Vegas groove

Things are moving along here in Vegas.  I started my new job on 10 June which was almost a month later than when I was suppose to.  There was a big hick up and I was told there was a 50% chance that I wouldn't have a job but things moved forward and I was able to start!  

Most of work is focused on computer based training and shadowing others for now.  I won't be able to start seeing patients until I complete training in Walter Reed where I'm suppose to go in a couple of weeks.  I've been waiting on my contract company to approve the travel so I can get tickets for everything.  I hate waiting on other people, I hope it all goes smoothly!  So far it seems that I will be working with a good group of people.  It's a different type of work, being incorporated into primary care but the hope is to mitigate problems before they escalate to the level of needing specialty mental health.
We're moved into our condo and it's a nice place.  It's a quiet area, decent pool, and away from all the Vegas madness.  Still getting use to the heat.  It's amazing how draining it is.  The temps were in the 80's so we forced ourselves to go out and about the other weekend.  It's funny that we are seeing 80 degree weather as "cooling down" but after it being 100 and above it felt so nice!

Before I got this job, we had Alaska vacation plans with Joe's nephew and his friend.  When I accepted the job it was cleared that I would have a week off without pay due to these plans that were already made.  We had a great time in Alaska doing tourist stuff although it was the hottest week ever in Alaska while we were there!  They were also battling multiple forest fires.  They tend to let the fires do what they need to but it's still sad to see all that is being burned.
We did some major Alaska "must do's": fishing, bear viewing, saw moose, bald eagles, and flew over a glacier!  It was amazing to be back soon after moving away.  It was so laid back and relaxing compared to the traffic business of Vegas.  It was a wonderful vacation!

Now that we are back in Vegas we have to get our Vegas groove on.  We are going to focus on exercising, eating right, and get back to saving money! 

Been busy and late on post...

Chilln' in our new digs!

Well, Joe and I have moved into our new digs.  A studio apartment that is furnished.  Yep, we’ve gotten rid of all of our furniture and downsized all that extra stuff that you don’t realize is accumulating in drawers, closets, and bins!  Granted we still have stuff to get rid of, and we are going to do quarterly sweeps of our stuff.  So every few months we are going to go through our bins, Tupperware, and kitchen stuff and get rid of things we have not used.  Currently I am doing the hanger swap from those plastic hangers to some thinner ones, if I still have items on plastic hangers after so long then that clothing will be donated!  

We have been in our new studio for almost a month now and we are doing well.  People are always shocked when we tell them of the small space we are now living in and what our future plans are. We’ve heard “well, you really got to like the person” um duh and we do.  Joe and I can occupy the same space and still be focused on individual things.  Yesterday was a prime example…

Sunday’s usually are not my best day…. I get the Sunday funk pretty bad and now that we are getting into darker days and gloomy winter weather, well it’s not a good combo for my depressed tendencies.  Some Sunday’s I’m good and I feel o.k. but yesterday was a struggle.  I did manage to shower *high five* but that was the extent of my movement, oh I did wash and put away laundry *high five* but the rest of the day, ALL of Sunday, I was on the internet.  I attempted to read but that lasted 5 minutes.  As a social worker, I know this type of activity is not healthy but as I tell my folks as long as you don’t build a house in that funk it’s o.k. to have a day or two.    Joe also has his Sunday funk and like me, sometimes it’s worse than others. He had a decent Sunday, he even worked out!  He spent most of his internet browsing in a more productive fashion by doing research. I felt bad for being a lazy butt but Joe in our relationship fashion, was not judgmental, did not force anything on me, and just gave me my space to do absolutely nothing and not feel totally bad about it.  This all went down in a studio apartment all day.  Even when we have our moods/funks/etc. we are able to not feed into it, make it worse, or feel weird about it!  How amazing is that?!

New place has a fire pit!

Now it’s Monday, work is typical Monday with a dash of crazy due to the first snow of the season and not a lot of people at work.  But I’m good. The funk of Sunday has not lingered and I’m feeling motivated to be productive.  

We haven’t been overly busy this past month getting settled into our new place, but looking back on some pictures I’ve taken we’ve been busy enough!  

