Pix from our trip to ANC

Just some pix I took during our trip to Anchorage for the ultrasound. We ended up taking the F/V Farwest Leader over to Dutch Harbor in about 8-10ft seas.... I can say I was good the first hour, then threw up into the garbage bag they provided for about 3 hours, then I was good the last hour or so.... I did get a 30min nap though, which felt good! We ended up staying a night in Dutch Harbor at the Grand Aleutian - joining CB for Sunday brunch the next morning before heading to the airport for our flight to Anchorage. Just because we took a boat, there ended up being 4 flights back and forth between Dutch and Akutan, and 3 more the day we flew to Anchorage! Glad we stayed the night and enjoyed Sunday brunch anyway, even though I had to endure the 5.5 hr boat ride over! We were in Anchorage for about 41 hours to get my ultrasound and all my tests done before we were getting back on a flight to Dutch Harbor and we actually made it home all in one day (of course we got put on the LAST flight and didn't get home until 6:30PM!!!). I seriously don't know why they bumped us from the flight and sent over Trident employees when we were scheduled on that flight!!! And the flight we came home on was one they had to "think" about for a bit before deciding to go...... I was not a happy camper - just sitting there in the airport from noon until 6PM trying to keep ourselves occupied while we waited for Pen-Air to tell us we can board the Goose and head home! Then in the rush of trying to get home, I left my braided money tree on the Pen-Air counter!! Luckily there was one plane that came in the next day and the pilot brought it over for me!! (Thanks Steve!!). Quick trip and we weren't able to get as much done as we wanted to but this wasn't a pleasure trip, we have our vacation rolling in around the corner here soon!! I figured we can just wait! :) Here are a couple pix anyways :)

PIX:

F/V Farwest Leader

An old bumper sticker from the Akutan Roadhouse
(Note phone number is now 698-2219)

The beautiful Grumman Goose!

The Saab 340's in Dutch Harbor, Mt. Ballyhoo in the background.

We flew on the "Spirit of Sand Point"

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Happy Veteran's Day to all those who have served
or currently serve our great country!!!
Everything you do for our freedom is greatly appreciated!

Now how did it already become the 11th of November?!?!?! This year is just blowing right by us like the winter storms that blow thru! So far we've been having our usual week long storms that pack lots of wind with them and depending on from what direction the wind is coming from, the wind controls our temperatures. Northerly winds always bring the cold weather and snow while Southerly winds bring warm temps and usually lots and lots of rain! Just last night it got up to 54F but woke up to 35F since the wind changed direction from Southerly to Northerly overnight. But after about 4-9 days of windy stormy weather we'll get 1-2 days of clear weather before the next storm hits us. Usual weather for us this time of the year! We still haven't had snow that's stuck for a day or two... barely gets cold enough for any of it to stay... The temps have been averaging right around 34-35F the last week or so, leaving it cold enough to frost the tops of the mountains, but leaving us to deal with slush here at sea level! No worry though, winter is definitely making it's appearance!! Especially in these back to back week long storms that don't seem end - it'll be like this until next March or April!!

Well my baby likes to kick good once in a while, feels like a big twitch in my tummy that makes me giggle to myself... LOL. The morning sickness has finally all but disappeared being replaced by heartburn... just have to watch what I eat... I can eat spicy food without suffering, so I'm happy about that! :D It's simple things like cream of wheat and oatmeal or toast that give me heartburn bad! I am officially in week 20 day 4 of my pregnancy!!! I can't believe I'm already half way thru!!!

King Crab season has come and gone... I wasn't able to get any great pix because of numerous excuses I can come up with.... :P We have already devoured a 20lb box @ 186.00 a box! Thinking about getting another box from Trident before they run out and I'll have to order it from Dutch Harbor!! I love hot right out of the shell dipped in hot butter!! My hubby prefers it hot from the shell by its self, he says "why mess with something that already tastes great?" He's not a fan eating his King Crab any other way but the way nature prepared it for us! I can't help but soak it in butter!! :D I love that I am fortunate enough to live somewhere that it's processed and I can get it as fresh as we do!!

I have to get a hold of our credit card company and let them know that the printer down at the store stopped working. I tried everything I could but wasn't able to get it to print - the lights would just blink at me and there is nothing in the manual that says anything about a blinking power light!!! So I was able to move the printer from the office machine to the store so that they can still process credit cards, debit cards and Quest cards (food stamps card) for our customers. I think the Corp office and Store are the only places open on the island today... Hopefully our credit card company can get us a replacement in the mail ASAP so I can get the office CC printer back in the office so I can process credit cards for payment on store charge accounts and payment for the hotel!

So far I can say I've been craving sweet stuff... which with my sweet tooth isn't a good thing, but I've been trying to watch what I eat.... I've been wanting powdered doughnuts.... I asked my younger sis to send me some... so hopefully if she does I hope it gets here quickly but I doubt it with the way the weather has been acting lately...... but you never know! :D

I still can't believe it's that time of the year and the holidays are just around the corner! Turkey sounds so good... I wonder where we're having Thanksgiving dinner this year?? Usually try to go to my hubby's parents early in the afternoon and eat again later that evening at my parents! Lots of turkey and stuffing!! Yay... sounds so good!!! I can't wait!! I'll find something to whip up and bring to each dinner. Speaking of which, I'm going to bake up some pumpkin pies tonight!! I have to remember to get some whipped cream from down at the store to go along with it! Not sure what I'm going to make for dinner... been cooking big meals and trying to get enough healthy food for my growing baby to feed off of!! Been eating lots of fruit, mostly canned though so I'm trying to stick to the lite variety instead of heavy syrup. I still can't believe I'm half way done with my pregnancy already!! I swear with in no time my baby will be in our arms here soon with the way time is just going by!

