saturday with the evridges

names.

2011-12-05T18:25:00.003-09:00

no baby.

lest i forget though:

first names
thaddeus
theodore
september
elanore

middle names
elizabeth
virginia

and a photo from just after our first snow...old murphy dome road

right now we have snow snow snow!

dad.

2011-10-12T22:14:00.001-08:00

my dad is having heart surgery next week.

stress.

2011-10-05T12:11:00.005-08:00

this is what stress does to me at a normal hour of the night.

fall in fairbanks.

2011-09-17T22:51:00.003-08:00

dear lisbet,

fairbanks is beautiful in the fall!

it would be great if you were here to come have a
cup of tea with me and take a walk through the birch trees.

but your pictures of norway tell me you are having a good time and that fall is beautiful there too!

please post pictures of you with the dogs. and northern lights.
i don't stay up late enough to see them.

love, sarah

p.s. i never took any pictures of my bangs, and now you'll have to wait till my next hair appointment since they are long and in my face now.

read this now.

2011-08-01T17:03:00.002-08:00

How To Talk to Little Girls

read this.

i'm taking multicultural ed right now which unfortunately the teacher has made rather unbearable though i do agree with her on (most) points. she makes me not want to agree with her and our class has gotten rather bitter and antagonistic. but this article fits what we are talking about right now.

if you don't want to read about girl problems...go away.

2011-07-02T19:36:00.003-08:00

my cycle started three days ago, (today is day three.) i usually have cramps on the first day, and then however long, the rest of the days are fine. which was the case until today. i was doing homework, feeling great, and then i suddenly had severe cramps. they were a little different than the cramps i normally get during my period, a little higher up, but they definitely started wherever my uterus is. i got up, took some advil and tried to walk them off. they kept getting worse, i had heat running up my arms, and i was getting dizzy and stumbling and my vision was getting blurred. i was fairly certain i was going to faint. i knocked on my classmates doors and finally one woman came out. she had me lie on the floor, and got a hot towel for my abdomen. we walked to the couch together but no position alleviated the pain in any way. finally i fell asleep for three hours. the advil had kicked in, and i didn't feel any pain, but i could still feel the cramps. i felt them all night, and now this morning, but they don't really hurt at all.

i didn't eat anything differently than normal, nor was anything out of date that i ate. i'm fairly positive i'm not pregnant. 99.9% sure. someone suggested ovarian cysts, and another uterine fibroids. we'll have to wait until i can go to the doctor up in fairbanks this fall.

any thoughts?

teaching mission statement.

2011-06-29T17:21:00.002-08:00

i became a teacher because i have a strong desire to learn. i am ready for the challenge to make history relevant to middle and high school students. as a teacher i hope to make students as excited about learning history as i am. i will broaden their understanding of the discipline by providing them with tools to research and analyze the past, so that they can make responsible decisions for the present. i want them to understand that history is more than facts and dates. it is a way of understanding and knowing the world around them, to give them a firm context of their place in the world. in line with this i will help students foster an understanding of their personal value and thus create an environment of self-respect and responsibility. i will create a classroom that is safe for students to express and explore their ideas. finally, i will continually seek to challenge myself to know more about my subject and my students.

sitka.

2011-06-27T07:28:00.002-08:00

sitka is beautiful! even though it's overcast 100% of the time, it's a very picturesque town. i think it has something to do with all the historical buildings located here.

too bad i'm feeling miserable. i have a headache and a rash on my back, and i'm dizzy. i hope i can focus in class today. after i get registered.

here is a nice picture:

isn't it amazing?

yea, there is no picture. sorry.

thesis.

2011-05-25T12:01:00.004-08:00

i wrote that.

and made it look good.

and then i turned it in.

and then i went to sleep.

for 20 hours.

and i waited.

and waited.

for a grade.

but not anxiously, because either way i graduated!

and one day i checked.

and it said...

A.

wahoo!

go me!

i'm awesome!

and then i realized that it was just a few days after i had turned it in and a bunch of other people and they were all 25 pages of gobbledegook and there was no way he had actually read them he had just looked at them and saw they were turned in and my A didn't feel so special anymore but i don't care because i have a degree!

coming in the mail.

at a later date.

thesis class 2011.

2011-05-07T10:00:00.001-08:00

look at this friendly group. that's this years thesis class and professors. look at how happy and rested we are. not freezing our butts off, wondering how we are going to finish everything in time. "hopeful" history graduates is what one person titled this picture. we're also super white.

the elephant in the corner. room? corner?

2011-05-05T08:41:00.003-08:00

in this case it's in the corner. g was going through his usual newspapers and this picture made him laugh. and ask "who is the large muslim lady in the corner next to boehner?"

good morning!

no free lunch.

2011-05-03T08:14:00.002-08:00

i had the MOST horrible nightmare a few hours ago. it was awful. disgusting. shake-inducing. stomach-dropping. it involved the love of my life dying. and i could do nothing about it. so when i woke up shaking and crying, sure that someone was in our house, and rolled over to ask him to hold me tight...he mumbled, "there's no such thing as a free lunch."

married an economist.

couldn't fall back asleep and got up an hour early.

may goals and intentions. v2.

2011-05-01T14:25:00.003-08:00

okay...here we go...

finish up thesis- i have 3000 words...need about 7500. have till May 11th, 3:00 PM. totally manageable. because mine is split into themes, that's one theme a day this week to finish and then the conclusion over the weekend. I CAN DO IT!

history 364 final-i have a few late article reviews to write for this class, and then a final next week. piece of cake.

undergrad research day presentation- presenting my thesis research again for some symposium thing...i only get five minutes.

pack up apt. and move- i'm not even going to think about this until the week after graduation. i'm all about minimizing stress right now...

property-to get the property ready to move out there for the summer, we have a HUGE to-do list. that i won't bore you with. but hopefully i'll have some cool pictures to post.

date night with g- g has to finish his finals this week, b/c next week he's leaving to compete at the national SIFE competition! we'll have a celebratory-end-of-semester-date at hot licks (i'm hoping...they should be open.)

wedding- a high school friend is getting married! it also involves a road trip to mom and dad's!

graduation- oh yea. i'm graduating. take that!

track meet- joe and jon will be up for the annual track meet in fairbanks. i don't know if state will be here this year, so i'll at least seem them run before regions! joe's doing awesome right now! his two relay teams are first in the region and he's got one of the fastest 300m hurdle times in the state! go joe!

find roadtrip buddy- want to take a drive to haines? and then drive my car back for me? i'll pay for fuel...

walk 50/run 31 miles- i KNOW i can do 50 miles. it's a great way to spend time outside and with garrett. and 31 miles is just tacking on a mile at the beginning of the walk.

and i think it must be summer...because we have dandelions! (and the greenest grass in fairbanks. nowhere else have i seen green grass or anything else growing. i'm pretty sure this is just the best placed lawn around. and g thinks there's a steam vent underneath and it's warmer than surrounding areas.

may goals and intentions.

2011-05-01T13:57:00.002-08:00

actually, before i set new goals...last month:

prepare thesis presentation- rocked it! i asked him the next day if i could see my grade, and he said, don't bother you only missed a few points. and when he gave it back to me the week after, 100%! go me!

after presentation, finish researching- well... i think i've done all the research i'm going to do.

attend Phi Alpha Theta regional conference in Seattle- did this! gissell let me talk her ear off so i didn't have to think while flying.

walk 50 miles- almost! i hit just over 45. and i ran a few times. how do you motivate yourself for running? looking in the mirror doesn't seem to do it...granted we don't have a full length mirror. maybe that's why looking in the mirror doesn't work. all i see is my face.

continue my morning yoga routine- this fell by the wayside the week i presented. and i've had a hard time recovering the 6:00 AM alarm. it's around 7:00 now. need to get back on it! i'm so much more motivated to stretch than to run...

make dinner or lunch everyday-did this most of the time. a few grocery runs i felt like just buying frozen crap. but i KNEW i wouldn't enjoy it if i did. so i stopped by mcdonalds and ate some french fries. lovin' it.

date night with g!- date night was great...but i forgot what we did. oh yea...i bought myself flowers. he'll buy plants. but not cut flowers. have to do that for myself.

summer housing/employment plans- for sure going to live at the property this summer! excited! hopefully we can get some of the property cleared to build for the following summers.

sewing projects- did a few...like the blue skirt in the previous post. and now i'm working on a blue dress...and i have a shirt and another dress lined up.

blog- a few times...

and one more...take pictures! blog posts are BORING without them. this must be boring post. no picture.

blue skirt project

2011-04-26T21:16:00.006-08:00

this is for gail. i couldn't explain how to do the pockets over the phone.

i really liked simplicity 2258 (totally just made up the number...no clue what it is) that i used for my black snake fabric. the black is a little short (for sundays, fine for everyday wear) and i should have used wider elastic. so, i decided to make another skirt in the same pattern, with a few modifications.

i bought the blue flower fabric a year ago hoping to make a dress...which didn't work out. so i ripped it up and cut it out of the scraps. as i started sewing the tension on my machine went bonkers...so i googled how to fix it. and nothing worked. i just kept running scraps through and one time the tension clicked. so i didn't touch it the rest of the evening. i think a screw might be loose.

the first time i made this the pockets took me an hour to figure out. i've done pockets that are sewn into the side seams...but nothing like this.

this is the front panel of the skirt.

this is the pocket before sewing together.

step one: pockets pinned to the front panel.

step two: iron and top stitch as seen on the right side of the front panel.
step three: flip pocket panel towards outer edge of panel like the left side of the picture...does that make sense?

step four: sew pocket where it meets the skirt edge.

did any of that make sense? the pictures on the pattern didn't and it took some fiddling with to get it. but i did it! twice! good job me. i'll blog again when i finish the skirt. i just have to make it to joanns to buy some elastic.

and now i'm really hungry. and i have a carpenter ant monster to kill. but i'm not going to eat b/c it's ten at night and i wouldn't be hungry in the morning and my eating schedule would be all thrown off. last night i ate at 9:30 and all i ate today was an apple. tomorrow morning i will make myself the fajitas i want NOW.

good night.

more precious than gold: the child's role in taming alaska's frontier

2011-04-22T16:37:00.003-08:00

that is the title of my senior thesis. my almost finished thesis! i presented last week on wednesday night, first first, and wasn't nervous at all. and i looked cute. it always helps. i still have 2.5 weeks to write the other 15 pages. i'd post all the cool pictures of adorable children from a century ago, but then i'd have to get permission from the archives. and i'm too lazy to do that.

i did however enter an undergrad campus research contest and was accepted to speak at the symposium in ten days. that presentation can only be five minutes. i'll post that presentation so you can see how cool i am. i get to speak at a symposium. symposium. sim-pose-ee-um. it's a fun word to say.

in other news, it's spring. sort of. it's supposed to snow this week but the lawn is all empty of snow and slowly turning green.

i purchased my cap and gown. and tassely thingy. and phi alpha theta sash. i was going to get grad announcements. until i looked at the price...almost $100 for 25! no way! next year with my masters i will. not now.

and on saturday i babysat the cutest twins in the world again. they came over and we made playdough.

and then we went to the park and got bitten by mosquitoes.

the end.

