I'll take you in my backpack

10/22/10 So it's been a while since my last post, but this one promises to be nothing short of entertaining! I apologize in advance for the mix of information that you are about to consume. I'll refer to this post as ambrosia...no one really knows what all the ingredients are, but there sure are a lot of them...kind of what this post will be like! On to my favorite ...I don't know if that's really the best choice of words but hey AFN (Alaska Federation of Natives) is in town for the annual conference/event/hoopla which means over 4000 Natives in from various villages throughout Alaska, most of whom happen to be staying where I am so things have been loud and rowdy at night...louder and rowdier. I went to the crafts portion of AFN last night and saw some really amazing things (most of which I couldn't afford and really had no purpose for)...this brings me to the "lovely ivory carving" that a man had proudly displayed on the front of his table with oth

Pink accent lighting Ice scraper/snow brush Laquer and pink light 10/14/10 So today was the day that I had to switch my prized car in for an suv with 4wd. Or so I thought. It wouldn't be my life if something didn't go off course! What did I end up with? Oh let me tell you! I got a Ford Escape. It's gold, which is why I started calling it escape (pronounced with a spanish accent: escap-ay). The fun doesn't stop here though. To compliment the gold exterior  I have a lovely tan leather interior that is accented with black laquer. Would you have put something different with tan I think not! It also has a button in the center console that allows me to change the color of the accent lights (in the cup holder and the change holder (?)) there are several choices. I currently have it set on pink...which goes nicely with the tan and laquer. duh. So on to the kicker. This lovely suv, is not 4wd. its got none of that business so it's essentially a lifted

10/10/10 I've decided to start sharing some of my "Gourmet on the Go" recipes on my blog. I've done my share of traveling and living in hotels, but this doesn't mean that I (or you) have to eat like I'm on the road all of the time! Game Day Nachos Ingredients: baked tortilla chips 2% shredded cheese  1/2 red onion fat free sour cream or a great substitute is fat free plain yogurt (I prefer Greek yogurt) ground turkey (I get the most lean thats available) 1 packet of taco seasoning black beans (I just get the canned kind because it's quick and easy) foil (i prefer the non-stick kind) Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees (if you don't have an oven or would like a quicker route you can use a microwave) brown the ground turkey and drain any fat (there isn't much with turkey) mix in the taco seasoning and required amount of water, simmer as directions indicate and drain excess liquids, set aside I use foil to make a pan because I r

10/10/10 Cakes  Cookies So in honor of such a nifty date today I decided that I would go to Alaska Coffee Roasters for a lovely morning cup of coffee (see I can justify anything!). But it happened, I totally got lured in my the case-o-deliciousness. I forgot all previously set rules and went crazy! Totally disregarding the Ginger Molasses cookie that I had yesterday I got not only one but two items! How could I resist after all, I got there just after they opened (insomnia has it's perks) so the baked goodies were still warm! Could you resist this? I chose something that you can't see in either picture. I should rephrase that, I chose two somethings! I went with a Maple Almond Scone because lets face it it looked irresistible and what the heck, I'm pretty sure I've never had a scone so let's give it a whirl! What is a scone anyways, like a dry flavored biscuit? If scones all taste like this Maple Almond treat then count me in on scones, I'm a huge fan!

10/9/10 Ice on the trees, and the sun just starting to hit the top There are a couple of things that have happened today that give me the impression that things are not well in the universe. First, I woke up to a car that was encased in ice. Literally. I sat there for 15 minutes with the heat blasting from all possible vents to try to melt the stuff (because do you really think I'm going to get out and scrap (I don't have a scraper here but thats besides the point) in 20 degrees?!). Aside from my car being covered, everything else was covered too, which was actually pretty swell. Recession cookie Second indicator that things are not well...my tastey treat from Alaska Coffee Roasters this morning. I went for a repeat, the Ginger Molasses cookie that I so fondly enjoyed last weekend (I only allow myself one trip per week, including weekends due to the lack of self-control that I have).  Last week my cookie was approximately the size of a frisbee (standard frisbee, not t

10/7/10 Here is a small sampling of my day...yes this all happened in one day...in fact, less than 12 hours. I found a large bone in my tuna lunch kit from a bit name in the Tuna biz that I wont mention, probably one that kills dolphins which I'm hoping is not why I had a bone in my tuna lunch kit/meal When I opened Amazon's shopping page (on my lunch of course) it thought I was shopping from Canada I got stuck behind a backhoe. On the "express"way. On the way home from work. I use the term "backhoe" liberally because to me all of that "farming" equipment is the same. It had a big digger thing on the back and and a big bucket thing on the front. Oh yeah and it didn't go over 5mph. On the expressway Alas, things are looking up now though, I'm home. In a cozy pair of long underwear, with my snuggly Berkshire Blanket that Julie sent me, and a spicy black bean burger calling my name. All is well in Alaskanada

10/6/10 Well, it's here. As I look out my window I see snowflakes falling down. This means one thing and one thing only... That it's finally acceptable to watch The Grinch! In other news, it's becoming insanely dark in the mornings which sometimes lasts well into the day. This makes it VERY difficult to get up and leave the warm confines of my dwelling to get into my freezing car...until of course my heated seats kick in. The forecast called for snow all week, but at the rate that I'm currently seeing, it would take a year for me to get enough snow to make a proper snow angel!

10/2/10 Here it is, the long awaited WTF Alaska listed. Ok so maybe only BRad has been waiting for it, just bear with me while I build suspense! Since arriving in the "frontier" I have seen some rather interesting, entertaining, special, and blog worthy things. I've been compiling a list appropriately titled "WTF Alaska" for a day like today...the big reveal... (these are not in order of special-ness, just in order of how they occurred) 1. A motorcycle with a side car, with two grown men respectively riding on and in 2. A man walking barefoot down the street in 37 degrees 3. A pickup truck with a gun rack that not only blocked his view through the back window, but also had a very extensive collection of guns in it 4. A girl with her mom (?) at the grocery store, sitting in the car in their parking lot (conveniently parked right next to mine) and the girl starts to take her clothes off 5. Man walking shirtless (he had no shirt in his possession so h

10/1/10-10/2/10 What a hectic couple of days! I woke up Friday morning. At 2:30 am to some sort of domestic violence occurring in my building. Correction, I woke up to a woman screaming. When I looked outside she was with hotel staff (and her small child) so I figured it was OK for me to sit and watch rather than try to help. I'm pretty sure I would have scared her more running outside in my long underwear, mismatched shirt, and hair that stuck out in every direction! I watched for about an hour. That's right, this whole scene took that long. I couldn't hear everything that was going on, but the general gist of things are that the guy had been drinking and then had become violent with her. In front of the small child who couldn't have been more than 2. The police arrived...did some obligatory questioning. The man became loud and adamantly denied doing what he was accused of. Another hotel guest came out and provided some information to the police that seemed to seal t