Tuesday, May 31, 2011

What a difference a year makes!


These are really BAD pictures, I know but,
above is Gabe's first day of 3rd grade.  

Below, is Gabe and Rebecca's (best friend) LAST day of 3rd grade.

In the past year:
We've acquired a fence.
The back yard has been cleaned up a bit.
Gabe has grown like a bad weed, because he won't stop eating!
Through school, Cub Scouts, and Karate, etc., he's made many friends,
including our neighbor Rebecca.
He broke his ankle, and stuck his tongue to a frozen pole...


J~

Monday, May 30, 2011

Seward... Part Two

"So, the yellow marker is the route we took Pa-Paw.  Things got really rough around Cheval Island. "
"You got really sick, didn't you?"..."Yep, but, I sang my Dora the Explorer song to keep my mind off of things."


I just realized that I can scratch #52 off of "Janet's List"; I didn't get the prize winning whale tail photo that you'd see in say, National Geographic, but it'll do for me for now.

I've also shared the photo of Sarah and Pa-Paw with the amazing ladies at Communal Global.  When you get a chance, swing on over to view some beautiful images from around the world.  I've also shared this picture with Supermom, because...well, I think it's a pretty cool picture.  But, I'm biased!


J~




Friday, May 27, 2011

Seward and Sea Sickness!


The above collage are some of the pictures that I took on the Major Marine wildlife cruise through Kenai Fjords National park this past Monday near Seward, Alaska.  You can see more pictures in the Drive to Alaska photo album included in our Photo Collection.

It was a full day (6 hour) cruise with a Prime Rib and Salmon lunch included, but unfortunately, not many of us wanted to eat that day.  We were warned that the seas would be especially rough, and were even asked if we wanted to reschedule for the next day, but time didn't allow, so we took our chances. 

I had gotten sea sick off of the coast of Puerto Rico while visiting my older brother when I was sixteen years old, so I was prepared to deal with it this time (ride the waves, deep breathe, focus your eyes on one thing, get fresh air, etc.); I ended the day without getting sick, Thank Goodness.  But my poor mother-in-law and Sarah were both starting to feel it in the first hour...

To make a long story short, I counted at least six people losing their breakfast at one time.  I do have to give lots of credit to the Captain and Crew; the Crew was right at your side to help, and the Captain even cut the engine a few times to try to cushion the blow on huge waves.

All in all, it was an incredible experience.  To see wildlife (and hear it) as it is, in it's pure form, was simply amazing.  The pictures don't do the trip justice. I don't think it's necessary to book a luxury, week-long cruise anymore to get to see what I did that day.

I think we can go on ahead and spend the money and miles on another trip instead (because we'd entertained the thought of taking an Alaskan cruise); most probably our traditional we-survived-another-deployment-Disney-celebration trip to the new Disney Aulani resort in Hawaii.  (ask someone who lives here in Alaska about the AK/Hawaii connection...maybe one day, I'll blog about it.)

But, then again...Phillip and Gabe didn't see what I saw that day, though it was similar, so....hmmmphhh...What to do?  What to do?

There were many times that day when I cursed myself for telling my husband to hold off on buying a new SLR camera for Mother's Day.  I had to deal with digital delay.  As I've said before, I'm not a photographer; I just love taking pictures.

On a side note, I don't have pictures of the guys fishing trip (I wish I did).  From what I understand, the sickness was much worse for them because they were on a smaller boat.  Gabe managed to catch three sharks, but was sick for pretty much the whole day.  Phillip got sick at the end of the day; my father-in-law came out without a scratch.  As for the fish that was caught, there was lots of it (halibut, rock fish, etc.), and a bit of it was sacrificed to the grill last night.

Yum!

J~

Thursday, May 26, 2011

"Hello! How are you doing today?"

"...I hope I find you feeling healthy.  I'm so glad our paths crossed this time today...".

(Those two lines are from Granny, one of my favorite Dave Matthews songs, by the way.)

We've been busy!  Phillip's parents flew in last Monday evening, and we've been visiting and having fun ever since.

We went down to Seward, Alaska this past Sunday.  The boys went deep sea fishing, while the girls went on a wildlife viewing cruise through Kenai Fjords National Park.  We also spent some time in Anchorage, visiting family and shopping, etc. 

