It's been a while since I've posted anything....



Things have been pretty busy around here. Winter is pretty much upon us and we've been trying to get the house winterized, snow tires on the car, etc. It's snowed twice so far. It hasn't stuck but I'm predicting it will be here to stay by the end of the month!



School has been very busy for me. Especially that darn English class!!! I've spent the last few weeks working on a big paper. I turned it in on Saturday and now I get to wait on pins and needles to find out how well I did!



Josh is doing better in his schoolwork. He still has a lot of catching up to do but...he's working at it slowly and steadily. He may gripe a lot from time to time but...if that's what it takes to get things done, then I'll turn a deaf ear!! lol

I have been horrible about taking pictures! My battery always seems to be dead when I think about actually snapping a quick shot. (Like the big bull moose behind our house!) I want to get some pictures of the mountains while they still have only half a blanket of snow on them! I'm going to plug the darn thing in tonight and keep my fingers crossed for a clear day tomorrow. If I'm lucky, the moose will visit with his cow and calves!

Jim flew out this morning to Prudoe Bay. I miss him already!! He's scheduled to be there all week working on the clinics. He called earlier today and said that he made it safely. I'm hoping to hear from him tonight to hear what it's like up there! He's been to so many places up here! Sometimes I'm jealous!

Hope everyone is having a great week!!!

Winter's coming!!

Our last week has been rainy, cloudy, and downright chilly!! Brrrrr! The snow is making tracks down the mountainside rather quickly! I love looking at the snowcapped mountains but I would like it to stay there for a while! I'm not quite ready for all the slippery, wet, white stuff!!!
The trees are all pretty much in their full fall colors! This is one of my favorite seasons! I'm hoping for a clear day so we can go out and get some pictures!!
Today, Jim and I ran all of our grocery errands!! WOW!! I can't believe the amount of food we go through in a week!! Josh is pretty much at the age of being a "bottomless pit"!! He's ALWAYS hungry! I'm glad the shopping is over and the cupboards are stocked again. I also managed to get ALL my laundry done today as well! I feel like I'm on a roll!
Tomorrow, we are going to Jennifer's house. She and I are going to make cookies, rice crispy treats, brownies, and fudge to send over to Iraq. While we're doing that....Jim is going to get some of the "man chores" done around her house. He's been such a sweetheart to do that while her husband is overseas. On the good news front.....Phillip (Jenn's husband) is supposed to be home sometime around Thanksgiving. That's much earlier than expected and I'm sooo happy for her! We're all excited! J.R. is supposed to be home around then too. So is Heather's husband. We're hoping to have a big homecoming thing to celebrate. They've all been gone a year and it's been a looooong year at that!
Dave moved to Tennessee this week. We miss him a lot! We got to talk to him for a bit tonight and it sounds like things are going smoothly for him. He's still trying to adjust to the heat and it will take a bit. He says he's going thru fall all over again since things happen later Outside compared to here.
I'm still struggling with my English paper. I've written my professor and hope to hear from her before class on Monday. (That's when the rough draft is due) The whole "pop culture" thing still escapes me. Am I just getting old?
I've had family on my mind a lot. I miss everyone so much!!! We would like to travel this holiday season but I don't know if we'll be able to pull it off. I hope we can!
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!!

Busy!

I haven't posted a blog in a while. School has been keeping me pretty busy!!
So far, I think my hardest class is English. We've had to write 3 papers so far and I really struggle with it! My first paper was graded and I got 25/25 points! My second paper hasn't been graded yet and it's worth 100 points! Wow!! Now I have a third paper I'm working on and trying not to stress over. One of the things I have to do for this class is bring in a 'pop culture artifact'. I'm not really sure what that means! My thoughts are leaning toward bringing my cell phone. I take it anyway and keep it muted and in my pocket during classes so...it's not something I'd be likely to forget! Do you have any ideas of something I could take that would be considered pop culture?

