January 24, 2016: Surviving Alaska.

Last night there was an earthquake of a  7.1 magnitude.  I woke up literally bouncing around in my bed. I have been having weird dreams lately, so I thought this was another dream and I went back to sleep. I woke up to people texting or Facebook messaging me asking if I was ok because they had heard of an earthquake in Alaska.  Then I realized what all the shaking was! There was no damage here, nobody was hurt.  I saw someone post a meme on Facebook with a picture of a plastic lawn table with 2 plastic lawn chairs. One of the chairs was toppled over. It said," We will rebuild."  Made me laugh.  I survived my first earthquake!   

I am struggling to survive in this darkness! I feel the short days the most on weekend mornings. It still doesn't get light until around 9:00, so I just want to sleep all morning! I took this picture at 8:30, as I was heading out for a run. My house is far from any street lights and in prime bear county so I have to be extra careful when leaving my house on foot in the mornings. I had my headlamp on, my bright orange running jacket, and my reflective vest. Nothing was going to take this girl out this morning! 

January 23, 2016: Bunco!

Hawaiian Bunco Night!  Bunco is becoming one of my favorite parts of Kodiak. Once a month, 12 women, throwing dice, cracking up, dressing up, and eating food.  

January 22, 2016: TMNT PJ Club

We're all rocking the Ninja Turtle pajamas this morning! 

January 21, 2016: Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog!

My coworker Angie is having a baby this week! Which means she needed someone to watch her kids while she was in the hospital. Catie and I stayed at her house and took care of her two kids for a few days. Her kids are hilarious! We had a lot of good laughs! I give major credit to all teachers who are moms. How they have the energy to spend the day with a classroom full of kids and then have energy to take care of their own kids blows my mind! Catie and I wanted to pass out by 8 every night! Way to go, teacher moms!! 

January 20, 2016: running buddy

Catie is really sick today so I offered to take Raylin on a walk for her. It was very difficult getting a picture with him. This was the best I got. Our run today was more like a sprint workout. Our average pace was slower than my normal pace because we spent a lot of time stopped and sniffing things on the side of the road, but when we were running, we were RUNNING!

January 19, 2016: sister swealfy

I just learned a couple weeks ago what a swealfy was. We sure take good ones. 

January 18, 2016: doodles

I have always been a doodler during class. It helps me focus. A few years ago I always doodled happy meals.  Tonight I guess I had Chicago in my subconscious. :) And a little bit of Kodiak mountains? And a can of soup?

January 17, 2016: indecisive weather

The sun is fighting hard today! I love the different layers of gray.  

January 16, 2016: Happy Sleeper

I have never seen a kid make such happy faces at the baby monitor camera! What a ham! 

January 15, 2016: "It's almost Arthur's birthday!" - Arthur. Every day for the last 2 weeks.

Happy Birthday, Arthur! 

The frog shaped headlamp was a hit! This is him exploring the inside of a cardboard box :) 

For moments like these, I don't regret for a second moving here. This was the first time I got to celebrate his birthday with him. I am incredibly thankful I can be here for things like this. 

January 14, 2016: runners high

I am making it a priority to run right after school while it's still light outside. I have completely slacked off because of the darkness here. It's so incredibly dark and decently secluded by my house that I could easily run straight into a bear on a 5:30PM run. So... I decided to start packing a bag and running straight from school. There are some pretty good views too!  I was feeling really motivated today. I am really out of running shape, but I managed to run 4 miles and averaged 9:09 per mile. For not running in a while and running up some pretty significant hills, I am feeling ok about that.  Plus I am 32.  I am not allowed to get mad that I am not as fast as I was when I was in college. :). 

January 13, 2016: mini toilets

Such tiny potties! 

Catie and I are going to watch our friend/ coworker's two children for a few days while she is having her third child next week. We got a tour of their preschool today and I couldn't help it. The toilets are so cute! 

January 12, 2016: Feeling the love for Kodiak today

Another crazy sunset this evening. This time I stopped to watch it at the harbor.  I am finding more and more things to love about this island.  One thing that I have been thinking about more recently is how the people here are so generous with their time and their resources.  My first week of moving in to my apartment, I went to a garage sale where I bought shelves for $3 and came away with 4 free salmon filets because the man hosting the garage sale thought it was a shame that my freezer hadn't been stocked yet.  Just last month the instructor of a class I was taking overheard me taking about saving for a bike, and she gave me her husband's practically brand new road bike. My car broke down three times in the last three weeks and I am never afraid of being stranded or not being able to find someone to help.  Complete strangers go out of their way for one another here. It has been such a welcome change from big city living.  Don't get me wrong, I miss the city for lots of reasons, but I haven't ever even heard anyone honk their horn at someone here! It's quite lovely. 

January 11, 2016: The first time I am really happy that it's this dark at 6:00 PM

I love the camera on the iPhone, but the one thing I wish it did better is take pictures at night. There was such a beautiful sky tonight! On my way home from class I just stopped in the middle of the road to stare at the deep blue sky with this gorgeous, huge moon peeking through the trees. I wish you could have seen it. It was one of my favorite views in Kodiak and the picture doesn't even come close to doing it justice.  I had chills. I am so thankful for moments like this, where I am utterly stunned by the beauty of God's creation. 

