Welcome 2019

Wow! What a year?!  We are on our second winter in Alaska and it's not as "neat" as the first one.  Mainly because of the long days of darkness but we are back to gaining light so we are in the home stretch!
Since we've been in Alaska: I'm on my second job and Joe is on his third.  We are both enjoying these current jobs so hopefully no other work changes :). We sold all of our furniture and excess belongings and moved from a 2 bedroom condo to a furnished studio.  We lost our beautiful mountain views but we gained a fire pit, places to walk to, and more freedom from stuff!  We've had two visitors: Amanda and my Mom.  

We bought Stevie, an RV, and sold Stevie.  We did do some camping, some hiking, some more hiking, and recently snow shoeing.  We bought a camper, which is in Chicago, and we are looking for a truck for it as we speak....we are getting closer and closer to our traveling life.  

We aren't rushing it because it is our life but we are not going slow either!  We canceled a gym membership, I started a month to month program with Pure Barre and I'm actually staying with it (except for today, I canceled today).  Tux is Tux and is doing his thing but he did see a moose in our yard, he wasn't too sure about that!  Life is good and we keep plugging along without becoming complacent and routine.

 We rung in 2019 with a staycation downtown in The Hotel Captain Cook (it's literally a 10 drive for us now).  

It was nice and I drank too much and I'm slowly recovering.  Joe was back to work today and I'm back to work next week.  Today I have the place to myself to do laundry, clean dishes, blog, read...or absolutely nothing. productive it can go either way really!

It will be interesting to what 2019 brings to me and to us!

Holidays are always interesting to me.  I've never been big on them, maybe as a kid when we got those big stashes of gifts but... as my brother and I grew older those gifts diminished and it was more focused on things that were really important.  Mom would decorate but I remember the holidays becoming more and more low-key.  I'm good with that.  
As a 42y/o I have close to NO stress during the holidays.  I'm not running around shopping (which I hate in normal situations) and I'm not going into debt.  Joe and I don't exchange gifts. We spend time with each other having a good time.  People see us as slightly weird but it's our life and we're happy with it.  I've been with people who were really into the holidays, the stuff that t.v. specials are made of.  If that stuff makes people happy... go and do it, but don't judge me for not partaking, or looking at me with pity because my boyfriend didn't buy me anything!  We don't need anything and if we do, we buy it ourselves.  We do the same thing for Valentines Day and birthdays :). I have family and friends that don't understand and that is o.k., it's my life and it works for me and my partner in crime.

Another New Year thing that I keep chuckling about is the resolutions.  I've tried to do resolutions in the past, I've even blogged about it.  Needless to say, like most people they eventually fall to the way side or I totally forget what I "promised" myself.  I see tons of post about reset groups for health.  It's great to be held accountable and to have a plan to get healthy,  I need that but I've begun to learn that all that motivation needs to come from ME.  I can ignore people on my email or text reminders but I can't get away from me, how I feel and how I look.  
I started Pure Barre a few months ago and I've been maintaining at least 3 sessions a week.  I've been trying to do 4 but life stuff keeps happening :P. It's a good workout for me and I feel better when I do it but I also acknowledge that I need my time when I can get it.  It's that balance thing.  I don't want to add stress to my life because I canceled a session or didn't make my quota.  I'll go when I go and get the most out of it, appreciating that time I give to myself by strengthening my body and mind.  
We put so much pressure on ourselves and there is no need.  I want to excel and do well in my job and stay healthy but instead of pressure I can motivate myself in a non judgey, not critical way that encourages growth and movement.  It's hard, as a society we are programed to be more harsh :(
I need to get busy with my day, I feel that is what needs to happen now on my day of solitude.  So I'm cutting this blog of ramblings short and moving on to the next thing that strikes my fancy.

not going to miss January

January has not been nice to me.  Prior to New Years I had a cough, a throat tickle that just lingered.  After the 1st it grew into a head cold that progressively got worse no matter what I did or medications I tried.  Around 14 Jan my teeth started to hurt with all of my sinus pressure so it was off to the urgent care to get some prescription meds.... oh and during this time is when I let Ms. Sami go :(  

With steroids and antibiotics on board my head cold started to clear up! YEAH!  I started to feel better to the point of that I starting to work out!  On the 18th I did some elliptical work and the next day did a PiYo workout.  I was on the upswing of a rough January and then it felt like I got hit by a Mac truck!  

