Happy Memorial Day!! Please remember to thank those who have served for our great country.
I can't believe how fast the days are going by. It doesn't feel like it's been since the 9th that I last wrote my last blog.
Well my hubby turned 27 on the 14th. The weather has been on the chilly side with a side of fog and rain. The island is slowly turning green. Yesterday 30 sea gull eggs were harvested from Akun Head! I got to make my first custard pie of the year and it turned out awesome!!
I'm slowly getting everything I ordered for my August wedding in the mail. I have to figure out what else I need to get. Patiently waiting for my invitations to get here so I can get them out. I ordered them around the beginning of the month and they still aren't here... wish we had more flyable days... The temps have been averaging in the the mid 40's lately, while the rest of the state is having a heat wave...
The state ferry Tustemena came on the 29th. We had a couple people head out for a couple weeks to visit family. I'm debating when to go to Dutch Harbor and hoard up some champagne for my wedding... I asked CB to price it for me so I know how much I want to spend on it... of course for me I'm getting sparkling apple cider since I'm breastfeeding. My in-laws are supposed to be hosting a bbq tonight with their neighbors, so I figured I'd make and bring some corn bread muffins to share. That's if the rain decides to go away. Been raining/misty for a couple days now.
I finally got my wedding invitations in today so that'll give me something to do. I have 125 cards to fold, envelope and address then get in the mail hopefully tomorrow!! Surprised the plane flew today, that's a good thing though. Bringing over all the mail and freight before all the fish processors start to flood the island!
Veronika has been growing like a beanstalk. She no longer fits newborn clothes and her 0-3 month clothes are getting a bit snug on her. So I'm moving her into her 3 month and 3-6 month clothes. I just ordered her some 3-6 and 6 month clothes, that was fun shopping for her online!! She officially out of her newborn diapers and into her #1 diapers! So sad to see them grow so quickly, almost wish they could stay small for longer but they have to grow up eventually!! She's such a great baby. She only cries for when shes wants to eat, if shes wet or when she's tired. She likes to fight her sleep, just like her cousin Aaliyah did (my younger sister Ivy's baby girl). She's cooing and saying ah-goo now, it's so cute. I love how she smiles back when she's smiled at and her cute little giggle when she finds things funny. She loves her swing that her Krusnamom (godmother) gave to her!! She does so great with me at work too, which I'm relieved about!! Both sets of grandparents spend lots of time with her, which makes me so happy!!
The pups have been taking to her greatly too. Cali and Roscoe take turns sleeping next to her when they can. Dante still gets a little jealous because he thinks he's the baby since he's the smallest, but he hasn't done anything aggressive towards her, thank god! I don't think he will be mean or anything to her, just tries to wiggle in and get some attention too. We make sure to spend lots of time with our pups as well as the baby so they know that we didn't forget about them!
Well I hope that our weather warms up more than it has and let us get some sunny days like the rest of the state!! The island is slowly turning green but it's still mostly brown. I'm happy that we were able to mow our lawn the other day for the first time this year! Its been about a week now and it looks like the next dry day we're going to have to trim it again! Happy that we get to borrow my parents lawn mower. Maybe we'll get our own someday :P
Well I hope everyone is doing great!! Until next time TTFN!
Monday, May 31
Sunday, May 9
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Happy Mother's Day to all you mom's out there! Hope you have just as great a day as I'm having!!
Woke up to that beautiful Aleutian summertime fog!! A really thick fog that makes it hard to see our neighbor's house! Then by noon the sun was burning thru it all showing us the beautiful blue skies above!! The temps were in the high 30's this AM warming up to about mid 40"s by mid-day. There was no wind and the water was flat calm, it looked like glass!! There have been a lot of krill coming into the bay and coating the beaches - making a feast for all the birds and some foxes, but also giving this strong fishy smell. Most of the snow is finally going away, only appearing in the gullies's and where it was the thickest. I love the sound of the tweety birds singing away and the sea gulls making all their sounds as they gorge on the krill, and once in a while the screech of the eagles and the caws from the ravens! I think spring has finally made it's way to this part of the world!
Well today is Mother's day, my first offical Mother's day as a momma!! The Safe Harbor Church threw a Mother's Day brunch @ 1pm. They had some ham, waffles, quiche and a big tray of cut up assorted fruit, along with some bagel and cream cheese. The kids raffled off the quilt they made, and they also gave Veronika a quilt! I almost cried when they came up and presented it to us!!!
My hubby is cooking steam bath once again today! My father-in-law and his friend Jason got the water hookup fixed so we have running water in the bath house once again! I guess when my in-laws had their weatherization job done on their house the hose got unhooked and wasn't hooked back up until the other day. So no more packing water! Yay! This time I made sure to pump milk yesterday (which is kind of harder than I thought it would be). I got 4oz ready for Roni if she get's hungry while we're in bath. Last time she cried not even 10 mins after we got in and had to wait for me to get out 20 mins later. So I'm making sure I'm prepared this time! I need to start pumping and storing milk (freezing it) for an emergency stash just incase I need it! She feeds good from her soothie bottles, since she's used to the soothie pacifier (the one the hospital gives out).
I want to wish my friend Simeon V. (1985-2001) a happy 25th birthday, RIP Sim - you will never be forgotten and you are missed dearly!! Wish you didn't have to go the way you did, I know we'd be having so much fun hanging out and everything! Watch over us from up above, much love to you!!
Until next time, TTFN!
Wednesday, May 5
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Happy Birthday to my Krusna (godfather), my Bro-in-Law Don J, and to my sister-in-law's b/f Brett!!
Well woke up on Saturday to 31F weather and fresh snow.. then Saturday it was sunny and in the 40's. Monday the weather was beautiful, looks like Spring/Summer is on it's way finally!! Yesterday was sunny and warm! My strawberries are starting to grow in my old bbq grill turned planter!! Today the weather is a bit cloudy but still in the 40F's!
The snow is finally starting to melt and the grass looks like it's growing and starting to turn green! My hubby is cooking steam bath, this will be my first time going since before I got pregnant!! I can't wait to feel the heat and scratch/scrub my skin!! Not going to take Roni until shes a bit older, to be honest I'm scared to take her in that kind of heat....
We made a couple Jello No Bake cheesecakes for his brothers big dinner that my in-laws are having!! I heard they are bringing out the BBQ grill and whipping out some awesome food!! I'm lost on what to get my hubby for his 27th bday on the 14th... hopefully I find something...
We made a couple Jello No Bake cheesecakes for his brothers big dinner that my in-laws are having!! I heard they are bringing out the BBQ grill and whipping out some awesome food!! I'm lost on what to get my hubby for his 27th bday on the 14th... hopefully I find something...
I go tot he Eye Dr today... go see if my prescription changed or not and check out their glasses and see if I like any of them... its about time I get a new pair! The ones I have now, the lens are all scratched up.. I've had them for like 5 years or so now... about time for a change!
Roni has a slight cold, which sucks! I got saline drops to put in her little nose. So I'll see if that helps her. She weighed in at 9lbs 4.8oz this morning. We both have our 6 week check up on the 10th on this month... I can't believe how fast time has gone by already!! Shes growing out of her newborn clothes already and moving into her 0-3 month clothes!! I try to make sure to take her picture every day, since I doubt she'll be wearing the same outfit more than once, with all the 0-3 month clothes we received for her!!! I'm trying to capture the moment and get my paparazzi on since I know they grow so fast!! I never want to forget how small she used to be!
The plane has been making back to back flights, I think all the incoming mail is caught up, and Trident is moving all their people in and out. I finally got all of Roni's diapers in plus all the dog and bird food we mailed down! Thank goodness because we needed all of that, the dogs were out of their food and the birds were completely out and we don't have cockatiel food at our store!! Not to mention there are no diapers in our store!! So I'm happy I got all that in!! Can tell its almost summer when the plane is flying until 8PM!!
My pups are all doing great! I think they love being home and not having to worry about putting a leash on to go outside!! They all seemed to have missed their big brother Tug (our lab)!!
In a week or two we should be getting our new furnace set up and have our house weatherized. So we'll see how that goes!.....
Ok well until next time TTFN.
PS if you notice spelling errors its because I'm typing with one hand and holding my baby feeding her with the other!! :) I love knowing that I'm giving her a great start on life by breast feeding her, not to mention cheaper for us!!
PS if you notice spelling errors its because I'm typing with one hand and holding my baby feeding her with the other!! :) I love knowing that I'm giving her a great start on life by breast feeding her, not to mention cheaper for us!!
Friday, April 30
Friday, April 30, 2010
Veronika's hand and foot prints @ 1 week old
Roni in her crib
Roni's room:
Still hard to believe we’ve already been home for a week (well tomorrow)!! So far I love being a new mom and I don’t know why people say be ready to get no sleep, I’ve been sleeping pretty good! Roni has been being a great lil girl and sleeping thru the night! I actually have to wake her for feedings or she’d sleep all night with us! I really love having her in our lives and I really love being her momma! Her daddy is just as excited, we both can’t believe how much she’s grown in the past month!!
The day we got home we got to opening all our mail and boxes that we sent home and started to put all the nursery furniture together, we didn’t finish putting everything together until around midnight (we started at 3PM when we got home). We were both happy with how everything looks in her room!! Now to just get her clothes washed up and hang it all in her closet! Lots of pink in her room – hopefully she likes it when she gets older, but for now she doesn’t seem to have a problem with it!
