimmy's cabin

The cabin had 2 rooms downstairs: a bedroom (currently unfinished & we didn't use it) and a "great room". The great room had a folding table and chairs, a bench, a chest of drawers, a long table (for a counter top holding our water containers and shallow buckets for a sink), a gas stove, a wood burning heater thing, camping chairs for lounging and a sofa, among other storage containers. Upstairs there was one room plus a loft, and 6 surprisingly comfortable cots. It was easily 15 degrees warmer upstairs than down... Both nights the outside temps were around ten below... The first night Jimmy manned the fire and apparently it was getting too much air... the heater unit started glowing and was above 900 degrees! Upstairs the thermometer showed us it was like -10 outside, 90 degrees inside ... Going out in 10 below weather was actually not too terrible after being a toasty 90 degrees inside. Why would we go out in it? That would be to use the outhouse... Ha. Sam said you knew you had to go when you were willing to brave the cold...

Jenn at the "Loose Moose"

Jimmy had the brilliant idea to keep the toilet seat inside... to avoid "poopsicles" ... So we had to take it out with us whenever we went...

Monday morning we got up, had breakfast, and headed into Talkeetna. It's a small, eclectic town, and it is referred to as the Gateway to Denali. Most people climbing Denali will fly out of Talkeetna. On our way into town, we stopped at one overlook. The weather was just gorgeous, and we were able to see Denali so clearly from so far away! Here's me and Jenn, with Denali in the middle. I know it doesn't look that big... just remember the summit is at 20,320 ft. Even in June, you can expect the temps at Denali's summit to be -40. Just saying.

Sam and me & Scott and Jenn

After lunch and a little shopping in Talkeetna, we headed back to the cabin and did some more cross country skiing. I still was not very good, but I really enjoyed it. It will definitely be a hobby I pursue further!

another gorgeous Alaskan sunset

After skiing, we all warmed up inside, Jimmy headed home to Anchorage, and the rest of us hung out until we were too tired to talk anymore before going on to bed. Tuesday we got up late (meant to be up at 7, really got up at 8) and packed up quickly to be out of there by 9. We grabbed breakfast on the road and met up with Nicolas Petit in Chugiak.

blocks of meat on the left, band saw on the right... Nic showing Sam and Scott how to break up the meat after it had been cut.

Scott and Sam took huge blocks of raw, frozen ground meat and cut them into about 1/3-inch strips which had to be broken up into bite-sized chunks for easy defrosting at checkpoints. For those who don't know, the Iditarod has certain checkpoints, and all the musher's supplies need to be ready to go by next week. Nic has his work cut out for him, so we were more than happy to help. Jenn and I left the guys to mess with the meat (I SOOOOOO could NOT handle it!) and we grabbed the shovels. This kennel had about 46 dogs... and the kennel only gets scooped twice a day... and I'm sure we shoveled at least 2-3 per pup. After scooping we got to "water" them. This was sooooo much more than putting water in their bowls. What they get is only about 1/2 water, the other 1/2 oil that kinda smells like fast food, and chunks of meat. The dogs, of course, love this. That grub ended up getting all over us, of course... We smelled bad. Nevermind the not having a shower for 2 days... Between the guys dealing with the meat, and us dealing with the "water" ... we were a smelly, smelly bunch. I may have gagged once...

May and me

After the dogs were all given some TLC, poop-free spaces, and "water" ... they were pretty much set. So, Jenn and I helped the guys. I tried so hard to be okay with it but it REALLY grossed me out. I ended up duct taping the gallon size ziploc bags full of the raw, chunky frozen meat. These are what will go to the checkpoints to feed the pups during the race. It is a cool feeling to be a part of it, though it really is so much more work than I had ever imagined. We spent about 4-5 hours there and barely put a dent in the things that can and need to be done!

After dumping all external layers into a big sack, we piled into the car and headed to dinner. We ate pizza at Moose's Tooth (an awesome restaurant in Anchorage) and then did a little grocery shopping before getting back to Girdwood. Tomorrow we head to the mountain for snow skiing/boarding...!!!

Alaska in February: Part 1

2011-04-19T14:12:00.005-08:00

After a couple weeks in Alaska this summer, I knew I would be moving there, some day soon. Scott and Jenn thought it would be a good idea for me to experience winter in Alaska; and they were right, it was a very different feel than summers in Alaska. I loved every moment.

Flying over "ordinary" mountains...

Sam and I had a very early morning the day we flew out. I think our flight was leaving around 8, so we had to be there around 6:30 or so. I get so excited at airports. I love them. I love people watching and the random overpriced stores and food places. I love knowing I'm departing on an adventure and love knowing that I'm coming home. Such good feelings... We had an enjoyable layover in Seattle and were able to enjoy a pretty yummy lunch. Though we spent 10 hours traveling, because we landed in Alaska around 5pm, we still had the whole evening ahead of us.

Flying over Alaska's mountains

Scott picked us up from the airport and when we got back to Scott and Jenn's, Jenn was cooking up something yummy for dinner before Bible Study. They encouraged us to take the night off if we needed to rest and recover form jet lag, but we only had so much time there! After dinner we went off to Bible Study. :-) I met some of the coolest people there. Great thinkers = great discussion. Despite being jet lagged and exhausted, I really enjoyed the Bible study and community time.

Thursday was kind of a busy day for Scott and Jenn (both working) so Sam and I spent most of the day walking around Girdwood and went for a hike. There are beautiful walkways all around town.

Between Hotel Alyeska and Scott & Jenn's place

beautiful bridge, isn't it?

Moose Meadows, on a very snowy, gray day!

Friday morning we did a program at the middle school called Junior Achievement. The "curriculum" is provided by the program, and in essence we taught it. This particular series is on vocation and started Friday, so we got to see how the program is laid out. Really cool way to connect with the community and really be a part of it.

Jenn made a salmon soup for lunch that day. I have to admit I was a little skeptical (c'mon, fish soup?!), but OH MY GOODNESS. It was sooo good. It was NOT fishy at all; the fish was caught by some friends who packaged it for Scott and Jenn... Anyway.... After that, Jenn went to work and Scott, Sam and I went for a drive to see more of the surrounding area and to get a feel for winter around here. We went to Portage Valley, Whittier, and Turnagain Pass.

