Thursday, June 29, 2006

Screw you guys, I'm going home.

Sorry, I watched South Park last night. I had a wonderful two days!!! But I am homesick and can't wait to be back in Sunny Florida. I have lots of things to post. I have so much to talk about!!! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I will be on the road. I'm pretty excited! I look forward to driving through Canada. Ciao!

Monday, June 26, 2006

Day 17: Friday, June 16

Well, today we went to do some hiking and to see the Matanuska glacier. It is about a two hour drive to the glacier. I really have seen enough glaciers but I thought it would be a nice drive and one gets to get up really close to this one. So we started the day by going to Wal-Mart to get some snacks, film and batteries.
Of course it was cloudy and there was rain off and on. It seems like the sun doesn’t like to make an appearance when me and mom decided to do something. Bah-humbug. We hiked this really easy trail called Thunder falls. It is easy and promised a great view of a canyon and a waterfall. Well, it was really a nice hike. It was really peaceful and the waterfall was beautiful. But the mosquitoes!!!! They were horrible! And of course mom always wears black so that decided that she must be resting place. But that woman never gets bitten. They prefer me for some odd reason. But luckily I ended up with only one bite.
The drive there was spectacular as all the drives around here are. The landscape was really different from the other place that I have gone. It was so much greener. It took us forever to get to the glacier because I had to stop a gazillion times to take pictures! I took two rolls of pictures! I am going to have to have a whole scrapbook just for my Alaska photos.:) So we finally get to the glacier area and it was a big temperature drop. And getting there was crazy. It was up and up and up a mountain road with a big ass river on the side with no guard rail. Lovely. I was a wee bit nervous looking down. Hey, I live in Florida and I’m from the Midwest. We don’t have roads like this! And of course the people who are from here are passing us like crazy.
So we go and take pictures and then decided to go and see the darn thing. Well the glacier is actually on someone’s land and not government owned. To see the glacier it is $13 dollars a person. A bit much if you ask me but whatever. We are driving down this road and my mom actually turned around. There was no way we were going down there. Maybe if we had a truck but it looked sketchy. We asked the woman at the store and she said it “seemed” safe. Well, not enough for me lady. And if my mom thinks she can’t do it, I listen. Nothing scares my mom. She is a tough ex-Army woman. So we nixed the Glacier. We saw if from the road so that was good enough for us. We drove a little further up the road just to see the mountains. Then we drove home and guess who decides to make an apperance. The sun, it seems to dislike me here in Alaska. Oh, I did get to see a moose and her baby. The little baby moose was so cute!!!!

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Day 16: Thursday, June 15

Well, today was pretty low key. I haven’t really been doing to much. Mom has been working for the last four days. I got to talk to my sis Tuesday. I haven’t spoken to her in awhile. It seems like we are both always so busy. Me with school and her with the baby. She seems so happy. I know she wasn’t planning on kids but it’s funny how God knows what we need. I have never seen her so happy. I can’t wait to meet the little guy!! He is already crawling and growing so fast!
Mom had to take her car in today have the oil changed and get her window fixed. It fell down and we couldn’t get it back up. So into the shop it went. We decided to take a walk downtown since she doesn’t live that far. We just went into the shops and looked around. It was cloudy and tried to rain while we were out. Luckily it didn’t start raining until we got back home. We decided to go to Fridays to eat because I had a gift certificate. It wasn’t too bad. The waiter was really good but the spinach dip was a little disappointing. That is my favorite thing and it was just kind of blah. Then we took a small drive and came home and watched the March of the Penguins. I liked it. It had it’s sad moments but it was interesting. I never knew that much about penguins in the first place but I love animal movies. It’s amazing what they do to have another penguin. Well, it’s been pretty boring here!

Monday, June 12, 2006

I've been tagged

I am...Slightly neurotic.

I want...to be done with nursing school

I wish...I knew how to swim. It's not that I'm scared. I'm just lazy:(

I hate...rudeness. It is so much easier to be nice!

I miss...my nana everyday.

I fear...that I might never be a mom

I hear...the cars outside

I wonder...where people are going and what they will be doing when I people watch

I regret...not staying in better touch with people

I am not...tall

I dance...all the time. I hear music and I can't stop!

