Thursday, January 22, 2009
Cool things
Holy trapdoor, Batman! If we really, really loved wine and had a ton of money, this might be an option: spiral wine cellar.
Housecleaning
Hi all - please bear with me as I remodel my blog. I have had the itch to make a change for a while now...hopefully I won't muck it up too much!
Warmer than normal!
Holy crap (or like D says, crap is not holy, water is) I just saw this illustration in our local paper, the fabulous Anchorage Daily News:
Warmer than usual? Hallelujah! After last year's infamous summer, all Alaskans are hoping for a sunny and warm season starting in June. Hurry up and book your tickets peoples!
Warmer than usual? Hallelujah! After last year's infamous summer, all Alaskans are hoping for a sunny and warm season starting in June. Hurry up and book your tickets peoples!
Local updates
When we left Alaska for Mexico, it was 10 to 15 degrees below zero. When we returned, about 85% of the snow had melted during a freak warm period -- the temperature got up to 40 degrees for a few days with warm Chinook winds blowing through town.
It turns out that school was cancelled for 4 DAYS because the streets turned to sheets of black ice after the melted snow would refreeze at night. I can't remember classes being cancelled for 4 days the WHOLE time I attended school in Anchorage. But like my dad says, safety first!
The weather has hit a more normal level now -- overcast and about 20 degrees. It's a tad bit depressing without our normal snow cover though. The snow is hard packed and bad for skiing and snowmachining. Bummer.
I took my barking cough with me to Mexico -- I'm sure my fellow airplane mates really appreciated that. D says he knows what it's like to date a smoker now -- the cough was awful. Probably the second most annoying sound in the world. And the best part? I'm pretty sure I have bronchitis. Have an appointment to see my doctor about that and my possible bruised ribs from a night fishing incident in Cancun. Ah, I'm the luckiest girl alive!
I'm supposed to participate in the Ski for Women on Superbowl Sunday, but we'll see what the doc says about that. A couple of my coworkers have experienced bruised ribs and they say it takes between 2 to 4 weeks for a full recovery. This race isn't very challenging but I don't want to push it.
It turns out that school was cancelled for 4 DAYS because the streets turned to sheets of black ice after the melted snow would refreeze at night. I can't remember classes being cancelled for 4 days the WHOLE time I attended school in Anchorage. But like my dad says, safety first!
The weather has hit a more normal level now -- overcast and about 20 degrees. It's a tad bit depressing without our normal snow cover though. The snow is hard packed and bad for skiing and snowmachining. Bummer.
I took my barking cough with me to Mexico -- I'm sure my fellow airplane mates really appreciated that. D says he knows what it's like to date a smoker now -- the cough was awful. Probably the second most annoying sound in the world. And the best part? I'm pretty sure I have bronchitis. Have an appointment to see my doctor about that and my possible bruised ribs from a night fishing incident in Cancun. Ah, I'm the luckiest girl alive!
I'm supposed to participate in the Ski for Women on Superbowl Sunday, but we'll see what the doc says about that. A couple of my coworkers have experienced bruised ribs and they say it takes between 2 to 4 weeks for a full recovery. This race isn't very challenging but I don't want to push it.
Cruise in May
In conversations with multiple people, I've heard that amazing cruise deals can be found RIGHT NOW. We can't afford to take another vacation so soon, but the rest of you lucky people could snag an Alaskan cruise for cheapo.
We've never done a cruise before, but lots of friends and family have -- this deal is for Holland America Line: Vancouver to Seward, 7 nights. Must leave May 10 or May 24. $540 for oceanside room. Taxes and fees are $111 each person. But I think you also get $100 worth of shipboard credit per room.
Come see us this summer...we'll pick you up in Seward!
We've never done a cruise before, but lots of friends and family have -- this deal is for Holland America Line: Vancouver to Seward, 7 nights. Must leave May 10 or May 24. $540 for oceanside room. Taxes and fees are $111 each person. But I think you also get $100 worth of shipboard credit per room.
Come see us this summer...we'll pick you up in Seward!
Market Tote - DIY
This is a neat little project -- no sew tote bag -- I plan to make a few to use at the grocery store. They would be great reusable produce bags. I feel so guilty bringing home fruits and veggies in those throwaway plastic bags...
More nightlife
This lobster restaurant was sooo good...we sat outside on the deck and had a beautiful view of the lagoon.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Nightlife
They call this area of Cancun "Vampire Alley" because everyone comes out to the clubs at night, but it's deserted during the day.
A few times every hour the bars would release a storm of paper into the air:
Ugh - this guy STUNK, literally. He fully covered himself in gold glitter and then flitted from bar to bar posing for photos and asking for tips.
We saw this guy twice during our trip. He rides the buses through the most popular hotel zone areas singing one song and then stopping at each row to ask for tips. The second time we encountered him, a rowdy group of drunk middle aged Americans were also on the bus and they made him sing two songs instead of just one.
