Welcome back, Ultimate Survival Alaska!

Tonight marked the premiere for Nat Geo's reality based competition "Ultimate Survival Alaska". In the third season, we see the competition hasn't changed much from last year... though there's more of a female presence and this year we have a team of nothing but Cheechakos! What does that give us? TONS OF WHINING to start out the new season.


The teams started out heading to the first USAlaska flag by either crossing an ice covered lake or go around it. These competitions are held in late spring/early summer in Alaska. The lake ice is sketchy at best, still we see both Team Endurance (led by Dallas Seavey) and Team Military head out as it's the quickest way to the flag. After all, this competition is all about the win -  nothing else matters. Nevermind there's not a huge cash prize at the ends, they get bragging rights.

Not 10 minutes in, Dallas Seavey - two time Iditarod champion - falls through the ice. It's a dramatic moment like only reality can bring. The dude is soaked from head to toe, so of course we get a quick striptease where we get to enjoy the sight of his albino chicken chest for a split second or two. Both teams on the ice do make it to the flag without any other incident and exchange a few friendly verbal jabs at each other.

Meanwhile I can't recall them showing Team Alaska much at all in the first half, which is sad because Marty and Tyler are both incredibly popular with the Survival Alaska fandom (even though Marty drives me nuts) but this season is all about the Endurance-Military rivalry which they've made quite clear and typically remind us several times every quarter hour. We get it. Grady's ticked that Dallas won last year. We get it, he wants to beat him. We get it, Dallas only knows how to win. WE GET IT.

The way they break up the intense rivalry, is with the "comedic" (read MORONIC) relief given to us by the non Alaskan team of Team Lower 48. For two hours we're stuck watching the team scream and curse at each other all the while getting lost and being slower than slow. They are the very definition of Cheechako, and it's a total waste of screen time.

Thankfully we get less of the rivalry and more of Team Alaska in the second hour of the premiere - but only because Tyler nearly collides with a teammate while skiing down a very scary mountainside. And all the while we get to listen to the Lower 48 team continue to argue and scream and curse and otherwise annoy the crap out of the audience.

If they could be disqualified in the next episode that would be GREAT.

Dallas demonstrates the danger of a
dog cooker during the Wildride
Sled Dog Rodeo. Summer 2008

There's no dog sled portion in the first episode (though judging by previews next week we'll get that), but Dallas still managed to bring his mushing skills to the table with the construction of his "dog cooker" which is a high heat cooking pot that mushers use to heat up water and food for the dogs (and themselves). We watch him construct one out of a coffee can, and he cooks up a lovely meal of beans and rice on a mountain side as his teammates look on with admiration and praise. Ah. Alaska at its best.

Meanwhile we get to see common sense once again go out the window as the Military team hits the glacier. Their newbie to their group decides that since he's never worn crampons, he doesn't want to try and wear them as they cross the ice with giant crevasses on each side. Shockingly several steps in he slips and slides into the crevasse - thankfully his team knows how to belay and gets him out of the jam. Whew. They tell him to put the crampons on. Why they didn't enforce that to start off with I don't understand.  I'm sensing this will be a theme throughout the whole show. Yay.

I will say that this season premiere kept my attention the entire two hours, unlike last season that I never did finish watching. I'm sure I find more to snark at than I should based on the fact that I do know a lot of it may not be fake, but is staged for dramatic effect or because the cameras didn't capture it as it happened... plus knowing one of the main players in the competition it's hard NOT to find everything overly humorous. It's not like these guys don't know that they're needing to be a little more like caricatures so that fans are entertained. Dallas and Marty are experts at it by now. Marty was somewhat subdued in this episode, but I'm sure we'll see him steal the show in no time.

Endurance clearly has the edge at this point - even with the missteps they had in this episode. Military is right on their heels though.. so far, but we know with this show anything can change. I don't expect Endurance to win. It wouldn't make for good TV.

But we'll see.

A Snowless New Year for Alaska

Well, I've been pretty whiny the first couple of days of the New Year - I know, so what else is new, right? - mainly due to our lack of winter weather. This has been the most dismal winter I can remember - and last year was pretty pathetic! I am concerned for many reasons, but basically I'm just tired of the dead brown look outside my window. This is not the Alaska I know and love. I want my snow.

I went out this evening hoping for a beautiful sunset, and didn't get much color in the sky. But I had fun with the beach waves anyway. All photos were taken in Kenai on the same beach where I shot photos of the Funny River Forest Fire last summer. You can find these photos as well as other landscape photos of Alaska in my gallery here, you can purchase them should you so desire.

