...but I Want This One More...

I Want This Bumper Sticker

Home Makeover Part II--The Walls

Okay folks, I am NOT a decorator. So, I really need feedback, especially since painting a wall in an actual color is a HUGE commitment for me!

The "red" turned out to be a lot more orangy that I thought, but I kind of like it. Granted, the paint chip I got from Lowe's was for one color covered by a special metallic something or other... this is their color-matched version. My big concern is how much it's going to clash w/ my elephant hanging (see the last pic).

The "plan" is to do the big wall in the living room in the red and the rest of the living room/entry/hallway in the flax. Eventually, that would extend into the kitchen, but I have to get rid of the hideous early 90s country kitchen wallpaper first (any volunteers?):

Color-matched "Pearl Red"

I really like the two colors together...

The flax on the entry & small living room walls

The flax next to my Thai elephants. These are going to be a key decorative piece, so the colors really need to not clash w/ the hanging!

It has been a rough couple of weeks. So, this was something I really needed (a la Monika's blog):

...from Brad Wilcox's The Continuous Atonement.

(talking about being less than perfect in what he does, Brad explains...)

"In those anxious moments, the greatest comfort I have found is in knowing ANY effort is pleasing to God even if He and I both know it's not my all of my best. It may be far from an acceptable offering, but God accepts it nonetheless because ultimately He is more concerned with the offerer than the offering. Elder Gerald N. Lund wrote: "Remember that one of Satan's strategies, especially with good people, is to whisper in their ears: 'If you are not perfect, you are failing.' This is one of his most effective deceptions....We should recognize that God is pleased with every effort we make---no matter how faltering---to better ourselves" ("Are We Expected to Achieve Perfection in This Life?").

Isn't Texas Cute? ;0)

Home Makeover Part I...

Target put my slipcovers on sale! Woot! So, here's the result.

Before:

AFTER:

Decisions, decisions...

So, I have these cheapo couches that I bought just so I would have SOMETHING other than my bed to sit on. They've served me reasonably well, but I really hate the color and, well, plaid-ness of them. Plaid is so not my thing.

Mamie lent me some lovely denim covers which have helped a LOT. But, denim isn't really my thing either (though, it beats the heck out of plaid).

Long story short, I've really wanted some new slipcovers. I hunted around and found some I really liked on JCPenny.com... but I didn't want to wait two weeks for them. Plus, Target had some cheaper. I'm not so sure about the color, though.

So, what do you think? Here's before (sort of.. this is actually just the loveseat):


...and after (Imagine some cute decorative pillows):


???

Feedback appreciated!

What I Saw On the Way Home This Afternoon...

Three things:

1-If you haven't heard, I've accepted a job in Houston. I know it's the right decision, because I found out just hours after that my former temporary job in Fairbanks (which I LOVED) was available and I still feel good about going to Houston.

So, I'll be back in a few weeks.


2-I posted a bunch of pics on my facebook page. Rather than re-post them here, here's the link.

3-The Taylor Highway, a key road on the highway tour I've been driving, has washed out worse than ever before in history (it washes out at some point every year).

Read about it here. Only one person is known missing. Unfortunately, it is our customs guy, Chuck, who processes us and our guests when we arrive in Eagle on the Yukon Queen II. (read about that here.

As a result, instead of driving from Tok to Eagle, then riding the Queen to Dawson, we drove to Beaver Creek and flew to Dawson on this:


No one knows how long the highway will be under construction. It's a HUGE mess, so I may never make it back to Eagle this summer. That makes me sad.

This is where I work.

Be jealous.

Today

Aaaaaand, that brings me to today. I did my first Denali run for the Seawitch... um...I mean Princess. Here was the view from the Parks Monument, looking south across the Tanana Valley:

On a clearer day, you can see much of the Alaska Range instead of just the foothills. On a super-clear day, you can see Denali.

On my way home, I saw my first newborn moose calf of the year.
(zoom in and look past the bug splats...)

This was a really unusual group. It looked like a mama (cow), a yearling, and a newly dropped calf. I've never seen a cow with two calves of different ages before...

Flying

I flew to Houston to beg for jobs & my flight out of Fairbanks left at 6 am. Here's what I saw out the window of the airport:

...and out of the window of the plane

(flying over the Alaska Range)

Look at those glaciers!! Amazing.

And WAAAY back there is Denali from the south.

Just a few more reasons why I *heart* Alaska

May

OK, out of order. (oh well).