Well I hope everyone is having a great November so far! Until sometime, TTFN! :)

Attention Alaskan Artists!!

Hello everyone in Alaska –

Rep. Edgmon was recently informed that the legislature would like to purchase Alaskan art for the new Thomas Stewart Legislative Office building in Juneau. The nearby building was purchased by the legislature and has been renovated, including the construction of an adjoining walkway between the two buildings. The access point is on the second floor of the Capitol and is located near the House Speaker’s office.

To properly commemorate the new addition to the Capitol building, the legislature would like to acquire art from all regions of the state for hanging in hallways, conference rooms, and committee rooms.

If any of you have recommendations on any artwork you think would be fitting for display in Juneau, please contact me with a picture of the artwork, the dimensions and the cost. Our office will be glad to send recommendations on to the Legislative Affairs Agency. Please respond either by email or by phone.

Adam Berg
Staff to Rep. Bryce Edgmon
800-898-4451
Adam Berg [mailto:Adam_Berg@legis.state.ak.us]

Happy Halloween!!! Saturday, Oct 31, 2009

Happy Halloween everyone!! Hope you had a great day and an even better night!!! Here are some pix I took :)
Both of my pumpkins :)
the small one is from the ferry
the bigger one we picked up in Dutch Harbor

Rawr!!! Me as a kitty :)

TRICK OR TREAT!!!

Mia and Bryce - Nathan was bending down getting more candy!

Karen and Sandra taking their cute babies trick or treating!
Jamara in the background

Sarah, Jamara, and Antony Mark

Raemie, Nikita, David and Shaylin


(right to left) Shannon, Margaret, and their sister

Our pumpkin - Friday, Oct 30, 2009

The Pumpkin I carved tonight!! My hand is cramping now but it looks great!!!

Baby girl!

We had our ultrasound on Monday the 26th of October and found out we're having a baby girl! She currently about 9oz and exactly about 18 weeks old (right on schedule with the dates I have!) We are naming her Veronika Raelene Tcheripanoff!!!! She was so cute laying on her tummy and hiding her face in the placenta! She was being stubborn like I thought and I had to roll around and try to get her to move so we can get a good shot of her! Yay I'm so excited! Now to pray for good weather so we can make it home all in one day!!!

PIX:

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Burrr.. what a thing to wake up to... 33F temps and slush on the boardwalks!! High up on the mountains we have our first actual coating of snow that might stay throughout the day! You can say I am definately not ready for winter yet.... :( I have to get my "yak-trax" out (shoe cleats) so I don't slip, I almost landed right on my behind walking off my porch this morning!!! Luckily I was close to the railing still and caught myself... Gotta try harder to be more carefull and be aware when I know it's slushy out!!

I'm mad at my camera (well not my camera but the memory card reader) its hasn't been cooperating with me or else I'd put up some pix of our newly frosted mountains!! I'll post pix later from home where my camera cord is!

We had an assortment of huge snow flakes that fall gracefully from the sky to the wet hail/sleet/rain mix that's blowing in the wind...

We're going to pack tonight and pray hard that the weather gives us a clearing so we can get up to Anchorage for our first ultrasound appointment. I'm so excited to be able to take a peek at my growing baby and to find out what sex the baby is!! Not to mention spend some family time with both my sisters (my older sis is driving up from Valdez with my 2 cute neices) and all 3 of my neices!! Also I'm super excited to be able to see my Krusnadad (Godfather) since he's planning on being in Anchorage during the same time we'll be up there!!! I haven't seen him since I was like 8 or 9 years old!!! I'm just hoping and praying that we're able to get out of here to make all our scheduled arrangements.... I hate rescheduling........ so hopefully things go the way they are supposed to and we make it up to Anchorage and back as planned!

OMG, so my Aunty Jen made these awesome ginger snap cookies!! There were to die for and tasted so good!! Both baby and I enojyed them!!! :D Thanks Aunty Jen! Much love!!!

OK well I just wanted to let everyone know that today is our official first day of snow!!!!

Cross your fingers for us to make it out to our Ultrasound appointment!! Thanks lots!! See you soon CB!!

Until sometime, TTFN

Monday, October 19, 2009

Well the Fall weather is slowly trying to turn to Winter weather... woke up one morning to the hills having a good amount of frost on them!!! The island is looking its usual dead brown color that will stay until next year when it starts to green back up. Hoping this year we get lots of snow, but from the looks of the last 5 years I highly doubt that.... Temps are getting down to about low to mid 30's at night here at my house and about low 40's during the day time.

My pups are all doing great! Cali is getting along great with the boys and learning lots! She can be a bit bossy at times, but what female isn't?!?!?! LMAO!!! (Laughing my a$$ off) I know I can get bossy at times :P I still think our lab is waiting for one of them to grow to his size!

We had our auditors come in to do our yearly audit at the Corp. Everything went smoothly and I got a lot of praises for all the work I put in getting everything ready for them! That made me really happy!

Still waiting for our new 42" TV that we won for the Akutan Holiday raffle... hopefully that comes in soon, that would be cool!! Can't wait to replace our 32" tube TV and get our new flat panel set up in our living room!!!

