hello, laziness

Last time my husband left for any length of time, I slept with the shotgun loaded beside our bed (and worried that drunken bafoons would enter my home), albeit the shotgun wasn’t exactly loaded properly…ahem…anyway, moving on. The point is that I know how to load it now (and shoot it if I might add)!

Now that Captain J is away again, I’m doing much better. I guess it gets a little easier each time as far as doing my own thing and being content with a routine or lack thereof. Yesterday I went on another hike out on Chena Hot Springs Road. The weather decided to cooperate despite the forecast looking shabby so I loaded up the truck with fishing gear and dog number one and hit the road. After a short 3 miler, I drove down the road and hit up our favorite fishing spot. I’ll admit I felt really bad for leisurely fishing while my poor, better half is out training with the U.S. Army. I didn’t feel too bad, though–I was having too much fun!

That night, Nicole, Sarah, and I settled in to watch one of our silly secret indulgences which I can’t tell you about. It comes on the family channel and that’s all I’m sayin’! We had fun talking about past experiences and making fun of ourselves for enjoying the show. The girls evening in made for a late night so I enjoyed sleeping in late and not having to wake up early to cook breakfast.

Today was lazy! Aside from nearly breaking my hand (and that may be dramatic) and missing my husband like crazy, I’m doing well. I miss him, but I’m okay!

P.S.- The dogs played together today! Progress. Yay!!

Old Glory, Halibut, and Family

Happy Fourth of July! I can’t tell you how blessed I feel to have been born in the greatest country in the world. I still believe in America and her greatness and I’m proud to be a part of the land of the free and the home of the brave. I’m even prouder to be a military spouse, something I never thought I would be. My thoughts and prayers are with all those families who don’t have the priviledge of spending this holiday with their loved one/soldier. Thanks to all those who serve!

Speaking of the greatest country in the world…

I’ve been exploring the gloriousness that is the state of Alaska. My sister and brother-in-law paid Captain J and me a visit this past week which explains my recent hiatus from this blog (sorry!). We packed the truck down with all sorts of luggage and made the eight-ish hour drive to Seward, Alaska. Stop Number One? Why…fishing, of course!

We were pleased to have good weather while we were fishing. The drive down was dreary and rainy so the pleasant weather and good fishin’ brought smiles to our faces. I’d just like to say…

I caught the most fish out of the four of us! (*8 feeshy feeshies) Woo hooooo!

I didn’t catch the biggest one, though.

These were the biggest fish I have ever caught though…by far. I had so much fun reeling in halibut, cod, and arrow tooth flouder fish. A girl can get spoiled doing the charter thing. It just seemed so easy. I’ll tell you what wasn’t easy, though- Reeling in time and time again is a workout! I created my own style which most people on the boat were probably snickering at, but it worked for me. The (boat) Captain told me I won the style award. Ha!

We saw a lot of wildlife, as usual, too. My sister, Paige, got some good photos of mountain goats grazing a nearby area:

This trip south was only the beginning of their visit. We got into all kinds of fun all week, but I’ll have to save that for a later post. I’m going to get off the computer now and watch Star Wars (if I must) with my dear Captain J. I hope you all had a great week in my absence and I hope this one coming up is even better!

Let’s talk soon, shall we?

Love,

“I love your blog!”

I got an award from Jenn over at Chances I’m Taking! Thanks, a lot Jenn. I love your blog, too but since I can’t re-gift, I’ll pass it along to some other of my favorite bloggers, but that is to come a little later. First off, we’ve got some business to get down to. With this award, I must list ten things I love (in no particular order)–

1. My military life I was so glad to have Captain J home for this Memorial Day. Even though the weekend didn’t go quite as planned, I’m thankful beyond belief that he was stateside this year. As we close up the month of the military families today, I’d just like to say–thanks. Thanks to those who serve. Thanks to the families who stick by those service men and women. I’m proud to be an army wife and I feel incredibly lucky to be born in the best country in the world!

2. Wonderful Friends New and old-I’m so glad you’re in my life! For those of you this week who listened to me complain and brought me Diet Dews- You’re the bomb! For those of you who made me laugh from miles away…thank you! To my new “couple” friend- I’m so glad I met you. For my bloggy friends for checking in on me and reaching out, you rock!

