Ok, so I stopped posting a while ago because, well, I figure my blog was pretty boring. It was like an excessively boring online diary and who really wants to read that? All the blogs I love to read tend to have some sort of focus and I decided to change this one to better reflect one of my biggest interests: sustainability. There are so many blogs out there that will talk about sustainable practices, but I see several major faults with these. 1)They look at only one issue. There's the Zerowastehome.com, which I love but really only focuses on trash. There are all sorts of locavore blogs, of which my two favorite recent discoveries are Diary of a Locavore and The Seasonal Family. But these last mostly focus on food, and not on trash or any other sustainable efforts. I think that we truly need to take all of these ideas and bring them together. (And yes, I realize that eating local tends to produce less waste, since you're not also buying all that packaging. But as little waste as the zero waste family? Probably not, since the only focus is food.)
2)Not one of these efforts is in Alaska, with all of our unique challenges and our climate. 7 months of winter can really take its toll on a pantry, even a very well-stocked one like ours. One of my friends posted to Facebook yesterday, "Fairbanks, it's April and I'm still wearing long underwear. WTF?" When most gardeners around the country are starting to see buds from their new plants, or at least to plant them outside, we're still clinging to the tail end of winter. When the planting and growing season starts, 24 hours of sunlight (well, ok, 23) helps, but the short growing season (and my lack of a greenhouse, since I rent) means that a lot of plants simply don't grow around here.
When I thought about starting this adventure yesterday, and embarking on a challenge to really eat as locally and sustainably as possible, the first thing that came to mind was everything that I'd have to give up. Most fruits, for instance. The only ones that grow locally are berries: strawberries (only if you garden, none wild), blueberries (both wild and cultivated), raspberries (wild, mostly), and cranberries (wild). Shane's mom planted an apple tree a couple of summers ago, a Canadian variety that's supposed to be able to survive down to -40, but it's not mature enough to grow fruit yet (if it ever will). Even if it does produce fruit, they live in Soldotna (about three hours beyond Anchorage) and we live in Fairbanks. It's a 10-14 hour drive to get down there, depending on the season.
Which brings me to 3)What is local in Alaska? In a state this large, it's harder to define. For most locavores, that means within a 100 mile radius. But here, one of our most productive centers of food production, the Matanuska Valley, is just outside of Anchorage. In other words, over 300 miles from where I live. When I buy something from Alaska Grown, that's generally where it's coming from. And even then, a lot of things can't be found under that label. And I'm not talking mangos and bananas. Most farmers up here don't grow grains, for instance. "Local" for things like flour could mean Washington State. To get from there to here is about as far as food travels for most of the continental U.S. (an average of 1500 miles from farm to plate). Not exactly sustainable or local. Still, it's better than buying from California or South America. And I should ask around to see if I can get find some local sources for grains. (Until now, that hasn't been as high on my list of priorities.) Perhaps if enough of us ask someone will start growing grains here? The University of Alaska Fairbanks (as a land grant school) does have a large field (I think it's wheat?) and I need to find out what happens to that product. Considering the other sustainability efforts the U is undertaking, and the push to grow more of our own food, probably it gets served to students throughout the year.
On top of all of this, I'm adding one more challenge to myself: work with as small a budget as possible. Like so many other people at the moment, Shane is jobless. He finished his last classes in December (no longer eligible for his student job, in other words) and graduates in just a few weeks. He's been applying to pretty much every job in his field (biology), and has gotten nothing but rejection so far. (Very disheartening.) So we're on one rather small salary, also partially supporting my little brother while he's in school (although I'm trying to wean him away from depending on us so much) and a dog and a cat. As of 2005, the average couple with only one wage earner spent roughly $121 per week on groceries. So that is my target. Feed all of us on $125/week or less, as locally as possible, and while producing as little trash as possible.
The final part of this is my goal to simply consume less. And I'm not talking about food (although that would certainly help with the budget...), I'm talking resources. Clothing, gasoline, paper, etc. We all use or have too much of it. There is the minimalist movement where people only have 100 items in their homes, but that's a little extreme for me. (Just as I will never, ever give up my toilet paper in the name of zero waste.) I have more than 100 items just in my kitchen, and they all get used on a regular basis. I also read prolifically, and while I do get a lot of books from the library, I own more than 300 just in my apartment. (Probably well over 400 if you count the ones still at my parents' house--Shane claims I have way too many, but still bought me a book for my birthday this year.) And I don't consider them junk or a waste of space and resources as so many people do. So they're staying.
But I do make it a habit to regularly clean out my closet and donate the clothes I never wear (sorry, Mom, I just don't like turtlenecks). We've also been consciously reducing the amount we drive. I know, I know, with the gas prices this high (I think around $4.00/gallon around here, although the last time we filled up was in March) who isn't cutting back on that? Still, it's not just about the money to me. When we searched for apartments last time, we found one that is in walking distance to the University so that Shane and I don't need to drive...or spend over $300 on a parking pass. Since a lot of our friends are students, grad students, staff, or alumni, a lot of our activities are at the University, too. (Hello, Pub!) So we walk. Or bike, depending on the season. (Shane bikes all winter, but my bike has hybrid tires that don't do so well on the snow and ice. I didn't feel like spending a lot of money on new tires, rims, etc., to get my bike winterized. I walk or bus to and from work in the winter. Even around here that's considered a bit odd, when someone's walking at -40.)
The biking is excellent here, too. Not so much because the roads and paths are excellent (winter is so hard on them) but just because most of the places we need to get to can easily be biked to. Fairbanks is small. "Across town" is about a ten minute drive, and then what's the point of driving? The farmer's market, several of our friends' houses, the grocery stores and our favorite HomeGrown Market (I'll talk about them a lot, I'm sure) are all within a 20 minute bike ride. Our favorite summertime date is to walk the dog to Hot Licks Ice Cream (a local company) and get cones, then walk home. Such an easy way to connect with each other and make the dog super happy at the same time. No car necessary.