Hoping to get more photos in the coming days, as well as blog more. But mostly, I hope Alaska gets some snow. (And by Alaska I mean South Central Alaska)

2014: A look back at fangirl heart breaking moments

Let me just put full disclosure out there - December has been one big month of sickness. I had the flu two and a half weeks ago (which I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. OMG I haven't been THAT violently ill since I was in grade school), and now I've got a massive head cold/sinus thing. Needless to say I'm on over the counter meds that make me loopy. So be forewarned.

2014 was overall a pretty good year. I haven't gone back and reread everything I've written on the blog (wow after March there was a lot of fangirling over one actor... gotta fix that... says the girl who just changed her blog theme to match said actor ha ha). "Real life" got back on track and stayed, for the most part, fairly positive; however, the fandoms I was a part of managed to tear my heart out and stomp on it many times over. So in tribute to those I thought I'd list all the moments that have made me rather the erratic/crazy emotional fangirl that I am. Some of these didn't actually happen in 2014, but I experienced them in 2014 so it counts.


09. Bucky Barnes is the reason I watched Captain America: The First Avenger. I love Sebastian Stan. He was wonderful in Once Upon A Time as Jefferson/The Mad Hatter, and then he left that world for the Marvel world. Can't blame him, I'm sure his paycheck is much larger now, still I missed him on TV. So, even though I'm not a Marvel fan, I sat and watched the first Captain America... and found I actually like the characters (I can't wait for Agent Carter in January!) not just Bucky. Knowing that he was going to be The Winter Soldier, I was excited to see the second movie. Sadly, I didn't realize how angsty it was going to be with it pitting the two besties against each other... and Bucky doesn't even REMEMBER who he is, much less that Steve (aka Captain America) is someone he loves and trusts. O!M!G! Can't handle the feels. I'm very interested to see how his character plays out in the next film. But the feels from Winter Soldier... oy. I'm getting ready to watch it right now, actually. Because I'm a glutton for punishment.

gif by clarklois on tumblr.

08. Tom Keen might have lived, but his relationship (if it really was one) with his wife Lizzie definitely took a nose dive in the first season of The Blacklist. I was devastated to learn that Tom Keen was not who Lizzie thought he was. Not a mild mannered school teacher, not even a Teaching James Bond, but a man who had one mission - her. At the season finale we know that he had been shot in what looked like a fatal way, and that his body was missing. He was presumed dead but all critics, most fans, and Reddington. I didn't think it was that simple (in TV if you don't see a BODY go in the ground it's never final). I was proven right in the second season - but it didn't make my heart any happier. The mid season finale had Tom parting ways not just with Lizzie, but with Reddington (again, I called it! I knew he was working for Red not just Berlin!). I personally think Tom has feelings for Lizzie, it's why Red told him to stay away from her. It's why Tom hitches not only when he needs to kill her, but also hitches when he has to promise to stay out of her life. I really want them to be able to work it out - kinda like the whole Mr and Mrs Smith thing, but I get the feeling the show is pushing for a Lizzie and Ressler pairing. I'll just be happy if we ever get the answer to WHO IS TOM KEEN?!

gif by fuckyeahtheblacklistedits on tumblr.

Well played, Mr. Eggold, well played indeed.

 07. Dallas Seavey's Iditarod win this year should've been - and was - cause for celebration. I've known him for a while now, and couldn't be more proud of his accomplishments. That being said, I was devastated for Aliy Zirkle. She had the faster team that night - she just left the checkpoint of safety too late. That night was insanely confusing. I can't imagine trying to figure it out in the middle of the storm with sleep deprivation. So many conflicting reports being given to the mushers as well as the fans. Jeff King was supposed to win coming in around Midnight. I stayed up to watch - no matter who came in it was going to make history. Jeff would tie Rick Swenson with most wins and become the oldest champion, Aliy would be the first woman since Susan Butcher to win, anyone else that won would not just break the fastest time but they would destroy it.

Aliy Zirkle wipes away a tear at the finish line in Nome.
Photo by Anchorage Daily News photographer.