After Mom's visit, and my last post, we had the awesome experience of driving into Denali park.  You can only drive so far in your own vehicle, with a pass, but at the end of the season and to give back to military they give a certain number of passes and there is also a raffle.  If you win, you get to drive as far as the road takes you.  Our neighbors had a pass and invited us along and it was amazing. Of course pictures cannot really do the beauty of this state justice.  We were blessed with a clear day but that also appeared to keep a lot of the critters away.  We did see a few bears, some elk, and a fox...along with the butt of a moose walking back into the tree line :)

Denali

Tourist in our back yard!

The weekend we moved into our new place Joe noticed there was some motorcycle travelers from Chile stranded on one of the many social media groups we follow. Since we were pretty much moved, just needed to organize and get situated, Joe took off to go pick them up and give them a ride into town.  We ended up having a couple of meals with them and picked their brain on their travels.  Awesome experience!  Joe got to spend more time with them due to not working during that time. Since then he has scored a state job that he is enjoying better than his other two jobs.  It's more of an office work gig, he's a program manager, and he gets to interact and talk with A LOT of people with the overall goal to get Veterans back to work.  

New traveling friends!

I can't believe 2018 is almost over! Before we know it we will be in 2019!!!  I believe I've found a work out that fits my needs and I'll actually stick with!  Pure Barre is a low impact high intensity workout and I've been able to go 3 times a week for a month now!  I cannot recall when that has happened LOL.  What I like it is low impact, you really work your muscles but I need to start adding more cardio somewhere.... the place I go is supportive and the little changes in the routine stop me from getting bored with the workouts.  Good music and the workouts go by quick so I don't find myself always looking at the clock.  The first week that I went they had a wine down Wednesday, yep they had wine for people!!!! So yeah, best workout place ever!  Nothing like a little treat for working out :)

Time for a reset

Tux is not amused!

We've had a couple of good visitors but now it's time to get down to business.  As you can see, Tux isn't a big fan of being productive but it's what we have to do... damn adulthood!  But before I get into that stuff, our summer in Alaska is coming to a close :(

Mom's visit...she brought in some good HI sunshine!

Mom came for a month long visit and we had some decent weather while she was here!  We did some tourist stuff but I couldn't take a lot of time off so Mom was left to her own devices and she got familiar with our bus system.  She got out and about and saw Anchorage on her own.

We did the Kenai Fjords Tour which was amazing!  We saw whales, otters, puffins, otters, seals, glaciers, and amazing scenery!

Although this glacier was BIG it has shrunk dramatically over the years :(

We visited an old abandoned mine which is a quick drive from our house.  The park was closed, but we could walk around and it was beautiful.  Alaska amazes me on a regular basis!

We have been busy with Mom's visit but now she is back home in Hawaii and now we are in purge mode!

Like I mentioned in a previous post we are moving from our 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment to a studio apartment AirB&B.  We have a month to purge all of our stuff!  It's a mental process just as much as physical one.

We've been slowly downsizing and I've been keeping my buying down to a minimum.  Whenever I'm out and about, shopping or window shopping, I always ask myself now "do I need this? how will this fit into my traveling future? what will it replace?".  Knowing my goals and what I truly value has allowed me to stay focused in my day to day life.  I am able to ask myself how does this thing or this action fit into my value.  If I can't answer that question, I move on from it.  

For the past few weeks I've been thinking about my bathroom.  As a female we have tons of stuff in our bathrooms.... make up, hair products, face products, and just random stuff.  Today I purged my bathroom and my jewelry.  It is already feeling "more simple" and I'm just getting started!

In addition to this physical purge of all of our stuff we are doing a reset on our bodies.  With our visitors our eating habits have gotten out of whack and we both feel like our mental and physical selves need a reset, just like our purge of stuff.  

24 day reset!

We've done this once before and what we like about it is that we don't have to totally change our diet.  We eat healthy and as clean as possible.  So...for us that means less eating out and no alcohol LOL. So starting on Tuesday, after the holiday of course, it's game on!

one step at a time

Life is crazy and we never know what is next.  Being able to know your true self and your values allows you to keep moving forward in a way that fills one's soul.  