This is getting too long, so I'll post another one about current efforts and goals.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Monday, November 8, 2010
"Here's Johnny!"
Ok, I titled this blog post after "The Shining" in part because I watched that movie last night, but also partly because I want to rant about something that's been driving me nuts lately.
I seem to see/meet/hear about a lot of people who seem to think that ignorance makes them better Christian. Anyone who believes in such things as logic and science is deemed not as good a Christian, because naturally you have to reject some parts of the Bible if you're logical and science-minded. And you know what? I don't care. Willful ignorance DOES NOT equal better faith. My faith is strong enough that I CAN reject some of the Bible without it undermining my faith in God. It is through science and my better understanding of how the world works that I deepen my faith in God. Beginning to understand the universe means understanding a bit more about God.
God gave me a thinking, reasoning, intelligent brain and free will for a reason. And yet there are many, many people who see an understanding of the world and the universe as an "attack" on their faith. Why should this be so? Are you so insecure in your faith that the Bible HAS to be true, or none of it is? These people reject facts of all kinds because they don't "believe" them to be true. Whether you believe it or not doesn't change that it's fact. Get over it.
What I find even more insulting than this is that these people, if you disagree with them, will tell you that they'll "pray for you to find the way", or something to that effect. Do they not hear how pompous and conceited that is? The implicit and arrogant idea that their faith in God is somehow better than mine because I actually think about these things, rather than having my faith come from outside of myself, is irritating beyond belief. I want to tell these people to pray for those who actually need it, like the sick and the poor. You know, those people that Jesus urged us to look after, take care of, and pray for. The ones many of these "Christians" look down upon.
So many of these religious people become totally confused when I say that I believe in God, not religion. I've rejected having any major religion in my life not because I think they don't do some good and not because I don't think they perform some services that are necessary in society, but because I don't think they have anything for me. My faith won't be made any stronger if I go to church every Sunday or not. In fact, in many ways I pray more now than I did when I was a regular church-goer, because I don't confine it to Sundays.
I also don't believe in the Bible. At least not totally. I believe in the things Jesus said. Not to judge, but to love. I believe that's what I need to do to lead a good life, and that's what I strive for every day. It's incredible to me how many people who claim to be Christian don't understand that THAT is what it means to be Christian. The Bible is inconsistent, but Jesus never was. And I'll take His word over the rest of the Bible any day.
I seem to see/meet/hear about a lot of people who seem to think that ignorance makes them better Christian. Anyone who believes in such things as logic and science is deemed not as good a Christian, because naturally you have to reject some parts of the Bible if you're logical and science-minded. And you know what? I don't care. Willful ignorance DOES NOT equal better faith. My faith is strong enough that I CAN reject some of the Bible without it undermining my faith in God. It is through science and my better understanding of how the world works that I deepen my faith in God. Beginning to understand the universe means understanding a bit more about God.
God gave me a thinking, reasoning, intelligent brain and free will for a reason. And yet there are many, many people who see an understanding of the world and the universe as an "attack" on their faith. Why should this be so? Are you so insecure in your faith that the Bible HAS to be true, or none of it is? These people reject facts of all kinds because they don't "believe" them to be true. Whether you believe it or not doesn't change that it's fact. Get over it.
What I find even more insulting than this is that these people, if you disagree with them, will tell you that they'll "pray for you to find the way", or something to that effect. Do they not hear how pompous and conceited that is? The implicit and arrogant idea that their faith in God is somehow better than mine because I actually think about these things, rather than having my faith come from outside of myself, is irritating beyond belief. I want to tell these people to pray for those who actually need it, like the sick and the poor. You know, those people that Jesus urged us to look after, take care of, and pray for. The ones many of these "Christians" look down upon.
So many of these religious people become totally confused when I say that I believe in God, not religion. I've rejected having any major religion in my life not because I think they don't do some good and not because I don't think they perform some services that are necessary in society, but because I don't think they have anything for me. My faith won't be made any stronger if I go to church every Sunday or not. In fact, in many ways I pray more now than I did when I was a regular church-goer, because I don't confine it to Sundays.
I also don't believe in the Bible. At least not totally. I believe in the things Jesus said. Not to judge, but to love. I believe that's what I need to do to lead a good life, and that's what I strive for every day. It's incredible to me how many people who claim to be Christian don't understand that THAT is what it means to be Christian. The Bible is inconsistent, but Jesus never was. And I'll take His word over the rest of the Bible any day.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
"He's one bad experiment away from becoming a super villain!"
Well, I had a crazier weekend than I would have liked. Last Thursday night, the cat ran off. Shane was at the Marlin with friends, and I was at home just hanging out. So I had the door open so that the animals could come and go. Zap was outside by himself for less than ten minutes, and when I went to check on him he was gone. No cat in our yard, or in the neighbors' yards or anything. So I thought, oh well. He'll be home soon. By morning at the latest. He's never been gone for longer than a couple hours so I didn't think it was a big deal. I did send a text to Shane, though, and went to bed.
The next morning, Shane hadn't gone to bed. And Zap wasn't home yet. That made me really nervous. Our kitty is a terrible hunter, and not exactly equipped with the skills to live on his own. I told Shane to let me know if he came home while I was at work. He didn't.
I was in a really bad mood at softball that night. And the thing is, I actually batted pretty well, but the other teams defended a little better. On one of my hits, the only reason it wasn't at least a base hit is because their short stop was about eight feet tall. I hit the ball right over second base, but he was just tall enough to run, leap, and catch it in the tip of his glove. It sucked. The next game, I had another great hit, but the second basewoman happened to be a little bit to the right of where she should have been and caught it. Grr! I did field a ball nicely when I was in the outfield, and thankfully Simon put me back as catcher for the last half of the second game. I made the game ending catch there, with a pop up foul. That felt pretty good. But I was so stressed out and worried during the entire evening that I couldn't really enjoy anything. All I wanted was for my kitty to come home. Shane was feeling the same way.