I still absolutely LOVE my ASL class!! (American Sign Language) My instructor is awesome!!! We had our first quiz this week and I got 20/20 points. Our next quiz is next week and I'm really looking forward to it!

Well, time to hit the books!

I've been pretty busy with school so far this week. LOTS of homework in both math and English! We have another written assignment. It's a narrative on pop culture. I get really confused about the whole popular culture thing. I mean...I don't go out often, don't really go to movies all that much, I wear what's comfortable and not necessarily in style, and I don't follow the whole "star gossip" thing.
I had to think of something to write and decided on "Internet chat lingo and how it affects kids' schoolwork". You think that's an ok topic?? Josh had a writing assignment and asked me to read it over. It was grammatically atrocious!! Plus there were a lot of misspellings. (jus instead of just, ppl instead of people, u instead of you, etc) Even our commercials today play on the internet shorthand!! So, now I just have to think of what I want to say.
In math we're working on integers. Positive and negative. And absolute value. It's still pretty easy (thank goodness!!). I'm going to try to get ahead in this chapter too and get my test done early. The chapter one test was graded and I got 102 pts. out of 100. YAY!!!
Tonight is my sign language class. The test is either today or Thursday. Either way I'm ready!! Both Jim and Josh have been testing me. A girlfriend sent me a link to a really cool site. You look up the word you need and there is a little clip showing how it's signed. How awesome is that!!?! I've been playing around with it and trying to learn signs that I feel I need but don't know yet so I can communicate with my instructor.
I've had family on my mind a lot lately. I miss everyone so much!!! I guess the gray, wet weather has me feeling a little melancholy. Thank goodness I'm keeping a lot busier now or I'd really be a sad sack!!
Hope everyone has a great week this week!!!!

Busy weekend

I've been pretty busy this weekend! It's been rainy and gray for the last 3 days or so and I've been going a little stir crazy.

On Friday, I went out to Humpies with Jim and Heather. We were helping her with her homework assignment. She had to go out and meet (and talk to) someone she didn't know. It's for her counselling class. (She's going for her masters degree.) We chose Humpies because 1) It's a fun place to be! and 2) there was a band there we wanted to check out (Bullets 4 Daisies). We didn't stay more than an hour and a half or so but it was enjoyable!! The band was pretty good too!! Plus we met 2 ladies from Australia! They were loads of fun to talk to! I love their accents!!!

On Saturday, Jim, Josh, and I went and saw 'Rush Hour 3'. Funny movie!!! Then we went out to Romano's for supper. YUMMY!!! I always get the seafood linguini when I go there. I can't seem to get away from it!! It's SUPER YUMMY!!!

Today, I've been studying my signs and reading for English class. I took a break and went to the movies with Jim and saw 'War'. It was really good too. The ending wasn't what I expected but I think it made it better! Now, I'm taking a break and will go back to studying in a few minutes.

These days..

School has been going really well for me. (I LOVE my sign language class!!!) I ended up switching instructors and got a class in town so...now I have school 4 days a week instead of 3.

I turned in my first reading response today (on blackboard) for English. I am so nervous about doing well!! I guess I'm a little retarded when it comes to school these days but..I'm sure I'll come around when some of the "newness" wears off! I think I did 3 or 4 rough drafts before I took it to class...then in class, we had to revise it! Ugh! I just can't seem to leave well enough alone!!

My math class is going really well. I'm probably 2 weeks ahead of everyone and already took my chapter 1 test. I'm pretty sure I aced it. In a few more chapters I'm going to need all the help I can get!!!

And sign language! What a great class!!! We're doing the basics and have a quiz next week. My instructor is deaf and I think I'm going to learn a lot more from him because of it. I'm going to teach Jim what I'm learning so I have someone to practice with. I'm about a chapter behind due to switching classes but...I'll make it up!

