Busy Weekend

We had a busy weekend.

On Friday, we went to Tammy and Steve's to play Cities and Knights of Catan. John won the 3.5 hour game that left us all tired. (Steve and I lose a bit of competitiveness as games drag on, but Tammy and John keep the intensity high.)

On Saturday, we watched the Scared Scriptless show. It was fun to see John, but wasn't my favorite show. Joe, his friend from work-Andrew and his wife-Diana, Tammy, Steve and their friend Jeremy all came to the show. It was another sold out performance. After the show, we all went upstairs for dinner and drinks.

Sunday, John went cross country skiing. We later went up to Alyeska and Seven Glaciers to take advantage of their 2-for-1 chef's tasting menu. (Normally John has rehearsal on Sundays; but, it was rescheduled to Wednesday, which let us head out there.) The tasting menu was tasty--a crab roll (crab salad on brioche with lobster oil), watercress and fennel salad with lemon pepper dressing, scallop bisque on a seared scallop, brioche, and American caviar with chive oil, ahi tuna seared on garlic mashed potatoes with a mustard sauce, pork tenderloin on asiago risotto with asparagus, and key lime cheesecake. These are some pictures from the visit.

A Sharpener On the Way

I contacted our school's representative at Horace Mann today... my project has been half funded since Monday. Apparently, Horace Mann's Donors Choose partnership was so popular, that the $250,000 available for matching was actually depleted last week... pretty cool that, in less than a month, over 1,500 Donors Choose projects were fully funded.

Anyway, she told me about an offer in connection with the "Waiting for Superman" film and movement. If you text the word POSSIBLE to 77177, they will send you a response asking for your zip code. When you text the zip code back, they will send you a $15 gift card code to use on Donors Choose. You can then use the code immediately to make a donation to a project. Some of the campaigns have limits on the number of donors who can use the code... for example, everyone might not be able to use their codes to donate to the same project. (FYI: The text signs you up for local education updates. I've just done it today--so I don't know what these updates look like... but apparently you just text "stop" to the number if you don't want to receive any more.)

My project is fully funded; but, I thought I'd pass it along in case you wanted to donate to other projects.


In case anyone decides to sign up for the promotion and is looking for some good places to spend it, here are my ideas.

1) A Pappas school request for a document camera (I use my document camera about half the day.)
2) Dry erase markers for a Kindergarten class in Phoenix
3) Books about dogs for Phoenix primary students
4) Math games for students in the Bronx
5) Scissors and supplies for kids in D.C.
and my co-workers' projects for a cubby system for centers and an easel/cubby system.

I got it!

In February, I wrote about the Rose Urban Rural Exchange. I found out today that I've been invited to participate!!!!!!!

I'm very excited-- though, truthfully, a bit intimidated. I will get to visit some part of Alaska (don't know where yet--though the "Camp Diary" shows the map of options) for 5 to 10 days (don't know which yet) at some time this summer (don't know when yet) to attend a youth culture camp led by the village elders.

Should be pretty incredible.

Detroit

Today in The Huffington Post were several pictures from Detroit. These Detroit pictures are both beautiful and sad. They're frozen reminders of the urban decay the city has experienced. I've included a couple of the photographs. They are from a book entitled The Ruins of Detroit by Marchand and Meffre. They explain:

"At the end of the XIXth Century, mankind was about to fulfill an old dream. The idea of a fast and autonomous means of displacement was slowly becoming a reality for engineers all over the world. Thanks to its ideal location on the Great Lakes Basin, the city of Detroit was about to generate its own industrial revolution. Visionary engineers and entrepreneurs flocked to its borders.

In 1913, up-and-coming car manufacturer Henry Ford perfected the first large-scale assembly line. Within few years, Detroit was about to become the world capital of automobile and the cradle of modern mass-production. For the first time of history, affluence was within the reach of the mass of people. Monumental skyscapers and fancy neighborhoods put the city’s wealth on display. Detroit became the dazzling beacon of the American Dream. Thousands of migrants came to find a job. By the 50's, its population rose to almost 2 million people. Detroit became the 4th largest city in the United States.