april goals and intentions

2011-04-04T08:45:00.003-08:00

one blog i read...i read a few... but this one, "feed the soil," the writer reminds me of myself. super goal oriented and obsessive list making. she posts at the beginning of the month her previous months goals and whether or not she "met" them, and then her goals for the next month. i think she actually calls them intentions. which is a nice way of putting vague things. goals seem quantitative. intentions is much more qualitative and i think if i have intentions i don't feel so bad if i miss a few. or all of them. and i've never made monthly lists before either. i have long term goals and ideas and plans. and everyday i have a detailed to-do list. but no sketch of the month.

so, this, this is april.

prepare thesis presentation- i think i'll be presenting either april 13 or 20. i just have 15-20 minutes to present my paper; about 10-12 pages. and i am going to put together a powerpoint of pictures to go along. this means writing everyday now!

after presentation, finish researching- after i present, i'll have about a month left before it's due to do anymore researching in areas suggested by faculty and add about 15 more pages. i think i'll have more room for stories/examples/evidence in 15 pages, which will be much more interesting than my presentation.

attend Phi Alpha Theta regional conference in Seattle- leaving (this thursday!) for the regional PAT conference. i hope whoever i'm sitting next too doesn't mind talking to keep my mind off flying. i don't fly well.

walk 50 miles- 2.5 miles a day! once the ice melts on the mile loop, i'll add some running.

continue my morning yoga routine- up @ 6:00 and feeling great!

make dinner or lunch everyday- i try and make either enough lunch for dinner leftovers or enough dinner for lunch leftovers the next day. it depends on if g has class at night or during lunch. and i'm trying to make smaller portions. we've been wasting the leftovers if it takes more than two meals to finish.

date night with g!- i got asked on a date next friday night! who knows WHAT this will entail.

summer housing/employment plans- we don't know what we're doing this summer. most of this is reliant on my student teaching placement. g has decided to work up here this summer (i think, it changes every day...) so if i don't get in, at least he'll be up here with me as i try to get a job. i do need to make some calls/emails to tentatively arrange housing for this summer.

sewing projects- because anywhere we go, we have to pack up the apt. i am trying to finish projects and throw things away that i do not need! i have a bunch of lavender (still!) leftover from our wedding, and i'd like to make some cute little pillows to put in with clothes that are getting packed away for a few months.

blog- i like telling people (whoever you are...) about my life. most blogs have some sort of focus, (politics, cooking, baking, kids, farming, health, etc.) that they write about. but this blog...is about ME!

and one more...take pictures! blog posts are BORING without them.

spring. (in alaska)

2011-04-03T19:15:00.004-08:00

Pasque Flower.

some sort of crocus. this one was transplanted from along the highway near tok, alaska to butte, alaska in merl and lois's garden. it's the first flower to come out. at least that i've seen...maybe there's others?)

spring in alaska, is not spring like most people think about spring. and spring in fairbanks, alaska is different than spring in southeast alaska or barrow, alaska. so far spring here has been below zero at night, and above freezing during the day. this newsminer article said that the range of 36 degrees a day is larger than the average daily range for march and the largest of any daily range during the year.

the first sign though, of anything different...is the sun. sometime in february i FELT it. it was amazing. and now we have over 12 hours a day in light. and with the light comes heat...slowly.

now it's april. this morning when i woke up it was almost right at freezing. the path tromped down in the snow through our yard is melting and spots of dead grass are showing. there are depressions around trees of bare ground showing. when i go on my walk the snow pushed up on the sides of the road is rotting away from the ground, creating mini caverns and icicle stalactites. (i didn't even need to look that up...stala(C for ceiling)tites and stala(G for ground)mites.) when the snow falls it sounds like a sloppy snowball being thrown at me and i turn around...just spring though.

i've never seen it in person, but pretty soon the ice will go out on the tanana and the yukon. last year when yukon's break-up caused millions in flood damages to villages. the nenana ice classic is a huge lottery of guessing when the ice will go out on the tanana. every spring people put in their guesses and then wait. there's a tripod rigged up on the ice that signals when the ice has moved sufficiently for it to count as "going out." someday i'm going to win. :) last years winners took home roughly 67K.

after the ice and snow are gone, (hopefully before school is out,) the grass will stay brown. it doesn't rain much here, so it won't be too muddy around town. trails around town will be from the ground thawing though. the trees will start to bud out. the pussy willows are already out. hopefully the leaves won't be too far behind. my FAVORITE part of spring is the few days when the leaves appear and they are light green, not all the way out and mature. the hills begin to change color and within a few days, it's summer. spring doesn't last long here.

curry.

2011-03-31T13:12:00.002-08:00

we had curry for dinner last night. it was delicious. even though fairbanks has a large enough asian population to have an asian market, i do not make my curry paste from scratch. i buy a jar of red paste. from freds.

said curry below. over rice.

potatoes, cauliflower, red pepper, yellow summer squash, celery, serrano pepper, basil, ginger, onions and garlic. and g said it was bland and not spicy enough. i said he needed new taste buds.

i took these pictures of the leftover curry lunch today in the sun. after we took a walk in the same sun. same walk as yesterday in the same sunshine. it was a little colder though... i read a fitness blog and she tries to walk 100 miles a month. (not including walking around your house, etc.) i decided to try for 50 next month. my 2.5 mile loop daily will put me over that. and as soon as all of this ice melts...and the foot and a half of snow still on my lawn...i can add biking. wahoo!

solitaire.

2011-03-30T14:09:00.002-08:00

i really like solitaire.

by really like, i mean, i play it a lot. in fact, i'm fairly certain that i'm addicted and i can't control myself and when i should click exit, i hit play again and procrastinate writing my thesis.

other things that i do to procrastinate:
1. browse the internets for curtains. i'd really like some nice ones for the bedroom. we're(uaf res life) is having new windows put in our apartment building this summer. and they are going to be even bigger than they are now, and the curtains i have now will be too short.

2. browsing some more for a duvet cover. i HATE using a sheet on my bed. we have a fitted sheet. but another sheet between you and the comforter? ridiculous and pointless. within 30 seconds of getting in bed, it's at the bottom of the bed all twisted up. so, to keep our comforter nice i've decided we need a duvet cover. i've been looking for two years now. can't decide on one i like. and we'll probably need two, because we have a summer weight comforter and a winter one. maybe in another two years i'll find something.

3. reading other peoples blogs.

4. THINKING about writing and researching.

5. walking. i've been walking a three mile loop on campus. it's nice in the sunshine. in fact, i'm going to do that right now.

6. waking up at 6:00 AM and doing yoga. forever and ever i've been wanting to wake up early and do yoga and have a quiet, slow mornings instead of rushing around and starting my day late. over spring break g was gone and i was by myself and i can't sleep with him gone and i started waking up at 6 and haven't stopped since. it's AMAZING! i end up going to bed around 9, but my mornings are fantastic! my husband doesn't even get up that early anymore... he always tells me he can get up in the morning b/c he's looking forward to his cup of coffee. last night i realized i was looking forward to doing yoga in the morning! i think i'm on to something. i'm not sure how this fits in my list of ways to procrastinate working, but i'm quite proud of this accomplishment.

other things on my mind:
1. going to seattle next week for the phi alpha theta regional conference. i'm presenting the same paper i did last time. did you really think i would have another paper ready? HA! if you live in the area please come see me! i'll have saturday to hang out before we leave. hint hint...

2. i'll hear in a few weeks where i'm placed for student teaching. or if i even get a placement. i'm not impressed with the uas admission committee. we have to decide on our summer housing arrangements by next week. and i'm not supposed to know whether or not to expect another year of school or to look for a job now until the end of april.

3. time to get off the computer! too beautiful outside to waste it inside!

*hope this was an okay update laura :)

going to the archives.

2011-03-08T21:25:00.002-09:00

no, not the national archives. i just needed a picture. i haven't taken any pictures in the last month. but i am going to the uaf archives. i have several collections i am going to look through. most are on microfiche. and i have no idea how to use a microfilm reader. i suspect i will be bojangling around with it most of the time.

i'm trying to get around to researching. i have a sort of proposal and a working thesis on the table and now i need some sources to see what there is to see. i'm kind of excited. no, super excited. the book that i'm basing/contrasting my work against used over 1,000 sources. i only have twenty-five pages to squash my work into, and now, only a month and a half, but, i figured out that's about 3 sources a page. and since this is an original article, we're supposed to be mainly using primary sources. he hasn't said that specifically, but that's the point of the semester. to prove our ability to be historians. i have seven memoirs. and a bunch of pictures. and a handful of collections at the archives here in fairbanks. i'm also going to go to the archives in anchorage. i'm hoping somewhere along the way i hit the jackpot.

i have NO IDEA how to research. do i just let the archivist copy everything in sight i think might be worth it and then take it home and stare at it till it makes sense? microfiche is ten cents a page. and pictures are way more. and un-microfiched things are at the discretion of the archivist. john told us that he copied roughly 35000 pages worth of material for his doctorate. at ten cents a copy. that's around $3,500. ha! my goal is to spend no more than $150 on materials for this paper. the archives here i'm not so worried if i'm not allowed to copy something. i can just come back and look at it if i need to. but in anchorage...i'll need to get everything copied and take it home with me. and how in heavens name do i keep track of all the documents? i know how to cite them. i have my handy-dandy chicago manual for that. and how do i sort out what i am looking for? i have several categories i know i am looking for. but what other sorts of questions do i need to ask so i have direction? do i need folders to keep everything sorted out? do i use little notecards to make the citation on and keep on the front of the covers? do i throw everything up in the air and hope it arranges itself in an orderly fashion so that my thesis writes itself?

despite the fact that new places and situations make me uncomfortable because i'm not in control and feel like a little lost dork and i'd rather stay inside my apartment eating ice cream since garrett will be gone all break, i'm rather excited about touching and reading old things. i'm concerned i'll find NOTHING and be screwed...but i'll make whatever i can find work. and both the archivist emailed me back and were SO helpful. i told them i had no clue what i was doing, and they answered all my questions.

in short, i'm a nerd and i'm excited to research dead people and write about them and then read my paper to other nerds. so stoked.

they said to follow my passion.

2011-02-28T18:23:00.002-09:00

i went to the Alaska State Phi Alpha Theta History Conference this weekend. it was like an intermediate historian conference. we presented papers. i read, "klondike nelson and the influence of the nome gold rush." yes, that's right i read it. i did have some pictures to go with it. but still in the 21st century that's how we role. (reading papers as a presentation.) our fellow students and professors asked hard questions but nothing mean and no yelling and flat out disagreement or hate. historians do like to hate on people. and at the AHA conferences' things can get brutal.

in class one time we were trying to figure out just what historians did. and i said "hate on people." and everyone laughed. including the dept. head. the end.

back to my story. i got to wear a pretty name tag that said "sarah evridge." and hobnob with a bunch of great historians. including the "distinguished professor emeritus stephen haycox." ha. my conversation went something like this.

me: cough cough hack hack hack. i'm deathing.

him: those of us who didn't get sick this fall are paying now.

me: yes.

him: so, did you present today.

me: yes. a paper on klondike nelson.

him: tell me about klondike.

me: uh, um, stammer, her dad wanted to name her blacktail gulch. she was a kid during the gold rush in nome.

him: and what sources did you have?

me: blah blah blah, AND i referenced an essay from YOUR anthology and based my thesis on YOUR methodology.

him: well thank you. lael blah blah wrote a book about prostitutes in the klondike and frankly i think she didn't do a good job, but the public really likes reading about those kinds of things.

me: oh, well, i haven't read that.

him: don't. what are these? (commenting on the food we were in line for.)

me: hmm...not sure.

back at the table. OMG!!!! guess who i just talked to!!! stephen haycox! he asked me what my paper was about. he dissed some other historian and told me good job. AHHHH!!!!

back to my title. so.

that was at lunch that day. there was a panel about what to do with a history degree. the options are surprisingly abundant, but the consensus by all the professors/historians was to follow your passion.

follow your passion. so i had to look up passion. the webster dictionary was lame. but the urban dictionary definition was much better.

passion is when you put more energy into something than is required to do it. It is more than just enthusiasm or excitement, passion is ambition that is materialized into action to put as much heart, mind body and soul into something as is possible.

and now i feel like i'd be doing the profession a disservice because...while i love history and have some sort of affinity for it...it's not really a passion. at least not by the above definition. and maybe that's a result of being in the system for awhile. bureaucracy can kill passion after 15 plus years. so now i'm in a perpetual existential crisis.

and i need to bring the groceries in.

g'night.

hello parks highway!