3. The fact that I caught a fish this weekend Umm..yeah…Not only did I catch a fish, I outfished 3 guys! I caught 3 fish which was the record for the day. Beat that, boys! Ha!

 

 

4. Technology Skype and video capable cell phones make me happy every week. I get to see my family from many miles away and it helps me tremendously.

5. My sweet puppy Drifter was so happy this weekend. He got to play with his buddies quite a bit! He’s a much more pleasant pet when he’s fully exercised and socialized.

6. Spiced Chai Tea Cheers me up every time.

7. An empty hamper and laundry basket Unfortunately, our closet is what is actually empty. Zut alor!

8.We don’t have to move This was the BEST news I heard all weekend. I was getting really frustrated with Captain J the situation. I was driving him nuts, I’m sure. He said it would all work out and I guess it has! The owners decided not to sell the house. Woo hoo!

9. Chocolate ‘Nuff said.

10. Air conditioning Man, I miss that.

Alrighty, now that those are taken care of- Let’s pass it along, shall we?

Drumroll please…..

I present this award to-

Ashley @ Be Real Be Happy

Mom @ Kimbodarlin’s Blog

Mrs. Dear @ Lovin’, Huntin’, and Fishin’

Amanda @ Where the Boat Leaves From

I was supposed to pass this along to ten people, but in normal Mrs. K fashion…I decided four was good. It’ s more special that way, right? There are tons of blogs I love, but these are worth a look at it. These ladies are fabulous!

I promise to write more this week. I know I’ve been MIA lately. Blame it on the gorgeous weather!

Fish Tales

Remember how I told you that I may or may not have caught something on our fishing trip last Friday? I’m sitting here watching the Biggest Loser Finale and I thought I’d catch you up with that fish tale. I’m here to tell you the truth now, but first allow me to show you these (and the guy who caught the first fish of the season):

 

Notice that smirk? It gets worse…

I kept hearing, “I’m sorry, babe” (sounding anything but sorry) and that signaled me to understand that he caught another stinkin’ greyling:

Me? Well, I caught something, too…

I got really excited when I felt the tug- then when I started reeling in my smile turned upside down. I caught a darn stick?! Ahh, the frustration. There were a couple times when I saw a fish bite my line but I just couldn’t land one. I have all these excuses, though like-

1. J had already caught a fish in the place I fished then he moved along to the next spot and caught another. Basically, he scared off all the fish in my spots. Ha!
2. Also, my bait and hook were too long for those teensy little fish. They just couldn’t get their entire mouths around it so I couldn’t get a good hold on them.

Those are legit, right? 😉 I feel as if I should also add that those waders make me look slightly hefty, but I just embrace it because I had to get young boy waders because the womens were humongo and the mens were even bigger. You like em? They crack me up. I almost look like an outdoorsman. Almost.

Look at that girl! She can accomplish anything…and I will. I will catch a fish before summer is out! Just stay tuned (Disclaimer: You may be waiting awhile).

Glory Days

I couldn’t have been more than seven or eight years old on the most glorious fishing day of my youth life. I was excitedly changing positions from a boat, the Kimbra Susann, to the docks of a marina in my East Tennessee home. These were the days when bobbers were still deemed appropriate for me and no one minded baiting my hook. Sometimes, in an effort to avoid those slimy, yucky worms, I just used spam and that worked just fine. Ft. Loudon Lake fish just aren’t too picky. This very fact spoiled me for years. To this day, I still look back on my glory days when catching twenty fish on a single Saturday was just another day’s work.

Don’t believe me? Well, it’s true (at least I think it is) and it’s no fish tale. Perhaps I caught the same single fish over and over again because that sure is what it felt like. I remember catching a fish, throwing it back, and having another bite on my line in no time. This is just how it was and I remember thinking fondly of the sport. I seemed pretty darn good at it!

