For Your Viewing Pleasure.....

A Hodge Podge of Information......

Wow....this has been an interesting week! Here's the scoop:

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So, someone said some not so nice things about me and there's been some fall out. But the nice thing is that most people don't seem to believe what was said about me or they just don't care.

As much as I love it here, there are some things I don't love.....like immature people who find the need to be negative. But the people I choose to surround myself with are nothing like this. And because of their support and friendship, I am back to being my cheery self again.

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Remember that guy who was supposed to lift my house? He said it would take six weeks.....well, he worked on the house a little bit....enough for him to raise the house maybe a couple of inches....enough to get my bedroom door stuck to where I can't open it all the way and have to slam it shut....

Well, he finally came back after being gone for months! And no, he hasn't started working on my house yet....but he's working on the one across the road...and they say when they walk on one side of the house, they can feel it tilting & swaying. The guy tells me he'll start working on my house next month....yay.....

The moral of the story??? Don't just accept the lowest bid and make sure you put end dates on your contracts.....a lesson we can all learn really....

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I am in a great mood today!! A fantastic mood! Perhaps my coffeehouse guy has something to do with it......he's ever so dreamy. And we are still in the coffeehouse, but what a cup of coffee!!!


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So if you are going to get head lice....might I recommend my method? The trick is to start getting nits, and not realize it. Then you dye your hair effectively killing anything in your hair. And then you don't find out until the day after you dye your hair. Then you just take care of all your clothes, bedding, & hair stuff. (Extreme heat or cold ~ a dryer for 30 minutes will do the trick)

And voila! You're done!

I'm not sure how I got it......my roommate had a bad case of it the same day, so I most likely got it from my roommate.


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So I discovered a new product that was my big experiment this week to see how it works. One of the problems living out here in the bush is if you run out of something, you can't just run down to the store to grab exactly what you want.

So this is a blurb about feminine hygiene products (So stop reading now if this is Too Much Information or TMI for you). Because when you run out - it's not good. Especially if you have a particular brand.

So I found this brand when I was reading an article about TSA stopping a woman because she was wearing a reusable feminine hygiene product in an airport. I was curious what kind of a product could do that.....and I stared reading about the products on their website. www.gladrags.com And I thought about how great it would be to never run out and to help out the environment at the same time. I mean, c'mon, in California, I drove a Prius....so really, this is right up my alley. And I figured out that the initial cost of the products would be the same for a year's supply.

And I have to say, so far I am impressed. I would recommend them. So if you are interested in alternative products for YOUR time of the month....please check out their products. I'm gonna try to the add a link to my page.


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I was watching the tv show on the Discover Channel: Flying Wild Alaska about bush pilots. Now, I've mention Renfro on my site, but I have also flown with the airline Era which is what the show is about. They have regular flights to Bethel you can hop on for $60-$80. On the show, they had a segment that took place in Bethel.

The show is pretty good and it shows Bush Alaska. So if you want to watch a show about Alaska, check it out.

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So that's my week......all in all a good week...well, except for the lice...but even that wasn't all bad.....

Keep Going

So I was acquiring some bits for my blog: a garden gnome that I wrote was cursed and am waiting to see if it goes missing, my first ride on a snow-go (snow machine), and some daily life tidbits when something happened.

Without going into all the details at this point, let me tell you that Alaska has a Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct for teachers. This section was violated: A teacher may not intentionally make a false or malicious statement about a colleague’s professional performance or conduct.

All I can say is that I am exploring my legal options at this point.

I bet you are wondering where did this come from? You didn't know I was having any problems with anyone here, did you?

Neither did I.

I am used to being underestimated. I am not aggressive and I don't get into people's faces. I normally don't like to be confronted so I normally don't. But that doesn't mean I allow people to walk on me. I think I have a quiet strength.

I found a great deal of inspiration from these words from the book: Keep Going: The Art of Perseverance by Joseph M. Marshall III

A young man asked his grandfather why life had to be so difficult sometimes. This was the old man's reply.

Grandfather says this: In life there is sadness as well as joy, losing as well as winning, falling as well as standing, hunger as well as plenty, badness as well as goodness. I do not say this to make you despair, but to teach you reality. Life is a journey sometimes walked in light, sometimes in shadow.

Grandfather says this: You did not ask to be born, but you are here. You have weaknesses as well as strengths. You have both because in life there is two of everything. Within you is the will to win, as well as the willingness to lose. Within you is the heart to feel compassion as well as the smallness to be arrogant. Within you is the way to face life as well as the fear to turn away from it.