I was sore, I knew I would be due to working out, but this was abnormal.  It progressively got worse on the 20th.  My whole body ached, my head was pounding, and I was running a slight fever.  I laid on the couch with a cool compress on my head and Joe asked "do we need to go to the ER", no.... let me make it through the night and see how I feel in the morning. He was concerned but respected what I said...and after I recovered he told me that I scared the shit out him that night :(  Thursday morning I woke up, still weak and in pain.  I slowly got up and when I looked in the mirror it looked as if I had a severe sunburn.  I had a solid rash from my neck down...I was having an allergic reaction to the medications.
I asked Joe to take me to the ER and off we went.  
Years ago I had a similar reaction to amoxicillin, so now I can add sulfa drugs to my "allergies" :(  I'm running out of drugs to utilize when I'm feeling sick :(
I'm on round two of steroids in one month and I'm not a fan. I'm grateful that they are clearing up my stuff, but I feel jittery and "off".  

In the midst of this crazy month for me my outlook and presence is still happy!  I have noticed it and I'm amazed with it.  This month has been a struggle, and there are things that I haven't listed here that are more of an emotional struggle with some family members, but my "practice" of being present, of being honest about my feelings and needs with Joe, being open to him when he does the same thing to me, accepting things, not judging or overanalyzing things, has given me a sense of contentment and peace that has lifted weight from my soul.  

My work is a place of fulfillment and frustrations, just like anyone's job, but I am grateful for this opportunity and I am finding my place in the workplace.  My initial job evaluation went well.  I have days where I feel I am doing well with my clients and other days where I feel that I'm missing the mark but I'm still growing, and always will, as a therapist.  I had a meeting with the Red Cross the other night which was good, was able to meet some of the other volunteers and get a better understanding of what will be expected whenever I get called out to a fire.  Joe and I were invited to meet with some of my coworkers for dinner this past weekend and it was nice to be invited and to see people outside of work :)  and yesterday I was invited to a Pampered Chef party.  Yes it's dorky but being new to a place, new people, it's hard to feel like you belong so it feels good that they feel like they can invite me now to functions outside of work!

Driving home yesterday after the sun was setting and driving over the bridge to the PCB side I smiled :)  I am blessed in this life and I hope I can share that with others!

Hello 2016!

this was in the bathroom....good words to live by for 2016!

What a year 2015 was and as sad I was to close that chapter, I'm excited looking forward to 2016!  Joe and I took a quick trip over to St Augustine, the oldest city in the U.S. to ring in the new year.  We took Sami girl with us because I wasn't comfortable boarding her with how she has been doing.  She is such a good traveler but I can tell she's a fan of her routine now that she is getting older.  She was good on the trip but was not completely herself :( but she is still plugging right along.

Ms. Sami, professional road tripper

St Augustine was a fun little city.  We stayed visited mostly the old historic part of town, with the cobble stone streets.  We drove down on New Year's Eve and once we got settled we found an Irish pub/restaurant on the river bank, had some drinks and some good food before moving along.

We walked around and ended up in a small little bar with sangria and old Charlie Brown the keyboardist playing songs non stop.  Charlie was in the front by their big window and watching people walk past, stop and have some fun, do a little dance on the street before moving on was awesome.  Joe and I cut a rug off and on, enjoyed the good vibes, fun people, and good drinks.  When 2016 hit we shared a traditional New Year's smooch and cheered with our other bar friends!  We left there and ended up in another little bar for a couple of more drinks before heading back our hotel.

Needless to say we were hurting a little the next day but we went back to the historic district and walked around.  A lot of fun little restaurants, bars, and stores to explore. Very beautiful area!

There had been a lot of changes this past year.  My parents divorced and I'm not sure when I'll see my Mom again...she's planning on moving to Hawaii as soon as possible.  I want the best for my parents but it is a tad weird and I'm trying to be supportive to both of them as they move forward with their lives.  I've had two major moves (from UT to NC to FL), graduated with my MSW, retired from the AF..... A LOT of things happened this year and for 2016... we are planning a big European vacation around September/October :D  So that's going to be fun!  

I'm slowly working toward my LCSW.... we are getting beach cruisers soon so we can ride to the beach when it gets crazy here and we don't want to drive, plus we have some places nearby that we can ride to for breakfast or dinner!  There are so many ways we are moving forward with what we value in our lives... we are happy and excited!