The automobile moved people faster and farther. Roads, freeways and parking lots forever reshaped the landscape. At the beginning of the 50's, plants were relocated in Detroit's periphery. The white middle-class began to leave the inner city and settled in new mass-produced suburban towns. Highways frayed the urban fabric. Deindustrialization and segregation increased. In 1967, social tensions exploded into one of the most violent urban riots in American history. The population exodus accelerated and whole neighbourhoods began to vanish. Outdated downtown buildings emptied. Within fifty years Detroit lost more than half of its population.

Detroit, industrial capital of the XXth Century, played a fundamental role shaping the modern world. The logic that created the city also destroyed it. Nowadays, unlike anywhere else, the city’s ruins are not isolated details in the urban environment. They have become a natural component of the landscape. Detroit presents all archetypal buildings of an American city in a state of mummification. Its splendid decaying monuments are, no less than the Pyramids of Egypt, the Coliseum of Rome, or the Acropolis in Athens, remnants of the passing of a great Empire.

This work is thus the result of a five-year collaboration started in 2005."

Supermoon

Kerry sent me this link to "supermoon" pictures from this past weekend. These are a few of my favorites.

Hayden Graduated!

Hayden just finished her Petsmart Intermediate class... she behaved remarkably well. Here are a couple of her "graduation" pictures.

Snowmachining

In February, we (John and I, and some other clerks--Tiffany and her John, and Michael) purchased a Groupon and scheduled a snowmachining (this is *exactly* the same thing as snowmobiling-- it just means it's in Alaska--that's what they call it here) trip with Alaska Backcountry Access. Tiffany and her John went back in February, but we held out and scheduled for March 19th.

This, unfortunately, coincided with my cold and sinus infection--alas, the perils of advanced planning... and it definitely did not help. I likened the experience to tubing the Salt River. Not completely strenuous, but it just wipes you out.

Nonetheless, we really did have a fun time. Here are some pictures from the trip. Michael also has a super cool helmet camera and he's posted the videos... so you can "re-live" the experience. You can see some of the cool scenery.

This first video is just of the general trip...


The second video is of the speed laps (I sat out, but John participated). Opie, our guide, and Michael sped around a big loop...

Sorry

Sorry I haven't written in awhile. My mild cold of last week turned into a sinus infection. So, this week was off to a slow start. I'll try to catch up.

Coincidence... I think not.

On our brief stop in AZ in January, John and I purchased some IKEA frames and checked them as baggage on our U.S. Airways flight back. They were wrapped in an enormous amount of packing material, marked fragile by us and by U.S. Airways, and we were assured that they would arrive safely.

When we landed in Anchorage, we noticed a significant gouge in the side of the box. We thought the glass might have broken. So, when we got home, we opened the box... but, since the frames hadn't shifted and the glass was intact, we left them in the box until our matted prints arrived. HA HA.

Once we received the matting and began unwrapping the pictures, we found each frame damaged at the corner that was gouged. We hadn't even thought the frame would crack and not break the glass. We tried to repair them, but 2 of the frames were utterly beyond repair.

Despite our keeping the box and taking pictures, U.S. Air said we needed to have let them know in person within 4 hours to submit a claim AND denting is normal-- they can't be held responsible for damage caused by normal handling.

We've since exchanged a few fruitless emails where U.S. Air tries to explain that denting is part of their normal handling process... UGH. Finally, I decided to just submit the complaint to the Better Business Bureau.

Much to my non-amazement, U.S. Air isn't a BBB accredited business... while their competitors, who have always handled any issues promptly and courteously, ARE. I don't think it's at all a coincidence that Delta (who credited me miles because I had to sit in a broken seat with a poor seat assignment) IS a BBB business (as is Southwest--though, to be fair, some others aren't) and U.S. Airways, who hasn't even offered to refund the charge we paid them to fly the bag, is NOT.

Pencil Sharpener

Ugh! I am over battling pencil sharpeners. I never, ever thought I'd write a grant for a pencil sharpener and paper, but I did.

http://www.donorschoose.org/ms.fees

The best part is that Horace Mann has a matching grant for our school... so, for the $192 project, I only need to raise $96. If you're able to donate, that's wonderful.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

May the luck o' the Irish be with you today and throughout the year! ... and may no one make you watch Quiet Man-- yuck!

