Weekends are for...

Weekends are multi-faceted. They are for resting, relaxation, getting everything done at home (such as laundry, cleaning, bills, shopping, the list goes on...). Well, this time of year it is time to add another "to do" to the list! Taxes... So, today was my organizing day. I did pretty well, not done - more to do, but have a good start! I bet by next weekend, I'll be ready to drop everything off. Even though I started the year of 2009 very organized for taxes, I need to follow through all year and stay up to date and organized.

Why is it so hard to stay organized all the time? It seems I used to be very organized... (my nickname is Planner Patty after all), but now I can't keep up. (Sadly enough!)

Well, Abby had a great weekend of resting. I would like to be a dog owned by me! Good comfie life to be sure. The picture signifies Abby's favorite things... the couch; the blanket (have to be warm after all); and her favorite toy - the squirrel. A DOG'S LIFE as they say...

Is Alaska in the United States?

There are many times that living in Alaska makes you think you are on some far away island - totally isolated from the lower 48; almost as if it is another country. Today is one of those days...

I found the cutest blouse to go with a new skirt that I ordered (e-bay designer clothing), and placed a bid on the blouse. Well, today I looked at the blouse again and noticed at the bottom of the page (in the fine print) that the seller only ships to the contiguous US. I, unfortunately, did not notice that fact before placing my bid. This brought back a frustration that we who live in this far off land often feel... We are part of the United States. The United States Post Office delivers our mail (just like in the contiguous U.S.). The shipping rates and the process to mail a package is the same as in the contiguous U.S. Why do companies and e-bay sellers have these odd rules?

Well, I wrote to the seller and asked if I were to win the auction, if she would ship to me here in the wilderness of Alaska. The good news is that she will. She said that she usually just ships to the lower 48 however, but will make an exception this time and ship to me at the same shipping rate. (I had pointed out in my e-mail that the shipping process and shipping rates using USPS are the same for us here in Alaska as they are for any other state.) Strange huh!

Beautiful days in Juneau!

Wow - we have been so lucky lately. Spring has arrived in Juneau! It was another beautiful day - sunny, warm and gorgeous. We have NO RAIN in the forecast, nothing but sun and we are approaching 70 degree weather. Wow. There is nothing better than a sunny day in Juneau.

I think this weekend we are going to plant containers of flowers. We will have to watch the weather closely, till the frost danger is gone, but I think we are safe!! Can't wait for the flowers to bloom, to put out our colorful flag and get the patio furniture out and set up. Our cruise ship season starts tomorrow, and a nice downtown restaurant opens on Friday. Spring/summer is here!

High Tech Game Night

So, tonight we are taking it easy at home and playing games using the iPhone! We played Yatzee and are now in the middle of Monopoly. I'm Nesting Doll and Larry is Penguin. It is a fun game, and there is absolutely no pieces you can lose... To roll the dice, you simply shake the iPhone! When it is the next persons turn, you just pass the iPhone. Very fun...

Wii Fit...

Well, technology just keeps adding to our lives doesn't it? We are now the owners of a Wii Fit. Finally got all the pieces on Thursday (wii console and wii fit), with flight delays & cancellations due to the volcano erupting in Alaska. I have been a faithful user of it since its arrival. It is quite fun, motivating, keeps you moving, and I am actually sore - so it must be making me use some muscles that were not used prior to its arrival.

The exercise categories are balance, yoga, aerobics, and strength. When you begin, the Wii Fit does body measuring - it measures weight, bmi, and balance/agility and provides you with your Wii Age.... Yes, it is brutally honest depending on how you do with your balance/agility test, weight & bmi, and will provide you with an age that may be either above your own, or below your own (yay). Like today - I was "40". Liking the wii fit today :) One day I was in my 30's - that was a wonderful day. Larry's first Wii age was 66 - I still give him a hard time about that.

When you begin "training", you are given a gift of a piggy bank. This bank is to collect & tally your daily minutes of exercise. I have put in over one hour a day so far and try to equally balance my activities in all of the areas. It actually has positive reinforcement built into the program, as the more time you put in exercising you unlock more games and activities.

My favorites so far are the advanced step aerobics, hula hoop, rhythm boxing (all aerobics), ski slalom, penguin, and bubble in the river (all working on balance). I also am enjoying the yoga - and especially like the breathing visual & sound to remind you to breathe. I tried push ups on the strength, and found it to be quite difficult to do using the balance board as your hands seems to slide.

So, more experimenting to be sure needs to be done. But, so far - I'd highly recommend it.

This is spring?

