What do I do?

Recently I attended a beautiful outdoor wedding. It was one of the rare, gloriously sunny days we had this summer. It has been so rainy, that it was a surprise to see such a lovely blue sky. I arrived early, so chatted with a couple friends who were also in attendance. Then several of the groom's friends arrived and introductions began again. I met one friendly, outgoing gentleman and he initiated a longer conversation. As the wedding was still minutes from commencing, I stayed to chat. Then he asked the question, "So, what do you do?"

My mind raced. How do I answer? What is a simple response? How do I sound intelligent with my reply? What DO I do?!

"Uh, I, uh, work a couple part-time, temporary, seasonal jobs. Recently graduated with my Bachelors. Uh, newly arrived home from a four month trip around the world."

And basically, don't know what I'm doing tomorrow, let alone next month!

He was gracious and responded with "Cool!" and then asked about my travels. It wasn't as awkward as I initially thought, but it did start me thinking....

I've never been a longterm planner, in the sense that I've never wanted to stay in one place for a huge length of time. I like living year by year and God has been faithful in directing my steps at the right time. This summer has been a strange one however. I came home fully expecting to work full time at my airport seasonal job. I thought my summer months would at least be filled and I could set aside some cash for whatever next adventure presented itself. That wasn't exactly the case, my first week home, I was only scheduled for 15 hours of work. How was I supposed to pay my bills, let alone save for the future on that? I had ideas for the fall, so didn't want to look for another job, just to ask for numerous days off right off the bat.

But I knew that God has never failed me, His faithfulness has been a constant in my life and I didn't want to start doubting now. So, I prayed, waited and trusted.

My first two weeks, I picked up as many extra shifts as I could and spent my time working on home projects and reading. Then one day out of the blue, my dad asked if I wanted to work for a friend of his at his concrete cutting company. Now, I know nothing about pouring concrete, let alone cutting it, and we knew virtually what the job entailed, but the wage was something I didn't want to pass up. Some weeks I worked 3+ days and other weeks I only worked one day. But my God provided! And the other blessing is, it's summer/fall work. So I will still be free this fall/winter to persue other interests without being tied down to a job.

Once again, God made Himself known to me. And it wasn't the last time of the summer. He continued/continues to manifest Himself in my life.

Its not the easiest thing, humanly speaking to live week to week, but I can full rest in my Saviour's love and provision and KNOW that I will be taken care of. After all, he loves me with an infinite love.

So, now if you were to ask me, "What do you do?," my reply would be -

"Enjoying Life and Living by Faith"

Once in a Blue Moon

I don't know how many times I've used the phrase "once in a blue moon." This July there was an actual blue moon. Though I don't know why it is called that, since the moon isn't actually a different color, it just means that there are two full moons in one month. Guess it doesn't happen very often. Well the day of the blue moon, I actually had a once in a blue moon time. :) 

A coworker of mine has his pilot's license and we've talked for a couple years now about him taking me flying. We almost went last year, but something broke on his aircraft, so we had to postpone it. Every time he would text me, I had other plans and couldn't go. But one evening in July, he texted me and I was able to go! I met him at his plane and we took off into sunny skies. It was a perfect evening for a flight. He asked if I wanted to fly over my house or go south across the river looking for moose. Of course I choose the latter. I lost count how many moose we saw. It so amazing to see these amazing animals in their own environment. After the first couple moose, I started praying that we would see a bear. Moose are cool and all, but a bear would be so much more awesome! Not long after my silent prayer, we came upon a black bear. We swooped down to have a closer look and he stared up at us and watched as we flew by. So awesome! It was a perfect ending to a hectic week. 

two bull moose watching a cow

the Super Cub we flew

Tanana River

Adventures at the Airport

So, if you've been wondering because of the lack of blog posts what I've been doing... Well, for one, its summer. :) Alaskan summers are so short, we have to jam pack them full. And the past month or so, I've been somewhat of a workaholic. At the beginning of the summer, I quit my job of 10+ years to work temporarily at the local Literacy Council. I know some think that's crazy for me to quit a good job that has been more than good to me for a temp position. But I prayed hard about it and felt it was a good switch. It gave me an opportunity to teach ESL, which is a field I'm kinda studying for and thinking about doing overseas. 