I heard that the cannery is already sending people home for the season until January when they start to ship them all back in. So most the outgoing flights are all booked up, I was lucky to get my hubby's ticket made so he can come with me to our first ultrasound!!! I'm hoping my baby lets us see if he's a boy or if she's a girl!!! I'm excited to be able to see both my sisters and all my neices too, since my older sis and her 2 girls will be in ANC when we get up there!! Hopefully the weather cooperates with me and lets us travel on our selected dates! Crossing my fingers and praying hard!!! I'm officially 17 weeks and 1 day pregnant as of today!! Can't believe I've known for 12 weeks already!! Time goes by so fast!! I'm still fitting in my regular clothes, I'm not really showing that much - just a small little belly so far... I'm still anxiously waiting to feel those first "kicks"...

Oh and you can tell winter is coming by how early it gets dark and how late the sun comes up in the AM. The sun sets around 7:45PM and it's dark by 8:15PM. It starts to get daylight around 9:45 AM and the sun comes up around 10:15AM. I believe we're losing around 5 mins of daylight a day.... definately adds up over a couple days!! I've still to see frost on the boardwalks... I get up early enough (7AM to walk my dogs)... I've heard some people say they've seen frost on the boardwalks, but I've yet to see it... I've seen it on the mountains a couple mornings. Especially on clear nights when it gets cold out!

King Crab season officially started the 15th of this month. I haven't been paying attention to what boats have been going in and out of the bay or whether or not the cannery has gotten any deliveries yet. I do know I heard the Northwestern has been in and out a couple times already. My uncle and brother are fishing for live cod bait for some of the boats and they did a delivery to the NW the other day.... I don't want to spoil the surprise but I got confirmation from my brother that the Jake for Jake switch is definately a GO this year!! Can't wait to see how that turns out on the new season of Deadliest Catch!!! I can't wait to taste some fresh Bering Sea King Crab dipped in some hot drawn butter!!! I'm hoping by Halloween they should be offering "home pack" size boxes for sale to the public!!! Wonder what the price will be this year....hmmm... good thing we always make a savings stash for that all important purchase!!! At first people were trying to tell me I couldn't eat it... but after some researching I found out it's fine in moderation!! So now I can't wait to get some of that sweet Bering Sea gold!!!

Ok well I'll make sure to share my ultrasound photos and share whether or not we were able to see what sex baby is once we find out! I'll try to make sure to get lots of photos of the kids on Halloween too and share those!! I know a couple of the kids have some cute costumes, can't wait to see what the rest have!! I'm going to be a kitty this year! Last year I was a Boarder Patrol Agent!!

Take care everyone, sorry I'm slacking on my blog.. I've been feeling guilty about not writing in it, but I haven't had the time... I guess I can make time to check in at least!!! Ok well until sometime, TTFN!!

PS. I started a poll on my blog... what do you think I'm having? A boy? A girl? or are you undecided? Please vote!!! :D As of today, a little more than a week before I peek and spoil the surprise!!!! I'm excited to see the results!!! :D

Sunset pix Sunday October 11, 2009

Sunrise pix, Sunday October 11, 2009

The Goose Landing, Oct 9, 2009

PIX

The following are photos I found online that I thought I would share with everyone. Since Mt. Cleveland is acting up once again. I thought I'd find some photos showing the location of Akutan, Dutch Harbor. And how far away Mt. Cleveland really is from our locations. Hope you like!


Showing how far away Mt. Cleveland is from our Volcano

Where Akutan is located in our big beautiful state of Alaska!!
We are about 40 air miles NE of Dutch Harbor - 750 miles SW of Anchorage

A close up of showing how close we are to Dutch Harbor/Unalaska.
The Goose will take off from Dutch Harbor heading straigt towards our island then they will either fly on the North or South sides of Akutan island and then circle around and come back into our harbor to land. Another route is (see where it lables Unalaska/Dutch Harbor - well if that was an arrow pointing to the right, the plane would go up that little harbor near our volcano then snake it's way up thru the mountain passes and pop up over the hills at the head of the bay and make it's decent into the harbor for landing!

Friday, October 2, 2009

Well it’s been a pretty long while since I last “checked” in… nothing too exciting has been happening around these parts. There was a small earthquake the other day that was about 60miles SSW of here – I heard a couple people felt it… I didn’t feel it in my office.

The weather has been getting chillier every day but we still haven’t gotten any frost on the boardwalks just yet… we usually get the first frost on the boardwalk in September… Still not stopping the winds from blowing and the storms coming one after the other giving us a day or two break in between a week or two of no flyable days… then when the plane does come in it’s usually packed full of mail… not many people coming to or from the island lately…

I have officially started month 4 of my pregnancy (week 14 day 6 to be exact). The morning sickness has waned off and is almost gone… but now I have to deal with heartburn and the feeling to need to pee all the time!! HA HA HA… guess I should have expected to be peeing more often! I’m still not really “showing” yet and have only put on about 7lbs total so far!! But if you look at the pix of me from week 7 and compare them to now (week 14) you can see a slight difference… lol!!

I can’t believe that my second niece, the one I call Cupcake, is going to be a year old in 2 more days!! Wow, a year goes by way too fast if you ask me and there is no way to really slow it all down so we can enjoy it before it’s gone… My oldest niece is doing great, got over the H1N1 flu – kicking that flu’s butt back to where it came from!! Strong lil 2 year old!! Happy that she was able to come thru as a fighter!!! She’s now taking dance classes!! Such big girls!!!

