Repositions...

Thanks to required repositions of aircraft, I may get my husband home tomorrow! He might get to fly a plane into Anchorage mid-day for it to be refurbished, and if so, will be on the last plane to Juneau tomorrow! Yay!

Although that means that I only have 1 day to prepare for the man to come home... I have laundry and dishes and other household chores that need to be done (along with some other personal chores that need to be done that I ignore out of laziness while he is gone). It's a good thing that I have tomorrow off.

I also have to fit in more time to work on my final projects for school. We reconvene for the final week on the 4th, so I need to have my assignments for the week outlined and my final projects drafted and ready to be polished. Right now, my final projects are outlined. I just have a little more research to do on some items, then I can start drafting. My new classes start on the 11th, so I'll have to devote some time the week of the 4th to prepare everything for the first week of the new classes.

5 More Days (I hope)...

It must be the holiday season, but it feels like Aaron has been gone for 3 weeks, instead of 10 days. I am missing him a lot more than normal and I can't wait for him to come home. With any luck, he will be home late on the 1st. He would normally be home mid-day, but Alaska Airlines has cut back on their flights on the holiday. His only option out of Bethel leaves there mid-day rather than morning. Once he gets to Anchorage, he has to wait further for the late flight to Juneau. So, right now, I am praying that the stars align and he is able to make both of those flights. I will be off until the 4th, so if he doesn't make it back on the 1st, that cuts a full day that I would normally get to spend with him. I am also crossing my fingers that if he does make the late flight to Juneau, that the weather is good, as that is the flight that got me stranded in Sitka a couple of weeks ago... Who knows when he would be able to return from Sitka, as I cannot fly our plane to get him if he gets bumped from the flight...

I know, I'm dwelling on the negative, especially since the situation hasn't happened yet, but I really really miss my husband and want him to come home.

I love having honorary nephews

Thanks to the Levengood boys for crafting these beautiful decorations
for us!

Have yourself a very Merry Christmas...

If you are celebrating the holiday today, I will you a very Merry Christmas. If you are like me, with a husband out of town for the holiday, and are postponing your celebrating, then Happy Holidays at a later date.

We are postponing our celebration until the 10th, to give Aaron ample time for anticipation and to see presents under the tree for a while. I have had the joy of experiencing the tree since the first of December, and he hasn't. His family is taking bets to see if he lasts that long... Originally, I was all set to have "Christmas" on the 1st, when he returns home. But no, he wanted it later and HE picked the date of the 10th... So he will have to wait until then... mwah ha ha ha!

I have been working on my final projects for school. I hope to have them ready to be polished by the time he comes home. Tomorrow, I will be hitting the after Christmas sales to obtain wrapping paper and stocking stuffers.

Random Nonsense...

One more day work day this week. Then on to working on my final projects for school.

My new favorite toy (app) on my iPhone is called Angry Cat... It's a picture of a wet and pissed off cat that the more you touch, poke, shake it, the angrier it gets. It's pretty funny and makes hilarious sounds that get Noni all riled up. Aaron put it on his phone first. When I called him on the "house" phone in Bethel, he had me put my phone on speaker, then pissed off the cat so Noni could hear. It made me laugh a lot. She cocks her head to the side, starts growling, then goes and gets a squeaky toy and squeaks it to compete with the screaming/hissing/spitting cat noises emanating from my phone. (he he he)

I tried making carmel tonight. It was the first time I tried to use fine sugar, and I think it burned while it was cooking. I got it because it said that it dissolves faster, but I don't think it dissolved that well. I cooked it to the firm ball stage, and let it set off to the side while I made the cookies that will be office Christmas presents. After I was done with cookies, I went to cut the carmel and the texture was off. I put it in the fridge and I'm hoping it sets up better. We'll see in the morning.

Monday Migraines...

Bitter cold doesn't really help out a migraine. It didn't get much over 15 degrees Fahrenheit today. I stayed in at lunch today because I didn't want to have to scrape ice off my car. However, that meant that I had that much more to scrape off at the end of the day. I was blessed by another Monday Migraine today. The constant shivering and tension from the cold just made it worse. The edges of the migraine are just starting to recede now. Just in time to do some late night laundry and go to bed.

One of the benefits to a bitterly cold day is a beautiful day. The air was crisp and clear. The mountains were spectacular. From sunrise to sunset, I was amazed. I was also grateful for my warm office and clean windows to look out on the wonders. The night sky was also phenomenal. A sliver of a moon in a clear sky. A perfect night for viewing the Northern Lights, if there was more solar activity. I checked the forecast this afternoon, just in case, and it was low. In theory, we should be able to see aurora low on the horizon to the north, but I don't really feel like going out at 2:00 AM to view it.

I wish I had thought to take a picture to share the beauty with you all. Although, the camera probably wouldn't have done it justice. You'll just have to take my word for it, I guess.

Day 3 - a little more off the top...

