That time William Shatner Tweeted Me

So the other night I was tweeting back and forth with a few friends, mainly fangirling over a certain actor (who may or may not be the best dressed in my 30 days of OUAT list ha ha). It was getting late, but we were on a kick... and then I saw a tweet that William Shatner wrote about Once Upon A Time. He's become an OUAT fanboy recently, and was announcing he was caught up on the series. Like many Oncers, he was proud of himself for calling a certain plot twist. I'm not a fan of Shatner, really (I do like him in Miss Congeniality though), but I had been following him because of his auction where he was auctioning off some Once Upon A Time memorabilia.

It was a total knee jerk reaction when I decided to reply to his tweet. It was me being whiny about Neal Cassidy not being around to be his kid's father, and I wasn't expecting to get a reply when lo and behold Mr. Shatner did just that! It was cool - I mean earlier that week I had OUAT creator Adam Horowitz reply to a tweet, too - but I didn't think much of it. I mean, really, who would? My friend tweeted me to "hope you're ready for some random attention". But I just laughed and went to bed.

I wake up the next morning to find out I apparently went viral. Because of my start of the discussion Shatner and a few Nealfire fans began to discuss how Neal needs to come back! WILLIAM SHATNER IS A NEALFIRE FAN (and apparently a SwanFire shipper, but I don't really care too much about that). I was NOT expecting any of this, and I spent most of Thursday and Friday very embarrassed as I watched my twitter post go viral on all sorts of social media sites (it's all over tumblr, twitter, facebook and instagram... and I don't have a tumblr!). It's CRAZY. My friends weren't even the ones who started it, they just fed into it (I think just because I was freaking out lol).

So, yes, Captain Kirk tweeted me about Once Upon A Time. My dad is telling everyone he knows... my five seconds of fame... oh well, it's better than when I made it into the local paper because I flambed the kitchen.

And, yes, Aimee, you are correct I was NOT THRILLED... LOL

Farewell January!

Kassy and Delaney treated me to birthday doughnuts before
we headed into the sanctuary to paint the walls.

Can it be the end of January already? Wasn't it just a week or so ago that we rang in the new year? It was a somewhat busy month. Between photos and helping with Church renovations I definitely was out of the house more than [my] normal.

The painting of the sanctuary was fast, took us 5 half days and it got done. It was thanks to a great group of people (I was terrified that it would just be Kassy and me). It's a lot less WHITE and has a little color and warmth in the walls now.

Our next project is to organize the church offices. We've already had a lot of fun with the shredder. And it's neat finding all of the old church photos and such. So much history. It will be interesting to put it all together.

My birthday was good. We celebrated a night early because it was MLK day and originally my mom's bff and her hubby were coming over. They couldn't make it, but we still had Kassy and Delaney over and we had prime rib and my favorite sides. And pumpkin pie for dessert. Delaney spent most of the evening in my room watching Disney Jr. but came out every now and again to entertain. She's a hoot.

On my actual birthday I was at the church painting, but Delaney made sure to sing me happy birthday and had me blow out my candles. It was low-key and that made it better than most. Oh, yeah, and they treated me to McDonald's for lunch. LOL

The rest of the month I've just been doing stuff online and photos. I'm hoping things pick up soon or I will be seriously job hunting. Don't really like that sound of it, but I have to do something to get the bank account back up to where I like it.

This is just a little random update into my life. Next comes dog mushing and Olympics posts I'm sure.

New Year, New Outlook

Well, so much for blogging in 2013. If you followed me on facebook you know it was, overall, a horrible year. I can definitely say that depression followed me around and I know I not only annoyed people but pushed them away. I may have had time to post (a lot) on facebook, but I had no desire to blog about anything.

Disney World with Mom and Dad was a blast - though October was horribly humid. I've decided I'm sticking to November as my favorite time to go. The crowds were awful as well. But we made do and mom and dad are still talking about all the fun they had. I could blog about it all... but I think this blog just needs to start over. In the coming days I hope to get motivated to get to changing a few things.

Really the year was rather lackluster - though there were some highlights. Meeting friends and reuniting with old ones. However it seems that it was more bad than good when talking about highs and lows. I pray that 2014 will be better.

Which leads to the New Outlook. I want to get off my duff and really buckle down and make life goals and decisions and work towards them instead of being so ambivalent about the whole thing. We'll see how that goes.

For January I want to downsize some of the things I really don't ever use (VHS tapes are the first thing to go, followed by books that I no longer read/need to hold onto). I'm going to do month by month. It makes it a better goal making thing for me.

These are not resolutions, btw. I don't believe in doing those.

Also on the Horizon is the Dorktwins 30th birthday trip to Disneyland! Erin's husband is coming along and I invited my friend from Buffalo, Aimee to come as she has the same bdate as Erin. It's going to be a blast and I'm already doing more planning on it than I really need to so soon. But I can't help myself.