Ground Beef and Veggie Meatloaf

I (along with 2/3 of my class) have been battling a cold. So, John considerately and bravely faced Costco alone this past weekend. (He's really a trouper about running this errand, which I particularly loathe. Although we did make the mistake of scheduling a Costco run the Saturday before Superbowl Sunday.)

John and I have been trying to eat more nutritious food. So, he picked up lots of veggies--sweet peppers, broccoli, garlic, carrots, celery, spinach, and green beans. It's awesome to have all this food rich in vitamins... BUT, I've felt a bit intimidated about trying to use it all before it goes bad.

Since we also had ground beef, I decided to make meatloaf, which I love.

I wanted to use the slow cooker since we weren't eating it the same night. I found a recipe and used it as inspiration; but, since I didn't have all the ingredients, I sort of made my own recipe. It ended up being tasty and packed full of vegetables.

INGREDIENTS for the LOAF
(I'm estimating a cup to be about a handful and guessing on the spices... so this isn't too precise.)

2 c. chopped fresh broccoli
1 c. chopped fresh sweet peppers
1 clove diced garlic
1 c. cut or torn fresh spinach
1 c. cut baby carrots
2 lb. ground beef
2 slices bread (I used the heels of a sourdough wheat loaf)
3 eggs
1/2 T. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp. chile powder
2 T. Worcestershire sauce

In one bowl, I combined all the vegetables, the Worcestershire sauce, and pepper and mixed.

In another bowl, I combined the rest of the ingredients (meat, bread, eggs, salt, poultry seasoning, and chile powder) and mixed these with my hands. I then added the bowl of vegetables and continued mixing this with my hands.

I sprayed the slow cooker with non-stick spray and then pressed the meatloaf mixture into the slow cooker. I cooked the loaf on low for 4 hours. After 2 hours, I poured off all the liquid. I repeated this at 3 hours and 3 and a half hours. The nice thing about this recipe is that the vegetables release so much liquid when they cook, they take out a lot of the greasiness from the meat. There was not fat or grease sitting on the top or on the sides.

INGREDIENTS for the SAUCE

3/4 c. of ketchup
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
2 T. apricot jam

I removed the loaf from the slow cooker and spread the sauce on top. I think there's probably a better topping AND a better way to do this, but I haven't figured that out yet.

We tried it tonight and it was delicious... and nutritious ;)

Chicago City Limits

This past Saturday we went to see the comedy group Chicago City Limits, which is actually out of New York. My co-worker and friend Lori and her husband Rob also had tickets to see the show. We all went out for dinner before the show and grabbed some dessert afterwards.

The coolest part was that one of John's students from Michigan (he was a Graduate Student Instructor for several classes) was in the show. Her name is Julia and it was neat to see her again. (I actually saw her class presentation one of the times I visited Ann Arbor.)

It was a fun evening... though I'm a bit biased towards Scared Scriptless ;)

Hayden is Famous

Okay, well not really... and definitely not like my brother's dog, Taro, who has his own blog. BUT, it was cool to see Hayden's picture on People Pets.

As a side note, Taro has been on there many a time before... as I think I mentioned.

Furthermore, I'm clearly a rotten dog owner, since this was posted in October and I didn't even know.

The Iditarod

Eskimos, igloos, and the Iditarod... that's about all most of us know about Alaska. It's certainly all or most of all I knew about Alaska when I first moved here. Needless to say I haven't seen igloos, but I've seen lots of Eskimos (which is an acceptable name--though Canadians don't care for it--and "Alaska Native" is broader), and NOW I've seen the ceremonial start of the Iditarod.

On March 5th, when Mom and Kerry were here, we were able to see the ceremonial start to the Iditarod. Just like with the World Championship Sled Dog Races, one of the coolest parts is before the race. During this time, you can walk the streets and see the dogs and their handlers getting ready.

After we parked the car, we started seeing teams before we'd even left the block. The first team was Dallas Seavey's (they'd won the Yukon Quest this year). One of his assistants was feeding the dog and answered lots of our questions. For example, he was dolling out steaming hot scoops of dried dog food soaking in water. He clarified that, actually, this wasn't a feeding, but a watering. Since the dogs don't feel much like drinking water in the cold, they put the food in warm water to entice them.