I’ve been bringing her to work with me all week so far, my mom has been loving all the time she gets to spend with her and my mother-in-law makes sure to come up and spend lots of time with her too! She can’t go far from me since I’m breastfeeding and no one else can feed her. I’ve been trying to pump and store milk, but she doesn’t want to take any milk from any bottles and I’ve tried at least 5 different brands of bottles on her! That’s ok with me though, as long as she takes a bottle later on when her teeth start to come in or I don’t know how I’m going to deal with her chewing me up! I’m hoping hard that a plane will come in and bring mail. I only packed a box of newborn diapers in my suitcase and mailed 4 boxes home… which still haven’t arrived since we only had one plane since the one that brought us home! So I’m hoping and praying hard that our weather lets up and lets the planes fly!
Labor and delivery went pretty smoothly, I’d say. I didn’t take any pain meds and delivered her naturally! I’m proud of myself for that! I went into labor around 4:30AM, at 5:30 I woke up my hubby, we went to the hospital at 10:45AM and was admitted into L&D around 1PM. I tried the whirlpool for about an hour but I couldn’t see how anyone can deal with the pain of contractions while trying to sit in a tub! I felt better sitting up out of the water. I didn’t really yell at all at my hubby but I did yell and cry about the pain I was feeling. Mostly saying “Oh my f-ing god, what was I thinking?” and “Holy s**t” and trying to convince myself that I can do this naturally and that it was my plan from the beginning not to get any pain meds! My sister Ivy and hubby were really great supporters reminding me that I can do it and I was doing a great job! I tried the whirlpool, the birthing ball and all the positions they were instructing me to try and be comfortable. Contractions are no fun, especially when they get stronger and closer together!!!
The nurses told me that I needed to empty my bladder and I screamed that I couldn’t get up and move… so with the help of my hubby and a nurse they took me to the bathroom, where I still felt like I couldn’t pee… I dropped to the ground, crawled to the door frame and started to yell that I needed to push! The Dr. came and checked me and told me she was right there and I needed to get on the delivery bed. Which my response was “I can’t stand up!” So with help once again I was lifted to the bed and was instructed to start pushing when I felt a contraction. Within less than 11 mins I got her out!! I was proud of how I took the pain and how quickly I got her out! I can admit that when I saw her head pop out I stopped pushing and yelled “OH MY GOD.. A HEAD!!” then had to be told to concentrate and keep pushing to deliver the rest of her! I started to laugh and kept pushing. I also let the Drs break my water for me instead of waiting for it to pop on its own. I’ve read that it helps labor progress faster, plus it let them know whether or not she used the bathroom inside, which she did. So pediatricians were there for her delivery to check her out and make sure she didn’t breathe any of it in, which luckily she did not! Since there was poop in the “bag of waters” my hubby wasn’t able to cut her cord since she was rushed to be checked by the Drs, but he was able to trim the cord once they were done evaluating her! Then she was finally handed over to me!
All in all I’d have to say the contractions were worse than pushing her out! I really want to thank my sister Ivy and my hubby for all the loving support they gave me!! I don’t know how I would have gotten thru the whole L&D without taking meds if it wasn’t for them reassuring me! We spent 48 hrs in the hospital before being discharged! I received lots of flowers and balloons while “recovering”. I’m kind of happy that I had a roommate because she gave me lots of great info that I never knew, but it also sucked because my hubby wasn’t able to stay the night with us. Roni was with me the whole time sleeping in the room with me, I was happy she got to stay with me at least! I really want to thank my sister for letting us stay with her and for her putting up with my 3 lil pups for the 2 months that we were in Anchorage!! I miss being around her and she misses us being around her, but we had to come back home, 2 months was long enough up there for us! We’re so happy to have made it home all in one day! :D
I still can’t believe it’s been 33 days since I was going into labor!! I still can’t believe how fast my pregnancy seemed to go by! At her 2 weeks checkup she was 7lb 14 oz and grew 1/4”. I tried to weigh myself then with me holding her and subtracted and came up with just over 12lbs. So I’m guessing that’s how heavy she is. Roni is just starting to grow out of her newborn clothes, but still fitting her newborn diapers. (Hopefully she gets her 4 boxes I sent down and burns thru those before moving to the next size…. Hopefully!). At one week old the rest of her umbilical cord stub fell off and I was able to give her a real bath and not just a sponge bath!! Flying home on the Saab to Dutch Harbor was her first plane ride, which she did really great – sleeping the whole way! And she did just as great on the goose flt to Akutan!!
Soon I have to get her baptized, I want to get her a cute keepsake dress but not sure how long it would take for that to get here… both her godparents (krusnas) are excited to have her home and can’t wait to get her baptized. We are of the Russian Orthodox faith, just to let everyone know.
Life with my new baby couldn’t be any better than we’ve experienced so far!! She makes the future seem that much more worth it and I hope I am able to give her everything she needs and more!!! Right now I’m just enjoying watching how her personality is and listening to all the cute girly sounds she makes, even her cries are cute (at least I think so right now!)! I couldn’t have asked for anything better! She makes my life light up and I love waking up to her beautiful face every day!!
I still can’t believe that there hasn’t been a plane since Sunday morning!!! And that winter is still holding its grip here!! Where is our spring/summer at this year???
Well until sometime, TTFN!!
The day we got home we got to opening all our mail and boxes that we sent home and started to put all the nursery furniture together, we didn’t finish putting everything together until around midnight (we started at 3PM when we got home). We were both happy with how everything looks in her room!! Now to just get her clothes washed up and hang it all in her closet! Lots of pink in her room – hopefully she likes it when she gets older, but for now she doesn’t seem to have a problem with it!
I’ve been bringing her to work with me all week so far, my mom has been loving all the time she gets to spend with her and my mother-in-law makes sure to come up and spend lots of time with her too! She can’t go far from me since I’m breastfeeding and no one else can feed her. I’ve been trying to pump and store milk, but she doesn’t want to take any milk from any bottles and I’ve tried at least 5 different brands of bottles on her! That’s ok with me though, as long as she takes a bottle later on when her teeth start to come in or I don’t know how I’m going to deal with her chewing me up! I’m hoping hard that a plane will come in and bring mail. I only packed a box of newborn diapers in my suitcase and mailed 4 boxes home… which still haven’t arrived since we only had one plane since the one that brought us home! So I’m hoping and praying hard that our weather lets up and lets the planes fly!
Labor and delivery went pretty smoothly, I’d say. I didn’t take any pain meds and delivered her naturally! I’m proud of myself for that! I went into labor around 4:30AM, at 5:30 I woke up my hubby, we went to the hospital at 10:45AM and was admitted into L&D around 1PM. I tried the whirlpool for about an hour but I couldn’t see how anyone can deal with the pain of contractions while trying to sit in a tub! I felt better sitting up out of the water. I didn’t really yell at all at my hubby but I did yell and cry about the pain I was feeling. Mostly saying “Oh my f-ing god, what was I thinking?” and “Holy s**t” and trying to convince myself that I can do this naturally and that it was my plan from the beginning not to get any pain meds! My sister Ivy and hubby were really great supporters reminding me that I can do it and I was doing a great job! I tried the whirlpool, the birthing ball and all the positions they were instructing me to try and be comfortable. Contractions are no fun, especially when they get stronger and closer together!!!
The nurses told me that I needed to empty my bladder and I screamed that I couldn’t get up and move… so with the help of my hubby and a nurse they took me to the bathroom, where I still felt like I couldn’t pee… I dropped to the ground, crawled to the door frame and started to yell that I needed to push! The Dr. came and checked me and told me she was right there and I needed to get on the delivery bed. Which my response was “I can’t stand up!” So with help once again I was lifted to the bed and was instructed to start pushing when I felt a contraction. Within less than 11 mins I got her out!! I was proud of how I took the pain and how quickly I got her out! I can admit that when I saw her head pop out I stopped pushing and yelled “OH MY GOD.. A HEAD!!” then had to be told to concentrate and keep pushing to deliver the rest of her! I started to laugh and kept pushing. I also let the Drs break my water for me instead of waiting for it to pop on its own. I’ve read that it helps labor progress faster, plus it let them know whether or not she used the bathroom inside, which she did. So pediatricians were there for her delivery to check her out and make sure she didn’t breathe any of it in, which luckily she did not! Since there was poop in the “bag of waters” my hubby wasn’t able to cut her cord since she was rushed to be checked by the Drs, but he was able to trim the cord once they were done evaluating her! Then she was finally handed over to me!
