Art of Anchorage

www.ravenmoonart.com



Ok so Me, Al, and my Mom went to a fabulous craft show at the Denaina Center over the weekend. They had the most amazing artists there!! If I had the money I could spend tons on art alone!! Here are some of the sites for my favorites. I have a few Katie Sevigny pieces, but want more! The just opened a new studio and I am def attending the next First Friday!! I am a creative person, but never seem to get motivated to do much!! I promise to try harder to work on some art stuff. I would love to make a few pieces for Xmas gifts! All this damn time at the gym is sucking up lots of creative time!

www.smudgemonkeystuidios.com my favorite but wont let me still art from her page!


http://www.katiesevignyart.org/events.html

Weekend Fun

So if I haven't complained about this before...here it is again. I despise that I can only spend two entire days with Alfred every other week. I sure wish he would try for a 4 day work week...hint hint!! I can't do anything about my schedule until I have a few more years of seniority or the new jail opens! So we really try to make the best of our weekends when we have them together. This weekend I really wanted to pick up Hunter (my friends kiddo who I rent-a-kid from every now and then). He likes hanging out with us and we enjoy entertaining him! I picked him up from school which I must admit was adorable. All the kindergartners parade out and try to find their parents...it was cute. I love kids! After I picked him up we went to grab Al from work since he is not far from Hunters' school. Our plan for the night was to have dinner at my place and see Megamind! Everything was going smooth until we got to the theatre and realized I picked the wrong time for the movie. We had to wait an hour and pay ....ahem....get ready for this....$17 a person for the IMAX 3D!! We were trying to save the IMAX for something special, but oh well!! Let me tell you...do not waste your time with IMAX, 3D, or that movie...it stunk. The next mornings plan was to go swimming. We got up and Alfred made a fantastic breakfast then off to the pool we went. We got a few laps and Hunter had a good time playing! We dropped Hunter off and headed to Lowes. I have a feeling we are going to be spending a bit of time there since Al closes on his new house this week!
Saturday afternoon we decided to hit the gym and we both ran for over an hour! We did a really great job! We went home and got cleaned up then headed back to Eagle River for some Sushi. I enjoyed this day very much. I enjoy Alfred's' company more than anyone I have ever met. I can be myself and act silly and I never feel like he judges me.We are a really great match and I love him more everyday. We had an AWESOME night! The next day was our big plan to test out the cross country skiing. Since it rained and was icy in town, we headed to Hatchers Pass.


It was snowing and beautiful when we got there. It was also NOT plowed. However we went off on the trail anyway. I had a great time, but after awhile trying to skate got harder and harder so we headed back. We stopped and got some lunch then headed home. Then we did something we hardly ever do. We watched movies and relaxed on the couch all evening.....it was marvelous!!

Kathleen and Tylers Wedding 2010

Oregon and Delaware

We arrived in Portland the morning of the 30th. We had a very important person to meet right away! Alfred has been wanting a Great Dane for a long time. I guess he figured now was a good time because he is buying a house. I found a breeder just north of Portland. He put a deposit on the pup, but since the drive was only 2 hours we headed to Onalaska, Washington to meet him! We had been flying all night, but got pretty good sleep on the plane. I have taught Alfred the art of sleeping on the plane. Stuff LOTS of pillows around you and take the red eye...works like a charm! We arrived at the ranch around noon. It was a beautiful drive even though it was rainy in Washington. The fall colors were awesome and all the farms were beautiful. We were super excited to meet the pup. The ranch was a little run down and he had ALTO of dogs. We knocked on the door and a goofy older man answered. He said "I thought yal were coming tomorrow". I am pretty sure we gave him the date and time like 5 different times...lol! He invited us in and we were greeted by two huge blue female danes. They were the sweetest dogs!! He took us out to a little shed where our pup was. When he opened the door a huge black and white dog came over to check out what we were up too. She was the mother and boy was she a whopper!! I could tell Alfred was pleased. Our fat little pup was by far the biggest and we took our time holding him and taking pictures. Mom was letting us visit but was very concerned about her pups! We visited with "Vardamin" (hope that's how you spell it...honey)our pups name. There is a story behind the name....its a dental thing...ask Al..lol! We also went out to see the father and he was amazingly handsome!! We stayed for over an hour playing with dogs and getting covered in mud! We were really pleased when we left. I am glad he didn't have a girl pup because I want one too! We should be getting him around Dec 5th! Woohoooo!!! I can tell Alfred is just soooo excited about his dog. It makes me so happy to see him happy!! He is the greatest! Now back to explore Portland...I have been looking forward to this for awhile!!


We arrived back in Portland along with the fog and rain. We drove up to Al's dental school. It is so beautiful! I can't believe he got to go to school there! It overlooks the entire city! He showed me his old apartment building where I saw the infamous steep hill! He has been talking about this really steep hill that you take to get into his apartment...he was not kidding! It should be illegal to drive a road that steep!! I am loving learning about his life and all the things he did before I met him. I really enjoy getting to know him! Next we headed over to Trader Joe's..one of our many "must stops" along the way. Wow wow wow....we need one of those stores in Anchorage it was so awesome! Next we headed over to Mark and Josie's house (friends of his we were staying with). I was pretty excited to meet some of his friends too...I feel bad because he made some really awesome friends in Dental School and most of them live outside Alaska. mark and Josie were great and they have the most apartment right in downtown Portland in the Pearl District. It was right along the water and by some of Portland's famous bridges. I better be careful I am starting to like this city already. We decided to go for a walk to the local Saturday market. It was great and I can already tell that Portland has a very unique crowd! Luckily the rain held off the entire day and we did lots of touring around the city. That evening we went to Laurelwood for dinner and to meet a few more of this friends. We met another dentist who I know as "Ninja". Al has been talking about him since we met. He and his wife have a super cute little 2 yr old! We had a nice dinner, but I felt bad that we couldn't spend more time with them. After dinner went and shot pool for a bit with Mark and Josie. It had been a super long day and I was excited to explore more tomorrow so we called it a pretty early night. First day in Portland was a definite success and I am impressed!!To be continued later........

