McCain's running mate

What do I think . . .


I have gotten a few emails about our Gov being chosen as McCain's running mate today. It has been a rumer around these parts for several months. I am a little surprise it is accepteded. The Palin Family welcomed their 5th child this year, Trigg Van Palin, (come on, I know someone must remember this from my blog). He is a special needs baby and not even a year old, and I would just think that beinging VP would take time away with him. But that's me. I bet our First Man would be with him. When your wife's the VP, you probably don't need to work. They appear to be a happy, commited family who take care of their children, not hire someone to do so.

Now, how I feel about it is . . .

Who is going to run our state? I know it would be the Lt. Gov, but he is running for a seat in the Legislature. Maybe he would decide to be the Gov. So if they both win, who's the Gov? I believe that it would be the Speaker of the House, but I don't know who that is. Guess I need to pay better attention.

Another busy day today. We had our big district Welcome Back Breakfast, then I had a few errands to run, had my stitched removed (which I found out for 5 of them it is $250). Crazy! Last time they used the kind that dissolve, but they didn't and my gums started to grow around them. Yuck. So this time they used the Gortex ones. My mouth is so expensive. At school I worked on my room and office. It is looking pretty good, if I do say so myself. MJ

Mama Mia

Oh my goodness, what a fantastic day!!!

I got to go to our new high school today, Thunder Mountain. It is incredible. The thought that went into planning and executing this school was intense. It is gorgeous and I just couldn't believe my eyes. The students who have chosen to attend this school and going to be wowed. I know I was. One of my favorite parts is that there are teachers offices in every classroom. How fantastic and inviting is that for students and/or teachers who would like to have a private conversation. No more of there classmates listening in. Or if a student is acting out, you can "pull them in" and now they no longer have an audience. Sometimes that's all it takes. The lights in classrooms are motion sensitive, you all leave the room, they shut off. Colored concrete entryway, which I can't wait for Bob to see and critique. Tomorrow we are having our all district staff breakfast there and I can't wait to explore some more. I don't think that I am going to sleep.

Also tonight I went to see Mama Mia and what a hoot!!! I haven't laughed that much in a while. And cry. Darn things got 2 sets of 3 girlfriends in it. Man I miss my girls, I just close my eyes and see them. It will be so good to be back together again in December. Then the mom and daughter stuff. Oh, thank goodness it was funny or I would have bald like a baby. I miss you mom, I miss you. Anyway, Yvonne asked me what I was doing on Monday, Labor Day and I started to tell her that I was going to stay home, drink coffee and pamper myself. When I stopped and said "Why, what do you want me to be doing on Monday?". She replied, "I really want to go see Mama Mia". "Well Thursday is it's last night in the theater." "Thursday as in tomorrow?" "Yes, do yo wanna go?" So we went. Perks on my job. Movie tickets: $0, Popcorn: $0, Dr. Pepper: $0, a good laugh with a couple of co-workers: Priceless. If that movie is still in theaters where you are, grab someone and go. Besides, who doesn't love ABBA? and own ABBA Gold? MJ

Day Two

Well, this is exciting . . . I am taking the attitude that I will do my best to jog 5 days a week and and just keep increasing my length of time that I am running. With that, today I went 13 minutes. Yesterday I just thought that I would try to do the 4 again and see what happens, but today I just kept going. It feels pretty great. Then I finished with walking. It's a good combo and I definitely want to do both. Different muscles and in use. Trust me, it's been a while since my muscles have been sore form walking and not these. But it is a good sore.
Home from work(s) and I am a little tired, so it's pack my lunch, dishes, get close out for tomorrow and go to bed. See life is not always an adventure in Alaska. MJ

First Day Back

It feels so good to be back. I got up at 6 am (after I woke up at 5:22 from a bad dream and made myself stay in bed). Went for my jog/walk. I made it 4 mins on the jogging part. Then I power walked. I don't feel bad about that. I'll just keep working towards adding minutes.
Off to school. Saw some familiar faces and some new ones. It just invigorates me, I am really excited to be back. I will be training the new Attendance Clerk the next couple days, then Friday we have a big Welcome Back breakfast for the school district at the new high school. After that I plan to get my room set up. If not, I could work on it next week. I am usually pretty slow with ISS the beginning of the year. So it is a GREAT start!
Wow, $5m buys you so little in Hawaii.