This is the last year of my 20s (turning 29 this month!), I want to enter my 30s on a positive note!

Sorry, it's been a while.

Just when I got back onto a blogging schedule life took some drastic and in many ways painful turns. Some I am not allowed to discuss in public - though I really want to - and involves family. I've lost my photo studio - through no fault of my own, and only due to said family. And my precious pug Yuka passed on while I was in Montana.

And, no, I don't want to talk about that last one. It's still too raw. I love that little girl. She was and still is my heart.

Needless to say, 2013 has been the worst on record - and I've had some doozies in the last few years. I have stopped the cooking countdown - though we THREE are still going to Walt Disney World in October. In fact, we just hit the double digits today. 99 Days until my break from reality! I am hoping that some healing can happen while we are down there.

Erin and Wess' wedding back in May was fantastic. I enjoyed getting to meet the man who stole my beastie from me (hee hee) and they were so great and understanding while I dealt with my not being there for my puggy girl at the end. I have so many stories I could share. The best one being the night that we three went to Missoula for the evening and while at dinner Erin went to use the restroom and our waiter (not knowing/realizing there were 3 of us total) thought Wess and I were on a date. No matter how much we hinted that we were not a couple he didn't get it. That is, he didn't get it until Erin came back. The look on his face was priceless.

It really broke the ice between Wess and me and I even suggested that Wess come with on our Disney trip next year. (Disneyland September of 2014!) It'll be his very first time to Disney. He has NO idea what he's getting into! *cue evil laugh*

I'm typing this on my laptop that is trying to die on me. I went and bought a used computer from the school district today and will be transferring all of my photo programs onto that system to hopefully give this laptop a break. I'll use this strictly for internet stuff. For the time being. I need to find someone who will take a look and hopefully fix whatever is going on with this thing.

So that's a brief update from the last few months. I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things soon. If for no other reason than to help my sanity.

Last weekend in June - just what I needed!

After a not so fantastic Thursday I was sooooooo ready to get out of dodge for a while. I packed up my car for the weekend, left my computer at home, and headed for Anchorage. I planned on spending the night at my gparents and then we were going to head for the Iditaord BBQ for Volunteers and musher sign up on Saturday (blog about that coming later this week).
The drive up was pretty uneventful, and I made good time even with a pitstop in Girdwood where I ran into my friend Paul who was headed down to Kenai for the weekend. Go figure. After we exchanged the "stay away from these sections of anchorage/once you hit the sterling hwy it won't be as crowded" information we took off in either direction.

The drive was uneventful until I took one of the curves to find a ton of parked cars in an area you don't normally see a large congregation - there were sheep on the side of the road. So I joined the growing group of parked cars and grabbed the camera and giant lens. I spend at least a half hour shooting photos until the crowd grew to a size that made the older of the two sheep very aggitated. So I moved on and headed to the "big city".

Met up with my friend Angie for dinner at Ling and Louies. We both had their Mongolian Beef and it was super tender and yummy. I want to go again and again and again! After catching up I was off to visit the gparents. Pretty much an uneventful evening that went way too late.

After not getting enough sleep, grandpa asked me to follow him out to Wasilla for the BBQ (as I said, I will blog about that later). A drive that normally takes 40 minutes tops, took close to two hours. We went no more than 40mph on the Glenn Hwy. Not fun.

After the BBQ I headed a little way down the road to Juanita and Haille's where I was going to spend the night. I hadn't seen them since January - very bad, I know - and I was missing the kid something terrible. After getting directions I made a quick drive over and met a giant of a girl! Haille is up to my chest and is only age six! Her first words to me after I commented on her height was "I'm tall enough for EVERYTHING at Disney." Dang it. LOL

We decided to go to the movies that night so off we went, she gave me the wrong directions ("Aunt Toni, I'm SIX, I'm going to make mistakes!") but we finally found the theater. Got our tickets, our soda and popcorn... and she proceeded to spill a full (thankfully small) soda all over the theater stairs. So out we went to get another soda. Back in and sit down. We, of course, saw Brave (review to come later, hopefully), and when the Disney logo came on Haille proudly proclaimed "I've been there." Yes, yes you have.

After the movie it was home for a bit of fun before bed. Sunday we spent at the Park and then DQ before going home. Just spending time with Haille was a joy, even when she put her stinky, sweaty feet in my face, and was a general six year old. She is just so much fun. And so stinkin smart it isn't even funny.

At one point she told me, "You know what, Toni? My gramma spoils me. And my dad spoils me. And my mom spoils me. You need to spoil me more." Gee, thanks kid. LOL

Sunday evening I drove home. Now it's just maintaining until I head down to California for my cousin's wedding next week!



Haille's not a little girl anymore! *tear*

Happy April!

