just another weekend

Well its that time again...MONDAY---today we had an inservice, I had grad class and now I'm just sitting here trying to relax before I hit the hay---I'm glad January is over and now I am looking forward to February.

This weekend wasn't too exciting but we tried to make the most of it. There were 60mph winds all day Thursday, Friday, and Saturday---talk about scary. Our house sounded as if it might just fall over. On Saturday I decided to brave the wind and head to the store. Clearly no one wanted to go with me, so I had to bare it alone. At one point I just stopped moving and let the wind carry me home.

Friday night we had girl movie night at Rachel's house. It was a great time---we watched Letters to Juliet, ate popcorn, and a delicious snack of jam and cream cheese. It was a good night of catching up with the girls.

Sunday Al and I were determined to have a fun filled day. We began our morning making a little breakfast of bacon and cinnamon rolls. Then Al taught me a skill I had been lacking up until this point in my life, SHUFFLING--It was great--now when we play all of our card games, I am able to keep up and shuffle myself---IMPRESSIVE!

After many games of double solitaire, we decided to clean our entire house. We do not always do this, but when we do we go big. After cleaning we were very tired so we took a little rest.

We decided that we were going to have a dinner party so we made some cheesy bread. Once the bread was made, we took a walk to the Bering Sea--I'll have to admit it was very very slippery. We had a lot of close encounters and it was very scary.

Sunday night around 6:30 was our dinner party. We made spaghetti (after all we have a huge 15 pound box), broccoli and cheese, our bread, and brownies. It was quite a feast we prepared.

Two things Al and I hope to improve on:

1. draining grease from the hamburger --at the beginning of the year I would just use a strainer, but now Al does not allow this. So now we hold the pan and try to do teamwork. If that does not work, I just pat down the meat with coffee filters. It is quite the thing to watch.

2.How to drain pasta when we have a ton. So Al was holding the strainer when WOOSH the steam got her in the face. Then everyone told us that we could just set the strainer in the sink---BUT then I missed the strainer and poured half of the noodles in the sink, it was a disaster.

All in all our dinner party was quite a success, we had good food, good laughs, and good friends.

That's all for now---I need to get some pictures on this thing.

I meant to add these sooner: These are the new additions to the Quinhagak family here--- born a few weeks ago!

Ode to the bucket

I've decided to get creative tonight and make a poem about my experiences this afternoon. I'm just sitting here with Al waiting on our corn dogs to cook. Took our Friday night nap and now we are ready for what the weekend has in store.

Ode to the bucket

It all started on Thursday with 60 mile per hour winds

I went into the bathroom and I was not happy my friends

You see, Al and I share this fun fun chore

And with winds this strong I didn't want to do this I was sure

I said a little prayer for the winds to stop

so to the hopper I could walk without a drop

But after school on Friday the bucket could not wait

With the honey bucket in my hand on the ice I would skate

I tied that thing up and closed my little blue eyes

Al had the spray in her hand because the smell makes you want to cry

I had many decisions to make on which way to go

I knew I didn't want to slip on the ice and the snow

With the winds a blowing and the cold hitting my face

I had strong determination to get rid of this waste

I held in my breath and walked very slow

while Al poked her head out the window enjoying the show

This trip took a bit longer then the trips normally do

because lets be honest there was no way I was falling, that I knew

I am always embarrassed when taking it out

and today there was Rachel just strolling about

So now and I had Rachel and Allison just laughing at me

I was cold and grossed out, couldn't they see?

And that is how a typical Friday afternoon goes

While living in bush Alaska things are quite different I suppose

100th day of school!

Today is our 100th day of school!

I can't believe that it has been 100 days already--time is flying. I look back at my students and myself and I see so much growth that is taking place---its unbelievable. My students are learning new skills daily and I'm learning new teaching skills as well as things about myself.

So now I am challenging myself to think of 100 things/experiences I have enjoyed since being in Quinhagak--here goes: these are in no particular order

DISCLAIMER: Individual people did not make the list because well that would take up too many spaces! Everyone in Quinhagak has touched my life in some way shape or form and that is what I am thankful for!

