On The Road!

I've been meaning to post for a few days but the last few have just been a blur. The day I moved out of my house I moved into my best friend Len's house for a few days, I could have stayed there a few weeks! They made me feel right at home, and the bed was just sooo cozy. I am gonna really miss getting to see her and her husband Greg whenever I please. Their son got married on the 31st so I decided to stay just long enough to see that and then hit the road today. The wedding was really fun but between it being my last few days in Alaska to get everything done and them preparing for their sons big wedding, it was really hectic and we really only saw flashes of each other during my stay with them, lol! I think we are all breathing a big sigh of relief now that the chaotic part of the last few weeks are over. She and I got a picture taken together, I'll have to post when I get it.


Dad and I hit the Elmendorf Air-force Base Air Show (Arctic Thunder) on the 31st before the wedding. It was just amazing seeing all the things the base had organized for the crowds to see. They even had some type of fighter jet that will hover and spin around like a helicopter! That was really a strange site to see. Anyway we all had so much fun, and it was a perfect way to get together with dad before we leave state.

Big J, my 3 yr old has had such a hard time since we moved out of our home. He has hardly slept at all and is really worried I'm gonna leave him. I keep reassuring him that I will Never leave him but he is still really having troubles, I don't know maybe he's heard that to many times before, it's hard to say. His Reactive Attachment Disorder side is really running strong with all that's happening and the lack of sleep is only making it worse, lol. He is very obsessive about things being in order, looking just right, and staying clean - but when we walked into the reception hall for the wedding last night he reached out and put his whole hand in the cake frosting.
I. was.. Mort.i.fied.
I knew he had done it on purpose and was just so shocked. It isn't like him at all to do something like that but because of the lack of sleep and the lack of home, it just triggered that R.A.D. side of him. Since it was our last night in town I knew I had to just stick it out and stay, so I sat down, put him in my lap and put a light blanket over his head and told him to get some rest, which slowed him down and allowed me to visit and get some goodbyes in. Before we left at the end of the evening, I left his brother and him in the car for a few minutes while I said goodbye to a friend, I was only standing 5 feet from the Suburban but when I got back in the car he was stressed and said "I thought you left me mommy!" It just breaks my heart that after two years he's still worried he's gonna get left somewhere else. We don't even talk about foster care or the many homes he was in, when in front of him, I would have thought he'd have forgotten it all by now but he hasn't.

This move of ours will be so good for him, he will learn that places, homes, possessions change all the time but he will always have us, and he will always have God, and that's who he needs to count on!


(I had to do a u-turn in the highway to get this shot - a moose just munching on the grass growing up from the bottom of the lake)

Anyway today the kids and I drove from Anchorage, Alaska to Beaver Creek, Yukon Territory, Canada (about 430 miles). The drive was BEAUTIFUL. During the drive past the Matanuska Glacier and the hour before and after I just kept thinking, "This is Gods country!" I wish I would have stopped for pictures but I had already stopped with the little ones several times, was also trying to get through to the other side of the boarder AND was running late, I just decided to snap pictures through the windshield.... which didn't work out so great, haha. I googled pictures to show you how it all looked and found this website has some great pictures of everything we drove by. The photos above and below are shots I took along the way. My flickr page has a few more.






Tok, Alaska
This is where the boys and I had dinner tonight, lol. Don't worry, none of us had any booze, just corndogs and chicken. They absolutely LOVED the horse, which is what prompted the stop.

Tomorrow we're headed for Whitehorse!

Last Night at Burlwood

Tonight is the last night the boys and I will spend in our little house on Burlwood. Tomorrow at 2pm I sign closing papers and turn the keys over to the title company. What a weird thought. After living here for 7 years there is a part of my brain that is just certain this is all a joke, and we can't be really leaving lol. But, I am so excited and ready to hit the road. Although I can't make it happen any faster, I just can't wait to get into our 5th wheel where we will have beds, and a place to call home again. Even if the view does constantly change.

This little house was our first house, and although it was small, the 4.38 acres more than made up for 1100 sq ft of living space. When we moved in Marty cleared a huge back yard and once that was finished we were set. I will really miss the yard and land here, the house was great too but the yard was where our hearts were. One day I'll have to come back and drive by to see how big my lilacs, crabapple, elderberry, mayday, mountain ash and weeping birch trees have grown. I hope they survive the moose!

And tonight as my youngest was finishing his dinner our resident squirrel showed up to join him. The kids love that squirrel and all the little birds that come to the feeder on the front porch. It was perfect timing for them to see our squirrel one last time!

Off to bed I go to be ready for all the last cleaning I'll have to do in the morning!

Reactive Attachment Disorder

Well this evening I am reminded that, while moving and traveling will be a very good healing process on the road to recovery with Reactive Attachment Disorder, we will still have to travel to the pits and back before my son comes out on the sunny side.

Oh Lord…
Grant me patience please.

I remember once upon a time wondering why “reactive” was added to the front part of this particular disorder, lol I just didn’t understand how that word fit into the context. Wow, it didn’t take me long to LIVE the answer to that question. And thankfully those huge jaw dropping reactions don’t come along as often as they once did.

Our 3 yr old has Reactive Attachment Disorder (old news to us). Things were really rough for him before he came to live with us and this disorder is just one of the things that resulted from that experience. Going through a huge amount of homes seems like it was the biggest factor in getting that foundation that was so detrimental, so early on.