 06. Terriers - The finale should not have been the thirteenth episode of the series. It was cancelled due to poor ratings - but the poor ratings wasn't due to the bad acting or stupid story (it's a pretty awesome show IMO). It was because of it's weird title (it has nothing to do with terriers or dogs in general), and the lack of promotion. FX didn't really promote the show until it was in major ratings trouble. The show airred in 2010, but I didn't get turned on to it until this year when I needed something other than Once Upon A Time to watch. It stars Donal Logue (currently starring in Gotham) and Michael Raymond-James (True Blood, Once Upon A Time). MRJ is the reason I started watching - and his character is adorable and so loveable. He gets himself into a bit of trouble to end out the series - and in the finale we see him head off to jail. But the show ends with Donal's character telling him he doesn't have to - that they can head to Mexico. The last thing we see is Britt trying to decide what to do. It bugged me, because I wanted him to do what was right, and I was so thankful when I found an article where the show's creator said that Britt chose prison. Whew! So how does this count as a heartbreaking moment? Britt went to jail and the series ended... and I just found out about the show this year! ha ha!

"Don't give up on me yet."

05. Moira Queen's death led to Oliver's decision to let Slade kill him. What followed was a touching farewell scene between Oliver and Thea - with him not telling her really anything, but the audience knew the meaning behind his words. Of all the relationships on the CW's Arrow, my favorite by far is the sibling relationship of Oliver and Thea Queen. I love big brother-little sister relationships. I'm a sucker for them, and this one is no exception. She adores him, and he loves her move than life. Sure they've had their moments of sibling crap, but for the most part they're loving and supporting and protective of one another. Obviously, Ollie is snapped out of his depression and doesn't end up dying at the end of season 2 (but just wait till the mid season finale of season 3... I won't spoil it but OMG). I started watching Arrow this year after losing interest in Once Upon A Time (well, okay I didn't lose interest until FROZEN took over, but still). And I thought OUaT was bad for my fangirl heart. There's way too much angst for me in Arrow - and yet I can't stop watching because it's so good!

Gif by olicities on tumblr.

04. Barry Allen and his father. Can any man cry as convincingly and heartbreakingly on TV as Grant Gustin? I mean seriously everytime his eyes start to glisten with tears I'm in the fetal position begging for the feels to stop. AND I AM NOT NORMALLY AN OMG FEELS PERSON! But this year has definitely kicked the fangirl part of me into high gear. I've never been such a mess before, but every show I've fallen in love with this year has gotten me, and gotten me GOOD! I'm a sucker for a good father-child relationship, more than I am a good sibling relationship, that bond and connection it just... yeah. And Barry and his Father are such a tragic pair. It's a tortured relationship, not just on their end - but mine! (It's all about me after all.) The Flash, for me, isn't as good as Arrow, but it's Barry's relationship with his father (and with Joe, his guardian) that got me hooked.

Gif by kodaknight on tumblr.

 03. Jim Harbaugh parted ways with the 49ers after the final game of regular season. The Niners had a difficult year of injury and uncertainty, and ended the year 8-8; the most dismal season Harbaugh had in his short 4 years with the team. Still it was a far cry from our seasons of drought where we couldn't even break even in the wins column. Jed York and the rest of management shot themselves in the foot when they refused to back one of the team's BEST coaches. That York is now looking for a coach that can come in and win a Superbowl within his first two years or face being fired just shows how completely moronic management is right now. I just... yeah... I'm heartbroken and pissed about this one.UofMichigan just got itself one heck of a coach. I'm planning to watch college ball next year JUST to see Harbaugh.

Most entertaining coach on the sidelines.

02. Rest in Peace Tommy Merlyn. While his death on the show Arrow was in 2013, I missed out on the first season of Arrow when it aired. As I stated earlier - I started watching Arrow this year. So to catch up I popped onto netflix and watched the first season. I was immediately smitten with Colin Donnell (actor who plays Tommy) and found the character incredibly endearing. My friend who turned me onto the show talked me into watching it to get my mind off of Once Upon A Time and my deep sadness over the loss of a character on that show. But she DIDN'T WARN ME NOT TO FALL FOR TOMMY. As I chatted with her watching the show and growing ever more fond of the entire cast of character, and especially Tommy, not once did she suggest that I not fall for him. She didn't even have to spoil it - just say something like "he's gonna be a big jerk to Oliver later" or something! I was shocked to see the building collapse on Tommy, and my heart ached as Oliver begged Tommy to stay with him, to open his eyes. Colin has been filming in Vancouver for Arrow up until they broke for Christmas - really hoping that the theories are correct and that Tommy will return from the dead.

gif from multiverser on tumblr.