Speaking of baby girls… I forgot to let everyone know that I had a new bundle of joy join our family, a lil baby girl Chihuahua that we named “Dreaming of California Sunshine” or Cali for short or Boots for her nickname (Roscoe already has Socks taken!)! I got her from a breeder down in Texas and had her shipped up to us on the 18th of September. She stayed overnight in Anchorage with her new Aunty Ivy before catching the Saab flight down to Dutch Harbor and making it to me on the only Goose flight we had that day (the 19th). She’s been a great addition to the family, getting along great with the boys!! A little jealousy from Dante, but we make sure to give him lots of love and attention still so he doesn’t feel “left out”. She’s was born on June 11, 2009 – and she’s such a little sweetheart!! I can’t wait for her 3-4th heat to get a litter out of her (another year or so before that happens)… I already have people proposing to buy one of the puppies once they are born!! LOL!!! I’ll have to see about that when the time comes… I love having her in the house though and she’s so smart and learning so quick, especially when she’s watching the boy’s and just copying them!!! She just learned how to get up the stairs we built for the dogs to get up on our bed… now if she’d just grow some “balls” and go back down!!! In time she’ll be jumping up and down on her own without using stairs!!

I still can’t believe that it’s already October and that Fall has its grip on us and that winter is just around the corner already… some parts of the state have already experienced snow!!! I’m not ready for winter yet… not ready for the cold wet sleet that seems to dominate it here in the winter time. We rarely get any snow any more in the last 10 years and it’s been over 15 years since we had a nice dump on us… I don’t think I’ll ever see those days again where we have to dig down into the snow to find the boardwalk and have a good 7-10 feet tall walls of snow on both sides of you!! The last couple years it’s has just rained most of the time, letting us get a couple cold days where the snow would stick… but it not the nice powdery stuff that you can play in!! It’s always icy or it looks like snow but it’s really heavy wet filled sleet/snow!!

Let me see now… nothing too exciting has gone on since my last post… other than the weather is getting colder and colder everyday and it seems like it’s getting darker way earlier and getting lighter way later… all signs of winter time… There is going to be a carnival fundraiser at the School for the school kids travel fund. I think they are finally going to do the raffle on the rest of the items too that they were supposed to do on Akutan Founder’s Day. They should be having a little bake sale too! I think it’s scheduled for 1:30PM at the school tomorrow. Hopefully they have a great turnout. I remember doing that when I was in school. We always had a Halloween carnival sometime in October!!

Ok well I hope everyone is doing great and enjoying the beginnings of fall!! I still think this year is going by way too fast!!!! Ok well take care, TTFN!!!

Pix:

My 3 babies - Cali 3 months, Dante 1yr 3 months, Roscoe 1 yr 10months

Cali and Dante sleeping on Roscoe..
you can just see Roscoe's feet sticking out from behind Dante!!

All 3 of them trying to sleep close to each other!
I love them so much!!!!! Aren't they just so cute!!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

How did it become the first day of Fall already? Where did summer go????

Nothing too interesting has been happening. We've been getting planes in and the weather has actually been pretty nice but I heard that a big storm is headed our way and should stick around for the next week or so....

Still dealing with darn "morning sickness" and I'm eating lots and still losing weight!! I don't get it.... I'm not showing yet, but patiently waiting to get my bump!

The pups have been doing great. The little guys welcomed home their new "wife" on Saturday! Dreaming of California Sunshine (Cali) is now a part of my family! She's such a cute black and white chi and she get's along great with my other pups!! So in about a year or so we should be having puppies, and they will come with AKC registration papers too!!! I want to wait for her 3rd heat to breed her, I want to take her to the vet and make sure she's breeding material first before I even think of letting her get knocked up! She's so sweet and loving!! So I guess you can say I become an owner/breeder of chihuahua's!! I only plan on breeding her maybe twice, but for sure once. I just want to be able to have a baby off one of my baby boy's!! I love chi's!!

Let me see... anthing else to write about... hmmmm..... The Geothermal project wrapped up and they emptied out of our hotel. The state ferry the Tustemena should be here in the early AM to do the Dutch run and come back later tomorrow evening. I heard they are maybe planning another trip next month (they usually bring pumpkins with them and hand them out! and they even have like "trick or treating" where the kids dress up and go get candy from the employees!).

Looking forward to the new episode of Hell's Kitchen. They didn't have it on last week because it was the season finale of More to Love. I can't believe Luke asked Tali to marry him... I so thought he was going to pick Malissa!!! Lately I've been watching A Baby Story on TLC in the AM's.... getting myself mentally prepared for the birthing process and trying to learn techniquest that I might be able to utilize when I'm in labor.... I know I'm far from that point right now, but never too early to be prepared!!

Oh I got the cutest Baptimal dress for my hubby's godchild. Joe and Frannie seemed really happy that I got it for her!! It's a keepsake dress and looks so beautiful!! Worth every penny I paid for it!! Plus to see the joy in their faces when I gave it to them was all I wanted back from them!!!!! Luvs to O.Misty.B!!

OK well next time I get on I hope there will be more to talk about! Until I post again in the future, TTFN!!!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Well the 11th was not only my Mother's birthday it was also Patriot Day. I was flying my flag all day!

The 12th was Akutan Founders Day where our 2nd Class city celebrated its 131st birthday! The games and raffle were postponed due to no prizes yet. So the potluck was scheduled for 5PM at the Tribal office and I think at 7PM they had a beer "shotgunning" contest. The food was pretty good, a nice selection.

The 13, 14, and 15 the weather has been pretty nice in the AM's letting the first flights make it in, then we'll get a little rain squall go thru have it clear up before the afternoon flight makes its way in after 5PM. The office has been pretty quiet, we're out of cash once again - so all I've been doing is answering the phone and getting paperwork into the computer. The VMA (Video Music Awards) was pretty good... Lady Ga Ga is a trip though... where does she come up with her outfits??? And what Kanye did to Taylor Swift was just wrong!!