Kite skier on the huge, frozen Portage Lake

Sam and I in Portage Valley

Sam, always playing and always curious... seeing the ice kind of freaked me out though... I went back to "land" after snapping the picture

Sam and me

kite skier again

Portage Valley is an area that is BEAUTIFUL (and a great place to play!) and it allows you to get to Whittier. Whittier is only accessible by way of boat/water travel, or through a mountain. Yes, through... There is a tunnel that is about 2.5 miles long with only one lane. There are certain times of day that the tunnel is "open" for going into or out of Whittier. Whittier is a ...strange... town. The entire town (with a population under 200 I believe) lives in ONE building, much like a college dorm/condominium. Crazy, right?

While waiting for the one-way go ahead to drive through the tunnel to Whittier, I was fascinated by these birds... magpies. They look black and white until the sun catches their feathers, then the feathers look iridescent... blues & greens.

This is Whittier, and the building the town lives in.

Prince William Sound (I think?) ... view of the ocean from Whittier!

the left side of the tunnel is for train passage, and the right side for cars...

We went out further to Turnagain Pass and got to see a glorious sunset and alpenglow - the colors of sunset on the mountain. The Pass is a big play ground for winter sports enthusiasts. Snow-machiners play on one side of the road and non-motorized methods of travelers (skis, snowshoes, snowboards, etc.) play on the other. As the sun set, the wind seemed to pick up, and for the first time since we landed... I felt COLD and underdressed!!

Mt Alyeska, all lit up for night skiing

soooooo beautiful...

oh, and we saw a moose. hanging out in Girdwood. #nobigdeal

Alyeska night skiing again

Saturday I went with Jenn into Anchorage. It was nice to see a Target, but really I hadn't missed it too much! Ha ha. We ran some errands, and after a couple hours I was more than ready to return to Girdwood. Again, Jenn had to work (and Scott was teaching ski lessons), so I met Sam at the Grind, a coffee shop in Girdwood that has some of the best coffee I've ever tasted!! There, we met a couple of people to chat with and we hung out for a couple hours.

One of the people we met is named Dario Martinez. He offers dog sled tours out of Girdwood and competes in races. He didn't race in the Iditarod this year, but has 9 times in the past (I think I'm remembering correctly). I knew Scott had set up for us to work with a man named Nick Petit, a musher preparing for March's Iditarod race so... Sam and I asked Dario if there was anything we could do to help him! ...More on that next time!

After we left the Grind, Sam, Scott, and I went cross country skiing. What a workout. One of the best cardio workouts I've ever done, and I actually LOVED every second. We skied through an area called Moose Meadows, and up to the resort for a yummy sushi dinner before going back out to the Meadow and watching the Winterfest Fireworks. So stinkin' cool. (It got pretty chilly last night and I didn't want my camera to freeze so I left it at the condo; thus, no fun pictures of fireworks or cross country skiing that night.)

Back to the Blogosphere...

2011-04-18T09:35:00.001-08:00

Hello? Anyone out there?

I wouldn't blame you if you stopped visiting my blog... I have taken zero time to post the last couple months. But, I was looking at my pictures from Alaska today and decided it was finally time to re-visit the Posting Page of my blog and share about my trip in February. :-)

2011 is flying by. I cannot believe it is already April and we're half way to May. There are so many exciting things I am enjoying now, and so many more things I am looking forward to. Spring has sprung here in Atlanta, and I've been trying to soak up as much 70-degree weather as I can... cause once it gets into the 80s+ I no longer really enjoy being outside! As always, life is good. I promise I'll start sharing more of it on here again!

It's been a while...

2010-10-13T08:13:00.001-08:00

These past couple of weeks have been very busy at work, and by the time I get home I have no desire to look at a computer screen long enough to post to my blog. But, I couldn't let this go unmentioned! Since March of 2009, I have been meeting almost weekly with a group of girls from Buckhead Church. We are what the church calls a "community group." We are more than a social group and more than a Bible study, some crazy combination of both. In the past year and a half, the group has added some members, and some have moved on... but the girls pictured below have become some of my best friends.

Everyone has pretty busy lives and schedules, so this past week when I got a couple emails, texts, phone calls, and chats... and discovered that 6/9 of the girls wouldn't be there this week, I wasn't too shocked. Life happens!! Last time I "canceled" our group meeting, Shannon gave me a hard time about it, saying the 4 of us who were going to be there should have gotten dinner or something... So, since Shannon and Kimmy were the only two coming last night, I emailed them to see if they wanted to get dinner. Kimmy had a coupon to a nicer restaurant, and somehow talked me into going there. :-) Kimmy offered to drive and we were going to meet Shannon there. When we got to the restaurant, the host said "they're in the back" and I asked Kimmy who was with Shannon?! We walked back there and I saw all the girls...

"Surprise!"

"Hey!"

"Happy late birthday!"

Emily, Tiffany, Jessie, Kimmy, me, Kiley, Emily, and Shannon (We missed Robyn!!)

On my 24th birthday this year, I had the honor of being in my cousin's wedding (well, technically the rehearsal dinner was on my b-day). So, we didn't get a chance to celebrate... leave it to these girls to make sure my b-day didn't go uncelebrated. I was definitely super surprised. The only one who didn't lie ;-) about where she was going to be was Robyn, who was traveling back home this week. We had so much fun just hanging out for a couple hours. I am so thankful for each one of these girls and their friendships!

-♥-

'Bouism #3 ... Continued

2010-09-16T05:17:00.001-08:00

My mom emailed me these pictures after seeing the post below and I just had to share!

-♥-

'Bouism #3

2010-09-15T11:32:00.002-08:00

Kind of makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it?

What is your favorite picture of you and your dog? (or pet...)

-♥-

'Bouism #2

2010-09-13T12:54:00.004-08:00

Thanks to couch to 5K, I am working fairly diligently at running my feet!

Now to work on the other one... not running my mouth... ;-)

'Bouism #1

2010-09-09T13:04:00.001-08:00

He is funnier than he is mean...
He is very generous with his time and money.
He has a crazy ability to love people unconditionally.
He is witty.
He is very fun to work with!