January 10, 2016: 2 in 1

That's 2 hikes in 1 day. Spruce Cape AND Abercrombie.  We did Spruce Cape first and then it was so "nice" outside that it felt shameful to not go to Abercrombie too. (Nice meant it was 43ish degrees and misting rather than pouring).  

The waves were incredible! This picture is from Abercrombie. The weather has been really crappy over the last week, so I am glad we got a little break in the rain to get outside! 

January 9, 2016: Splish Splash!

We had fun. Until he realized that his pants were soaked and freezing. Then he cried. But up until that point, it was a blast. 

January 8, 2016: Happy Retirement, Cathy!!

This is Cathy. She is awesome. She has such a spunky, hilarious personality. It has been a joy to work with her over the last 5 months. To send her off, students and teachers made a tunnel in the hallway and our principal drug her through it on a scooter. That's why I love Peterson.

January 7, 2016: Word Bubble

I forgot to take a picture for the blog today so now I have to show you the embarrassing truth that I am addicted to Word Bubble.  And I text my sister pictures when I need help. 

January 6: It's coming

So people in Kodiak might be the last people on the planet to see the new Star Wars movie.  Doesn't mean they are any less geeked about it. It finally comes to Kodiak this weekend. This kid is excited. 

January 5, 2016: Can't help my love for caches.

I was laying in bed trying very unsuccessfully to go to sleep. I finally got my phone out and decided to look up geocaches on the island. Look how many I still get to find!!! And this is just near town! 

Then I saw these: 

There are even geocaches in the villages! Now I have a legitimate reason to fly out there :) 

January 4, 2016: CHAMPS

Today marks the first day of our CHAMPS class. Can you tell how excited these ladies are?! Can you also tell how soon my life settled back down into a routine. My last two pictures were of soap and a teaching class. Winter is awesome. 

January 3, 2016: Thanks, Tisa...

...for introducing me to this soap. Even after Katie told me it smells like hardwood floor cleaner, I still love it and think of you every time I use it :) 

January 2, 2016: Meals on Wheels

I saw this shirt in the airport and giggled because the one time I rode my bike here, I actually thought about how the hills were so intense and I was so tired that if a bear came out of the bushes, I would not be able to escape. 

January 1, 2016: this girl...

I love her. After living together for 7 years, it makes even just 6 months of living on opposites sides of the country hard. But we managed, and we will make the next however many months work too! It's nice to know that we can still knock out a good puzzle in record time. :) 

December 31, 2015: Happy New Year!

When you hang out with Liza, you gain cool points. A lot of them. Love you, Liza! 

We had a lot of fun tonight! I am so happy that I was able to come home for the holidays and spend time with friends and family. 2015 has been a crazy year. I took a big leap of faith in moving to Kodiak this summer. I have already seen how God has used this time to challenge and teach me.  I have no idea what my life will look like after these next couple years, whether I will stay in Alaska, come back to the Midwest, or move somewhere different entirely, but I know that as long as I am listening to God, making the most of every opportunity, and giving Him the glory, He will bless the journey. He definitely has thus far. Cheers to a full 2015!  I don't usually do New Years resolutions, but I know I want 2016 to be a year where I live intentionally and without regret! 

December 30, 2015: best movie experience ever

Look what happened after I moved away! Fully reclining seats in the newly renovated movie theater. I literally squealed and clapped when I pushed the button and saw how far back the seat went. Kodiak has a lot to offer, but a sweet movie going experience is definitely not one of those things.  

We saw the movie "Sisters." I highly recommend it if you are looking for a ridiculous, hilarious, and slightly inappropriate movie. 

December 29, 2015: magnets= friendship

After a tearful goodbye to my parents, I caught a ride to Chicago with my good friend, Emma. What a great car ride! It was so good to have a few hours to catch up. Once in Chicago, my dear friend Jo picked me up. After dinner in Chinatown (one of many places to check off my list of must have food places while not in Kodiak.)  The others include Portillos, Anything in Pilsen, Panera mac and cheese, Trader Joe's, Chipotle, Hungry Howie's, and Brenda's (the last three I checked off while in Michigan).  I wouldn't be opposed to Moxie's, Wendy's or Jason's Deli, but there are only so many meals in a day.  Anyways, sorry for the food rant.  The food in Chinatown was amazing, and afterwards we went back to Jo's and hung out. She had recently been to Japan and brought me back these magnets. I love them! I love even more that I brought her back a magnet from Alaska too. Great minds of great friends think alike. 

December 28, 2015: lazy day

This is me at 11:54PM, after I crashed in bed at my parents. We did nothing today but eat and binge watch "Fear the Walking Dead."  I shouldn't be this tired. I am also currently wearing a Walking Dead tshirt my mom bought me for Christmas.  Don't kid yourself, you wish you were this cool. In all honesty, this was an excellent day. I have my parents, Family Video, and the Ludington ice storm to thank for that!