I heard that on most of the planes that came in, there was nothing but mail on most of the flights. So they will be super busy down at the Post Office sorting thru it all. Hopefully my shoes and Sephora order comes in! I love getting shoes and makeup!! 2 of a girls favorite things!

I've caught this really bad cold, waiting for our PA to come in (We had a helicopter medivac come in and Clark had to go with them, Clark is Darryl's replacement). So I have to wait for Clark to get back from Cold Bay so I can go in and see if there is anything I can take. I think I'm getting a sinus infection and I'm coughing up this really nasty yellow/green crap from my lungs. Sleeping at night is almost impossible... sneezing, runny nose, coughing, my nose will get stuffed and give me the worse sinus pressure and headache. So far all I'm taking is Tylenol and drinking lots of water. I hate being sick :(

16th - Well the weather is getting chilly in the AM's. Waking up to low 40's but I see it's already getting down to the high 30's at night but it will get up to the mid to high 50's thru out the day. It been pretty nice the last couple days, slight breezes and an occasional rain squall.... but when it rains here it pours! Big rain drops like someone has a hose and are just hosing you down!

The office has been quiet almost all day due to us having no cash... even the store seems to be quiet... maybe it's this rainy weather?? I caught word that the state ferry Tustemena broke down in Seldovia, AK and needs to go to Seward for repairs... so there goes the ferry coming in this weekend....

So far I haven't had any cravings for any weird combinations, though I'm waiting to see if I do! I was disappointed that Hell's Kitchen didn't come on last night... I guess the finale of More to Love was more important :P I've been eating pretty good lately and my hubby is actually attacking the kitchen by himself and making me meals!! For once!!! Do you know how hard it was over all these years to get him to actually set foot in the kitchen and have him cook something up?!?!? I'm so happy to finally see him in there cooking up meals for me now... I knew he knew how to do it but just wasn't confidant enough in his cooking skills. But he told me that with becoming a dad he knows he's going to have to take on some of my responsibilities... so he's starting by learning how to utilize the kitchen!! Makes me proud of him and happy that I can just sit back and be served up great home cooked food!!

Well, sorry I haven't been updating my blog... just seem like I don't have time to do anything and when I get home I just want to nap and relax before eating dinner watching the news or a movie and then watching The Tonight show with Conan O'Brian before passing out for the night... I can't believe I'm already going to be 13 weeks pregnant this Sunday!! I'm on week 12 day 4 right now! I'm wishing hard that there are 2 in there.... sometimes I think I feel 2.... but it might just be me trying to want to feel 2!! We'll know hopefully when we go to Anchorage for an ultrasound. So far I'm still in my pre-pregnancy clothes - actually I feel like I look almost a little better now than I did when we first conceived! I can't wait to actually start showing and looking pregnant and to feel those first "kicks"!! I have a couple months for both those to happen though... but I shouldn't worry it's going to happen!! :D So far for working out I'm just walking a lot and riding my bicycle... I know I need to start back up on my yoga routines - I miss working out at the intensity that I did before... but with being so tired all the time it's hard to schedule a workout time... easy to ride my bike from home to work and back! I love feeling the "burn" in my legs... letting me know I'm getting a good workout on those muscles!

Well all my pups have been doing great! I got their Petco order in, a bunch of new toys to spoil my babies with. Most of their other one's were damaged beyond repair. I like to rotate their toys so they are always interested in them! They are so cute when they see something new or something they haven't seen in a couple months!!

The next nice dry day we have to get out and get our lawn mowed once again... if we keep it cut and in great condition then it will stay short and green all winter under the snow! And we won't have to worry about it over growing before we can get back out to cut it after the snow melts! I'm still thinking about getting chickens... I only want like 10-15 of them behind the house to produce fresh eggs for us to consume! I had chickens when I was growing up and loved having them! This one time, I laugh at Darryl Peterson when he tells me that I already have a zoo with my 3 dogs, 3 birds and 6 fish when I was telling him that my hubby wanted to get a cat... then he even joked about me wanting one of the horses that the Cattle Company got in, and I was like "A horse would be cool, but I know nothing about them." He just laughed at me! So I love animals, nothing wrong with that. When I was a little girl I wanted to grow up to be a vet. But then I couldn't (and still can't) stand hypodermic needles... I think my fear of needles come from the fact that my dad had kidney failure and when I was like 4-6 I was having kidney problems and I was shipped up to Anchorage where I was poked and prodded so many times that they would have to restrain me with as many people as they could just to draw my blood. I would throw fits and fight and do anything I could to keep that needle from coming near me. Ask my mom! So today I still have that unnerving fear of needles. I get faint and light headed and want to throw up anytime I get my blood drawn or when I have to get a shot of any kind. Just a fear that was imprinted in my brain since childhood that I can't shake.

The Geothermal project is wrapping up. We had 3 local guys from town working with the 9+ people that came in from whatever company the City has working on the project. Last night was also the last night for the live music at the Roadhouse (local watering hole). Tomorrow our hotel should clear out and we'll be ready for the next people checking in.

I'm trying to think if there is anything else going on to blog about....other than I'm sad to see summer coming to an end and Fall bursting in with all it's color spectrum of browns, golden yellows and reddish tones taking over the lush greenness of summer. The salmon berry bushes have already shed half their leaves and most the berries have fallen off the plant in the recent storms. The blueberries are fully ripen if you can find them, they didn't seem to produce that great this year compared to last year. And moss berries are big and juicy ready to be picked. My mom told me she got a couple cups of fresh wild cranberries the other day! Still waiting for the morning when I wake up and find fresh frost on the boardwalks.... any day here soon... we always get our first freeze in September! It's getting cold enough to see your breath in the AM!