1. Learning to play cribbage

2. Friday naps

3. Family movie night on Fridays with Steph and Jim especially when we make Jim watch girl movies

4. First ever steaming experience and on the way home when we thought we were being chased by an animal

5. Riding next to a dead caribou

6. Locking myself in the arctic entry at 1:00 in the morning

7. first time dumping the honey bucket, now we have quite the system of spraying and dumping, its nice

8. dance parties with Allison (we talked tonight, I think this is where we first bonded)

9. Water games with Allison

10.Trips to the post office--even when she tells me no

11. Making puppy chow and various other baking experiences

12. Toasting marshmallows on the stove--and making make shift Smores

13. Walking to the Bering Sea--at first not wanting to walk that far simply because I don't like to exercise--but now it is quite the peaceful walk with friends

14. Bonfires at the Sea--Taking the random jumping picture at the sea which took about 30 tries

15. The salmon run---I ran it (only the 1/2 mile), thought I was going to collapse, but was fun to do with the kids.

16. Watching Tucker and Riley and when Al shut Tucker into my room and he kept me up ALL night

17. Ani running away from us at 10 at night--and getting super mad

18. My students coming to my house for all turning in their homework and having a spaghetti dinner

19. Coaching Speech

20. Craft night at Dennis and Marshas

21. Driving a four wheeler for the first time with Allison

22. Berry picking and just laying down because I felt ill

23. When Jim makes us watch things he thinks are very funny and we do not agree

24. Going on an 8 mile bike ride and practically dying

25. The numerous times our heat has stopped working, we didn't have lights, our sink leaking, etc

26. The time I thought Gill had died and we had a sleepover at Steph and Jim's

27. Art retreats

28. Taking the school bus at age 24 with all my friends in the morning

29. Having nail painting parties

30. Baking with Steph for Thanksgiving

31. Burritos at Steph and Jims

32. Glee and Jersey Shore Night

33. All 16 of my math students

34. When you are walking down the road and children are screaming hi Miss Weaver, but you can not see them anywhere

35. My intense online shopping

36. Mystery gifts from Moosejaw

37. When I lost my keys and Al and I had to walk on opposite sides of the road to find them

38. When the couch ate Al's wallet

39. Al getting a real live Christmas tree in the mail

40. Gill

41. Cooking tacos (the one thing I am good at)

42. Kool-aid

43. When Al cooks dinner and then I wash the dishes (a typical night)

44. playing three games of basketball and not being able to move

45. When Al and I tried P90X and we were just rolling on the floor laughing

46. Getting packages from my friends

47. Attending feasts for birthdays

48. My first throw party.

49. Winning a beaver fur at the Christmas gift exchange

50. Creating a Christmas card with Al instead of doing separate ones

51. First time ever eating fish

52. GOing fishing for the first time ever--Al catching three me catching none

53. Catching my first fish ever, and then Jim letting it go without taking a picture

54. The view of the mountains when there is good visibility

55. My students making progress in the reading program and hearing them become better readers

56. Having pep rallies

57. The halloween contest "clap for him"

58. My first Thanksgiving in Quin

59. Weekends in Bethel

60. Cooking breakfast on weekend mornings

61. How sometimes when Al and I cook, we turn on the wrong burner and then are wondering why it hasn't cooked.

62. When Steph, Jim, and I hid under the house and scared Allison then did the same thing to Al and Jon.

63. Seeing a dead bear for the first time

64. Being chased with a dead mouse in our house

65. Our numerous dinner parties

66. Sunday afternoon trips to the school

67. Laying in different continents on Steph's floor on Fridays

68. Making a cake for the bake sale, eating a piece out of it, and then selling it

69. Creating a picture to hang in our house on our first Saturday

70. Watching the lunar eclipse

71. watching hunting shows and having people quiz me on the different animals

72. Eating Caribou (not something I would have done before this)

73. The friendly waves we get when walking to and from different places

74. My new Quinhagak family who is always there if I need something

75. Fashion shows when Al and I get something new

76. How Al and I ignore the knocks on our door and sometimes when the kids scream "We know you're in there

77. Allison (she says she must make the cut of 100 things)

78. The fact that I have lived here for about 6 months and still can't tell Steph and Jim's dogs apart

79. "Just having a Friday"

80. All of the Quin teachers

81. When we tried to make popcorn and had a little fire on our stove

82. Learning about the culture and having an open mind about new experiences

83. When Flat Stanley visited

84. When one of my students who struggles was able to read something with no mistakes and you could see their excitement

85. The support here (teachers, friends, community members, etc)

86. Decorating our house for Christmas

87. The fact that it is the 100th day of school and up until earlier today my calendar says October

88. Allison's love for onions. I even got her a picture of onions for Christmas

89. Cuvs

90. When I sat in a building for 3 hours with a French pilot determined to fly to Bethel and only getting stuck

91. Al and I creating poems for birthdays, boss's appreciation and other holidays

92. When Al's parents visited

93. Tank Top

94. When we first got our span Alaska order and we had corndogs, chicken nuggets, pizza rolls, and hot pockets

95. Slushies at Sammy's

96.The squatter dog that has now passed

97. When Jim makes us chocolate chip cookies and brags about how delicious they are

98. OB

99. Watching the beautiful sunsets/sunrises while walking places or at school

100. Just having the privilege to live and work in such a beautiful place and meeting some of the most down to earth friends and people ever.