2011-02-24T17:42:00.003-09:00

the parks highway is so boring. so boring when you're by yourself...and you're taking your time and you keep driving...and driving...and driving. and you have cramps. and all you want to do is curl up and sleep. or complain. or both.

i bought myself some grapefruit izze as a treat so i wouldn't have to stop in cantwell and buy the ten dollar bag of m&m's. they are delicious. the grapefruit ones at least.

and then i got to mom and dad's and showered and took a nap. the end. and now it's time for chicken and mashed taters. always a good reason to come home...

blogs i read.

2011-02-23T08:27:00.003-09:00

where'd they go?

the header is there: blogs i read.

but the blogs i read are gone.

and now i don't know what to do with myself and how to waste time in the morning. all of a sudden i'm required to start my hw an hour earlier. what am i going to do with all of this time on my hands?

p.s. g is the sickie in the house right now. and i won't let him have his morning coffee. poor baby.

btdubs.

2011-02-21T17:20:00.000-09:00

justin bieber is canadian.

sickie. sicky. sick-e. whatever.

2011-02-19T12:00:00.002-09:00

when we were little and got the sniffles (pukes, sore throat, stitches, ear infection, etc.) mom would call us her little sickies. and she would ask us what her little sickies needed. usually it involved popsicles.

garrett and i were dating and i told him when i was sick i had certain "sickie points" i could redeem. one time i was so sick, i drove myself to the porters and crashed on their futon for two days. i spent some of my sickie points by asking him for a slightly toasted piece of bread with butter and nutella. that involved a run to the store to get the RIGHT bread and nutella. i knew he really loved me then. ha. well, maybe a little before that. now he rolls over and pretends that he's asleep. but i just keep moaning till he wakes up. :) last night he kept asking me in his sleep if i needed anything. i should have capitalized on that...

and because the porters were so generous in sharing their futon. i shared my sickness. it mutated by the time it got to scott and he got pneumonia and almost died of dehydration and awfully sick in the hospital and missed his trip to panama. sorry. so sorry. and then he went in the work.

the end.

my future home.

2011-02-08T12:11:00.003-09:00

go here.

but in alaska.

and i'd modify slightly the modern addition. i LOVE windows, but in alaska, that means money. so, half the windows and i'm still in love. and i'd make the siding match the original. and g pointed out there's no art on the walls.

it's a rental. so if you live in ny and have lots of money or want to pile in a lot of people to a pretty house for a few nights. DO IT.

so beautiful. my dad would love this table. it's similar to a table he built for janelle and aaron in anchorage. and g loves the no-brick double sided fire place. and the floors. i don't like the chairs. can't wait to build a house someday. that's a long ways off.

g' night.

i am studying...

2011-02-06T19:42:00.003-09:00

i am studying childhood culture during the gold rush era in Alaska,

because i want to find out how children influenced settlement and culture during this time period,

in order to help my reader understand how children influence culture.

stay tuned for more exciting developments in sarah's thesis!

i'm hoping to find some cool memoirs to use as primary sources. i have one. i'm hoping for ten. i just pulled that number outta no where. maybe that's too many. maybe two from from every region...two from the seward peninsula/interior, two from valdez and two from the klondike. and two more just cuz. that's only 8. whatever. see the beautiful sunshine below?

stress...and a little bit of whining.

2011-01-30T17:46:00.003-09:00

read no further if you don't feel like listening to me whine...a little.

unfortunately the love fest outside my window (refer to last post,) isn't enough to buoy the stress that the many things that i have found to fill my life with has created. whew.
well...it isn't really stress so much as being tired. it is still pretty dark all the time. which doesn't help.

but...i never got a job back at the start of the school year, so i instead decided that i needed to do a lot of volunteer work and be a domestic goddess. (so much cooler than house-wife. it's what i've started putting on applications for "employment status.")

and of course, finish my last few classes so i can graduate with a pretty little piece of paper that says "i-worked-my-butt-off-for-five-years-please-give-me-a-job. pretty-please?"

my schedule for this next week includes: tutoring, baby-sitting, class, dinner, hanging up posters for game tournament club is putting on, dinner, Phi Alpha Theta meeting, class, and one more class, reading "by the bombs early light: the start of the cold war," empty recycling for building, dinner, cpr/first-aid class, said game tournament, figuring out the first "three steps" to my thesis, turning in application for grad program, tutoring again, dinner (there's a pattern with husbands getting hungry...,) prepping a paper for a conference...and then the regular stuff. oh yea...graduation application. i would like to walk in may.

i can't imagine how mothers go to school and be mothers. and wives. ha. they are crazy. my schedule is nothing compared to full-time students+mothers. being a mother is harder than the week i have ahead i know...and luckily i'm not a mother yet. i haven't made it to that level yet.

but i'll be glad for next sunday. have a great week! go to bed early for me!

love.

2011-01-29T16:17:00.003-09:00

our neighbors include a couple from sweden, a guy from japan, and a chilean couple. and then some average joes like us. the people from exciting places are all grad students/researchers, but they are all quite fun and polite as neighbors. no noise, yelling, or vacuuming at midnight. i hope we're that considerate.

so, the husband and wife from chile. OMG!!! (i'll blame my use of that on meredith. she and mia showed up this summer and it's now a permanent part of my vocabulary.)

ok, again, "OMG". they are so affectionate for each other. we have large windows that we can see the rest of the world through. and so we watch our neighbors. NO we're not creepy or stalkers. oh-em-gee. come on.

right, the chileans. when he walks to work everyday, or to the post-office, or just leaves the building he stops at the corner and blows kisses. and then catches the one she blows back. makes me swoon every time. and today, she was at the corner and jumped up and down waving at him. so sweet. i hope that when they're old they're still awesome like that.

breakfast

2011-01-25T09:20:00.003-09:00

my answering machine message asks people to fill me in on what they had for breakfast.

or at least it used to. i don't actually know because i don't call myself and leave messages. that's weird. and now everyone texts. none of this calling and talking business. that's for job interviews and sunday dinner invites from our elders. :)

so, i am having a bowl of oats+flax seeds+peaches+brown sugar. no butter or milk on my oats please. not a fan. delish really.

twins.

2011-01-24T07:14:00.002-09:00

i'm going to babysit twins.

identical twins.

two-year old identical twins.

in their destructive phase.

i have no idea which is which.

wish me luck.

(they're very cute. and smile a lot. and laugh. good for me...right?)

i want/need this.

2011-01-19T21:23:00.003-09:00

real bad.
from here.

on a side note, i'm bad at taking screen shots and editing them and pasting them in my blog. but it's SO cute.

achoo. ooo.

2011-01-18T10:40:00.003-09:00

i love sneezing. i am working on making the most ridiculous face when i sneeze.

there's the build-up face.
the sneeze face.
and the after sneeze face.

and in my case i lot of laughing. my g key isn't working. it's making a cracking sound. ha.

pictures of sneezing. i didn't intend for them to be babies. apparently it's easier to capture? or camera's are pointed at babies more than adults. that might be it.

super exciting blog.

2011-01-11T12:33:00.003-09:00

i had something fun, exciting, adventurous, witty...to post about. what was it? no idea.

what i am thinking about is the extemporaneous writing sample that i did this morning. part of the grad school application is an essay about an educational topic that the "laymen" can respond to. so i went in to the school of ed and got locked in a tiny room with no windows and answered

"should a teacher be the final authority on whether to permanently remove a disruptive student from class."

something like that.

there was a "yes" essay from a teacher and a "no" essay from a teacher and we had to summarize their points and then respond what we believed. so i rambled on about how i felt about that. i (from my limited experience point of view) do not believe that throwing a disruptive student permanently out of class is the best option and it is not just the teachers decision to make. there are SO many ways to get a student to exhibit the "right" sort of behavior. in special ed, the practice isn't to remove the disruptive student, it is to remove all the other students and leave the "bad kid who is throwing chairs" by themselves in the classroom. throwing chairs is an example of harmful disruptions. disruptions along the lines of this prompt were talking in class and coming in late. so...reinforcing good behavior and ignoring non-harmful "bad" behavior. is the student hungry? thirsty? have they been sitting for an hour? is the material too easy? too hard? what is their relationship with the other students? how's life at home? are you criticizing them in front of their peers? do you have a good classroom incentive program? sometimes a kid just doesn't understand the rules. they might not have been "taught" certain repercussions.

e.g. teacher asks student to go to time out. student says no. teacher says you're being sassy. teacher asks parent if they use time out. parent says no.

the student hadn't been "taught" time out and wasn't being sassy. they didn't know what they were saying no too.

kids can choose to not follow the rules. they make poor choices and talk with classmates during teaching time. and sometimes they need some time away. they need to understand they are responsible for their actions. but a teacher has so much more too think about than just the action that caused them to disrupt the class. and if the teacher can't identify the problem they can ask someone else to observe their class, the special ed dept. has lots of practice with disruptive students and of course parents no what happens the rest of the time. sometimes. anyway they don't need to be kicked out of class most of the time. so i wrote that. and some other stuff.

winter.

2011-01-10T09:41:00.003-09:00

weather is what old people and dad's talk about right? what about me? like, right now, it's not so cold. and it snowed this weekend. and i hope it gets cold because then the sun will come out and play. and i know i post pictures of the sunset, the moon, the sun, the mountains, the snow, the rain, the clouds, blah blah blah and never any people pictures, but really, the moon is way cooler. literally.

winter moon above fairbanks

solstice sunset on the parks

and one fun fact to make this not so boring: did i ever tell you i want a goat farm? and babies?
kids and kids. hehe.

the cutest thing you'll ever see.

2011-01-07T10:37:00.002-09:00

if you're a girl. and you have ovaries. you might even feel like you need one of these. alas, one is not in my immediate future. sorry if you thought it was. i'll let you know.

....it's soooo cute.

....my ovaries just about exploded.

...g's didn't. well, he doesn't have ovaries, but it was cute on his cute-o-meter too.

...maybe you've already seen this picture. but it's worth it to see it again.

...i promise.

from here: babyandwool

busted.