Ok well I'll try to get on here more and update... need to start getting back into my pre-pregnancy routine of blogging and working out!! Until sometime, TTFN!

Thursday, Sept 10, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SISTER SHANNON!
LOVE YOU LOTS!!

Wow it's been a while since I've last updated my blog.
Nothing new has really been happening - been having some windy stormy days so we haven't been getting any planes in....

The Corp Annual meeting went great on the 5th. Lydia and Charlie were both voted onto the board. At the potluck afterward there was a lot of great food!!!

This morning we went in and got to finally hear baby's heartbeat! I was anxious, we were supposed to go in last week but I felt it would be better to wait another week so we can be sure to hear it - So hopefully this time!! After taking my vitals, I laid down and had the cold ultrasound jelly stuff applied while Darryl got the doppler ready. After moving it around, it was obvious that was baby's heartbeat! My heart don't beat that fast!! Darryl laughed at me when I asked him "Only one??" I was hoping for twins, but one is always great too!! I almost cried but couldn't stop smiling and feeling so happy! My hubby was so happy looking! Once blogger lets me, I'll get the video posted!

It's been blowing pretty good out the last couple days. Northerly winds packing some really cold wintery air with it. I actually had hail hitting my bedroom window yesterday!! The temps are in the low 40's and with the wind chill the temps pretty nippy in the mid-high 20's... Definately helping the island turn brown faster... :( Summer just seemed to blow by once again... I don't think I'm going to have time to get any fish (humpies) put away for winter... which sucks badly for my hubby and me.... looks like we'll be bumming around :

Tonight I'm going to make a moss berry pie. I love moss berrie pie!! Moss berries are these little black berries that grow in the tundra - It goes by a couple different names but it depends on what part of the state your in. I've heard them be called "black berries" and "crow berries". I've grown up calling them moss berries. They are great for use in jam/jelly making and for pies... They are kind of seedy and don't have much sweetness, but you have to try the pie - I love it!! I use recepies that have been passed down to me from my mom and her krusna mom, nothing gets better than having it the way I had it while I was growing up!!! I need to find time to get up on the hill and pick more berries before it's too late.

Akutan Founder's Day is this Saturday, Sept 12! There are a lot of activities planned for the day, lots of games, a potluck, there are items being raffles off (all proceeds go to our church), and there will be a "band" here playing at the bar! I know there are some other things going on but I'm not too sure - I'd have to check the bulletin boards... LOL! Hopefully the weather is nice... I heard there is another big storm on it's way scheduled to hit on Sunday.... so we'll see.... Already seems like winter with our back to back storms with the 1-2 day break where we might be able to get a flight in!!

Cupcakes!

So CB posted this delish looking chocolate cake with this mouth watering super sweet icing which made me crave a piece, bad! After leaving a comment, CB kindly called me up asking if I wanted him to send some cupcakes over for me. I got all excited and was like "would you really?!?!" I was so happy and excited. He dropped them off at the airport, just a couple seconds late to make the first flight over (yesterday).... then the second flight cancelled due to fog and wind....

Woke up to a beautiful morning, for sure the plane will be in today and hopefully carrying my precious cargo (cupcakes!). At lunch hour, the plane was arriving so I ran down to see if I was getting anything... after watching them clear out some of the mail out of the plane the pilot looked at me and smiled and said here you go! YAY... I opened it up right there and ate a chocolate cupcake! I took pix of it with the plane first before devouring it frosting first!! BABY AND I THANK YOU ALOT CB!!! Definately hit the spot!! On my way home to have lunch I dug out another chocolate cupcake and savored it on the ride home!!! So yummy!!! I'll break into the rest of them after work!!! =D

Pic of one of the delish chocolate on chocolate cupcakes
that traveled in the Goose to be enjoyed by yours truely!!

It was soooo good too!!!! Thanks CB!!!!! Much luv!

Friday, September 4, 2009

Woke up to a super beautiful day today! The sun is out, the sky is blue and there is a slight breeze in the harbor, but looking toward the pass (East) is super dark low laying fog. The dogs love the sun, laying down in it looking like they are smiling then getting all excited when I tell them "lets go outside and go for a walk." They are so cute how they come barreling out of the house, run behind the house barking looking for the kitty they always see out the window! So funny!!!

Hoping hard the plane comes in today, looks promising!! CB made that cake look so good on his blog on Wednesday, that on Thursday he kindly took cupcakes to the airport to send over to me. He didn’t make it in time for the first flight, which was already taking off the landing strip heading here to Akutan. So Jessica (the Pen-Air agent in Dutch) said that she’d get them on the second flight, which cancelled because it got foggy and windy in the afternoon yesterday. So with the beautiful weather this morning, I’m super excited that my cupcakes should make it over today!! YAY!!! I know I could have made my own… but that sweet frosting found on store bought cakes was what I was craving… I can’t seem to make it like they do….

Work was pretty slow and boring this morning, nothing really going on at the office. We got our paper order in yesterday and I’m waiting for our register paper rolls to come in – we have like 3 rolls left I think…. We had a couple people checking out because the plane was on the way, I was all happy about my cupcakes coming in!! I ran down to the plane when it came in (which was right at lunch hour) and got my cupcakes from the pilot (once they got a good amount of mail off the plane and out of the way!). I went home and had grilled cheese for lunch.

