Don't give up on me!

So, I'm imagining that no one is actually even looking at this blog anymore seeing as I NEVER add posts...of course, not sure if anyone looked at it to begin with.

But here I am. Alive and kicking! I have been (for the most part) healthy for about a week now (knock on wood). I made it to a town with a health food store and got some supplements that seemed to do the trick (this time). But I don't feel that I'm fully out of the woods yet. I will keep you updated.

The vegetarian grilling meat for the solstice celebration

We had our big Summer Solstice celebration that I planned, and I would say it was 75% successful. I had an entire day of events planned, and let's just say that I celebrated a night early, so I was moving rather slow the morning of the solstice. People weren't all that interested in the kickball game and hoola hoop contests. But roll out the free food, and the BBQ went great! There were, however, about 3 MILLION uninvited guests who would NOT go away! We had citronella tiki torches, citronella incense, bug spray and I have my own citronella essential oil...let's just say that we didn't actually think any of that was working until we blew it all out. I think I actually got air lifted for a few minutes by an army of mosquitoes.

Last night I went on a hike with a friend and neither one of us had put any kind of mosquito deterrent on. About a mile in, we started getting attacked. By two miles, I gave the warning that I was about to break into a slow jog (and anyone who knows me, I hate moving fast). A few minutes later, I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs. Sean and I looked like some kind of Three Stooges episode because we just kept smacking each other and making weird noises. By the time we got back, I think we were both in tears. I know I was whining to say the least. I had flashbacks to when i was a kid and my mom would put Calamine lotion on me. I would have KILLED for a bottle of that last night. I probably would have just bathed in it.

As, I'm sure you've gathered, the mosquitoes are pretty bad this year. Last year it was rainy most of the summer and I don't remember them at all. This year, yikes! I had to create a bulletin board about Alaska wildlife for the employees and I made an entire section about the Alaskan Mosquito (aka, the state bird). Don't worry about the Grizzlies and Moose, it's those damn mosquitoes that will get ya!


Hope everyone's summer is breezy and mosquito free. I'm taking one for the team up here!

 

Sorry for the delay...

The only picture of me here so far. In front of Liberty Falls

Wow! Has it been over a month already since I've been here? It feels like a year, but at the same time, feels like it's gone by so fast. So sorry it has taken me so long to get on here and update you on my life.

My job as Employee Housing Supervisor has been an absolute whirlwind. It has been 100 miles an hour from the moment I got on property. The first week was training, the second week was planning the week of employee training activities and going to Anchorage to pick up the employees. Third week was to run the training activities, while becoming ill and losing my voice for 10 days...fun! Then the lodge opened and it's all been a complete blur.

Last week I took a group of employees to Anchorage for a getaway (mind you, Anchorage is 4.5 hours away), and I contracted a stomach flu to beat all stomach flus. It was two days of absolute misery (I won't go into gory details) and then another 4 days of not being able to eat. I had my first real meal on Tuesday morning (a solid week after getting sick). I'm on the fast track weight loss plan...yum!

I'm off work today and I'm pretty much hiding in my little apartment. It's rainy and dreary so I don't actually feel bad about it either. (Although, those of you that truly know me, know that I never really feel bad about spending all day in bed) I've been in bed, knitting and watching "Bones" on Netflix. It's fantastic! Tomorrow morning I get up and start getting things together for Summer Solstice, and I can't wait! It's going to be a huge bash with kickball, frisbee & softball games. Three legged races, BBQ, costume contest and a drum circle...I cannot wait! And I also can't believe it's already Summer Solstice (by the way, summer solstice is a big thing up here in AK...24 hours of daylight!).

So, I will try and get this blog updated a little more often. I don't have any real regular schedule so free time is few and far between, but I will definitely try. All in all, it is wonderful being back in Alaska.

I hope everyone's summer is warm and beautiful so far. I miss you all. -Reebs

Matanuska Glacier in the Chugach Mountain Range