As we made our way down the block, we saw Newton Marshall's team. Because of my 80's love of Cool Runnings, I was thrilled to see "the Jamaica Dogsled Team."

Here are pictures from our time at the ceremonial start. It's very cool to have been able to see the famous Iditarod.

Since then, the Iditarod has finished. Dallas Seavey finished fourth. Newton Marshall scratched--apparently several of his dogs were ill. And, John Baker won the race in record time.

Daylight Jet Lag

What is up with Daylight Savings Time? Okay... "falling back" wasn't so bad... but "springing forward" is rotten. It's like having jet lag. One day you have an hour, the next day it's just gone. That doesn't even seem fair.

Can "they" (whoever they is) just steal the hour? It sounds like the Hamburglar or something... like he he he... now it's gone.

The only plus is that now we're back to an hour off Arizona time (rather than 2).

A Review of Scared Scriptless

Here's a review of Scared Scriptless' late February performance... John is called "a rock star"

Miners and Trappers Ball

Part of Fur Rondy is the Miners and Trappers Ball. It is held the second Saturday of the festival and is a fundraiser for the Lions Club. There are 3 components of the Ball. In one section of the room is the "dance component" a band and a dance floor. But, in the second section, the awesome section, is a stage for judging the other 2 components--the "Mr. Fur Face" competition and then the costume contest.

Mom, Kerry, John, Michael, and I spent most of our time in the competition area. The "Mr. Fur Face" competition was quite funny. It is both very serious and very not serious. (You'd have to be there.) The hosts who were from Channel 2 were great. There are lots of different categories and Michael even entered the "Wolf" category. (He's number 6.) Mr. Wolf is debonair and stylized... Michael made the first cut, but wasn't in the top two. Number 2 ended up winning Mr. Wolf. The man with the long gray beard won Mr. Pole Cat. Will Merrill is the man with the super long red beard and he won Mr. Red Fox. The man in the overalls was visiting from Texas and he won Mr. Alaskan Whaler. (He said he was grateful to be in a state that appreciated his facial hair.)

The costume contest would have been fun to watch, if not for the world's worst (or close) hosts-- Lauryn and Marcus (also of Channel 2). YIKES!! They made the "Best in Show" hosts look competent. (I've included a little "Best in Show" reminder so you've got a comparison.)



Marcus, in contrast, had the following interaction:
MARCUS- So here we have a bar girl.
SALOON GIRL 1- Well, a pregnant saloon girl (patting her stomach)
MARCUS- (Turning to her friend)... Two pregnant bar girls!
SALOON GIRL 2- I'm not pregnant.
MARCUS- Sure you are... you can tell us in a minute.

Seriously!!! That and he kept calling the Mad Hatter "Willy Wonka" and when another Mad Hatter came up on stage he also called him "Willy Wonka". It was a train wreck!!

Ultimately, we ended up leaving. Too gruesome.

More Running of the Reindeer

Here are a few more pictures from Running of the Reindeer. (These are ones that Michael took.) The waiter was one of my favorite costumes... all of the items were velcroed to his table. In the top right, you can actually see the reindeer and the man with the "butt" costume.

Marrying People

One of the "powers" of being an Alaska law clerk is the ability to officiate weddings. A couple weeks ago, John officiated several weddings. He was honored and excited. Here are some pictures.

Almond Gray

This is my favorite non-caffeinated, hot drink. I first tried an "Almond Gray" in Michigan and the kindly baristas of Anchorage have been kind enough to oblige my subsequent requests.

An Almond Gray is a sugar-free almond steamer (translation: steamed milk with sugar-free almond syrup) with an Earl Gray tea bag steeped in it.

Yummmmm!

Vegas Trip

In January we visited Las Vegas, here are some pictures that Tracy took from the trip.

Annie-Bananie

When I was in seventh grade, I begged Dad to let me get a puppy. Finally he capitulated and we began the search. We went to several rescue facilities before ending up at a puppy store. I think we were in Peoria, but can't really remember. Margo, Kyle, Dad, and I were there. When we walked in, I went right to Annie. She was the smallest (before teacup and kitten-size dogs were popular really) and adorable. She slept in my arms and I had to have her. Margo and Kyle tried to convince me to get one of the more enthusiastic puppies; but, I had my heart set on Annie. (Little did we know how much energy Annie would actually have.) They ended up getting a beagle-dachshund mix that they named Beagle Bailey.