• It took him a while to learn to trust us, but even now when he gets scared, he doesn't talk - he reacts. So I guess the deeper more scary parts of trust are still being built - even after 2 years. Being tossed into the air by a loving parent and riding horses were Terrifying, just to name a couple. We turned them into wonderful trust building opportunities and it did him so much good in the end though.
• It took him a long time to realize that, even though we travel from time to time to see family, it doesn't mean he's getting left at another home. The first time we traveled with him, he was so quietly scared, he did not sleep for 33 and a half hours!! He had only just turned 2 at that time. How a boy could go that long without sleep at that age is just beyond me.
• It took him a long time to realize that even though Marty travels to a work camp for 2 weeks, and then spends 2 weeks home every month, he is still coming home to us and will never leave us.

There's a ton we've worked through, and a whole other ton we will continue to work through as he grows up. Of course during all the things mentioned above we didn't know about all the homes he had been through, and he hadn't been diagnosed with R.A.D. yet. Had we known we may not have done those things, but I guess it was good we didn't realize because, looking back, each one of those things was so monumental in healing little pieces of him. So we have learned instead of letting him stay in his niche of fear, chaos, and rebellion, it’s much better for him that we bring him through the fire so to speak.

This journey we are about to embark on, getting into our RV and traveling around the U.S. for a year, will be so scary for him in the beginning. But I’m so glad we have this huge wonderful opportunity, not just for the rest of the family, but to bring him through another trust and bonding experience that will only make him healthier and stronger. After 2 years rooted in this home with us I really feel he is at the stage where he’s ready to take the next step and continue into a more in-depth healing process. Break molds and expectations of how things and places should be, and learn even further that God and his family are the 2 things he can count on in life.

The Plan Unfolds

As I touched on in a previous post, we finally got through repairs, renovations and the purging of all our things, and were able to put our house up for sale a few weeks ago. It's still hard for me to believe, but I’m happy to announce it sold very fast, and we are very happy with the price we got. I sign closing papers in just 7 days! Despite our strange and unconventional plans, we have felt God behind us every step of the way. I know some of you may still be wondering what the plan is! (keep reading!)

Marty had to fly back to work for his 2 week shift plus some extra weeks today, but will be meeting back up with the kids and I in a few weeks. The children, dog and I will leave Wasilla, Alaska on August 1st driving down to Washington where we'll spend a little time with friends and family, and then slowly meander on over to Idaho where we'll pick up our truck, and Marty will fly in to meet us from work. From there we'll drive over to Elkhart Indiana as a family and pick up the 5th wheel we recently purchased.

At this point our plan is to travel the U.S. for about a year before settling back down into a bigger house. Where we go and when, will not be planned very far ahead of time except Marty will be keeping his job working 2 weeks in Alaska, and having 2 weeks off (spent with us) each month. We’ll be purchasing his plane tickets close to a month ahead of time to keep the cost lower.

The house we're in at this moment is just too small to continue doing foster care, and is a bit cramped if it just remained the 4 of us! But even more, we just really want to spend some time in good weather, and enjoy our newly adopted boys (and each other!) before thinking about buying another house or doing foster care again. Our little boys lived with us for 2 years as foster children before we were able to adopt them, sometimes that timeline goes on much longer for other children. We LOVED doing foster care but it really ties you down - we would never take in a child with out being committed to seeing their case plan through. Travel is limited and your heart and time is committed to visits with the children’s family, social workers, and G.A.L’s, court dates along with keeping our training hours up and a huge unknown emotional roller coaster to put it very shortly, lol. So we figure a year vacation will be a great rejuvenater. From my count we've only had 8 sunny days this summer, so I am just biting at the bit to find the sun again!!

So for the next seven days the kids and I are living in a house almost completely empty, I just have a little cleaning to do, a lot of visiting to do, and even more praying on safe travels!

I’ll try and update later with some photos.

Make your own compost tumbler.

Marty made this for me from the instructions below. I just recently sold it to another gal who was tickled to get it. It worked great and was better than anything else we found on the market - much cheaper too! Love that husband of mine, there is nothing he can't do.

Compost Tumbler

This is the easy and quick way to make compost. Compost made in a compost maker like this is ready in about four weeks. All that is required is some initial labor, and the following materials:

1. Steel barrel such as a 55 gallon drum.
2. 2 heavy-duty hinges.
3. 4 heavy-duty rollers.
4. 2 door latch locks.
5. 3 drawer pulls.
6. Heavy-duty steel plate such as a straightened “L” bracket.
7. Nuts & Bolts to fit all of the above.
8. Cradle to the hold barrel. This should be about thirty inches high so a wheelbarrow can roll right under for “belly dump” capabilities. Metal would be best but wood is cheaper and works just as well.
9. Flat black spray paint.