We had a quiet Friday night because neither of us felt like doing much. Plus, most of our friends were busy. So we hung out and watched "The Big Bang Theory" on Shane's computer. That show is hilarious!
Saturday morning, still no kitty. Saturday night I went out to the Marlin with Lucy and some of her coworkers, because Shane and James were having a lan party (all night gaming) at James's house. The Marlin was fun, except for how worried I still was. But several of the girls from Lucy's work have cats, so they were comforting. One girl said she had a cat come back home after three months. That almost gave me a heart attack. Three months?! I can't imagine the wreck I'd be if it took Zap three months to get home to me!
Lucy and one of the girls went home early because they were tired and had to work early Sunday morning. One girl, Nicole, was still there so even though I was tired I said I'd stay with her until some of her other friends showed up. Soon after, Donald, Mitch and Chris showed up. It was Chris's birthday, but they'd partied hard the night before so they weren't really in a drinking mood. So we listened to the bands, and talked. It was fun. The bands were great.
Sunday morning, I woke up alone. Shane was still at James and Lucy's, with the truck, and I needed to get downtown to Ellie's place because we were going floating down the Chena. So I called Shane, woke him up, and started getting ready to go. Shane got home, and it turned out that he needed to get to Adam and Ellie's, too, because the guys were going to play some Star Wars game. Just before we left, I went to the bathroom since there aren't really bathrooms in the middle of the river. While I was in there Shane said, "Um, you should come out here." "Yeah, hold on." When I opened the door, he was holding Zap. "Look who just wandered back in!" Instant relief. Now we just want to know where he went. I don't think he managed to hunt anything because he was super hungry.
I was able to really enjoy the float down the Chena. It was so relaxing. And I'm so tan now! I actually have really funny tan lines on my legs, because I was wearing long shorts (I couldn't find the bottoms to my swimsuit) and I got ever so slightly burned on only the front of my legs. So now I have lines on the front of my legs about halfway down my thighs. I showed Shane that night and he laughed pretty hard.
It's amazing how tiring it is to lie out in the sun all day. Of course, I did kind of get a workout paddling sometimes. It's not easy to paddle while lying on your back. My stomach muscles got their exercise that day, which was good because I didn't feel like doing Insanity that night. (I've finished it, but I'm trying to still do the workouts, at least until we leave for Las Vegas. I don't want to gain any weight back, and it would be nice to lose some more.)
Less than a week and a half before we go! I'm so excited!!
The next morning, Shane hadn't gone to bed. And Zap wasn't home yet. That made me really nervous. Our kitty is a terrible hunter, and not exactly equipped with the skills to live on his own. I told Shane to let me know if he came home while I was at work. He didn't.
I was in a really bad mood at softball that night. And the thing is, I actually batted pretty well, but the other teams defended a little better. On one of my hits, the only reason it wasn't at least a base hit is because their short stop was about eight feet tall. I hit the ball right over second base, but he was just tall enough to run, leap, and catch it in the tip of his glove. It sucked. The next game, I had another great hit, but the second basewoman happened to be a little bit to the right of where she should have been and caught it. Grr! I did field a ball nicely when I was in the outfield, and thankfully Simon put me back as catcher for the last half of the second game. I made the game ending catch there, with a pop up foul. That felt pretty good. But I was so stressed out and worried during the entire evening that I couldn't really enjoy anything. All I wanted was for my kitty to come home. Shane was feeling the same way.
We had a quiet Friday night because neither of us felt like doing much. Plus, most of our friends were busy. So we hung out and watched "The Big Bang Theory" on Shane's computer. That show is hilarious!
Saturday morning, still no kitty. Saturday night I went out to the Marlin with Lucy and some of her coworkers, because Shane and James were having a lan party (all night gaming) at James's house. The Marlin was fun, except for how worried I still was. But several of the girls from Lucy's work have cats, so they were comforting. One girl said she had a cat come back home after three months. That almost gave me a heart attack. Three months?! I can't imagine the wreck I'd be if it took Zap three months to get home to me!
Lucy and one of the girls went home early because they were tired and had to work early Sunday morning. One girl, Nicole, was still there so even though I was tired I said I'd stay with her until some of her other friends showed up. Soon after, Donald, Mitch and Chris showed up. It was Chris's birthday, but they'd partied hard the night before so they weren't really in a drinking mood. So we listened to the bands, and talked. It was fun. The bands were great.
Sunday morning, I woke up alone. Shane was still at James and Lucy's, with the truck, and I needed to get downtown to Ellie's place because we were going floating down the Chena. So I called Shane, woke him up, and started getting ready to go. Shane got home, and it turned out that he needed to get to Adam and Ellie's, too, because the guys were going to play some Star Wars game. Just before we left, I went to the bathroom since there aren't really bathrooms in the middle of the river. While I was in there Shane said, "Um, you should come out here." "Yeah, hold on." When I opened the door, he was holding Zap. "Look who just wandered back in!" Instant relief. Now we just want to know where he went. I don't think he managed to hunt anything because he was super hungry.
I was able to really enjoy the float down the Chena. It was so relaxing. And I'm so tan now! I actually have really funny tan lines on my legs, because I was wearing long shorts (I couldn't find the bottoms to my swimsuit) and I got ever so slightly burned on only the front of my legs. So now I have lines on the front of my legs about halfway down my thighs. I showed Shane that night and he laughed pretty hard.
It's amazing how tiring it is to lie out in the sun all day. Of course, I did kind of get a workout paddling sometimes. It's not easy to paddle while lying on your back. My stomach muscles got their exercise that day, which was good because I didn't feel like doing Insanity that night. (I've finished it, but I'm trying to still do the workouts, at least until we leave for Las Vegas. I don't want to gain any weight back, and it would be nice to lose some more.)