I still had my job at the airport, but wasn't on the regular schedule. The first part of the summer, I only worked a night or two a week; some weeks not at all. It was nice to relax at home and spend time outside in the sun! :) But the past 3-4 weeks, I've been scheduled more and subbed even more. The past two weeks, I think I've worked about 60+ hours - which is a lot for me! That's in addition to taking an online summer class, teaching Sunday School and mentoring/teaching a couple people. 

Not complaining here, its all my own choice. I do enjoy working, though some days when I'm falling asleep on my feet, I tell myself "you're crazy!" But I work hard here, so I can take months off later and travel. :) So, its worth it. 

And even when I'm working I have crazy adventures. One Saturday morning in July I was working the early, early morning shift. (my body definitely doesn't like getting out of bed at 330am). I had gone downstairs at the airport to say goodbye to one of my students who was headed to India to visit family for month. I noticed two guys sleeping on a bench and thought they were firefighters heading home. As I was leaving, they were gathering their belongings. I stopped and said hi and found out they were actually Danish backpackers. They had arrived at 2am and were sleeping until they could go to their hostel. After talking for a bit, I offered them a ride to their accommodations, as I was in between planes. 

A couple days later I was able to help them out again, by giving them a ride from the East Ramp to the West Ramp of our airport. They were getting ready to fly out on a small bush plane to the Brooks Range to backpack and float the Noatak River. Their plans were to go for 7 weeks!! Actually they are still out in the Bush. I always enjoy meeting people from other countries; now, I have a connection in Denmark - one more place to visit one day. 

The Danish Backpackers

The other thing at the airport, you never know what airplanes you might see. :) One evening, we were waiting for our commercial flight, when an older plane landed and pulled into our ramp area. We waved at them to move over to the next gate area. The plane was marked with Russian words and flag, but the tail # was American. But then we overheard it was coming in from Canada. Such an odd mix. I think they were coming in for something to do with the a memorial of the Soviet-American Land Lease from WWII. But who knows.... just interesting all the different aircraft that land at our airport. 

the "Soviet" plane

We've had beautiful weather most of the summer. Lots of sunshine and warm/hot days. I enjoy working the sunny days outside on the ramp. One week in July it was rainy off and on all week. I went to work for just 2 1/2 hours - when I arrived, the sun was shining, but black clouds were off in the distance. When I left later in the afternoon, the sun was again shining. But the time in between..... well not so much. I was wearing my hoodie, because it was a little chilly. Under the sun, it was getting warmer though, so I debated taking my sweatshirt off. Decided against it.... and then it started sprinkling. Then raining. Then hailing. Then pouring buckets of rain!! We were huddled underneath the plane waiting for the passengers to finish boarding, so we could push back. We were more than soaked to the skin, I'm pretty sure I could have wrung a gallon of water out of my clothes. My boss told me I looked like a drowned rat. Yeah, it was that bad. And I had to be back about an hour later to work again. So, went to my friend's house nearby to borrow their dryer. 

drowned rat

But then there are the beautiful summery/fall days with blue skies and big fluffy clouds! 

from the Ramp of our airport

My Current Favorite Day of the Week

Thursdays have been good days for me lately. I have been working a lot, sometimes as much as 16 hours in one day. But Thursdays I get off about 2pm and don't have to work that night! So I have hours to do whatever I want! It's a wonderful thing. One week my sister, her friend and I went back to Angel Rocks. I think it was my first time there this year. It was a beautiful sunny day. Not too hot, with a little breeze. I was just glad to be outside with no time frame to worry about and could just enjoy the day. 

on the way up

tiny waterfall off the trail

Last Thursday my parents were just getting home from Valdez when my brother called and they decided to do an impromptu BBQ. The whole family was actually there. I'm usually at work, but since I don't work Thursday nights, I was even home. My nephew finally warmed up to us and we had a great time in the backyard, eating raspberries and jumping on the trampoline. Again, just a nice, relaxing evening with no time schedule.  

trampolines + curly hair = wild!

Legion and the girls

Sunny August

Summer's not over yet! The past few days have been sunny and warm. And the forecast for the next week is looking good.... I'm really happy we will have a few more sunny, hot days before winter sets in. Especially since I have visitors coming up this month! and we I have BiG plans for them! :)

It's rare that I get visitors! I do see a lot of people here in Alaska, but usually they come up for something else and while here I get to enjoy a little of their time. For which I am grateful, but this time I get them all to myself. Okay, so maybe I'm a little selfish at times. 