Disproportionate Dog - Day 2

Today, I cut her hair down to the collar on the right side only. She
is starting to look like a patchwork puppy!

Disproportionate Doggy!

I know it's a little hard to tell in this picture, but Noni's head now looks extremely disproportionate to her body.

The other day, I remarked at how much she looked like an Ewok... Seriously... She came inside and shook and her hair stood all out and I swear she looked just like Wicket...

I started the hair cutting process with her today. Mainly because I am tired of seeing clumps of dog hair all over the house. Step1: Trim her face (seen above)... Neither of us have the patience to endure much more than a 10 minute trim session, so I'll be cutting her hair in batches... I'll be leaving several areas longer than I normally do when I trim her, but it is winter and she needs fur on her legs... She'll probably end up looking more like a Schnauzer than a Lhasa...

More trip snippets...

My nephews are just too darn cute for words... I was informed that they waited and waited and waited and we were late (my step-mother and I were late picking up the older one from school the day after I arrived... but it works for my flight too!)

My new love affair involves a ceramic flat iron... (get your minds out of the gutter!) My step-mother, sister-in-law, and I went shopping the day before I left. We got sucked in to one of those kiosks that sit in the middle of the mall to hawk their wares... They were selling flat irons and gave us each a demonstration. On my step-mother and SIL, they demonstrated how it can be used to curl hair (it works pretty well, actually). For me, they went straight. I thought my hair was pretty straight to begin with, but apparently my "natural wave" is a little more pronounced than I thought. Everyone liked their hair so much, that we got flat irons for Christmas! Thanks again, Esta!

My brother made dinner for us, both nights that we were there. It was so great to sit around the dinner table with chairs having to be pulled from other rooms, and everyone squishing together. I miss big family gatherings and it was so much fun! My nephew decided he was going to tell us where we could sit (oddly enough, I HAD to sit next to him and Aaron HAD to sit on the other side).

While the women went shopping (what can I say, it's what we do...), the men-folk went to the aviation museum (imagine that! A commercial pilot, an FAA inspector, and an aviation enthusiast with 2 small boys in tow! who'da thunk!) They all had a blast! I love the pictures of my nephews sitting in the mercury capsule!

We also got pictures taken while we were there. They are very cute, if I do say so myself. Once the prints get here, I will send them out to the people on our Christmas Card list. If you haven't gotten a card from me before, and would like to receive one, please leave me a comment. Just keep in mind, they will not go out until AFTER Christmas... I know, I know... You'll just have to deal with it...

Travel Woes!

Upon trying to return home from Anchorage last Tuesday night, we were diverted to Sitka, AK due to fog in Juneau. We arrived in Sitka after 11:00 pm and stood around for a while to get our bags and wait for a ride to the hotel. We were advised to return to the airport between 4:15 and 4:30 the next morning... awesome!

So we arrived on time and got checked in for the flight back to Juneau the next morning. Even though we were told to be there at an ungodly hour, the coffee kiosk wasn't open and Juneau was still fogged in... awesome!

They started board for the 6:00 AM flight to Juneau at 7:00 AM... and we sat there and sat there and sat there... Meanwhile, in Juneau, Aaron was sitting on our scheduled flight to Seattle-San Francisco, waiting for the fog to clear in Ketchikan. When Aaron advised me that his flight would be leaving shortly, and we were still being told to wait out of Sitka for Juneau, I got off the plane (around 10:00 or so)... I rescheduled for the flight departing Sitka for Ketchikan and Seattle that left at noon, then went and ate some breakfast (and had some blessedly good coffee). The rest of the people going to Juneau were on the plane for another hour before they let them off to eat... It made for a very long morning for my associates that I was traveling with. (and they didn't make it in to Juneau until the following morning).

By the time I boarded my flight Sitka-Ketchikan-Seattle, Aaron's flight was already in Ketchikan. By the time I got to Ketchikan, he was already in Seattle, and boarding the flight to San Francisco. I arrived in San Francisco about 4 hours later than he did, which made my really long day, even longer...

Thankfully, the trip home was much easier.

Greetings... from Anchorage!!

I am spending the night in Anchorage tonight. I am attending my very first conference, and as a vendor no less. My feet are very angry with me right now, and the anger will continue through tomorrow. I didn't have room in my luggage to bring the necessary shoes with me for the conference (2 pairs of dress shoes - 1 brown pair, 1 black pair; and comfortable sneakers). I only had room in my luggage for 1 pair of shoes, so I had to wear one pair of "heeled" dress shoes and pack the other pair... Add to that, 10 hours on my feet today, and my dogs are screaming...

Other than my foot issues, the conference has been going well. It's a short day tomorrow, so I won't be on my feel all day. I am hoping that I can get a late checkout tomorrow, otherwise, I'll have to leave everything with the bellman for the afternoon. My flight home is not until 7 tomorrow night... Then, it's on to home to leave the next morning for a little Thanksgiving/Christmas combo with my family in California. It's the only time we could do anything during the holidays with Aaron's schedule this year.