I know it has been a long time between posts and I could give you a long list of reasons why, but I am not going to waste your time or mine. I will just catch you up on what is going on now.
Well, winter is officially here. The sun rises at about 9:45 am and sets about 3:45pm. I try to remember to look outside sometime around noon so I don’t feel like I miss the whole day.
My favorite radio station started playing Christmas music Nov 1st and I love it. I skip Thanksgiving decorations and went right for the Christmas ones. This was easy since we aren’t even going to be here for Thanksgiving. I haven’t, however, started my Christmas shopping. I usually, at least, have my list of ideas created by now. You can just add that to the list of many things that I am behind in getting done.
Ryvre and I did start making Christmas cookies today. We are hosting the Andresen Christmas at our house this year and I wanted to get a few cookies in the freezer and try out a new recipe. The cookies didn’t turn out like I would hope. They are eatable, but not beautiful. I am going to blame Ryvre. She is good at counting, but not so good at measuring and she refuses to follow the directions, written or verbal.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Happy Birthday Chadd!!!
There in no better place on earth then Port Lions in September. Chadd and I seem to be very lucky with the weather when we travel back to Port Lions Lodge and this last weekend was no exception. The fishing wasn’t great, but it was good enough to bring a little salmon home to our freezer and that’s all I really wanted and Chadd got to go fishing and that’s all he ever wants.
After stricking a barging to only be out on the water for 3 hours and 15 minutes, Missy and I agreed to go fishing with Dad and Chadd on Saturday morning. We did a lot of fishing, a little bitching and no catching. Dad dropping Missy and I off at the dock and went back out with Chadd for the rest of the afternoon, where they were successful. 
Dad had the quote of the weekend later that night. Addressing Missy and I, he said, “It was great fishing and with and without you today”
We also stopped by Lara’s house, in Kodiak, on the way back to Anchorage on Sunday. Ryvre, Coral Ann and Tyson all got to play at the park together for about an hour. We got home about 4 and we were all in bed by 8pm. That is the sign of a great weekend.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
PFD
- To most engineering this means Process Flow Diagram
- To most life guards and boat owners this means Personal Floatation Device
- To most military people this means Present for Duty
- For every Alaskan this means Permanent Fund Dividend or as we used to call it as kids, Permanent Fun Dividend
- For Anchorage this means chaos
On September 12th automatic deposited of about $3,200 were made into every Alaskan bank account. Simultaneously businesses throughout Anchorage are running their yearly PFD sales. The pandemonium ensues when you mix crazy sales with crazy people and add crazy amounts of money is horrific (and expected to last about two weeks.) It is smart to stay in doors during this festival of cardinal shopping, especially if you are one of the few that did not qualify for the PFD this year.
Let me put this in perspective. I have been down town Chicago the day after thanksgiving (you know the biggest shopping day of the year) and it freaked me out. I asked to be taken home, the crowds where too lager that the people too obsessed. However, Chicago does not hold a candle to what happened last weekend in Anchorage. The news reported that traffic accident increase by about 300% and most ATM are out of money. This makes you wonder what people are buying with $3200 dollars that they have to use cash for.
This year is an especially high PDF year due to the $1200 energy relief money that is included in the check. The money is intended to offset the cost of extremely high energy bills. This does not explain why the eye of the PFD storm was/is Best Buy.
I have already marked my calendar for next year and I plan to do all my shopping a few days before and not leave the house, unnecessarily, until the storm clears.
Monday, September 8, 2008
That thing should be on a leash
The weekend before last, Ryvre and I joined Aunt Rachel and her girls K and E, at the Alaska State Fair. Chadd chose to go golfing instead; a choose that proved to be wise beyond his years.
I have every other Friday off, but instead of using my off Friday for the Fair I decided to take care of home business and go to the ASF on Saturday, besides the weather was supposed to be so much better on Saturday. Strangely enough this was also the same idea that everyone and there dog had.
The day of the Fair was 68 degrees. Note from pervious post that this happens to be one of the most beautiful days Anchorage and the Valley had all summer. Once I entire the park I quickly regretted not listening to Rachel and coming out the day before. I really don’t think the ASF was set up to handle that number of people.
K was really the only child that was old enough to enjoy the rides and exhibits so we proceeded to the petting zoo and pony rides and once we got there we lost K in a sea of people. She was only lost for 2 minutes (at the most), but Rachel I and both thought the same thing. SOMEONE TOOK HER! Thanks God we were incorrect. Turns out that she wonder left when we wondered right and with in a few seconds we could no long see each other.