2011-01-06T11:24:00.002-09:00

my sewing machine is busted. ok, not busted as in i can never use it again. but busted to the point that it is FRUSTRATING to sew and to have to mess around and untangle the machines insides every time i use it.

it's a simple mechanical machine. a bernette 715. when i was nine my mom had me take a sewing class from the local quilt shop. and i got a few weeks of lessons plus a machine. it was fun. for a year. and then it sat in a closet until i got married. when i pulled it out and decided i was going to start sewing EVERYTHING. ha. i should have had it serviced when i first pulled it out, but i didn't. and now...it's getting frustrating. the feed dogs slip sometimes. the tension isn't perfect. backstitching is almost impossible. and if i use it for more than a few hours, it starts to hate me. and i'd like a serger.

about the time i was going to afford a serger. the bernette gave up the ghost. probably not really, but i threw my hands up and took it too a local shop. i'm waiting to hear back. i'd like a nice machine. i'd rather not get a computerized. the only reason i'd go there is because they're quieter. but that's it. i just need a few stitches and a buttonhole. and a serger. and i want to be able to sew through some pretty thick layers. and all sorts of material.

and...i don't want to spend a lot. i'd be willing to spend around $250. maybe a little more. but i think if i'm just getting a simple mechanical machine that's possible? i sure hope so...

christmas

2011-01-05T09:52:00.007-09:00

i know i'm going backwards with all the cool and exciting adventures that we have in our lives. but, i just found that i do have some people pictures. and they are actually kind of cool and exciting. and they feature my husband. he's the bees knees. hehehe. bees knees.

if you don't know g, his passion is snowboarding. he'd like a job as an economist that requires him to be hiking around the back country looking for pow. not sure how that works out, but he's sure it will. so, we live in fairbanks which is a desert as far as snow goes. and we are poor, starving(just kidding, we buy more groceries than my parents) college students who can't afford to drive down and go to alyeska every weekend. that means boarding days are few and far between for him. last winter he only went once. what's a boy to do???

while we were down in palmer he quickly remedied that situation. and went every day. except sunday. hiking up to see the sun at hatchers, building jumps, and even a day of alyeska. lucky dog.

i even went one day to take pictures. we raced the sun behind the mountain.

gansta brotha jon building a jump. he likes to "sag" his pants just a little.

hiking up a little

bam! or whatever it is when you get some air. no clue.

jon

g squiggles from the day before with jon

and one of the fam...one of the better ones you might see. this is jon preparing to do cross his eyes. i think on purpose. not really sure.

more normal.

winter on the richardson

2011-01-04T11:47:00.005-09:00

i think runt spruce trees, (black spruce) are one of the uglier things on this earth. but cover them in snow and put a pretty alpenglow sunset behind them and they are bee-you-tiful. these little guys had a hilarious amount of snow on them. them looked a little like they belonged in a dr. suess book.

we like the richardson highway in the fall and summer so garrett suggested we drive back home that way instead of the parks. the parks highway is nice if you want to drive through wasilla. if you want to go near wasilla. if you are in a hurry. for those of us who dislike wasilla, (refer to the awesome bumper sticker "please god help me get through wasilla." ok. i'm done hatin' on wasilla,) we prefer to avoid that town. it was cold when we left mom and dad's (about five below) and averaged about -15 the whole way back. it's nice to have a good heater. and a car that runs.

once again, i have no people pictures, but instead lots of pretty snow pictures. we caught the sunrise about 10:30 and the sunset about 2:30.

and two 'boos dukin' it out on paxson lake. i'm not quite sure why they were out on the lake. there's nothing out there for them to eat. but apparently, that's what you do in the middle of winter. a whole herd of them.

happy new year!

2011-01-03T14:30:00.003-09:00

we spent friday night with the spears family and friends.

ate tacos and churros, salsa and guacamole.

(i spelled guac wrong the first time and it offered glaucoma as a replacement.)

some of us played a raucous game of settlers of catan that was fun to play but even more fun to watch.

and we had fireworks. and so did the neighbors. and the other neighbors. and downtown. and at the base. and at the university. it was noisy and bright everywhere.

i wish i had a picture of these two. rylen, a five-year-old-cutie-pie, and charlie, the-best-puppy-in-the-world, didn't like all the noise. after the first few went off, they were huddled together and slowly backing up towards the house. rylen figured out that he could plug his ears. unfortunately charlie didn't have that luxury.

and there were northern lights.

it was a nice evening.

cold.

2010-12-01T11:09:00.002-09:00

it's chilly today. and yesterday. since we got back from palmer actually.

-25F.

high of -10F.

happy winter!

sparkles.

2010-11-14T12:24:00.008-09:00

shopping with saturday: sparkle edition

i have an itch. to spend some money. on some sparkly things. these sparkly things to be exact.

take your time...there's a lot. yes, i would wear some of these items...but not others. i was just looking for anything glittering right now. and i wouldn't wear them all at the same time. there were a bunch of sequined tanks that i didn't put up. almost everyone has some variation. and tights! i didn't put any shimmering tights up either. but they're out there.

Samhain Dress, Anthro

Sequin Shoes, American Eagle

Phoenix Sweatshirt, Banana Republic

Sequin Top, Buckle

Alena Dress, Delias

AWESOME shoes, Zappos

Silver Sequin Skirt, Gap

Sequin Shirt, J. Crew

Glitterati Party Clutch, J. Crew

Sequin Stripe Sweater, Old Navy

Windowpane Sheen Skirt, Forever21

Jeweled Tank, Forever 21

Shimmering Cardigan, Forever21

Sequin Tee, Nordstrom

happy halloween!

2010-10-31T14:13:00.003-08:00

i was a blue princess fairy. and very sparkly. this picture doesn't even show any of my sparkles.

garrett

2010-10-30T15:27:00.002-08:00

best friend, lover, partner, dish-washer.

what did you eat for breakfast?
oatmeal and coffee.
why is your breakfast so boring?
it's fast and healthy.
who made your breakfast?
my dearest, darling wife.
what is your favorite thing about your wife?
probably how she makes me oatmeal.

bwahahaha.
let's try this again tonight.

have a great day!

life.

2010-10-28T08:54:00.003-08:00

last month i was SO good about blogging. this month, who knows what happened. and i ran out of pictures to post. i just haven't had my camera out, and i was going through pictures i haven't posted, and they're all scenery. alaska is beautiful, but sometimes it might be nice to see something else? my camera takes very nice outside pictures. but i still haven't figured out how to take good inside ones. there has to be a way with my cheap digital. right?

a few things in our lives right now:

1. tonight i'm going to a deaf halloween partay! wahoo! i'm afraid my mother will be ashamed of the lack of creativity in my costume. i'm going as a fairy. i have a blue tutu thing i made with flowers all over it, blue wings from wal-mart and lots of blue glitter makeup.

2. garrett is reading me his speech for communications. on bering sea fishing. and how hardcore it is. yea, whatever.

3. wallowing in my jobless state. i spent the last two months trying to get an aid position with the school district. no such luck. on avg. 35-55 candidates were applying for each spot. i managed two interviews and both times they said "you're so enthusiastic and hardworking, but you just don't have enough experience." bah. and no luck subbing until you have a bachelors though i'm just one class away but no exceptions...

4. spent time with a friend from high school! it was great! i realize i really need some girlfriends to hang out with. like on a weekly basis. not just once or twice a year if i'm lucky. to rub in the point of not having any close friends here, i am volunteering at the museum this friday, and was asked if i could try to find a few friends to come and help also. that's when i realized...i knew no one to ask.

5. i'm working on my grad application to ua southeast's mat program. i was also going to apply to uaf's licensure program, but they lost their accreditation. so i'm down to one program. i have an informal meeting with the director next week i hope i can communicate to him how awesome i am. :)

6. failing to read as much as i should be for my historiography paper. i have to read three-four sources a week. i'm at source 4 of 16 right now.

7. feeling cold. it's winter. we're supposed to get our first below zero weather this weekend. hopefully it's a no show.

have a great rest of the week!

shopping with saturday. sweater edition.

2010-10-06T13:52:00.006-08:00

my cursor is gone. how do i get it back? oh it's back. from somewhere. maddening really. banging on my keyboard did nothing.

ok, SHOPPING WITH SATURDAY!

Sweater Edition Fall 2010

1. this beautiful open-faced (my term) sweater.
from delias.
2. this sweater also comes in brown. but no longer in my size, so black was my next choice.
from nordstrom.

3. not open faced, and i'm really not sure if i like this color...but, i didn't like the other colors at all. it'll look great with my birkenstocks and socks look. definitely a winner for winter in fairbanks. from boden.
i love shopping.

childhood

2010-10-04T05:26:00.000-08:00

histso that topic i had...children's literature. i knew it would change.

this is the new game plan. after i finally got in touch with my professor.

my topic is phrased something along the lines of
"perceptions of childhood in children's literature in the early national period"

so, right now, i attempt to find all the secondary sources that have been written about childhood by historians. it's only been a subject for about 60 years. so my sources are all recent. well, sort of. i need to have 15, at least 5 articles and not all from the 90s. or 80s. i need a few from each decade of the last 60 years.

and that's all. i'm bored with this blog post.

coming soon to saturday with the evridges:
1. garrett
2. cleaning pearls
3. shopping with saturday sweater edition

wahoo!

see ya next time.

children's literature

2010-10-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

my topic for my historiography paper. children's literature.

problems thus far:
1. picking a topic. this was a nightmare. and i still have a lurking feeling that i'll have to change.
2. we're supposed to be reading work by historians.
HA. when it comes to children's books, historians don't seem to care. it's mostly english professors. and librarians. and google doesn't tell me who taught where before 1980 and if they taught english or history or american civ.
3. does american civ count as history?
4. my advisor is NEVER in his office. difficult to get ahold of. i would be too if my sabbatical got canceled.

help from awesome people:
1. husband. "honey, it'll work out! i promise!" this goes against every fibre in his logical personality. he's more of a get-working-and-work-harder-otherwise-things-will-tank sorta guy. i need encouragement, love, prodding, positive thinking, hugs, and love. he cracks up that just saying "i love you" can solve a problem for me. magic it is.
2. clover! a woman with good taste in books, a love for children's books that rivals my mothers, a librarian... i messaged her on a whim and got a few suggestions back the same day! thanks!
3. mom. yea, she's a librarian. she has this librarian listserv thing with librarians all over the world. so i got her to post what i'm looking for. we'll see what i get.

i'm married to this topic for the whole year. i hope i still like it at the end of the year. next semester i'll get to do research on primary sources. for now, secondary sources by historians. books...

the moon.

2010-09-30T22:26:00.001-08:00

this is the moon.

say hello.

i like the moon.

the end.

that was a pretty good post wasn't it?

maybe i should learn to finish my posts before i schedule them to be posted...

this is a few days before the harvest moon.

now all the leaves are gone on the trees. we've had a few days of spitting snow. now we wait.

a fun game!

2010-09-30T12:33:00.002-08:00

we're going to play a new and exciting game called...

LET'S GO SHOPPING WITH SATURDAY!

yahoo! i made a promise that i wouldn't buy any new clothes this year. i started in may. i got the idea in may. not like, i made a promise in january and didn't start until may. no, i started in may. so, it's been five months and i've been successful. there are some loopholes though.