01. Neal Cassidy was killed off of Once Upon A Time this past March. To say I was devastated would be a huge understatement. It was just a few short weeks before that I couldn't care less about Neal and thought he was not good for Emma and couldn't be trusted and was whiny and a host of other things. Something changed the week leading up to the episode that would rock me back on my heels. I rewatched the Neal-centric episodes of season 2 and 3 and came to a better understanding of the character. With the newer perspective I was totally enamored with the character (I missed it the first time, but on repeat viewings I could actually see where MRJ was bringing young Baelfire into his character). I became a huge fan of Michael Raymond-James in the moment of the character's death. It was just so well done, how could I not recognize his talent? I've been bumming around ever since, and haven't watched much of the latest season of OUaT just because I miss the warmth and heart that MRJ brought to the show. If he doesn't become a regular on a TV show (that I would watch) soon I'm going to go crazy.


So there's my 9 heartbreaks of 2014. More heartbreak to come next year as so many of my favorite football players become free agents and no doubt will leave the 49ers - especially since many of them are upset with how the Harbaugh thing turned out. I hope I'm wrong and that we'll see Gore, Iupati, and Crabtree stay with the team (and that Justin Smith sticks it out another year and does not retire), but I think that's too much to hope for.

Thank you for 4 great years, Jim Harbaugh!

Words cannot express how bummed I am over the 49ers parting ways with Coach Jim Harbaugh after only 4 years where the team saw 3 NFC titles, and won a trip to the Superbowl (the Harbowl will forever be my favorite Superbowl). I am upset at the upper management that decided they needed to micro manage when obviously Harbaugh was doing something right without their help. I'm upset that Harbaugh decided to just piss on this season because he was unhappy. I'm upset that the team let the drama bleed into how they played.

I'm upset that we just saw one of the best coaches this team has ever had slip through our fingers because the General Manager has more pull for sitting his butt crunching numbers.

I love watching Jim Harbaugh on the sidelines. He's passionate, cares about his team, and cares about the game. The tantrums were hilariously entertaining - I loved watching him lose it. Not because it was ridiculous or embarassing but because he wasn't afraid to let it show. He wasn't saying anything the rest of us weren't yelling from the stands or in our living rooms.

Jed York and company are shooting this franchise in the foot. Chances are they are going to make the wrong decision and this season will be seen as a GOOD one in the years to come. For the sake of the Niners (and my sanity) I hope I'm wrong... but I have NO faith in the 49ers Front Office.

So, thank you Jim, for all that you did for this team. Thank you for letting me enjoy being a Niners fan for a season or two. Good luck in your future endeavors - be it NFL or College - and I look forward to seeing more Harbaugh Sideline highlights!

This will be me for the next few weeks, months... probably years:

Last week was the flu...this week is mega stress...

...so this week I have tons of things I need to cram into prep for Christmas. To say that I will be stressed is an understatement... I wanted to blog - but I'm not sure I'll get to until after Christmas...


HOWEVER... I do want to find time to do a new theme for "Reitter's Block" for the new year. It will probably just be up until the end of January/early Feb and then I'll do something else (probably sled dogs)... and I've finally chosen a theme.

In honor of the Sons of Liberty coming to TV for a three night event starting January 25, I'm gonna have a patriotic theme....

and I think THIS man will be featured in the banner... because... well... *fangirl*

This photo is just begging for me to use it in some way... and I don't think blowing it up to poster size and hanging it in my room is an option! LOL Definitely a banner for my blog...

Because I have nothing better to do...

Would You Rather
Pierce your nose or your tongue? neither
Drink whole or skimmed milk? whole
Die in a fire or drowning? both are major fears of mine
Spend time with your parents or enemies? parents 

Are You?
Simple or complicated? simple, I think.
Straight, gay, bisexual, other?  straight
Right handed or left handed? right 
A lover of music or a lover of books? oooo at the moment music wins out but BOTH!

Do You Prefer
Flowers or sweets? flowers, I suppose
Gray or black? dark grey
Color photos or black-and-white photos? depends on the photo
M&Ms or Skittles? M&Ms
Staying up late or waking up early? staying up late
Sun or moon? Sun
Winter or Autumn? winter 
10 acquaintances or 2 best friends? 2 best friends 
Rainy or sunny? sunny 
Vanilla ice cream or chocolate ice cream? vanilla  
Vodka or Jack? Dr. Pepper

About You
What time is it? 9:05PM
Name? Antonia
Nicknames? Toni, Tonichelle, Toni the Tree, 
When is your birthday? January 21
What do you want? So many things. (I just whined earlier today that I want MRJ to have a happy ending for a character SOON) 
How many kids do you want? 2-3 
What would you name a girl? Alyssa Rose 
What would you name a boy? Stephen Alan, Jaren Michael, Phillip Matthew 
You want to get married? yep, if I find the right man 
What kind of music do you like? country, contemporary christian, broadway, disney...

