Monthly Archives: November 2011

I Need Adventures

Posted on November 29, 2011
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I have been incredibly lucky to live pretty awesome life with all the travels all over the world, experiencing some pretty sweet adventures, and doing most of the things I have wanted to do. Alaska has been one of the coolest adventures I could have ever hoped for. However, I am thinking of Alaska with mixed feelings. Alaska has been good great for me but…
Our Alaska tour is reaching the downhill side: while i don’t know exactly when heading to somewhere else, I know it’s coming one day.
I do have my own wish list for the next stop on this adventure, mainly locations that are outdoorsy and have decent universities for my PhD studies.

It’s not hard to guess that I’m writing this in Lower 48. Tasting the life on the mainland again.

Yesterday I was rushing through the airports and it hit me. I miss Lower 48. I miss airports. I miss some level of formality and style. I miss easiness of traveling to any corner of the world.

I was sitting at United’s lounge at Denver airport and watched a never ending list ode parting flights. To locations that I so miss. And that are so time-consuming to reach from Alaska. I have truly enjoyed dressing up a bit – nothing fancy but at least I can have a nice hairdo and high heels. Without looking an oddball among people who happily wear their fishing boots and dirty jeans in the best restaurant of the town.

I do look forward to PCS’ing, and new adventures.

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Black Friday

Posted on November 25, 2011
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While hardcore shoppers headed out at wee hours of the Black Friday morning, we were still happily in the LaLa land. However, we wanted to get out of the house check a few items in the stores – if anything was left after the professional deal catchers.

And we got lucky ….. I found a bunch of quilting fabrics and accessories at JoAnn’s, for both myself and my mom. Now I just need to find time for all this craftiness. After JoAnn’s we headed to Sears, Home Depot and Lowe’s to see toys for boys a.k.a. power tools and man cave stuff for hubby. At Sears we got him a workbench with butcher block surface. It will arrive in a couple of weeks. Next purchase for him was a miter saw. After going back and forth between Home Depot and Lowe’s, we learned that Lowe’s does give military discount even on sale items while Home Depot does not. So not hard to guess where the miter saw was purchased eventually, after checking and rechecking prices, returning one item and so on …. but what matters the most is that hubby got his new power tool. And maybe I get a little cabinet with the mirror in the hallway – at least it shouldn’t be pending due to the lack of tools.

By the time we got to Kohl’s and Target, all the King size bed linens were gone. At least the ones that I liked, so didn’t spend a single cent at the bedding department. I might need to check those online though. Just in case.

So our Black Friday was another great day by hanging out together, and having a good time.No stress, no hurrying, no fighting over sale items. This is the way how I like to experience my Black Friday’s!

 

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Thanksgiving

Posted on November 24, 2011
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Happy Thanksgiving!

As Thanksgiving Day is turning into night (and Black Friday) here in Alaska, I finally had time to sit down, and wish you, Dear Readers, Happy Thanksgiving. I hope your day has been full of happiness and wonderful moments – just like ours.

Our Thanksgiving Day was spent by hanging out together and cooking. Nice and relaxing. Great times. Even though I didn’t have time to finish, or even start, a new table runner and placemats. I so wanted to be crafty and creative for this weekend but once again the school and work got the best out of me. There are days when I wish I had more hours in my day, and that I could be a creative, wonderful miniature-Martha-Stewart who always decorates home for the season, cooks and bakes the delicious creations in the kitchen. But no, I can’t do that. Not until I find out a way to stretch 24 hours at least to 36…

However, our Thanksgiving was perfect despite not having the new tablecloths. The menu included roasted turkey with homemade stuffing from the scratch, carrot casserole, green beans, corn, homemade dinner rolls, cranberry chutney, mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, salad (for me), and pumpkin pie with homemade crust. It was plenty of delicious food. Actually we didn’t even make it to the pumpkin pie yet but it has to wait till tomorrow. Our dog, Tassu, got his share of delicacies too, and apparently it is good to sleep with a full belly. After dinner he parked himself on the couch, closed his eyes and hasn’t moved a whole lot. Gotta love the dog life!

That being said, this Thanksgiving I am terribly thankful for having the best husband in the world – he is my best friend, and perfect partner in crime. My better half. He makes me who I am. I am forever thankful for his endless support and encouragement. Furthermore, I am thankful for living this wonderful life of mine, and ours. Even though there are days when I am tired or frustrated, I wouldn’t change a single day. We truly are lucky and blessed. I am thankful for lovely, supportive people around us – friends and families, near and far. If we only could see them more often…

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.
~Cicero

 

Pumpkin Pie

 

Roasted Turkey

 

 

Overeating

 

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Nerdiness Beyond Nerdiness

Posted on November 20, 2011
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It has been such a dilemma and decision to figure out what Grad Schools I will be interested in, and even more importantly, what I will be majoring for my Masters and PhD. The decision to shift from Psychology to more scientific world was not easy one, not at any rate. So as a real nerd, I sat down with my laptop and put together a list of pros and cons of my options. This sealed the decision. My love for science combined with a truly international and portable career sound just like me.

When you face a dilemma, do you just go by the flow, listen to your heart, or rationalize your decision?

I hope you have a happy Monday! It’s snowing here in Alaska again, and looks like my morning exercise will include some snow shoveling…

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Should I? Could I?

Posted on November 17, 2011
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“Stop thinking in terms of limitations and start thinking in terms of possibilities”  - Terry Josephson

Have you ever wondered if you are making right decisions? Then taken a step or two back, stopped, and started to think what really matters, what is important, what you truly enjoy.

Those of you who are my Facebook friends have probably seen the mysterious “what if, should I” status updates lately. A while ago I was looking at the piles of books all over the house, thinking of PhD program stuff and wondering what will come to my path. And then it hit me. Maybe I don’t want to be a clinical psychologist helping people to open the knots in their lives. Maybe I want to understand what happens biologically when behavior changes. Or how the environment impacts on our cells, neurons, causes genetic mutations …. that may then alter the behavior.

I miss the hard science. I miss physics, chemistry, math, ….. biology. I miss formulas, complicated biological structures, and arguments over the evolution theory and beginning of the world. I miss my white lab coat.

I am seriously leaning towards graduate studies and hopefully a PhD in Biology. So it starts to be time to pick up some Biology books, and start to get ready for subject GRE test.

“Perfect as the wing of a bird may be, it will never enable the bird to fly if unsupported by the air. Facts are the air of science. Without them a man of science can never rise.” –Ivan Pavlov

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