The next day we had to head South to visit Al's Mom and meet some of his family. They live just outside Eugene about 2 hours South of Portland. I was super excited to meet his family. We spent most the day in Portland because the weather was beautiful. We went to a rose garden and a pumpkin patch! I miss the Fall season stuff living in Alaska...there are no hayrides or pumpkin fields like back home. We hit the road about 6pm. Al's Mom was so excited to see us!! I can tell she loves her kiddo very much!! We visited with her and her little dogs for the rest of the night. The next morning we awoke to dogs barking and someone rolling into the house at about 7 am. It was his Grandma! We had plans to eat dinner at her place that night and she was stopping in to say hello! We visited for a bit then Al and I got dressed to go for a run. We kinda slacked a bit on the run the day before. There was a trail close to his Moms so we hooked up with that. I loved the morning dew from the rain and the light Fall chilly weather. We were running along when I saw the best thing ever. A lady with a horse passed us right on the trail.....ah loved it. I am pretty sure I asked Al "Ummm when are we moving here??" Hurry up Oregon economy and pick back up!! We shopped with his Mom the rest of the day then went to dinner at this Grandmoms. She made amazing pot roast and I met some more of his family. He is very fond of his Uncle Eric. His Uncle is an amazing woodworker and had a shop nearby I was hoping to see. Dinner was nice, but the visit was so short. I enjoyed meeting his family and can't wait to get back there again in March for the Spring!! We had to get back home early the next morning to pick up my Mom, who was meeting us in Portland. We were flying out early the next day East Coast wedding bound!!

Mom got in safe and off to the hotel for a few hours we went. We had to be up at 330 am to get the airport in time. The flights went smooth and we arrived in Philly at 4pm. My best friend from home, Amy, was picking us up from the airport. We had plans to meet a few friends of mine at the Cheesecake Factory in Newark. I was excited that 2 girls I haven't seen in like 10 years were coming. The mall I grew up with looks completely different now. Its amazing all the changes there! I had fun visiting with my friends through dinner. I wish we would've had more time. Turns out this is the only night I got to see any of the friends. However, this trip was for the wedding this time. I will see them again soon, I hope. I sure wish someone would come visit me. I had to stop at my Dad's house in Newark for a quick visit, so I had to end dinner a little earlier than I would've liked.

Halloween 2010

This year was a bit of a flop for Halloween. We had a big trip planned for the same weekend so I threw something together last minute. I was in the costume store with Wendy trying to decide what to be. It had to be easy because we were leaving for Portland that same night! I really didn't put much thought into it this year. I noticed a pair of Harry Potter glasses int he store and thought "Aha! Alfred kinda looks like Harry Potter...we can totally pull this off!!" I got the glasses and a wand. A few days later I went to Value Village and found mathcing ties, sweaters, and wizard robes. We got all dressed up and looked pretty darn cute.


Harry Potter and Hermoine!!!


We went to the Tap Root for Wendys Burlesque show. I was a little worried about taking Alfred there because its a little risque and a little corny, but very fun!! We arrived and the place was packed to the gills. Thank goodness some friends invited us to sit at their table. We had some amazing calamari and a few beers. The show was great and we had such a good time. I am really glad we went. There were very few noteworthy costumes. I was hoping to see some really great Avatar people. Luckily we will be in Portland on Halloween night and hopefully see some good costumes! Now off to the airport for a red eye flight we go.

Eagle River Brewfest

Well we are half way through October. The leaves are gone and temps have been freezing, but the snow is holding off. This weekend is was supposed to be a relaxing one. Since I only get two weekends off a month, I feel like I am always packing them full of stuff to do. I wanted to spend a day being lazy, but I learned fast that was too boring for me. We went out Friday night to a fundraiser for the boys an girls club in Eagle River. We went with my good buddy Gail, my roomie Adam, and Alfreds' roomie Adam....yes we both have roomates named Adam..lol! We had so much fun...samples some fantastic beers, won some pretty cool prizes, and got a little tipsy!! It was really a fun night. We attempted to continue the party at the Homestead Lounge in Eagle River. As soon as we got there I knew we shouldve just gone home...lol! One more beer then into our cab we went. We will ahve to make that a yearly event!

Girdwood Weekend with my Love...

I was really looking forward to this weekend. I got us a room at the Alyeska Hotel in Girdwood! Alfred has never been so I was pretty excited to show him the best hotel in Alaska!! We were counting on hiking at the top of the tram, however, high winds and rain but a damper on those plans. When we got down there we went for a little walk up the ski trails. I bought my own downhill ski boots and am pretty excited about getting to use them this winter!! I am not a very good downhill skier at all...he will have to be patient with me. We got a little wet from our walk but got to check into our room early, so that was awesome!! We changed and headed straight for the pool. We swam and enjoyed the sauna. Unfortunately, there were some guests there that I know from work (aka felons) so that was slightly discouraging. Running into inmates on the outside of the jail is just part of the job, but it sure is annoying when you are at a beautiful hotel trying to have a romantic weekend!! We got ready and headed to dinner at Double Muskey! It was fabulous as always and there was an amazing piece of peanut butter pie for dessert. We both agreed that it might have been one of the best desserts we ever had!! Later that night we headed over to the Oktoberfest. This is starting to sound kind of complainy...lol, but it wasn't quite what we expected there either. The best part of the night was calling it an early night to go enjoy our room!! The next morning we got up and headed down to the gym for a run. We headed home early because the weather was not ideal. This was kind of my adios to summer trip and it just HAD to end with rain. An excellent example of the entire summer!! I wanted beautiful fall pictures and lots of time spent outside, but we got what we got. Time spent together is the most important thing...even if we got a little skunked!!

