SUPER DUPER EXCITED

Well as most of you know, ok, all of you know… I am very very excited to be coming HOME, to Illinois in June. I do love it up here, and I love my job, but I miss my family and friends more than I can express.  They can never be replaced by the beauty of Alaska and the life I have up here.  So I am looking forward to being home this summer so much.

I found out earlier today I should be able to purchase my plane tickets HOME this week.  I am so excited.  I know my sister Amber is planning to take the day off work when I arrive home, which will be AWESOME!!!  So, as soon as I know my date of arrive I will let everyone know.  I am sure I will spend one night in Mattoon, so I can see my family an

d friends there before I head south to Jasper/Richland county to see family and friends there. Since I start my job soon after arriving home, I will only a few days to make my rounds to see everyone and get settled in my summerhouse.  I know Lisa and Sarah will have everything ready for me… which is awesome, I will have little to do!

Now, traveling home is such an experience...

1^st a bush plan out of the village to Fairbanks...  A bush plane for those of you who have not heard me describe it is like the Ron White joke…  The pilot uses the microphone system to say they lost and engine when really he could just turn around and say, hey we lost and engine… RIGHT heard ya…. 

A bush plane holds 8 passengers, a pilot and a co-pilot. But I have never been on a plane when there has been a co-pilot, sometimes a passenger will sit in the seat or it will be empty.  Most of the plane holds cargo, like mail, stuff for the store and passengers luggage.  I usually try to take some motion sickness pills and get a good nap in during this flight.

Then probably a night or two stay in Fairbanks, which is nice, I can go shopping,(for Alaskan souvenirs) go out to eat, and enjoy what Alaska has to offer out of the village!  Then from Fairbanks, I get on a big plane... yes, that is what we call them.... we even call 19 hundreds big planes, (a 19 hundred is a 19 passenger plane) but I will get on a big plane in Fairbanks, which will take me to either Anchorage or Seattle...

From there, I get the long, long flight to Chicago... This flight is so long, I am not really all that found of flying anyway, but when I have to be on a plane for 6 hours, it makes it even worse....  BUT TOTALLY WORTH IT!  OK, so after I arrive in Chicago, I will probably take the amtrak from Chicago to Mattoon.  I really like to travel on the train, it is very relaxing.  As most of you know I took the train from Chicago to Seattle back in August, it was a very interesting 49 hour trip. I plan to make that trip again sometime too.

After I arrive in Mattoon hopefully Amber or Jason will be able to pick me up at the train station!!!  I know it is still 63 days away, but I am just so excited to get HOME!!!  I will keep my blog updated on my trip home.. and yes, I will still blog about Alaska... I am just so excited to get home it is kind of the only think I have been thinking about lately...

Hope everyone has a great week.

lots of LOVE from Alaska..

The Search is over! Thanks to Sarah!!

YEY, I found a place to live, its official.  Thank you so much Sarah! you are a life saver!  

I will be living in a house in Newton.  This is the first time in my life I can say I will actually be living in Newton.  Kind of cool.  

I know Kierstyn and Aaron are very very excited.  I am excited to. I can walk to their house and go swimming anytime I want!!!  YEY!!  Watch out Lisa and Scott, I am sure I will be over LOTS! But when I am not over at Lisa's, I am sure the kids will be at my house!

I am so excited I will be a Newton resident, even if is only for 2 months.  It will be a GREAT summer.  

SO what out Newton, here comes another GROVES!!

Lots of Love from Alaska!  :)

Photos as promised!!!

Well you no longer have to wait!!!  Here are some pictures of the Puppy.  

Her name is Kiita, which in English is means hurry up... I think.  LOL

She is Kerri's puppy, but I had her all spring break, she is so cute!!!

Coming back inside from her first or second trip to the post office.  She was not too sure of the outside, but she loves the snow now!
We didnt lease her, she just follows us or Zoey.
She was being good and chewing on Zoey's toy.
This was taken the first day Kerri brought her home.  She has grown so much already.  Zoey was not too sure of her, but they get along great now!!!  Well they have their moments...
She was so little, she is getting much bigger now.

hope you enjoy the puppy pictures!!

lots of love from Alaska  :)

SPRING BREAK

My spring break is fastly coming to a close...  :(  Is fastly a word?  I don't really know if it is or now, but I used it anyway.