Yes I know my theme is still sled dogs and snow and Iditarod. I love it too much to let it go just yet! Besides, I'm working for mushers again, so I'm still in that mindset... I guess? ha ha!

There's not much to report. Work is starting to make sense so I'm pretty happy. It's only going to get busier. Then I have two trips that I have flights paid for, but now I have to start thinking trip planning. Disneyland especially. Going with family, again, but I need to get them to nail down a few things so I can maybe work around meeting up with friends at somepoint. I have some online friends who want me to show off my photography skills while I'm down there and I am excited about that idea!

We do have bad news to report, though. Mom's dog Bo has compressed disks in his spine. For the next two weeks he's going to be doped up big time as we try to get the muscles to relax. Poor guy is really out of it. We're just thankful he isn't sick, but he won't get to rough house or go up and down stairs anymore. He's so frustrated right now because he wants to do things but he can't. Even if he was allowed to move around the drugs keep him so relaxed that he can't move LOL

So, in between work and scrapbooking I also need to start planning. Boy, oh, boy, hopefully I can blog about it all...

Working through the Iditarod

It's official. I am working for mushers during the Iditarod (and beyond). Started Monday and it's been a whirlwind. So that's why the blog went silent this week. It was not my intention, but that's how it goes sometimes.

Tomorrow I am going to pack for the Iditarod. We will travel up to Anchorage Friday evening. Trail Guarding for the Ceremonial Start on Saturday, and then we'll head over to the HQ to see what's going on there. Then Sunday we'll head out to Willow for the ReStart. I will meet up with "my" mushers and take pictures, hopefully posting via my mobile phone on their facebook, and then I'll hike out to whereever my family and friends are to watch the teams take off for Nome!

I'm debating whether I want to stay in Anchorage for a while or head back home with the gang after that. I'm tempted to stay up there, but may not have a vehicle, which would make my stay up there rather pointless... decisions, decisions...

Last day of July...

Summer has gone by far too quickly. Tomorrow is august. I haven't been blogging, I've been scrapping. Basically I work and come home and scrap. Mainly because I just need to destress and these days the internet is anything but relaxing for me. That doesn't mean I haven't been tweeting or facebooking, but I've been mainly on my phone.

At the very beginning of the month I let my landlord know, via my parents since the property manager's son was becoming increasingly more difficult to deal with, that I would not be renewing my lease. I was tired of my neighbor's issues. My neighbor in the single unit was becoming more and more stalkerish. She knew too much about me (like where I worked, what my schedule was, and - get this - how much I reportedly made! Who gave her THAT info?). I was still unable to use the laundry facilities because of her smoking, my whole house smelled like it, and I was just done. My landlord was SHOCKED and "saddened" that I wasn't staying.

She had the prop. manager take down the for sale sign, and put up a for rent sign. Then my nosy smokey neighbor invited random people to come into my house. She waited for me to come home and demanded I let them go in. I told her no, she pressured and I finally relented for no other reason than to get her to leave me alone. SHE INVITED HERSELF INTO MY HOUSE! UGH! It makes me wonder how many times she went in there when the prop manager's son was showing teh house to potential buyers because she knew where everything was in my house. Insanity!

So, instead of renting I'm living with my parents in teh house I grew up in while I save money and build credit so that I can get myself a mortgage. It should take about six months barring any random issues. I have my very own credit card (pretty much against my will) which I will use to get my credit score to actually exist (they didn't even have my name in the system when they pulled my credit report. Go me!).

Still working at teh credit union, but as of this afternoon I've completed a letter/application for a job opening at the Alaska Court System here in Kenai. It's a better pay rate, I like the hours they have, and I just don't really feel like the CU is the right fit for me. I've been very discouraged lately, and just feel I need the change.

Photography has once again stalled due to my work schedule. I do have some things planned for August, though, and more in the works. Looking forward to it.

I finally got to go fishing last wednesday. Kept one red and landed four. It was a great day on the Kenai with just my dad. It was worth waking up at four in the morning on my one day off ha ha.

So that's basically the latest on me. Nothing overly exciting, but I had to put something on here for July. I guess.

I've got the blahs...

I don't know if it's work - which is a job, not a passion... yet again - or the living situation drama, or the hermit lifestyle I've led these last six years or so... but I just have been in this set pattern of blahs. Aside from vacations to Disney... and the Iditarod... I really haven't had much to look forward to or get excited about. It's frustrating, but at the same time I'm just not enthusiastic about changing the situation either. It could be laziness, or maybe I just don't give a real care to change. I look around me and all of these people are so much better at what we do, have these amazing families - which yes I know have their own trials, tribulations and moments of discontentedness - and I can't help but feel like I'm still stuck where I was in 2003, the only difference is back then I had a whole world of possibilities... now, nothing. I'm in that rut, I've gone back to the one place I promised myself I wouldn't go. And I'm just. UGH!

