Happy New Year!

Time flies...

My sincerest apology to those of you who have been faithfully checking for updates... and a sarcastic one to my ever-loving family who has been giving me a hard time.  :-)  The past month has been busy and wonderful!  Work is great- I work with some of the best people, and I actually love the challenges that come with customer servicing.  With the holidays, the resort has been full of life and activity.

Mosaic is going great (our Wednesday night community Bible study group)- earlier this month we tried something new... a creative expression, if you will... we're going to be trying out a lot more new and creative things at our gatherings.  Here's a picture of individual takes on the scripture we read...

It was a lot of fun, and I'm really looking forward to more (and different) expressions in the coming weeks!  Also this past month... I spent a good bit of time getting ready for Christmas.  Thanks to friends and family, I was getting boxes and presents and goodies and cards almost every day in my post office box! I was able to decorate my condo (thanks, Mom!) and help the Capshaws decorate.  It wasn't until I did some Christmas shopping, though, that it really began to feel like Christmas!  There was one day a couple weeks ago that Jenn and I went shopping together and I really enjoyed that time... It was fun to shop for friends and family, but it was some much needed quality time with her, too!  From then on it really felt like "the season".  I mailed off a couple of boxes and cards the next day (along with getting a few packages I was not expecting!) and that kind of started the Christmas bug in me.  :-) Around that time, too, I began to count down until Sam's visit.  He came the 20-25th, and I'll share more about that later. Throughout December, the days were getting shorter and shorter (until the solstice on the 22nd) ... I've been going into work before the sun comes up, and getting off of work after the sun sets, and no, I'm not working long shifts!!

For those of you long-time blog readers, you'll remember the terrible, horrible the last time I decided to house-sit for someone for an extended amount of time.  For those of you newer ones, here's the reader's digest version: Atlanta flooded, and by flooded, I mean my sister got evacuated from her apartment because half of it was underwater and oh-by-the-way roads were under water too; the cat got sick, like requiring-the-vet and special-medication, has-to-be-confined sick; dog threw up (and I don't do vomit); I had an allergic reaction to the cat... great week.

I've been house sitting over the holiday for some great friends, and aside from the power going out (no power, no heat, no running water, concerned about keeping a ton of fish frozen), the battery in the smoke detector dying so it beeped every 60 seconds for 24 hours (it would require an extended ladder to replace the battery- which isn't laying around), the house alarm being on backup (and beeping every 60-90 seconds), the pup being on special medication (and not able to run/go down certain steeper stairs), the other pup freaking out due to the beeping, and the doorbell getting stuck (and dinging incessantly until I unplugged it)... it's also been a great week (or two...).

Ha, it sounds more dramatic than it has been, but I'm convinced that I'm either really good at this house sitting thing (I can handle anything...?) or I'm really bad at it and should never consider it again!   So that is what I've been up to the past several weeks... What about you?


PS- I hate to blog without a decent pic (or 2) to share... My friend Tara took this beautiful pic one evening several weeks ago...


Welcome to Girdwood...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday night, our Mosaic group got together for a potluck Thanksgiving meal!  It was such a great evening, and a wonderful way to spend the holiday since most of us couldn't be with our families.  Truly I have so much to be thankful for!  I posted this on Facebook and Twitter... What if we woke up tomorrow with only the things we were thankful for today...?  I have thought about that a lot over the past couple days.  There are so many things and people I am very thankful for.  My parents.  My sister.  My grandparents.  My cousins and aunts and uncles.  Friends so close they are family.  Our golden retrievers and goofy great danes.  My friends- old and new.  The gift and the opportunity to be in Alaska.  My cell phone (I lost it for about an hour Wednesday night and it was a most awful feeling).  Snow.  Sunshine.  My warm and comfortable condo.  The post office and mail.  The internet and email and SKYPE!  Art.  My Keurig brewer.  My job.  My coworkers.  Being able to ski.  My God.  I could go on and on and on, and I will- I will continue to look for those people, those things in my life for which I am grateful, and strive to have a heart and an attitude of gratefulness, appreciating the invaluable gifts and blessings I've been given!

friends!

Me talking/laughing with Mandy... knowing Jenn has the camera pointed at me

Jenn and Max

just some of the spread!

I hope you all have had a wonderful thanksgiving!!

Settled!

I am officially and happily moved into my new apartment!  It is tucked in at the bottom of Mt. Alyeska, with less than a mile to walk to get to work (at the ticket office!).  So far I've only had two days at work, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it!  I'm also really enjoying getting to know my coworkers; and, they have been so patient and helpful in training me!  I think it is going to be a great fit for the winter season.

Now, about the apartment... It is a cozy efficiency, that surprised me by having more than enough room.  Thanks to my mama, who has mailed several packages, I already have this place feeling like home.  Added bonus... I have a gorgeous view of the Chugach mountains out my window.  Here's a couple pictures...

my bedroom and living room :)

icicles out the window

see the mountain through the trees?

more mountains

Fireplace (between bed and window) - the only source of heat!

my kitchen

dresser (between bed on the left and entry on the right, across from kitchen)

bathroom

beautiful tile work in the bathroom

So, officially, welcome to my home!  (At least, my home for the next 6 months.)

For Thanksgiving this year... on Wednesday, we're having a community thanksgiving meal (everyone's invited!).  It will definitely be a thanksgiving unlike any others I've ever had, but at least I'll be making my grandma's pumpkin pie.  :-)  And, I'm really looking forward to spending that time with friends.  Tuesday, the mountain is open for pass holders, and Wednesday it opens up to all, so we're going to be busy Wednesday-Saturday (at least?) at the ticket office.  I'll be working those days, for sure!  I hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving holiday-- enjoy your family and friends --don't take that time for granted!

Happy Halloween!

Sam and I carved this pumpkin in college - it took like 4 hours
and to date, its the best (and most recent) pumpkin I've carved.  

Friday night was Girdwood's Halloween carnival.  The Day Lodge was all decked out with decorations, games, people in costumes, and lots of candy.  I volunteered to read "spooky" stories to kids.  It's something that the PTA (I think?) organized, and apparently it was a big hit last year... this year, too!  It was a fun way to meet some families in the community and celebrate the holiday.

Today, I was at the school for the Junior Achievement program.  I am really having fun with the class.  The teacher and the students are great!  Economics was never a favorite subject of mine (what the JA program is based on) but we've had fun making it interesting!  Hope everyone has enjoyed their candy and costumes and Halloween fun!