All in all I’d have to say the contractions were worse than pushing her out! I really want to thank my sister Ivy and my hubby for all the loving support they gave me!! I don’t know how I would have gotten thru the whole L&D without taking meds if it wasn’t for them reassuring me! We spent 48 hrs in the hospital before being discharged! I received lots of flowers and balloons while “recovering”. I’m kind of happy that I had a roommate because she gave me lots of great info that I never knew, but it also sucked because my hubby wasn’t able to stay the night with us. Roni was with me the whole time sleeping in the room with me, I was happy she got to stay with me at least! I really want to thank my sister for letting us stay with her and for her putting up with my 3 lil pups for the 2 months that we were in Anchorage!! I miss being around her and she misses us being around her, but we had to come back home, 2 months was long enough up there for us! We’re so happy to have made it home all in one day! :D
I still can’t believe it’s been 33 days since I was going into labor!! I still can’t believe how fast my pregnancy seemed to go by! At her 2 weeks checkup she was 7lb 14 oz and grew 1/4”. I tried to weigh myself then with me holding her and subtracted and came up with just over 12lbs. So I’m guessing that’s how heavy she is. Roni is just starting to grow out of her newborn clothes, but still fitting her newborn diapers. (Hopefully she gets her 4 boxes I sent down and burns thru those before moving to the next size…. Hopefully!). At one week old the rest of her umbilical cord stub fell off and I was able to give her a real bath and not just a sponge bath!! Flying home on the Saab to Dutch Harbor was her first plane ride, which she did really great – sleeping the whole way! And she did just as great on the goose flt to Akutan!!
Soon I have to get her baptized, I want to get her a cute keepsake dress but not sure how long it would take for that to get here… both her godparents (krusnas) are excited to have her home and can’t wait to get her baptized. We are of the Russian Orthodox faith, just to let everyone know.
Life with my new baby couldn’t be any better than we’ve experienced so far!! She makes the future seem that much more worth it and I hope I am able to give her everything she needs and more!!! Right now I’m just enjoying watching how her personality is and listening to all the cute girly sounds she makes, even her cries are cute (at least I think so right now!)! I couldn’t have asked for anything better! She makes my life light up and I love waking up to her beautiful face every day!!
I still can’t believe that there hasn’t been a plane since Sunday morning!!! And that winter is still holding its grip here!! Where is our spring/summer at this year???
Well until sometime, TTFN!!
Thursday, April 29
Thrusday - April 29, 2010
Getting a bath in the tub that my parents got her!
Roni and her cousin Yaya (Aaliyah)
Roni and Me at the APICDA
Community Conference dinner
Eating at Bennihana's for my 27th bday!
Our feet! :D
Hey everyone! So we finally made it back home, which feels really great! I'm so happy to be back home and back at work once again!! Veronika was welcomed by all her family and new friends with big open arms and lots of love! Her grandparents were happy to finally meet their new grandchild (my parents 4th and my in-law's first).
We are not happy about coming back to winter weather though... it's in the 50F+ in Anchorage and around freezing here in Akutan! But other than that it's been great to be home. We fixed up Roni's room, almost all her furniture has been put together and placed where we think we want it. I still can't believe she's already a month old!! All 4 of our dogs have been accepting her pretty well, which makes me super happy! We had the 3 little ones with us the whole time while Tug stayed with my parents, he's wondering what she is but I know he'll be a great companion to her when she gets older!
Tomorrow I will try to get a good size post done up with some pix of Roni's room! Take care everyone, until tomorrow TTFN!
Sunday, April 18
Veronika Raelene Tcheripanoff
Chillin in her car seat!
Daddy's first time holding her, only mins old!
Proud mommy and daddy in the delivery room!
Miss Veronika Raelene! <3
Miss Veronika Raelene Tcheripanoff was born on Sunday March 28th 2010 @ 8:44PM!!! After 16 hrs of labor (about 6 hrs of screaming labor) and 11 min of pushing... my lil baby girl made her arrival!!! She was 7lbs 10.8 oz and 20.5 inchs long!!! She looks just like her daddy!! :D
Today she's already 3 weeks old!! Time goes by way too fast!! I can't wait to get her home (we're still hanging out in Anchorage) and introduce her to her grandparents, who have been patiently waiting for us to get home!! I miss being at work, but I can say I don't miss all the snow they still have down there! Been pretty slack here in Anchorage... we usually just sit around and watch TV then go out and find something to eat.... I'm going to go into Taco Bell withdrawls when we go home but at least I loaded up on TB Fire sauce!!!
Hope everything has been going great with everyone out there in the world!!! Take care and until next time, TTFN :D
Friday, February 19
Friday, February 19, 2010
Wow has it already been 3 weeks since my last posting?!?! Time is just flying right by!!!
The last 3 weeks have been pretty much the same its been all winter - we get warm days with rain and fog the we get super cold temps and light snow then once in awhile we get a really beautiful day (like today!).
We have a fresh blanket of snow coating everything - so beautiful when the hills are frosted from the beaches to the tips of the mountains/hills!! The sky is this baby blue color and the sun is slowly rising over the horizon by 10AM. There isn't a breeze in the sky, the temps are holding at 32F and the water in the bay is so calm it's almost like glass... such a beautiful morning!!!!
I still can't believe how fast my pregnancy has blown right by... I'm already approaching week 35 this weekend. I have all our reservations to head to Anchorage soon to await Veronika's world debut. Her crib set is currently sitting in Dutch Harbor waiting for space on a flight on the Goose, so hopefully we get that soon so we can get it set up before we leave! I am currently packing up stuff I think I'm going to need and sending it all up to my sister so she can hang on to it all for me! Lots of thanks to my parents for getting me the breast pump I wanted and for the cute sets of clothes!!! Love you both lots and lots and lots!! Darn electric pumps aren't cheap and that was our next "big" purchase... but my parents took care of that for us!! Again thanks mom and dad!!
I have some pix of the nursery, I ordered these wall decals I found online - pink, white and chocolate circles and dots. We spent a couple hours taping them where we wanted them before actually making the commitment to peel the backing off and get them placed on the walls. It almost looks like we painted it!! I'm very happy with how it came out (I will be sure to post a pic of what it looks like). I don't know if I ever told anyone but we're going with the pink, white, chocolate, and black color theme for our baby girl!! I still can't believe I have about 5 weeks until my due date!! I still feel like I just found out at week 5!!!
Valentine's Day went great other than the fact that the Cafe didn't have my cupcake order... we went in on Friday was told come back tomorrow - went in on Saturday was told tomorrow once again... so we show up to pick them up on Valentine's day and they say they sold out!!! I was like WTF?!?! I put my order in for them..... so that kind of ticked me off when I was looking forward to them for like 3 days..... my hubby tried to cheer me up by picking up 4 roses and giving them to me - roses don't equal cake... at least he tried.... I got a couple cards from some of the girls here in town - I thought that was cute of them!
Not much else has been going on... pretty quiet and peaceful. Last week I was training the person who is going to temp for me in the office while I'm out on maternity leave. Hopefully everything goes smoothly while I'm out of the office, he seemed to be getting the paperwork down great and everything else is pretty easy to do - mostly answering the phones, cashing checks and putting money on the right accounts (store, hotel, rents).
Uggg my first iPod finally died... it's making these weird sounds when I plug it into the computer and it keeps saying I need to restore it. But when I go to iTunes to restore it I get an error that it can't be restored and I really don't want to pay $200.00 to send it in to get serviced when I can probably just buy a whole new one!! Really sucks... especially when we're traveling around the corner... iPods are a great way to make the 3 hour flight from Dutch to Anchorage pass by!! So we'll see what we'll do with that.... probably deal with it in a couple months when we get back home!
Well I think I'm going to go for my usual at the Cafe today for lunch. I swear Veronika's going to come out either hating or loving French dip because of how much I eat it!!! :P LOL!!! I think it's funny... I'm either gaining too much weight, not putting on enough weight or losing weight and the clinic is worried about my eating habits... I eat, and I eat lots... I don't know why my weight fluctuates so much.... as long as baby is growing great I'm happy!! :D
Ok well I hope all is going great with everyone out there. Rest in Peace to Capt. Phil Harris of the Cornelia Marie who recently passed away due to heart problems. You will be missed but never forgotten! Until sometime, TTFN!
The last 3 weeks have been pretty much the same its been all winter - we get warm days with rain and fog the we get super cold temps and light snow then once in awhile we get a really beautiful day (like today!).
We have a fresh blanket of snow coating everything - so beautiful when the hills are frosted from the beaches to the tips of the mountains/hills!! The sky is this baby blue color and the sun is slowly rising over the horizon by 10AM. There isn't a breeze in the sky, the temps are holding at 32F and the water in the bay is so calm it's almost like glass... such a beautiful morning!!!!
I still can't believe how fast my pregnancy has blown right by... I'm already approaching week 35 this weekend. I have all our reservations to head to Anchorage soon to await Veronika's world debut. Her crib set is currently sitting in Dutch Harbor waiting for space on a flight on the Goose, so hopefully we get that soon so we can get it set up before we leave! I am currently packing up stuff I think I'm going to need and sending it all up to my sister so she can hang on to it all for me! Lots of thanks to my parents for getting me the breast pump I wanted and for the cute sets of clothes!!! Love you both lots and lots and lots!! Darn electric pumps aren't cheap and that was our next "big" purchase... but my parents took care of that for us!! Again thanks mom and dad!!
I have some pix of the nursery, I ordered these wall decals I found online - pink, white and chocolate circles and dots. We spent a couple hours taping them where we wanted them before actually making the commitment to peel the backing off and get them placed on the walls. It almost looks like we painted it!! I'm very happy with how it came out (I will be sure to post a pic of what it looks like). I don't know if I ever told anyone but we're going with the pink, white, chocolate, and black color theme for our baby girl!! I still can't believe I have about 5 weeks until my due date!! I still feel like I just found out at week 5!!!