Use a 55 gal drum (preferably already black) that has been THOROUGHLY cleaned out. You should have two hinges that will attach the door, be sure you cut the door long enough so the hinges don't fall on a rib of the drum. Cut your hatch into the side to make a door. Then attach hinges and a door handle (aka: drawer pull) to the hatch, and reattach it to the barrel. The door is really flimsy so we bolted a steel plate to the inside of the door, which you can see in the second picture. The steel plate we used was an “L” bracket that we straightened, it’s also really sturdy and heavy duty, it came with all the bolt holes already in it. Then add a latch on each side of the door to lock it closed. Attach two evenly spaced drawer pulls on one side, and drill three 1" holes on each side. After building the cradle, attach two rollers on each side of the cradle. After placing the cradle in the sun, and putting the barrel on the cradle, then paint the whole barrel flat blat black. The barrel turns easily in the cradle, and heats up REAL GOOD. The secret to the compost maker is that you turn it EVERY day 6-8 times in the cradle. This takes about two minutes, and allows the bacteria to get aerated. In 3-4 WEEKS, you have a rich, crumbly dark brown compost.

Make sure that you only fill the barrel about 3/4 full to allow the materials to tumble when you turn it. Also make sure that you wet the material when you add it to the barrel.

Could possibly add rubber hose around sharp edges for protection and wheels to wheel it around the yard.

Halibut Age

Ok this is really silly information but back when I managed the fishing charter office I use to get the question of "how old is my halibut?" all the time!

God's Pharmacy

I got this in an email ages ago and thought it was worth remembering...

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It's been said that God first separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and fish... All before making a human. He made and provided what we'd need before we were born. These are best & more powerful when eaten raw. We're such slow learners...



A sliced Carrot resembles the human eye including the pupil, iris, and radiating lines. Science indicates that carrots help protect the vision, especially night vision. And carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.






A Tomato has up to four chambers and is commonly red. The heart has four chambers and is red. Tomatoes are rich in lycopene and helps prevent heart disease, prostate cancer, breast cancer and more. Tomato juice can also reduce the tendency toward blood clotting. Tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.



Grapes hang in a cluster that resembles the shape of the heart. The stronger the color of the grape is, the higher the concentration of phytonutrients. Grapes prevent heart disease and reduce platelet clumping and harmful blood clots. Grapes are a profound heart and blood vitalizing food.





A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function. Research suggests that walnuts may reduce the risk or delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease. The high concentration of omega-3 fats in walnuts promotes healthy brain function.



Kidney Beans, true to their name are kidney shaped. They provide nutrients that are helpful to the human kidneys. Kidney beans contain molybdenum, which helps sulfite oxidase to form and is responsible for detoxifying sulfites. Animal research has shown that chronic renal failure has been associated with oxidative stress. Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function.




Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body. Celery is also rich in silicon and Vitamin K, which are needed for healthy joints and bones.





Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. An extract of avocado impedes the growth of both androgen-dependent and androgen-independent prostate cancer cells. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).





Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.









Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.







Olives resemble ovaries and may help reduce hot flashes in women going through menopause. Research indicates that Olive Oil may reduce ovarian cancer by 30%.








Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.









Onions look like the body's cells and contain quercetin. Studies have shown when treated with a combination of quercetin and ultrasound at 20 kHz for 1-minute duration, skin and prostate cancers show a 90% mortality within 48 hours with no visible mortality of normal cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

Tonight I watched a nice movie that sure got me thinking about how blessed I am to have been handed two such wonderful kids. I went into take a shower and found, that as usual BJ had put every last toy away in the bathtub containers. He even hung the scrubbies, and bath puffs in their rightful place. He never has to be pushed. Just one reminder to pick things up (that I hardly notice I give him). He never fails to keep his room clean either. He tries so hard to do his best for me. He recently tried and tried until he learned how to button his pajama’s. He washes his hands and face now using soap, without a need for supervision. He’s hardly turned 3.

I love that little trouble maker more than anything.

Lets Pray!

We held a moms bible study at our house this last Tuesday. The kids either sit next to their moms or play quietly in my boys bedroom which directly connects to the living room where the study was taking place.

At the begining of the study I had all the kids stay with moms for a prayer, then they were allowed to go play or sit with mom. We did the whole study and My 2yr old Josh stayed with me off and on.

Near the end of the study I had let him get up to go play in his room with the other kids. He was deep in play for a few minutes when the study ended and the other moms and I said a final prayer together. We didn't call the kids in we just started the prayer. Josh must have heard "dear Lord" because it was right after that he came running in yelling "WAIT!" He threw himself into a sitting position in my lap, put his hands together, his head down, and prayed with us. I never prompted him to do a thing - it was as if he NEEDED to pray too.

I had NO idea he loved praying so much! I just wanted to love on him so much for that!

Put a cap on it.

Ahhhh, so much I want to blog about, and yet bound by law to keep my trap shut. Soooo, in the spirit of that.....

I ran across an internet photo that's been circulating for years that has always facinated me. But was never sure if it was photoshopped or not, nor did I have the care to find out until last night...


I found this link on this site. The comment from the person who seemed to have sent the pic was:

Anyway you picture of Schiehallion was interesting and reminded me of a picture of Mount Ararat - where mythology suggests Noah landed with the Ark. I hope it works...you may need to save and open. The cloud on top is real, known in meteorology as a "cap cloud" formed by strong upper atmosphere winds forcing cold and relatively dry air over the top of the mountain.

So I'm thinking, wow, this is real? I looked up a few more before bed last night and thought I'd share them. These are the rest of the cap clouds I found online...


borrowed from this page.


borrowed from this page.


borrowed from this page.

Neato, huh?

1st Crawl

The baby picked today to crawl. He only took three steps/crawls and that was it, but it was still his first time. It was so cute.