1. i needed a pair of winter boots
2. socks, underwear, bras, leggings, tights are all basics and don't count
3. i sort of need a winter coat. i need a fall/spring coat. i have a nice puffy coat. and a nice summer coat. and a peacoat. but i need a heavier fleece/light down. so, if i find/found one it's okay. doesn't count.
4. if i need something for work. not that i have a job, (topic for another time,) but when i do.
5. other loopholes as necessary. more like, sarah REALLY wants something and garrett says yes, but she guilts herself out of it. works like a charm. happens a lot actually. i just feel so guilty. an item will sit in my cart, (i only shop online...there's not much in this town) for weeks. until finally it's sold out.

what you're thinking is, this isn't even not buying anything for a year! but it's been helpful for me. it's a check on my ridiculous LOVE of shopping. not like biggest sale of the year shopping or super clearance sale shopping, but meandering through nordstrom and thinking that someday i will be able to purchase more than one thing at a time in this store. not that i shop there a lot. but it's my favorite place to shop. it smells good, they have nice couches, they have lovely piano music playing, an awesome bathroom with couches, and even if mom and i don't buy anything, we get a mango smoothie from the coffee shop.

where were we? um...oh yes, it's helping me. now i freak out when my total at fred's with just groceries is above $75. it's a fun little game i play. and i use cash only. and i go to u-scan. it doesn't glare at you like the cashier so i can use my bags and put items back if i go over $75. it's an art really. and i don't coupon shop. garrett (and i) are picky. we like what we like. and most of the coupon things aren't food items we eat anyway.

so.
first day of shopping with me.

i' m buying these.

the Keen "Bern Baby Bern" boot in oak.
available from several sellers. zappos, amazon, rei. all at $150.
size 6.5

any takers?

besides me? they would look really cute with what i'm wearing today.

interesting things. and a few pictures.

2010-09-28T19:59:00.006-08:00

absolutely nothing interesting is happening in the world right now. nothing.

there are a few things that i AM interested in.

1. merra is at a FREE punch brothers concert. drooling over chris thile, while i am trying to load youtube videos on my pitifully slow internet. my internet is usually not this slow, but they are transitioning the apartment from ethernet to wireless. so right now its etherless internet otherwise known as no internet. this post has actually disappeared a few times.

2. my awesome new stainless steel hot pink water bottle. with a cute grundens sticker. i'm not sure fisherman would call it cute. but on a hot pink water bottle??? my old water bottle had green things growing on the bottom. i'll blame that on the water that comes out of my faucet.

the silver one is garretts. i was going to get two silvers. but, i thought, i don't want to accidentally grab his and have a swig of smoked salmon cream cheese dip flavored water. and i like pink.

3. chuck. oh i do love chuck.

4. leroy. i miss him. i lay awake at night wondering if he's been eaten yet. or frozen to death. or made himself at home in my neighbors apartment. did i tell you i caught him? the same day i took those adorable pictures of him, he made himself a bed in my rug braiding braid bowl. here's a picture.

much easier to decipher. so, he ran straight up the end hanging out of the bowl, and bedded down in the rabbit fur that lines the bowl. and proceeded to poop all night in bed. yes, little leroy turds. sorry. my immature husband and myself immediately thought of "poop all night in bed" and cracked up. i wasn't sure he'd be there in the morning, but i started pulling the braid out anyway. and there he was, all cuddled up in the rabbit fur. looking up at me and wondering why he was so rudely awoken. sorry dude. you're toast.

so, i scooped him up in my peta approved trap, and took him outside. i fed him the last of the lettuce from our garden and sent him on his way.

when i checked on him after class, he was still huddled under the same leaves. i have a feeling he's been an inside vole his whole life. i hope he doesn't hate me.

now i'm eating super buttery popcorn with spike. by super buttery i mean, think about how much butter you would add, and triple that. buttery. we go through a pound of butter a week. my keyboard is shiny.

g'night.

the most pressing problem. (in my life.)

2010-09-27T14:17:00.002-08:00

i cannot wear tights or leggings without my skirt/dress sticking to my legs. and when i walk down the street it looks like i'm wearing shorts over leggings. which, is a fashion i've seen a few places, but that's not what i'm going for. so my skirt is sticking to my legs and i'm trying to peel it off as i walk but it never works. i'd like to just walk without being preoccupied with how i look. i need some miracle product that i can do a testimonial for in a commercial. so far water, lotion and static guard have not worked. static guard works for about an hour. so walking one way. but i still have to walk home from class.

anyone?
anything?

the vole.

2010-09-22T16:35:00.001-08:00

he's cute right? he's my new vacuum cleaner. all those crumbs are gone now.

this is my peta approved vole trap.

just scoop him up when he starts nibbling the apple and dump him in his natural habitat. i don't think it works. that's what i did last year, and now...he's back.

he's successfully evaded the uaf sanctioned sticky trap. just nudged it out of the way. ha. he thinks highly of the university just like its students. cutey-pie.

cutest vole on earth!

2010-09-21T21:24:00.004-08:00

whatsup?

yea.

me too.

awesome.

lets do it.

you do my homework/dishes/laundry/blogging/job applications/grad school applications

and i'll eat your ice cream!

isn't that nice of me? i know, i'm the best.

it's 9:30 and i'm not in bed asleep with the laundry put away, kitchen cleaned, vole caught, book read, booklist made, job app finished, grad app looked at, ice cream ate, well, did that, but you know. i might need more.

don't tell my husband but i may or may not have watched the season premiere of chuck, a little gossip girl, PLEASE don't judge, just like ice cream, i can watch it and do other things at the same time, 57 games of solitaire, ate ice cream, it's SO cool, it's tillamook (of course) and they were having a wicked good sale (2 for $6) so i went to get a few...and all that was left was "sweet centennial" vanilla swirled with brownie and chocolate cows filled with peanut butter, and yes, the cows make it taste better, made chocolate sauce, separate of course, not for the ice cream, just for eating purposes, took pictures of the cute vole in my kitchen, thought about killing him, realized he was too fast for me, and now i'm blogging about it. and i can't import pictures from my sd card to show you how cute he was/is. i put my card in...and it isn't making the dinging sound. and my volume is on. that was a long sentence. maybe a run-on.

i think garrett's home. gotta run! g'night!

bob

2010-09-15T10:47:00.008-08:00

over labor day weekend i was supposed to have another bookshelf built. didn't happen. so, we took some wood home from dad, and decided to ask uncle bob if we could use his shop.

the answer was yes of course, so we went over tuesday night and worked for an hour. we didn't think bob would be up for much more. he's 90 you know. and that's old. i don't think he knew how comfortable garrett was working with tools, so he started to do it himself. it was rather frightening to watch a 90 year old man cut wood. i was sure he was going to chop his hand/finger/who knows what else off. but he didn't. and he also didn't wear ear protection.

and then they planed them to death. i always liked the smell of sawdust. i got to sweep it all up. just like i was ten. when i was little i got a penny per nail, 5-10 cents per board (depending on size) and a quarter for sweeping on my dad's job sites. i never made very much for some reason...

bob's woodworking tools

fall evening light

yes, it really was this dark. only four small light bulbs hung from the ceiling.

maybe we'll finish them up tomorrow night. tonight, i have class.

stuff

2010-09-13T16:21:00.005-08:00

so, it's definitely fall. yellow leaves, cool mornings, school buses, blah blah blah. but it's SOOOO sunny. and warm in the middle of the day. it's the perfect temperature. no coat, long sleeves/short skirt or jeans/short sleeves. perfect. don't need socks yet.

...

not sure what i was trying to say about fall. that was yesterday. now i'm procrastinating before my asl class. yes, it's here. umm.. ya. i managed to read two chapters of novick. just need to read one tonight somehow. and one tomorrow. that book is killing me.

...

we had the workers over for lunch. it was delightful.

...

this was last summer's fishing:

cute little grayling. grayling, the fish. not me. my name's not grayling.

saturday

2010-09-13T08:48:00.002-08:00

over looking the chatanika on the steese hwy

weekending did involve a nice long drive out the steese highway. saturday morning i woke up on the absolute wrong side of the bed. and apparently garrett too. he did get a good amount of hw done though... neither of us were considerate of the other and it took about the whole day to right things around. awful really. but a nice long drive did the trick. blue skies, yellow-orange hills and sunshine. and some good food.

they'll be blue skies lookin' in your eyes- steve brown and the bailers

weekending

2010-09-11T07:00:00.001-08:00

things i'm doing:

reading chapter one. Objectivity Enthroned: The European legacy: Ranke, Bacon, Flaubert

reading chapter two. Objectivity Enthroned: The professionalization project

working on my braided rug. have i ever shown you pictures? i should. it's awesome. and made of old clothes that had holes in them/too small/stretched out/never worn/hideous/blah/blah/blah.

practicing fingerspelling.

making sourdough pancakes. i got some starter from dad, who got his starter from leila block, who i'm sure has had hers forever. so basically, it's the best. i'm going to see how i feel with fermented bread vs. regular bread. i'm not supposed to eat gluten, which i've not been very considerate of the last few months, and i'm feeling it. my goal is to make bread instead of buy it, and since i'm lazy and don't like baking, and i don't have a bread pan, we'll have less of it around is my guess. which is good for me. sorry babe.

enjoying the beautiful fall weather and leaves! every day i ask garrett, "have i told you that fall is my favorite season?" and he replies, "no! that's very interesting. thank-you for sharing that with me." :)

oh yes, finding a topic for my historiography/thesis papers.

things he's doing:

working. possibly laying a laminate floor.

not working. maybe he'll cuddle with me instead.

homework.

blogging. heehee. he's taking the required art appreciation course this semester, and one of the requirements is a blog. i'm not sure if that's where they post their hw, or if it's just a location for their personal responses. and he also blogs for an economic nerd club he's part of. HA. SWEET. students who enjoy economic thinking. sponsored by flint hills, who's owned by none other than the billionaire koch brothers, who back the tea party. and he gets paid. to blog once a week about some economic essay by some economists who only economists know about. well, there are a few famous ones. but not many.

"i don't know." his words.

super exciting weekend planned for us! enjoy yours!

silver fishing

2010-09-10T07:00:00.002-08:00

ok. that's charlie. not a silver salmon fishy. but whatever,...he's way cuter than this dead thing:

yes, charlie is much cuter, cuddlier, droolful, stinky, but mostly cute. we were playing catch to his hearts content. it was so hot, (alaska style) he even had to sit out for a round or two. that fish? he died when we were playing catch. and he tasted good. i'm going to eat his brother for dinner tonight.

who-whowho-who

2010-09-09T07:00:00.001-08:00

we saw him/her last night in the woods next to our apt. the chancellors wife was out looking for the who'er too. its call was much deeper than i've heard before. maybe i've never heard a large owl before. and in the distance you could hear the answer.

...maybe it will take care of the vole in my bedroom for me.

remmus. summer backward.

2010-09-07T18:16:00.015-08:00

we went to palmer over labor day weekend.
it involved several things.
that i didn't take pictures of.
raspberry picking @ merls
potato hilling @ merls
a very muddy 4wheeler ride
costco
salmon
food
tacos
apple bread
food
yum
i'm going to eat breakfast now.

i did take pictures of these things though:

1. denali
there were so many people (labor day,) that garrett and i were not interested in getting out of the car. but the mountain was super clear, not a cloud in the sky.