Getting ready to go back to school . . .

New haircut

Can't really say "go back to work" since I think I worked more than when school is in. But i am excited to start back, which means I probably won't sleep well tonight. Which is no good since I am up at 6 am, begin my attempt at running, school at 8 am, then the "Dog" for a couple hours.

I just finished up with all my little tasks. Lunch made for the week which is a big help. I cut up peaches and tomatoes, made biscuits and brownies. Little Suzy Homemaker. A little blogging and reading before lights out. MJ

It's a Small World

even in Juneau, Alaska . . .
A couple of weeks ago I had two "small world" experiences. First, there were a couple of gentlemen in that had on Spartan hats. I asked "What part of Spartan Country are you from?" The response "We are from a small community in Southern Michigan". Me "I grew up in Onsted". Them, "Hey she's from Onsted". Guess what? So are they. Pretty crazy huh? That's why I always ask. We chatted for a little bit and they asked me if I knew Marsha Chatfield. Apparently she is the Elementary School Principal. It was fun. Their wives came in to ask who the girl from Onsted was. They asked Tawney and she looked at them like they were crazy. Poor girl, she's only 19 and to think that she would be old enough to know Marsha. My second "small world" experience happened a few days later when a guy walked in with an Adrian College sweatshirt on. I asked "Is that for real or did someone buy it for you?" It was for real, he went to Adrian College. It's a small, small world . . .MJ

Recovering

Which means that I am being lazy and I take issue with that. It's too darn hard to just sit around. I did that yesterday. And I did sleep until Noon. What the heck? I can't remember the last time that I did that. Bob left for Red Dog this morning and he called from Anchorage, just wanting on the flight to the mine.
It appears that the surgery went well, now I am the "healing" process for the next 6 months. But I've done this part before, so hopefully no problems just like before.
Wow, it is a few hours later, I feel asleep again. Yicks. I am going to try and stay awake for a little bit. MJ

Us Blown Up

This is my favorite from the day. We blew it up a little hopefully it's not too grainy.

Just another day . . .

I have the evening off tonight and am relaxing. I am kind of tired. I have my next oral surgery tomorrow morning. This is a long process and I will be happy when it is all done. This will put us half way there. Bob came home for dinner tonight. He leaves Saturday am and so we are trying to spend what time we have together. I head back to school on Tuesday and school starts on the 2nd. It will be good to get back. I am looking forward to it. I plan to do some more blogging this weekend so keep checking in. MJ

More from Point Bridget

Bob chillin' in the new camp chair. It' s the first time that he has gotten to use it.

Another hike on Point Bridget Trail

Bob and I at our campfire. Me, soaking up the rays, I did not know that Bob was taking this, but man that sun sure felt good. Bob in a "patch" of skunk cabbage. Berries along the trail.

Bob and I hiked out the Point Bridget Trail on Tuesday. We didn't go all the way to the Point this time, but stopped at this spot where the meadow opens up to the ocean. It is so beautiful and I love the shades of blue. It was bloody hot, but we still had a little fire. MJ

Our Friday Picnic

A few pics from our Friday afternoon, when the sun came out. It is out again today so and it is our day off together, so we are heading out soon to enjoy the day.

Top: Mushroom Field

Middle: Self Portrait

Bottom: Bob skipping stones

It was a good little afternoon. We had Subway, sat and watched/listened to the waves and went for a little walk. We are getting much time together these days so what we do get is packed full of whatever we can make it. As we hope today will be. MJ

