Happy 4 years =)

Today is anniversary number 4. It's hard to believe that it was 4 years ago that we were in Vegas ready to say "I do". What a great time we had at our wedding & what a great time we've had together over the last 4 years.
Tonight we celebrated our anniversary at our favorite restaurant in Juneau...the Island Pub. It was a wonderful evening full of good food and good conversation but we both would've liked to have been back in Vegas celebrating with our friends and family. Maybe every 5 years we could have a "re-do" wedding. How fun would that be? =)

Merry Christmas!

We hope 2009 was good to you and that 2010 is even better!

Thanks guys =)

I have the most supportive friends EVER! I am so amazed at how many of my friends are supporting my little jewelry-making addiction. I now have an etsy page as well as a Facebook Fan page and all my wonderful buds are spreading the word and helping me in any way they can.
Thanks Erin for spreading the word on your blog AND facebook!
Thanks Mindy for being my first FB fan!!
Thanks Stephie for letting me use your house for multiple shopping adventures!
Thanks in advance Molly for keeping me organized and making sure that I follow through with the craft fair idea.
Thanks to everyone else who's told a friend about my site or added me to your FB page. You guys are awesome!

On another note....Stephenie & I were talking tonight and realized that neither of us are putting up a tree this year. So, our question to you is WHERE do you put presents if you don't have a tree???? I have mine sitting on top of a dresser & she has hers near her piano. Other options?? Kitchen table?? Under the TV???

A busy little Bee...

I've been a busy little bee on my first day of winter break! I've been making jewelry for the past month and have sold a few items to my wonderful and supportive friends! (Thanks for supporting my habit, ladies!) Today I spent a lot of time making, photographing and posting my little treasures to my etsy site. Feel free to check it out and be sure to pass the link on to a jewelry-loving friend!

www.alaskarocks.etsy.com

Safety first! Adam got me all set up for my little project!

Who else has this much fun at work??

Wednesday was the 5th graders vs. staff basketball game. The kids were rockin' it but the teachers were on fire! The teachers were definitely sore the next day, though.

The Team....

Looking a little winded there, buddy...

Don't laugh...it went in...


Elementary kids don't quite get the idea of "the wave" but it was a good try ;-)

MRCS teachers rock!!!

Friday was Crazy Hat Day! Adam and I sported our reindeer antlers & halo to show our school spirit.
It's been a fun-filled week. I love my co-workers ;-)

things that make me smile...

*morning walks with good friends
*girls night
*flavored coffee creamer
*two weeks off from work
*sunshine
*snow
*snuggling with baby Logan
*catching up with friends
*funny Christmas cards

Jewelry

Here are a few pictures of the jewelry I've been making lately.

WOW

I've been reading Jill Homer's blog for a few months now and am always amazed at her sense of adventure. She's an avid hiker/biker and posts (almost) daily blogs of hikes/bike rides that she takes. Even if she only has a few hours to spare she'll spend it hiking up a mountain or taking a 20 mile bike ride through the forest.
Her latest post has some amazing pictures and if you need a reminder of why you live here or if you're missing Alaska be sure to check it out.

It's always an adventure!

Being a one-car family usually works just fine. We don't have kids and we both work at the same place so it's pretty easy to car-pool. This week has been a little different since Adam's had to be downtown all day for trainings. So, I was left on my own to figure out a way to get home after work each day. Mon, Tue & Wed worked out fine. There were enough people going my way that it was easy to snag a ride from someone.
I wasn't able to find a ride today so I decided to take the bus with my friend and her kiddos. It was my first Juneau-bus ride and I have two things to say about it.

1. Knowing how to use public transportation is definitely a "life-skill" that everyone should learn how to navigate.

2. The Juneau bus system is actually pretty good. The driver was friendly, the bus was warm, the company was pleasant (thanks Carriker Clan ;-) ), and it dropped me off right at the bottom of my hill.

P.S.
Dad- be sure to check Rosco's blog for Dude's latest adventure ;-)

The girls need to stick together

Apparently, Dude and I are friends now. I spent the weekend making jewelry while Dude supervised. She has good taste.

My December

Thanksgiving has passed and now we're on to all of the holidays that December brings. Looking at the month ahead I see...

*two weeks of nothing-ness

*presents

*lots of winter walks with friends

*snowshoeing

*wrapping paper

*peppermint mochas

*holiday food

*dinner parties with friends

*Christmas lights

*shopping

*photograph opportunities

*winter sweaters

What do you see in your December?

Ketchikan Trip

We arrived in Ketchikan yesterday afternoon. We were welcomed by a rare site-SUNSHINE, AHHHH! Adam's mom prepared a wonderful turkey dinner and we lounged for the rest of the evening.

Instead of waking up early and fighting with the crowds on Black Friday we slept in and Farrel made us a yummy breakfast of waffles and sausage. I love having other people cook for me! The food always tastes so much better! Later this afternoon I met up with my friend, Amber and we went to my favorite walking place-Ward Lake.

After that Adam and I met up with his brother and Zach and we drove out to Buggies Beach for some beach combing. I found a few good rocks that I might try to make into necklaces.

Here's the view from the in-law's house. It looks right out over the channel and there were also some deer eating in the back yard. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my zoom lens with me so you'll have to look hard to find them.

Big news!

Dude let me hold her tonight! Don't we make a cute couple?