Wow it’s so beautiful outside, my thermometer is ready 60F in the shade!! Such a beautiful day and I’m stuck inside until 5….. This afternoon was super busy with lots of people out enjoying the weather – cashing their checks and giving the café a lot of customers! There was nothing but one person and all mail on the plane this morning, so Kay and Polly will be super busy sorting all the mail that came in. I had people check out of the hotel and the geothermal people happily checked in so they can get some good rest on beds instead of camping it out in tents!

Oh and the office will be closed on Monday in observance of Labor Day. The Akutan Corp Annual meeting will be held tomorrow at 1PM with a potluck following (I’m making some awesome potato salad!).

The second flight today should have no problems coming in. There isn't a breeze even whispering outside, making the sun feel super warm on your skin!!! Feels really good!!! Wonder what I should make for dinner tonight... bbq sounds good on a nice day like this... I want to make a moss berrie pie again tonight - so yummy!!!

Today was a great day, the cupcakes made it even better then to add sunshine and blue skies! I couldn’t be happier!! I hope everyone has a great Friday and an awesome 3 day weekend! Hopefully get out and take a bunch of pix after work and get them posted sometime to share with everyone!! Again, thanks CB for the cupcakes!! You made my day!! Until sometime, TTFN!!!

mycharity:water - help me raise $5000 in the next 3 months

I need everyone's help, please pass the word on. Lets do something good for others. I love how it makes me feel knowing that I'm putting my hard earned cash towards a good cause helping others instead of being selfish and just spending it on myself on something that I probably didn't need to get. These people NEED fresh clean drinking water... lets do all we can to make that possible!!!

Here is a little discription of mycharity:water -

WHY WATER?
Right now, 1.1 billion people on the planet don't have access to clean and safe drinking water. That's one in six of us.

WHO IS MYCHARITY:WATER?
mycharity: water is a non profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. We give 100% of the money raised to direct project costs, funding sustainable clean water solutions in areas of greatest need. Just $20 can give one person in a developing nation clean water for 20 years!!

Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all sickness and disease, and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Many people in the developing world, usually women and children, walk more than three hours every day to fetch water that is likely to make them sick. Those hours are crucial, preventing many from working or attending school. Additionally, collecting water puts them at greater risk of sexual harassment and assault. Children are especially vulnerable to the consequences of unsafe water. Of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and a lack of basic sanitation, 90% are children under 5 years old.

Our planet is 70% water.97.5% of that is saltwater. This means only 2.5% is available for the 6 billion people on the planet today.We get our water from the 30% of freshwater that exists in underground lakes and aquifers - mainly by digging wells. Many communities in developing nations often have a plentiful supply of clean water just below the ground, but no way to get to it. Here's where we, and our partner organizations come in.

HOW CHARITY:WATER WORKS
Drilling a well can cost from $4,000 - $ 12,000 and many living on less than $1 a day can not afford one in their community, even if the money is combined. With the help of exemplary organizations on the ground, we can drill wells and provide people with this basic, essential need. charity: water partners with local organizations in each country where we work, choosing the partners based on expertise and the ability to impact real, sustainable change in the communities they benefit.

BUILDING WELLS
The local community is engaged in the well building process, carrying out small tasks for free to reduce labor costs. This also encourages community participation and ensures community ownership after the project is complete. When the well is built, a water committee is formed. It generally consists of 6-8 people, half of them female. In the case of hospitals, the committee will generally consist of nurses and hospital staff. In schools, the committee would likely be comprised of teachers. Since charity: was founded and began activity in August 2006, we have funded the construction of more than 1,247 wells that, when completed, will provide clean drinking water to 650,000 people. We're just getting started!!!

YOU CAN HELP

$20 can give a person in Africa clean, safe drinking water for 20 years. 100% goes to direct project costs!!!

In three months STARTING TODAY SEPT 2, 2009, I'm going to walk around trying to get people to donate and help me with this cause.

That's miles of sweating, pushing, giving everything I've got.

Sounds rough, right? Well imagine doing all of that without clean water.

Every week, millions of women and their children walk more than 14 miles just to get water for their families. Most of this water is contaminated, but it's the only water they have. They take the chance of catching diseases like bilharzia and schistosomiasis (parasites) - with every sip. There's nothing they can do to change it.

So, what can I do?

My mission is to raise $5000 for water. I want every step to matter. I'm asking flat out donations to help achieve my goal.

Because of charity: water's unique model, 100% of all donations go directly to water projects, and each donation is "proved" when projects are complete. I aim to raise $5000 in the next three months.

I hope you'll join me in helping them now.

Here are the facts:
$20 means one person can get clean water for 20 years.
$250 means two families of six can get clean water.
$5,000 means clean water for a community of 250.

My goal is to raise $5000 to build a drinking water well in a village in Africa!!! Lets get together to do this and make this a reality. We all take for granted the fresh drinking water we all have running thru our houses - lets do what we can to help others be able to enjoy clean drinking water too!!!

Please go to mycharity:water web site (click here) and donate as much as you can, if I can get everyone to get their family and friends to donate too that would be greatly appreciated!!!! Just think about how much money you already spend on junk.... now let's do something good for others buy donating that money to a great cause!! Not to mention that all donations are TAX DEDUCTABLE!

Do good things and good things happen to you, Karma baby.....

Thank you everyone!!! Please pass along to everyone you know, I'd greatly appreciate it!! Let this be our Christmas goal, to give a village some water!! Please help me do this!!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Yesterday was a pretty nice day, we got about 4-5 flights in with nothing but people, mail and freight. I got our new TV in and couldn't wait to get off work and get it hooked up!! The berry people who were coming out cancelled and went back to Illionois... guess there were no hotel rooms in Dutch Harbor and no open flights for when they wanted to travel. So they are scratching that idea and just going to do a video conference sometime. Work was good, really busy but good. Always busy on the 1st of the month!

