Chimps and tigers

Oh my goodness, this story and the accompanying photographs are just too adorable.

This chimp is acting as a surrogate mother to white tiger cubs at a zoo in South Carolina. So sweet!

A long time coming

Dear Target,

Thanks for finally coming to stay in Los Anchorage, even though you are 6 months late -- but don't worry, we won't hold that against you.

Alaskans will turn out in droves for the grand opening of anything (consumerism is alive and well here) and the crowds were predicted to be insane, but I felt the pull of that red bullseye. So much for my promise that I would stay away for at least a month. I told myself that I would just drive by and check out how crowded the parking lot was on Saturday -- holy mackerel, it was like someone announced that Sarah Palin and Angelina Jolie would be mud wrestling for the title of most popular woman on the internets.

Somehow I ended up parking in the football field-sized parking lot (how did that happen!) and walked the 6 miles or so to the store. I hope that the stocking situation has been remedied before I return to you, Target my friend. I walked past many shelves that had exactly 1 item left and two ladies were usually fighting over said item. Big screen tv's were flying out the door and people were seriously on a mission to shop.

When I checked out, the girl seemed slightly unfamiliar with the concept of cashiering and tried to charge me for the lovely Envirosax reusable bags I brought from home. The lady in front of me had to explain to her what a rain-check is. Hopefully, all of these kinks will work themselves out over the coming months.

You're not perfect Target, but you're still better than Wal-Mart. Oh, and thanks for the free $50 gift card!
Love, A

Moolah

A friend here at work gave me one of the new state quarters, which is pretty sweet because so far I've been waiting to get one "naturally" -- you know, change back from a cashier or finding one on the ground somewhere. I suspect that every Alaskan is hoarding our state quarters that they may come across.

Duking it out

Someone asked me if I will discuss politics, and specifically the presidential race, here on this blog. And that's a big no, people. There are plenty of well-written (and not so) sites on my precious internets that can discuss the political arena far better than I can.

And just because Sarah Palin is from Alaska doesn't mean I can tell you whether or not she'll be a good VP. Your guess is as good as mine, really. She seems different on the national stage than when we had her full time here in AK. I certainly have my own opinions but like I've been telling everyone, I'll spare you all from them! I AM happy that the race is getting people more interested in politics -- and hope to see an increased number of voter registrations and a healthy turnout on November 4.

Gray skies

So much for the nice clear day I was expecting. We have an event tonight that is outdoors and it's snowing up a storm. Glad I brought my warm stuff since we'll be outside for 4 hours...

How long until retirement?

Getting geared up to work my third consecutive Saturday (gotta love health fairs) and then realized that with all the other events I'm helping to plan and staff, my overtime will be close to 30 hours for October. Yikes! Deep breaths...

It can't last forever, right?

Warning, shameless plug ahead

My sister Risha and I have opened up an online store to feature some of our handcrafted items. The storefront is hosted by Etsy - a place for independent crafters to show off their wares. Be sure to poke around and check out the other stores...there are TONS of fun goodies!

Sumie & Sukie Boutique can be found here: http://www.sumieandsukie.etsy.com -- there's also a link to the store on the left-hand side of this blog.

Our items are also selling in stores in Alaska, California, Nevada and Tennessee. We welcome custom and wholesale orders. Thanks for your support and for checking out the site!

Drift proves his worth as a Labrador Retriever

Em and Randy got this stuffed pheasant for Drift when they visited in June. It has by far become his favorite toy and we're gobsmacked that he hasn't ripped it apart in a frenzy. I think he loves it too much...although it's now missing a piece or two.

Watched a show last night called "Dogs 101" and learned that labradors are the only canines that can carry an egg in their mouths without breaking the shell. Crazy! So of course I wanted to try it --regardless of yellow goo on the floor. You only live once people! This is Drift at attention when he spies the egg:

D got the egg ready and can you believe it...

Drift did it! He brought back that darn egg in one piece. I think we'll keep him.