This brings up the dispute of leashes for your children. Up until this insistent I was vocally apposed to leashes on kids. I thought that the “one partner two hands” theory was the best way to go; one hand to hold the child and one hand to smack them in the back of the head when they failed to follow closely. It seemed to work for my parents and they had 5 children.
On this particular day we had two parents and three children we should have been able to handle the chaos. Now just because we are unable to supervise adequately, is that cause to submit and child to the humiliation of a leash…
Yes. In certain situation a leash is not only a “nice to have” it’s the “right tool for the job”.
When the parents are unable to properly supervise the children and/or when the environment makes it impossible to get a children attention. I think a leash is necessary and I also think the ASF should have them to rent on these very busy days.
I have learned a few very valuables lessons.
1. Always go to the fair on a weekday
2. Never assume that a mother’s voice and a stern word can compete with a pony for a child’s attention
K learned quickly to stay close and really enjoyed the rest of the day. E never even attempted to leave the security of the little red wagon. Ryvre thought, as usual, that she was an adult and could go any where and do anything she wanted. Luck for me she was a little frightened of the crowd and chose to stay close, but right, wrong or indifferent, if I would have had a leash she would have been on it.
I have every other Friday off, but instead of using my off Friday for the Fair I decided to take care of home business and go to the ASF on Saturday, besides the weather was supposed to be so much better on Saturday. Strangely enough this was also the same idea that everyone and there dog had.
The day of the Fair was 68 degrees. Note from pervious post that this happens to be one of the most beautiful days Anchorage and the Valley had all summer. Once I entire the park I quickly regretted not listening to Rachel and coming out the day before. I really don’t think the ASF was set up to handle that number of people.
K was really the only child that was old enough to enjoy the rides and exhibits so we proceeded to the petting zoo and pony rides and once we got there we lost K in a sea of people. She was only lost for 2 minutes (at the most), but Rachel I and both thought the same thing. SOMEONE TOOK HER! Thanks God we were incorrect. Turns out that she wonder left when we wondered right and with in a few seconds we could no long see each other.
This brings up the dispute of leashes for your children. Up until this insistent I was vocally apposed to leashes on kids. I thought that the “one partner two hands” theory was the best way to go; one hand to hold the child and one hand to smack them in the back of the head when they failed to follow closely. It seemed to work for my parents and they had 5 children.
On this particular day we had two parents and three children we should have been able to handle the chaos. Now just because we are unable to supervise adequately, is that cause to submit and child to the humiliation of a leash…
Yes. In certain situation a leash is not only a “nice to have” it’s the “right tool for the job”.
When the parents are unable to properly supervise the children and/or when the environment makes it impossible to get a children attention. I think a leash is necessary and I also think the ASF should have them to rent on these very busy days.
I have learned a few very valuables lessons.
1. Always go to the fair on a weekday
2. Never assume that a mother’s voice and a stern word can compete with a pony for a child’s attention
K learned quickly to stay close and really enjoyed the rest of the day. E never even attempted to leave the security of the little red wagon. Ryvre thought, as usual, that she was an adult and could go any where and do anything she wanted. Luck for me she was a little frightened of the crowd and chose to stay close, but right, wrong or indifferent, if I would have had a leash she would have been on it.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Top Ten Lists
Cedar Rapids is nicknamed the City of Five Seasons for the traditional four seasons and a "fifth season" which is a time to enjoy the other four. I have only been back in Alaska for 6 months, but I think it is fair to say that Anchorage is the City of two seasons; Wet (spring, summer, fall) and Wet and Cold (Oct-March). Anchorage didn't see one day over 70 in all of July and August this year. The locals say this was a very cool summer and not at all normal, but that doesn’t do much to ease my displeasure.
I lived in Cedar Rapids for almost a decade and I grow accustomed to certain things that I miss.
Now I present the top ten things I miss about Iowa…
10. Long Branch Hot wings
9. Lightning Bugs
8. Tan shoulders
7. Women’s golf League
6. Carlos O’Kelly’s Mexican Restaurant
5. Men’s bowling league (every other Saturday evening I had to myself)
4. Real Farmers Markets
3. Thunder storms
2. Chicago
1. Only 3 hours and 20 minutes for Grandma Schnell’s house
To be fair here are the top 10 things I Love about Alaska
10. The Governor
9. Anchorage trail system
8. The sunset over the bay
7. My home that has the sensation of a cabin retreat
6. Halibut fishing
5. High bush cranberry season
4. The way woods smells
3. Grandma Andresen only one short plane ride away
2. K and E
1. The tiny sweet strawberries in my front yard and the tiny sweet girl that sneaks outside to eat them.
I lived in Cedar Rapids for almost a decade and I grow accustomed to certain things that I miss.