Labor Day Weekend

Once again I have decided to head out of town to work in Bethel this month, so this was my only weekend off for the entire month of September. I am very happy to report that my best friend Wendy has been dating a guy from Europe for about 5 months and they are happily engaged. He came to Alaska earlier this week and proposed!! I am super excited to help her plan the wedding! We won't know a date until their Visa goes through. This marrying a foreigner is a fairly complicated process.

Alfred and I had plans to do some camping and hit the Alaska State Fair this weekend. The rain killed our plans for camping. However we did make it to the fair. It was the same old thing and I am starting to wonder why I go every year. It's outrageously expensive and just not that fun anymore. However, we did pick up my friends' kiddo and drag him along. We literally dragged him because he got super tired after we got there. We had some food and rode a few kiddy rides. Nothing spectacular by any means!! The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful...I can't even remember what we did. However, I believe there was lots of sleeping in and relaxing involved because we have been on the go so much. We bought ourselves racquetball rackets....very exciting!! We are going to try and play more. We have been pretty inseparable since Hawaii and I will miss him again when I'm gone for work.

The week in Bethel was wretchedness and not EVEN worth talking about...ugh...never again.

Back to work a few days early this week. I couldn't believe how quick Fall has come this year. When we got back from Hawaii leaves were starting to turn already. There are very few things about Alaska that I dislike, but the short Fall season is definitely one of them! However, the trip to Oregon and Delaware next month will be helpful! I am looking forward to meeting Al's family and for him to meet mine. We actually have lots of cool plans for October, so the blog should be more exciting next month...I will try to keep up with it better!

Work and Play in August....Hawaii

Wow what a crazy month this was!! I started out the month by working the first 21 days in a row. I worked my week off in Bethel, Alaska at the Yukon Correctional Center. Not much to report there other than I was very glad to come home! This jail was different in alot of ways than where I work everyday. For starters it was all men. Also, it was a mostly Native Alaskan population. I really loved the learning experience and kudos to the hardest working Correctional Officers I have seen so far. Those guys have a tough job and they do it well!! I was really missing my Alfred but we chatted on the phone and skyped a few times. I was so happy to see him when he picked me up at the airport. I am just crazy about him. We had a lot to be excited about too! Just another week until we head off to Hawaii for 8 days!! When I returned from Bethel I had one more week of work to get out of the way before I could go play! I was ready for a break!

We decided to have a date night on Friday Aug 20th. It was a beautiful evening so we decided to head down to Beluga Point and see if the whales were in the inlet. Once we got there we climbed out on the rocks and sat in the sun. There were no whales, but an awesome view anyhow. Since we were so close to Girdwood, we headed down to have dinner. I had heard lots of good things about Maxines so we popped in there for dinner. It was incredible, Alfred was very impressed too! We will have to go there again soon! On the way home we stopped to see a movie "Dinner for Scmucks". I thought it was weird and a flop. Alfred pretty much thought the same thing. We had some friends of our family coming into town that evening so we ran over to the airport to grab them. They were going to stay at my house while we were gone for the week. Finally off to bed to rest up for our flight tomorrow!

Our flight was heading to Hawaii around 2pm. Alfred and I got up and went for a run in the morning. We got home and Mom had made french toast. Chris and Mary were asleep in the living room so we had a house full of people. We had some breakfast then off to the airport. We were pretty early so we grabbed a "celebrate we are starting vacation" beer from Chili's. My good friends Bill and Kim were joining us for the trip. They ended up in the seat right in front of us on the plane. The flight there was good and pretty quick.
We arrived in Honolulu and said goodbye to Bill and Kim. They were heading to Maui and we wouldn't see them for a few days. It felt so good to step off the plane in Hawaii!! It usually feels so good because its the dead of winter when I go. Even though it was summer, I still love the feeling there! I was pretty excited to get to our hotel and walk around Waikiki. I have 2 places that are a must in Waikiki....Cheesecake Factory and PF Chang's for dinner! We were staying 2 nights at the Waikiki Beachcomber. It was wonderful and in a perfect location. We got changed and headed to dinner. There was a long wait for dinner so we put our names in then hit the streets. We ended up grabbing a seat at the bar area and didn't wait 2 hours for dinner :). We ordered Mai Tais (fabulous) and some appetizers. Incredible dinner and a wonderful start to our trip. We even turned down the cheesecake for dessert (twice!) I could walk around holding Alfred's hand and browsing in the art stores all night! However, we only have 1 day to get a lot done tomorrow so off to bed we went.