-♥-

my coffee is better than your coffee...

2010-09-08T10:54:00.002-08:00

I love Caribou Coffee and I love their (relatively) new design. For starters, they have what they call "'bouisms" which are the little sayings that are all over their stores, napkins, cups, etc. Their cafes have more of a lodge/comfortable feel which is significantly cooler than an artsy/trendy feel (like Starbucks).

And when it comes to their coffee, Caribou Coffee is smoother, richer, tastier than Starbucks' coffee which almost always tastes bitter to me. When it comes to coffee drinks (i.e. flavored drinks with espresso instead of coffee) usually I have liked Starbucks better, especially because Starbucks is home to the amazing, incredible pumpkin spice latte. I'm not sure what happened this year, but Starbucks' PSL is just not as good as it used to be. Additionally, Caribou's Pumpkin Latte is 100% better than the one they had last year. I'm completely sold to Caribou now... Anyway, moving on.

The Caribou cup pictured here ;-) has lots of different sayings and suggestions on it that make me smile. I haven't been blogging a whole lot lately, but I'm going to attempt to fulfill most of the 'bousims on the cups. Some aren't really suggestions... like the 'bouism above the logo: Technology is good but people are better... but in one form or another, I am going to blog about my attempts on following through on these 'bouisms. Just for fun. Let's face it, we all need a little something fun every now and then, right?! Help me out. If a particular 'bousim inspires you, leave me a comment on that blog post. :-)

In other news, I'm about half way through my couch to 5K program. I got up early again today to run, and the program had me warm up 5 min, run 8 min, walk 5 min, run 8 min, cool down 5 min. Montana has no interest in leaving with me around 6:45... she looks at me like Are you kidding? You want me to get up off this couch and go for a walk when I don't have to pee? No thanks! ...so I came back and got her for the 5 min cool down, which turned into a 5 min jog (I jog, she prances) and roughly a 3 min walk... She seems far more eager to get up in the morning once I've left her (to run) and come back to get her (to walk). Though, she only lets me get so far from the house before she stops so abruptly it about trips me. Stop! That's far enough. Home. Now. ...I want to go back to bed. Such a rough life, Montana...

Happy Fall, Y'all!

2010-09-01T09:21:00.021-08:00

Yes, I know it is not fall yet, but... Oh. My. Goodness. I got up early to run this morning (because Wednesdays are always so busy!) and it was 65 degrees outside. For real. I cannot remember the last time I enjoyed running so much! (I take that back. I enjoyed it on Saturday!) My friends Kristy and Mary have got me running a 5K with them in October with the help of the C25K app for the iPod Touch (or iPhone, but I refuse to buy an iPhone until it can use Verizon service). The C25K stands for Couch to 5K and it is an app to help you (drumroll please) get from the couch to running a 5K. Catchy title, right? Ha ha. I love this app. It lets you play your own music/playlist while running the app as well. During the 30 minute workouts, the app will turn your music down to tell you it is time to walk or run and then turn the music back up. This is great, because I am not clock watching...

Today I started week 4, day 1 and it went so well.

The workout:

warm-up 5:00
run 3:00
walk 1:30
run 5:00
walk 2:30
run 3:00
walk 1:30
run 5:00
cool-down 5:00

I was pressed on time, so I skipped the warm-up and ran through my last walk and cool-down. Thus, my actual workout was:

run 3:00
walk 1:30
run 5:00
walk 2:30
run 10:30

And my cool-down was getting Montana from the house and walking her to the park and back (about 5 min). All day today, whenever I've been driving, I have had the windows down and the sun roof open. I just love when the weather cools off. Amazingly enough, when I went out to grab some lunch today it was 80 degrees outside... Kind of sad and alarming that 80 degrees is refreshing! I suppose the 47% humidity instead of 97% makes a difference, too.

Back to fall... I ♥ FALL! I am so excited about hiking, and pumpkins, and autumn harvest candles, and cool weather, and festive drinks/recipes (i.e. pumpkin coffee, pumpkin spice lattes - though Starbucks had to have changed their recipe because it does not taste the same this year!, pumpkin soup, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, PUMPKIN PIE, other kinds of soups, chili, this random yummy baked apple/pear casserole, etc.)... seriously, what is not to love?!

Things I want to do this fall... go to a pumpkin patch, carve a pumpkin, bake a lot, hike even more than I bake, hike with Jen & a healthy Montana, run my 5K in less than 30 minutes, hike in the Smokies at least one weekend, play in the leaves, find a cute new sweater, go to a corn maze, go to a UT football game and maybe even a GA game, tailgate, go on a hayride (maybe even a haunted hayride), go to 6 Flags' Fright Fest, go canoeing, take LOTS of pictures, and maybe some other things I can't think up just yet. Please, please, please... let me know if you will join me for any of the above! Company always makes things more fun! :-)

Braves Game

2010-08-20T06:05:00.001-08:00

Tuesday night my small group and I went to the Braves game. We watched them take on and beat the Washington Nationals. It was a great game! I, for one, am not the biggest baseball fan... However, I love being at Turner Field. And an evening with these girls is always fun, no matter what we do!

Kayla's Wedding

2010-08-10T09:15:00.001-08:00

Saturday (Aug. 7) was my cousin Kayla's wedding! She and Kevin had been together for like 5 years, and finally (after having to change the date 3 times!) they tied the knot. I am very excited for them! Kayla grew up close to my mom's parents, so every time we visited Illinois I got to hang out with her. We are close in age, too, and usually interested in a lot of the same things. It made for an easy friendship, so when she got engaged and asked me to be a bridesmaid, I was all too happy to be a part of her special day! ;-)

Kayla & Kevin's wedding was unlike any other wedding I've been to. I think there were at least 10 times that someone said, "Well, that's Calhoun County for you!" ... Not a bad thing, just different. :-) For instance, I'm sure you noticed the tux... Kevin is a big hunter, so all the guys were in camo tuxes... I had my doubts, but they really weren't bad... just nontraditional! Kevin's wedding band was the thing that most surprised me. There's a picture down below of it- it is in essence a replica of the foot band that hunters use to mark/identify ducks. The ceremony was in the afternoon at 2, the reception at 4, and though it ended around midnight, I left with my aunt and uncle around 10:15 or so. That was a long time, but I really enjoyed it!! It gave me lots of time to enjoy the day and enjoy my family!