Mr. Sleepy Head

That would be Bob. He ended up having to stay the night in Haines on Wednesday and got home yesterday afternoon. He was pretty sleepy. So I am trying to be very quiet as not to wake him.
It's not raining this morning, just really foggy, but no rain is nice. It even seems a little bright out.
The rest of this will just be some random thoughts that I have been meaning to share with you . .
* Bob picked up a new coffee pot last night. Apparently my mixture of 3 parts water 1 part milk was not acceptable to our pot. I know, I know, but it taste better than just mixing it in my coffee cup. Now I know.
*We get several yachts in the channel all summer and I often wonder "What kind of person owns those". Since I am sure that my looking through the telescope would be frowned upon, I have just wondered. Then last week two gentlemen came into the Red Dog GS and guess what. They were off one of those yachts, up from Texas. We get a lot of Texans. They were nice and spent some cash. Never batting an eye.
*Hey, the sun is trying to shine!
*We lost another fish. "They" say it's not my fault, but I am a fish killer and it didn't look good when Bob got home. I do everything I am suppose to. I feed them (I do forget sometimes, so it's late) and I talk to them, just like Bob does, but they just don't like it when he's gone. It was so sad, he was a good fish. It lead to a conversation about why we don't have any other pets, too attached and when they die, it's sad. If I can't keep fish alive, how will I ever manage anything larger?
*It's sunny and Sleeping Beauty has woken so we are going outside. MJ

Lazy day

Bob and I spent a lazy day off together today. I was sleepy, but then so was he, sleeping until 11 am. We have been watching the Olympics. The weather is rainy and windy, not so nice. There were flights canceled this weekend due to the volcanic ash settling over the area. I am wondering if that doesn't have something to do with the weather. It is very gray outside. We did leave the house, we had dinner with Tristan and Adam. The three of us work for the school district and were talking about how excited we are getting to get back to work and get into a routine. Other than that just a quiet day.
Bob is heading to Haines for the day tomorrow to put a starter generator in the bird. It should be a quick trip. He's the traveler. MJ

Oh my goodness, oh my goodness

I rode the bus home tonight from the theater. When I got off the bus I turned to head to our road and what did my eyes spy? A big *** bear crossing the road about 25ft away. I turned up our road and walked quickly up the hill. I didn't look back until I had to cross to our drive. I didn't see the bear so I ran up the stairs and to the front door. Yicks! I am not a fan of being alone at 11:30 pm when that happens. MJ

Addicted to Skittles

It's true, I jsut can't stop eating them. I don't know what the deal is. Now that Bob is home, he is seeing how bad it is. They're just so delicious!!!
Molly "manning the fire"
Bob lounging




Bob and I have spent a couple quiet days together. Yesterday we just stayed home and watched movies. Today we went out to Sunshine Cove for a few hours and just enjoyed being outside. Now we are home, I have made a roast. Yes, I have cooked all of our meals since Bob has been home. We are going to eat, watch Monk and Pysch, love Friday nights. Here are a couple pictures from today. Tomorrow I head back to work, but just at "the Dog" until 4:30 pm, that will still give us tomorrow evening. Bob returns to work on Sunday and we'll be back to having Tuesdays off together. We will also have Friday mornings which is a little more than before he left.

We just finished dinner and my roast was dry, go figure. But it was okay. We are now settled in to watch our shows. MJ

He's home

and he looks sooo good! MJ

A little closer to home . . .

That's right, Bob just called from Anchorage, he's getting closer to home. His flight is delayed /2 hour for mechanical difficulties (that never makes me feel warm and fuzzy). Me, I am just trying to do everything in slo-mo so I don't get done too soon and start pacing (or show up at the airport an hour early).

It's been beautiful out the past two days, our first two days of summer. It was 72 at 5:06 pm (on my walk home from work I pass the clock). That is an intense heat here. It felt good. Hopefully the weather will hold for Bob to enjoy some of it. He had some crazy weather at Red Dog. Snow in July. His comment "I don't know what to do with snow in July".

We have a couple off days together. I go back to work on Saturday and right now Bob is going on back on Sunday. It's good we have the time, I have lots of pictures to show him of the Chilkoot, plus, I just miss him. Just being will feel really excellent. MJ

August Birthdays

This is a crazy month for birthdays in our families. Look at this list:
8/3 Miss Jacquelyn
8/6 Uncle Kim and Brennen
8/7 Mom
8/8 Josh
8/9 Court
8/15 Tracey
8/20 Dad, Erica, and friend Brooke
8/22 "Z"
8/23 ARB
8/26 Sheri
8/30 Tom
Nana, Grandpa and Dad Emery also shared August birthdays. The month is full of wonderful people. (I hope that we didn't miss anyone). We are working on this month and trying to catch up for the rest of the year. Who would have thought that "the Hallmark girl" wouldn't be so "hallmarky" after all. My brother still says I remember everything, yeap, still have him fooled.