While I was at my dad's house, I kept Annie inside. She had a little crate by my bed and would always wake me up in the middle of the night to let her outside. When I wasn't at my dad's house, she stayed outside. She was only about 7 pounds and within a month or so was stepped on by one of our family's Rhodesian ridgebacks. Her leg was broken. For her recuperation, she was relocated to my mom's... where she stayed. She spent the next couple months in casts--I think pink first and then purple. This tiny little dog would take off out the doggie door barking her leg stuck straight out in its hard cast. From then on, whenever she squatted, out went her leg in this bizarre balancing act.

Our family has many wonderful memories of Annie. She had many nicknames-- Annie-Bananie, Muffinhead, and Annie Jordan come to mind. The last name came from her puppy leaps from couch to couch.

Annie was always there, letting you pet her and comforting you when you were sad. She was the backdrop for so many of our important events-- graduations (middle school to college), birthdays, Halloween, Christmases, Thanksgivings, new houses, getting ready for Kyle and Tracy's wedding, and I'm sure more. John remembers this: "I enjoyed her from the first moment I met her and lifted her onto the counter; receiving a sharp rebuke from Lindsey and an indication that my actions were entirely inappropriate and would not be looked on fondly by Valerie. I will always remember her fondly." She was a sweet, sweet girl.

Over the past 5-10 years, Annie's health has declined. Cataracts clouded her eyes, but she never lost her spunk, enthusiasm, or sweetness. Despite constant efforts, Annie's health has failed over the past year. Today, Mom and Kerry had to put Annie to sleep--Mom shared-We said our final goodbye to our sweet Annie today. We'll always remember her funny little face and the best attitude a dog could have. Rest well little one.

Running of the Reindeer 2

I know I posted about Running of the Reindeer before, but that was mostly just the video. The best part of Running of the Reindeer is people-watching and seeing all the costumes. The reindeer weren't a huge threat-- there weren't that many reindeer compared to the number of people in Herd 3 (the group), which is good-- with all the people, you couldn't really run if you wanted to. At the end we got to see the reindeer and pet them. The picture of me with the reindeer is a bit funny... I decided it would be a cute picture if I rested my hand on the reindeer's antler. The reindeer didn't think so and shook its head, which startled me. You'll notice my hand withdrawn and the giggle.

Boo Hiss

Mom and Kerry left early, early, early this morning and arrived back to Phoenix today.

While glad they made it back safely, we're super sad that our long weekend with them is over. We miss them already.

We had a wonderful time visiting and are very glad they made the trip.

Yesterday was a great way to wrap up the trip. John took a half day for us to go up to Girdwood. We took a great drive along Turnagain Arm, ate lunch at Chair 5 (their Yukon gold potato pizza is AWESOME), played the train game in the Alyeska Resort, and ate a yummy dinner at Jack Sprat. We didn't get to visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center like we did this past fall with Dad and Margo (the bears are sleeping and it was chilly), but John and Kerry did get to explore the outdoors of the resort and get some picture.

Running of the Reindeer

Mom found a video of Running of the Reindeer in which you can see all of us! Pretty cool :) There were actually a surprising number of spectators (like a parade) AND participants--particularly in Herd 3 (the group category). We estimated there were probably 600 or more runners. As you can see (or actually not), the reindeer weren't a huge threat... which is good since we couldn't really run (as there were always people in the way). It was lots of fun.

Check out:

• Joe in the Hawaiian shirt at 1:50
  
• Me and John (from the outside in) as bears--brown and polar and Michael, as a guy in a Toronto jersey with an Arab headdress-- at 2:01
• Several of my coworkers (who went as "Sled Zeppelin") are right after us
• At 2:20 in the background, you see my coworker and friend Jeannette's ex-husband on the ground
• Mom and Kerry at 2:22
• Another of my coworkers, Tom Bowerman, helping Mark up at 2:26
• Plus, wherever you see gold, black, and sleds, you've probably spotted a coworker

Hot Off the Press

Here are some preliminary pictures of the ceremonial start of the Iditarod, the fur auction, and the Running of the Reindeer.

I'll get more and the full "scoop" later :)