Sunday morning... our shuttle to Pearl Harbor was picking us up around 7 am. We arrived and walked around taking pictures while we waited for our boat ride to the USS Arizona memorial site. I was pretty disappointed because they didn't have the movie there this time. When Mom and I went a few years ago you watched a short movie and it made you really excited to see the Memorial. Without the movie the effect just wasn't the same. We got some cool pictures though and Alfred had never been. So we headed out of there and had plans to hike Diamond Head. We got back to the hotel, grabbed some lunch, and got changed. We took a bus out to Diamond Head and got our first sunburn on the way to the top. It was a fairly simple hike for us. The view from the top was beautiful. We picked up the next bus and headed back down into Waikiki. We were wandering the streets and came across what would be a highlight of our trip!! We are trying to stay on our fairly healthy eating schedule so when I saw a familiar frozen yogurt place, I was pretty stoked!! When I visited San Diego a year ago I remember we got yogurt at this place where you put all your own toppings on. I remember it was fantastic!! We went in and made big helping of yogurt with topping as and it hit the spot!! Alfred agreed that it was pretty fantastic. Sure wish we had one in Alaska....I thought about looking up the franchise info...
We headed back to the hotel got showered and ready to hit the town again. We got back to the hotel and lounged by the pool for awhile. The best part about vacation is that you can do as much or as little as you want!! Later that night we headed to PF Changs for dinner and shopped around. We had an early flight for Maui, so it was a pretty early night again. I have been to Waikiki 3 times now and I really enjoy it for a day or two. We had so much fun...our vacation was so perfect already!!!



We got over to Maui the next morning around 9 am. We reunited with Bill and Kim at the airport. Maui is so much calmer than Honolulu. It has lots of farms and open land. This is definitely the place to come for relaxing. Our condo wouldn't be available for a few hours so we just hung around and killed some time. We had a few issues with the condo when we got in, but got it taken care of pretty quick. We changed and drove down the coast to Big Beach. I had to show Alfred the "nude beach"...he was less than impressed...it was all men that day..lol. I was in Maui last December and a good friend showed me all over the island. It was really fun to show Alfred around and I knew a couple of good spots. We drove down to the lava fields and passed by all the beautiful houses in Wailea. We had a good first night and decided to head out to Lahina for dinner. We got to Bumba Gump Shrimp that evening, but I wasn't feeling well. My stomach was killing me...I was trying to hide it, but everyone could pretty much tell. I tried to eat my yummy shrimp tacos...but the pain was getting worse. I have no clue what was wrong, but we ran into the drug store and grabbed some tums, gas-x, and pretty much everything they had for tummy pain. I attempted to walk around Lahina but the pain would not stop and I couldn't even stand up straight. Very strange....I felt awful but we had to call it a night. Once we got into the car I scrunched up into a ball and Alfred rubbed my head and made me feel much better. I don't know what it was ..but we later came to the conclusion that it was constipation...lol....we laughed about it all the way back to Kehei!! The next few days were filled with lots of swimming, snorkeling, hiking, and lots of love.





My favorite part was taking a boat ride out to Molokini Island for some snorkeling! The boat ride alone was fantastic. I love being on the ocean. We got out to the island and snorkeled for a bit. Then we discovered the boat had a ramp to jump off the back. We all took turns jumping into the gorgeous water. I have never seen such blue water..not even in the Carribean! We had lost of fun with that then headed over to Turtle Town to swim with some turtles. It wasn't much of a "town" of anything when we got there. We only saw one turtle. We saw lots more on other snorkel trips.

So we have been dating for about 3 1/2 months and I have been dying to tell him that him the "L" word for weeks now!!! However, I am trying to be patient and let him say it first. So we were about half way through our vacation when it finally came out! We were at a Luau and it was perfect! I had been wanting to tell him and am very glad he said it in return. (Yes...I said it first)!! The rest of our trip was fantastic. We took tons of great pictures and did lots of exploring! It couldn't have been better and I couldn't be happier or more in love with him!! We were sad to get back to the grind, but all good things must come to an end! Until our next adventure.....

Seward Kayak Trip July 2010

This is a trip that was on my list of things to do this summer. I have been wanting to try sea-kayaking for a long time. I have kayaked a few times on a lake, but I heard it was much better on the ocean. I got the "GO" for the week in Bethel for Aug 5-11, therefore this will be last weekend off for about 3 weeks. I wanted to do something fun and of course spend time with my guy. We got the trip all booked and planned. His roommates would be joining us for the trip too! This summers' weather has been, shall we say.... less than a perfect Alaskan Summer. The rain just won't stop.
However, I told Alfred that I didn't care and wanted to camp anyways!! I also was looking forward to some hiking..even in the rain! We got everything all packed up Friday afternoon and headed out of town. We had to stop by REI and pick up an aerobed. The twin areobeds were not cutting it anymore :). We got what we needed and zoomed down to Seward. We arrived just in time to grab a campsite with a gorgeous view. It was a lovely evening with NO RAIN!!

We picked that awesome Italian place for dinner. Alfred had lasagna and I had eggplant Parmesan, it was fantastic. After dinner we grabbed some firewood to have our first campfire of the summer. All the camping we have done has been in the rain with no chance to have a decent fire! We made some smores and watched the huge cruise ship pull out of Seward. It was a very nice evening alone with him. Sometimes I feel like he is all I need. He can be quiet sometimes, but that's ok because I talk too much..lol. It was the perfect night...we had fun taking pictures of ourselves by the water.


Saturday morning we slept in pretty late. His roommates arrived around 930am and we headed to breakfast. The plan for the day was to do some hiking around Exit Glacier. It was looking pretty cloudy, so we geared up for rain. We started the hike and I was feeling really good for the first hour!!

It was a pretty decent hike not super steep, but I was starting to wonder how long it was going to be? We were all sweating through our layers and the rain was starting to come down pretty good. It was such a beautiful hike, but I was starting to freeze and get sore after about 2 1/2 hours. We finally reached the 2.8 mile mark and I decided it was time to go back. There was a bit more hiking up to the Harding Ice Field, but I just wasn't up for any more. His roommates decided to keep going and we headed back down. The view of the glacier was beautiful and I wished I had the energy to keep going. We dried out nicely on the way back down and heard there was a black bear with cubs somewhere on the trail. Somehow we missed the bear, but saw some poop!! I felt pretty accomplished after the hike, it was my longest one yet. It felt so great to get a shower and into warm/dry clothes when we were done!!