Oh my goodness. If you have been to my house, you have seen I have the great view of Juneau from my windows. Well, today my view is gone. All I can see are millions of tiny snowflakes falling (no dumping) from the sky. I can't even see the street in front of my house any longer, except for the narrow pathway carved out of 12 feet of snow! We are so done with this weather, and anxiously awaiting springtime! It may be officially spring, but boy is it hard to tell just from looking out the window...

Facebook!

Well, this is quite an addicting site I must say. It is a fun way to touch bases - keep in touch, with friends from near and afar. I have "friends" from the Caribbean; England; and an old friend that was a co-cub scout leader with me (eons ago) who is living in Budapest. I'd love to find more friends (you know, those friends you lose contact with when you move away), and I just sent out another batch of "invites".

If you haven't tried Facebook - try it, you'll like it! And when you do, find me as a friend!

Have fun...

Transitioning to new technology can be tough!

Well, one thing always leads to another right? This time around it is all related to efficiency. I went to a wonderful conference that taught us to work efficiently and with our secretary with the utmost of organization. Part of this plan involves calendaring, and how our secretary should be handling our calendar. So, being open and willing to get more organized, I thought I'd give it a try. I dug out the old Palm Pilot, got it all charged up and "synced". Strangely enough it did not want to sync with the Palm software, but it seemed to like ICal. OK, I can go with that - so I spent one night entering all the data I had in my Palm calendar over to ICal. Worked great! But, to make things more complicated we wanted to have my secretary have my calendar on her computer where I could sync my Palm with her ICal. Oops - little did I know there is a rule about multiple computers - a definite no-no. The district IT person said we need to use Google Calendar, then it will load to my ICal, then I can sync my Palm. Easy right? NOT... In order to get Google Calendar to talk to ICal, he had to take my computer away, update it, and he returned it at the end of the day. All my e-mails disappeared in the process - not good. I then re-entered everything from ICal into Google Calendar and tried to sync. Well, Google did move everything to ICal like it was supposed to, but now it has been determined that my Palm is ancient and to not even try it. IT's recommendation: Get an IPhone. So, that was yesterdays journey - the AT&T store.

I've spent the day (Sunday) getting things sync'd (now it works). Next step - take the IPhone to the Ford Edge and get the two to talk to each other so that I can use my handsfree phone. Don't ya love technology? It is absolutely a love/hate relationship!

P.S. My Ford Edge and iPhone can now talk. (I had heard there were issues getting the two to communicate. Luckily, I was not one with trouble...)

First Snow!

Well, I knew it would come eventually, but was surprised it came so soon... Yes, yesterday we had our first snow of the season. Some hail started mid-day, the kids thought it was snow. During our staff development time, hail again began - but before long, the bouncy hail turned to soft light snowflakes. It was short lived, and was gone quite quickly. By the end of our Fall Festival, about 9pm, it was snow and it was sticking. I got half way home, it turned to heavy snow, several inches already on the ground, slowing traffic down to about 25mph! It is beautiful though, I just want it to melt fast as I'm not wanting to shovel snow... Isn't this a pretty picture? This is the gorgeous view today after our night of snow...

Birthdays...

I guess we all have to have birthdays... beats the alternative as they say. But, it is so funny comparing how we feel about birthdays now vs. how children think of birthdays. Remember as a child how exciting birthdays were? Well, this week was my birthday. My students at have been so excited - it is quite funny. I've had a variety of birthday songs being sung by different groups of students; my door is plastered with cheerful birthday cards, class books and greetings; for days they cheerfully wish me a happy birthday (even though my birthday was Tuesday), I still continue to have birthday wishes. I wonder if we adults should take on the attitude of children when it comes to celebrating birthdays! It is quite fun I must say...

School is heating up!!!

Well, as always this time of year I'm swamped.  Back to working seven days a week; lots of hours every day; and exhaustion...  My body is craving comfort food, hot baths and sleep!

Larry is so great!  He made a batch of my Favorite Breakfast Muffins so I'd be set for the week, as well as a big pot of homemade turkey soup yesterday!  What a great dinner last night - true comfort food, which is just what I need right now.

So, off to get ready and go in again today.  New teachers come in tomorrow for an orientation, and tomorrow night the school will be flooded with incoming kindergarteners for our Kinder Kick Off!  Woo-hoo...

A Sad First...

Yesterday was a sad first for me.  My gas guzzling SUV was telling me it needed a drink, so I went to the gas station as I have done many times in m life.  This was the first time that I have filled my tank since our return from Grenada.  Oh my goodness - the pump shut off at $100 and the tank was "ALMOST" full.  So, paying $100 to almost fill my tank is a first (and unfortunately, won't be the last).

Hopefully these cartoons will make you laugh (instead of cry) next time you visit the pump!

Good luck everyone!  I'm not looking forward to winter when we have to use heating oil to heat our home...