Valentine's Day went great other than the fact that the Cafe didn't have my cupcake order... we went in on Friday was told come back tomorrow - went in on Saturday was told tomorrow once again... so we show up to pick them up on Valentine's day and they say they sold out!!! I was like WTF?!?! I put my order in for them..... so that kind of ticked me off when I was looking forward to them for like 3 days..... my hubby tried to cheer me up by picking up 4 roses and giving them to me - roses don't equal cake... at least he tried.... I got a couple cards from some of the girls here in town - I thought that was cute of them!
Not much else has been going on... pretty quiet and peaceful. Last week I was training the person who is going to temp for me in the office while I'm out on maternity leave. Hopefully everything goes smoothly while I'm out of the office, he seemed to be getting the paperwork down great and everything else is pretty easy to do - mostly answering the phones, cashing checks and putting money on the right accounts (store, hotel, rents).
Uggg my first iPod finally died... it's making these weird sounds when I plug it into the computer and it keeps saying I need to restore it. But when I go to iTunes to restore it I get an error that it can't be restored and I really don't want to pay $200.00 to send it in to get serviced when I can probably just buy a whole new one!! Really sucks... especially when we're traveling around the corner... iPods are a great way to make the 3 hour flight from Dutch to Anchorage pass by!! So we'll see what we'll do with that.... probably deal with it in a couple months when we get back home!
Well I think I'm going to go for my usual at the Cafe today for lunch. I swear Veronika's going to come out either hating or loving French dip because of how much I eat it!!! :P LOL!!! I think it's funny... I'm either gaining too much weight, not putting on enough weight or losing weight and the clinic is worried about my eating habits... I eat, and I eat lots... I don't know why my weight fluctuates so much.... as long as baby is growing great I'm happy!! :D
Ok well I hope all is going great with everyone out there. Rest in Peace to Capt. Phil Harris of the Cornelia Marie who recently passed away due to heart problems. You will be missed but never forgotten! Until sometime, TTFN!
Friday, January 29
My Belly pix :)
Here are a couple of my pix I have documenting my growing little bundle of joy!!
Before I got preggo :)
7 weeks 2 days
14 weeks and 6 days
22 weeks 2 days
31 weeks 3 days
Thursday, January 29, 2010
Today is the first nice day in a while... nice enough for a plane to fly at least, all of the town people who were stuck over in Dutch Harbor made it home today. CB was nice enough to send me over grapes on the last plane we had (which was over a week ago), both baby and I appreciated it!! Red grapes has been one of the only things I've really been craving, mostly any kind of nice crunchy fruit. Apples are another fruit that I've munching on, I can pick up apples up at Trident.
I've taken new belly pix this past Tuesday, the 26th @ Week 31 day 3. which I will post at the end of this post! I still don't really have a big preggo belly unless I really push it out and try to make it look big, but then my little girl starts to kick and move around! I had a prenatal check-up yesterday, I am measuring in at 33CM and put on about 20lbs so far! Not too much longer before I head to Anchorage to await the arrival of our new little bundle of joy! I finally picked out and purchased a car seat and stroller... hard to pick just one with so such a selection out there!!!
I felt what I think was my first braxton hicks contraction on the 24th.. I don't really know what it supposed to feel like but it definitely didn't have the same feeling as when she kicks or moves. It's so exciting that I only have 2 months left to go, but yet the experience of having this little baby growing inside you is amazing and I'm relishing every moment because we don't really want to have too a big family or having our kids too close in age - at least that's our plan. I'm hoping that maybe when Veronika turns 2 we'll try again... but for now I'm loving the feeling of being preggo!
Well I finally got my female chihuahua Cali registered, took forever to get the paperwork in the mail from the breeder. She is now officially named "Dreaming of California Sunshine". And I am so thankful that she's finally getting off her first heat. Roscoe and Dante have been little pains in the butt while we've been trying to keep them separated from her. I've never heard them bark so loud before or cry/whine so much. It started to worry me because Roscoe stopped eating for like 3 days and didn't want to do anything but be as close to her as possible. Of course we didn't let them mate with her, I'm waiting for her second heat before thinking about that :) I'm still excited about getting a puppy out of her from one of my little boys one day! At least I know they will be able to come with their registration papers if the new owner wants them! All my dogs are registered and micro chipped!
Oh speaking of dogs, the Westminster Dog show will be on the USA Ch on Feb 15 & 16 @ 8/7central!! You know for sure I'll be watching that, even if I have to go someone else place to watch it. Did I forget to mention that the City cable TV is out down to the East end of Akutan (where I live).... I don't even know what's on TV or what's going on in the news (I don't really have time to look it all up online).... so hopefully they get whatever fixed and get it going again here soon!! The Miss America Pageant is on tomorrow on TCL too, I'm not going to miss that either!!
The weather has been pretty normal for winter time. Cold and blowing snow for a week then we get a clear day and the planes fly, then another week or so of cold wind and snow. We don't really have too much snow on the ground, but it's a couple inches at least!! A couple days the temps got down to 19F without the wind chill!! That felt sooo cold for here! We had a medivac the other day, we had one of those huge Coast Guard choppers come in and airlift an employee from Trident because of heart problems. I feel so thankful to live in a country where we have people like the Coast Guard who can come in and help us out like that when it's needed! Especially when the weather isn't decent enough for the plane to make it in!
Well I hope that this first month of the new year has treated everyone great and I hope all of you that did make New Year's resolutions kept to your promise to yourselves! Until sometime, TTFN!!
OMG, So I just noticed I never posted any belly pix.. I will make a post of the pix that we did take showing my growing lil bundle of joy :) But here are the 2 I took on Tuesday...
I've taken new belly pix this past Tuesday, the 26th @ Week 31 day 3. which I will post at the end of this post! I still don't really have a big preggo belly unless I really push it out and try to make it look big, but then my little girl starts to kick and move around! I had a prenatal check-up yesterday, I am measuring in at 33CM and put on about 20lbs so far! Not too much longer before I head to Anchorage to await the arrival of our new little bundle of joy! I finally picked out and purchased a car seat and stroller... hard to pick just one with so such a selection out there!!!
I felt what I think was my first braxton hicks contraction on the 24th.. I don't really know what it supposed to feel like but it definitely didn't have the same feeling as when she kicks or moves. It's so exciting that I only have 2 months left to go, but yet the experience of having this little baby growing inside you is amazing and I'm relishing every moment because we don't really want to have too a big family or having our kids too close in age - at least that's our plan. I'm hoping that maybe when Veronika turns 2 we'll try again... but for now I'm loving the feeling of being preggo!
Well I finally got my female chihuahua Cali registered, took forever to get the paperwork in the mail from the breeder. She is now officially named "Dreaming of California Sunshine". And I am so thankful that she's finally getting off her first heat. Roscoe and Dante have been little pains in the butt while we've been trying to keep them separated from her. I've never heard them bark so loud before or cry/whine so much. It started to worry me because Roscoe stopped eating for like 3 days and didn't want to do anything but be as close to her as possible. Of course we didn't let them mate with her, I'm waiting for her second heat before thinking about that :) I'm still excited about getting a puppy out of her from one of my little boys one day! At least I know they will be able to come with their registration papers if the new owner wants them! All my dogs are registered and micro chipped!
Oh speaking of dogs, the Westminster Dog show will be on the USA Ch on Feb 15 & 16 @ 8/7central!! You know for sure I'll be watching that, even if I have to go someone else place to watch it. Did I forget to mention that the City cable TV is out down to the East end of Akutan (where I live).... I don't even know what's on TV or what's going on in the news (I don't really have time to look it all up online).... so hopefully they get whatever fixed and get it going again here soon!! The Miss America Pageant is on tomorrow on TCL too, I'm not going to miss that either!!
The weather has been pretty normal for winter time. Cold and blowing snow for a week then we get a clear day and the planes fly, then another week or so of cold wind and snow. We don't really have too much snow on the ground, but it's a couple inches at least!! A couple days the temps got down to 19F without the wind chill!! That felt sooo cold for here! We had a medivac the other day, we had one of those huge Coast Guard choppers come in and airlift an employee from Trident because of heart problems. I feel so thankful to live in a country where we have people like the Coast Guard who can come in and help us out like that when it's needed! Especially when the weather isn't decent enough for the plane to make it in!
Well I hope that this first month of the new year has treated everyone great and I hope all of you that did make New Year's resolutions kept to your promise to yourselves! Until sometime, TTFN!!
OMG, So I just noticed I never posted any belly pix.. I will make a post of the pix that we did take showing my growing lil bundle of joy :) But here are the 2 I took on Tuesday...
Belly Pix!! 31 weeks 3 days!
Standing normal :)
Pushing her out as much as I can!! LOL,
she kept kicking and I was laughing the whole time
she kept kicking and I was laughing the whole time
Thursday, January 21
Save the Bunnies on Tangik and Poe!!
Hey Everyone!! I am trying to spread the word so people can contact the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and let them know that we don't want evasive action taken against the rabbits on Tangik and Poe islands, they want to ERADICATE all the bunnies off both islands... I am totally against the eradication of the bunnies and would like for anyone else who cares to contact the AMNWR and let them know we don't want any action taken against the bunnies who call those 2 little islands (which are practically rocks with some land on them) they call home.