2. birch burl
dad found a huge burl at one of his jobs. so, garrett and i helped him load it in the truck. garrett helped him i mean. i took pictures, a very important part of the process.

3. joe/jon cross country meet
joe ran xc the last two years. now jon is in high school he decided to join him. crazy boys. running ten miles a day. anyway, this is them finishing their 5k. jon pr'ed! (personal record.) good job! keep it up!

joe having fun!

jon having fun!

lots of skinny boys with long legs
joe finishing!
jon finishing!

yes, i was there!

in other, non related labor day news, i washed my hair with vinegar (as the shampoo) and honey (as the conditioner.) it worked quite well. and dried super fast. like, twice and fast as a normal wash. i'll try it again tomorrow and let you know how it goes.

history is a trick played by the living upon the dead*

2010-09-07T07:46:00.004-08:00

we made it through summer! this is probably the first year that i am not CRAZY excited to go back to school. but i'm trying. the reason might be the giant of a class i'm taking.

history 475. historiography.

"this course has two objectives. first it examines the writing of history. historiography describes historical arguments, theories, and interpretations as they developed over time, and how schools of thought on particular events changed. we will consider Western Historical thinking, especially that of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, along with some of the main issues and problems of historiography, philosophy of history, and historical method. within this context, the course emphasizes the search for a "usable past." second, it provides an introduction to the writing of your senior thesis by giving you the opportunity to critically examine the historiography of a topic or field of study of your own choosing. the term paper that you generate will provide the historiographical context-- the literary discourse, historical background, problem/question, and method--on which you will base your senior essay."

let's review the weekly reading of "That Noble Dream: The "Objectivity Question" and the American Historical Profession" by the illustrious Peter Novick. oh, just a few hundred pages and outside readings, including your book list. not much. every sentence takes me about 30 seconds to process.

allright...it's not going to be THAT bad. that's just the first five weeks, and then we don't have class anymore. just writing conferences. the paper is only twenty-five pages on what i WANT to write about. of course, i don't know what i want to write about. but i'll have to decide by thursday. and i'll let you know.

did i mention the professor had his sabbatical canceled and now has to teach this class? yea, he's not happy either.

anything else? yep. just one more.

ASL III. i didn't think i was going to take another class but then rules started popping up about loans, and money, and insurance, and so i am taking six credits. my professor is deaf. and it's rude to talk in front of her. it's going to be a long semester. i'm sure i'll come out very confident in my comprehension of asl, if not my own signing.

and a picture! i sortof finished this. i used white for the sashing. yea, that's a lot of white i know. now, just to quilt it using my machine and take some pictures...i'm going to try at least. and i'm using red thread. too much?

*quote by voltaire

happy solstice!

2010-06-21T07:00:00.001-08:00

remember this laura and merra? it was a bit of a soggy evening.

the most beautiful shoes on earth.

2010-06-15T20:09:00.005-08:00

oh how i love you most beautiful shoes on earth.

sigh.

why did i decide i was only going to buy practical, necessary items this year...

work, visitors, garden, work, visitors, work, sleep, blah blah blah

2010-06-07T15:06:00.003-08:00

we've done quite a bit since i convinced myself i was going to blog every day a month ago.

we finished the semester. garrett got a 4.0 gpa! woohoo! good job honey! i didn't.

we began new jobs. i work at the georgeson botanical garden as a shoveler, weeder, gift shop attendant and tour guide. free tours friday at 2:oo. its at the other end of campus so i bike to work everyday. garrett works with a local dirt digger company that he has previously done snow removal with in the winter. he also finds himself to be primarily a shoveler; though he gets to run the "bull do-do" sometimes.

we had visitors. and went visiting. first was joe. he had a track meet here in fairbanks and so we picked him up and had tacos and then biked to hot licks for ice cream. and then i missed his events the next day. oh well. next came vera lundell. she came mostly to visit her cousins but hung out with us a morning and went to acrc for lunch and a good conversation. then we drove to palmer one weekend and rototilled dad and merls garden at merl and lois snavley's. where we got married. joe also had regionals for track and we watched him run the 300 hurdles and the 4x400 relay. he did awesome placing 4th in the hurdles and making it to state! good job joe! the next weekend was joe's state track meet up here in fairbanks. so dad and jon drove up and slept on our floor/couch for a couple nights. we went to the salmon bake which was insanely expensive and honestly...not that great. and they didn't have any potatoes. joe made it to finals the next day so we went and watched him run the 300 hurdles one more time! he was seeded 8th and had the outside lane which apparently isn't that great and he did not like. he didn't PR but he was the only sophomore out of all the seniors and a junior. so we'll see him run again next year. and the next. finally merra lundell and ali christenson drove up for the weekend. we were planning on going camping and having smores. however, it was pretty smoky and insanely dry and we figured that anywhere we went we'd probably burn down. so we went out to ed's and camped on his deck. :) and grilled kabobs and smores and watched merra and ali shoot each other with paintball guns. we drove out to the white mts. the next day for a short hike, saw a lot of whistle pigs (hoary marmots) and then came home and slept. FINALLY, we had a two bbq sunday. and that was the month of may in people.

we planted a garden. so, i was telling you about the university helping us with out garden, doing it all for us? ha. we waited. and called. and emailed. and waited. but finally gave up. and spent memorial day tilling and raking and hilling and watering and seeding and running to freds and we still have more to plant. i was disappointed to say the least, in uaf. may was SO warm (70s and 80s for two weeks!) that we could have planted all our cold crop vegetables and been just fine. and lettuce and tomatoes and spinach would have been fine too. but oh well. they're in the ground now and we just have to kill all the aphids, weed and water. i'll take a picture soon. and then after things sprout. and then we can eat things. we are mostly learning and experimenting right now. me working at the botanical garden is certainly a plus because i am able to ask the people who KNOW EVERYTHING about gardening in fairbanks.

we...what else? i don't know. i'm sure we've done more things even. but that's all i can think of now. uh...umm...so...yea. pictures! yes, pictures. only took a few of joe's region meet in palmer. they're at the beginning of the post. just kidding. the internet is taking too long. you just get to read everything i'm babbling about. :)

we hope to this month: finish cleaning up our property. i went through the shed and took a bunch of stuff to the "really free market." the rfm is this thing...that uaf does where everything is really free. and then the stuff that doesn't get taken probably goes to some charity. there is no money or bartering involved. some things are not worth while. others are really good. and stuff goes fast. by the time we got there an hour into it there wasn't much left. back to the property. there is also a large "take-to-the-dump" pile. this fall we'll burn all the burnable trash and the shed. we'd also like to define the borders of the property, decided where the house is going and cut down a bunch of trees. our anniversary is on the 19th then wasilla convention and then mia and merra are going to sleep on our floor for awhile. should be a fun month. we'll see when i post next...

it was a dark and stormy night...

2010-04-30T10:40:00.003-08:00

dark: gloomy, lurid, murky, nebulous, ominous, caliginous

stormy: blustery, foul, squally, tempestuous, torrid, tumultuous

i like these much better, not that they will become a cliche phrase anytime soon, and really, i was talking about the sky, not the night, but...

it was a gloomy and torrid night...

it was a ominous and tumultuous night...

it was a lurid and foul night...

etc.

deliciously rainy

2010-04-29T17:43:00.005-08:00

just delish. it smells so good. the rain smell of course. and the clouds are dark. and stormy. and mostly it just smells SO good. i love the rain smell. any good words beside "dark" and "stormy?" i feel like this is an opportunity to expand my vocabulary. anyone?

i have a thing for cool bathrooms

2010-04-28T21:31:00.004-08:00

these are the pretty things i am putting in my upstairs-in-the-eves-claw-foot-tub-and-chandelier bathroom.

soapdish

hobnail milkglass lamp

pewter pitcher for...oh, flowers probably. in fairbanks...fake ones.

large wooden framed mirror. dad will make me one much prettier than this one. when he's finished with the bathroom he's making mom, i'll share that. it's awesome.

and i want this in my kitchen:

g'night.

our garden is gonna be awesome!

2010-04-26T10:08:00.006-08:00

oh boy! i am soooo excited! i have no idea what i'm doing and neither do the other three people gardening with me. garrett and i and our neighbors erin and joe. but its still going to be awesome.
we are going to have two really long rows, (just the area that we have to work with) each about 75 feet long. and also an area, maybe a ten foot square, that is just about always in the shade. and the side of our apt. building that is almost always in the sun. i'll take some pictures one of these days. and the blue sky that we keep having.

so far this is the "layout". the two long rows. the outer row from north to south (away from the sidewalk) will have potatoes, spinach, peas, and squash/zukes. and the inner row from north to south will have onions, strawberries, lettuce and carrots. and if we have a little bit more room between the sidewalk and the trees i'm going to try a row of sunflowers. they grow quite well here and the university always plants a bunch. and i don't have to wait until the last weekend of may to plant. i'll plant those after my last final on may 10th! woohoo!

we are going to have tomatoes and herbs in planters next to the building where it is warmer, sunnier, more protected, soil warmer and easier to support them. and the rhubarb start i'm getting is going in a partial sun area. i think rhubarb can handle shade and cold more. i'll just have to take pictures so you can see where we're planting everything. OORRRR you could come and visit huh???

flowers! i think i'm probably planting a few too many, but whatever! in addition to the sunflowers (i'm into companion planting) we're planting marigolds and nasturtiums around and in the vegetables. if the nasturtiums i started don't grow or die in transplant, i will buy some starts like the marigolds. i don't have room to start everything. and the morning glories, sweet peas and delphiniums are each going in a large pot with cage and being set somewhere where i can see them and all their prettiness. and the bachelor buttons are going to go in front of our bedroom window. and shady areas, and wherever else i feel like.

can't wait! maybe we'll even get to eat some things...

and this is the red couch cover i made. makes the living room bright!

babies!

2010-04-19T11:21:00.003-08:00

are babies are sprouting! hooray! we just might eat some tomatoes and basil this summer! i'll take some pictures later. we were gone when they came up. thanks sam for misting them! :) next weekend we are starting zucchinis and uh..something else. can't remember.

the wedding was great...the ceremony was beautiful. and they had goldfish in the tulip vases. basically the whole five days was an awesome time with awesome people. so much fellowship and love! going to the airport with c von, calvin, laura, merra, brian and gail was an adventure. we paid for transportation ahead of time which turned out to be a bad idea. not that it didn't work, but the drivers were middle eastern or asian of some sort which only reinforced our stereotypes of them. we could hardly understand them, they were late, horrible driving, and yadda yadda yadda. provided some laughter before we left. and then we ate dinner with calvin at the airport. and then we were home.

and back to our babies. and summer! its about 60 F now during the day! yahoo!

i love shoes

2010-04-12T14:41:00.007-08:00

SHOES! are amazing! and i don't like cheap shoes. i may buy cheap clothes...but shoes...i like my feet and my knees are pretty important i think. if i wear cheap shoes with not much support i can't hardly walk on pavement. my new favorite brands are miz mooz and seychelles. plus, they only get worn for an hour to meeting and during our short, short, short summer. so, i don't get too many options. walking around campus i wear boots most of the time.

i want ALL of them! aren't they cute?