That evening we went played a little pool and went to bed early. I know that hike wore me out pretty good and we had an early date with the sea the next morning. Oh I almost forgot about the LEAK! Our new tent...holes right through the top!! We were laying in bed getting dripped on...unbelievable...it has been such a great tent and kept us sooo dry!! We would have to investigate this situation and fix IMMEDIATLY!! Good thing REI's return policy is awesome!! Alfred rigged up a lovely drainage system with a baggie and off to sleep we went. First nights sleep....awesome...second night...well, not so awesome. It was like everything that can go wrong camping..did. We woke up in the middle of the night flat on the ground...NOOO not the new bed too!! Geez REI was going to get some serious returns when we get home. We actually thought something was a little faulty with the bad anyways, so back it goes.


Today was the day of our kayak trip! We heard rain all evening and woke up to a pretty steady flow of rain as well. I did not let it bother me. I put on lots of warm layers. Our boat was leaving at 9am for Fox Island. We got our coffee fix (oh and a very naughty pastry....our eating habits were not in control this weekend at all..btw...I will address that later tho) and were ready to get started. The boat dropped us off around 10 am on the island. It was beautiful!! I hope we can go back and stay there sometime. We met our guides and I was thrilled to see they had all kinds of rain gear for us to use!! We all took advantage and put on everything they had to offer!


We got a quick lesson then out into the ocean we went. I enjoyed it so much. I was hoping to kayak next to a whale, however, that didn't happen. We did not get completely skunked on wildlife viewing...there was a puffin nearby at one point. Just 1 puffin...yep that's about it. We were in tandem kayaks, Alfred was steering in the back. We did a pretty good job except he had to ask me to even out the pace a few times. I would get little bursts of energy and paddle like crazy. We have a good connection, but reading my mind is not one of them...quite yet :). I'm glad he spoke up and asked me to steady my pace. I was having so much fun that I kind of forgot he had to follow what I was doing...lol! After about 3 hours of fun in the rain it was time to head back.

They fed us an awesome salmon lunch! We had to grab another boat to get back to the harbor. We both fell asleep for most of the ride back. I learned that being active in the freezing rain can make you pretty sleepy. We got off the boat and headed back to camp. We must've set a record for the quickest tent take down ever! I think putting all the gear away and tent down took us about 7 minutes. We make a pretty awesome team! On the way home I wanted to stop at Double Musky for dinner. We got really lucky because it wasn't super crowded. Alfred had never been there before. We ordered a bunch of appetizers to share and boy was it amazing. I felt pretty guilty about the entire eating habits of the weekend and this ending did not help lessen the guilt. We usually make pretty healthy choices, but it's Double Musky and they have Jalapeno Rolls....I know it shouldn't be an excuse. I would like to try and make some better choices in the next few weeks. All the working out won't help if we eat bad. However, it was like a little mini vacation and we enjoyed it so much. After all this rain I will be looking forward to our Hawaii trip in a few weeks. I have to get through the long 3 weeks ahead first.

The rest of my week off was good. Got tons of chores done and spent lots of time with Alfred. I won't see him much for the next 2 weeks, so I went a little overboard this week with spending time with him. Well it's wonderful for me, I just hope he doesn't think it's too much! I just adore him and his company...can't get enough ;)

What happened to her?

Here is the article from a week ago on ADN.


Woman found stabbed to death in Midtown sanctuary
INVESTIGATION: Friends looked for her when she was overdue; police have not ruled out suicide.

By KAYLIN BETTINGER
kbettinger@adn.com

Published: July 15th, 2010 12:26 PM
Last Modified: July 15th, 2010 12:27 PM

Police have not determined whether a young woman found dead in a Midtown park early Wednesday was a victim of homicide.
Family and friends of Brittni Giliam became concerned Tuesday evening and went looking for her after she was gone for longer than expected, according to Anchorage police Lt. Dave Parker. They called police around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday after they found her body in the Helen Louise McDowell Sanctuary, a park between 36th Avenue and Tudor Road on the east side of the Seward Highway. She had been stabbed in the chest, police said.
Police have not ruled out suicide, Parker said. Homicide detectives are investigating, he said. The medical examiner is performing an autopsy. Parker would not say whether a weapon had been found at the scene.
Ken Lambertsen, a bishop at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that she attended, said Giliam lived with her family in South Anchorage but she and a roommate were housesitting on Helvetia Drive in the Geneva Woods neighborhood. The house backs up to the McDowell Sanctuary, a swampy wooded area with a small pond. Giliam and friends hiked Mount Baldy around dinner time Tuesday and she returned to the Geneva Woods home around 10:30 p.m. Afterward, she went for a walk. Evening walks were common for her, Lambertsen said.
When Giliam didn't return home, her roommate got concerned and called her father. The two of them found Giliam's body in McDowell Sanctuary.
On Wednesday morning, the trail to the McDowell pond was quiet. Near a pond viewpoint, a small piece of police caution tape remained from the night's investigation.
Giliam worked at The Alaska Spine Institute and, according to her blog, often rode her bike on a trail through the sanctuary on her way home from work.
She graduated from East High School in 2005. Giliam attended Brigham Young University but hadn't completed her degree there, Lambertsen said. She planned to start studying aromatherapy in the fall.
Giliam loved to travel, Lambertsen said. She visited Australia, South America, Europe, Fiji and Mexico, he said, trekking and doing volunteer work.