Josh isn't doing so hot in school. We had open house last night. Jim and I met all his teachers (he's got some awesome ones this year!) and had only a few minutes to chat one on one with them. I'm going to arrange a meeting this next week with all of them. Josh just doesn't seem to care and we have been struggling with getting him to be responsible and do what he's supposed to!!! We're almost to our wits end!!

Next week, Jim starts a lot of travelling around the state. He's looking forward to going a few places he hasn't been! I think Red Dog Mine is the first place he takes off for. Then it's Nome, Prudoe Bay (twice), and Shishimea. It'll do a lot for what I call his 'Mighty Mouse Syndrome'. (He flies in...saves the day...flies out)

Other than that....fall is definitely on its way. The nights have been pretty chilly and the leaves are changing color so quickly!!! I love the fall colors but wish we still had a little more sunny, warm weather to enjoy.

Family and school

I had my first classes yesterday!! I was sooooo nervous the night before!!! I ended up with a really bad case of the jitters! Both classes were really cool though. I even had a little homework from the dreaded math class!!! Thankfully, all we're doing is review and it's really easy!! The theme for my English class is "popular culture". I think it's going to be fun and really interesting! I have both those classes again tomorrow and then Thurs. night is my first sign language class. Currently, I'm trying to transfer my sign language class to on campus. Right now, it's about an hour ride (in rush hour) to get there. I may end up going Tues. and Thurs. evenings but...I can do it if it saves me a bunch of time and gas!!!


A few days ago, I got to spend a little time with my step dad and 2 of my brothers. It was so much fun!! We all went out to supper and had a great time! They even came by the house for a little while! I got to show off the view from my back porch and visited for a bit more. Unfortunately, they were on a tight schedule and had to leave the next morning. :( I hope they have fun fishing with the bears!!!

Day surgery

I really hate day surgery. I have to leave here in about 30 mins. to go be a "human pin cushion". I know it should help with my pain levels in the long run but....I get nervous every time I have to do it!

Josh starts school tomorrow. I think he's looking forward to it even though you can't get him to admit it. He's excited that I will be starting on Monday and we can study together. I still have to run around this week and get some last minute supplies. Like a day planner, a voice recorder, highlighters, and bigger 3 ring binders!

Last night was a lot of fun! While I was doing my blogging, Jim, Josh, and Heather had a rubber band fight! It was hilarious! After the movie...the battle was on again except this time it was darker and they turned off the lights!! I had the role of "armorer" and would run around and collect 'spent ammo' and resupply all the troops. It was cool but I wish I could run around and join in too.

Books!!!

It's been a few days since I've posted anything. This weekend was busy with the second round of having our garage sale. We did pretty well but still have a TON of stuff!! It rained on Sunday so we didn't have a chance to set things out. I think we're going to bag all the stuff left and take it down to the give and take. After the garage sale....Josh and Heather had another one on one game of basketball. I think the final score was 52 to 56. Heather won that one! They would have kept playing but the next door neighbor started sealing his driveway and we didn't want the ball to bounce on the newly done pavement! I took a video of them but couldn't figure out how to put it on here!


I GOT MY BOOKS TODAY!!!! I'm getting soooo excited!! And....nervous!



















Jim tried to fix Josh's phone but, alas, it didn't work. :( At least he can still take and receive phone calls but the texting is kaput. His screen has stayed a lovely shade of white! He working on earning money to buy a new one. So far, he's about a third of the way there through earning garage sale money.













Tonight we are going to watch "Wild Hogs". It's such a funny movie! Jim and I saw it in the theater but Josh hasn't seen it yet. We're going to pop a bunch of popcorn and have a good time!!!

Today was extremely rainy! We had a virtual downpour almost all day long!
Josh and I ran some errands today and got a few things done. Mostly, I've been playing with the printer and checking out all the features. :)

Earlier....Josh dropped his phone in the toilet. He was soooo mad!! When Jim came home, he brought all his tools, and started working on getting all the circuits dried out. I have my fingers crossed that Jim is a miracle worker and everything will be fine! Josh has been totally lost without that thing glued to his ear or beeping with texts. What did we ever do without cell phones??? Or email?? Or blogs???