Kayla & me

Kayla with her parents

Mike (Kayla's brother), Kayla, and me

Eva (Mike's wife) and their two boys

Cutting the cake!

The rings

The girls

As much fun as the day was... I think my favorite part was getting to see family that I don't get to see often enough! Here are a couple of my favorite pictures...

Aunt Mary, me, and Uncle Lou

Cousins...

Chris, me, Mike, Kayla, & Bryan

Me & Daddy

Me & Momma

Last Days in Alaska...this trip anyway!

2010-07-30T17:43:00.002-08:00

Thursday (my last night in town) Jenn, Scott, & I went into Anchorage so I could do a little souvenir shopping. It was fun getting to hang out with just them for a while... away from distractions. After shopping, we went to Moose's Tooth, a pizza place that is a step up from Mellow Mushroom. Very yummy, in case you were wondering. One thing that was kind of cool and unique was that they served draft root beer and draft cream soda, also very yummy! The drive home was gorgeous... I used the pics I took (from the car) to make the picture I posted on words from the wise.

Love these two...

Friday during the day I made some stops around Girdwood, saying my goodbyes, and went for a long walk to combat the depression hahaha. Chelsea (one of the summer interns who I just LOVED getting to know) and I took Samson on a couple mile walk. This day I took the pictures that I used to make my banner (the one on the top of my blog).

Love these mountains...

...and these flowers...

Wildflowers in Alaska are so pretty... I think they like all the sunlight

Love it!

More Beautiful Wildflowers

Chelsea and me

My buddy, Samson

Leaving Alaska this time was really hard. I feel like a part of my heart lives there now and I can't wait to go and get it, haha! Being there... I really struggle trying to put it into words, but the best I can come up with is simply that it fits. Imagine putting a puzzle together upside down, and then finally you get to flip it over and see the picture. Being in Alaska these two weeks made me feel like that. I feel at home there and I want to make it my home (for a couple years anyway)! I know I am going back... though the timing of it all is still up in the air. I'll keep you all posted. ;-)

The path to Girdwood...

July 7 :: Backpacking Day 3

2010-07-30T02:53:00.003-08:00

Let's be honest. By day 3 I was tired, ready for a real bathroom (shower and toilet, is that so much to ask? hahaha) and CLEAN, smell-good clothes. Though the views were definitely beautiful, the trail was easy and I was just ready to be done (in a good way...). So, for Day 3's post... You get mainly pictures with minimal captions. Enjoy!

Day 3: Still Smiling... Here's Proof!

Twin Falls. See how they get their name? haha

Breathtaking Beauty

Me w/ the twins ... still smiling :-)

Beaver Pond

Pretty pretty

Getting tired ... still a long way to go! (Thru another ecosystem)

Taking a breather... The facial expressions say more than I could...

So, you totally can't tell, but behind the rock I am standing on was like a 250 foot drop off? Pic does not show that... Also, I am miserable at determining actual distances... so don't take my word for it.

We made it!

...Where's the shower?!

July 6 :: Backpacking Day 2

2010-07-26T07:00:00.002-08:00

Despite a terrible night of sleep, I was wide awake and ready to hit the trail first thing after hearing people outside our tents. The wind was still pretty obnoxious in the morning, so we bypassed a hot breakfast to hit the trail earlier and get out of the valley. You know we had plenty of other food to eat anyway! With the snow fields behind us, I didn't really care what type of terrain we had to cover today... except well, we were going to have to ford a river. Yeah... but I had at least 5 miles to hike before then so no big deal. Again, everywhere I looked... Beauty.

The trail was pretty thick with alders and other growth. It got very buggy, too... like I didn't want to open my mouth to yell "Hey, Bear!" or anything... because I was terrified of swallowing one of the million in my face. Needless to say, I wasn't concerned with getting any pictures of that... We finally got to the river that we had to cross.

You should click on the pic below to read the crossing tips just to get an idea of what we were up against. :-)

This is where we crossed.

For those of you that passed on reading the tips... Here are the highlights. I had to unbuckle my chest and hip buckles. If I were to fall in and float downstream (because of the fairly strong current) I would need to get my pack off ASAP and that is not the time you want to be fooling with extra buckles. As a group, arms linked, we crossed the river... one cold step at a time. I had psyched myself up for the water to be breath-sucking cold. It wasn't. Don't get me wrong, before I was even half way across my feet were numb... but I could breath just fine! ;-)

Happily through the river on the other side.

Just in case you haven't noticed, I wore the same pants. These are magical pants... They are lightweight, wind and odor resistant... They repel bugs, dry quickly, and zip off into shorts. Seriously, within 10 minutes of being out of the water, my pants were DRY.

Loved that rock... hahaha

Beauty, beauty, everywhere

The trail drama was pretty much over after fording the river. The rest of the hike (just over 10 miles, I think?) was little ups and downs following the river bed. It was yet another ecosystem, and still incredibly beautiful.

Do you see the crazy beautiful sunshine on the rocks?!

Our 2nd "river crossing" ;-)

Everyone was pretty wiped by the time we got to our 2nd campsite. The day's worth of hiking (especially the stop-and-go-again pace) really wore me out. It was kind of funny as we got back into trees and forest-y areas... I felt so at ease being back in the trees! Totally understood (now) what Scott meant about trees being comforting.

2nd Campsite

Campsite was to the left on "this" side of the bridge, over the creek and to the right was our cooking site.

Our chef.

After dinner, it was the same routine... brush teeth, clean dishes, pack bear cans, hit the sack. Dinner this night was really yummy, though I can't really remember what all was in it. It was filling and tasty, though! It was a nightmare packing the bear cans this night... With no gorge to toss a bag into for the night, we HAD to get everything in the cans. After way too much effort, we finally got everything in, without an inch to spare... they were STUFFED to the brim... Scott stashed them away from our campsite, and everyone got into the tents... until we heard someone say,

"My bad."

Scott's response: "What?"

"I found some more beef jerky."