Happy birthday to all of you. We can't wait to see you all in December. MJ

North to Fort Yukon

Just got Joelle to the airport and she is headed "way up north, way up north" to Fort Yukon, AK. What an adventure she has ahead of her.
As for me, I am up early, which I so enjoy. Then off to work. It seems to be a nice looking day, we'll see how it goes. The paper said 5 days without rain, of course it also showed the sun which I have yet to see. but a little break from the rain is nice. It's so peaceful in the early morning. MJ

A couple of days in Skagway . . .

Joelle on a swing at the Mollie Walsh Park
Engine from the White Pass Rail
Me asleep on the ferry (a common site)

We spent a couple nights in Skagway and one full day. The ferry schedule is a little messed up this year. As this was my third visit in 2 months I felt like a resident. Did some school shopping. I finally found the khaki skirt that I have been looking for since we moved here. Bought some Christmas and Birthday presents (hey, I like to plan ahead). Had a fantastic meal (same as I had last time - I just love sweet potato fries) walked around and then called it a day. The ferry ride home was a 1/2 day of sleeping. I have been fighting some cold/sinus thing and I am still wiped out. MJ

A day in Haines, Alaska

Me in Haines at the Visitor Center

Fort Seward

Joelle

Flowers in a garden

Okay, more like an afternoon and that's just about all you need. But we had fun and it was good to see a new place. We took the 8 am ferry over from Juneau. We almost did get to go, there were no parking spots in the lot to leave the truck. They let us park in "crew" parking, there was one spot left. It was raining, but we started our walk into town. The only "taxi" service in Haines is $20/per person. To go 5m, I don't think so. We did have a "gentleman" stop and ask if we needed a ride, he gave me the willies, so we passed. A little later a young girl stopped and we rode into town with her. We went to the visitors center, asked about where to find a coffee shop and headed out to find it. As we walked we stopped at some of the shops along the way and there was the girl who gave us a ride.

We checked out the shops, went to the old military barracks, hung out at the library (we were done with "site seeing" (nothing left to see), then we went to have dinner (at 4 pm). We were discussing if we should spend the $ and call the taxi service when Joelle asked the waitress if she knew of anyone who would like to make $20. We ended up getting a ride from one of the cooks. He was a young guy who had moved to Alaska recently from Wisconsin. He drove an old Chevy with hole din the floor boards and a cabbage patch kid head on a stick in the be. It was a fun little ride. We spent the rest of the day at the ferry terminal and then headed to Skagway on the 10 pm ferry. More on our trip to Skagway later. MJ

My view . . .

This is GSI (Gift Shop 1 at the Red Dog Saloon) and what I look at when I work there. Just wanted to share. His head is above the bar on the other side of the wall, just above Wyatt Yurp's gun. MJ

Chunk o' Rock

That's what I came home to in the middle of the driveway. Big ole chunk o' rock. If it wasn't so late and I wasn't so tired, I would have taken a picture of it. I will take my camera with me in the morning and if it is still there I will capture it. Guess that's a risk you take when you live on the side of a mountain. It is obvious that it rolled down. So glad that we don't park on that side. MJ

The rock, in between the plywood that they put up to "warn" us I guess. It was gone when I got home from Haines and Skagway. I think that they chopped it up. There was a pile of rock that wasn't there before. I guess that's one way to get rid of it. MJ

Wow, What a Week . . .

It's been a busy, crazy one with work. The Dark Night is still selling like crazy. It is fun, but tiring. Today is my day off and I am doing a whole lot of nothing. I really don't plan of leaving the house.. I do need to do a little cleaning up. Joelle will arrive on Saturday. We will be going to Haines and Skagway for a couple of days. Haines will be new to me, so I am excited for that, some place new. It's just been daily life here. MJ

Happy Birthday Amanda Lynn

My Manda Girl. . .