So, today we're unpacking and getting settled back into life here in the Interior.

Give me a day or two, and I will have details and pictures to show you from our mini vacation.

Until then...

take good care of yourself, and go hug someone.

J~

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Quote for the day...

"We deceive ourselves when we fancy that only weakness needs support. Strength needs it far more."
                      - Anne-Sophie Swetchine

Something to keep in mind when someone says, during tough times (like a deployment),  "Oh, you're strong.  I have faith in you.  You can handle it.".


Let's rephrase that, shall we?

Friday, May 13, 2011

The Ultimate Female...

I came across a website today: The Ultimate Female

I was perusing through Pinterest.com (because 2 of my friends have me hooked on it), and someone had included a quote with a link to TUF.  If you have time, go and have a look.  Check out her older posts.  The person who runs this site (whoever she may be, she's got awesome style) includes posts that contain words of inspiration, and remind a woman that she doesn't have to be a Size 2 to be beautiful.

I need to remind myself that, no matter what, I'll never have a teenager's body again; I can try to stay fit and active, try to tone down a bit, but I don't have to strive to be THIN.  I can develop my own style, and OWN it.  I want to be like Adele, and not give a damn about what I look like, as long as I know that I do other things well; and sing well, she does.


With practice, I'll get there.

I've included TUF in my blogroll.   When and if you ever get a chance, go to some of those pages; click on the little "buttons" to the side of the blogroll (Goodnight Moon, for example) and visit the links to websites that I like to waste time on. You'll find women, and one man (who writes incredibly well and sums up military spouse life better than I can), with pretty interesting stories.  You'll find an Army widow, a new mom, words on growing up military out the mouths of babes, a plane crash survivor, Hurley from the t.v. show "Lost", photographers with amazing talent, a spouse that I'm especially praying for because being a military spouse recently got to be too much to handle, and a woman who just got tired of the way things were and decided to just GO (Female Nomad) and had the personal strength to DO IT.

We are all unique.  We all have a story to tell.  That's what makes life so fascinating!

J~

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

So, what's new?

Here's a small rundown:
  • I had to go back to the plastic surgeon this morning (i.e. surgery in early March to remove some excess tissue).  Apparently, and I'm assuming here, my body doesn't like the stitches that he used.  Yup, I'm still having a small problem with wound closure.
  • It's getting darker later, which means that at 11:30 pm there is still a lot more light out than I care to deal with.  Nothing a little cardboard can't fix!  Who says that I have to spend all sorts of money on room darkening curtains?  My regular curtains, and the blinds, hide my genius, but not so classy idea.  But, hey, it works!  Tomorrow, I shall go back to Walmart and get 5 more boxes.
  • I worked on some CME credits today for my Surgical Technologists certification.  Considering that now, I have 23 credits, and need to have 60 by November, I'd better keep moving! 
  • The Daily Mile meter at the very bottom of this page has been going up one mile a day recently.  Well...most days, it happens.  
  • We're preparing for a visit from Pa-Paw and Ya-ya.  They'll be here next week!  We will go on down to  Seward, AK to do some wildlife watchin' and halibut fishin' while they are here.  Me and my camera are all excited!
  • School ends, and summer vacation officially starts next week.  I've been seeing the cruise line bus drivers practicing/training new drivers.  The weather is nice, the snow is mostly melted (except for clumps here and there), and things are starting to emerge from the long winter's sleep. 
It's the little things.  I know.

Hope all is well on your end!

J~

Friday, May 6, 2011

One step up for Gabe...

I love this picture.

Shihan Scott worked them hard that night!

Just after receiving his yellow belt.

Little H is 2 years old, and tested that night as well.   

Excitement.  A sense of accomplishment.






Gabe has been taking Shudokan karate for a couple of months now.  
Just under two weeks ago, he had his first test.  

He was sooo very excited after he got his yellow belt, and afterward to celebrate, 
we went out for Asian food (I think we'll start a tradition with this one). 

Dumplings.  He wanted extra dumplings.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Quote for the day...

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion."
- the fourteenth Dali Lama

Sunday, May 1, 2011

What is it?




Mom considers it a masterpiece! 
He made it at school, in pottery class.  

Title:  The Flower
Artist:  Jean Gabriel

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...