Unique
Nervous habits? twirl my hair, bite my knuckles 
Are you double-jointed? no
 Can you roll your tongue? yes 
Can you raise one eyebrow? yes, but not like Colin O'Donoghue... his are perfect lol 
Can you cross your eyes? yes, but it doesn't look like they're crossed.

Random
Which shoe goes on first? whichever I find first
Ever thrown something at someone? yep
On average, how much money do you carry with you? 50 cents in pennies 
What jewelry do you wear? none usually 
Do you twirl or cut spaghetti? both 
Have you ever eaten Spam? yes, and I don't want to talk about it. 
Favorite ice cream? cookies n cream 
How many different kinds of cereal are in your cupboard? idk, don't eat it.

Last
Car ride? yesterday - but I drove today
Song played? "Go Tell It On The Mountain" sung by This Hope 
Person you saw? my dad & mom 
Time you cried? Cried in a dream last night... had some very weird OUAT mashups... MRJ and that show owe me my happiness!

Yes I am alive...

...and yes I know I haven't blogged at all about my trip... or really since I got down to Anaheim and that was nearly two months ago! Whoops.

I'm hoping to start blogging soon. I keep saying that and then life gets in the way. We'll see... maybe a photo a day blog will have to do until after the New Year?

I'm in Anaheim!

Made it in right on schedule. Spent most of my day in the hotel's lobby. I didn't get a key to our room until 3:30ish - half an hour before regular check in. Not too big a deal, but I was definitely tired of waiting in a busy waiting area.

The flights were uneventful. I slept the whole way basically. Popped my Dramamine, turned Dean Nichols' sermon on repeat on my iPod and I was out before we took off. Booyah!

I was hoping to nap this afternoon, but since I didn't get into the room and settled until right before the Niners game started (10-0 so far, GO NINERS!) I didn't get a nap. Debating if I want to shower tonight or not.

Hoping to catch the Disneyland fireworks from the Sun Deck on top of our hotel tonight. They start at 9:25pm. I haven't moved from the couch since food got here (I ordered Chinese... it was disappointing). It was so hot at one point today I think it was 104 while I was walking to the elevator to get to my room. Oy. Not looking forward to the temps tomorrow... though it's forecast to *only* be 98*. Instead of the 104 they forecast it'd be the other day.

We'll see...

Dang, Kap just got intercepted. Maybe I should go hide and take a shower.

Kenai Animal Shelter Portraits - September 10

Busy busy busy with three days left till I am headed to SoCal. I have today and tomorrow to pack. And I haven't gotten everything done that I need doing. Oy.

The cats were mostly kitties we'd seen before - a lot of the kittens from last week are still there (and there's a new litter as of yesterday who need a bit of nursing back to full health). ALL of the dogs we saw last week were gone! Adopted or moved to rescues! YAY!

Just three dogs yesterday, one of which was a BEAUTIFUL male Blue Nose Pittbull. He is GORGEOUS and has a wonderful personality. If I wasn't going away for two weeks - and if Lulu did better with big dogs - I would've come home with a new forever friend.

Eight Days - Eight busy, busy days....

It never fails - you get close to take off day for your vacation and suddenly the whole world needs you. This week has been a killer. Busy helping with church projects, home projects, photo projects. Dad had some drama this week as well while hunting and needed a lot of help and prayer (he's physically okay... won't get a chance to blog about it any time soon, though. just know he is okay). Kassy's car needed "emergency surgery" so I hung with her and drove her around while we waited for them to fix whatever was wrong.

Don't get me wrong - I don't mind helping family and friends... or even being busy...

It's just now I'm stressing over the coming week! I haven't even started laying stuff out to pack (Not really a big deal), and I have an all day photo event tomorrow (Tri-The-Kenai Triathlon). That will take a while to edit (though I'm thinking I'll shoot it all JPEG and just upload them), and then the day I drive up to Anchorage I have a photo shoot for a high school senior (YAY! My favorite!). Oh, and Wednesday I have the shelter animals again.

And those are just the things I know about/remember.

I want to get my hair done before I go, I need a couple of items from the store for the trip, I have to edit photos and get them posted online...

I have so much to do in very little time. At least I can say I earned this vacation, eh?