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"She had an endless supply of friends who loved hanging out with her and she loved hanging out with them," he said. "You could not say enough good about Brittni Giliam. You just can't say enough. There was a purity about her that was just beyond belief."

East High track coach Lisa Keller kept in touch with Giliam after high school. She described Giliam as sweet and uncommonly thoughtful.

"She thought very deeply about things and was very sensitive," she said. "She wasn't a surface person at all. She was a deep kid."

Keller ran into Giliam just a few weeks ago. Keller said she seemed upbeat. Giliam had a large, involved, very active family, Keller said.

"You always have kids when you coach that stick with you. She was one of those kids," Keller said.

On a blog she kept, Giliam often wrote about her religion and family. She shared photos of hiking in Alaska and Australian beaches from a study abroad program she attended. She shared a muffin recipe.

In her last entry on Monday, she wrote about the sanctuary, posting a picture taken near the place where her body was found:

END OF ARTICLE

Ok so the police have not said much about this since the article. I read her blog and this is not a woman who appeared suicidal. Check out her blog and read for yourself...http://givenafterwichgive.blogspot.com. This woman does not deserve to go unnoticed. Please take time to read some of her posts. I hope APD finds some answers to this woman's homicide. May God be with their family.

Possibilities...

This week has come and gone really fast. I did some babysitting on Monday. Tuesday, I worked some overtime and had a rugby game that evening. The game was good. We split our team in half and played each other. I was on the red team and we won! I didn't score, but carried the ball some! I managed not to get too bruised up this time. Was surprised at my energy level too. After ten minutes of an actual game, I am pretty winded! However, this game was a good pace and I only saw stars once! I hit Mavis's hip really hard trying to tackle her. I am pretty sure all that went down was me! I looked forward to Wednesday because I had a date night planned with Alfred.


Ever since I saw those bunnies in Valdez, I have been wanting one. Alfred wanted to see a hedgehog so we headed to the pet store. We looked at all the little critters trying to decide which one would be a good pet. I have had lots of hamsters and rats. Time to try something new. I found a bunny that I really liked, but decided to wait a bit. We also discovered there were no hedgehogs to be found in a store. What a disappointment! Apparently you have to order them on the net! Hmm...we will do some investigating on this. We looked at all the critters and I held a python. We got some good info so we decided ...mission accomplished...for now.





We slacked on the working out this week so we headed over to the gym. He ran an awesome 3.2 miles in 35 minutes and I ran 2.8 in the same time. We did some push-ups and sit-ups then headed out for dinner. We were really hoping for Moose's Tooth but it was so crowded there. It is the best pizza in the world, but I mean geez it was almost 9pm and still a long line! We went to Spenard Roadhouse instead. We had an awesome dinner complete with some kind of fabulous bacon jam which we both enjoyed! I really love my time with him. It seems to go so fast when we are together and so slow when I am waiting to see him (like during long 12 hour shifts at work). He is such an affectionate person and he makes me feel wonderful. We keep telling each other that we just "can't get enough". Anyways enough mushy stuff for right now...
I arrived back to work on Thursday to find an interesting proposal. There was an email asking if anyone wanted to work in Bethel for a week. I added up the pay and it was around $3,000 dollars for just that week. Someone willing to pay for my flight/accommodations and I get to make $3,000??? I would have to consider this! It would mean working in a village, but I would be at the jail for 12 hours a day and exhausted by the time I got done. I would have to work 21 days in a row. Oh and worst of all...not see Alfred for a week. However I have a credit card that is just begging to be paid off and two more vacations still this year. I weighed the options and decided....YES I should do this! So my name is in the running. It will be the week of Aug 5-11th. I would be working at the Bethel Prison. I have a friend out there, so I would at least know someone. I think the opportunity would be awesome and I am really hoping to find out soon if I get it!


Today is Friday and I am really tired today. We had a rugby team BBQ last night and Alfred and I stayed up late (again). It is hard to go to sleep when you just want to spend all your time with someone...sleep seems like a waste of time when there is so much to be done!! However, I pay for it the next day. Tonight as much as I want to see Alfred....I have to get to bed!! I still have 5 long days of work left! This could be my last week off for awhile so I had better enjoy it when it comes. Hopefully we will have fishing/camping weekend planned!!

Valdez Road Trip

Anyone who knows me knows that I change my mind.... like a lot. I want everything to work out perfect, but sometimes I just can't get it together. Things kind of fell apart with my plans for the weekend yesterday. The only way it made sense to go to Valdez was to leave with Alfred and Adam early Friday morning. So that is what I did. I am missing out on the Bear Paw 5K and am now super pressed for time, but it is going to work out. We got up and the boys were all ready to get started with their bike race. The point of the trip was so Alfred and Adam could bike a 300K race from Sheep Mountain Lodge to Valdez. I wouldn't be able to see them all day except at the half-way point for lunch then would meet them later that evening. I really wanted to be there for support and I know he appreciated it! It was such a beautiful morning. It could not have been a more gorgeous day for a ride!
I would be meeting them at our camp spot for the evening in about 4 hours or 50 more miles for them.

I dropped the guys off and now had an entire day to myself. They were off on their bikes and I had several hours before I would meet them for lunch. I decided to blast the music and drive around the area looking for lodges or campgrounds. When that got boring I decided to lay out on the side of the road (in the grassy area), take a nap and catch some sun! It was fabulous! Alfred and Adam showed up right on schedule. We ate some lunch and after 50 miles of biking they seemed fine. They were off again.
miles. I arrived at the lodge where we were staying at around 2pm. I had time to kill and needed to go for a run. I asked one of the guys which direction I should head. He showed me a path and said no bears were in the area lately so I should be fine. It was hot as hell up there but I went for the run anyway. I came to a beautiful creek, but decided not to stick around long (bears..ya know..they pop up all over). I went back to the lodge and decided to grab a drink and wait for the boys. Before I knew it hours had gone by and they still weren't there.

