The Frontier State

Today marks the 141st anniversary of the purchase of Alaska from the Russians. You ask yourself...why would I be writing about this? Well, I write in honor of my good friend and college roommate, Davita, who recently became an Alaskan resident. (She was always SO much more adventurous than me!) So with that said...here are some fun facts that were on CBS Sunday Morning. (Disclaimer: I don't usually pay attention to this show, but my allergies are really bad right now and opted to rest at home rather than go to church this morning.)

Alaska was purchased by a man with the last name of Seward for 7.2 million back in 1867...can you imagine that much money now, much less what that would translate to in today's dollars from 1867! The great gold rush began in 1890. In 1925, a sled dog named Balto saved a town by delivering medicine...which led to the creation of the annual Iditarod race in his honor. On January 3, 1959 Alaska officially became the 49th state in the union! In 1968, oil was discovered in the state, which prompted the creation of the pipeline to Valdez. Which led to 1989 (finally a date I can relate to and remember)...the Exxon Valdez Accident. I certainly hope that you enjoyed the fun facts of Alaska! Davita I hope that you had a big celebration for purchase day. I miss you!

VT-3 Easter Eggstravaganza

Well, here are the long awaited pictures that I have promised from the Squadron Easter Party that Kathleen and I co-chaired. For those of you reading this that attended, I hope that everyone had a great time! I know that Kathleen and I did. The party was great. We had hamburgers/hot dogs, egg hunts, games (egg roll, egg toss, and egg on a spoon), and of course a pinata! Enjoy the pictures below!

Taris at the BBQ Pit

Kelly, Ian, and Deborah

The Easter Bunny

The Start of the Egg Hunt...for the little ones

The Egg Hunt...for the big kids

The pinata...before it fell...it was too heavy...who knew a pinata could be too full!

The kids...after we opened up the pinata

The egg roll...a White House Tradition...Taris is the BIG kid in the green shirt

We dyed the eggs the night before...if you look closely, you can see the stripe of color on Taris' nose from the egg

and the winner is...the BIG kid...my man!

Egg on the Spoon Race

Egg Toss

Happy Belated Easter!

Wow! What a horrible blogger I have been lately. I actually have plenty to blog about, but have just been WAY to busy to do anything about it! Anyway, I guess it is better late than never! Hope all of you had a great Easter. Taris and I had a wonderful holiday weekend. We spent Saturday with our squadron for the annual party...more about that at a later post...look for it tomorrow...and Sunday we went to Olive (our church) and met up with the Marshall's at Skopelo's for lunch. The restaurant is supposed to be fantastic...great views of the water and everyone raves about the food! Well with that being said...I think that I need to give the place a second try. The food was OK, but nothing spectacular. All in all, I chalk it up to a very busy holiday for them and not the best server. Enjoy the pictures. Taris and I at the restaurant enjoying the view and a picture of the sign. What can I say...I am WEIRD!

Star Wars- the condensed version

I found this through YouTube. This little girl is a hoot! I hope that all die hard Star Wars fans enjoy!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Not much to say...have a great St Patrick's Day everyone!

By the way, pretty sure that I forgot to write about this little tidbit of info...we rented our house!! That is right. The couple signed the papers on Saturday. They seem very nice. My sister, Rachel, showed them the house and my mom signed the papers with them. I can't wait to actually meet them. It is so nice to have it rented...and to a couple that I know will care for the place as much as the last couple did!

Alexis' Tote

So my sister, Alexis, has finally decided on fabric for a tote that she wants me to make. The brown is the outside and the blue is the inside. I think that it will be very cute. I am so excited to be getting back to the sewing machine again. I have missed this option of creative outlet! I will keep you updated on how it is going.

Sorry for the unexciting blog entry. It has been a while and I felt like I sould write about something. Life has been somewhat unexciting lately and I know that no one wants to hear about my exciting call center life. I will have plenty to write about in the coming days. The Squadron Easter Party is this weekend and Kathleen and I are in charge. I am so excited for saturday!

Princess Party

Well, I made my first paying gig cake today...technically last night! I was up until 1:00AM working on it. It was for one of the little girls in our neighborhood, Bella. She was having a princess party and her mom wanted petit fours. (By the way to all of you moms out there...they are from the devil and you should stick to regular or sculpted cakes!) Anyway, there was no instruction, I had free reign. My neighbor, Gina, and my friend, Kathleen, came over last night and really helped out. We had the best time. I actually made muffins, sliced off the top to make it smooth, inverted them, and decorated them. They really looked good! I delivered them this morning at 10:00. The parents were very surprised. They liked them a lot and compared me to "that guy on Ace of Cakes". (They weren't Duff Goldman quality, but I REALLY appreciated the compliment.) As Bella's mom said, they are so much better than what she expected...me too! Wow, after reading everything that I wrote I sound a little too big for my britches! Anyway, a BIG THANK YOU to Gina, Kathleen, and Sara Lee (Gina's daughter) for their help and company. Unfortunately, my camera battery went dead and I have no pictures. They got some at the party...so when I get them I will post!

Survived!

I know that most of have been waiting to see if I survived my first week of work...just barely! I am so tired. I have to be there by 8 every day, which isn't bad, but with traffic and the fact that I have to get to the downtown area, I leave the house every morning by 6:50. (I know it sounds early to you...it IS early to me!) My class of 15 is quite an eclectic group. We all seem to get along together pretty well. I do know that this job will be like no other I have ever had and this company is like no other I have EVER worked for! I have homework to study every night. It is definitely a sales position. If you don't hit numbers you don't stay. Apparently their turn over rate is crazy high. (I think that it might have something to do with no sick days. NONE. Your sick, you come to work! You don't come in, you don't stay.) Let me put it this way, the company always has classes of 15 start. According to our teacher, the last class that she instructed two months ago...out of the 15, there are still 7 with the company. (According to her, that is a lot to make it so far!) She keeps telling us that it isn't your skill, it is your will. She will give us all of the skill and knowledge that we will need to survive and thrive, but if we aren't willing to put that skill to work, we will not be staying. I get that.

Other than that, things are going well. I am very tired and my brain is tired of working! I have plenty to do this weekend: clean, cook for the week, laundry, and get ready for the Squadron Easter party (I am co-chair with Kathleen). This coming week will be the final week of my classes at church: the Love and Respect class and the Navigators 2:7. I am certainly glad that they are almost over and not just starting, but I will be sad to not see those ladies weekly! I will try to fill you in on more later!

First Day

Well, I am about to hit the road...and traffic! First day of work. I am sure that I will have plenty to write about tonight! More to come.

Summer Time

Well...it is official!! Beach season has arrived! Today, March 1st, marks the first official day for the lifeguards to be on duty full time, seven days a week! I am so excited. I think that I might go to the beach tomorrow...just because I can. Just wanted to share my joy.