I sing...in the car

I cry...when I'm angry

I am not always....right. I like to think I am but I know I'm not

I make with my hands...turkey burgers

I write...to-do list but never get them all done because I make them to long

I confuse...myself:)

I need...my family

I should..cook more

I start...things and don't finish them. I'm easily distracted

I finish...my house cleaning by lighting scented candles

I tag..Krystyn, Peachy, Sobia, Sam and Southern Masala. If you guys haven't been tagged.

Day 12

Well, mom has been working the last two days and won’t be off until the 15th. She will be off Tuesday but she will be too tired to really do anything. I have really done to much myself. I was going to go out but it as been to cold for me. I might go to the museum tomorrow. If I don’t tomorrow I am going to go Tuesday. I watched Memoirs of a Geisha and thought it was a pretty good movie. I didn’t read the book yet and that is a good thing. I tried watching In Her Shoes but couldn’t get into it. I did read the book and I loved the book. It is in my Netflix queue so I might give it another chance. I went and got two more movies. Madagascar and The Skeleton Key. I started the Skeleton Key but haven’t gotten to far into to have an opinion yet. I haven’t really done much. I read the paper, read some blogs and caught up on my emails. I still haven’t got caught up on my blogs.
I am starting to miss the man a lot. I am a wee bit homesick. But not at least I’m not there for Alberto.. Ick. I can do without all that rain. I guess I will have to go and get my hurricane supplies when I get home. I should have done it sooner but I am a procrastinator. I really don’t need much because I stay at baby’s house since he has a generator. I am getting a battery operated fan and TV. I learned my lesson on that one. Reading by flashlight basically sucks ass.
I have a list of things that we will be doing but I just have to figure out when we are going to do them. I feel like time is flying by! We are going to take a drive to Homer, AK. Not really much out there but I think it would be a fun drive and there are lots of hikes along the way. We are going to drive to Matanuska Glacier and there are lots of places to see along the way. And we are going to take a glacier cruise on Prince William Sound. I will be able to see my tidewater glacier finally. And of course we have the Fairbanks trip planned. I’m excited about that one.
I really need to find some time to study. I would hate to have lugged that huge ass book for nothing!

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Day 9: Thursday, June 8

Well we got up bright and early this morning and headed to Seward, AK to take a boat ride. I was pretty excited! The day was chilly and overcast but I didn’t mind. I know that this is a place that you have to adapt too. It isn’t like home where it is sunny and if it does rain you know it will be sunny in an hour.
The trip to Seward was gorgeous to say the least. I have never seen anything as beautiful as Alaska and I think that it can’t become any more spectacular I am proven wrong. I am still amazed to see snow on the ground in June. Well we arrived at our destination a tad bit earlier than we expected. (Surprising since I stopped so many times to take photos). So we were going to just take a half day cruise but found out that we wouldn’t see the tidewater glaciers. Well, that is what I really wanted to see so we decided to take the all day cruise.
We had sometime to kill so we had to pick up a hat for me because I was freezing. My mom is sweating and I am freezing my bum off. Now that never happens. My mom is usually the cold one. We found this very cute place to get some coffee and figure out how to kill some time. Well, we just took a little walk around town to look into the shops and we saw where the Itarod race begins. Not really sure if I spelled that right or not.
While waiting to board the boat we were greeted by a cute little sea otter. He was adorable!! I love sea otters. I was really hoping to see some Orcas but of course luck wasn’t on my side today. I did however see two humpback whales!!!! I didn’t get a good picture with my digital but I did get some with my regular camera. I do hope they turn out! I also got to see three Billie goats, two bald eagles, another sea otter with her baby, puffins and harbor seals. We only saw one glacier, Bear Glacier. The sea was too choppy to see the tidewater glacier. I was highly disappointed to say the least. That was one of the things on my to see list!! But they did refund us some money back and we found another place to go see glaciers. We should have gone there to begin with but someone said that Seward was the best place to see wildlife.
On the way back me and mom decided to do some hiking to see Exit Glacier. It was a really easy hike and we got to see the glacier up close. I have to say the smell of the forest was amazing. I have never smelled anything like it. I wish I could bottle that scent up!
On the way back home we also got to see a moose on the side of the road! You should see how many people pull over for something! It was too funny! He was huge with big full horns. I was worried that I wouldn’t see any wildlife and I have seen almost everything! I have to say I had a pretty amazing day!