Less than a week and a half before we go! I'm so excited!!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
"You make him wish he'd never shown that ludicrous head of hair and that nice face of his."
We're leaving for Vegas two weeks from tomorrow, and I am bursting with excitement. I want to start packing already, but that would just freak our pets out. And we still need to find a sitter for them. James and Lucy have offered, but Lucy is so horribly allergic to both cats and dogs that I'd rather not have to make them do that if I can find someone else.
Today I was looking up stuff to do when we go to Vegas. It sounds like there are plenty of great things to do, and a lot of them are even free. Shane wants to go to the Bodies exhibit, and I really want to go to the Titanic museum. But beyond that, we haven't actually planned anything out. As much as anything else, I'm looking forward to sleeping in and being lazy. I totally need a vacation. 4th of July was really fun, but relaxing it was not. Two weeks Outside sounds amazing.
Shane and I have been getting progressively more and more lazy about household chores, and I think it's because of the looming vacation. The idea of not doing dishes is tantalizing. We haven't even wanted to cook! Two nights in a row we grilled bacon moose burgers (which are amazing!!) and last night we made sandwiches and homemade fries. Super good. And easy. The hardest part was my bike ride to the grocery store. (I'm trying to drive as little as possible. With as lazy as I've been feeling, that's kind of tough.)
Our Wednesday dinners are over, since several of the people involved are now a little cash-strapped. So instead, there's talk of having Wednesday bad action movie nights. That sounds great, too. I hope it happens.
Our one summer student has now left. Andrew moved to Washington, so work has picked up a little bit. I'm happy about that. It means I get to move around a bit more, taking care of the shelving and such. Our other student is graduating at the end of fall semester, and we're thinking of not hiring any more students. I'm hoping that if we do that, Katherine and I can negotiate for raises. After all, it's only fair if we're expected to take over all of the student tasks as well as our own. Shane said, "Would you whine about your job less if you were paid a little more?" I said that the extra work would help out with that.
Today I was looking up stuff to do when we go to Vegas. It sounds like there are plenty of great things to do, and a lot of them are even free. Shane wants to go to the Bodies exhibit, and I really want to go to the Titanic museum. But beyond that, we haven't actually planned anything out. As much as anything else, I'm looking forward to sleeping in and being lazy. I totally need a vacation. 4th of July was really fun, but relaxing it was not. Two weeks Outside sounds amazing.
Shane and I have been getting progressively more and more lazy about household chores, and I think it's because of the looming vacation. The idea of not doing dishes is tantalizing. We haven't even wanted to cook! Two nights in a row we grilled bacon moose burgers (which are amazing!!) and last night we made sandwiches and homemade fries. Super good. And easy. The hardest part was my bike ride to the grocery store. (I'm trying to drive as little as possible. With as lazy as I've been feeling, that's kind of tough.)
Our Wednesday dinners are over, since several of the people involved are now a little cash-strapped. So instead, there's talk of having Wednesday bad action movie nights. That sounds great, too. I hope it happens.
Our one summer student has now left. Andrew moved to Washington, so work has picked up a little bit. I'm happy about that. It means I get to move around a bit more, taking care of the shelving and such. Our other student is graduating at the end of fall semester, and we're thinking of not hiring any more students. I'm hoping that if we do that, Katherine and I can negotiate for raises. After all, it's only fair if we're expected to take over all of the student tasks as well as our own. Shane said, "Would you whine about your job less if you were paid a little more?" I said that the extra work would help out with that.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
"Mom's awesome."
At the moment, I'm watching a Youtube video about how to knit socks. I just finished my first few hats the other day, and I'm kinda feeling badass about my knitting abilities. I mean, I have a long way to go (if I get too sure of myself, all I have to do is hang out with Spencer, who knits the most amazing, complicated things, to bring me back to earth) but since hats weren't as daunting as I was afraid they would be, I know I can conquer anything else. Before I actually start on socks, though, I was going to make a bunch more hats. I want to work on designs, like different stitching patterns (cables and seed stitch) and different designs. I'm pretty excited for it!
I ended up leaving work early the other day because I got a migraine. How awful is that? I don't get them very often, but I can tell one's coming on because my vision gets all blurry and I start to feel nauseous. Eww. When my vision got blurry the other day, I went for a walk thinking that I'd been staring at my computer for too long. When that didn't help (actually, it got worse) I downed three ibuprofen, a bunch of water, and then went home. I was barely able to bike home, but I made it right before my head really started pounding. I then laid down and slept through the worst of it. When I got up three hours later, I was able to eat some dinner and watch a movie with Shane. Pepper napped with me the whole time. She's pretty good about knowing when I'm not feeling well.
We finally dealt with the last of that salmon we'd gotten from Shane's parents after the camping. Most of it went into the freezer, some went into salmon chowder, and a bunch of the crappy parts (and some from our freezer that went bad) got boiled for the dog. Since the stuff for the dog wouldn't stay good enough for long, most of what she's eaten for the last couple of days has been salmon. She's been following me around in hopes that I'll give her more. It's pretty funny. She'll sit where she can catch my eye, sitting up straight as if to prove that she's good, she's worthy. Shane keeps saying, "She's going to go on a hunger strike when we run out of salmon for her." It's true, so it's a good thing she could stand to lose a few pounds. : )
I feel kind of boring lately. Really, the knitting has been about it for the last few days. I'm also reading a biography of Andrew Jackson that's fantastic. I didn't realize that he and his wife were accused of (and probably guilty of) bigamy. (She was married to someone else--who was probably abusive--when they married. They later claimed that there was a mix-up about when her ex-husband began divorce proceedings, but letters from the time suggest that there was no mix-up. Andrew Jackson firmly held the belief that the stress of the accusations that were hurled at them about this during the election contributed to her death just before he took office.)