I don't understand why I am this way. I don't understand why I can't take the bull by the horns. Why I can't seem to even make a sale in my job or with photography! I just feel very inept. I have Two Years before I'm old enough to attend a high school reunion but what will I have to show for it? I'll be the loser on the corner. And not even a good kind of loser.


So, yeah, I have the blahs. And I'm tired of people saying "look on the bright side" quoting a Bible verse or saying "it'll get better" and then tell me their lifestory. Because, honestly, I don't care. I don't want a comforting word. I don't want a "pick me up." I just want to vent, and when I vent I don't want someone to answer back. I just want to scream and hear the lonely echo. So let me do that.

and, yes, this was taken right outside my door. Gonna miss this sight.

And so this post isn't a total loss, let me add a photo.

Oh look! Another 30 Day Challenge!

So I have a lot to share, but I just don't ever get down to sharing it, so for now I'll share a new 30 day challenge I found.

day 01 - your favorite song
day 02 - your least favorite song
day 03 - a song that makes you happy
day 04 - a song that makes you sad
day 05 - a song that reminds you of someone
day 06 - a song that reminds of you of somewhere
day 07 - a song that reminds you of a certain event
day 08 - a song that you know all the words to
day 09 - a song that you can dance to
day 10 - a song that makes you fall asleep
day 11 - a song from your favorite band
day 12 - a song from a band you hate
day 13 - a song that is a guilty pleasure
day 14 - a song that no one would expect you to love
day 15 - a song that describes you
day 16 - a song that you used to love but now hate
day 17 - a song that you hear often on the radio
day 18 - a song that you wish you heard on the radio
day 19 - a song from your favorite album
day 20 - a song that you listen to when you’re angry
day 21 - a song that you listen to when you’re happy
day 22 - a song that you listen to when you’re sad
day 23 - a song that you want to play at your wedding
day 24 - a song that you want to play at your funeral
day 25 - a song that makes you laugh
day 26 - a song that you can play on an instrument
day 27 - a song that you wish you could play
day 28 - a song that makes you feel guilty
day 29 - a song from your childhood
day 30 - your favorite song at this time last year

California Dreamin'...

So I guess I should blog a little about my trip to California. I apologise in advance if this becomes garbled, incomplete, or otherwise a mess. It's just a few random - possibly vague - thoughts from the trip. Pictures are still being editted and if I think about it later I may share more photos than what I do here, but for now... this is what you get.

The wedding went really well. There was a tad bit of confusion, but for the most part it was good. The two Hailles were so cute as they gripped each other's hand and walked down the aisle. I was worried Haille Rae would stop when the crowd all went "awwwwww" when they got a glimpse of the flower girls but all she did was grip Hailee Elizabeth's hand tighter. They made it down stopped in front of Gaylord and looked up like "okay, now what." I waved them over to their moms and they sat down.

The photography was okay. I wasn't too happy with the rules that teh church gave - but this is a church that has a gay wedding coordinator, no joke, so it was eye opening in lots of ways. I had a lot of stone faced guys to work with, too, so I feel a lot of the posed shots (and there are way too many of those) look more like prison line ups.

Thank God I had the 100-400mm lens because I was standing in the back of the church the entire ceremony. Because when God is invited in (um, WHAT?) the photographer has to stay away. Because God doesn't like photographers (I guess, because that's the only reason I can think of for disallowing it). Apparently photographers are also distracting and noisy. Um, yeah, more so than the kids in the audience, oh, that's right, they had to be quiet or go away too. Whatever. Give me a good ol' Southern Baptist hitchin' and BBQ any day! LOL Lutherans, I tell ya!

Rules aside, Judy looked fab, and it was a happy fun time. The reception was fun. The Hailles spent the entire night on the dance floor. The food was REALLY good.. and I got to see my cousins and aunt and uncle rock it out on the dance floor (and my mom... in her bridesmaid dress... epic). When Billie Jean started playing my mom busted out her Michael Jackson floor moppin moves. Oh dear.

Mom left for home the day after, she needed to be home for Duane's 16th birthday, Jake and Jillian also left that night. I got to spend the next couple of days with my aunt Becca and uncle Rick. I hadn't ever really spent a lot of time with them, especially not as an adult, and I loved my time there. Aunt Becca is so much fun, and Uncle Rick keeps it real. I got to know them in a way I'd never been able to before, and it really put my heart and mind at ease about how the family looks at me. But, those feelings will come at another time in another blog. Let's just say there were a lot of... guarded emotions that are starting to bubble up. Hurt that I didn't realize was as deep as it was has come to teh surface and I'm still fighting to regain control of the emotions.

Needless to say, the foursome of Rick, Becca, Jake and Jillian were a Godsend in so many ways. Even after we made it to Disney.