Tangik and Poe island are about a 20-25 skiff ride from the village of Akutan. We go there in the summertime's to catch bunnies and bring them back for "pets". They do no harm to the 2 little rocks they call home, we DO NOT want them ERADICATED!! Please write to the people below and protest the Eradication of the Rabbits from Tangik and Poe islands!!! We dont' want our bunnies killed off!!! They aren't doing any harm to anyone or anything on those 2 little islands!!! Please help us keep our rabbits!! Thank you for your help!! We have until the 10th of Feb to comment on this situation!!
Here is a copy of a letter I recieved. Here click HERE to go to the AMNWR web site.
Dear Reader:
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is seeking public comments on the Environmental Assessment of Invasive Species Eradication for Habitat Restoration on Tangik, Poa, and Sud Islands . This Assessment analyzes the consequences of two alternatives, a no action alternative and the proposed action of eradicating introduced European rabbits from Tangik and Poa Islands and introduced hoary marmots from Sud Island to allow the native ecosystems to recover. Introduced hoary marmots and European rabbits compete with native burrow-nesting seabirds for burrows, disturb seabirds during egg laying and incubation causing nest abandonment, and alter native plant communities. The proposed project would restore ecosystems for the benefit of native seabirds and vegetation. Uninhabited Tangik and Poa are in the eastern Aleutian Island chain about 12 miles from Akutan and 750 miles west of Anchorage . Sud is in the Barren Islands 60 miles south of Homer.
The Environmental Assessment and other informational materials can be viewed or downloaded at http://alaskamaritime.fws.gov/rabbits.htm
If you need a paper copy of the Assessment or have trouble opening it, contact us at the e-mail below or call us at (907) 235-6546. Written comments will be accepted on the Environmental Assessment through February 10, 2010, and can be submitted by e-mail to alaskamaritime@fws.gov or by fax to (907) 235-7783 or by mail to Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, 95 Sterling Hwy., Suite 1 , Homer, AK 99603.
If you have any questions, please contact me at alaskamaritime@fws.gov or 907-235-6546. Thank you for your interest in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.
Steven J. Delehanty
Refuge ManagerAlaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
95 Sterling Hwy., Suite 1
Homer, AK 99603
Phone: (907) 235-6546; FAX: (907) 235-7783
steve_delehanty@fws.gov
http://alaskamaritime.fws.gov
The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
Conserving Alaska 's wildlife and wild lands since 1909
Tangik and Poe island are about a 20-25 skiff ride from the village of Akutan. We go there in the summertime's to catch bunnies and bring them back for "pets". They do no harm to the 2 little rocks they call home, we DO NOT want them ERADICATED!! Please write to the people below and protest the Eradication of the Rabbits from Tangik and Poe islands!!! We dont' want our bunnies killed off!!! They aren't doing any harm to anyone or anything on those 2 little islands!!! Please help us keep our rabbits!! Thank you for your help!! We have until the 10th of Feb to comment on this situation!!
Here is a copy of a letter I recieved. Here click HERE to go to the AMNWR web site.
Dear Reader:
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is seeking public comments on the Environmental Assessment of Invasive Species Eradication for Habitat Restoration on Tangik, Poa, and Sud Islands . This Assessment analyzes the consequences of two alternatives, a no action alternative and the proposed action of eradicating introduced European rabbits from Tangik and Poa Islands and introduced hoary marmots from Sud Island to allow the native ecosystems to recover. Introduced hoary marmots and European rabbits compete with native burrow-nesting seabirds for burrows, disturb seabirds during egg laying and incubation causing nest abandonment, and alter native plant communities. The proposed project would restore ecosystems for the benefit of native seabirds and vegetation. Uninhabited Tangik and Poa are in the eastern Aleutian Island chain about 12 miles from Akutan and 750 miles west of Anchorage . Sud is in the Barren Islands 60 miles south of Homer.
The Environmental Assessment and other informational materials can be viewed or downloaded at http://alaskamaritime.fws.gov/rabbits.htm
If you need a paper copy of the Assessment or have trouble opening it, contact us at the e-mail below or call us at (907) 235-6546. Written comments will be accepted on the Environmental Assessment through February 10, 2010, and can be submitted by e-mail to alaskamaritime@fws.gov or by fax to (907) 235-7783 or by mail to Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, 95 Sterling Hwy., Suite 1 , Homer, AK 99603.
If you have any questions, please contact me at alaskamaritime@fws.gov or 907-235-6546. Thank you for your interest in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.
Steven J. Delehanty
Refuge ManagerAlaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
95 Sterling Hwy., Suite 1
Homer, AK 99603
Phone: (907) 235-6546; FAX: (907) 235-7783
steve_delehanty@fws.gov
http://alaskamaritime.fws.gov
The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
Conserving Alaska 's wildlife and wild lands since 1909
Thursday, January 14
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Happy New Year Everyone!! Well according to the Julian calendar, today is New Years, which we here in Akutan Celebrate as Russian New Years! Last night we had church (which I wasn't able to attend because I wasn't feeling great, but my hubby went!). At midnight my hubby, brother-in-law and father-in-law were blasting shells from their shotguns, ringing in the new year!!
From the 7-9th we celebrated Russian Christmas - a celebration that includes taking a star (made of wood, glass and decorations) from house to house singing Russian Christmas Carols. After singing most houses provide food or snacks. I served halibut fish pie (which is just pie dough filled in layers starting with rice, boiled eggs, onions, fish, onions, boiled eggs, more rice and covered with a layer of pie dough and baked for 1.5 hrs) with angel food cake for dessert. There was alot of great food served up in those 3 days!!! Thanks to everyone who cooked and fed us and thanks to everyone who shared their voices singing!!
Veronika has been growing and her punches and kicks are getting stronger and stronger everyday!! It's such a blessing to know that she's growing inside me and to feel her move! The whole process of how we grow from an egg and sperm to a newborn baby facinates me! I can't believe how much they change and grow in 9 months!! Then how time goes by fast and next thing we know we're at graduation or their wedding!!! I've been getting some gifts from people, thanks alot! I don't really have a registry and not sure about a baby shower... I'm not setting up my own shower that's for sure!! :P But I do have a baby registry that I started @ JCPenny.com. We're going to order the crib, changer and the rest of the nursery furniture from JCP here hopefully before we leave to Anchorage to give birth!! Only thing I've been missing/craving is red grapes... I asked my in-laws to see if they can have the pilots get some and bring them over for me... so hopefully whenever we get nice enough weather for a plane I should be getting some!!! hopefully....
Speaking of the weather, it has been goofy latey.... warm then cold then warm.. but we have no snow - well today there is a little trying to fall but I doubt it will stick. It's been raining lately with temps in the 40's. Just yesterday and today the temps finally fell to freezing with a little bit of wind (which always makes it feel colder out). I'm still wishing for snow... like we used to have back when I was a teen!! I miss those days when we had 4-5 feet of snow on the ground and more falling down upon us... oh well....
Ok well I hope everyone is doing great!! Take care and Happy New Year!! Until sometime in the future, TTFN!!
Oh yeah I forgot to mention that yesterday the Bayview Cafe re-opened!! Welcome home Lisa and Duy!!! Missed you guys and your cooking!! :D Yay, French Dips!!! :D
From the 7-9th we celebrated Russian Christmas - a celebration that includes taking a star (made of wood, glass and decorations) from house to house singing Russian Christmas Carols. After singing most houses provide food or snacks. I served halibut fish pie (which is just pie dough filled in layers starting with rice, boiled eggs, onions, fish, onions, boiled eggs, more rice and covered with a layer of pie dough and baked for 1.5 hrs) with angel food cake for dessert. There was alot of great food served up in those 3 days!!! Thanks to everyone who cooked and fed us and thanks to everyone who shared their voices singing!!
Veronika has been growing and her punches and kicks are getting stronger and stronger everyday!! It's such a blessing to know that she's growing inside me and to feel her move! The whole process of how we grow from an egg and sperm to a newborn baby facinates me! I can't believe how much they change and grow in 9 months!! Then how time goes by fast and next thing we know we're at graduation or their wedding!!! I've been getting some gifts from people, thanks alot! I don't really have a registry and not sure about a baby shower... I'm not setting up my own shower that's for sure!! :P But I do have a baby registry that I started @ JCPenny.com. We're going to order the crib, changer and the rest of the nursery furniture from JCP here hopefully before we leave to Anchorage to give birth!! Only thing I've been missing/craving is red grapes... I asked my in-laws to see if they can have the pilots get some and bring them over for me... so hopefully whenever we get nice enough weather for a plane I should be getting some!!! hopefully....
Speaking of the weather, it has been goofy latey.... warm then cold then warm.. but we have no snow - well today there is a little trying to fall but I doubt it will stick. It's been raining lately with temps in the 40's. Just yesterday and today the temps finally fell to freezing with a little bit of wind (which always makes it feel colder out). I'm still wishing for snow... like we used to have back when I was a teen!! I miss those days when we had 4-5 feet of snow on the ground and more falling down upon us... oh well....
Ok well I hope everyone is doing great!! Take care and Happy New Year!! Until sometime in the future, TTFN!!
Oh yeah I forgot to mention that yesterday the Bayview Cafe re-opened!! Welcome home Lisa and Duy!!! Missed you guys and your cooking!! :D Yay, French Dips!!! :D
Tuesday, January 5
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Wow I didn't realize that it's been over a month since I've last checked in....
Well we went on vacation in December - we spent about 25 days off the "Rock". I missed my pups so much, it was hard to get on the plane and leave them behind with my brother Tommy... But I knew they would be ok and I was off to enjoy ourselves one last time before our baby is born!