SHOES! are amazing! and i don't like cheap shoes. i may buy cheap clothes...but shoes...i like my feet and my knees are pretty important i think. if i wear cheap shoes with not much support i can't hardly walk on pavement. my new favorite brands are miz mooz and seychelles. plus, they only get worn for an hour to meeting or

i want ALL of them! aren't they cute?

sunshine

2010-03-31T21:41:00.002-08:00

i love fairbanks. it is sunny for over 15 hours a day now. we came home from meeting and it was light out. and when i come home from grocery shopping monday nights at 9:30. everywhere else in alaska it is cloudy and miserable. (at least thats what i'm telling myself.) and its warm. warm enough for fairbanksans to wear shorts and t-shirts. a balmy 45 F. the pussy willows are out and some trees have visible buds. and the geese will be here next week. we heard about light at meeting tonight. if it was always december 21 no one would live in fairbanks...thank goodness for june 21! just like having heaven to look forward to. i love the sun!

placemats for mom

2010-03-22T20:07:00.005-08:00

i made some placemats with some fabric that was a little too bright to be a skirt. i was too cheap to buy any heavyweight interfacing or any of that heat resistant stuff. i don't think it will be too much of a problem. the pictures don't show how bright they look, especially with all the snow still. and, with the leftovers i made this:

the best part is that my mom likes them and can't wait to use them!

spring

2010-03-20T13:50:00.004-08:00

spring in fairbanks has come. the days are consistently above freezing (3o-35 F) here on the hill. and our huge front window means we bask in the sunshines heat all day. there may be snow (above,) but i'm enjoying some pretty purple tulips on my bookshelf!

tundra

2010-03-20T10:34:00.007-08:00

yesterday we went on a fun hike with marci and andy. garrett and andy snowshoed up wickersham dome about a month ago, when it was miserably cold. so, they wanted marci and i to enjoy the walk too! the spring weather we've been having is beautiful. just above freezing every day and clear sunny skies. it was "flat" compared to a hike in the valley or southeast, but thats just because we started out at 2100 feet and went up to about 3200 instead of starting out at about sea level. the pictures are in reverse order. i think blogger has the worst picture adding process ever. when i try and add them all at once from picasa...doesn't seem to work. oh well.
the top was super windy! and had some cool rocks for garrett to show off his new rock climbing skills.

miles and miles of tundra

at the top!

this makes you think he's pretty high....:)

can you spot him??? we were all wearing black for some reason.

spring sunshine! look how high it is in the sky! and you could actually feel the warmth!

tracks!

ready to go!

a is for alaska

2010-02-21T22:15:00.003-09:00

some a's i spend time with...

A Practical Wedding
-the new feminists. much calmer than the old ones. just as over-educated.

A Mountain Bride
-beautiful pictures of beautiful weddings

Anthropologie
-their cloths are amazing but their store aesthetics and decorating even better

Alaska Airlines
-i hate flying.

Anchorage Daily News
-go here for alaska's largest news source

Anna Maria Horner
-pretty fabric, art and projects

Amazon
-go here for shoes. and everything else.

American Eagle Outiftters
-fairbanks has one!

Alaska Advantage
-they own my shirt, apartment, husband, and first child.

Ann Taylor Loft
-clothes that make me feel like a teacher.

Athleta
-new store along the lines of gap, old navy, banana republic, piperlime, etc. i think i like rei better though.

warmerish

2010-02-12T11:03:00.003-09:00

setting sun around 2 PM back in december...view to the right out of the front window.

i want to post that winter is going away, but that will only bring it back. it is getting lighter and as a result it gets warm during the day. we are gaining 6 + minutes a day.

other good news? i used the word "blather." i smiled and forgot what else i was saying because i was so happy.

even more good news? school is pretty easy this semester. for me. garrett is taking a bunch of freshman general ed classes. he has a lot of busy work.

my schedule:

People, Places and Environment Geography.
not really sure the point of this class. no homework yet, two tests.
History of the American West.
the best class i've taken yet. i now want to get my doctorate and be "Dr. Evridge."
Curriculum and Strategies II: High Incidence.
another sped class. mostly A LOT of reading but a fun practicum in a resource room.
American Sign Language II.
i don't think i'll ever be an interpreter but i will teach my children.

so, not very much work. not very stressful. and i'm finally applying for my aa. i'll at least get one degree in four years.

class is over! woohoo!

finally!

2009-10-27T10:46:00.002-08:00

its winter finally! it made itself official yesterday morning with some of that white stuff. it is of course much warmer now that it is snowing and not blowing, and dark and gray and ugly. garrett pushed snow last night, and it is still going this morning so he'll probably go again tonight. judging by the cloud cover it doesn't look like its going to stop anytime soon. i'm so excited! it's so beautiful! walking down the street yesterday on campus, everyone was on their phone telling someone somewhere that it was snowing and smiling. hopefully it keeps snowing and we don't get below zero temps for a few more weeks. i am trying to keep the puffy coat away until it gets colder.
it is also going to feel much lighter with the snow. the sun comes up around 9:30 now and down around 5:30. with snow cover it won't feel so dark. we still have about two more months of losing light...not the most exciting part of winter, but not the worst.

someday i'll post apt. pictures. until then...just a few papers to write. :)

school

2009-09-17T19:31:00.002-08:00

school started uh, a few weeks ago. my schedule is full(er) than i've had the last few years.

modern china
geography of the pacific rim
inclusive classrooms for all children ( SpEd)
history of alaska
american sign language

so, modern china, geography of the pacific rim, and history of alaska all mesh very nicely. as well as my SpEd and ASL classes. maybe i'm starting to feel like i'm getting somewhere closer towards graduating...and work. after this year i'll only have my historiography and senior thesis, and then, then, i'll have a BA. and then, back to school.
*sigh* so many pieces of paper and i just want to have chickens and a cabin in the woods and children playing in the mud??? oh yes, don't forget the bathroom.

asl is by immersion, so, we are not allowed to speak during class. it is very effective. it makes your brain work thats for sure. and with my SpEd class i am going to north pole middle school once a week to interact in an intensive resource class. we're not allowed to just sit and observe; we have to "get in and get dirty." only, no feeding, no toileting and no restraining. and we can wear jeans. modern china and history of alaska are nice typical history classes. alaska is writing intensive but it's only a 15 page paper. so really, nothing much. and geography of the pacific rim is more of a seminar, read articles class with another 15 page paper. my asl class has a four pager, and one freshman was shocked. i had to smile and remember when two pages seemed like an eternity. now i measure pages in minutes of writing, not words. a two page paper should only take about an hour. if you really know what you're doing maybe 30 minutes. a 15 page paper should just be a good weekend. can't wait till december!

fall

2009-09-13T19:30:00.003-08:00

fall started a while ago. like a month ago really. it froze one night. it hasn't again...but its coming. we've had a good september. 70 F everyday until this weekend. i' only went out to pick cranberries a few times, and i think i'm probably done for the year. i have six cups of low bush. and six cups of high bush. high bush cranberries really aren't cranberries, well, loosely, distantly somehow related enough to have the name "cranberry" and the species that's here in ak is not the one everywhere else. i'll probably make jelly. someday i'll try "sauce" or the thanksgiving kind of jelly.

we're having thunderstorms tonight and driving home from gospel mtg. there was a terrific rainbow. i didn't have my camera though. it wasn't tall and skinny, but it was like four rainbow pieces all quashed together but as ali said, they looked like they were "filleted." like a cube of rainbows or something. just use your imagination. you'll figure it out.

i had a mouse venture through my bedroom friday night. i was about to go to bed, when i saw something move. he/she was running through shirt sleeves and trying to go home? go somewhere i couldn't see him. he was very cute, but there was potential for the mouse flu and we really can't have that can we? so, i got two mason jars and scooped him up. and let him outside. other people in our complex said that they can get in the front door, but the bedroom is NO where near the front door so i'm not sure how he got in. there are some suspicious holes in the bedroom. and then i picked up ALL the clothes in the room and i will NEVER EVER leave clothes lying on the floor again. i will never try and put on a sock only to find a mouse in it. nope, not happening. i did consider putting in a cage and taking it to res life. there's a strict "no pets" policy (only fish) but they allowed this mouse in...our neighbors have an iguana...i don't know how they pull it off.

garrett's out at moose camp, and he texted me "shhhh, i'm hunting." you're not supposed to be able to do that hunting i thought? or call me every evening? sounds too nice. i am off to a busy week and hope to see him tomorrow night or tuesday!

more bathroom pictures

2009-08-26T15:11:00.001-08:00

notice the nice cubby holes.

i like the sinks on the table.

i like the shelves.

everyone needs a sauna.

upcycled window frame. now a chalkboard and mirror.

very nice and open. and nice floor.

i like pine.

notice the tub fixture.

i like the paneling.

cool bathtub curtain.

barn door? yes.

perfect ceiling.

i would like my bathroom to have a walk in shower with floor to ceiling tile, and a nice bench. the claw footed tub will be tucked into a corner, with the ceiling sloping over it. bathrooms need to be much bigger than people make them. they're always crammed and tiny and boring. why can't a bathroom be somewhere to hang out...ok maybe not. i still want to have an awesome bathroom. i'm not okay with a little square. all of the above things and i will have my perfect bathroom.
and the chandelier.

for now (one more week!):

my bathroom.

2009-08-26T11:52:00.004-08:00

someday, i will have a romantic claw-footed tub in my bathroom. and this will hang above it.

from here.

new moon

2009-08-13T19:15:00.002-08:00

really not a new moon...but the first moon we've seen since may. at least me. it's been makin' the rounds i'm sure. just skipped over alaska i think. he's getting bigger too. maybe when we have clear day again i'll be able to see him. it's been cloudy and rainy. the clouds are getting wispier. in the summer, when its hot, you'll see the big ginormous poofy clouds. in the winter though, they're thin and delicate. even when there's a lot of them.

our saturdays have been uneventful. mostly most of the same things that happen during the week. nothing extraspecial. we do sleep in (8 o'clock! woohoo!) and go to bed earlier. but theres been a lot of laundry and dishes and homework. speaking of which, i'm excited for school. i've always enjoyed school starting. it's my favorite time of the year actually. we're almost there. it frosted the other morning and its below 40 F every morning now. the air smells much cleaner. and the moose are starting to come hang out in the yard. the fireweed's gone. leaves are starting to turn yellow. hooray!

lung cancer

2009-08-05T12:23:00.005-08:00

we're going to die of lung cancer and we're not even smoking cigarettes. this is what fairbanks looks like right now:

it's like the summer version of ice fog. there's an inversion, (like the one that creates the ice fog) and it is holding the smoke in. currently there's millions of acres burning in alaska from 70 plus actively burning fires. if this keeps up we'll be outta here for awhile:

http://www.adn.com/news/environment/fire/story/887854.html

http://newsminer.com/news/2009/aug/05/fire-grows-murphy-dome/

this is me not playing with settings. just weird light and huge smoke clouds

wedding ceremony pictures

2009-07-15T12:34:00.007-08:00

yea...they're backwards.

before wedding pretty pictures

2009-07-15T11:55:00.010-08:00

all pictures are jen's! thanks!

yea, i got married.