101. When I freak out about things and Rachel has to calm me down

Here's to looking forward to having 100 more in a few months when it is time to reflect on the year.

I challenge some of you to think about where you are and think if you can come up with 100 things about that to love. It was great to reflect on all the funny things that have happened here in Alaska.

Hope y'all have a fantastic Tuesday and rest of the week =)

its what temperature outside?

Well I am supposed to be doing my grad homework right now, because that was my plan after waking up. Instead I sit in my bed listening to the scary winds outside sipping on some hot chocolate. I will do anything that keeps me from doing this assignment that is due tomorrow, and yes one of those things is blogging.

Well winter is finally here I am thinking. Yesterday at one point the wind reader said -60 degrees. Never in my life did I think I would be in such cold weather. It is def. an adjustment. Takes about 5-10 minutes to gear up to go outside, then one you are outside you hate your life, then you come in and have to take it all off again. Currently with the windchill it is -52 degrees. I do not believe that I will be leaving my house today for any reason.

This weekend has been a relaxing one. Lots of quality time with the roomie. Yesterday woke up around 10:30. Did my normal Saturday lounging around the house. Later in the day it was time for the trip to the post office and the store. Al and I have Netflixs so we decided to watch our movie. I have come to the conclusion that maybe we are not so good at this whole picking out movie things. The majority of our choices simply are not good ones. THis time we watched Charlie St. Cloud. At first it started out like a typically great chick flick. Then it got all weird and confusing and we simply did not understand what was going on. After the movie I tried to force myself to do some homework, but that did not work.

Al and I have been CRAVING fast food since about the time we have been back. Since clearly there is no way we can get fast food here, we decided to have a greasy feast last night. It was delightful. Our dinner consisted of pizza rolls, cheesy poppers, and chicken nuggets. Talk about delicious---what a meal! We finished off the night with some family time and some games.

Last night while at Steph and Jim's, Al decided to put her scarf on Bela (dog). For some reason I thought this was the funniest thing ever. I simply could not stop laughing. Bela was walking around the house looking all sophisticated and it was a great laugh. Moments later Steph said she had little doggie mittens. This may have been one of the funniest things I have seen in a while. First she put them on Bela. Bela was walking with super funny almost like she was marching. Moments later Marley got a pair on. He was stumbling around the house and slipping on the floor. I wish I had pictures, because this truly does not explain how funny it was. While most people are out having there fun with their friends at restaurants and out at the movies--I sit in Quinhagak, Alaska with my good friends enjoying a good laugh from some dog mittens. Who would have known?

In other news the girls and I have booked our spring break plans. Our spring break is in the end of February. Typically I think people try to go somewhere warm for spring break, but living in Alaska that is not always possible. We are going to spend a couple of days in Fairbanks and then head to Anchorage for the rest of the trip. I am going to trying skiing for the first time (should be quite the event). I am pretty pumped to get away for a week or so and just bond with the girls.

It's Tuesday already--felt like it had been a while since I last blogged so I will enlighten you on my time in Quin.

Things have been going well lately, my math class has been rolling along as well as all the SRA things. I also am proud to announce that I have been reunited with my glasses and have high hopes of not breaking them again for at least a month.

The weather is getting freezing again, and I simply do not like it. I think this morning it was -12 and that was not even with the windchill. It is getting super slippery outside these days and each morning I say a little prayer that I do not fall and break my arm. Al and I got these things for our shoes, but I actually think they are making things worse. This morning I felt as though I was ice skating.

This weekend was a great one: watched some lifetime, ate moose (Well I am not sure if it was moose or caribou but since I have not eaten moose yet it sounds pretty cool), dominated in basketball. We didn't have school on Monday due to the holiday, so I traveled into Bethel for a special education inservice.

Just wanted to update everyone. Not too much exciting news here in the land of Quinhagak.

great things happening

I feel like yesterday was an excellent start to the week! I can only hope that the rest of this week is like yesterday!

My day started like most, I struggled to get out of bed. We still were not sure about the water yesterday, so I took a shower using as little water as possible---IT WAS A MESS. At first I was just going to use bowls of water to wash, but I thought that would be difficult. After much debate, I decided to just take a shower with the water left to a drizzle. I even turned off in the middle to lather up and conserve water. What a freezing cold experience! With all this being said, I am just very thankful to have water! Who knew how important this was to me!

