The Tundra

The tundra is a very special place because of the intense winters, there is a short window of time to be in the tundra to enjoy it. 

It actually did snow the week before we arrived. The plants only get about 2 or 3 months to grow as much as possible. 

This means that all the grass and flowers don't grow very big. 

Soon these fields will be covered in wild flowers of purple and yellow. 

After that, the snow will be coming very soon. 

I love coming up here in the summer to enjoy the peace and quiet. The wind blows gently and you can hear the neighboring waterfall. I may not be willing to come in the winter, because I hate cold temperatures. When I come in the summer, the tundra is a special place to visit. You can easily visit the tundra in Colorado too. 

Recap of stuff

Maybe I should link up with Joey and Kristin because this is fitting for stuff and things. 

Working backwards, I went to the Red Earth Brewers meeting for about an hour. I wasn't able to stay much longer because of exhaustion from travel. I had a couple of nice chats catching up. 

I ran 3.5 miles with pack pint run at Red Coyote and treated myself to the burger and shake. I hope I win the iWatch they're giving away. 

Left Alaska and had some disappointing moments including losing my coveted water bottle and being kicked by an annoying kid from LAX to OKC. 

Beer and pizza. 

Shared a Coke with Ryan, literally. 

Blue is my husband Ryan and maybe I am using literally wrong. The bottle says it for me though. 

I got my nails done and I visited the tundra at Hatcher Pass in Alaska. 

Other misses, I left my phone and wallet in the cab back from the wedding reception, cue the drunken meltdown. Interesting, I was able to login to find my iPhone and watch the cab go on another trip before coming back to drop off my wallet. 

Final hit, I drove a Porsche as slowly as it would go. Haha! Skub was disappointed but I didn't hit a thing, including the curb. 

Gotta end with the cute kitty, Gizmo, who is a sweetheart and Skub needs to love her more. 

Upcoming posts

I will be writing a post about bottling the beer and finally drinking the beer.  

 

I will also have to write a post on visiting Alaska. Its been a couple of years since my last trip up north.

 

 

This is not Alaska but I'll have plenty of pics. Snow was in the forecast. Besides that, I don't have too much going on for a bit. I'll have to pack my schedule a little more.

 

 





   

Forward momentum list edition

Chomps is such a sweet kitty, he should be on the blog all the time.

1:I'm looking forward to Thursday because it's Pack Pint Run with Red Coyote.

2:I'm looking forward to Friday because it's the first Friday of the month and our neighborhood hosts a monthly art walk.

Art from Ryan Christopher Art.

3:I'm excited for Saturday because McNellies is hosting a pub run. 4 miles and a Guinness at the end. That should be a blast!

The last time we were there was St. Patrick's Saturday, according to my photo stream.

4:I'm excited for the Oklahoma Craft Beer Forum hosted by Red Earth Brewers on May 10th.

5:I'm so excited for the Oklahoma craft beer festival hosted by TapWerks on May 16th!

6:I'm looking forward to the Rolling Stones concert in Dallas on June 6th. We get a hotel too! A weekend away from my kitties is deserved from time to time.

They are not always that photogenic. Especially Kirby.

7:I'm excited to see Skub and my Alaska family for the wedding June 12th.

Skub has a mug. He just hasn't come here in ages to use it.

8:I'm excited for our Bahamas private island trip to Long Island and Little Deadman's Cay Labor Day weekend.

You can't beat this view. Stunning.

9:I'm excited for the Route 66 half marathon in November. We are getting jackets instead of shirts because it's the 20th anniversary!

Me last year. You know this is the Sunday before thanksgiving and it seems perfectly appropriate to bring out the drumstick headband. It had people so confused though. 

10:I'm so excited that we have booked our plane tickets and hotel for a Christmas trip to Paris. Timing is perfect and I only need to ask for 4 days off when factoring in the weekend and the holiday.

I wanted to find a cute Paris photo but got distracted by funny ecards. This was the funniest. Yes, I will drink wine. Hopefully lots of wine. 