I chatted with the bartender and the Russian owners of the lodge while I waited for them. I also met a British woman who was living in Sydney, Australia. She was basically touring the world for the summer. You meet the coolest people living here. I can't believe it sometimes. I mean I never would have met anyone this cool if I had stayed in Delaware. Who the hell stops there on their worldly travels? The British gal was heading to Katmai National Park, Canada, New York, England, then ending in South Africa. She wasn't much older than me and traveling all alone. I thought she was so awesome! OK, back to the guys....now it's almost 7 pm and they still weren't there. We had joked earlier in the day that if I didn't see them in a few hours then I should go looking for them. There were a few other bikers starting to come in so I wasn't super worried. I got up to use the bathroom and when I came back...there they were. They looked exhausted. I guess it was terribly windy and they had an awful 2nd half of the ride. It took twice as long as it should have. They decided to skip day 2 and just drive to Valdez with me! It turned out to be a good decision because it was cold and rainy the rest of the weekend.


We left the next morning. It was a beautiful drive. However, once we got to Valdez there was not much to do. We set up our tent in the rain and waited for some friends to arrive. We left early Sunday and decided that we wouldn't be heading back there any time soon!! It was a fun weekend and I am so glad that I went, just wish Valdez was more exciting!

What your hair color says about you

So Alfred found this article and I need to share it. The part about the red heads obviouslly caught his attention...lol.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37341535/from/toolbar

WHAT YOUR HAIRCOLOR SAYS ABOUT YOU......

by Gina Roberts-Grey


Our hair is our most noticeable trait — and we obsess over it accordingly. But even though we spend lots of time enhancing and re-enhancing our tresses, we probably haven't considered something pretty cool: What's underneath all the glosses and highlights can be a health barometer of sorts.

If you're a blonde...
Protect your peepers. Women have a higher risk than men of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), an eye condition that can cause blindness. And fair-haired females are especially prone to AMD, says Svetlana Kogan, M.D., founder of Doctors at Trump Place in New York City. A diet rich in the natural compounds lutein and zeaxanthin — found in kale, spinach, and snow peas — can help fend it off. Kogan suggests munching on one cup of the green veggies every day.

If you're a brunette...
Hold on to your hair. More than half of the 30 million American women with visible hair loss are brunettes. That could be because they have less hair to begin with: "Brown tresses are generally coarser and thicker than blonde or red strands, and your body produces fewer of them," Schlessinger says. So when brown hair follicles die, they leave behind more noticeable thin patches. Stave off sparse coverage by eating right. Low iron can contribute to hair loss, so start swallowing 18 milligrams a day; one cup of fortified oatmeal will provide your daily fill.

Stub out that butt. Your chestnut mane is the result of lots of melanin, which could fast-track your dependency on nicotine. The reason: Melanin prevents your liver from quickly metabolizing the drug, and the longer it's in your system, the faster you become hooked. Animal studies suggest that vitamin C helps keep your liver in top shape. Swallow 75 milligrams a day in the form of half a cup of red peppers or a medium-size orange. Your best bet, though, is never to pick up a cancer stick. Period.

Snag a boyfriend. Do gentlemen really prefer blondes? Nope, according to Florida State University research. Not when it comes to long-term relationships. Plus, according to a 3,000-person survey, men prefer brunettes as serious mates because they see them as more reliable and steady. If you're not looking for a long-term thing, try a little spontaneity: Make the first move by slipping that cute guy your digits.


If you're a REDHEAD

I lincluded the pic of Lauren Ambose...I think she is beautiful and a fabulous example of a gorgeous redhead!!

Watch your mouth. The next time Lindsay Lohan goes in for a cavity filling, she might want to ask for extra Novocain. Fiery locks, it turns out, stem from an inherited DNA mutation that also makes redheads resistant to general and local anesthetics, says Daniel Sessler, M.D., an anesthesiologist at the Cleveland Clinic. In fact, carrot tops may need up to 20 percent more numbing juice than blondes or brunettes. But don't let a little hurt keep you from getting good oral care: Talk to your dentist about pain management prior to plopping down in her chair, or take 500 milligrams of ibuprofen one hour before the appointment.

Look out for Parkinson's. A recent Harvard study found that redheads have an almost 90 percent greater chance of developing the disease. Why? Possibly because of that same gene mutation: It influences another type of gene that, when also mutated, can be associated with Parkinson's. On the plus side, research shows that folic acid might delay the progression of the illness. Margaret Lewin, M.D., medical director of Cinergy Health, advises taking 400 micrograms a day (more if you're pregnant). A multivitamin has all the folic acid most women need.

Stock up on condoms. Redheads make red-hot lovers, or so the stereotype goes. One thing's for sure: They get a lot more action, according to one study. This might be due to a self-fulfilling prophecy, says Kogan. "Red is associated with fire, and fire is associated with passion," she says. "Often, you become what people expect of you." Something others are eager to try: Recent Clairol research shows nearly 40 percent of people said they'd go scarlet for a day if they could.