The day before Disney we took Haille and Juanita on a tour of Nevada City and Grass Valley. I love the old mining town feel of the two, and I took a lot of pictures of my favorite spots. The Mansion at the Empire Mine is my absolute favorite place to photograph. I wish Judy and Gaylord had done some pre-wedding photos there, but alas it was not meant to be. Actually, I kinda wish they'd had the wedding there, too.

The weather was great for walking around, and Haille was surprisingly interested in everything, which was great. I was afraid she'd get bored in a hurry. She loved exploring the Mine, and only got scared when we went down the mine shaft (which they told us they are planning to expand as soon as they can get more funding from somewhere - seeing as how California is broke).

Disney... well... I had a lot of high hopes that were quickly dashed. And it wasn't Uncle Walt's fault. I wish we could have done it differently. Hindsight being what it was. I wish we'd stuck with the plan. I wish we'd taken a break midday like we promised. I wish we'd had more time to do some things, and I wish... well... A dream is a wish your heart makes.

There were magical moments. Seeing Haille the last night dance with Goofy and scratch Pluto's ear is exactly what we had hoped for when we planned the trip. Seeing her dressed up like a princess was magical... and listening to her scream and laugh in delight as we went through teh Matterhorn... and get excited that the same ghost sat with us each time we rode Haunted Mansion was special.

I'd love to take her again. I really would... but I'd want to do it the way I do Disney. With planning. And input. And I don't know.. naps. LOL.

Thank God for my best friend, she helped me through my frustration. We've decided Disneyland is our trip for 2012. Yes, I know I said no more Disney until 2014... but I don't feel that I did Disney right - or at all, even though there are pictures to say otherwise - this last time. I need to go back to Disneyland and really feel the magic and feel Uncle Walt... so August 2012 here we come! (I hope, I gotta get back to nationals that year too).

Jillian came to Disney with us one day - after we, once again, changed plans five hundred times and went to Hollywood for the morning. So we didn't get to do a whole lot with her at Disney, but it was a welcome relief. I love me some cousin time. One of my favorite parts was when we ditched the family and went back to the car so that I could change into dry warm clothes for teh evening. And then we spent a lot of time chatting while we sat holding spots for Fantasmic for the family while they watched the fireworks from the hub.

The next day when everyone went to the beach I met up with my friend Mackenzie at the parks. It was a great day to just get away and we had fun (or, at least I did!). We hit all of the rides I'd missed previously, and then she made sure I saw Aladdin. Which is, by far, the most amazing production I've seen in the parks... aside from Fantasmic in Disney World. It was just wow. Festival of the Lion King at Animal Kingdom comes close, but Aladdin is seamless and reminds me more of Lion King on Broadway in the way they interpret the story.

This was also the final day that the family was all in California, so I said good bye to Mackenzie and met up with the fam for dinner at Goofy's Kitchen. The magic finally hit everyone as Haille spent an amazing 2.5 hours hanging with the characters and having a blast. Goofy's Kitchen tops Chef Mickey's in food AND character interaction. Though, the characters are a bit random (we had Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale, Minnie... and Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother. Not sure how that works).

I had the next day all to myself after I moved from the hotel we all stayed at to the Anaheim Plaaza I headed for the park. First stop was the Carnation Cafe (okay, I lied first stop was Donald Duck) where I had my Mickey Waffle. All of a sudden it was DISNEY. I met Oscar who has been there since the park openned. He's the longest working employee Disney has. He autographed my menu and I got my picture with him. LOVED my experience with him. Great guy. Hope to meet him next year.

I spent most of my day taking pictures. I love Disney for that one reason, you can never get enough photographs. I haven't even started editing them all. I spent most of the day at Disneyland, but did pop over to California Adventure to catch another showing of the Aladdin Musical Spectacular. Genie is freaking awesome.

I also took a break and walked over to the Garden Walk and had me some Johnny Rockets. Then it was back to my hotel room where I grabbed my tripod and headed back to the park. I spent the hours before closing taking long exposures of just about everything. Again, haven't even started editing those. Before leaving I did my ritual of going to the partners statue when no one else was there and thanked Uncle Walt. I know, it's totally cheesey, but as I told Haille when she asked who that statue was with Mickey, without Uncle Walt, magic wouldn't exist. He built that park, it was his. I walked in his footsteps, I paid homage to his window... I don't worship the man, but I do admire and look up to him. He inspired this nation, and is one of the last true innovators we've had.


So that's the basic rundown. Pictures will have to come later, I am tired and I have to work in the morning.

Settled In...

Well, it's official, I love living on my own. Parents aren't too far away, so it's nice. I've got a routine, Yuka's adjusted easily enough, and it's feeling homey. I'm leaning more towards not getting a roomie and just having my rent knocked down to one person instead of two living here. It'll still be tight, but it is what it is.