For real?! Poor Scott. He insanely, patiently took care of it... got it in the bear can though I have no idea how. I slept much better this night and was out shortly after my head hit my comfy camp pillow...

Campsite again... the trees helped darken things so it was easier to sleep... PS- pic was taken around 9pm.

Good morning, day 3!

July 5 :: Backpacking Day 1

2010-07-15T19:32:00.005-08:00

One of the things I was really looking forward to leading up to the trip was the backpacking trip. Scott planned a 3-day ~30 mile hike retreat for pastors in the area. Once I got to Alaska, so much was up in the air with the trip! Before it actually happened, we went from like 10 people going, to 8 people going, to 9 people going, to 5 people going, to being canceled, to 7 people going...

Me & Jenn at the Trailhead

Jenn originally wasn't going to backpack. Fortunately, when we discussed the fact that she would only have to ask off 1 day from work to be able to go... we were both excited that she was coming! Otherwise, I was going to be the only girl with 6 guys. Unfortunately, 2 days before the trip, an old back injury of hers flared up and it would have been a bad idea for her to try to backpack. That would make me the only girl with 6 men. I got a little worried... I mean, even though I had been trying to get in better shape and felt pretty good, these men do a lot of hiking, right? So I'm thinking with me being the only female I am going to hold them up, plus requiring extra gear (not like I could share a tent) and food! Seemed to me I would be slowing everyone down and making everyone work hard... and for what? For me to "enjoy" (as I assumed I would be harding a hard time breathing the whole time! haha) a backpacking trip?

Gary, me, Harold, Scott, David, Jacob, Joseph

When the decision needed to be made, I decided to buck up and do it! I mean, it would be a great experience, right?! With a couple people backing out so last minute and Jenn not being able to go, I didn't want all of Scott's hard work planning to go to waste.

Me at the Trailhead

Apparently there were some wrong assumptions about what the trail would be like... A little less than a mile in Harold was having second thoughts. He and one of the summer interns (Joseph) decided to head back off the mountain and skip out on this trip.

Scott and Harold deciding what to do

The summer interns Jacob and Joseph

The trail was beautiful. It was so incredible to see mountains in the distance, and I think several times I thought to myself wow! I'm backpacking...in Alaska...this is beautiful and amazing!!! The trail got really narrow in places, with steep drop-offs. Good thing I wasn't too clumsy in any places like this!

I know I look the same in these pictures... but they were different parts of the trail! And, as far as it came to my athleticism... The trail was easier than I expected and I was fully prepared. My muscles were strong and I didn't get out of breath! Scott led the way and set the pace... I followed him, with the 2 pastors (Gary & David) next, and Jacob running drag (bringing up the rear, keeping everyone together, etc.). Jacob is an all star athlete-- like for real. He runs cross country for his college and is in great shape... poor guy got bored most of the trip with the stop-and-go slow pace we had going! I definitely wasn't bored, but after a while the stop-and-rest-and-then-go-again rhythm wore me down. The first day it worked out okay, because as Scott and I were a little ahead, we had time to take pictures without everyone stopping...

Can you find the people in the picture below? ... I like pics like these because it gives you a bit of a scale!

I was in love...

One of the coolest things about this trail is that we started out in warm, sunny weather with rain clouds slowly approaching and lots of trees lining the dirt path. After a while we were above the tree line (i.e. no trees!) with grassy fields like the picture above and then snow and then ridiculously strong winds and then a valley with alder (bush plant that is taller than me; maybe 5-7 ft tall and pretty dense) and other bushy vegetation back into forest-y vegetation to river beds ... the trail was made up of: talus, dirt, scree, and even gravel at different parts of the hike. Crazy. I don't even know about hikes in the lower 48 that would take you through so many different ecosystems in <30 miles!

Look closely and you can see snowboarders' tracks. Scott says a lot of people will hike up with their boards and snowboard down... even into early summer!

This is Crow Pass. I took 3 pictures from a cabin that is at the Pass. Anyone can rent out the cabin to stay in, and as it was occupied when we were passing through, I decided its occupants would appreciate it if I didn't take pics of them in "their" house. Instead, I sat on the front porch (hahaha) and took pictures of what we saw there at the Pass. Then, with my cool photo editing software, I "stitched" the pictures together to make a panoramic pic! See the tiny box in the middle-right of the pic? You might need to click on the picture to enlarge it... That box is an outhouse. The snow was probably about 3 feet deep around it, so there were stairs made from snow that you could step down if you wanted to enter and to use the toilet. Inside the outhouse, I couldn't have touched the ceiling/roof. I tell you all of this so that you can again get an idea of the scale of what I was looking at. Everything was so big and beautiful!! (Except the toilet haha, though it was a standard size...)

Just past the cabin was the highest point on the trail... Crow Pass at a whopping 3,500 ft! Haha! Crazy, right?! This was where the wind got sooooo intense, though. I think below is the last picture of my pack's rain cover (the orange thing that keeps it dry when it rains). The wind blew it off and it flew away down the glacier (which is directly behind me in the pic).

Another view of Raven Glacier... no reference for scale... but it was HUGE...

(Above) This was the last pic I took for a while. The wind was CRAZY. I weighed myself (165 lbs) and my pack (35 lbs) before I left. When Joseph and Harold turned around, I ended up adding some more weight to my pack. I'm guessing it was between 40-50 lbs.? I am fairly certain that me plus my pack weighed at least 200 lbs. And believe me, I would not be telling you this unless it was relevant! The wind kept picking up ... becoming increasingly intense. David, who used to live in FL, has experienced hurricane winds and said that these were at least that strong. Gary was having trouble with something, sat down on a rock for a minute and took his pack off. Scott and David were further up the trail, and Jacob & I were waiting with Gary. The wind would die down and then suddenly pick up again to at least 100 mph (someone guessed?)