Once at school I learned that the washateria is back up and running and we have water again. This news did sadden me due to the competition coming to an end. The households will no longer be seeing whose water will last the longest. I still think Al and I would have won. We were thinking up quite the ways to conserve our water.

My classes were "ballin" yesterday. I am making changes to my schedule at school, and I think they are going to be very positive. I am excited for this program and to see the progress in the next few months.

Around four o clock, I learned that Britney Spears new song had in fact released early. This little number was not supposed to be released until today, so what a pleasant surprise. For those of you who know me well, I have quite the spot in my heart for Ms. Spears. I have already listened to this song about 349839483 times and it gets better and better each time.

I started my first class for my masters yesterday. For those of you wondering, I am taking it at UAS and its all online. It should be exciting. Special Education has already been an interest of mine, and since I work a lot with that field this school year I think it will be beneficial to start working towards another goal of mine. My class even got out early which was a nice little treat.

In other news, my glasses are fixed and on their way back to Quinhagak. Let's hope those things last longer than a week this time! I also need to get out and take some new pictures for this blog! I am going to make that my goal this week.

Shoutout to my friends who started back to class yesterday back in Ohio. Hope y'all have a terrific Tuesday and great week!

The next WNBA stars

Whew--we made it through the week---I was so looking forward to Friday because at our household we have a tradition on Fridays...Friday nap. Friday naps take place after we arrive home and have eaten multiple varieties of junk food. They usually last for a few hours, and in general they are just great. So Friday night was a typically Friday in Quin watching movies and hanging out with the family. It is so nice to be back!

The call: Saturday morning as I was all nestled in my bed, my phone rang. I looked at the time and thought to myself, who the heck is calling me at 9:30 in the morning. To my surprise it was neighbor Rachel. The first thing she said was You are playing basketball and so is Al. After much convincing, I decided that I would play. I thought it was only one game and how much pain would I be feeling after one game.

So I suited up and it was time for game one. The game started and with only four minutes into the game I was in pain, I was out of breath, and clearly I did not think I would make it. Whew there was an opportunity to sit out so I immediately took that chance. After a few minutes someone yelled sub. I was so excited to go back into the game that I just got up and ran out on the court. Apparently that was not the thing to do. There was whistle blowing and lots of confusion and I am proud to say I got my first ever technical foul that game for running on the court at a random time.

At halftime we were down by 20 or more and I was dreaming of the Hershey pie in our refrigerator to get me through the rest of the game. For people watching in the stands, this game was hilarious...there were multiple traveling calls, double dribbles, over and back. You name it and we probably did it. It was a fun game though and I thought it was the only game I would have to play which made it even better. The game ended we lost by 12 and I was ready to take a nap.

Once back at the house Al and I were hanging out watching television. We were just about to cut into that delicious pie when the phone rang again, It was Rachel--so far the calls from Rachel were 0 for 1 so I was afraid to answer. Oh yes somehow we had to play again. We were not happy with this news. Rachel informed us she would be sitting this one out so it would just be the two of us. So after much complaining and saying we could only go if we got a ride, someone picked us up and we were on our way. This game was brutal because we had no subs. Just 40 awful minutes of running up and down the court. This game ended more positive as we ended with a win-- I was beginning to feel dizzy and the feelings of the 8 mile bike ride earlier in the year were creeping upon me.

After game two all I wanted to do was lay. I had done far more physical activity in these two games then I was used to. So that was what I did, I went in my bed and laid.

The knock: Someone was at our door and Al answered it. Moments later I hear Alicia can you come here. I get up with much struggle and there is Karen. She tells us we will in fact have to play a third game. This is NOT what we wanted to hear. I began pleading and begging not to play, but this did not work. They know our stipulations for going though, we must be picked up we said. About thirty minutes later we headed back up to the school for round three. This game was our closet yet. We only lost by 5 points!! Allison was a star this game rebounding and scoring baskets like a pro. Shout out to Steph and Rachel who watched us play this game!

The competition: There has been a rumor all week that at some point the water in the village would be shut off. There is a frozen pipe somewhere and they need to shut the water off until they find it. This means that we will not be getting filled up until the issue is resolved. This has in fact happened and we are on a low water supply until further notice. This means we have to conserve our water because we are not sure how long it will last. This made us think of a little competition we can have with the other double houses: THE WATER COMPETITION. We are going to see who can make their water last the longest. The winners get dinner cooked by the losers. Al and I have thought of some clever ways to make this happen, so feel free to share your ideas with us as well.