Ok, had to blog about it, now I'm off to make crab artichoke dip.

Merry Christmas!

Kids Christmas Crafts

This year we did an awesome craft with the kids and invited others from church to join us, it turned out so cute, and everyone else loved doing it as much as we did. I just had to share...

Paint your kids palm and fingers white. Carefully have them hold an ornament ball from the bottom to create the five snowmen. Use a paint marker to make hats, faces, and scarves. Attach a tag with this poem:

These aren't just five snowmen
as anyone can see;
I made them with my hand,
which is a part of me.
Each year when we trim the tree
we’ll look back and recall,
Christmas of 2008
when my hand was just this small.

Christmas

Yes it sure has been fun the last few days...

We discovered our "pre-lit" tree (of 5 years) is no longer lit. Which is a bummer because it's so full and perfect and I didn't wanna mess with getting a new tree. Marty suggested we just buy lights and add onto it but I didn't want all those extra lights on it that weren't lit. So we went tree shopping and found all the tree's available didn't look full at all, but very see through. Just reminds me of a more glorified Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Ug

So last night we spent 2 hours with some wire cutters and stripped our tree of it's old lights and the top layers of our finger tips. What a pain, but the deed is done and I feel better not having wasted a perfectly good tree because it's lights are dead.

---------------

Christmas presents got a tad out of control. Or so it feels. Some are just for us to have as a foster home but I wrapped up for the kids to open. By the time they return to their mom, those things won't be age appropriate anyway. So I guess when I just count the things they will take home, they did very well but not over done. It just seems like a lot when you see them all together.

Anyway with that thought in mind I read the neatest thing on a forum the other day that I plan on going with in the future. I LOVE the idea and think to many presents just makes kids appreciate them less. The comment was...

I have a friend with 4 girls. She does 3 gifts each and then one family gift.
The three gifts are
1)For the body (clothes)
2)For the soul (a Christian book, new Bible or Bible storybook)
3)For the spirit (this is the TOY!)
Really limits the amount of toys and the mom can get them stuff they NEED.

I may change this up a small bit who knows, but I really like this idea. Thought I'd share it.

Kids Craft/Christmas Idea

Someone pointed this idea out to me, I thought it was so cute. I may do it with the kids and let them give the ornaments to their parents this year. I know they would probably really like that.



The inscription says:

"These aren't just five snowmen
As anyone can see,
I made them with my hand
Which is a part of me.
Each year when we trim the tree
We'll look back and recall
Christmas of 2007
When my hand was just this small."

Spice Rack

I just think this spice rack is soooo cute. I found a picture of this on someone's flickr account.



She found a tv tray at the thrift store and cut the metal legs off then screwed it to the wall to create a metal surface. The magnetized spice canisters you can buy anywhere online.



I want one!

Laundry

I did 5 loads of laundry tonight. Someone called later in the evening and then I was just busy with the kids too. So I start looking for the last two loads I did because I needed to fold them. I went through the house front to back, side to side 3 times looking for where I set them down. I was starting to get irritated because my house is only 1100 square feet and I just couldn't find the two baskets of clean clothes. Then I spot all the laundry baskets empty and stacked in my closet (at which point I was struck very puzzled). I went and checked and all the clothes I was looking for were folded and put away.



This has never happened to me before.

I folded them and put them away while I was on a 10 minute phone conversation.

Brainless autopilot definitely has its benefits.

Best Bumper Sticker EVER

I've never been into bumper stickers. Never put one on any of my cars, even the junkers we drove.

I am Seriously Rethinking This.

Getting ready

What a week it's been....

We've had appointments everyday this week..

We have a visit tomorrow again with their mother, then with the caseworker. Saturday I drive Pete to Anchorage to spend 2 and a half weeks with my mom. Sunday after church, after Marty flies in at 7:30 pm, we fly out to Indiana at 9:30 pm. Should be fun, but packing has me a tad stressed, haha. I've never gone on such a long trip with any children much less the kind that are so little and require so MUCH!! haha I have a suitcase packed with the frontpack, some wipes, and all the formula we will need. I know I could buy formula but wic pays for it and considering 5 cans costs over $70 - I'll pack it along. So who knows how many suitcases I'll strap my poor husband down with, hopefully not to many hehe.

Funny story before I go...

I have been letting the baby play on the living room floor lots lately because he's learned how to roll and is having fun with it. Pete has decided that it's his job to look after that baby. He posts himself right on the floor with with the baby and just watches him so lovingly. He's always very careful with him and is just so attentive to him. And if that baby starts crying, Pete will come over lay down right along side the baby, haha. I'm just amazed how he watches over those kids. I brought him in the car with us to a visit the other day and when I got back in with out the kids he just had this look on his face - looking at the car seats, looking back to the building, car seat, building, car seat, building, :::Panic::: where did you leave those kids mom!!

Anyway, I gotta run. Can't procrastinate anymore.

Fostering...

We have officially transitioned from rescuing animals to rescuing Children. We finally took in our first foster children on June 19th, they're 2 boys ages 21 months old and 8 weeks old and I'm in love already. I wish I could post pictures and tell you all about them, unfortunately thats not allowed.

But I CAN tell you what I've discovered so far...