We ended up leaving on the 2nd of Dec - 4 days before we were scheduled to leave. We weren't able to get on stand-by on any of the flights and the one they did get us on ended up having a mechanical and we were still stuck in fabulous Dutch Harbor! A huge storm hit us while we were stuck - winds in excess of 100 MPH causing some damage around the island - for example the huge Gantry crane that loads the huge containers ships over at APL succombed to the wind and ended up crashing to the ground. A mess they are still getting cleaned up. Finally Mother Nature gave us a one day opening where we were able to get on a flight to Anchorage (all on the scheduled day we were supposed to leave!). After spending the night in Anchorage we happily boarded our flight to SoCal!
Lots of walking, sight-seeing, driving around and soaking in what sun we could (it rained a lot when we were down there). We went to all the usual theme parks: Disneyland, Disneyland's California Adventure, Knotts Berry Farm, Universal Studios and 6 Flags Magic Mountain. I had fun on what rides I was able to get on!! My lucky hubby getting to go on all of them, I made him get on a couple twice (Once for himself and once for me!!). I'm going to miss driving around in Beverly Hills and Hollywood - so many expensive cars to be found on the roads in those parts of town! OH, and we got to go spend a little over 4 hours at the L.A. Auto show!! That was so cool getting to sit in all those cars and check them out!! Not to mention see some of the concept cars that might never be put into production, but hey I got to see them!!! I got to sit in a couple of the last of the VW Bugs for sale this year - sat in the droptop version and the hard top version. I liked the droptop!! But the main vehicle I see working great here in Akutan that I really really really want to get is the Smart Car!! OMG those are so cute!! I like the convertible version, gives the feeling of more head space! But hopefully I'll be driving one of those here soon, hell with an ATV... I'ma get me a SmartCar!! :D
After 10 days hanging out in LA, we made our way over to Vegas for the wedding we came down for. My hubby ended up being asked to be a groomsman - he couldn't be any more excited about the wedding after getting asked to be a part of it!! We went and got him fitted at the Tux rental place - 1st time getting fitted or wearing a tux!! He looked so good in it too!! Before heading to Vegas I found the perfect black dress for me to wear, now to just find some cute heels to go with it, yay that means shoe shopping in Vegas!! :D The wedding was a blast, the whole time in Vegas was a blast!! Except for that one time that I went to get the drinks and I didn't get handed back my ID and I didn't notice until the next day when I needed it again. Talk about a panic attack wondering where I used it last and where my ID could be!! Luckiy security at the hotel where everyone was staying had it and I just had to pick it up! See we ended up having wedding rehersals (which everyone was late too.... sorry Sandra).. then after rehersal we all met up at the bride and groom's suite for dinner and drinks... Vegas is awesome and always will be - but me feet hate it there!! Doesn't help that I spent 10 days walking around in LA before walking around in Vegas for 3 more days!! You don't even want to know about the blisters that I got from all that walking... I got blisters on the tips of my toes... WTF? How do I get blisters there?!?!?! Well I know a couple are from the new super cute shoes I bought to go with the dress I got back in LA, what can I say they were super cute... but my feet definately were paying for it later that night and for the next couple days!! It was so much fun spending time with my fellow Akutan residents and showing some of them around Vegas (this was our 3rd time in SinCity). We even drove 30 mins to the Hoover Dam, giggling about crossing not only state lines but time zones! My first time in Arizona and my first time in the Mountain time Zone!! LOL!!!
After the wedding wrapped up we stole my hubby's cousin and drove back to LA for a couple more days of fun in the sun before returning to Alaska. I know we crammed a lot into Darren's head trying to show him as much as we could and get him on as many rides as we could in the 48 hr period that we were in SoCal for! We took him to both Disneyland parks the first day - I don't think I've ever seen that many people in the park any of the times I've ever been there before. I definately don't recommend going during xmas break... OMG there were soo many people!! The next day we drove up to 6 Flags and the guys got on almost every ride in the park in the 7 hrs that we spend there. Then we got to show Darren what real "rush hour" traffic is... 2 hours worth of it to get back to our hotel from the park, bumper to bumper!! The last day we were there we drove to the Hollywood sign, then went to Muhulland Dr to view the city, went to the La Brea Tar pits and Santa Monica Pier. Walked Hollywood Blvd, went to Manns Chinese Theater and Maddame Tussades Hollywood, drove by LA Ink and Pinks Hot Dog Stand, drove up and down Rodeo Dr - all before rushing back to the airport to get checked in for our flight back to AK. We did a lot our last day, not to mention find a post office and get the box of crap that didn't fit in our suitcases mailed back home!! At least the line was short, I was expecting a long long line! Traveling was a pain in the butt... for some reason we got bumped from our original flight and put on the next flight that left about an hour later. Which ticked me off, but what can you do? I'm not going to start fighting and arguing or I might not be able to fly at all.... LOL....
We spent Christmas in Anchorage with my younger sis Ivy and my sweet Cupcake (my neice Aaliyah)... we cooked up a huge spiral ham dinner for the 4 of us... I missed being in a kitchen and cooking!! For a gift to my sister we scrubbed her house down and got it nice and super clean for her!! My hubby did most of the cleaning, I mostly did dishes and vacuum :P I love being able to spend time with my sisters and their babies when ever I can, and being able to spend xmas with my little sis (since who knows when...) is something I'll always cherish! We ended up getting some pretty pink paint for the nursery and shipping it home thru PenAir Cargo the day we were flying to Dutch. We spent the night like we planned and caught the first flight to Akutan in the AM.
All in all our trip was awesome and I'd love to do it all over again... except for the aching feet part and all the rain we endured... I even had to buy an umbrella when we were down there, something I thought I'd never do in The Land of Sun!! But I guess it is their winter and I've never been down there in December... so not like I knew what to expect from the weather other than sunshine!! Only thing that got to me bad was some how losing all our pix off my computer... at least I uploaded most of them online and I was able to get them back (all except a handful that I didn't post). I swear when we flew back from Anchorage to Akutan that my suitcases were full of nothing but stuff for my spoiled pups!! I even brought Tug home a 40lb bag of dog food in one of my suitcases (I didn't trust mailing it, don't know when we'll get it... but I know my bags will make it with me!!), not to mention we picked up all our pups a doggy stocking filled with assorted dog toys then to pick up all the usual chew stuff they like to enjoy - milkbones and rawhide sticks. Spoiled pups, they were so happy to see us come home... I don't know who was more excited - them or me!!! You don't know how good it felt to sleep in my own bed and wake up to my loving pups!!
So I've been home for about 9 days now, the weather is in the 40's - which feels a lot warmer than the teens-20's they were having in Anchorage... but much much cooler than the 70's I was enjoying in California!! For a week after we got home the weather stayed pretty nice, letting us get our 2 flights a day in (or more if there are cannery workers waiting to fly over, that time of the year again... they call it "A" Season). The last day or two we've been getting a little bit of rain and fog with a little bit of wind - bad enough for the plane not to fly that's for sure. New Year's was fun, spending it cuddled on the couch with my hubby and pups watching all the New years coverage on TV, getting up every hour on the hour mark to shoot a couple shells out of the 12ga shot gun.
Work has been great since I've been back, getting back into the routine again... I missed my usual routine!!
I'm already 28 weeks preggo. Baby kicks hard now, then sleeps and wakes up to kick me some more!! LOL... I can't believe I have 12 weeks left to go or so!!! Baby is growing good, I'm still not as big as I expected to be, but that's ok I guess! I've put on about 18lbs or so already though!! I can't wait to hold her in my arms and stare into her eyes and wonder what she thinks of the world!! Her daddy is painting her room pink today!! Should be done with it by the time I get home!! Yay!! Sexy Pink is the name of the color... nice bright pink!! :D We'll paint our bathroom if we have enough left over paint! :D
Ok well I hope everyone is having a great 2010 so far!! Much luv to you all!! Take care of yourselves and keep in touch, as I will try to do so more myself!! Until sometime, TTFN
Well we went on vacation in December - we spent about 25 days off the "Rock". I missed my pups so much, it was hard to get on the plane and leave them behind with my brother Tommy... But I knew they would be ok and I was off to enjoy ourselves one last time before our baby is born!
We ended up leaving on the 2nd of Dec - 4 days before we were scheduled to leave. We weren't able to get on stand-by on any of the flights and the one they did get us on ended up having a mechanical and we were still stuck in fabulous Dutch Harbor! A huge storm hit us while we were stuck - winds in excess of 100 MPH causing some damage around the island - for example the huge Gantry crane that loads the huge containers ships over at APL succombed to the wind and ended up crashing to the ground. A mess they are still getting cleaned up. Finally Mother Nature gave us a one day opening where we were able to get on a flight to Anchorage (all on the scheduled day we were supposed to leave!). After spending the night in Anchorage we happily boarded our flight to SoCal!