In anticipation of these friends visiting, I bought a tent. I've never really camped out in Alaska before. I mean I've slept in tents and stuff. But for hunting or teen camp, not just to camp. I'm pretty stoked about using my tent for the first time. It's going to be an epic camping trip.... with all FIVE of us! (four adults and one baby)

testing out my new tent

So, funny story about my tent... 

I had bought it and then was so busy that it sat untouched in my room for about two weeks, before I even pulled it out of the bag. One night decided to set it up to see how easy to set up it was and how it looked. Cleared a space in our living room floor and up it went. I wanted to take a picture to send to my friends, so I pulled out my phone. My dad was on the couch watching me, so he suggested I get in the tent and he would take the picture so I could be in it. Good idea. I handed him my phone and told him to push the white circle button on the bottom of the screen to take the picture. I proceeded to get into my tent. Stuck my head out and smiled. And waited and waited. Finally, I asked if he was ever going to take the picture. He replied he didn't know if it worked or not. He slid my phone back over and I looked at my camera roll. 

"Dad, you took 32 pictures!" haha, he has no idea how to use my iphone. He still uses an old model, flip phone. But it does work. And he even texts now! 

happy August to you all. Hope you have some sunshine wherever you are. 

Floating the Chena

Since last summer, I've wanted to canoe or kayak down the Chena River. The Chena flows right through our town and dumps into the mighty Tanana south of town near the airport. Last year it never worked out and for the past month I've been trying to figure out a time to go.

It finally happened! 

beginning of the trip

Tanna agreed to go with me and we set out about 8pm Saturday night. It was a beautiful evening for being on the river. We couldn't convince her brothers to go, so it was just the two of us. She was quite entertaining - giving ongoing commentary of the trip, talking to strangers on the bank or on bridges above us and trying to maintain her composure when a much larger boat would zoom by us creating large waves. :) 

chillin' while Tanna did all the work

Honestly, it was a slow float (ok, Jordan, you were right). We couldn't just float with the current most of the time or it would have taken us forever! The last time I was on the Chena was when I caught my first King Salmon (10 years old); been a while. And I don't go canoeing much. So it was a nice first-time-being-back-on-the-water float. Next time, finding myself a faster river! Should be no problem in Alaska. :) 

Not that I've forgotten, but the picture below reminds me how much I love Alaska! I may be slightly bias, but I've done a fair bit of traveling and Alaska sure ranks high in the most beautiful places of the world. 

finished! about 1045pm

Glimpse of my Week

You can't have a glimpse into my week without food being mentioned... :) I love food. I enjoy making it, seeing people enjoy it and eating it myself. We have a kitchen at my office, so frequently I put it to good use while I'm at work. Sometimes I wonder if that's why my coworkers like me so much.... cause I cook for them. (just kidding) 

I've made "from scratch" bread twice now at work and pretty sure it's been a hit. Especially when it's served fresh with lots of butter! Yum!

fresh out of the oven

And then one morning, I fried some eggs and sausage and made egg, sausage, cheese biscuit sandwiches! I think it turned out to be lunch for that day, but boy, were they good! 

Wednesday's lunch

And the best one yet! Thursday, Sarah and I partnered to make the best lunch we've made to date. (well in my opinion at least) I barbecued chicken and corn on the cob and she did the shrimp and asparagus on the grill. We also had cucumber/tomato salad, fresh bread, sauteed zucchini and oven-roasted potatoes! Everything was perfect! Feast your eyes below. 

Thursday's lunch

Last summer Tanna and I worked together a lot! Usually about 5 nights a week, we were at the airport goofing off, uh, I mean working. This year we both have been working less. She is scheduled for two nights a week and I've just been filling in here and there. But this past week we ended up working two nights together. Of course, we made it fun! :) It helps break up the craziness of our job (mostly caused by other coworkers). One night I couldn't find a regular sized vest so had to borrow another persons.... a person who is somewhat larger than myself. So, Tanna had the bright idea of seeing if we both could fit into the one vest. Yep, we could. 

And that was only one of the crazy things we did this past week at work. Well, she did more craziness than I did. ;) 

working hard

Saturday was a full day. In the morning/early afternoon  went on bus route with the best bus ever, #109! Had to take a picture of us eating ice cream for our missing worker, Caleb! Miss you, friend! 