We're back...sigh
Transported back to reality...and colder weather. But we had a wonderful time in Mexico! D and I didn't realize how much we needed a warm-weather vacation, just the two of us, until we were down in Cancun.
The weather cooperated for about two days, the rest was pretty overcast and windy/wet -- but we made the most of it and planned fun activities regardless. Our flight from Seattle to Cancun was delayed for 5 HOURS! So cruel. And then to top it off, we couldn't get into our condo because the lock box number we had been given was incorrect. I seriously expected to be sleeping on the beach that first night. After two hours of phone calls and trying every possible number combination we could think of, D managed to figure out the code, thank god. I haven't been that relieved in, well, EVER.
That being said, the condo we stayed in was really, really nice. Small kitchen, nice bathroom, everything recently remodeled, just steps to the beach. Here is the view from our 3rd story digs:
Condo interior:
Beach area in front of our hotel/condo...
More updates and photos to follow!
Lost in Translation
It was a hoot to check out the signage in Mexico -- hey we all get mixed up sometimes, right?
Click on the photos to see them larger...
"I have taken movie out of alcoholic than alcoholic has taken out of me."
Asian version at Engrish.com -- also quite funny.
Click on the photos to see them larger...
"Please don't throw your cigarette ends in the lagoon, the crocodiles are getting cancer."
No mistakes here, this was just a humorous sign we saw at Senor Frogs in the party zone.
There is a big conch shell hanging to the left of the sign -- explains local weather according to the conch.
"For your own safety. If you were drinking or eating, don't realize aquatic activities."
This sign appeared over the snack bar at the day resort area we visited on Isla Mujeres.
"I have taken movie out of alcoholic than alcoholic has taken out of me."
Also at a bar, big surprise.
Asian version at Engrish.com -- also quite funny.
Friday, January 9, 2009
BOW
I just sent in my registration for the 2009 winter BOW session! Almost all of my girlfriends have taken part in Becoming an Outdoors Woman - 4 of us participated last year and a couple others did it the year before that. This year we managed to get a group of 8 or 9 together for the weekend. I feel sorry for anyone else sharing our cabin.
It's a blast - basically women of all ages can come and learn outdoorsy skills through four three-hour sessions. Last year I took archery, firearm safety, fly fishing, and intro to shotgun. By now everyone has heard me rave about the shotgun session -- I loved it! We got to actually shoot at moving clay targets. This year I signed up for snowmachining, dog sledding, smoking/pickling fish, and rifle markswoman. BOW isn't until mid-March, so it's a long wait until then.
My profile pic for Blogger is from last year's BOW -- here I am posing with one of Lance Mackey's old sled dogs (he won the Iditarod last year).
View from the door of our cabin...
We stopped on the way home from Chickaloon to take some photos -- so pretty.
It's a blast - basically women of all ages can come and learn outdoorsy skills through four three-hour sessions. Last year I took archery, firearm safety, fly fishing, and intro to shotgun. By now everyone has heard me rave about the shotgun session -- I loved it! We got to actually shoot at moving clay targets. This year I signed up for snowmachining, dog sledding, smoking/pickling fish, and rifle markswoman. BOW isn't until mid-March, so it's a long wait until then.
My profile pic for Blogger is from last year's BOW -- here I am posing with one of Lance Mackey's old sled dogs (he won the Iditarod last year).
View from the door of our cabin...We stopped on the way home from Chickaloon to take some photos -- so pretty. 
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Cold, cont'd
Still below zero here, and I still have a nasty barking cough and sore throat. Cross your fingers that they both will disappear before we leave this weekend.
At least we don't live in Fairbanks...
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Cork trivet - DIY
Ugh, I caught a nasty cold and it has waylaid me for the last few days. It's been rough. I dragged my sorry self into the office today to catch up on work since I'm out next week (Mexico, yay!)
I hope everyone had a wonderful start to the new year. We played Rock Band on our friend's Wii -- it was fun, although I won't be asked to play drums in a real band anytime soon.
This past weekend I also had a chance to start on a project I've been wanting to tackle for a while now: wine cork trivets! One of the physicians I work with drinks a LOT of wine so he brings me a bag full of corks every couple of weeks.
My fancy collection center is a wicker basket in the kitchen...
I hope everyone had a wonderful start to the new year. We played Rock Band on our friend's Wii -- it was fun, although I won't be asked to play drums in a real band anytime soon.
This past weekend I also had a chance to start on a project I've been wanting to tackle for a while now: wine cork trivets! One of the physicians I work with drinks a LOT of wine so he brings me a bag full of corks every couple of weeks.
My fancy collection center is a wicker basket in the kitchen...
I dug through to make sure the lengths and widths of each cork would match up to my design. Then it's basically like putting together a puzzle. D cut a wood backing and some nice mitered-edge trim for me and after some minor glue incidents, viola! I present a cork trivet -- ready for use as a hot plate holder.
Monday, January 5, 2009
TV star
As promised, here are the two tv commercials that Drift has been a part of. There is talk of another spot, but Drift hasn't been booked yet...
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