Lots of walking, sight-seeing, driving around and soaking in what sun we could (it rained a lot when we were down there). We went to all the usual theme parks: Disneyland, Disneyland's California Adventure, Knotts Berry Farm, Universal Studios and 6 Flags Magic Mountain. I had fun on what rides I was able to get on!! My lucky hubby getting to go on all of them, I made him get on a couple twice (Once for himself and once for me!!). I'm going to miss driving around in Beverly Hills and Hollywood - so many expensive cars to be found on the roads in those parts of town! OH, and we got to go spend a little over 4 hours at the L.A. Auto show!! That was so cool getting to sit in all those cars and check them out!! Not to mention see some of the concept cars that might never be put into production, but hey I got to see them!!! I got to sit in a couple of the last of the VW Bugs for sale this year - sat in the droptop version and the hard top version. I liked the droptop!! But the main vehicle I see working great here in Akutan that I really really really want to get is the Smart Car!! OMG those are so cute!! I like the convertible version, gives the feeling of more head space! But hopefully I'll be driving one of those here soon, hell with an ATV... I'ma get me a SmartCar!! :D
After 10 days hanging out in LA, we made our way over to Vegas for the wedding we came down for. My hubby ended up being asked to be a groomsman - he couldn't be any more excited about the wedding after getting asked to be a part of it!! We went and got him fitted at the Tux rental place - 1st time getting fitted or wearing a tux!! He looked so good in it too!! Before heading to Vegas I found the perfect black dress for me to wear, now to just find some cute heels to go with it, yay that means shoe shopping in Vegas!! :D The wedding was a blast, the whole time in Vegas was a blast!! Except for that one time that I went to get the drinks and I didn't get handed back my ID and I didn't notice until the next day when I needed it again. Talk about a panic attack wondering where I used it last and where my ID could be!! Luckiy security at the hotel where everyone was staying had it and I just had to pick it up! See we ended up having wedding rehersals (which everyone was late too.... sorry Sandra).. then after rehersal we all met up at the bride and groom's suite for dinner and drinks... Vegas is awesome and always will be - but me feet hate it there!! Doesn't help that I spent 10 days walking around in LA before walking around in Vegas for 3 more days!! You don't even want to know about the blisters that I got from all that walking... I got blisters on the tips of my toes... WTF? How do I get blisters there?!?!?! Well I know a couple are from the new super cute shoes I bought to go with the dress I got back in LA, what can I say they were super cute... but my feet definately were paying for it later that night and for the next couple days!! It was so much fun spending time with my fellow Akutan residents and showing some of them around Vegas (this was our 3rd time in SinCity). We even drove 30 mins to the Hoover Dam, giggling about crossing not only state lines but time zones! My first time in Arizona and my first time in the Mountain time Zone!! LOL!!!
After the wedding wrapped up we stole my hubby's cousin and drove back to LA for a couple more days of fun in the sun before returning to Alaska. I know we crammed a lot into Darren's head trying to show him as much as we could and get him on as many rides as we could in the 48 hr period that we were in SoCal for! We took him to both Disneyland parks the first day - I don't think I've ever seen that many people in the park any of the times I've ever been there before. I definately don't recommend going during xmas break... OMG there were soo many people!! The next day we drove up to 6 Flags and the guys got on almost every ride in the park in the 7 hrs that we spend there. Then we got to show Darren what real "rush hour" traffic is... 2 hours worth of it to get back to our hotel from the park, bumper to bumper!! The last day we were there we drove to the Hollywood sign, then went to Muhulland Dr to view the city, went to the La Brea Tar pits and Santa Monica Pier. Walked Hollywood Blvd, went to Manns Chinese Theater and Maddame Tussades Hollywood, drove by LA Ink and Pinks Hot Dog Stand, drove up and down Rodeo Dr - all before rushing back to the airport to get checked in for our flight back to AK. We did a lot our last day, not to mention find a post office and get the box of crap that didn't fit in our suitcases mailed back home!! At least the line was short, I was expecting a long long line! Traveling was a pain in the butt... for some reason we got bumped from our original flight and put on the next flight that left about an hour later. Which ticked me off, but what can you do? I'm not going to start fighting and arguing or I might not be able to fly at all.... LOL....
We spent Christmas in Anchorage with my younger sis Ivy and my sweet Cupcake (my neice Aaliyah)... we cooked up a huge spiral ham dinner for the 4 of us... I missed being in a kitchen and cooking!! For a gift to my sister we scrubbed her house down and got it nice and super clean for her!! My hubby did most of the cleaning, I mostly did dishes and vacuum :P I love being able to spend time with my sisters and their babies when ever I can, and being able to spend xmas with my little sis (since who knows when...) is something I'll always cherish! We ended up getting some pretty pink paint for the nursery and shipping it home thru PenAir Cargo the day we were flying to Dutch. We spent the night like we planned and caught the first flight to Akutan in the AM.
All in all our trip was awesome and I'd love to do it all over again... except for the aching feet part and all the rain we endured... I even had to buy an umbrella when we were down there, something I thought I'd never do in The Land of Sun!! But I guess it is their winter and I've never been down there in December... so not like I knew what to expect from the weather other than sunshine!! Only thing that got to me bad was some how losing all our pix off my computer... at least I uploaded most of them online and I was able to get them back (all except a handful that I didn't post). I swear when we flew back from Anchorage to Akutan that my suitcases were full of nothing but stuff for my spoiled pups!! I even brought Tug home a 40lb bag of dog food in one of my suitcases (I didn't trust mailing it, don't know when we'll get it... but I know my bags will make it with me!!), not to mention we picked up all our pups a doggy stocking filled with assorted dog toys then to pick up all the usual chew stuff they like to enjoy - milkbones and rawhide sticks. Spoiled pups, they were so happy to see us come home... I don't know who was more excited - them or me!!! You don't know how good it felt to sleep in my own bed and wake up to my loving pups!!
So I've been home for about 9 days now, the weather is in the 40's - which feels a lot warmer than the teens-20's they were having in Anchorage... but much much cooler than the 70's I was enjoying in California!! For a week after we got home the weather stayed pretty nice, letting us get our 2 flights a day in (or more if there are cannery workers waiting to fly over, that time of the year again... they call it "A" Season). The last day or two we've been getting a little bit of rain and fog with a little bit of wind - bad enough for the plane not to fly that's for sure. New Year's was fun, spending it cuddled on the couch with my hubby and pups watching all the New years coverage on TV, getting up every hour on the hour mark to shoot a couple shells out of the 12ga shot gun.
Work has been great since I've been back, getting back into the routine again... I missed my usual routine!!
I'm already 28 weeks preggo. Baby kicks hard now, then sleeps and wakes up to kick me some more!! LOL... I can't believe I have 12 weeks left to go or so!!! Baby is growing good, I'm still not as big as I expected to be, but that's ok I guess! I've put on about 18lbs or so already though!! I can't wait to hold her in my arms and stare into her eyes and wonder what she thinks of the world!! Her daddy is painting her room pink today!! Should be done with it by the time I get home!! Yay!! Sexy Pink is the name of the color... nice bright pink!! :D We'll paint our bathroom if we have enough left over paint! :D
Ok well I hope everyone is having a great 2010 so far!! Much luv to you all!! Take care of yourselves and keep in touch, as I will try to do so more myself!! Until sometime, TTFN
Tuesday, December 1
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Wow I didn't realize how long it's been since I last wrote in my blog and how the heck did it become December already?!?!?! I'm not ready for the years to be flying by this quickly!!!!
Nothing really new has been happening. We finally got 2 flyable days the week of Thanksgiving, making that a total of 3 flyable days last month!
Thanksgiving was great! We ate at my parents house in the early PM, then later around 5 we ate again with my hubby's parents. I think we over did the eating part, but the food was all great and I couldn't say no!! I think I have my fill of pumpkin pie, I swear I've been baking up pies for a week and enjoying them to myself practically!! Oh and on Thanksgiving morning around 8:59AM my hubby felt baby kick for the first time!! I was so excited!! He just sat there with this big smile and didn't say a word!!
I'm officially in my 6th month of pregnancy already (week 23 day 3). Baby is kicking away now, feels so cool!! I'm still not really showing but slowly getting a bump that's making it's appearance! I got my H1N1 vaccination yesterday... I never usually get my flu shots (any kind) but since I'm traveling and considered in the "priority group" (since I'm preggo) and they are recommending it... so I broke in and got it... I hate needles!!! I woke up this morning and the shot site is a bit sore... but then again it's been awhile since I got any kind of shots, usually taking blood out - not putting stuff back in!!! I ran out of iron supplements a couple weeks ago and found out I'm low in iron again so the clinic got me a refill, :)
I'm hoping and praying hard that the weather clears up here in a couple days, for I am going on vacation!!! We have a wedding to attend and figured why not make the best of everything and hang out for a bit. Los Angeles and Las Vegas here we come!! I can already feel the sunshine, hear the screams from the amusement parks, listening to the boom-boom of the fireworks blowing up over Disneyland and the sounds of slot machines in the casinos.... I can't wait!!! :D Packing up tonight, I like to be prepared... going to miss my pups but I can't always take them with me, especially now that we have 3 little ones!! Going to start looking for boats going to Dutch Harbor probably tomorrow or Thursday just to make sure I get out of here... never know with our weather what it's going to do out here!