Inspiration

Well I had another early morning and really wanted to stay in bed. I went to Starbucks and got some fuel. I have been doing tons of online research for this new business idea of mine. I am thinking of starting a small wedding consulting business to do on my week off. I have been checking out wedding planners website and doing tons of research. I have had so much fun looking through all the photographers websites! While browsing through I came across several blogs. I've heard of these "blogs" but have never read one. Well, let me tell you....I am getting hooked. There is a photograopher in Wasilla named Carrie Lambing. I keep going back to her page because her work is beautiful. I started checking out some of her and her friends blogs. One has completely blown me away. A young family from Wasilla that had just adopted a baby girl a few days ago. They have 4 kids already and seem like a good Christian family. I was so inspired when reading about their selfless gift to adopt, especially when they already have 4 of their own. Plus the Mom looks super familiar, I'm sure I know her from somewhere!! Anyhow I am so inspired by their story and crusade about adoption awareness!! Once again it makes me feel like...geez this woman manages a hubby, 5 kids, church, AND adotion awareness!!! I need to do more with my life!! Some people are just so amazing. Anyone who knows me knows that I always have wanted to adopt/foster eventually. Its so inspiring to see people who are actually doing it! So this week has been very inspiring with starting a business and enlightening myself to all the endless possibilities of my life :)
Bacon TidBits blog check them out

I didn't make it to practice in time, but I did get in a quick work out at the gym...my 1 1/2 mile is right around 15 min 30 secs. Woohooo!!

Fourth of July Weekend

Well there isn't too much to report. I worked all weekend and the weather was awful. I will tell you what I did and then tell you what I wish I had been doing. I did manage to get to a BBQ with Alfred on Saturday night. We headed out to the valley to have dinner with his co-worker. His friend had some out of town company from Philadelphia! We chatted lots about beach traffic back home, Alaska, and the boys talked Dentist stuff!! We had a good dinner and headed out early. On Sunday I got off work and headed to Alfreds for a BBQ. His roomie Adam and Michele (a resident friend from dental school), Alfred and I had an awesome meal. I was so tired that I passed out pretty early. He had a group of his friends swing by for showers before heading out to the airport. They just spent 10 days in Wrangell St. Elias National park camping/hiking. Alfred has had so many friends from school in town lately!! I tried to go to bed early, but the neighbors were loud and fireworks were going off. I will catch up on sleep sometime soon, I hope!
I wish I would've been camping in Seward, watching the mountain race, and catching some fish!! Next year the panning will be better!!

Denali National Park

I had been planning this trip for awhile. I wanted to visit Mom and Alfred has never been to Denali. He really loves photography and has a great camera, it would be a perfect trip!! We headed up Friday after work. I met Alfred at his office and we started the 3 hour drive from Wasilla. We got to Denali around 630pm. We got all checked in and got our camp spot. He just bought this awesome new tent from REI, so we were pretty excited to set it up! It went up in nothing flat! It made me remember the days of camping with my family for all those years. It used to take hours just to figure out what pole went with what and there was always something missing from the tent bag...lol. My parents would be going nuts before we even got started. They make the tents sooo easy now! All the poles are connected and color-coded (HELLO!!---genius's I tell you ...absolute genius's...lol)!I also brought the areobeds which gave us a bit of trouble blowing up. I fooled with it for awhile before I realized...duh..it has a plug. We walked them up to the bathroom and blew them up with good old fashioned eeelectricity!!! We were going to be some comfy


After we got the tent all set up we had dinner at the Salmon Bake. I was hoping to see Melissa Mitchel (my fave local singer)there, but she was taking forever to get going. I was so sleepy that we skipped it. One lovely camping tradition followed us to Denali...the rain. We got dumped on all night long, but stayed perfectly dry in the fabulous new tent!!
The next morning we got up and made coffee and eggs in the rain. We got all packed to go meet Mom's bus. She picked us up at 10am along with 30 other people and we headed out. Mom did a great job on her tour and of course told everyone that I was her daughter!


We weren't on the road long before we saw a moose. A little while longer in Sable Pass a guy yelled out to look left...so she stopped the bus and we all did. Right away another guy was telling us to look right. Next to the bus was a momma bear with 2 cubs!!

I was so relieved that we didn't get skunked and it was still very early. We watched the cubs playing for about 20 minutes and Alfred got some great shots!! The rest of the day was a steady show of animals. We saw some Dall sheep on Marmot Rock and got great pics of that too! In total we saw 3 adult bears and 5 cubs! It was such a good day even though the weather was pretty crummy! My Mom has a hard job up there! Driving that road is tough and dealing with all the dumb tourist questions. However, she does get to see animals in the wild everyday!


We got back to the campground to discover a mystery!
We all know how I have this lovely tendency of getting robbed right? We had left our bikes chained up and everything looked in order when we arrived back to camp. However, we noticed the action packer box was missing. Right away I thought "Yeah, just my luck..we got robbed". Alfred had some expensive little items in it so I was pretty upset. We didn't notice the piece of paper sitting on the table. I had been too busy sneaking around other peoples' campsites looking for our darn box. I was sure someone close by was the culprit! The note read, "The following items have been seized for placement in the bear safe containers... cooking oil and peanut butter". Hmmmmm??
It went on to say that we are in "Bear Country" and cannot leave those items out. Ummm Duh!! We were in a rush to leave and did forget to put those things back into the truck. We found the bear box and there was our entire crate of missing items. They confiscated the entire box, not just the food?? I think they were hoping no one would claim it. So, we weren't robbed!!

The next morning we planned on hiking and biking for a bit, however, the rain changed our plans. We headed out early hoping for some sunshine back in A-town. Apparently it poured all weekend everywhere.Because there was no sun to be found.We took the most wonderful nap and saw a movie later that night. Toy Story 3 in 3D. This will be a new favorite weekend of mine. I am pretty sure Alfred enjoyed it. I would like to go back in the Fall. However there is so much to do and summer is half over already!! I better get planning the next fun weekend!!