The studio is all set up in one of the spare bedrooms and I have my first clients coming over on Sunday in the afternoon. Gaylord and my dad have both helped me to set it up (dad doing the heavy lifting and construction, Gaylord set up the lights!). Mom is sewing together some new backdrops and I'm getting excited to get into the action.

Work is going a bit better, but I'm still pretty sure this isn't something I want to do forever. I don't like the hours, nor do I like coming home smelling like all kinds of gross due to the money handling. I'm not a huge fan of customer service type jobs where you have to be actually in the line of fire when someone decides they want to be pissed off at the company so they take it out on the poor little defenseless peon. I can only hold my tongue so much before I want to truly rip them a new one.

Next week (actually a week from last night) we head out to California. One week in Grass Valley, another week in Disneyland. I'm excited, but I really don't want Haille to turn 5. I've found all of these photos of when she was small (well... small for her) and I miss those times. I miss that girl. That's the one thing that is really tough (that and getting used to sales tax again) about being down here. I really, honestly, miss knowing I can see Haille by just picking up the phone or the keys and setting a play date. Now it's gotta be planned out well enough in advance that our schedules match. It'll be even harder when she starts "real" school. My heart hurts thinking about it.

I got my new to me vehicle this past weekend. Gaylord drove it down while Judy drove down in the Saturn. It's more of a plum color to me, and so I'm in the process of deciding what to name him/her (not sure gender yet) and getting a set of custom plates. It runs really well, my only real complaint is the seatbelt is hard to secure... it pops on me all the time as I'm driving down the road. Not a good thing to have happen.

Well I need to get moving. Got lots to do this afternoon, and I need to get my house presentable for when I have company/clients on Sunday. Today is, obviously, my day off, and so my parents are coming over tonight for an early bday meal as my birthday is tomorrow and I have to work till 6:30ish... another low key bday, but I'm okay with that. I get steak and noodles, I'm all about that.

What I did on Christmas Vacation

Christmas was spent in Anchorage. After working all day on Thursday I drove my truck behind my dad. Duane rode with me as I was incredibly nervous driving in the dark on winter roads. It wasn't too bad, but we were definitely driving on ice in parts where I hated it.

Christmas was great. The family was all together and we had a lot of laughs and food. I love getting together with the whole gang. Louisa and Jim came down and Louisa's mom was up visiting from Washington so it was crowded, which made it even better. Christmas Eve Haille and Juanita came into town so it was one big happy family in Judy and Gaylord's small little house. Couldn't have been happier.

Christmas day was at the G'parents. It was great, and once again it was full! Carolyn and her friend came by so it was just like old times. Lots of new memories for the kids, and lots more laughter for the rest of us.

Then the day after Christmas the fun ended. We were on our way out of town, going to stop by the g'parents to say good bye and I ended up wrecking the truck. Duane, Yuka and I are all fine, no worries there. I hit a patch of ice going way slower than the speedlimit and I was able to correct the car out of the spin but not out of the slide and I ended up crunching the driver's front fender... and the tire blew... and now they're finding tons more wrong with it so it looks like the truck will be totalled and I'll be out of a vehicle. Because my life sucks like that right now.

So the four of us plus three dogs rode home in Dad's truck. Monday mom drove her van over and so I am driving that for the time being, but we can't have that forever. So who knows what's going to happen with that. More expenses just keep piling up and I have no way to pay for any of them! UGH! Tuesday mom's car wouldn't start so my boss had to come rescue me and take me into work... and my best friend found out she needed surgery. To say this week has been a crapfest would be an understatement.

So that's how I spent the last week. How was yours?

Since I lost interest in the 30 Days Of Me...

...I will try to finish that marathon posting... but I want to start another one that seems to be a bit more fun for me. So, it's 30 days of Skating!!!!!! This should keep my interest much more easily!

The list is as follows:

Day 1: How you got into figure skating


Day 2: Your favourite pairs program

Day 3: Favourite figure skating spectatorship moment

Day 4: Up and coming figure skater you are most excited for

Day 5: Your favourite Dance program

Day 6: Predict - gold medalists at 2011 Worlds

Day 7: Your favourite Mens Program

Day 8: Your favourite Ladies Program

Day 9: Code of Points - give your opinion

Day 10: Last competition/show you attended

day 11: Your top 5 favourite male figure skaters

Day 12: Top 5 ladies figure skaters

Day 13: Top 5 pairs teams

Day 14: Top 5 dance teams

Day 15: Predict - gold medalists in 2014

Day 16: Your dream 2014 Olympic medalists

Day 17: Least favourite skater

Day 18: Favourite figure skating music

Day 19: If you could marry any figure skater, who would it be?

Day 20: Your favourite Olympic moment

Day 21: Team Johnny or Team Evan?