Day 8: Wed., June 7

Today me and mom took a look around town. We went to the Alaska zoo and it was really small but fun. I didn’t want to come to Alaska and not see bears!!! And they are safe so I won’t be some bears dinner. I don’t know why I have this fear of being ate by a bear. It is silly I know.
We saw some black bears, one polar bear, moose, caribou, an owl, an eagle, a coyote, a Siberian tiger and a duck. Though the duck wasn’t a resident of the zoo. I think he was there for some free food. J All the animals that were there were there because of injury and couldn’t’ survive in the wild. Poor things.
After that we decided to go downtown and walk around a bit. I got some souvenirs for friends and family. I still have some more things to pick up but I found a great shop and picked up of my stuff there. There is a market on the weekends that I want to hit before I leave. I hope I can find some interesting stuff there. We ate lunch at this place called Sweet Basil. It was just a funky little café that wasn’t on the main drag. It wasn’t too bad. I had the pasta and it was so-so. But the apple crisp was fantastic!! After lunch we went to this creek so I could see some wild salmon. They weren’t jumping but I did get to see them swim in a real stream! Maybe I will get to see some when I’m hiking.

Day 7: June 6

Well everyone is proclaiming this is an evil day. WTF ever. Blah, Blah, Blah………I wonder how people justify themselves when they say that the end is coming on a certain day and it doesn’t happen? Do they feel sad? Disappointment? Silly? Hmm….I wonder. I’m sure someone out there is betting that the antichrist is born today. But really it isn’t 6/6/6. It is 6/6/2006. I love how they throw out that 2.
So me and mom decided to see the Da Vinci Code. I have to admit that it was a pretty good movie. Of course I didn’t read the book and really don’t know if I will. Maybe someday but I feel that now I know the code why would I want to read the book. Of course we all knew what was going to happen anyways. I mean it wasn’t really that hard to figure out. Not the code per say but the ending and all that. I didn’t even know what the book was about until the movie came out. I have been in my own little world I guess. As a former Catholic I can see how the church would get mad over the movie but if you have faith then I don’t see what the problem is.
They showed a trailer for some movie about 9/11 and I couldn’t believe. Am I the only one who thinks it is too soon to be showing movies about this? I know I won’t be watching this because I couldn’t even keep a dry eye during the movie trailer. I don’t know but I think the wounds are still to fresh for this one.