Let’s fast forward to Captain J’s R&R, shall we? In May of 2009, he was home for a couple weeks from the sandbox. Of course, he looked forward to his favorite pasttime: fishing. We loaded up in the bass boat and sped off to find a quiet fishing hole to relax, get some sun, and catch a fish or two. Those were my motives, anyway. J caught the first fish and my father-in-law and I chalked it up to it being J’s day. The universe was somehow recognizing he was temporarily home from a deployment and it would be nice to give the ole veteran the first catch of the day. But the second, third, and fourth came with not so much as a nibble to MY line. Discouraged isn’t quite the word. Where were the days when, Mrs. K -Fisherwoman Extraordinare, could cast a line and reel it back in with a good size slippery sucker at the end?

Gone, I tell you.

I haven’t caught a fish since. I mean- sure, I’ve reeled some in but only because Captain J will hand me the pole after having already felt a tug. It’s becoming very frustrating and simply typing this out makes me want to grab a line and head out to the Chena and see what I can find. My luck, I’d catch one without an eye witness or proof in a photo. That’s my goal for this summer. Some people my age want to find a job or exercise or plan a wedding or a baby shower. Me? I just want to catch a darn fish!

Fishin’ the Chena

Hello Bloggy Friends! I’ve been incredibly lazy today with no plans of changing that any time soon. I just wanted to be sure and write a blog entry because I have so much to tell you. First of all, I’d like to thank you for dealing with the name changes and sticking around to support my blog. Yesterday, I had just less than two hundred visits to my blog so I was very happy that there wasn’t any confusion when I edited the domain. There will be more work done in the future, so look forward to a new look!

So how’s life in Alaska, you may be wondering? It’s been very nice lately. Our highs peak around 63 F and the sky has been mostly cloudless. It’s a perfect temperature to spend time outside, however, the lovely weather brings with it those pesky mosquitos that are iconic of this area. They’re pretty terrible. Just yesterday, one landed right on my forehead and left me looking like I hit my head on something hard.

Captain J, Drifter, and I went fishing this past weekend with no luck. I was getting pretty frustrated because my line kept getting tangled. When it was knot-free, the only thing I was catching were sticks. We will keep trying, though. I hope to catch the first fish of the season and show my dear hubby that I’ve got what it takes to be an excellent fisherwoman.

Drifter was hilarious. The mosquitos were buzzing around us all and he just wasn’t putting up with it. Looking back, I should have recorded his behavior. His eyes were bouncing around left to right and his head was moving in all directions trying to catch a glimpse of those annoying insects flying around his head. He started trying to nonchalantly ignore them until they were in reach of his mouth and then he snapped at them. He was actually catching a few. I knew he was good for something. He has been so good lately that we’re collectively holding our breath that he is just getting older and wiser. We shall see! I like that little husky more and more every day!

Tonight date night resumes since Captain J is done training for a couple weeks. Yipeeeeee!

Much love,

October firsts

October brought about so many fond memories for the both of us and many firsts, too! One weekend we visited the Chena Hot Springs after a long day of fishing in a near by river. We hadn’t had much luck so we decided to take the advice of a man we’d met who said his favorite fishing nook was in Delta Junction, Alaska. We hopped in the truck the next day, camping and fishing gear in tow, to a beautiful campsite a couple hours away. Camping in Alaska is much different than sleeping outside in Tennessee! I was so cold that night and my frustration grew every time I rolled over and saw  J sleeping (and sweating) comfortably in his sleeping bag. We had a good time, though.

The first snowfall of the season came in October, too. It brought about shooting lessons from two of the Army’s fine veterans: Lt.s Joshua and J. I was somewhat frightened at first because of the hype of the “kick back” of some guns, but after I shot it, it seemed pretty easy. I actually hit my targets!

The days began to feel much shorter as the sun started going down much faster so Jordan and I decided to give scuba diving a try. We signed up for classes at Test the Waters Adventure Sports in North Pole, AK. This new activity was a first for both of us and we were glad to have found something that neither of us had done that we could do together. We bought all the gear we needed and jumped in the pool for lessons. Breathing under water is one of the neatest things I’ve ever done. Instinct is to fight it and swim to the surface, but after awhile, the regulators in our mouths became second nature. We did well in our practice dives and finished the test portion making us well on our way to being certified. We hoped to get our first dive under our belts in our upcoming trip to New Zealand.