Now I present the top ten things I miss about Iowa…
10. Long Branch Hot wings
9. Lightning Bugs
8. Tan shoulders
7. Women’s golf League
6. Carlos O’Kelly’s Mexican Restaurant
5. Men’s bowling league (every other Saturday evening I had to myself)
4. Real Farmers Markets
3. Thunder storms
2. Chicago
1. Only 3 hours and 20 minutes for Grandma Schnell’s house
To be fair here are the top 10 things I Love about Alaska
10. The Governor
9. Anchorage trail system
8. The sunset over the bay
7. My home that has the sensation of a cabin retreat
6. Halibut fishing
5. High bush cranberry season
4. The way woods smells
3. Grandma Andresen only one short plane ride away
2. K and E
1. The tiny sweet strawberries in my front yard and the tiny sweet girl that sneaks outside to eat them.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
A little background
By some small miracle, Chadd and I managed to relocate our family to Alaska just in time to miss the “500 year flood” of Cedar Rapids Iowa. After moving to Alaska in Feb., we search for 6 months before we found the perfect Alaskan home. As of July 22nd we are the proud owns of a cedar sided, 3 bedroom 2.5 bath home on the lower hillside of Anchorage. Yes, the third bedroom is set up as a guest room. No, you can’t live with us. Missy asked first.
I am glad Chadd had the patients to wait for the right home at the right price to hit the market. If it were up to me we would have been living in a cookie cutter, plastic home in “Pleasantville” Anchorage. I had very little tolerance for the temporary condo in Midtown Anchorage that we were in. The closest park to the condo also doubled as an impromptu homeless shelter and was known to drunken locals as a good place to dump bodies.
The apartments across the street were mainly rented out to negligent parents. I only say that because I never saw anybody over 14 years old unless they were being escorted by a cop. For the most part I didn’t mind the 20 or so kids that play in the street outside the condo. At least they weren’t inside playing Xbox. However, I did get a little irate when a few of the older ones (12 years old I would guess) harassed a young moose that came to rest outside our window. In hopes of getting a great video for, ”When Animals Attack”, Chadd and I had the camera recording as the kids through rocks at the moose. Lucky for them the moose finally just stood up and decided to search for a more pleasant place to sleep.
I am glad Chadd had the patients to wait for the right home at the right price to hit the market. If it were up to me we would have been living in a cookie cutter, plastic home in “Pleasantville” Anchorage. I had very little tolerance for the temporary condo in Midtown Anchorage that we were in. The closest park to the condo also doubled as an impromptu homeless shelter and was known to drunken locals as a good place to dump bodies.
The apartments across the street were mainly rented out to negligent parents. I only say that because I never saw anybody over 14 years old unless they were being escorted by a cop. For the most part I didn’t mind the 20 or so kids that play in the street outside the condo. At least they weren’t inside playing Xbox. However, I did get a little irate when a few of the older ones (12 years old I would guess) harassed a young moose that came to rest outside our window. In hopes of getting a great video for, ”When Animals Attack”, Chadd and I had the camera recording as the kids through rocks at the moose. Lucky for them the moose finally just stood up and decided to search for a more pleasant place to sleep.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Kickoff Announcement and Mission Statement:
It seems to be the thing to do, so I have decided the start a blog. I hope to accomplish two things by doing this.
- Document the mundane: In hopes that when I (or my family) look back on it, we can remember how wonderful mundane truly is. I hope to blog about twice a week. Any thing more then that, and it will become too much of a choir for me, anything less than that and I will probably fail to capture the mundane fragments of our life and only hit the highlights. This is a personal goal and Not a promise, so if you find yourself frustrated with the frequency of the blog just reflect on the time before I started blogging and try to be content.
- To keep family and friends current with our lives, so that we can have the illusion of closeness even though we are so far apart. Since this is almost entirely to benefit the read, I expect that you will take the time to comment on the blog. If you don’t, I will grow to think of you as a taker and not a giver, a self-interested, rude, fun sucking, blog panhandler.
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