Ack.... it's been a month!

Can't believe it's been a month since I blogged and we are on our eighth month in Alaska!  We've been doing so much it seems so much longer.

Still alive, busy, and happy!

We are both on our second jobs.  We bought Stevie.  We had our first visitor last month and my Mom will be visiting in August.  We survived a winter and are gearing up for another winter.  Joe was told by someone at a store "winter is coming"!  We have actively been downsizing to get ready for future endeavors.   In August we will keep up the downsizing and in September we will be in full PURGE mode.  

We signed a lease for a studio place we found on AirB&B. We are going from a two bedroom apartment condo to one big living area with bathroom!  Oh, and there is NO T.V. in the studio. Are we crazy?!  Nah....our goal is to be living out of a van or truck camper and this will be a good transition step for us. Oh... the AirB&B is furnished so by 1 Oct all of our furniture will be sold/donated/or trashed!  We were able to meet are AirB&B "landlord" and see the property, or as he said do a "site visit".  The place is on his property and the studio is an addition to his house which is also small.  Nice yard and a fire pit that will come in handy in the winter months.  It's in an established neighborhood so it seemed quiet and chill.  We will be walking distance to some decent trails and closer to all the things to do and see in downtown.  No more visitors though LOL  If we get guest they are on their own for accommodations! 

Joe and I are still narrowing down are rig for traveling but we have a good direction. All the blogs/pics/and groups that are out there of people doing what we are planning on doing are awesome to learn from. 

Like I mentioned we had a visitor this last month.  My friend from Utah came up for a week long visit the beginning of July.  We were busy but not too busy :)  We checked out the Highland Games, I took her to Alyeska, the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center where we saw some bears, took in Seward, and relaxed!

Amanda and I

Highland games.... Love the shag!

Alaska!

Silly in Seward!

Unfortunately since my last post we have not taken Stevie out.  We hope to change that in August and take a little vacation out and show my Mom as much of Alaska while she is here.

Trusty Stevie

Baby steps, enjoy where you are at

It's a lazy Sunday here in Alaska but we are going to be checking out a used Class C around lunch time...sssh don't tell anyone :). 

Joe is more excited than I am, I'm always a wait and see before getting excited.  Too many times of getting ramped up just to be let down I suppose.  We are going with an open mind due to we both know this will not be our "forever" vehicle.  It's our starter vehicle! The one that we try on for size, gets our feet wet with in regards to living in a vehicle so we can narrow down our needs, must haves, and it would be nice to have.  We have a pretty good idea of what we "must have" but it's amazing how things begin to change once you're in it.  So we will see how this progresses.

We are getting exposed to spring weather in Alaska.  Like most areas we will have a bout of "warm weather" where things begin to melt.  Like right now we may reach 40 degrees today but within a couple of days it's snow snow snow!  It's not really called "spring here" but "breakup".  Which is a fun way of looking at the weather... I see that I'm breaking up with the cold dark weather but it really describes the TERRIBLE road conditions.  In Alaska they don't use salt on the roads, they use gravel of some sort.  So during the winter you are pretty much driving, in some areas, over packed down snow and ice.  No big deal you get use to it.  But now with the weather warming up that snow and ice is breaking up and you are driving on like the worst back country road imaginable.  Plus with this thaw and freeze craziness, once you get to the road, there are potholes that will blow out your tire if you are not careful in addition to all the gravel that was laid down...wind shield cracks are the norm.  So although the Alaska mountains are and will be forever beautiful in the background of my day to day driving, the roads are surround by black dirty snow and booby trapped roads.

Well my coffee is done and it's time to get moving and see what our future may look like!

...down by the river

Life is an interesting ride and Joe and I have been kicking around what our future looks like.  A couple of years ago we've began talking about what we want to do and we both have gypsy souls which are pulling us towards traveling.  Not the traveling of tourist but of living and immersing ourselves where ever we are.  We understood that those travels would start here in Alaska.  We have some goals... pay off our credit cards, which is our only real debt at this point, and then hit the road.  We had a rough time line of how this would pan out but it has become more and more obvious that our time line will be moving forward more quickly.