WHOA WHOA WHOA: This ia a common phrase that comes out of my mouth as we walk anywhere these days. It is becoming super slippery outside and it quite frankly very scary. Al and the others are pretty good at walking on this ice, but I just get scared. The other night I just crawled across this ice because I didn't want to fall!

In other news Seeker (Eric and Sherry's dog) had pups this week. I officially finished an online class and I start my Master's program tomorrow online. This should be a busy semester, but I am super pumped for it!

A direct quote from Allison to end this blog as she cooking her breakfast. "If we are feeling like this, the older ladies on our team must be dying, I am only 22." Yes this does sum up my pain for the day. Every part of me is hurting. It hurts to laugh, walk, lay, sit, pretty much do anything.

That is all from the village of Quinhagak! Miss you all! =)

Back into the swing of things

It’s Wednesday already and I have been back for two days! Not going to lie, teaching after being gone for 2 weeks is rather tough. Yesterday my students were just as tired as myself laying on the tables, yawning all the time—we were all struggling. Today though things are going great. I had a great math lesson with all of them and am happy to be back. Once I get back into the swing of things, I know that this will be a great quarter!

Yesterday morning our house decided to welcome us back by the pipes under the sink loosening. Allison got quite a wet surprise (or more like a mini flood) when she was trying to wash some dishes. With all the little issues that we have had since we have lived here it is just funny. Oh it just makes me smile and confirms the fact that I am happy to be back.

So my journey back from quite the experience—something funny happened on every single plane---makes for an interesting trip back. Started my journey from good ole Cleveland, Ohio. I then landed in Dallas Texas. On that little flight a fellow person in my row had a cold. I just kept thinking to myself please don’t cough and sneeze on me for the next three hours. Instead it was as if they knew every time I was about to fall asleep—because they would proceed to blow their nose very very loud into my ear. Oh what a mess.

Next stop was Portland, Oregon. This flight was a little longer and after reading two magazines and listening to my IPod until the battery ran out I was running out of things to do. I have never gone to the bathroom on an airplane, because quite frankly it just creeps me out. After this experience I shall stay true to that and not use the bathroom again. So on this flight after much debate I get up to go. As I come back I am just strutting down the aisle like the big deal that I am. When I go to get into the seat, BAM—completely smashed my head on the overhead compartments. Everyone around me was howling with laughter. Oh the pain---I couldn’t move my neck for a little bit, and I felt as if I left some of my pride on that plane after that experience. The person next to me kept asking if I was okay but then started laughing again when they thought about me hitting my head---I am a mess.

After Portland I was off to Anchorage. The Anchorage flight was not as eventful. I had to sit in the very back row. The turbulence on this flight though was nothing like I have ever experienced. I felt like I was on a legit roller coaster bobbing up and down. It was a rather rough experience.

After Anchorage I had a 6 hour layover where I just tried to catch up on some beauty sleep. On the way to Bethel it was rather snowy and when we tried to land we missed the landing. I was freaking out as there was no way I wanted to spend my day in Anchorage. The pilot got on and announced we would try one more time and then if we didn’t land we would head back. I sat watching as I crossed my fingers, toes, and anything else for good luck. Apparently this bothered a small child on the plane who began vomiting multiple times---ICK! Whew---we landed and then I was one step closer to being back in Quin.

It is a great feeling to be back. We have snow here again which in Ohio we had none. It was super icy on Sunday though which I was not looking forward to, but since it has snowed, it is much better. Me and Al have been reunited with Gill and we are once again a happy family.

I’ll end with yet another funny story about my trip back to Quinhagak. So last Monday I got a brand new pair of glasses because it is something that I needed to get taken care of. I was worried that in my trek they would get lost or something, but nope they made it to Bethel. In Bethel something terrible happened, I stepped on those things and broke them. Who would have known? It has only been a week! So now I have to part with my glasses, send them back to Ohio and hope that they get fixed for me.

Well that’s really all that is new from me. Just trying to get caught up on my sleep and I still need to unpack from my trip. Yes it has been two days and my suitcase still sits there with things inside.

I’ll leave y’all with some pictures from my trip back home. Until next time, have a great week!

Back to Quin

After traveling since 7:30 yesterday morning I write this e-mail from my bed in Quinhagak!

Break was great and I'm super excited for the next four months and what is to come.

I'll blog about my adventures home and back from Ohio tomorrow.

Night Moon