2009-06-28T15:02:00.002-08:00

we're all hitched up and now this blog is for both of us. the week we got married was relaxed but hectic all at once. the few days before the wedding, there wasn't much for me too do. relatives and friends showed up and took over. the day of the wedding...i did a lot. but it wasn't stressful. it kept me busy enough that i had time to relax but not enough time to get nervous. and the whole time i did my hair, curl, pin, etc. i was on the phone giving directions to the wedding. i was the only one at the house so i answered the phone(s) and gave a lot of directions. a hot curling iron in one hand and a phone in another don't make a good combination. the hair went up, the dress got put in the car and then we drove to the snavleys. i got dressed, and 45 later we walked up the aisle. the one thing that i didn't like was the fact i couldn't hear the music. i picked out all of our favorite songs and the only one i heard was the one i walked up to. oh well. i haven't seen any pictures yet...no one's put any up and i KNoW they're out there. jen's pictures are in the mail and we should have them in the next few days and i'll put them up. we had a great honeymoon too...maybe i'll put some of those pictures up someday too!

pretty hair things

2009-06-08T11:16:00.007-08:00

all of them are from somewhere on etsy...they're so pretty! i have a tiny head, and i can't do the fat scarf-like headbands, even though they're super cute. instead...i stick with the little tiny ones in the kid section, and they fit! i thought i knew what i was going to do with my hair for the wedding...but it seems to be changing daily. i tried my dress on with the hair i was going to do, and it looked all victorian and little house on the prairie and stuffy...and it wasn't me. i don't want to be uncomfortable and look like i'm going to prom and yada yada yada blah blah blah. i want to look natural, and normal, and at the end of the day i don't want my hair to get stuck in one place with hair spray. i'm trying to avoid hair spray...and we're taking pictures the day before so i can always look like one thing one day and another the next...HA. and now, i am thinking about making one of these headbands. they aren't really expensive...but if i can avoid shipping anything more to ak i'd like to. it's kind of expensive. ok, really expensive. who knows what i'll end up looking like. garrett's request was curls. up or down. i think i can manage that much.

sorry about all the wedding-y posts. i'm getting excited to just write about boring regular life things.

healthy happy people

2009-06-08T10:33:00.002-08:00

i'm of the opinion...that food is VERY important. and my almost sister-in-law-who-really-has-been-my-sister-all-along just found out that she cannot eat: gluten, dairy, eggs, cranberries, blueberries, etc. similar to me: gluten, dairy, eggs, pineapple, bananas, etc.

to some people, finding something out like that is a death sentence. others respond with a joyful "YAHOO!" and get up and get going to feeling better. and having more energy. and are happy to not be sick all the time. it's crazy the amount of health issues that can be eliminated with just simply removing gluten from your diet. but food has become so removed as part of our daily lives (imho,) we just don't spend the time on it, or thinking about it that we used to. we eat whatever is convenient and most of the time, what we want. potentially wrecking havoc on our bodies. it's true that some people can eat anything and they're just fine. but some of us...can't. our bodies can't handle these foods, and we don't have "allergic reactions that cause immediate death or worse," but we do feel just plain awful. i found out when i was 17, gail found out @ 19, and while we're on the younger end of people that learn things like this that's still a lot of years of buildup on our dear intestines. for those who find out later, the build-up and problems accumulated are SO much worse. and so, we don't eat bread, cake, cookies, buns, rolls, pizza, pasta, etc. etc. we do eat, tacos, tacos, tacos, tacos, thai food, and then, more tacos. good thing garrett LOVES tacos.

happy summer sunshine

2009-05-20T12:34:00.002-08:00

i just got back inside from lunch. i took my lunch bag and went out to the lawn, and sat in the sun and ate and read a book and it was marvelous! it's not as green up here as it is down in the valley already, but i'd say summer is here. and speaking of the valley...
i was there this weekend. i flew down and ran a gamut of wedding related errands. (ran a gamut/ran the gamut...does gamut work here?) everyday there were about thirtygajabillion things to do, but we managed to get 'em all done. and i got to see laura and merra! yahoo! i went to anchorage almost EVERY day, and as a result, ate a lot of chicken dinners from taco king. (one of the few redeeming factors of that town...) while i was there...laura/merra/mom and i found ties for the guys, picked out some snazzy blue shoes for me to wear, picked up the lace from joann's, sharon did some sewing magic and is making something OUT of the lace for me, went to a graduation potluck at mirror lake, the vaughans came over b/c lisa was helping dad w/ a project, hung out with their cute children, went and visited merl and lois, didn't help in the garden (sorry merl!), finished sending out invites that just really liked being with me rather than in the mail, went to a funeral, and i'm sure a lot of other things. the funeral was very nice. i didn't know the worker (irene bement) at all, but at the potluck afterwards, i was sitting at a table in the middle of it all, and everyone around was SO HAPPY! here we were at a funeral and there were no tears. just smiles. and then i flew away back home on monday. i am becoming SOOO paranoid of flying. it's a short hop from anchorage to fairbanks and my legs were SHAKING the whole way. on longer flights i can knock myself out, but 45 minutes is just a hop. i really like driving better. and speaking of driving...
sunday we drove in to anchorage with sarah, joe and jon in the backseat. i have sat in the middle for as long as i can remember to keep everyone from poking/pinching/hitting/biting/licking/younameit. this time, i pulled out the notebook and we played hangman the whole time. don't ask me why i didn't think of that sooner.

wedding things.

2009-05-12T09:27:00.007-08:00

apparently it's important for family and the guys to wear bouts/corsages. so that people can recognize them? any other reasons? i've never enjoyed wearing them. they always flop over and the pin sticks me and basically they're always in the way. so, i am going to do something not so flowery. a couple birch leaves, a paper flower, or not, and some raffia or wire around the stem...maybe something like this:

oooh...and pretty hair pictures. i got my hair trimmed yesterday and mentioned that i would be doing my hair myself for my wedding and she was VERY helpful. so now i have lots of tricks to use to try and do something like this:
the middle one looks complicated. and not worth my time. probably most like the last one. poofed in the front and curled and pinned in the back. not too difficult really. just a lot of hairspray. we'll be taking pictures the day before (just him and me) and i'll probably wear my hair half-up/half-down. curled. or down curled. i don't know! we'll see.

pretty things: candle holders, cake stand, flowers, bare ground.

2009-05-07T15:32:00.002-08:00

this is my cool cake stand. i got it at fred meyer's. oh yes...and the bare ground outside. no snow!

this is the cool candle holder that my dad made me, alongside my own cool jam jar candle holder.

another angle. and another one. and the pretty tulips that garrett brought me. (awwww, how sweet. it wasn't really that exciting because i was in bed, drinking mountain dew and trying to study for three finals. blah.) i really like my cake stand. so far it's been an awesome candle holder and flower holder. i doubt it will hold too many cakes. maybe some pies though.

one more final to go! and three tests tomorrow for my late correspondence class. and then and then... and then...i don't know, it's summer maybe? i should start studying for my final. see ya.

green

2009-05-04T15:48:00.002-08:00

i love the color green. it's my favorite. especially on trees. on sunday, we drove to mtg. and the trees were brown. nothing. and then we went out to ed's for lunch. still nothing. on our way back through goldstream valley, in one fell swoop ALL the birch decided to go green! it's so much nicer on the eyes.

i'm almost done with school! and i got my ring this weekend! i like wearing it. i wear it when i'm home. i have to remember to take it off before i leave the house though. and someone (cousins!) sent us a wedding gift! and we sent all the invitations out FINALLY. so, maybe you'll get one soon. postage stamps are going up and i had to get them out before we had to start adding on. and...one paper, three political science tests, one geography final, one modern scandinavia final, one math test and then...i have to work graduation. blah. i get to wear a dumb uaf vest. and have to miss mtg. sunday morning. annnd now i get to go home from work!

who knew?

2009-04-30T15:29:00.003-08:00

the picture in the previous post is an icelandic sand dune. outside of the world's deserts, iceland has the largest area of sand. how do i know this? well, i know a lot about iceland it turns out. this is because of a notebook that i had to put together on different geography topics for my semester project for my geography class so that i would not fail the class. i can tell you all about their tectonic happenings, terrible soil and vegetation, climate, glaciers, coastal landforms, ecosystem, and aeolian landforms. and of course, it's all related. so if i talk about one, i have to talk about the other. i can also inform you about their culture, bankruptcy, and lesbian president (first in the world.) how do i know about those? i just happened to take a class on modern scandinavia as well. and the picture from the previous post? i needed it for my class, and the only way to turn it into a copiable jgp was to post it too my blog.

other news? i'm almost done with the semester! woohoo! i have just regular hw's to do today, and tomorrow. a 15 page paper to write over the weekend. and next week i have six tests and then, i can breath. oh yea...and plan a wedding. maybe someday you'll get a wedding invite. ha.

more news! the mosquitos are here! they came out full force yesterday. and i just discovered a lovely stagnant bog below my cabin. it's gonna be a buggy summer. but i can't complain. it's a lovely 70 degrees and no clouds to see.

anything else...maybe. i dunno. eventually.

2009-04-29T13:06:00.000-08:00

winter, breakup, SUMMER!

2009-04-28T10:09:00.000-08:00

i wish i had a picture...but you'll have to take my word for it. it was 65 degrees yesterday! and supposed to be 70 today! yahoo! i'm thinkin' summer's here. we won't have green for at least another week. but i'll get my vitamin d! the hot sun does make me smile. almost as much as rain.

two months! woohooooo!

2009-04-20T08:44:00.006-08:00

woohoo! in less than two months i'm gonna be married! yahoo!

right now i am trying to finish up the semester. it's getting pretty rough. we'll see how i emerge at the end of it all. the snow is still covering the ground around my cabin because it doesn't get much sun. and it hasn't been warmer than 50 F all week. and it snowed last week on our field trip. *sigh* i just want school to be over. i won't even tell you how much i have to do.

i can't wait for it to look like this...CAN'T WAIT! i need some GREEN!

*picture from laura's smugmug

dear alvin

2009-04-08T10:12:00.003-08:00

alvin is a good friend. he has done many many things for me. mostly rescuing me. things involving fuel or propane. or dead car batteries. thanks alvin. he also takes nice pictures. so, garrett and i asked him to take our picture so we could send it in our wedding invitations.

only about five turned out. but it wasn't alvin. in the process, we discovered we just are terrible picture takers. one of us makes a funny face and the other smiles. and then we switch. or we get cold and look miserable. or we both have cheesy fake smiles. and then we start goofing off. or or or...the list goes on. i don't know what jen is getting herself into taking our wedding pictures. maybe we'll be happier when it's warmer.

Thanks Alvin!

garrett's new digs

2009-04-08T09:51:00.004-08:00

looking up the road from the property...land to the right of the road in this picture.

proud owner-to-be of some land!

this is where we will live someday. the property is on the left side of the road. it's about 4.5-5 acres. a mix of cottonwoods and runty black spruce and lots of rabbits. it is fairly south facing and almost at the top of the hill. VERY important (to me at least) for the middle of winter to get every drop of vitamin d possible. and there are no dog teams around and no visible neighbors so it's nice and quiet. i like the middle of the woods.

this is where garrett is staying now. the piece of land that he is working to buy has this wonderful little trailer on it. it is colder inside the trailer than outside. but he has a nice sleeping bag and refuses to get a heater. or turn on the electric. *sigh* he'll live here until we get married in june, and then he's planning on moving in with me. into my little cabin. i think we'll live in the cabin and store all our stuff in the trailer...hmmm...and then hopefully this fall we'll move into family housing on campus so we can have water. OH! water? what's that?