I have six more days of Insanity left. Only six! I'm so proud of myself. Until last night my motivation was almost zero, but after all the time I took off (accidentally on Saturday I ran out of time, and then on Monday of course I didn't do it because of the migraine) I felt amazing yesterday during the workout. So I'm actually pretty motivated to do it tonight. Yay! Plus, I had three pieces of pizza during lunch. Our student is moving to WA, so we had a pizza party in his honor today.
After working two Sundays in a row, I get to go home early this Friday (can't have overtime) and that means a 3 1/2 day weekend. Woot! I'm very excited. Right now I'm getting to the point where I really need the vacation that's coming up. I know, I just had a mini vacation with the camping, but I came back from that more tired than when I left so it didn't even feel like a vacation. Going to Vegas and then L.A. will be so much fun, and it will be so relaxing to have two weeks when I won't have to worry about how late I stay up or how late I sleep. So nice! Three more weeks....
I ended up leaving work early the other day because I got a migraine. How awful is that? I don't get them very often, but I can tell one's coming on because my vision gets all blurry and I start to feel nauseous. Eww. When my vision got blurry the other day, I went for a walk thinking that I'd been staring at my computer for too long. When that didn't help (actually, it got worse) I downed three ibuprofen, a bunch of water, and then went home. I was barely able to bike home, but I made it right before my head really started pounding. I then laid down and slept through the worst of it. When I got up three hours later, I was able to eat some dinner and watch a movie with Shane. Pepper napped with me the whole time. She's pretty good about knowing when I'm not feeling well.
We finally dealt with the last of that salmon we'd gotten from Shane's parents after the camping. Most of it went into the freezer, some went into salmon chowder, and a bunch of the crappy parts (and some from our freezer that went bad) got boiled for the dog. Since the stuff for the dog wouldn't stay good enough for long, most of what she's eaten for the last couple of days has been salmon. She's been following me around in hopes that I'll give her more. It's pretty funny. She'll sit where she can catch my eye, sitting up straight as if to prove that she's good, she's worthy. Shane keeps saying, "She's going to go on a hunger strike when we run out of salmon for her." It's true, so it's a good thing she could stand to lose a few pounds. : )
I feel kind of boring lately. Really, the knitting has been about it for the last few days. I'm also reading a biography of Andrew Jackson that's fantastic. I didn't realize that he and his wife were accused of (and probably guilty of) bigamy. (She was married to someone else--who was probably abusive--when they married. They later claimed that there was a mix-up about when her ex-husband began divorce proceedings, but letters from the time suggest that there was no mix-up. Andrew Jackson firmly held the belief that the stress of the accusations that were hurled at them about this during the election contributed to her death just before he took office.)
I have six more days of Insanity left. Only six! I'm so proud of myself. Until last night my motivation was almost zero, but after all the time I took off (accidentally on Saturday I ran out of time, and then on Monday of course I didn't do it because of the migraine) I felt amazing yesterday during the workout. So I'm actually pretty motivated to do it tonight. Yay! Plus, I had three pieces of pizza during lunch. Our student is moving to WA, so we had a pizza party in his honor today.
After working two Sundays in a row, I get to go home early this Friday (can't have overtime) and that means a 3 1/2 day weekend. Woot! I'm very excited. Right now I'm getting to the point where I really need the vacation that's coming up. I know, I just had a mini vacation with the camping, but I came back from that more tired than when I left so it didn't even feel like a vacation. Going to Vegas and then L.A. will be so much fun, and it will be so relaxing to have two weeks when I won't have to worry about how late I stay up or how late I sleep. So nice! Three more weeks....
Thursday, July 15, 2010
"In Africa, babies are passed around more freely than joints at Matthew McConaughey's house."
I am so sore today! And it's all my own fault. Since getting back from the camping trip last weekend, Shane and I have jumped right back into doing our workout. (After finishing out this week, we only have next week left.) But on Tuesday I kept pushing it off and putting it off, without realizing that there were actually two workouts to do. Every two weeks with this program, you're supposed to do the fit test, which is about half an hour long. You do one move for a minute, counting how many you can do in that minute. Well, when i started the fit test (at 10:00) I was already sore and tired from the day before. And then I pushed myself. I was really determined to get as many reps as I possibly could. And it worked! I improved on everything, by a significant margin in some cases. (The jumping-jack pushups, where you jump your legs apart as you press down, went from 14 up to 18. Huge improvement, especially since that's the second to last move and I was already dead by that point.) Anyway, I was flat out exhausted after that. I tried to start the next video, but my legs were so shaky that I was worried I'd actually hurt myself. And I was moving at a snails' pace. So I told Shane that I'd do both workouts Wednesday (last night).
I know that someday I will be proud of myself for having done both of those hour long workouts in one day, and for pushing myself in each of them. But it was so tough. I did one right after work, then had dinner and read for a bit to rest up for the next one. After the second one, my legs were shaking from the effort to hold myself upright as I took a shower. When I crawled into bed to read for a bit before going to sleep I told Shane, "It hurts to be me." It still hurts. There is not a part of my body that isn't sore. Which is good for me, I know, but ow!
And I had to ride my bike up the hill this morning. I had to be here by 8:00, and there's only one shuttle bus that early in the morning. And not only does it not have a bike rack, it doesn't go up the hill. (It's the stupidest thing--it goes from a parking lot on lower campus to a building that takes about five minutes to walk to. And yet, the bus driver on that route--a fat man--felt the need to insult me because I didn't want to bike up the hill one morning when my allergies were really bad. "You have two legs and a bike." I HATE UAF shuttle service! They're dead to me.) Anyway, getting up that hill was rough. But I have to put it into perspective for myself. My brother has biked most of the way between England and Tanzania in the last year, and I'm whining about one lousy hill? That makes me feel like a jerk, but it does help me get over it a little bit.
So does the milk I've been drinking today. Mmmm...milk.