Sunday, June 04, 2006





I’m still not use to the time schedule here. My body is still trying to adjust to the sun shining brightly at 11o’clock at night. It still seems very strange and I wonder if I will get use to it at all. We didn’t do much yesterday. I was so exhausted and I think mom was too. We went around and did a little shopping. I had to get a sweatshirt because I forgot to pack one. Duh! Then we found a scrapbook and bead store. I just picked up a few things at the scrapbook store. But I went a little crazy in the bead store! I have never done anything with beads but it is fun. I made a really nice necklace. It’s something to pass the time when mom is at work. She told me to take the car when she’s sleeping but I’m afraid of getting lost! This place is still a little confusing to me. Hopefully by next week I will have it figured out. I plan on maybe walking around a bit tomorrow because she isn’t far from downtown. I also found a park that looks like it has a walking trail that I might check out. I need the exercise!
We took a drive Friday without any destination and it was amazing what we saw. I can’t even begin to describe this place. I saw snow!!! I haven’t seen snow in three years!!! We drove around and stopped at a place out in the middle of nowhere on the Kenai Peninsula. It was a itty bitty place called Hope, Alaska. It was one of the first gold mining towns back in the day. Of course there wasn’t much to the town. A couple of old buildings, a post office, a library and a two stores. But it all closed a 4 and we arrived at 4:15. Opps!!!
We stopped at a resort called the Black Bear Bed and Breakfast. It was a quaint little place that had it‘s menu written on a small board outside the door. I had the spinach cheese pasta which was homemade and it was so delicious!!! It literally melted in my mouth. Mom had the homemade sweet potato fries which were just fabulous. They put every other sweet potato fry to shame. It was really friendly and relaxing.
So I really haven’t done much. Mom has to work the next two days so I am going to get a list of things to do made. I have two list, things I have to see and things that I would like to do. The have to see list is pretty small. I’m not much of an adventure girl so there is a lot I won’t be seeing. I’m ok with thatJ I do want to go hiking but is going to have to be something small. I haven’t hiked since I left Pennsylvania. This isn’t for amateurs so I will be staying on the kiddie trails and not going off the beaten path. I would hate for my eulogy to be, she was such a lovely girl, too bad that bear ate her. Not the way I would like to be remembered.
I booked us a hotel in Fairbanks for two days for the summer solstice. They have this big Sun Festival and it should be fun. They have a midnight softball game and of course I’m going to go to that!!! Then we are going to take a drive from there and go to the Artic Circle. We just want to drive into the Circle. We aren’t going to venture into because apparently the road conditions are not that great and there isn’t a lot of accommodations up there. But I think it would be just cool to say, “Why yes, I have been to the Artic Circle”. Yes, I know what a dork I am. LOL.
Ok, I am so excited because the Heat made it to the finals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How awesome is that! I knew they could do it this year! It would be awesome to win but even if they don’t it is still great that they made it.
So my goal today is to relax. I have two movies, Memoirs of a Geisha and In Her Shoes. I haven’t read Memoirs of a Geisha yet but I did read In Her Shoes. I don’t know why I read books before the movies. I usually end up hating the movie. I am also going to try to catch up on everyone’s blog and see how everyone is doing. I’m trying hard not to call baby because I really miss him! I didn’t think I would miss him this much! He called three times yesterday. I guess my cats are keeping him well entertained. The brats won’t ever remember me when I get home!

Thursday, June 01, 2006

I'm here!



I'm sitting here while my mom is at work trying to stay up. I'm watching family guy as I write this and the sun is still up! That just freaks me out a little:) I might add that it is 10: 47 p.m.
Well, the plane ride didn't start off well. A poor bird flew into the engine as it was landing at FLL and to top it off the flight was late getting there to begin with. Then I had the worst seats but the scenery flying into Phoenix made up for it. I have never been over the desert and it was beautiful. I have a thing for mountains. I think it's because I have lived in so many flat places:) The mountains were beautiful. I have never seen the desert and it was gorgeous! It looked like someone was building sand castles in the sand. I saw a huge canyon too!! It was weird once we starting getting into the city it started getting green and brown. It looked like a palette of eye shadow. And all the houses and streets were in perfectly lines rows. It looked like one big Monopoly board. I have never experienced the heat that I felt once I stepped off the plane. 106 degrees and it was suffocating. People say it isn't bad because it's dry heat. WTH ever. Hot is hot and it was beyond hot! I made by connecting flight by 10 minutes! I would have been miserable if I had to wait another hour.
The flight from Phoenix wasn't so bad. I sat next to some nice people from Orlando. They let me watch their DVD, Shall We Dance. Very cute movie by the way.
I love dance movies. I tried to sleep but it was impossible. I may have a gotten in a couple of 20 minute naps but that was it.
I was greeted by various mounted animal heads and one gigantic polar bear in the baggage claim. Well, welcome to the last frontier. I guess they like to hunt up here or something.

I am almost finished with For Laci. This book has made me so sad. I will never be able to understand how you can take someone's life, a life that you promised to share and build on. Especially when that person stood beside you and thought the world of you. I mean I could understand a little more if she was cheating on him or if he was abusive or something but they were so normal. It could be me or anyone I know. That is so scary to me. I really feel for her mother. To have to live everyday without your best friend and your daughter.
It just so sad to think that she had so much to live for and it was all taken away because one man was selfish and couldn't be a man enough to just walk away.

Well, I will venture out tomorrow around town and then we will be taking a drive Saturday! I can't wait to explore this place!