New printer!

I finally got a new printer!! YAY!! It's been driving me crazy not to be able to print things and I finally found a good one on sale! It has more functions that I know what to do with but I'm sure I'll learn them all and put them to good use!

Today was a cloudy day and I've been getting stuff done around the house. I STILL have boxes to go through! (I think they multiply in the middle of the night!) With any luck, I'll get them all done before the end of the year! LOL

Josh is going to spend the night at Drew's house. (I think) He's really looking forward to it. They have so much fun together! I plan on taking it easy the rest of the evening. I've been overdoing it the last few days and now I'm paying for it with my pain levels. A girlfriend told me of a doctor up here that specializes in hips. I'm going to call him this week and see if I can get in and see him. They say you gain 15 years back when you get the hips replaced. I sure could go for that!!!

The eternal question has popped up... "What's for supper?" I have no ideas today!!! I guess I should go see what's in the kitchen that I can throw together. Maybe a goulash or something.....

Busy weekend!

My roommate, Bill, at work building the table

Our dining room table (which is 39 years old) finally gave up the ghost! It lost a leg and we weren't sure what we were going to do. Bill, being the handyman, had built a table two years ago. We refer to it as the boomerang table because he had gotten rid of it but it ended up back with us. Can the timing be any better???

Garage sale actually set up!!!

Garage sale IN the garage

This weekend was very busy with the garage sale going on!! Somehow, we managed to get most of the stuff together and outside in a timely fashion! Saturday was a HOT, sunny day and we had lots of people come by. Sunday was overcast but we persevered anyway. We didn't get as many people as we'd hoped but..we did get a few! Believe it or not....we're going to do it again next weekend!!
A few friends came by and added to our stuff and we all had a good time! Unfortunately, all the running up and down the stairs and sitting has put my pain levels at a new high. :( It's going to be a little bit before I recover and have to use my crutches (YUK!).





Josh was really bored for awhile and found that playing in the trunk of the car was great fun and got him some really strange looks from the neighbors!!









This is our friend, Heather. She is LOTS of fun!! We played card games (Rummy and Euchre) and Pass the Pigs to help the time go a little faster. After we gave up for the day, she and Josh played a little one on one with the basketball. (Josh won 132 to 112.)

:)

Say "cheese!!!"

Josh and Taylor

I'm getting really excited about school starting! Tonight all my textbooks got ordered!!!(THANKS DAD!!! YOU ARE AWESOME!!) I get to pick them up on the 20th. I can't wait!! What is it about new school stuff?? I love it!
Josh isn't quite as excited as I am though. Tomorrow morning we go down and pick up his course schedule. I hope he gets the electives he wanted. He can be such a picky kid! We still have to put in the zone exemption form to see if he can go to the high school he wants to, but we were told there are no guarantees. Thankfully, he's accepted that and is prepared to go to one or the other school when the time comes.
This week, I've been pretty much "kid free" and have actually started doing some boxes!! I need to get some kind of shelving in this place! There's stuff I don't want to get rid of but I have no place to put it right now.
The garage sale is definitely on this weekend. Our forecast is for continued sunny skies and I'm really glad for that!
Well, back to the boxes.....

Sunshine!!!

I took this picture this afternoon. It's Mt. McKinley (also known as Denali, which translates to "the big one"). It amazes me that it's 220 miles away and 20,320 ft. high and it looks so BIG from my back porch!!! I'm not sure which is my favorite mountain around here but I think it's a tie between McKinley and Susitna.





Mt. Susitna at sunset_____ sunkissed Chugach mountains _____ Fireweed

Last night, we took the boys back to their respective houses and the evening was beautiful!!! Thank goodness I've gotten in the habit of carrying my camera around!! The mountains were gorgeous with the evening sun shining on them. Jim took a picture of the fireweed for me. They say when the blooms on the top of the stem open, summer is over. You can't really tell from the pic but we are really close to the top!!!!