While we were waiting, Jacob sat, too, and I just used my trekking poles to brace myself. Another huge, howling gust of wind began to blow and it blew me over. Okay y'all... do you even realize how ridiculous that is?! THE WIND BLEW ME OVER... and I was balanced and bracing myself against it... all 200(+) lbs of me and my pack. It really hurt my bum, too! (You know that feeling when you've accidentally sat on a car's seat belt buckle? Yeah, that's what I felt like.) Moments later it lets loose again and blows Gary's pack over (it started tumbling down the mountain) and blew Jacob over. At this point, I know Jacob and I had had ENOUGH and were ready to get MOVING and AWAY from this wind. Gary got his boots adjusted, I carried his pack back up to him, and we were on our way. Had I know we would be heading into snow fields, I'm not sure I would have been so eager to get away from the wind!!

Gary, David, and Jacob (single file) traversing a snow field)

Okay, so... the snow field. I was not really interested in taking pictures at this point, but felt like it needed to be documented so that you, my faithful followers ;-) would have an idea of what I was up against. I'm not sure if the pictures do it justice, but... we were traversing the side of a mountain, the rather steep side of the mountain, on snow. I'm not sure what you're thinking, but as I was walking across the snow I was just hoping and praying I wouldn't slip and fall all the way down the mountain and especially that another gust of wind would not blow me over! Scott assured me that even if I slipped and fell... I wouldn't slide all the way down... probably not more than 5 or 6 ft. I was not at all interested in testing his theory though!! Scott led the way, really digging his heels in with each step, and I just stepped in his footprints. That gave me a lot more confidence and security as I walked... but I still got off the snow field as quickly as possible. There were moments when the wind blew hard (but no where near as hard as further back on the trail) and I dug my trekking poles into the snow and braced myself 'til it was over (we all did!). Anytime I got off a snow field (each one seemed scarier than the one before it!) I pulled my camera out to take pictures... The one below was very daunting.

I all but ran behind Scott to get off the snow field ASAP. I made it about 10 feet from the end of it when I slipped. Oops. I could see the end of the snow field though so I just went with it!! Got a little wet, but at least my pants were quick dry!! The other guys were understandably nervous coming down the snow fields (except Scott- he's used to this and trusts his feet on the snow)... Scott dropped his pack and went back up to help. Jacob would have been fine, but with the slow pace the others were going in front of him, I am sure he even got uncomfortable with how long he spent on the snow fields!

Again with the crazy awesomeness of the trail... this is what we were walking through and on... this is what would eventually be behind us, and this is what we were talking toward...

Once we *finally* traversed the last snow field... I was thrilled. Kinda funny, but now I don't think they would freak me out as much as they did at the time, not knowing what to expect or if I could trust my feet on the snow. I think if I did the hike again, I might even enjoy it more. I think any and all fear that I possess is healthy. I don't think I am a fearful person, but there are some things I WILL NOT do because I am scared to do them... i.e. sky dive, paraglide, swim with sharks... Yet again, I am perfectly okay with missing out on those experiences. But, there are other less legitimate fears that I have or currently possess... (My mom can tell you about the time I wouldn't slide down a water slide into the pool, but I also would not climb back down the ladder...) This was one of those fears that I HAD to get over. I was just thankful Scott was there and he knew what he was doing!!

So beautiful.

Enjoying the view!

It's still windy and cool!

I spy something black...

... Yes! It's a bear.

We finally made it into the valley to our first camp site. We hit the trail about noon, and made it to our campsite around 6pm. I was tired, but more from coughing up a lung (bronchitis) and stress (from the terrain haha) than from exercise. It was still very windy and quite chilly. Doesn't that pic make it look cold?! We got all of our tents set up (mine's the blue one!) and Scott began dinner. He had packed some sort of yummy non-traditional chicken soup for dinner and it was A-MAZ-ING.

Of course, everyone knows when you're hiking/backpacking, anything tastes good, but this was like, I'd eat at home good. There were some new things I learned the first night when it came to camping... Like, in Alaska, you don't cook and sleep at the same camp sites. It's important to keep food smells away from your tent. Makes sense, just not something I had ever needed to think about before. Also, bear cans are very important. What are bear cans? You can see them in the picture below... They are the plastic blue cans with black lids that seal out all odors.

If you spill food on your clothes, that piece of clothing goes in the bear can over night (NOT in your tent)... any snacks, leftovers, trash, chapstick, sunscreen, toothpaste, soap, etc... anything with a scent goes in the can. For 5 people, 2 should have been MORE than enough. However, some people did not follow Scott's packing list as well as they should have, and we had about 5 bags of beef jerky, some trash, some other snacks, etc... that would NOT fit in either bear can. So what do you do? Beats me. Even though the bear cans are supposed to seal in odors and keep bears out (and definitely a bear cannot get in them), you still don't leave those at your campsite either. Scott "hid" them 25 yards or so away from our tents and each other. But, we were still left with enough to probably fill a 3rd can...

This is where we camped the first night... tents were to the left of the bridge, and cooking / bear can hiding places were across the bridge and right of the picture.

We did the only thing we could think of... double bagged the leftover stuff in trash bags, tied one end of rope to the bag and the other end of the rope to the bridge and flung it into the gorge.

Scott wasn't thrilled with this solution, but it was truly the best we had! After Scott, Jacob, and I got the dishes done, the bear cans taken care of, and ready to call it a night... it was around 9:30 and the sky had some BEAUTIFUL color to it...

I was really tired at this point and so sure I would drift off right to sleep... But, I was not so lucky. Apparently laying horizontally is the best way to induce coughing. I lay there in my tent, praying I wasn't keeping anyone else awake, trying not to cough... I looked through pictures on my camera, prayed, and tried not to freak out every time the wind blew... it really sounded like a bear was in the bushes when the wind blew! I think I got maybe a combined total of 4 hours of sleep that first night; it's really weird camping when it doesn't really get dark... I do remember waking up between 2-3am and it being fairly dark (more coughing, more blowing my nose like a trumpet).

The crazy thing is that I thought since I could "see" really well in the valley (unlike in a dense forest) that I would feel more protected and comfortable to sleep... So not true. I felt so exposed and trapped. Scott said something about trees being comforting and familiar, and I so didn't get what he meant, but that first night sure gave me some insight into what he meant!!