I have had fun, pretty much doing nothing.  Which is what I had planned for my break.  Now I have to get back in a regular sleep schedule.  I am almost upside down with my sleeping now.  

I am going to do a run down of the things I have done over break, and what I still have left to do.

*DONE*

~ Cleaned and rearranged my living room

~ Cleaned my kitchen

~ Organized my storage table thingy...  (the table in my living room opens like a hope chest and I keep my dvd's pictures, bills, junk in there) Anyway, I cleaned and organized it

~ Wash laundry, and put it all away

~ Tried on clothes for this summer, and got a summer tote started

~ Took out trash

~ Picked up way toooo much puppy poop and pee.... GRRR

~ Cleaned Kerri's kitchen

~ Did some of my ECE homework

~ Found the materials I need to finish my UAA homework

~ Updated my blog, LOL, ok, just had to add that one

*STILL TO DO

~ Clean the rest of my apartment

~ Clean up puppy mess in Kerri's apartment

~ Do school work and paperwork

~ Finish ECE and UAA homework

~ Make some phone calls!!

~ ENJOY WHAT IS LEFT OF MY BREAK! 

Well I hope that the rest of my break goes as well as this week has.  I have not been to school all week, which is so nice!!!  Just to take a break from that place is nice, even if I didn't get out of the village.

I am not sure if I will get out of the village before the end of May or not.  I was supposed to go to the doctor, but it is just so expensive and its only 73 DAYS until I arrive in Illinois, so I think I can wait to go to the doctor when I get out to come home.

Well I hope all is well in Illinois.  I plan to post pictures of the puppy soon.  So check back.

Lots of love from Alaska!  :)

-62 degrees

WOW, who can truly say they spent their Spring Break in -62 degrees weather?  

Well, thats another first I can add to my list.  It is very chilly here today, no no, let me change that, its freakin cold here today.

The temperature is around -31 but with the wind it is -62 degrees.  It is just very hard to get motivated to leave my apartment when there is no where I have to be.  I just want to stay inside and keep warm.  I should go to school and do some school work, but with this chilly weather I am just not motivated.  On Sunday it was so chilly and the wind was blowing so hard against my apartment that my apartment could not stay warm. I woke up to 60 degrees in my apartment, which it usually around 75.  But I just cracked up my electric oven and stayed toasty...  My apartment is much warmer now, without having the oven on.

I hope everyone in Illinois is staying nice and warm.  Enjoy your spring like weather, I am going to enjoy my wind chilly advisory and stay warm within my apartment.  Please dont think I am complaining, I still love love love Alaska, but I just wanted to share how COOL my spring break is.

Here is a great website to check the weather in Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska.

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=99721

I believe it has been as low as -80 with the wind, but I did not check the weather day day... I will keep you posted...

Lots of Love from Alaska  :)   STAYING COOL  :)

ON THE HUNT AGAIN!!!

No its not for a man, or a dog, or a car, or a kid.... its for a place to live....

Well my place to live fell through for the summer, so I am on the hunt again for a nice place to stay in or around Olney this summer.  

GRRR, I hope I find something before I get home.  Since I arrive on the 1st or 2nd of June and start work on the 4th....  It does not give me much time for hunting for a place to live.

I also have to move the rest of my stuff out of my old house in Charleston.  So I will be doing that my first few days home...  

Kind of thinking I need a 2nd or 3rd copy of me to get everything done before I move home and start working......  :(

Other than that stress things are going pretty good in my life.  I am on Spring Break this week. I don't have any big plans, just chilling around the apartment with Zoey and the puppy (Kiita), doing school work, homework, and catching up on Scrubs!!  (Thanks Tony, now I am addicted to that show)

Well I think my countdown is around 75 days until I am back in Illinois.  I cant wait to see everyone...

Have a great weekend,

lots of love from Alaska! :)

I finally DID IT!!!

Well some of you already know, but here is the proof.....

I chopped all my hair off.  I love it... Even though I think I look alot like Lisa.... I still love it.  It is so easy to just wash and go.  

Hope you like it too.

Lots of Love from Alaska  :)