Yesterday was my birthday and the sun decided to make an appearance!! YAY!! I had a wonderful day! I got to be a bum in the morning cuz Josh was staying the night at his friend's house (my "adopted" son's, Taylor). Then, Jenn came over and took me shopping. I LOVE SHOPPING!!!
Jim was being sneaky and got off work early and picked up a cake and pizza for supper. He had Josh, Taylor, Drew, Mike (my other "adopted" son), Jenn, Ashlyn, and Justin over. It was wonderful!! I'm such a lucky lady!! I don't know where he found the time to do everything since he's always either at work or at home but.....somehow he pulled it off!
THANK YOU, HONEY!!! I LOVED MY "SPECIAL" DAY!!!


New wolf shirt

Itrip...plays my iPod over the car speakers!!

Rainy Days

Dave stopped by this morning right before breakfast. He had to pull a bunch of overtime from last night and was in the area during a slow spell. It's really good to see him! We tried to get him to stay and eat with us but he couldn't. Maybe next time, huh Dave??
Breakfast was YUMMY!! I was sooooo hungry by the time it was ready, I forgot I planned on taking a picture!! lol!!


Yesterday we spent most of the day paying bills. Oh what fun!!! Jim has a bad habit of not keeping up with his check register and having to catch up a months worth or so!! I told him I would keep track from now on if he would give me the receipts. That way we can save an hour or so on this lovely chore!!! :)




We went and saw Bourne Ultimatum. Gooooood movie!! I still think I like the books better (as usual) but all the Bourne movies are good too. We had Drew with us for most of yesterday and had a "family day". It was really nice! I'm hoping we can see him more often.
Most of us are feeling kind of "blah" due to the gray weather we've been having so going to the movies was a nice change of pace. With any luck, the clouds should clear this week and we'll have some sunny days ahead!!

Free MySpace slideshows, photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Joe Cools

Brotherly love...??

Today was a pretty productive day....

I got to see Drew!! It was really good to see him. Since he's moved out, we don't get to see him as much as I'd like but....c'est la vie!
Josh is staying the night with his bro and I think they are going to have a blast! I'm pretty sure there were plans for lots of video gaming. That and talking and internet stuff. I love that they get along so much better now that they're older!
Drew filled me in on what's been going on with him (finally) and most of it was pretty good news. Unfortunately, his bike got stolen from his work a couple of days ago. Josh, being the sweetie he can be, gave Drew his bike. So, now Drew has transportation again. Isn't that the coolest?? Drew also said he is looking for another job. I guess he's not really happy at the store he's working at so he's going to find something better. He mentioned Costco and I think that would be a great place to work. I hear they are awesome employers.
I ran around town almost all day today so I didn't get a chance to work on any of the boxes. My roomie isn't quite ready for the garage sale so....it all worked out! We're shooting for next weekend. That way we have time for me to get those darn boxes done, make signs, and a couple of friends have a chance to get their stuff together to add to it as well.
I don't think we have too many plans for this weekend. Mainly, we need to get the house in order and do some lawn work (if it doesn't rain). I also need to cut everyone's hair. Drew needs a trim really badly and Josh has been chomping at the bit to have his trimmed too. Since I'm in for a penny, I'm in for a pound and going to get Jim's done too!! I wish I could trim my own hair!!! I want to keep growing it long but sometimes I get tired of just ponytails, braids, buns, and the same old thing!
One thing I'm really looking forward to doing another big Sunday breakfast!! We haven't really been in the habit of doing them, but after last weekend....I think it's going to be a tradition around here! Especially after Josh and I start school and everyone starts running around being busy with their schedules!!!
Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

Happy birthday Nate!

A tired smile!

Things that make you go....hmmmmm.