Tonight: Shane's softball games and two more workouts to do. *Sigh* I will be so, so happy when this program is over, although I'll probably just take a short break and then continue to do some of the videos.
I know that someday I will be proud of myself for having done both of those hour long workouts in one day, and for pushing myself in each of them. But it was so tough. I did one right after work, then had dinner and read for a bit to rest up for the next one. After the second one, my legs were shaking from the effort to hold myself upright as I took a shower. When I crawled into bed to read for a bit before going to sleep I told Shane, "It hurts to be me." It still hurts. There is not a part of my body that isn't sore. Which is good for me, I know, but ow!
And I had to ride my bike up the hill this morning. I had to be here by 8:00, and there's only one shuttle bus that early in the morning. And not only does it not have a bike rack, it doesn't go up the hill. (It's the stupidest thing--it goes from a parking lot on lower campus to a building that takes about five minutes to walk to. And yet, the bus driver on that route--a fat man--felt the need to insult me because I didn't want to bike up the hill one morning when my allergies were really bad. "You have two legs and a bike." I HATE UAF shuttle service! They're dead to me.) Anyway, getting up that hill was rough. But I have to put it into perspective for myself. My brother has biked most of the way between England and Tanzania in the last year, and I'm whining about one lousy hill? That makes me feel like a jerk, but it does help me get over it a little bit.
So does the milk I've been drinking today. Mmmm...milk.
Tonight: Shane's softball games and two more workouts to do. *Sigh* I will be so, so happy when this program is over, although I'll probably just take a short break and then continue to do some of the videos.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
"Kiss my ass, Josh Groban!"
We went camping over the weekend! It was so much fun. Instead of going to Seward this year, as we have for the last three years, Shane's parents wanted to go to Kenai Lake. They sold their motor home and bought a small boat earlier this year, so they wanted an excuse to use it. It turned out to be fantastic! I was worried that we'd go to Seward and it would be the same-old thing. So the camping trip was perfect.
My friend Amanda came into town from Utah on Friday night, so I spent the evening with her and her boyfriend. We had dinner at Silver Gulch, and then we went back to my apartment to hang out. After dinner, Shane went out to play one-handed kickball with friends. (One-handed because the other hand had to have a drink in it.) Amanda, Scott and I were going to go out, but that idea got scrapped. Amanda is five months pregnant, so bars were out. Plus, she was tired. They'd been camping in Denali, and I was looking at an eight hour drive the next day, so staying in and chatting seemed really great. James came over, too, and Shane was only at kickball for about two hours. So it was a fun evening.
The next morning, I woke up to the phone ringing at 8:00. My mom was calling to let me know that my grandfather had died. This wasn't a terrible shock, because my aunt had let me know that he was sick the day before, and he hasn't been in the best of health for years anyway, but it was still sad. So I got up and took a shower, then made pancakes and bacon for everyone for breakfast. Amanda and Scott were staying at our apartment while we were gone, and taking care of the cat for us until they left on Sunday. So that worked out well. James and Lucy were supposed to take over the cat duties after that, but we're not sure if they did. When we got home, the bag of cat food was on the floor (he's never before pulled it out of the cabinet) and his bowl was empty. His tummy pooch seems a little smaller. But he's fine. He had water and he obviously could get food. He was just really happy to see us.
Anyway, after breakfast, a few last things to pack up, and stopping for gas we were good to go. At first we were really cheerful and chatty. The dog settled down pretty quickly, so I think she's getting used to these long car rides. I don't think she likes them, but she's getting used to them. And as scared as she is that she'll be thrown out the window, she does like having the window open to smell everything. When I put it back up, her nose goes up with it. So cute!
Anyway, we switched at one point because Shane needed me to drive so that he could take a nap. And in the car, with Shane napping, was when I finally cried over my Poppa.
I drove the leg into Anchorage, and Shane woke up when we were getting into town. As we were pulling up to one stoplight I said, "Hey look, a moose." Shane thought I was saying something about the Moose's Tooth, where we were stopping for lunch, but then the moose walked less than five feet in front of the truck and he said, "Oh, a moose!" He tried to get the camera, but grabbed it too late. All we would have gotten was a picture of the moose's butt, and we already have plenty of those pictures.
The Moose's Tooth pizza was, of course, fantastic. BBQ chicken. After eating a few slices, we pushed on. Shane took over the driving to the lake. We saw a young black bear along the train tracks around Turnagain Arm. That was cool. Otherwise, the drive was uneventful. We got to Kenai Lake just before 8:00, parked, and waited for Shane's parents to come pick us up in the boat. Pepper was quite happy to be running around the parking lot, and we were amazed at how calm she was in the boat. I think after hours in the car she just didn't care any more, because on the other boat trips we took around the lake and then back to the truck she was a bit nervous.
There were about fifteen people at the campsite on Saturday night. Most of them were people I had met before, like Shane's Aunt Liz, her husband Chris, and their (teenage) kids. They each had a couple of friends, and then there were some friends of the whole Tachick family that were there. So it was a big, happy crowd. And it was so much fun! Spencer (whom we haven't seen for six months) was already quite drunk when we got there, and was very boisterous. It was pretty funny. He'd been playing horseshoes with Ryan for a partner all evening, and apparently they'd won every game, so he was challenging Shane and a partner to play and said he'd jump in the lake if he lost. Now, Kenai Lake is glacier water and it was past nine o'clock. So Shane played against him, and won. So Spencer jumped in the lake.
The whole time we were camping, Pepper stayed near me or Shane. She's a little busybody, so she was totally overstimulated and trying to keep track of everyone. Poor baby. But she was so well behaved! It was great. It was like having a toddler around, only one who only threw one tantrum. And that one was because Shane and I went canoeing on Sunday and didn't take her with us. She sat on the beach the whole time we were gone, staring in the direction we'd gone. While she could still see us, she freaked out and wouldn't stop barking. We went around a deceptively large island. Anyway, when she could see us again, Pepper once again started barking. She didn't let me out of her sight after that, even to go to the outhouse.