Side note: VBS this week has been going great; I just love those middle schoolers... Getting back from Alaska on Saturday, busy day Sunday at Noonday, and then catching up at work and doing VBS this week has not really permitted any time to recover! I have been working on this blog post for a week now... and still, I have left out some fun stories. Next week I will be on another mission trip so I really want to finish blogging about Alaska before then!! The thing I noticed with this post, especially tonight while blogging, is how stinkin' long that first day of backpacking was... No wonder I was exhausted then! Blogging about it now is exhausting, too! If you made it to the end, reading all of this, no doubt you must be exhausted! But it was all so fun. So enjoyable. So rewarding.

Words from the Wise...

2010-07-09T00:10:00.004-08:00

You can only
become truly
accomplished
at something you love.

Don't make money

your goal.

Instead,

pursue the things
you love doing,
and then do them
so well
that people can't take
their eyes off you.

-Maya Angelou-

P.S. Backpacking was amazing. I will post about it soon!

Forest Fair

2010-07-03T13:20:00.001-08:00

Imagine Bonaroo, but like, 1/100th of the size... There's an additional 5,000 people or so in town, which brings the community's population total to like 7,000. There are 3 stages with live bands... One I am a really big fan of (pictured below)! There are so many people to meet and hang out with. There are tons of booths selling pottery, art, kitchen utensils, jewelry, and lots of other things... I'm going to post some pics and then head back out there to the fair. Enjoy!

This band is Bare Roots ... They play reggae music and have a great sound!

Not sure who this is, but they did a couple Journey covers and were pretty good!

Me at the entrance

One of the cool booths

The kids all have loved getting their faces painted and hair styled... Crazy cool, right?!

Me & Jenn before we left last night.

A different side of Girdwood...

2010-07-01T23:05:00.002-08:00

I haven't been feeling very well so I went to the Girdwood Clinic. Yep. Diagnosis: Bronchitis. At least I don't have strep throat! I've been pretty exhausted today... Despite that, though, I got to hang out with the summer staff tonight. We ate dinner at Chair 5 (I had the Elk burger...yum!) and hung out for while outside. It's been pretty chilly today and tonight- low 50's -but it was still good to be outside and to get to know the summer staff a bit better! There are two guys and two girls, all in college and in their early 20's. I am so enjoying getting to know them and glad I get to share these couple of weeks with them. After hanging out for a bit, I headed back to the condo and went for a short walk with Scott and Jenn. Now, once again, it is time for BED! Forest Fair starts tomorrow; it's going to be fantastic!

Alyeska!

2010-06-30T22:32:00.003-08:00

Wow! The past two days have flown by. I cannot believe it is Wednesday evening already! It's just after ten here, and I am about to crash... hard... So this will be short! Yesterday was a pretty low-key day. I helped Jenn out with a few random things and rested most of the day. Tuesday night we played Dealer's Choice Poker. Jenn baked a FABULOUS strawberry-rhubarb pie; I really want to grow rhubarb! Ha ha. It's been a while since I've played any poker, but it was a lot of fun. A couple of friends of the staff who live here in Girdwood came by to hang out and play, too. Last night ended up being a ridiculously late night.

I didn't get going until about 8am this morning, so I woke up feeling rested and ready for the day! Scott and I grabbed breakfast at the Bake Shop (very yummy!) and then headed out for a hike. We talked a lot about the ministry here and I am just amazed at all they are doing here. I got back to the condo and cleaned up so I could head into Girdwood. I walked up to Maxine's (a bar/bistro) to hang out. Tonight was a live music / open mic night... very entertaining! Right as I got there I met someone who is here on vacation & traveling alone, so we hung out most of the evening! We might be meeting up tomorrow to hike or get lunch. This is what it's all about!

So... this is what midnight looks like :-)

I guess the flowers love all the daylight!

Small part of the HUGE Alyeska Resort hotel...

Another view of the HUGE Alyeska hotel...

Scott and I hiked the Winner Creek Trail today. Click the picture to blow it up and read about it... If you're interested! :-)

The Hand Tram

It was a beautiful hike!

Can you find me?

We saw this huge porcupine...

Can you find the "little" hotel?!

B-E-A-UTIFUL ALASKA!

I love being here. Everything about this place is welcoming, inviting, engaging and interesting. Time is already flying by, and I'm just so eager not to miss a single moment. Technically, including my trip last year, today has been my 3rd day in Girdwood, but it feels way more familiar than that. Anyway, now that the pics have finally uploaded, I'm posting and heading to bed!

Ready or not, here I come!

2010-06-29T08:58:00.001-08:00

View from the plane; there were a lot of clouds though, so it’s kind of hard to see the mountains.

What a wonderful day of traveling… I got to the airport around 10:30am (Atlanta Time) and landed in Alaska a little ahead of schedule around 6:45pm (Alaska Time -4 hours difference) totaling ~12 hours of travel! I read almost 2 books, watched a movie, met some nice strangers… haha. It really was a smooth, uneventful trip-- the best kind. Jenn picked me up from the airport and we drove into Girdwood to unpack and get dinner. It was SO great to see Jenn and have the drive to catch up. We got to the house, caught up with Scott, and I met the 4 summer interns. Dinner was fantastic... Reindeer dogs (think really yummy hot dogs), chili, and potatoes. I wasn't feeling to great so I just had a reindeer dog and LOTS of water.

On the flight to AK, I noticed it becoming a little hard to swallow... At dinner I started feeling really yucky, with body aches and a few chills (probably a fever!) so shortly after eating I went to bed. It was about 10:30 (2:30am our time) so I was really exhausted! I got up around 8 this morning and I already feel a ton better after a great night’s sleep, but we’ll see how the day goes. I might be visiting the clinic if this keeps up. We’re backpacking in less than a week- leaving on Monday, so I absolutely MUST be healthy by then!!

I am missing out on a soccer camp for kids this morning, but I will be able to rest up and hopefully get back to 100% instead. There will be a few low key things I can help Jenn with around the house today anyway, so that'll work out!

View out my window; so I took this picture this morning, around 8am, but it’s almost identical to the one I took at 10:30 last night! Love all this light… :-)

Wicked.