Today was a busy day at work, being the 1st of the month and all.... I got all the billing done up, filed everything, cleaned up the office a bit and got everything ready for my mom for while I'm on vacation! I'm putting my trust in my brother and having him house/dog sit for us, just have to get him up to my house to get the dogs used to him... usually doesn't take long for them to get used to someone, it Dante that takes the longest to warm up to anyone! I know my pups will hopefully be good for my bro and hopefully not be a handful to watch..... With Cali starting her first heat, my 2 lil boys have been "acting" up and trying to get a little aggressive with each other but still trying to be lovey to each other (growl then lick each other then growl)... not to mention that Cali just likes to rough house and chase the boys all over the house doesn't really help with the rowdiness that can go on! It's funny people always ask me if they are always hyper... not all the time! Most the day they just lay around sleeping... until we get company then they are running around everywhere!! Tug will be staying with my parents, he likes to be spoiled by them because they let him get away with alot of stuff - just like a little kid getting spoiled by grandma and grandpa! Plus my parents have an Australian terrier named King that just loves my lab, so at least Tug will be giving him some company for a bit! :)
Well weather wise it's been pretty crappy... during the day it will blow and snow then at night it gets flat calm and clear out! With the moon being as full as it is and with it as clear as it is at night it's like someone is holding lamps outside lighting up the hills! I swear at 4AM last night when I was shutting our bedroom window it was brighter outside than it was when I woke up at 8AM!! These storms bring snow, hail and rain (which eventually freezes over and becomes ice). Right now the boardwalks are completely iced over, I swear you need ice skates to get around that's how icy it is!! Temps have been in the low to mid 30's, but the windchill is bringing it down to the teens or so. The other day it was blowing 76MPH on my porch!! What a storm that was! Complete whiteout conditions and constant 75+MPH winds (gusting even higher). The cable went out for a bit due to the dish getting covered in sleet/snow but with people keeping up on cleaning the dish off they kept the cable on. There was no way I was going outside that day!! ;)
Oh pretty cool I've been having these 4 ptarmigan hang out behind my house on the hillside! At first I thought someone threw a snowball, then I realized it was a bird flying! Those birds better watch out, my neighbors hunt and eat them!! LOL... if only they knew "dinner" was hanging out right there behind our houses... I could probably knock them down quietly with a .22 that's how close they are! I've also been having fun feeding our little rosy finches out my bedroom window!! Amazing how fast a couple handfuls of crushed bread can disappear when 30 little birds are gorging it down!
Well when I get time I'll make sure to update my blog hopefully a little more often than I've been doing... Take care everyone, until sometime TTFN!!
Help me pray for good weather for this weekend so I can get out on vacation!! Our last little get away by ourselves before our baby is born!! I'm not looking forward to all the adrenaline and rides I'm going to be missing out on... but at least I get to go people watching and enjoy a larger variety of foods to fill up on!!! I'm looking forward to xmas shopping too... not to mention the wedding, OMG it's going to be soooo much fun! A lot of people from Akutan going to be in Vegas, most of them for the first time (not only in Vegas but out of state!)! Going to be very interesting and fun, I can't wait!!! Wish us luck with the weather! Thanks!!
Nothing really new has been happening. We finally got 2 flyable days the week of Thanksgiving, making that a total of 3 flyable days last month!
Thanksgiving was great! We ate at my parents house in the early PM, then later around 5 we ate again with my hubby's parents. I think we over did the eating part, but the food was all great and I couldn't say no!! I think I have my fill of pumpkin pie, I swear I've been baking up pies for a week and enjoying them to myself practically!! Oh and on Thanksgiving morning around 8:59AM my hubby felt baby kick for the first time!! I was so excited!! He just sat there with this big smile and didn't say a word!!
I'm officially in my 6th month of pregnancy already (week 23 day 3). Baby is kicking away now, feels so cool!! I'm still not really showing but slowly getting a bump that's making it's appearance! I got my H1N1 vaccination yesterday... I never usually get my flu shots (any kind) but since I'm traveling and considered in the "priority group" (since I'm preggo) and they are recommending it... so I broke in and got it... I hate needles!!! I woke up this morning and the shot site is a bit sore... but then again it's been awhile since I got any kind of shots, usually taking blood out - not putting stuff back in!!! I ran out of iron supplements a couple weeks ago and found out I'm low in iron again so the clinic got me a refill, :)
I'm hoping and praying hard that the weather clears up here in a couple days, for I am going on vacation!!! We have a wedding to attend and figured why not make the best of everything and hang out for a bit. Los Angeles and Las Vegas here we come!! I can already feel the sunshine, hear the screams from the amusement parks, listening to the boom-boom of the fireworks blowing up over Disneyland and the sounds of slot machines in the casinos.... I can't wait!!! :D Packing up tonight, I like to be prepared... going to miss my pups but I can't always take them with me, especially now that we have 3 little ones!! Going to start looking for boats going to Dutch Harbor probably tomorrow or Thursday just to make sure I get out of here... never know with our weather what it's going to do out here!
Today was a busy day at work, being the 1st of the month and all.... I got all the billing done up, filed everything, cleaned up the office a bit and got everything ready for my mom for while I'm on vacation! I'm putting my trust in my brother and having him house/dog sit for us, just have to get him up to my house to get the dogs used to him... usually doesn't take long for them to get used to someone, it Dante that takes the longest to warm up to anyone! I know my pups will hopefully be good for my bro and hopefully not be a handful to watch..... With Cali starting her first heat, my 2 lil boys have been "acting" up and trying to get a little aggressive with each other but still trying to be lovey to each other (growl then lick each other then growl)... not to mention that Cali just likes to rough house and chase the boys all over the house doesn't really help with the rowdiness that can go on! It's funny people always ask me if they are always hyper... not all the time! Most the day they just lay around sleeping... until we get company then they are running around everywhere!! Tug will be staying with my parents, he likes to be spoiled by them because they let him get away with alot of stuff - just like a little kid getting spoiled by grandma and grandpa! Plus my parents have an Australian terrier named King that just loves my lab, so at least Tug will be giving him some company for a bit! :)
Well weather wise it's been pretty crappy... during the day it will blow and snow then at night it gets flat calm and clear out! With the moon being as full as it is and with it as clear as it is at night it's like someone is holding lamps outside lighting up the hills! I swear at 4AM last night when I was shutting our bedroom window it was brighter outside than it was when I woke up at 8AM!! These storms bring snow, hail and rain (which eventually freezes over and becomes ice). Right now the boardwalks are completely iced over, I swear you need ice skates to get around that's how icy it is!! Temps have been in the low to mid 30's, but the windchill is bringing it down to the teens or so. The other day it was blowing 76MPH on my porch!! What a storm that was! Complete whiteout conditions and constant 75+MPH winds (gusting even higher). The cable went out for a bit due to the dish getting covered in sleet/snow but with people keeping up on cleaning the dish off they kept the cable on. There was no way I was going outside that day!! ;)
Oh pretty cool I've been having these 4 ptarmigan hang out behind my house on the hillside! At first I thought someone threw a snowball, then I realized it was a bird flying! Those birds better watch out, my neighbors hunt and eat them!! LOL... if only they knew "dinner" was hanging out right there behind our houses... I could probably knock them down quietly with a .22 that's how close they are! I've also been having fun feeding our little rosy finches out my bedroom window!! Amazing how fast a couple handfuls of crushed bread can disappear when 30 little birds are gorging it down!
Well when I get time I'll make sure to update my blog hopefully a little more often than I've been doing... Take care everyone, until sometime TTFN!!
Help me pray for good weather for this weekend so I can get out on vacation!! Our last little get away by ourselves before our baby is born!! I'm not looking forward to all the adrenaline and rides I'm going to be missing out on... but at least I get to go people watching and enjoy a larger variety of foods to fill up on!!! I'm looking forward to xmas shopping too... not to mention the wedding, OMG it's going to be soooo much fun! A lot of people from Akutan going to be in Vegas, most of them for the first time (not only in Vegas but out of state!)! Going to be very interesting and fun, I can't wait!!! Wish us luck with the weather! Thanks!!
Tuesday, November 17
Pix of my black lab Tug, Happy 4th Bday!
Happy 4th Birthday to my lab Tug and his brother Derbin!!
Born November 17, 2005
Born November 17, 2005
Tug - Jan 5, 2006 - The day we got him!
Jan 5, 2006 - Look at those ears!
Jan 6, 2006 - First night in the house, passed out in his kennel
Feb 7, 2006 - Such a cute pup!
Growing up fast! Feb 17, 2006
Feb 28, 2006 - Loving his new duck toy!
July 26, 2006 - First time on a boat ride from
Akutan - Dutch on the F/V Oceanic
July 30, 2006 - First car ride from Anchorage to Valdez and back
(not to mention he just got "fixed" so he's drugged up)
First time in the skiff! He loves it! Wearing his life preserver too!
Tug in a valley of lupins! July 26, 2007
1st Halloween Costume! Super Tug! Oct 31, 2006
Happy Halloween!! Bat Tug, Oct 31, 2007
Hippy Tug!! Halloween 2008!!
Oct 3, 2008 - Tug and Roscoe watching me catch
humpies (pink salmon) ahead of the bay! Looking around dad, lol!
Derbin on the left (My uncle Darryl's pup) and Tug on the right (my pup)
Can't believe they are already 4 years old!!! The years are just blowing by!!
Bird Pix
Pretty Bird
Willy
Pix of Pretty Bird and Willy
Pretty Bird getting a bath, drying her off with papertowel
A couple days old!
A week old!
2 weeks old
Sweetheart at a month old (the male)
Stash a month old (the female)
My baby birds with their pin feathers!
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