Today is my nephew, Nate's, birthday!! He's 19!! Wow!! I can't believe how quickly all the "kids" are growing up! Sometimes I feel waaaaay old!! If there's one drawback to living in Alaska, it's that I don't get to see family nearly as much as I'd like to. Nate dawg, if you are reading this.....Have an awesome day!!! We're thinkin' about ya up here!!!

I did some running around today. Got Josh registered for high school and got my master promissary note signed for my student loans. Had to run to the pharmacy and pick up a bunch of meds too. Unfortunately, with a gap in Josh's coverage, I wasn't able to pick up all of his stuff. Some of those scripts can be spendy!!!

I still have to finish unpacking the boxes in my room. I haven't really touched them all week. :( I want to get it done but when I look at the whole enchilada.....I get really overwhelmed! My roomie is going to have a garage sale this weekend and I'd like to contribute. I'm sure I can find LOTS of stuff to add to it!!

I was looking through my photos and discovered that Josh loves to play with the webcam. There are some really funny/good pics!! I wish I was as photogenic as he is! I took one for g.p. You can tell I'm really tired, huh?

We're baaaaack!!

Can you guess what we had for supper?

In the sunshine, Jenn keeps busy!!

My honey after a long, busy day!

It's been a long time since I've done any posts! The vacation in Indiana ended up lasting almost 3 weeks instead of 10 days. We had a great time though!!

Let's see....what has gone on since then??? Oh! I know, back to unpacking boxes and luggage has been the story of my life since I've returned home. Trying to get caught up with all the bills is up there too. Not to mention laundry!! (a never ending vicious cycle!!!)

For those who are wondering..... we finally got the judges decision. Once again, Jim got the short end of the stick. Child support has gone up another $60 a week, and visitation is down. We are allowed to have his boys here in AK for 10 days in the summer of '08 (as long as aunt or grandma are present). If we want to see them any more than that...we have to go down the IN and the ex has to agree to let us have time with them. So, not a good time there.

Josh is going for his driving permit this next week! I'm happy for him but kind of dreading it too! If he gets it then I have to start teaching him to drive in the city!!! YIKES! LOL! Actually, he did some driving in IN amongst all the corn and soybeans and did a really good job. He gets a little nervous around other cars though so...it should be interesting!

Today was a good day. We got lots of stuff done. After cooking a big Sunday breakfast, I got the laundry finished (for a minute!) and cleaned the bathrooms. Jim mowed the lawn. We both went over to Jenn's house and Jim fixed 4 of the bikes in the garage and I filed some paperwork that needed to be done. Then we sat outside for a little bit enjoying the day!

I'm loving this summer weather! Our days are getting shorter so I try to spend as much time in the sunshine as I can! Usually, I'm playing in the flowerboxes out back or just enjoying the scenery!

School starts really soon! Josh starts on Aug. 22nd this year. I start on Aug. 27th. I'm getting really excited and nervous! It's been a long time since I've done any schooling! I hope it's like riding a bike and it'll come back to me fairly quickly!

Vacation

The mini bike experience

Jim and Josh's diving competiton

Mom

Auntie Jill

This first week in Indiana has gone very quickly! We're finally adjusting to the time change and have been having TONS of fun!!

Court was on Tuesday and went very well! In fact, we are extending our stay another week because we get to have Jim's boys starting today until Saturday. We'll find out the judges decision on the whole shebang next week.

Josh thought it was going to be very boring down here but he's probably having the most fun! He's gotten to drive the country roads, driven a tractor, pulled stumps, swam, shucked corn, rode a mini-bike, and blown up lots of fireworks!!! I got fried my first full day down here and am starting to peel. (Bummer!) I'm hoping to get a little bit of a tan out of it! The temps have been very nice (in the 80's) and we've gotten to see a doozy of a rainstorm last night! I just LOVE thunder and lightening!

I got to talk to my girlfriend, Jennifer, last night. Her hubby should be home on R and R any day now!!! YAY! I'm very excited for her! It's been over 9 months since she's gotten to see him.

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!!