2010-06-22T19:31:00.003-08:00

Yes! I am actually blogging. This past weekend my mom and I made a trip to see Wicked! It was FAB-U-LOUS. I loved the trip with my mom and I loved sharing the performance with her. The show was fantastic, and a must-see for you all... I LOVE musicals and this was no exception. You can't take pictures during the performance, though. Not surprising, but still disappointing! It's only too bad the trip was so short! We were there less than 24 hours. Here were a few pics we got, the last being a funny one from our taxi cab on the way home... I am seriously considering making a book made up of pictures of funny signs; I find them all over the place...

Our awesome seats!

Outside the theater...

Inside the cab!

I'm ready to fly

2010-05-13T12:32:00.001-08:00

Jamaica: June 5-12

Alaska: June 28-July 10

National Day of Prayer

2010-05-06T10:45:00.001-08:00

Not sure if you are aware or not, but today, the first Thursday in May, is the National Day of Prayer. The Academy (preschool that partners with the church I work at) held a little celebration and prayer time outside today. I think more often I am accused of being religious than patriotic... but let me just tell you. I am grateful for my God, my country, and my freedom and I know it didn't come free.

A sweet lady named Molly has a beautiful voice and sang the National Anthem and America, the Beautiful today... One of her little ones befriended me :-)

As you can probably tell... the weather is gorgeous today. With the short ceremony this morning, a couple emails from friends (surprising and sweet), and lunch with a couple friends... it has been a pretty fantastic Thursday! A couple more Thursdays like this and it won't be my least favorite day of the week anymore, haha!

I cannot believe it is May already... Time is flying by this year, and in about a month I'll be in Jamaica! Jamaica for a week (mission trip), home for a while, Alaska for two weeks (mission trip), home for a week, St. Louis to see WICKED (woo hoo!), home for a week, Alabama for a week (mission trip), then Illinois for a wedding... It just might be August before I post again.

Forgiveness

2010-05-03T19:51:00.001-08:00

Tonight at small group, the concept of forgiveness came up. My small group has a blog that we use as a communication tool (it's set to where only members of our small group can access it, though)... Anyway, I posted this about forgiveness, and decided to post it here, too. Just my thoughts :-)

Forgiveness is to set a prisoner free, and to realize the prisoner was you.

-Corrie Ten Boom

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times."

-Matthew 18:21-22

From what Jesus says, I think that forgiveness is not a one-time choice and then we automatically live in a state of forgiveness ... maybe instead Jesus meant that forgiveness may require a lot of forgiving. We know it is important to the Lord, and I believe it is important to our relationship with God. We gotta continue forgiving until the matter is settled in our heart.

Why do we have to forgive? The best reason I can give is because Jesus said to. And, if you want to know why I think He told us to forgive... it's not because it's about the person we're forgiving (though that can be an amazing gift to them). I think it is because He understands what unforgiveness does to us. And WE are precious to Him. WE are His creation. WE are His beloved. He wants us to experience HIM... His love, His mercy, His compassion, His grace, His forgiveness.

20 (more) in my 20's

2010-04-26T17:36:00.002-08:00

I decided to make a new list of 20 things to accomplish in my 20's ... (30 before 30 was too many haha so I went with this.) ... Obviously, inspired by my recent discovery of my 25 before 25, I have spent a couple of days making this list, and I am happy to share it with you all!

Visit Orlando's Hogwarts and Harry Potter village.
Put 5 different countries' stamps in my passport.
Mail a care package to a stranger in the military serving over seas.
Start a Roth IRA.
Surprise someone I love with a significant gift.
Forgive someone who doesn't deserve it.
Make a new friend.
Volunteer somewhere/doing something I've never done before.
Pay for the person behind me in the Caribou Coffee drive-thru.
Take a class on a new hobby.
Write a thank you note to a teacher from high school or college.
Take a plate of home made cookies to the fire station.
Lose 20 (more) lbs... and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Spend a whole day in bed... not sick.
Visit the Statue of Liberty and other New York attractions.
Go to Hawaii for at least a week.
Be informed on the political system and vote educatedly.
Hike/Camp in the Grand Canyon.
Master cooking/preparing 3 well planned three-course meals.
Get married. :-) You had to know it would end up on this list, too...

25 before 25...

2010-04-19T07:45:00.003-08:00

So, this weekend I came across this list and thought I would share it. No judging though; I had to turn these in for a freshman class (at UT), so most are attainable, kind of shallow, and impersonal. I'm kind of surprised at how many things I've been able to cross off, though!

Graduate College (hopefully with honors)

I did graduate with honors!

Get a golden retriever
Get my first job
Go out of the country

Going to Jamaica this summer!

Read 25 "fun" books
Get a tattoo

Not sure I'll ever cross this off!

Pierce my cartilage
Climb a Mountain
Take (at least) a 2-day backpacking trip

This might be happening in Alaska this summer

Camp on a beach
Try sushi
Travel by train
Look through a real telescope and identify as many constellations as possible
Read the whole Bible
Learn to drive a stick shift
Really play in the rain

At UT, some of my friends and I went out on the track field during a down pour and ran/slid on the pole vault mats...sooooo fun!

Take a jet ski out on the ocean
Take a self defense class
Fall in love and get married (ha!)
See a broadway play or musical
Ski out west somewhere
Lose 25 lbs

I've lost 28... I had forgotten about this goal, but it's great to finally cross this off!!

Go on a cruise
Learn to play poker
Make a difference in someone's life

Well, someone told me I did anyway ha ha!

Oh Thursdays...

2010-03-25T13:09:00.005-08:00

Thursdays are just not my favorite day at the office. Part of it is that it is my "crunch day" during which I have to make sure everything is done for the week, part of it is that it's my "printing day" (bulletins, inserts, announcements, etc.)... and let's be honest, part of it is that Shad doesn't work on Thursdays (it's just less exciting when he's not here haha).

However... On this Thursday, a friend who knows Thursdays are not my favorite... surprised me with these! Aren't they beautiful? I am lucky blessed to have such great friends in my life!

These beautiful roses also gave me a chance to play with that new camera feature I discovered... These were my favorites:

PS- I'm super glad Shad gets a whole day with his family... He more than deserves it with how hard he works the other 6 days of the week! Mary, don't tell him I said so lol he will only give me a hard time for it! ;-)

Wordless Weekend...

2010-03-21T16:30:00.003-08:00