• Pampers and all the other brands are aweful - gotta be Luvs or Huggies.
• My house will never be as clean as I want it too.
• To speak fluent toddlereese one must know the word "NO!"
• I have now become one of those people you talk about in the store because of the tantrums the older one is capable of. **my personal favorite**

The older one went threw a few homes before he came to ours, I suspect he will work through some of his issues once he's had some time to adjust. In the meantime I am working at being consistent with discipline and lots of love.
Marty will be home in a couple weeks to meet them and I can't wait!
In the mean time wish me luck and come see us if you like!

Marty's hunny-do-list

A couple weeks ago we had fierce winds blow through Wasilla. Very abnormally fierce winds. It was a good excuse for me to lock the doors, start a fire, and be cozy in my little house.

The small shed in the picture had its lid ripped off and peeled back like a tin can. In order to get into the shed you can either get into it from the small door, or by lifting up that big heavy lid (which WAS on hinges). It takes most of my strength and momentum just to prop it open. Thats how I know it weighs between 60 and 70 pounds (obviously, my arms aren't buff or built).

It WAS closed tight and secure. I can't believe the wind got under it and ripped it back and off it's hinges like that.

I know this wasn't your idea of a Christmas gift Marty, haha - sorry I can't move it or fix it for you.

Runaway

Meet Jenny.

A sweet lab mix kinda gal who doesn't know how to stay home.

I almost hit her last night when she ran in front of my car. I was taking a friend home at 10pm, the weather was frigid and blowing and I felt awful when I couldn't figure out where she lived. So after knocking on a couple of doors I packed her up and took her home for the night.

She didn't have anything but her rabies tag on so I called her vet this morning and had her owners call me. They had her micro-chipped and the rabies tag on her but of course you can't figure anything out with those at 10pm at night. I suggested an ID TAG. After all, they never run away during business hours.

Pete was ecstatic to have someone fun spend the night (don't worry, they slept in separate beds). Even though it was a pain talking her into my car and worrying about her peeing on my floors (she didn't thank heavens) Pete thought it was all very worth it and thinks we should really do it more often.

This message has been sponsored by the idea of getting ID Tags for your beloved pets.

Our Nations Drunkest Cities...

I saw this in the paper and had to post it. How very sad Anchorage made 2nd drunkest city...

"The Drunkest Cities"
Published in Mens Health Magazine
December 2008

New Year's Day 1916 was rough for Colorado residents looking for a little hair of the dog. On that Saturday, the state stopped all liquor sales, predating Prohibition by 4 years. Today, Colo-rado once again leads the nation in its attitude toward alcohol -- but now, the mandate seems to be "drink till you drop." In our second ranking of urban inebriation, Aurora comes in 82nd, Colorado Springs finishes 98th, and, once again, Denver is Most Dangerously Drunk.

We looked at annual death rates due to alcoholic liver disease, as well as who's headed there by regularly downing five or more drinks in a sitting (CDC). Next, we factored in drunk-driving arrests (FBI) and the percentage of fatal accidents involving intoxicated motorists (U.S. Department of Transportation). Then, after tallying the MADD report card of state efforts to cut down on excessive drinking, we had our ranking and, for the state of Colorado, an invitation to AA.

Most Dangerously Drunk:

100 Denver, CO F

99 Anchorage, AK F

98 Colorado Springs, CO F

97 Omaha, NE F

96 Fargo, ND F

95 San Antonio, TX F

94 Austin, TX F

93 Fresno, CA F

92 Lubbock, TX F

91 Milwaukee, WI F

90 El Paso, TX F

89 Spokane, WA F

88 Washington, DC F

87 Columbia, SC F

86 St. Louis, MO D-

85 Bakersfield, CA D-

84 San Diego, CA D

83 Cheyenne, WY D

82 Aurora, CO D

81 Houston, TX D

80 Portland, OR D

79 Seattle, WA D

78 Boise, ID D

77 Tucson, AZ D+

76 Dallas, TX D+

75 Jacksonville, FL D+

74 Toledo, OH D+

73 Madison, WI D+

72 Oakland, CA D+

71 Modesto, CA D+

70 Billings, MT D+

69 Fremont, CA D+

68 Oklahoma City, OK D+

67 San Francisco, CA D+

66 Sacramento, CA D+

65 Los Angeles, CA D+

64 Phoenix, AZ D+

63 Albuquerque, NM D+

62 Chicago, IL D+

61 Providence, RI D+

60 Fort Wayne, IN C-

59 Manchester, NH C-

58 Charleston, WV C-

57 Burlington, VT C-

56 Lincoln, NE C-

55 Corpus Christi, TX C-

54 Des Moines, IA C-

53 Indianapolis, IN C-

52 Pittsburgh, PA C-

51 Honolulu, HI C-

50 St. Paul, MN C

49 Tampa, FL C

48 Greensboro, NC C

47 Las Vegas, NV C

46 Baltimore, MD C

45 Riverside, CA C

44 Norfolk, VA C

43 Detroit, MI C+

42 Arlington, TX C+

41 Grand Rapids, MI C+

40 San Jose, CA C+

39 St. Petersburg, FL C+

38 Nashville, TN C+

37 Charlotte, NC C+

36 Wilmington, DE C+

35 Orlando, FL C+

34 Minneapolis, MN C+

33 Kansas City, MO C+

32 Fort Worth, TX C+

31 Tulsa, OK C+

30 Anaheim, CA B-

29 Wichita, KS B-

28 Lexington, KY B-

27 Philadelphia, PA B-

26 Montgomery, AL B-

25 Rochester, NY B-

24 Raleigh, NC B

23 Cincinnati, OH B

22 Louisville, KY B

21 Bangor, ME B

20 Memphis, TN B

19 Boston, MA B

18 Hartford, CT B+

17 Sioux Falls, SD B+

16 Birmingham, AL B+

15 Baton Rouge, LA B+

14 Columbus, OH B+

13 Cleveland, OH B+

12 Atlanta, GA B+

11 Newark, NJ B+

Least Dangerously Drunk:

10 Jersey City, NJ B+

9 Richmond, VA B+

8 New York, NY B+

7 Little Rock, AK A-

6 Salt lake City, UT A-

5 Yonkers, NY A-

4 Jackson, MS A

3 Buffalo, NY A

2 Miami, FL A

1 Durham, NC A+

Last Call
Studies show that state laws that put strict limits on where and when alcohol can be sold help cut the number of booze-induced trips to the E.R. -- and the morgue. That's because self-destructive drinkers tend to buy alcohol impulsively and at late hours. Go to alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov to see if your state could use a stronger stance.

Deputize Yourself
Roughly 1.4 million people are arrested for DUIs each year, but Mothers Against Drunk Driving estimates that for every driver cuffed, another 88 are never pulled over. Use your cellphone to lower that number. Besides the obvious indicators of intoxication, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also cites subtler signs, such as someone making extra-wide turns, going straight through a turn-only lane, or driving with his or her face close to the windshield. If the clues accumulate, make the call. (In many states, 311 is nonemergency dispatch.)

I only have one thing to add from the Bible...

Galatians 5:19-26
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Secrets and Gossip?

"If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees. ~ Khalil Gibran

I just love this quote. It's a great reminder for my big mouth.

Dreaming

A few nights ago I dreamt Marty and I saw an old friend of ours. During the the whole visit with this friend I was really bothered because he looked so different, yet I couldn't figure what was different about him.

A few hours after I woke up it finally struck me like a cooking pan to the head.

He had hair.

In real life our friend has been almost completely bald on top, the whole time we've known him.

I find it so odd that my subconscious decided to put hair on his head. Until that dream, I had never thought of him with hair in the entire 10 years we've known him.

Snow

It's snowing..

Right now

Really hard.

I'm not quite ready for this yet.

What stage are you?

We went to a marriage seminar last week. The Anchorage Church of Christ had 2 guest speakers that led the seminar. A really good team, who happened to be husband and wife.

Things are great with Marty and I, but I figured there's always room for improvement - mainly where I'm concerned. In case your wondering why we went.

I learned a lot, now the trick is putting what I learned into practice. And with my stubborn will, it'll only happen by the grace of GOD. Thankfully God likes to lend a hand in areas like these.

Anyway, this chart below was something that was touched on during the weekend. I love it and had to share it. I know you married people out there can appreciate it.



His point was that every marriage goes through these stages. He pointed out that divorce only happens in stage 2, so a struggling couple just has to focus on getting through to stage three.

This was not the "solve-all" to a good marriage but again, just a small thing he showed that I thought was neat. And very true.

Oh, by the way...

No fighting with your spouse about which stage your in.

Vrrrrooomm

I couldn't help but notice the Finley's new hot rod last week when I stopped by for a quick visit.


There's nothing like showcasing your sports car on a nice and green lawn while the suns out.



What's even funnier is that little Caleb has already figured this out, and he's not even 5 years old yet.

Prudhoe Bay Flight Problems

North Slope workers' close call
KTVA, Channel 2 News
by Bianca Slota

Thursday, August 2, 2007
View Video - (internet explorer only)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A Shared Services Flight shuttling North Slope workers from Deadhorse to Anchorage had to be turned back Tuesday after an engine on the plane failed.

The flight operators said it was a minor incident with no cause for alarm, but employees on the slope describe it as just the latest in a string of problems that has made them afraid of flying with their employers.

ConocoPhillips operates Shared Services Aviation as a free flight service for North Slope employees. The flights used to be operated by Alaska Airlines but are now operated by Northern Air Cargo.

On Tuesday at 12:15 p.m., Flight 151-152 from Deadhorse to Anchorage experienced engine failure. Pilots turned the plane around and landed back at Deadhorse.

SSA sent a message to all North Slope workers which said:
"From the initial inspection, it appears that the mounting for the right engine nose cone, a small protective cover on the center of the engine inlet, broke, causing the nose cone to damage the compressor. This disrupted the airflow and caused the engine to backfire. The same part on the other SSA engines was inspected to ensure that there are no issues."

Passengers on board the plane say it seemed much more serious to them. One man sent an e-mail to Channel 2 News, stating,

"It was a very troubling situation in which the flight attendants were yelling to the passengers to grab our ankles and put our heads down for what seemed to be several minutes. I thought I was going to die. The pilot managed to get us turned around and we landed on one engine."

As word about the incident spreads, so does fear among slope workers. One man, who asked not to be identified, said there were many concerns.

"The concerns are that we're afraid that they're gonna wait until a major catastrophe happens before they address the issues completely, before they get new aircraft. That's what our concerns are. We're very much concerned for our safety," he said.