Joe and I have been looking at what type of vehicle we will need to be comfortable and will suit our nomadic lifestyle.  We've looked at truck campers and camper vans mostly.  We want small, compact, and sturdy.  We are not looking to do a lot of glamping that requires a pull behind trailer or RV that has t.v.'s, pull outs, and pretty much a small apartment on wheels.  The goal of traveling, to us, is to experience life outside of 4 walls whatever those walls look like.  Additionally, we are not going to confine our traveling to the United States so that is also a factor.

We have a couple up here that have been amazing for us.  Joe connected with them while he was up here for work while we were still living in Florida.  Both are former military, the wife will be retiring any month now, and they are moving forward with their nomadic life with a truck camper.  They have been a great resource for us, they have just walked the path we are currently on, but more importantly they are keeping us in check for us to not get caught up in all the prep/what ifs etc. that most people get caught up in.  They are pushing us to make the leap.

This leap of faith, selling pretty much everything and just hitting the road, is exciting and a tad scary all in one.  Most leaps of faith are I suppose.  I have realized that when I have taken an absolute leap of faith, followed my gut/passion, things have worked out beautifully.  

We are not yet at the cliff edge but we are definitely seeing it on the horizon and the view is clear.

Things that are making it more "clear" to us are growing by the day.  We have unpacked here in Alaska but unlike when we unpacked in Florida we have barely hung things on the wall.  The motivation and drive to make this place feel like home is not there.  We both have decent paying jobs (thus the credit card debt will go down fast) but we question the "why" almost daily.  Maybe more so me :P 

I love helping Veterans but the lack of structure,  oversight, accountability, support, guidance, etc at my work is impacting my ability to serve the Veterans that I work with and that is not good.  There are "policies" that are not in writing thus are not clear and not everyone is on the same page resulting it a lot of "winging" it.  That has and will continue to have a negative impact on patient care and management/leaders don't appear to be bothered by it to make it better.  I've played this game in the military and I don't feel that I need to continue with it, I've paid a majority of my dues to the man already.  Especially going from a place of authority and being able to make changes to not having any of that.

Joe and I are taking a hard look at our finances and what that will look like once our debts are paid.  We are surprised at what we will be "living on" and that has been some more fuel to the fire to move forward and just LIVE our life that we want to live!

Hello 2018

It's a little late but the beginning of the year is always a little busy! We decided to take a train trip up to Fairbanks to check out the land and a new area with the hopes of seeing some Northern lights.  

The train ride was great and we did see some beautiful scenery when it was light out;)  

They have less light time up there and after a week of that I could tell the difference in myself mentally.  I'm glad we live in Anchorage.  On the train we spotted 22 moose and a couple of sheep!  We brought books for the long train ride but we spent most of our time looking out the windows to see whatever we could!  

A really cool thing was that the railroad is the only one in the U.S. that has "flag service" which is people who live in the middle of nowhere Alaska they can flag down the train so they can go to the next town for supplies and then also to get back to their homestead.  It's pretty amazing how people are living out there in the middle of nowhere, limited luxuries, little to no contact with others, and the brutal winter of Alaska! 

Our hotel in Fairbanks was perfect for us, they had a restaurant and bar LOL!  We found out that a lot of things close around New Years.  We were limited on what we could due to what was open and due to the biting cold but we did our best.  We checked out some breweries, got some local eats, went to the pipeline, and checked out a museum.  

outside of the auto museum, it was awesome and a great find in Fairbanks!

HooDoo brewery, good stuff...even had a porter myself and I'm not a beer drinker!

THE pipeline!

love the random art in the town!

It's easy to see why drinking can be a problem here...especially in the winter months with limited day light, cold weather that doesn't encourage one to go outside, have a nice drink is very appealing!  Although the weather is cold it is so beautiful!  

We didn't see any lights :( but we live here so I know we will eventually.  Maybe this weekend!  We both have apps that tell us when it's a good time and this weekend is looking good :)

Joe asked me this past weekend if I'm still happy that we are here in Alaska and I am.  It's amazing to think this, Alaska, wasn't even on my radar and not a place I'd think I'd ever wanted to live but here I am and I'm happy. 

Never say never!