When I walked into the church Saturday morning, Tanna spotted me right away and immediately burst into laughter! Once again, without planning it (because of course, it's childish to do so....) we had worn the same shirt! We only have 3 or 4 shirts that are the same, yet we've done this at least 3 times this summer! Once we did it twice in one week! I only have twenty other shirts to pick from.... oh well. 

Also, on Saturday met up with a coworker to play Tennis!! I've been wanting to play since I came back from Indiana, even bought a racket and balls. Just had to find someone to play with me. It was a beautiful day - sunny and hot. Maybe a little too hot. The courts were in direct sun and it was the hottest part of the day, which I'll have you non-Alaskans know is about 5-6pm. But it was fun and we got some exercise. 

tennis!!

The fireweed this summer has been incredible! There are many sections of the fields ablaze with the vibrant purple of the fireweed! Not only is it beautiful, but it's also an Alaskan summer gauge. As the flowers bloom farther up the plant, it indicates the nearing of autumn. When very tippy top blooms, you know winter is just around the corner. If the plant below is any indication, we still have lots more summer to enjoy! 

Alaskan Fireweed

Wifi!!! and Summer

Yay I have internet again at my house!!! Since I arrived home from Asia over 2 months ago, our wifi has been horrible. It says it is connected with full signal, but it hardly ever allows me to access any websites. I've had to check email  and such at other locations. It's been frustrating, since I do so much on my laptop and have several projects pending, just waiting for wifi to work again. Don't know what happened but tonight it is working! 

Summer is in full swing. Our church just finished all our camps for the summer season. Three weeks of camps (I only went to one week). Pretty sure most of our teens and adult workers are still recovering from the lack of sleep. But they were good weeks. I attended the village week of Rock Crossing as a counselor again this summer. We had a large group - last year one girl came from Manley; this year she came back and brought 7 others! Several of which got saved. Praise the Lord!! 

Having a hotter, drier than normal summer so far this year means we have a lot of wild fires in the states. Last I heard, over 100. A couple are fairly close to here, so the last few days we've been inhaling tons of second hand smoke. It looks like the sky is overcast and cloudy, but really it's just smoke. Today it has cleared up quite a bit. Actually just a little while ago, it rained pretty heavy. Also had thunder and lightening! I love those storms!! (except lightening isn't a good thing when it's been dry; can cause more fires)

Other than that, don't have much to say.... just wanted to post, since I've missed blogging. Hopefully the internet stays on from now on out. 

Alaskan Wild Roses - one of my favs 

enjoying camp

beautiful Tanana River

Enjoying the end of Summer

Summer is almost over. 

At least here in Alaska it is. Days have still been in the 60s, but at night it's been quite cool. My sisters went blueberry picking last week. So, last Saturday, we decided to make yummy waffles and top them off with wild Alaskan blueberries freshly picked and powered sugar. 

Now for those of you who have never had Alaskan blueberries - you are missing out! 

Store bought blueberries are very bland compared to those found in our wilderness. 

The next Saturday was another beautiful day. So, we decided to take advantage of the day and of my coworkers offer of his 4-wheelers. We went out for about 2 hours and it was awesome! 

Just the 3 of us girls. We laughed and laughed! 

love the faces!

just another slough in the wild

Lacey showing off her guns

cruisin

uh, yeah not a good thing

And to finish off the great day, we had huge rib eye steaks to grill! Man, they were delicious! 

We may be girls, but you can't beat meat and potatoes for dinner! ;) 

Randomness from Summer

This summer I've been working my regular day job plus a few nights a week I've been working at the airport. I normally get off sometime after midnight, but during an Alaskan summer, that's just when the sun is going down. So I've seen some pretty amazing sunsets this summer. 

God sure is an amazing artist!!

 Tanna has also been working with me at the airport. We handle gate checks, wheelchairs for passengers and clean the plane before it heads out again. It's pretty fun - except for the late nights. :)  

waiting for the plane to leave... 

 And a real first for me this summer.... Sushi! 

A friend and I went out for dinner and I let her choose where. I've never really had sushi before, so I let her order. It wasn't too bad. I liked the bottom one better. The other has too many flavors mixed together in one bite. But hey, I tried it! 

And what would summer be without BBQ!!??

When the rain finally went away, Sarah and I decided we needed to grill something! I'm always up for chicken, so BBQ it was. We also grilled potatoes with onions (in the foil) and fresh zucchini. 

It was all delicious! 

I'm thinking we need to do it again..... SOON! :p

the finished project