Day 22: Favourite & least favourite commentator

Day 23: Skater everybody loves but you don’t

Day 24: Skater you love but nobody else does

Day 25: The quad. Give your opinion.

Day 26: Saddest figure skating moment

Day 27: Your favourite figure skating moment of all time

Day 28: Favourite & least favourite costume

Day 29: Your favourite figure skater of all time

Day 30: Why you love figure skating



In other news, packing is nearly completed. I just have to bag up my stuffed animals, bag up board games, and break down my bathroom... yay! And in even BIGGER NEWS.........
 
I GOT A JOB!!!!!!!! I'm working at the Soldotna, AK branch of AlaskaUSA! So excited!

30 Days of Me: Day Twenty

Day 20: A Hobby

I have several hobbies, and they all seem to be linked. Photography leads to scrapbooking, and most of my photography (hobby) and scrapbooking revolves around my travelling. You probably see where I'm going with this.

I have officially hit the 24 hour mark until I'm on a plane watching the Flight Attendants do the emergency procedure demonstration. To say I'm excited is an understatement. I love to travel, but my body hates to fly. My stomach is normally in knots and the barfbag is always the first thing I locate when I get to my seat. Dremamine is going to be the experiment this time around. It doesn't do anything for me when I'm on a boat in the ocean, but I'm going to give this extra strength drowsy kind a try. It's adult chewable orange flavor. Yeah, that's all Fred Meyer's had ha ha!

Hopefully it will work because I REALLY don't want a repeat of my last time on an airplane where I basically threw up for three hours. Yuck.

So this blog is going to be pretty much quiet for the rest of the month. I get back on thanksgiving so I should start blogging soon after ( not that anyone really cares about my schedule ). However, Erin and I will try to blog from time to time while on our trip. We have our own travel blog which you can find here - http://originaldorktwins.blogspot.com/ - and we'll be updating our facebooks. I will also try to twitter when possible - http://www.twitter.com/tonichelleak - so there's no excuse not to know what we're doing! Favorite our blog, follow me on twitter!

In other non-meme news: My parents go to view the potential new Casa for Tonichelle today at 11. I'm really hoping this comes through. I'm praying that a job opens up and it is a total possibility. I really hate that this will be decided while I'm travelling, though. All because dad took forever to actually do some investigating on the place. Oh well, it'll all work out.

I better get off of here and actually finish packing, or this trip will never get off the ground!

30 Days of Me: Day Thirteen

Day 13: A Fictional Book


A friend of mine gave me the Alaskan Quest series of books for my birthday a few years ago. She immediately thought of me when she read them because they were in Alaska. I will admit I was very reluctant to be enthused because I absolutely hate the stereotypical way authors (and tv/film writers) write Alaska. However, I was pleasantly surprised that Author Tracie Peterson took the time to try to understand the Alaskan way of life and thinking.

The series is written by a Christian novelist, and is in the "Christian Romance" genre. Again, not something I am normally into, but I was pleasantly surprised. What struck me most was how the main female character had the true Alaskan spirit - though she was a bit more delicate than I would have wanted. She is able to fend for herself, and I found myself identifying with her over many of her womanly fears.

The story takes place in North West Alaska Coast. North of Nome. It follows the story of adult siblings Jacob and Leah Barringer. Orphaned during the initial gold rush they've now set out on their own, vowing to stay by each other until one marries. Leah is the one having the most trouble as she nears 30 and does not have a husband and family of her own. Then, someone from her past reappears and old feelings come welling back.

Romantic fairytale elements aside the series is good for a variety of reason. You have a bit of mystery, a bit of adventure, and romance, but most importantly it's clean. There are no sex scenes in graphic detail even when it's a married couple, though it's obviously suggested. Later in the series there is a rape, but the author does not shy away from answering the tough questions like "why did God allow this to happen?"

I own the series, and the series before it, as well as Robinson's latest Alaska series. Why? Because she's one of the few authors in this time period that GETS Alaska. It's not Jack London quality, but I don't expect that out of someone who does not live here.

30 Days of Me: Day Ten

Day 10: Picture taken of you over 10 years ago

This was obviously taken over 10 years ago, try like 24 years ago or so! Taken in my grandparents old motorhome, those little pink bathtubs were all the rage. Had a great picturesque view in all my nakiness! I love this pic ha ha! If I ever have kids I'm recreating it for each one of them!

30 Days of Me: Day Nine

Day 9: A Picture You Took

Once again I am remiss in blogging. Scrapbooking is taking up all of my time! I swear it's awful and wonderful all at the same time. I have decided there's just no way I will get the book done before my trip that starts in 12 days. I have so much to get done before the trip that I can't just focus on the book. I have to get the snow tires put on the truck (made an appointment for thursday, better late than never!), an oil change, I have a dental appointment next week (November 2) which I'm thinking of moving back till after Christmas. Fundage is tight and this is just a teeth cleaning - I think - so it's not a total need to have at the moment. But then again I probably SHOULD so I don't know. I also have a hair appointment the day before I fly down to Seattle and it's going to be a bit of a change.