The plane that experienced the engine failure is now out of service and another from the fleet is out for routine maintenance, so SSA is operating five flights with just one plane.

BP Exploration sent a message to its employees and contractors saying that flights are now limited to essential employees only.

SSA said the FAA has been alerted about the incident. The failed engine will be shipped to an overhaul for complete analysis, and, in the meantime, another engine has been sent to Deadhorse and will be mounted on the plane.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was contacted about an incident earlier this year in which the flight crew thought it had an engine stall on approach.

But a spokesperson for the NTSB said the board couldn't find evidence of the stall.

It has looked into other reports of engine problems and said it has found nothing out of the ordinary and nothing to be concerned about.

Contact Bianca Slota at bslota@ktuu.com

Baby Fun

It's been a while again. Time seems to be getting away from me a lot lately.

I've been watching the cutest little 9 month old little girl for the last few days. She belongs to a foster family from our church. They have one other foster child who had to see a medical specialist in Seattle so I was the lucky gal who got to babysit the sweet girl for 3 days. They get back from Seattle tonight, so other than nap times, I'm sucking up as much baby fun as I can.

It's funny, we've been thinking for a while now about becoming a foster family. When I told our friend she asked if we'd like to have a test run. haha I'm so glad I did it!!

The only thing I really need to work on is keeping up with the messes I'VE created while she's been here. There mostly cleaned up now but let me just say.... YIKES! Instead of traveling with one set, I've had toys, blankets, binkies, and burp-up-rags scattered between 3 rooms since Monday.

April stuff

I took a trip to Homer back in April and mom and I spent a day driving around and seeing old places we haven't seen in a while. I got some interesting pictures, but since that was the busiest month I've had in a few years I never found time to post them before forgetting about them all together.






Funky pyramid house down by the bluffs.

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This house isn't anything special, but their fence is.



If you click on this picture, you can see it larger in another window. The driftwood top looks so neat. I would love to do something like this at my house after seeing this.

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Mom kept telling me I had to see the new winery out at Bear Creek. I wasn't super excited because I've never liked the taste of wine. She insisted the place had neat stuff though so off we went.


On the way there we passed this wine bottle garden. If you click on the picture to see it enlarged it looks a little neater. I thought it was surely created by the winery but they new nothing about it. Which was strange because it was two driveways away. Must be a happy customer?




I wasn't as excited about their shop but I loved their carved bears.

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Scary looking monster boat we found in the back of the Homer Boat Yard.

Ice Road Truckers

Just saw this article in the Anchorage Daily News this morning, sounded pretty appealing...

Ice road truckers: Tougher than crab fishermen? You can practically hear the pitch: “Hey, people loved ‘The Deadliest Catch.’ What other dangerous, scary, freezing jobs can we point a camera at?’”

The Canadian Press reports that the History Channel will debut a 10-part series Sunday called “Ice Road Truckers.” The action takes place in Canada.

Look for the shot of a sinking 18-wheeler. Is it staged?

Says producer Dawn Fitzgerald: “Not everybody's fit for the Iditarod, but they can envision themselves behind the wheel of a truck. … It's this blue-collar job that takes people out there and really pushes the limits of the average guy.”

Pictures

While Marty was in class I decided to tour the area. I've lived on the Kenai peninsula almost my whole life but never really spent much time checking out Kenai or Soldotna. While we were down there I also went to Nikiski, Sterling, & Kasilof. I had a great time just driving around taking pictures of neat and meaningless things. And since we were broke it was a good thing I enjoyed doing just that.

Nikiski was by far my favorite. Each town had a lot more abandon businesses and buildings that I ever expected to find, but Nikiski topped all of them. It was like going 50 years into the past. I didn't get even close to photographing all of them.

I loaded all the pictures into my flickr account if you wanna see.

We're Back

We just got back from 4 days in Kenai. The class was really hard for Marty. It's actually a class that is usually done over the course of a semester but this one was crammed into 4 days. He didn't know that until he got down there. He kept saying he felt way in over his head but persistently prayed for God to help him through and what do ya know - he got an 84% on his final test. I'm so proud of him sticking with God and trudging through instead of giving up.

While we were down there I called the pound to check on the little dog we found before we left town. The bad news was that her owners still hadn't claimed her but the good news was that some other family had left a deposit on her. The owners have until today, the 9th to claim her - tomorrow she is available for adoption. I guess the fact that we left a paper with anything we could tell about her really helped. We just said she was house trained, great with other animals, and very well mannered - I'll have to remember to do that if the situation ever comes up again.

Traveling...

Marty and I leave tomorrow morning at around 3 am to drive to Soldotna for a few days. He has to take a certified welding inspection class down there. So it won't be tons of fun for him but we rented a small apartment and Pete and I plan on turning into tourist and painting the town pink while he's in class.

Pete needs a little brushing up with dog obedience so with a leash and treats in tow, hopefuly we can polish him up quite nicely.

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Meanwhile, we found another dog out on Schrock road yesterday. I hit 5 different neighborhoods looking for someone who recognized her to no avail. We've immediately left her description with the pound and put up signs today but unfortunately we will have to drop her off at the pound in an hour or so. We can't have 2 dogs with us at the place we'll be staying so hopefully her owners will find her and take her home. I'll let the pound know not to euthanize her with out calling me first. I'm sure I could find a good home for her if her owners don't claim her.