In May, we had a party for the principal and two teachers retiring from Tanana. It was to be held on a riverboat in town (not THE riberboat... another one). However, the boat never made it into the water (common sense would dictate that the boat be put in the water BEFORE your first guests arrive... wouldn't it?).

So, the party was held in the gift shop. It was fun & the food was good...even if we did miss out on an evening on the river.

It was a beautiful night to be on the river (or next to it)

OK, see that boat in the middle? That's not it. Now, see the one behind it with its tail end almost in the river? That's it.

Elaine Johnston--the Rockin'est English teacher at Tanana!

The biggest beaver I've ever seen..

Again, not the boat. This is the gift shop.

Why I Love June in Fairbanks:

Wild Iris

Wild Rose

The awesomest ward in the Church!

Fairbanks, Alaska
May 7, 2010
10:08 pm

Fairbanks, Alaska
April 23, 2010
10:15 pm

The Book Thief

First the colors.
Then the humans.
That's usually how I see things.
Or at least, how I try.

I haven't blogged about this book yet, probably because of my own sense of inadequacy in expressing myself.

I bought The Book Thief by Markus Zusak months ago, and it sat in a pile of books for a long time. I started reading it, but it took me a long time to really dig in. I'm not sure why, but I suspect that I knew it was going to make me think...a thing which I have been avoiding a lot lately.

From the start, I could tell this book was special. With Death as the narrator, I expected either silly, or depressing. This book is dark, don't get me wrong, but not teenager, "I'm so emo" dark. Instead, it is meaningful. As Death describes the brief history of a young girl in WWII Germany, we catch a glimpse of humanity from a slightly different angle.

I am not a profound thinker, and am an even less profound writer, so let me just say that this book affected me. It is the first book that has made me sob--not those little tears that leak out when you read something touching, but full-body sobs. It touched some areas in my heart that fiction usually doesn't reach.

The story is amazing, the perspective is unique (and I don't use that word lightly), the observations are profound, and the descriptions are ... hard to describe (dare I use "unique" again?).

Read this book...

My deepest apologies to the two of you who occasionally skim my blog: I've been derelict in my duty the last month or so. I've been busy working and feeling stressed about the future, such as it is.

So, update:
* Breakup came early in Fairbanks. Most of the snow is gone and what's left if melting swiftly

* I have been applying to jobs EVERYWHERE: Texas; Washington state; Washington, DC; Korea; Shanghai; France.... and I'm about to send something in to a school in Portugal, one in Vegas, and who knows where else. So far... nothing. yay.

* I have been playing my Wii... and those of you who have one need to send me your Wii number so we can get connected and play!

* I have been swimming/ water aerobics-ing a bit.

* I have lost 15 lbs.

* I have made plans to spend the summer here in Fairbanks, driving tour buses again (YAY for Fairbanks summer!)

* I have been taking Ice Alaska pictures... OK that was before everything melted, but here are a few, for fun...








Check here for more Ice Alaska pictures...

Yukon Quest 2010!!

My roommate & I went down to the Chena River today for the start of the Yukon Quest. The Quest is a 1,000 mile (plus) dog sled race that runs between Fairbanks & Whitehorse. In all my previous winters in Fairbanks (only 3, surprisingly) I’d never been, so I’ve been planning to go for weeks.

Mother Nature was being very kind & it was a PERFECT day to be down on the river! There was a great turnout & we ran into several people we knew.

It was pretty darned cool. The dogs are awesome—lean, mean and seriously ready to run! Forget those cuddly-looking Siberian huskies you see in dog sled movies…these dogs are fierce. It takes about 10 people to get them lined up at the starting line because they’re so ready to run, no piddley little sled brake is going to hold them.

We started down the line a ways from the start line so we could see them as they really start to pick up speed, but then we walked back to where they prepare to go to the starting line. The dogs are whining and barking and jumping around in their harnesses—you can tell that they just can’t wait to get on the trail!

Anyway, here are some shots of the first several mushers:

Abbie West (team #1!):

Zach Steer--Team #2

Yeah, we were walking on water...

At the starting line:

Lined up & ready to mush!

This guy kept jumping... maybe he thought he could jump-start the sled..... ;0)

Me, looking cold (we were getting a bit cold by this point):

A wannabe:

From the Chena River Bridge:

17 degrees!! ABOVE zero!!

So, fun times. Maggie & I met up with a couple of the guys from the singles branch & we all headed to Gamberdella's for lunch, then topped everything off with hot chocolate from Mocha Dan's.

All in all, a perfect winter day in Fairbanks!!