I'm headed over to my grandparents' house in an hour or two with the two pugs. I haven't been over there in ages due to the fact that, well... yeah. They have a third wheel that not only knows how to push buttons, but I truly feel works for evil instead of good. He considers me the spawn of Satan because of my dad and former Pastor's teachings. Which tells you something right there: Pastor Dean preaches the Truth unashamedly. This third wheel has never heard him preach but has a hatred for him. Interesting. How do you know he is dangerous to you when you've never met the man much less heard him preach? I've felt the very real need to stay clear of this family member when at all possible and that means I don't go over to visit the people I love dearly. It's a catch 22. I convinced my parents last year to help with the Iditarod mainly because I did  not want to be in the situation I found myself in a couple years ago where he physically came at me. God stopped him from hitting me, but my reaction to the whole thing scared me more than the violence. I cannot be alone with him, period.

Anyway this all has nothing to do with the actual subject line, so I will now share a photo I took (which is what I did with the other two posts, but whatever!). This photo was taken a couple of weekends ago during the KCHS vs SoHi Small Schools State Championship game. Despite best efforts, Kenai did not defend their title. But I still got some great shots. I am loving my new 100mm-400mm lens! You can view all of my photos from the semi-finals and championship games in this facebook album -  - please feel free to tag anyone you recognize as I am 7 years out of high school and know next to no one on the field! http://www.photographybyantonia.com/

30 Days of Me: Day Six

Day Six: Whatever Tickles Your Fancy...

Oh yay! A theme where I just get to ramble on (for 18 pages... FRONT AND BACK!). Not too hard on most days, but for the last month or so I've had massive writers block. So I will try to do an update on what is going on at this point.

Last week I was in Kenai hanging with the family (as much as possible, they are busy people). The first night Mom, Ms Joy and I went to see "You Again" the new movie starring Kristen Bell, Jaime Lee Curtis and Segourney Weaver (Bette White,Victor Garbor and Kristen Chenoweth are in supporting roles). It's a sweet film, completely clean (SHOCKING) and had some funny moments. Though most of the laughing I did was not so much at the movie but at Joy as she is a riot! She's one of those people you HATE having sit behind you in a film because she talks at the characters, but sitting next to her was a blast!

The rest of the week was spent watching movies, tv, and playing games as the weather was horrendous. Saturday I had two photo shoots, which went fairly well. A toddler who was not interested in sitting still for family photos made the day a little difficult, but I ended with a senior photo shoot which was a blast. Drive home was uneventful, but the weather was icky so no fall photos in the mountains. Sad day.

Now I'm just counting down the days until our trip! So excited!

ABC's of Me

I was tagged on facebook, but their notes program is being stupid, so I figured I'd put it here, at least for now. It will eventually transfer over to facebook so I can delete this later I suppose.


You've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with the ABC's of YOU. At the end, choose people to be tagged. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you - but not in a creepy stalker kind of way. (To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your ABC's of Me, tag 26 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

A - Quarter century
B - Bed size: Double
C - Chore you hate: Cleaning the bathroom. It's covered in germs! (cookies to those who get the movie reference)
D - Dog's name: Yuka Marie and Bubba Jack
E - Essential start your day item: Shower
F - Favorite color: All shades of blue
G - Gold or Silver: Gold
H - Height: 5'7"
I - Instruments you play(ed): Trumpet, TC Baritone
J- Job title: Professional Photographer
K - Kid(s): Hopefully some day, gotta get me a man first.
L -Living arrangements: With my aunt and her SO.
M - Mom's name: Sue
N - Nicknames: Toni, Tonichelle, Toni the Tree, DooDoo,
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: never
P - Pet Peeve: people eating loudly/with their mouth open. There's no reason to smack your lips so freaking loud I can hear you over two televisions... but Gaylord has that talent. (and I think he does it on purpose when he wants me out of the room. It's called just tell me to boot it, I'll go.)
Q - Quote from a movie: Oh dear I have so many, first one to pop in my head: "Me, I'm dishonest, and a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly, it's the honest ones you have to watch out for because you can never predict when they will do something incredibly... stupid."
R - Right or left handed: Right
S - Siblings: adopted brother Duane and Sisters in Christ Erin, Kassy and Betsy!
T - Time you wake up: When the dog wakes me up
U - Underwear: always
V - Vegetable you dislike: all of them lol
W - Ways you run late: playing online
X- Xylophone: Always fun to bang away and make noise.
Y- Yummy food you make: I make a killer moose sausage gravy
Z - Zoo favorite: TIGERS