She's a sweet little thing. I think she's a Jack Russell mix. House trained, gets along great with our dog and cat and is well mannered. I'm sure she's loved, she came with a collar and an expectation to sleep up on our bed (which didn't happen).

Anyway, the frustrating part is her owners haven't posted their own signs, haven't called the pound, haven't taken measures to make sure she remains safely at home, haven't put ID tags on her pretty little collar, and have not fixed her. Yes I believe she is currently in heat on top of it all.

If you'd like to take her home she'd love to have you!!

More Pet Stories..

Marty and I went camping this last weekend in Ninilchik with Autumn, Stacie, Jarrett, Amber and their boys. We dug up razor clams on Saturday which was so much fun. Except poor Stacie overdosing on marshmallows Saturday night the entire weekend was a blast. I'm so glad they invited us along.

On Sunday we stopped in Soldotna and went to church. Tony Cloud had a great lesson reminding us how important it is to read Gods word.

Not long after we got on the road we came upon a sheep dog mix running down one of the busiest highways in Alaska. It crossed the road a few times so we immediately tried to call it over to us. The dog wanted nothing to do with us and kept running doing anything to avoid us. After several attempts at calling it and trying to deter it from the road it finally darted off into a swamp and we lost site of it. We even had a trooper join in and try to help out. I really wanted to follow it home and speak with the owner but at least it got away from the highway.

So we get back on the road and not 15 miles down the road in Sterling on the 5 lane highway yet another dog comes darting out into the road. Not only did we nearly hit it but 2 other cars as well. We stopped just before we hit it and the dog stayed in front of our car. I got out and tried to call it over but the little dog just ran under our car to the other side. I continued in trying to call it but it just ran. I followed the dog determined to find it's owner, over to a church. It ran right up to the front door and looking inside as if it knew it's owner was inside. So instead of trying to get the dog I figured I'd go inside and see who I could find. The dog went under a ford truck parked near the door and stayed put. The church was still in session, the person I spoke with wouldn't make an announcement but instead came outside to help. I wish he would have just made a quick announcement. He decided his dog would be helpful in getting this little dog to come, I knew it wasn't gonna work. I went back to the dog with treats Marty found and was trying when something spooked the dog from behind it (I think the other guy with his dog). Yet again this little dog tore past me, across the parking lot and into the middle of the 5 lane hwy yet again. It just stood out in the center lane, so I ran after it shooing it out of the road. Thankfully nobody was driving by at that moment. We followed it home. I'm sure it was home because the dog once in the driveway had enough courage to stand it's ground instead of running. Nobody was home so I let the dog into the pet door, jammed it closed and left a note asking them to be more responsible in the future.

So you'd think this would be it wouldn't you? 3 Dog stories in a month! I usually end up finding 2 or 3 in a year!

This is not the end though. On Tuesday Marty and I were driving up Lucille when I see a horse a mile up the road. It's coming straight towards us and had a line of traffic behind it. A vehicle was driving along next to it, trying to get it to stop. I am sure it was doing around 25-30 miles an hour in speed down the pavement totally freaked out. So I holler at Marty to stop and I jumped out ran out in front of the horse and started waving my arms frantically saying Whoa! It actually worked, I got the horse to stop and Marty brought me a dog leash. The horse had NO halter on so this was all we had to hold it. I then hear the person who had been driving next to it and see it's our neighbor. She has 4 horses and her and her daughter are very experienced with them. They rescue animals a lot so I assumed this was maybe a new rescue of theirs. I gave the horse lead over to the daughter and she began trying to make the leash into a halter but something spooked the horse, it reared and the girl was almost hit in the head with a hoof. She let go of the leash, it fell off the horse, and the horse took off again. It turns out this was not our neighbors horse, like us she was just out on an errand and came upon a loose horse.

So we turned around and followed it hoping to get another shot at catching it. I called 911 and reported it as it was headed for the 5 lane parks hwy and was sure to be hit. Just before the hwy it turned off onto a dead end so I let dispatch know and got off the phone and followed the horse on foot through someones front and back yard and into a graveyard. It was going to fast to keep up on foot. We saw a police officer and started talking to him when he got another call, the horse was 5 miles down the road already!! We all drove over and another police officer had caught it. The owner was contacted because a neighbor had seen the horse get out and followed it the whole way. The poor horse was a beautiful Tennessee Walking horse, had gotten a minor cut on its back leg and had gone lame from an over 6 mile dead run on pavement. It was heart breaking. When the owner finally got there 5 of us and the officer were still there. Everyone was very nice to the owner, we were all just so glad the horse was not hit and was going home to recover. The officer pointed out the cut and she was glad he did. I then told her just before the horse was caught he looked like he had gone lame with such a bad limp. I said it in a very friendly way and all she did was glare, turn her back and ignore me. Nobody was within 10 feet of the horse so we wouldn't spook it more but she took the horse and walked even further away to make calls for someone to come help her with a trailer or a saddle to ride it all the way home. She never said thank you to one person except the police officer. If it wasn't for all the people standing there she wouldn't have an alive horse. She had no idea what had taken place and never asked. She didn't even thank her neighbor.

It turned out to be the second time that day the horse had gotten out. And strange enough the second time that particular police officer had caught it.

FRUSTRATING

Yet Another reminder to take good care of your pets.