Spencer had to leave on Sunday evening to go back to his fishing job. But he'd brought some red salmon home (he's allowed three every time he goes home) and it was SO TASTY. We usually have frozen at home, and that's all right (we pull it out when we don't know what else to have for dinner) but fresh is just worlds better. I feel sorry for anyone who never gets to enjoy salmon straight off the boat. (Before we left Soldotna, Sally and Steve gave us the three Spencer brought home that day so we could take them home.) We also ate s'mores with Reese's peanut butter cups and the most giant marshmallows you've ever seen. It was really fun and funny.
By Sunday evening, most of the people had cleared out for one reason and another. Chris and Spencer needed to go back to work, Ryan and Laurie and their kids went back home, Chrystal and her boyfriend needed to go back to Anchorage. So it was just me, Shane, his parents, Liz, and her son Colton and his friend Keith. It was still really fun, though. I played horseshoes for the first three times. The first game, against Shane and Keith, (Steve and I were partners) I scored the winning point. That felt really good. I couldn't do it for any of the other games, though. Oh well.
Monday morning we got up and packed everything up. It had been rainy all weekend, so we were packing up in the rain. We left one of the tarps there because, the day before, when when everyone was out either on the boats or canoeing, it had fallen down right into the fire. Luckily Liz's kids and their friends were just canoeing right near the camp and they noticed it quickly, so we didn't set the whole camp on fire. But the tarp had a hole in it. So we left it for anyone else who came along.
We drove back to Soldotna, and I immediately gave the dog a bath. She was so dirty, all her white parts were gray. When I rinsed her, the water was still coming off black with dirt in some places, but she hates baths so I declared her good enough. I did have to cut some pitch off her butt and tail, though.
Then the three of us wandered down the path to Shane's Grandma Tachick's house. It was fun to visit with her. Mostly she asked what we were up to, and then she and I talked about knitting for a bit.
Since I've been hearing all these stories from Shane about his Great Uncle Melvin, I've been asking him to take me out to his farm. We actually did that this visit. Melvin is the most redneck person I've ever met. Apparently at some point the city told him he couldn't hunt moose on his property, so he built a watchtower so that he could get the ones off his property. There were tractors and cars all over the yard. And rabbits everywhere. When Pepper discovered those, her instincts took right over and she began chasing them all over the yard. But they were way too fast for her and she never did figure out what the holes were, even after stepping in a few of them. So she started chasing chickens, and that made me think of "Lady and the Tramp". We had one happy dog, going home.
Melvin was very nice, and I know his grandson Will from UAF, so I got to meet a couple of his siblings and that was fun too. Shane kept teasing me that he wants Melvin's den, which has moose heads all over the place, and a display of his trophies from a safari he went on in Africa years ago. I told Shane no.
Monday night, a friend of ours came over for dinner, and it was nice to see her. But I was so tired, I was almost falling asleep! Shane took her home at about 10:30, and stayed to chat with her family (he's known them all since he was a kid). I tried to stay up, because Spencer was supposed to be home for a little while that night (apparently a new corridor was opened up, so he came home for about 20 minutes to say goodbye to Shane, then left again) but I ended up falling asleep on the couch. I have only the vaguest memories of Shane dragging me and Pepper up the stairs to go to bed. My poor dog was at least as tired as me, and just fell right asleep anytime she was sitting still for more than a minute. (I even had a hard time waking her up this morning.)
The drive back was mostly uneventful. I drove the first leg so Shane could nap, then he drove after Anchorage and I took a nap. Pepper napped most of the car ride, and I got a couple of cute pictures. We of course stopped at Jersey Subs (best sub shop ever!) and then again at the Moose's Tooth for more pizza. As soon as we got back home (after 11:00) and unpacked the food Shane's mom sent up with us (as always) I did my workout and then went to bed.
My friend Amanda came into town from Utah on Friday night, so I spent the evening with her and her boyfriend. We had dinner at Silver Gulch, and then we went back to my apartment to hang out. After dinner, Shane went out to play one-handed kickball with friends. (One-handed because the other hand had to have a drink in it.) Amanda, Scott and I were going to go out, but that idea got scrapped. Amanda is five months pregnant, so bars were out. Plus, she was tired. They'd been camping in Denali, and I was looking at an eight hour drive the next day, so staying in and chatting seemed really great. James came over, too, and Shane was only at kickball for about two hours. So it was a fun evening.
The next morning, I woke up to the phone ringing at 8:00. My mom was calling to let me know that my grandfather had died. This wasn't a terrible shock, because my aunt had let me know that he was sick the day before, and he hasn't been in the best of health for years anyway, but it was still sad. So I got up and took a shower, then made pancakes and bacon for everyone for breakfast. Amanda and Scott were staying at our apartment while we were gone, and taking care of the cat for us until they left on Sunday. So that worked out well. James and Lucy were supposed to take over the cat duties after that, but we're not sure if they did. When we got home, the bag of cat food was on the floor (he's never before pulled it out of the cabinet) and his bowl was empty. His tummy pooch seems a little smaller. But he's fine. He had water and he obviously could get food. He was just really happy to see us.
Anyway, after breakfast, a few last things to pack up, and stopping for gas we were good to go. At first we were really cheerful and chatty. The dog settled down pretty quickly, so I think she's getting used to these long car rides. I don't think she likes them, but she's getting used to them. And as scared as she is that she'll be thrown out the window, she does like having the window open to smell everything. When I put it back up, her nose goes up with it. So cute!
Anyway, we switched at one point because Shane needed me to drive so that he could take a nap. And in the car, with Shane napping, was when I finally cried over my Poppa.
