Baby Alaska

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

So I have a new Nome Home! I haven't yet moved in, but my things are packed and I am ready to go May 1! I am moving back out to the base of the mountains near where I was when I first moved to Alaska. I weighed my options and decided that I like being out there more than I like being in town. It is so beautiful out there by the mountains. I will miss being so close to the beach, but now I can hike the mountain instead of the beach. I am moving into a three bedroom apartment with two different teachers. They are super funny and I think they will be great to live with. They have a little dog and I will have my little kitty with me too. I have ordered a bed and believe it or not, it comes to me rolled up in a giant duffle bag. How does that work? I am not sure but it is a spring mattress and apparently very comfortable based on the dozens of reviews I read on different websites. It is incredibly hard to find places that will ship direct to Nome. Most places don't ship to Alaska unless they are based in Alaska. It is crazy to get household items up here. I am excited though. I need to get a vehicle and I have been looking into getting a jeep wrangler from another teacher who is leaving at the end of this year. I would love a jeep! I've always wanted one anyway and one up here would be so fantastic. My life is once again in boxes and ready to move. I hope to never move again so much the rest of my life.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Fresh sea food?

There's nothing like eating fresh crab legs. By fresh I mean they were caught at 5:00pm, steamed at 5:30 pm, and then eaten by me as a midnight snack after watching the Iditarod first place finisher. So juicy and delicious. No flavor or butter needed on these bad boys. Notice my freckles are getting darker in the picture! The Alaskan sun is bringing them back out loud and proud. How fresh are your crabs? Mine come from about 300 yards off of Front Street in Nome, Alaska. I can see the crab pots from my living room window. Be jealous, it's ok, I want you to be.

Homeless?

A month ago one roommate moved out. I don't actually know why she moved out, but she did when I was in Anchorage for the weekend with the other roomie. I think she moved out because the remaining roomie has a beast of a dog that tears everything apart. He is about as well behaved as Marley of Marley and Me. Ask anyone that knows the dog...he is terrible. He doesn't listen to anything because he is never disciplined by his mama. So she is gone. Now after the return of roomie from her trip to Anchorage for cheerleading she has decided that she doesn't want to live in Nome next year, she wants to move to the big city. I had enough trouble trying to find a roommate to move in with us, now I need to find a place for me! I have to move my stuff AGAIN because finding two roommates will be to hard. The trouble with Nome is that there is no housing. People don't really move out of town so the options are extremely extremely limited. It is amazing that we found this house. So I contacted some people I know from school who have connections with people in town who have rental properties. I am now on the radar of some different people for a place to live. I will move asap. We all know I can move quick! I moved to Alaska in three short days for goodness sake! I've got my boxes still (Thanks for the tip Aunty Karla!) they are just flat under my bed. I also have people this time to help me since I've been here for long enough to make some friends :) I would love to move before May! I need to find a place by May 1st otherwise I will end up having to pay the full rent and utilities for this monster of a house all by myself for the month of June. That does not sound fun! Small towns make it easy for making friends and extremely hard for finding places to live. Maybe I will buy a tent and live on the beach! I wouldn't mind living in someones fish camp but I would definitely need a vehicle to get me 3 miles out of town and back! Some of those fish camps are mighty nice and right on the ocean. But seriously, I need somewhere to live. Nothing gets on my nerves here, except the unknown living situation. I think my blood pressure has increased ridiculously just today. I'll let you know where I end up! Cross your fingers for me

Iditarod

I survived my first Iditarod here in Nome! I saw 8 of the 54 finishing teams. A lot came in throughout the night while I was sleeping and I had a pretty bad head cold so I slept a lot throughout the days all week. I saw some of the great Nome sights during Iditarod. I saw the snow sculpting contest and went to the different art shows and sales. There were so many people in town it was kind of bizarre. You can tell the people that aren't from Alaska. I've only been here a short while but being from a northern state I blend well. These people are dressed head to toe like they are living in the wilderness of Russia in the middle of winter. Everyone has on the most expensive brand new gear and is clearly overdressed. It was just funny because it was so nice during Iditarod. I had a lot of fun even with my head cold.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Fur Rondy

I have been to Anchorage! The Fur Rondy festival was so much fun. I don't think I have ever done so much in one day in my whole life. We went snow shoeing, had lunch, walked around Anchorage, ran with reindeer, had sushi, and saw a movie. My oh my I was exhausted. Anchorage was so gorgeous though! Being downtown is much like being downtown St. Paul or Minneapolis with an added backdrop of beautiful mountains. I love mountains! Anchorage may just be the next place on my list to work! Or somewhere near by so I could drive into the city.