Today it's rainy, wet and windy - definately no planes today... work is pretty slow, not many people attempting to be out in this weather. I whipped out some stuffed bell peppers for lunch, they were so delish!! I shared the extra one I had with my mom, I brought it down to her still warm!

Well nothing much going on, nothing exciting anyways.... I joined a new charity - I didn't know what to call my campaign so I called it Walking for Water. I have a goal of $5000 that I want to reach in the next 3 months. $5000 is enough to give water to a community of about 250 people or about 50 families!! Please donate to this great cause and help me help give clean drinking water to people who need it. Clean drinking water is something most of us take for granted - especially here in the Aleutians where we have plenty of crisp clean streams to tap into.

Here are the facts:
$20 means one person can get clean water for 20 years.
$250 means two families of six can get clean water.
$5,000 means clean water for a community of 250.
I have already started by donating $20!

Here is a copy of what's on my page, my motivational "speech" to get people to help me:

In three months, I'm going to walk around trying to get people to help me with this cause.
That's miles of sweating, pushing, giving everything I've got.
Sounds rough, right? Well imagine doing all of that without clean water.
Every week, millions of women and their children walk more than 14 miles just to get water for their families. Most of this water is contaminated, but it's the only water they have. They take the chance of catching diseases like bilharzia and schistosomiasis (parasites) - with every sip. There's nothing they can do to change it.
So, what can I do?
My mission is to raise $5000 for water. I want every step to matter. I'm asking for pledges per foot, per mile or flat out donations to help achieve my goal.
Because of charity: water's unique model, 100% of all donations go directly to water projects, and each donation is "proved" when projects are complete. I aim to raise $5000 in the next three months.
I hope you'll join me in helping them now.

:)

Well I hope everyone is having a great September so far.... and Happy Wednesday Day everyone!!!

Until sometime, TTFN!!

Monday, August 31, 2009

Wow how did it become end of August already? This year seems like it's just blowing by!!!

This weekend was pretty relaxing, I did little to nothing but sit around the house and watch TV! The weather wasn't the best to be trying to get out to do anything, getting cold and windy out... I actually saw my breath this morning!!

On Sunday we actually got a couple flights in, been since Wednesday since we got a plane in!! I heard there was a bunch of mail... I'm hoping our new TV comes in soon, but they should deliver that to us since it's UPS and not USPS!

The office was pretty busy on Monday, I worked on finishing putting all the charge accounts in to Excel so that tomorrow I can just print out the statements for August billing. Didn't cash too many people's checks, mostly just town people who got their payroll checks in the AM.

We ended up getting a plane in the AM and had a couple people come in for the hotel, tomorrow we should have the rest of our reservations come in and we'll be full once again.... The 2nd flight didn't come in until 6:30PM. I heard that it was blowing over in Dutch and they weren't going to come in, then all the sudden I hear them fly over the house making their landing!! It was beautiful here all day yesterday!!

So we have a Geothermal crew here working with the City... they have a crew of people camping at the head of the bay - one of the easiest ways to get to Hot Springs Bay is to just hike up the valley and down the steep hill, I heard the hike back sucks!! We also have some Army Corp of Engineers here doing surveys for our big boat harbor that's supposed to go a head of the bay too. And on another note, the Cattle Company is moving their 3 horses over to Akun today in the City's Search and Rescue skiff (it has like a landing craft front end and it's big enough to hold a horse!). Tomorrow we're supposed to have a bunch of people from the University of Illinois come in for the Berry Project that they are conducting (they are trying to find out how much we eat and of what kinds of berries and they want to find out the nutritional content of the berries). So we have a good amount of people in the village right now doing a bunch of different projects, always great to have people come and visit even if it's for work!

Well I'm sad that I didn't get ANY salmon put away for the winter except one 5 gallon bucket of salted salmon!! I really wanted to dry fish but we never made it to the head of the bay to get humpies and the reds just didn't show up that great this year... and if they did then no one wanted to share any with us even though I asked everyone who had nets out almost every day.... hopefully it's not too late but I think it is... I've haven't even went up the bay for a picnic this year... :( Actually we only went out in the skiff once this year..... that's really sad....

Ok well I hope everyone is enjoying the last couple weeks of summer, I have to get up on the hill and pick more berries... I've love to put away a 5 gallon bucket of moss berries again this year so I can make pies all winter for the potlucks and everything!!! I think it's funny the way I think, I want to put stuff away so I can share it... not just for ourselves!! I guess I was just raised right to share and not be greedy like most people can be!

Oh our Akutan Corp Annual Meeting was scheduled for Sept 5, 2009 @ 1PM. We have a teleconference number for any of our shareholders if they would like to listen in/participate in the meeting. Call the Corp office @ 907-698-2206 so I can confirm that you are a shareholder and provide you with the 888# and code. :) There will be a potluck following the meeting! Yay, I'm looking forward to eating lots of great food cooked up from all our great local cooks!! I love seeing what all people bring!! One time I shared a new recepie with everyone and brought Orange-coconut salmon! I think everyone thought they were cookies until someone was like, "whoa that's fish!" If I'm up to it I might just whip out 4-5 moss berries pies once again... can't just make one or two - have to make enough so that everyone can get a piece so no one "misses out"!

Ok well until sometime, TTFN everyone!!

Yay I'm officially in my 10th week of our pregnacy!!! Waiting for the "morning sickness" to wane a bit... but I highly doubt that will happen... we'll see!!