I drove the leg into Anchorage, and Shane woke up when we were getting into town. As we were pulling up to one stoplight I said, "Hey look, a moose." Shane thought I was saying something about the Moose's Tooth, where we were stopping for lunch, but then the moose walked less than five feet in front of the truck and he said, "Oh, a moose!" He tried to get the camera, but grabbed it too late. All we would have gotten was a picture of the moose's butt, and we already have plenty of those pictures.
The Moose's Tooth pizza was, of course, fantastic. BBQ chicken. After eating a few slices, we pushed on. Shane took over the driving to the lake. We saw a young black bear along the train tracks around Turnagain Arm. That was cool. Otherwise, the drive was uneventful. We got to Kenai Lake just before 8:00, parked, and waited for Shane's parents to come pick us up in the boat. Pepper was quite happy to be running around the parking lot, and we were amazed at how calm she was in the boat. I think after hours in the car she just didn't care any more, because on the other boat trips we took around the lake and then back to the truck she was a bit nervous.
There were about fifteen people at the campsite on Saturday night. Most of them were people I had met before, like Shane's Aunt Liz, her husband Chris, and their (teenage) kids. They each had a couple of friends, and then there were some friends of the whole Tachick family that were there. So it was a big, happy crowd. And it was so much fun! Spencer (whom we haven't seen for six months) was already quite drunk when we got there, and was very boisterous. It was pretty funny. He'd been playing horseshoes with Ryan for a partner all evening, and apparently they'd won every game, so he was challenging Shane and a partner to play and said he'd jump in the lake if he lost. Now, Kenai Lake is glacier water and it was past nine o'clock. So Shane played against him, and won. So Spencer jumped in the lake.
The whole time we were camping, Pepper stayed near me or Shane. She's a little busybody, so she was totally overstimulated and trying to keep track of everyone. Poor baby. But she was so well behaved! It was great. It was like having a toddler around, only one who only threw one tantrum. And that one was because Shane and I went canoeing on Sunday and didn't take her with us. She sat on the beach the whole time we were gone, staring in the direction we'd gone. While she could still see us, she freaked out and wouldn't stop barking. We went around a deceptively large island. Anyway, when she could see us again, Pepper once again started barking. She didn't let me out of her sight after that, even to go to the outhouse.
Spencer had to leave on Sunday evening to go back to his fishing job. But he'd brought some red salmon home (he's allowed three every time he goes home) and it was SO TASTY. We usually have frozen at home, and that's all right (we pull it out when we don't know what else to have for dinner) but fresh is just worlds better. I feel sorry for anyone who never gets to enjoy salmon straight off the boat. (Before we left Soldotna, Sally and Steve gave us the three Spencer brought home that day so we could take them home.) We also ate s'mores with Reese's peanut butter cups and the most giant marshmallows you've ever seen. It was really fun and funny.
By Sunday evening, most of the people had cleared out for one reason and another. Chris and Spencer needed to go back to work, Ryan and Laurie and their kids went back home, Chrystal and her boyfriend needed to go back to Anchorage. So it was just me, Shane, his parents, Liz, and her son Colton and his friend Keith. It was still really fun, though. I played horseshoes for the first three times. The first game, against Shane and Keith, (Steve and I were partners) I scored the winning point. That felt really good. I couldn't do it for any of the other games, though. Oh well.
Monday morning we got up and packed everything up. It had been rainy all weekend, so we were packing up in the rain. We left one of the tarps there because, the day before, when when everyone was out either on the boats or canoeing, it had fallen down right into the fire. Luckily Liz's kids and their friends were just canoeing right near the camp and they noticed it quickly, so we didn't set the whole camp on fire. But the tarp had a hole in it. So we left it for anyone else who came along.
We drove back to Soldotna, and I immediately gave the dog a bath. She was so dirty, all her white parts were gray. When I rinsed her, the water was still coming off black with dirt in some places, but she hates baths so I declared her good enough. I did have to cut some pitch off her butt and tail, though.
Then the three of us wandered down the path to Shane's Grandma Tachick's house. It was fun to visit with her. Mostly she asked what we were up to, and then she and I talked about knitting for a bit.
Since I've been hearing all these stories from Shane about his Great Uncle Melvin, I've been asking him to take me out to his farm. We actually did that this visit. Melvin is the most redneck person I've ever met. Apparently at some point the city told him he couldn't hunt moose on his property, so he built a watchtower so that he could get the ones off his property. There were tractors and cars all over the yard. And rabbits everywhere. When Pepper discovered those, her instincts took right over and she began chasing them all over the yard. But they were way too fast for her and she never did figure out what the holes were, even after stepping in a few of them. So she started chasing chickens, and that made me think of "Lady and the Tramp". We had one happy dog, going home.
Melvin was very nice, and I know his grandson Will from UAF, so I got to meet a couple of his siblings and that was fun too. Shane kept teasing me that he wants Melvin's den, which has moose heads all over the place, and a display of his trophies from a safari he went on in Africa years ago. I told Shane no.
Monday night, a friend of ours came over for dinner, and it was nice to see her. But I was so tired, I was almost falling asleep! Shane took her home at about 10:30, and stayed to chat with her family (he's known them all since he was a kid). I tried to stay up, because Spencer was supposed to be home for a little while that night (apparently a new corridor was opened up, so he came home for about 20 minutes to say goodbye to Shane, then left again) but I ended up falling asleep on the couch. I have only the vaguest memories of Shane dragging me and Pepper up the stairs to go to bed. My poor dog was at least as tired as me, and just fell right asleep anytime she was sitting still for more than a minute. (I even had a hard time waking her up this morning.)
The drive back was mostly uneventful. I drove the first leg so Shane could nap, then he drove after Anchorage and I took a nap. Pepper napped most of the car ride, and I got a couple of cute pictures. We of course stopped at Jersey Subs (best sub shop ever!) and then again at the Moose's Tooth for more pizza. As soon as we got back home (after 11:00) and unpacked the food Shane's mom sent up with us (as always) I did my workout and then went to bed.
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