Monthly Archives: December 2010

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #25

Posted on December 18, 2010
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And another week flies by again. It is hard to believe that Christmas is already next week. I still have a bunch of stuff to do but I really do love the season!

1. What is the best gift you have ever received or given? Hmm, this is difficult. I am sure I was more than excited about new skis, ice skates and such when I was a kid. Nowadays, however, I do appreciate a lot more the time we can spend together, and am just simply happy about being with my loved one.

2. Do you celebrate holidays differently when your loved one is deployed/gone or do you keep tradition? I love the Christmas season and even if I spend the holiday alone, I try to something in order to keep the tradition. Not that I cook and bake all nine yards or have all the decorations out but still making it looking like Christmas – or any other holiday! Even though I love him dearly, I can’t stop living the life if he is gone. Maybe I sound cold-hearted or something but to me trainings, deployments etc are just part of the job that come and go, not a reason to get depressed.

3. Id you celebrate Christmas, do you put an angel, star or something else on the top of your tree? I would love to have an angel – I have a mental picture of a perfect treetop angel but while looking for it, we have just a star.

4. What are your three favorite websites? Geesh, I have more than three favorites but probably Facebook, B&H Photovideo and Steve McCurry’s Blog.

5. On your man do you prefer… boxers, briefs or boxer briefs? Or commando? (yeah, I’m starting to get desperate for questions!) Boxers or boxer briefs are hot! :-)

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Kodiak!

Posted on December 17, 2010
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It has been a while since my last posting but I am back!
Now I know it! There is a spot in Alaska where the temperatures do not hit subzero and people are not drowning in the snow. Hard to believe when we are now living in the middle of the Winter Wonderland…
I was on a business trip in a small island of Kodiak, which is located southwest of Kenai peninsula. It is home for about 6,500 people, and was originally inhabited by Alaskan natives – Alutiiqs for over 7,000 years.

Kodiak is known for its bears – the island has its own brown bear species, Kodiak bear. And guess what, there are 0.7 bears per a square mile in this island! So no wonder it is a popular bear viewing destination too.
Also the Coast Guard has a rather large base on the island, a home and training spot of brave rescue divers. Coast guard base in Kodiak concentrates for example on Search and Rescue (SAR) missions – covering oceans from the Gulf of Alaska to Bristol Bay, Bering Sea, and the Pacific Ocean above 40N latitude. If you happened to watch the Deadliest Catch on Discovery channel, the rescue teams were launched from this CG Air Station.

Such a small island but still so fascinating! I can’t wait to get back there, and with my photo gear.

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Crossfit Mishap

Posted on December 14, 2010
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As you probably know by now, I am completely hooked to the Crossfit. Last Friday’s little Crossfit mishap turned out to be a lot bigger problem. I was doing squats with the barbell of 80lbs, and my grip slipped. As a result, first my elbow hit my knee, followed by the barbell and my poor knee twisted under the weight bar. It was painful but not excruciating. However, as the time went by, the more sore it got.

On Sunday Jason and I decided to go skiing, and oh man! That was a painful experience. As soon as I got my ski boots on and got on my skis, even bending my knee was painful. But despite this, I headed to the slopes with Jason. And the problems started. I was literally tumbling down the hill because I couldn’t shift my weight onto left leg at all – so turning right was more or less difficult, or even out of the question.
I ended up hanging out at the after ski even before starting to ski while Jason enjoying the slopes. Bummer! Oh boy how I sometimes hate my life! The knee got bad though – bruised, sore and swollen. It was enough even for a stubborn me, and I made an appointment with an orthopedist/sports medicine specialist for later this week. Definitely keeping fingers crossed that it is nothing serious.

On a more positive note, I am almost done with all the University classes, one more final to go and looks like I will be finishing the semester with straight A’s. In my last final, thanks to some A+ homework grades, I need only about 20% of points in order to get an A. Not too bad semester when working and studying full-time.
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Family Photos and Skiing

Posted on December 10, 2010
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It is snowing again here in Alaska. Big, fluffy snow flakes are falling down, and making this place to look like a true Winter Wonderland. Even though I often occasionally complain about the cold weather, and how far away we are from everything and everybody, days like this really make Alaska special. And of course having a White Christmas adds its own special flavor to the whole holiday season.

December has been a busy month so far with all the family photo shoots that I have been doing, on top of my daily job and school papers. But I really, really do love to do family portraits every once in a while. It is such a joyful moment to see happy clients loving their pictures. A complete different feeling and satisfaction than seeing my picture in a newspaper, magazine, calendar ….. Anyways, looks like we all want to have brand new pictures for the holiday cards… including Jason and I. I found a fellow photographer here in Alaska whose style I liked, and had our pictures taken. I saw sneak peeks to our images yesterday, and I couldn’t be happier! So now it is time to print the holiday cards and mail them out. Someone, please, tell me that I am not running late with the cards yet!

The holiday shopping has been progressing slowly. I have to say I am very, very grateful for being able to buy most of the gifts online. First of all the selection here in Alaska is pretty limited, not only at Ft Richardson/Elmendorf AFB Commissary but also shopping centers in downtown are not the same than in Lower 48. And then on the other hand, this year it would have been quite a challenge to find time for shopping. I guess that happens when you squeeze full-time work, 15 credits at the university and all other chores into your agenda.

However, this weekend it will be time to relax. I am almost done with all my finals – only two exams left, one will be done tonight, and the last one will be later next week. I got my new cross-country skis last Friday, so they need to be waxed and tested. Jason and I are also planning to take our downhill skis out this weekend, and officially start the season. Fun-filled weekend ahead!

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MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #24

Posted on December 10, 2010
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Here we are at the end of the week again, and time to join the MilSpouse Friday Fill-In, hosted by Wife of A Sailor.

1. What do you see your life like in 10 years? Hmm, ten years is a long time. And I definitely didn’t see myself living in Alaska ten years ago, or doing most of the things I do nowadays. However, I’d like to see myself having doctorate, Jason having at least his Master’s, living somewhere where the Uncle Sam needs us…. being happy and healthy.

2. What do you like most about your job? I just recently changed a job, and have been with the new company for about a month. I absolutely love what I am doing – I am privileged to work in a great team, job is challenging and gives me a challenge to travel a bit too. The are evenings when I really look forward to going to work in the morning. Pretty worrisome, right? But I love what I do.

3. What are three things you do every day, no matter what day it is? Working out, taking the dog out, and drinking coffee or tea.

4. What would you do with an extra five hours in your day today? I would so need those extra hours today! I have to get some final school papers done, and it will be a late night.

5. What is your favorite Christmas (or whichever holiday you celebrate) cookie recipe (please share!)? I am not a big cookie eater although I like baking. My favorite Christmas cookie recipe is probably the old gingerbread recipe that I got from my Grandma who got it from her Mom and so on ….. If you want to try this gingerbread recipe, email me.

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