Thankful Thursday

Dear friends, Welcome to Thankful Thursday. It is a joy to remind you of all the blessings we have to enjoy. I have been through challenging times. Moments that were painful and lasted too long. Those were times when I needed to focus diligently on the good, even though I felt surrounded by misery. That was when this blog originally began. Humble beginnings. I grew into a strong person from that experience but I didn't know it at the time. I am visiting wonderful friends and family in Alaska.
In honor of this trip, I would like to share a short story. Anchorage, is not a huge city but it is the largest in the state. While we lived there, a Chili's was being built. I was ecstatic since Chili's reminded me of home. While sitting at my desk mindlessly not working, I saw the huge pepper for the signage drive down the street. At school I talked to my friends and classmates and quickly discovered I was not the only person who saw that massive pepper. Yes, Anchorage is not a huge city. When the day arrived for the opening, I am sure most of Anchorage went for dinner. I was smarter than that and waited a month. Sadly the buzz was not over and we had a long wait. We left Anchorage in 2004. So much has changed and much more has been built there. It is still not a huge city, but it is gorgeous!
What are you thankful for today? I love to hear your stories too. 

Weight Loss Wednesday

I am sharing a fairly good adventure over at Nikki's blog The Crafty Side of Sarcasm. Please go over there and check it out!

Welcome to Weight Loss Wednesday! I am currently working on eating nutritiously and wanting to lose 15 pounds. These pounds were off about two years ago and slowly came back. Uninvited, no less! Last weekend, I was unable to work out but I did work on nutrition. I turned down a free bagel and turning down free food is not my usual mo.
I am about to embark on an adventure to Anchorage Alaska for a best friends wedding. This will be fun but eating healthy may get pushed off the agenda. 
I am considering weight watchers online and I wanted to know if any of my bloggy bff's have done it. Is it helpful when it's online?
I regularly tweet my workouts at @esthernorine and you're welcome to come join my journey. I am also on MyFitnessPal, but have not logged in a long time.  I always log my weigh-ins but not the food. I am so tired of logging calories! I do love all encouragement and I try to send it back to everyone who helps me. 
Please remember to come visit me at The Crafty Side of Sarcasm. I promise its worth the visit! And Please stay tuned for Thankful Thursday!

Silly Saturday

 

Welcome to Silly Saturday, a light-hearted post designed to bring a smile.

While living in Anchorage Alaska and going to the University of Alaska Anchorage (Go Seawolves!), we decided to spend spring break in Homer, Alaska. Trust me...this is not a hopping spring break destination. We went because I scored us a free hotel room.

Score!

While enjoying some much deserved adult beverages, I was watching tv while the boys played a game. Music videos were blaring and there's a chance P. Diddy's music video was on. (I don't really know what his music videos or music is like so it could have been any other artist.) I had a moment of brilliance.

I will be known as E. Diddy.

It has stuck ever since.

Most people earn their nicknames but I gave it to myself.

Silly?

Unequivocally, yes.

Please stay tuned for Serious Sunday, which is never really serious.

The Boys:

E. Diddy (self-portrait):

High Five For Friday!

Welcome to High Five For Friday where I like to link up with Lauren From My Grey Desk. This week I had some food success and some good runs on the treadmill. I'm getting close to the 1 minute plank-a-day challenge that I've been doing with Kristin at Kristin's Knook. Currently, my friend is visiting from Alaska and we are have tons of fun! I am also linking up gifts I received from the Blogger Friend Swap. Thank you to Autumn of Mrs. in the Making for hosting this fun swap! My partner was Marci at Stone Cottage Adventures and we decided on handmade goods. Pictures are not included partly (definitely not going to get that photo up today, sorry Marci!) because I started using the goodies right away! There was so much good bath stuff and she even made me a pouch for my purse. I was blown away and impressed by Marci's thoughtfulness. What did I give? A scarf and not much else. Marci, I owe you a Starbucks drink! Happy Friday Friends! Lets all rejoice in the weekend! Please stay tuned for Silly Saturday.

Thankful Thursday

 

Welcome to Thankful Thursday, a post for all things positive. I have posted this before but after a tough week, I need to get excited about something. I am thankful for good friends.  

This crazy crew is getting back together for a little weekend fun next week.

We use nicknames to protect the innocent.

Skub is on the left and he lives in Anchorage Alaska.

I'm in the middle of this crew, E-diddy.

Blue is on the right, he is my husband and we both live in Oklahoma City.

Next week, we get to help Skub celebrate one good weekend of bachelorhood before he gets married in February. Yes, we get to go to Anchorage, Alaska in February for a wedding. I am not excited for the weather, hence the reason I am happy to not live in Alaska any longer.

What are you thankful for today?

Please stay tuned for High Five For Friday.