Grandfather says this: Life can give you strength. Strength can come from facing the storms of life, from knowing loss, feeling sadness and heartache, from falling into the depths of grief. You must stand up in the storm. You must face the wind and the cold and the darkness. When the storm blows hard you must stand firm, for it is not trying to knock you down, it is really trying to teach you to be strong.

Grandfather says this: Being strong means taking one more step toward the top of the hill, no matter how weary you may be. It means letting the tears flow through the grief. It means to keep looking for the answer, though the darkness of despair is all around you. Being strong means to cling to hope for one more heartbeat, one more sunrise. Each step, no matter how difficult, is one more step closer to the top of the hill. To keep hope alive for one more heartbeat at a time leads to the light of the next sunrise, the promise of a new day.

Grandfather says this: The weakest step toward the top of the hill, toward the sunrise, toward hope, is stronger than the fiercest storm.

Grandfather says this: Keep going.

Don't worry...it's not a strong storm I am facing. I am just standing up to it. I have had an outpouring of support from those who know about the situation and I know who my friends are. Who they have always been.

There are people in life who will try to knock you down. For whatever reason, I don't know. And you can watch them walk down the path of life, knocking down those they meet on the way. They are not expecting people to either keep standing or people to stand back up, dust themselves off, and keep going.

Because that's what those with the quiet strength do.....we keep going.

I Need My Coffee With A Lot Of Sugar.....

Okay, based on the number of messages I have received on facebook concerning my status updates...I suspect many of you are worried that all is not well.

I am a private person but I can't always hide my mood. So in light of that, I will tell you my adventure....in my own way:

Welcome to Laraland....in this land couples come together in the same fashion. They meet.....they spark and want to get to know each other. To do this, they go to the coffeehouse. The main goal is to follow the path (and this path represents an initial commitment - whether it be a label boyfriend/girlfriend or perhaps the removal of coffeehouse visits with other people) to the cliff behind the coffeehouse, where the two lovers shall fall into the abyss that is love..which will bring marriage, family, and other delights when they land together, hand in hand. Every couple wants to reach that point, but the real excitement comes from falling off the cliff.

So one day, you meet a man. He's handsome and funny and well, you just spark. He tells you almost immediately that he would like to have coffee with you at the coffeehouse. And you are excited and happy because you weren't expecting a trip to the coffeehouse for years. After all, you didn't know there was a coffeehouse way out here.

So you meet this man at the coffeehouse. And it is one of the best cups of coffee and the best time you've had in that coffeehouse for a very long time. You meet again for hours and hours there....drinking it all in. You are absolutely enjoying yourself....your date is not perfect, nor do you want him to be....but you start to wonder...is this someone I can fall off that cliff with? And the answer seems to be....maybe. Whatever, good enough for you!

A few months pass, and after a while you have your special spot in the coffeehouse, but you've been talking about the path and the cliff....talking about what's maybe even at the bottom of that abyss....it's harmless talk....but you two talk a lot about that journey....

Soon, it becomes evident....you look at each other and say..."Let's take the path!" Now, it's a long, windy path but that doesn't bother you, no, you are just happy to walk out of that coffeehouse and start down the path. Now, you've been watching other couples...some have left the coffeehouse the way they came in, others have stepped ever so cautiously onto that path...oh, but not you...

You bust outta that coffeehouse and start to run down that path. And of course your wearing a ball gown complete with a tiara...in fact, you look like a brunette Amy Adams from Enchanted as you run down that path because that's just who you are. So, you run a little bit down the path, when you realize....hey, where's your date?

You look behind you concerned....did he fall down? Did something happen? Oh wait, you can see him now.....sitting at an empty table....he's waiting for you, but he's back in the coffeehouse.

And you ask yourself....did he even leave the coffeehouse? You thought he was right next to you....but was he?

So you make your way back into the coffeehouse. You now have a limp because your heel busted off when you ran out and you didn't notice it. And your hem of your ball gown is dragging from when it caught on a bush. Your hair is windblown and your tiara is slightly askew.

You walk up to the table and he jumps up to get your chair....he tells you he ordered you another cup of coffee for you. The waitress brings it. There's an awkward silence because you can't ignore that you just totally ran down that path headed to the cliff by yourself.

So where do you go from here? Well, you could get up and try another table....or you could just drink your coffee...it still tastes good....and you are the only one he's coming to the coffeehouse with...so you have the conversation and you blame your exit on all that coffee....but you make it clear....you don't want to hear about the path or the cliff for a while....

And that's when you realize....sometimes, you really hate coffee.