Oh winter...I heart you...

winter = snowshoeing, hats, hot chocolate, peppermint mocha coffee creamer, sledding, electric blankets, candy canes, christmas trees, mittens, presents, family, turkey dinners, ics, puffy coats, family pictures, headlamps, YakTrak's, ice skating, long nights curled up with a good book, cookies, fudge, snowy walks with friends, scarves, christmas parties, egg nog, wrapping paper, christmas music, cider, shopping, snow, and beautiful new scenery to photograph.

Oh Winter....I Heart You...

Ahhhh, LoVe

Last summer Adam & I took a trip to Seldovia, Ak for Matt & Danielle's wedding that was to be performed by yours truely. It was an amazing (and sometimes scary) adventure of car, boat & plane rides.
The wedding was on the beach with about 15 family members in attendance. We've never felt more welcomed by other people's families than we did that weekend with Matt & Danielle's.
Heath, their photographer, has posted pictures of the wedding to his blog http://www.focusunbound.com/wordpress/ if you want a small glimps of a quaint town, a gracious family and two head-head-over-heels-in-love science nerds.

Our attempt at a family portrait..

It's not quite perfect but at least we got Linus in here!

Crazy weather these days!

The weather here has been nuts! Our first snow fell this week...followed by an insane slush storm...then a wind and rain storm which caused mudslides, falling trees and power outages all over Juneau.
I was up early this morning ready to head downtown and proctor tests for the highschoolers. However, with the power out the testing was rescheduled and I headed back home. I was awake and ready to have a productive and relaxing Saturday morning.
I needed to...
Post grades
Do laundry
Vacuum
Do dishes
Go grocery shopping

I wanted to...
Read a book
Watch a movie
Blog
Peruse Facebook

I realized that all of these things needed electricity (yes, even reading the book since it was SO dark in here!!) so I decided to crawl back in bed and snuggle with the hubby and dog. We fell asleep listening to the wind howl and were grateful for our nice warm bed.

Hibernating...Do Not Disturb...

It's been a week since we've had to turn our clocks back and I'm still adjusting. Waking up is getting harder and by 4:30 p.m. I'm ready for P.J's and dinner. The darkness has creeped in and taking a nightly walk is impossible unless I bring my headlamp.
We've gone into hibernation mode and find ourselves eating and sleeping too often. Leaving our house takes more energy and motivation than we have so we tend to stay in and invite those who aren't hibernating to join us at our house.

This week I learned....
*Amy makes an amazing homemade cheesecake....
*How to shimmy & do snake hands....
*Keeping my witches broom in the car can lead to many interesting conversations....
*One day of sunshine can make you forget the 7 days of wind and rain....

Happy Halloween~

Happy Halloween! Hope everyone was safe and had fun!

We didn't have any trick-or-treaters this year. Guess that leaves more candy for us!

Goodbye October

I fear I've been neglecting my blog. It's sad when your dog has more exciting things to blog about than you do.
Our week has been fairly uneventful. The excitement level at work is pretty high right now due to Halloween. If you work at a school then you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. It's crazy and impossible to keep the kids focused but so much fun.
Tonight was the first night of my belly-dancing class.
I loved being challenged
I loved working my muscles that don't usually get any attention
I loved laughing at myself and my ungraceful dancing ability
I wonder how Molly felt about the class? Maybe she'll blog about it =)

Sunshine & Bagels

It's been a long week. I can tell that winter is setting in. Adam and I have both been exhausted and it seems the only thing we have energy for is a movie at the end of the day. I find myself wishing for sunshine and warmth and daydreaming about our summer in Australia. Oh how I'd love to be back here right now....

...kissing my honey along the river....not caring about whether I remembered to wash my hair that morning....wearing sandals....reading a book in the grass...and not having a care in the world.

However, it's October in Juneau and we're quickly losing daylight. The rain and chill in the air make us look for things to do inside rather than outside.

Here's a little snippet of our evening last night....

Start with the dough & shape them....

Boil them & bake them...

enjoy...

Get there...

I discovered the UAS bookstore a few years ago and it has become one of my favorite places to shop when looking for unique Christmas or birthday presents. Most of their merchandise is UAS clothing, books and school supplies but they do have a section of their store devoted to Fair Trade items from around the world. I found these butterfly wing earrings on my last trip out there and have been wearing them nonstop. If you haven't been out there you should go. I guarantee you will find some amazing suprises!

Out of the box

Adam and I both love looking at house decorations that are original and unique. This weekend we went on a scavenger hunt looking for people who dared to make their house different from the status quo.

I love that you would put an 8 ball in your yard...

I love that you would build a wall out of something you are passionate about...

I love that you have such a great sense of humor...

I love that you care about your garage...a place that is normally overlooked and forgotten...

So beautiful...

While traveling last summer I noticed how the people in Australia loved their hometown. They seemed to be just as in awe of the beauty surrounding them as we were. Today Adam and I looked at our town with "tourists" eyes, searching for the beauty that people travel hundreds and thousands of miles to see.

A little mother-daughter time..

What a great weekend we've had with mom in town. The time went by way too quickly! We spent our weekend perusing the old books at Friends of the Library, walking Rosco, watching movies and catching up.

Here are some pictures of our walk at the Airport Trail. A favorite walk with a favorite person =)

Notice the glacier in the background? We had to do this one a couple times to get that in there-So enjoy the glacier!