This is our Manda Girl and today she turns 32. She is one of the most beautiful women I know. Her spirit and heart fill me with joy. She has a inner strength that has seen her through trying times. She'll be embarassed by this, because that's who she is. But this is one of my favorite pictures of her. Taken the weekend that the "cousins and Aunt Marlys" took over Gram's house in 2006. Good times. We have shared many special memories, laughs and tears growing up. Days on Lake Michigan, summer trips to Saugatuk, Clinton Fall Festivals, road-trip to Dan and Jen's wedding, Lenawee County Fair, late nights just giggling, Zoo Day, shopping for bridesmaid dresses, twice, learning to lean on one another when our hearts were broken, being strong, learning to cherish memories. She is a quiet soul who like my mom, sits back and takes it all in. She is so beautiful (which I think that she forgets) and I miss her all the time. Manda Girl we are looking forward to seeing your smiling face soon! Happy Birthday to you, from your two crazy cousins in Alaska.

The Dark Night

I am drinking coffee at 8 pm so that I can stay awake to work the 12:30 am showing of The Dark Night. We got to see it this afternoon. I ate too much popcorn and treats, my belly was a little unhappy. So I ate a burrito and drank some milk and water. I feel much better now. I am still trying to watch all those darn Batman movies and they are due back at 10 pm. I just put in the last one. We'll see if I make it, it will be close. I won't give anything away about the movie except that it is a little creepy. Yicks. There was one good trailer, Watchmen. Again, looks a little creepy, but one I will see. I better bug off, I have a few things to do before I head to work. MJ

Details of my day off. . .

I got out of work early last night, what a treat. I went to bed early and thus I woke up at 6 am this morning. I figured it was a good time to call my mom, I don't get to do that much any more with my work schedule. It was good to hear her voice. Of course she had to go into work early, go figure. So here's my day:

6 am wake up and call mom
7 am watch Enchanted (cute little movie)
9 am eat breakfast and decide to take a nap
9:20 am phone rings (Deb who is going to be the new Attendance Clerk and DHMS and I know
her through Chris - she had some questions about the job)
10 am shower
10:15 am continue the Batman Movie Marathon an work on Chilkoot Trail (start over with a new
file, easier to organize over 600 pictures - Yicks!
Noon make lunch (flour tortilla pizza and cream soda) take a break from Batman
Noon to 2 pm dishes, laundry
2 pm talk to Bob - we talk on the phone twice a week, Tuesday and Friday, it' good to hear his
voice
2:26 pm "freak-out" moment because I just realized that I forgot to feed the fish this morning

When I get out of my routine I am no good, ask the fish

2:30 pm make bed, water plants, clean up some more
3:00 pm more Batman Movies
4:00 pm All Star Game
5:00 pm see above
6:30 pm dinner - fettuccine alfredo, salad greens with cucumber, shredded cheese and ranch,
garlic bread (potato hamburger bun squished flat and toasted with butter and garlic salt),
water and a little cream soda
10:oo pm more Batman

Wow - long All Star Game - I am actually glad that it is over.

Not everyday in Alaska is an adventure, sometimes just daily life, but still breathe-takingly beautiful. MJ

Rossco

This is Tristan and Adam's dog. He is part Beagle and part Jack Russell. He is so cute and I was just love this picture. Tana took it before we left for the Chilkoot Trail and is you just look at his little face, he knows that he's not going. He likes to go hiking and I do believe from some of our hikes he is part mountain goat. Love this dog! MJ

Is anybody out there?

I keep checking all my blogs on my blog list and it seems that nobody is out there. Or at least nothing happening in there lives.
Here the excitement is all about movies. I saw Hellboy II on Thursday night an next Thursday it will be The Dark Night. With that, I rented the 5 Batman movies and have started watching them tonight. I still remember watching the first one with Sheri (who else? Tina?) at the old theater in Adrian. And owning the Batdance single on cassette. Ahhh, Good Memories.
The past couple nights at the theater have been a little hairy. Technical difficulties and lucky me, I got left there alone. That will never happen again - I will make sure of that by saying no the next time some says "I am going to move my car"!!!
I've got a great, fun story to share with you from Bob. It will be a back post, which I know, I complain to my mother for doing it, but that's the way it goes.
"Hi, I am Vicki Vale" Oh, Prince. Jack Nicholson is just creepy
Have I told you all that Bob also left me ice cream in the freezer? Cookie Dough Chocolate Chip - if I am not, well, I guess that I had better not finish that sentence - keepin' it PG, keepin' it PG.
Well, I had better bug off. I've got movie to watch and some ice cream to eat.