Ash

Wow, I guess I never thought I'd see this day...but it is pretty enterprising: A guy from AP selling Redoubt ash.

Things I've Learned in Marriage

I wrote this post in June of 2008 after I had been married for 2 months. I figured I'd bring some of it back for this week, and add some more! Our one year wedding anniversary is on the 4th of April, so I figured this was appropriate!!

Things I have discovered about living on my own and married life:

• Doing the dishes can actually be an enjoyable past time..or at least tolerable.
• Cooking is much more fun when doing it with your husband.
• We buy a lot of ice cream. We went a week without some a few weeks back and that was horrible =P
• You actually have to make and enforce a routine, otherwise it won't happen.
• It's great having a husband who isn't afraid to kill spiders.
• Grocery shopping is considered "cute" when you are newlyweds.
• Getting asked about the married life several times a day gets old.
• Living on your own is actually not nearly as hard as I was imagining it to be. I miss my parents and my cats, but I am pretty happy being moved out.
• Not living with cats is a pretty sad existence (if you love cats), which is amplified when going to the in-law's place and playing with their cats.
• Being married and taking care of yourself actually means you have less free time and time together (sometimes) than you did before...figure that one out.
• Having 2 days off in a row together is such a blessing! (much more so than just one)

I would add now, 10 months later:

• Those stereotypes I always heard about marriage? Yeah, it is easy for them to come true. That's where the work comes in!
• Getting asked about when we are having children gets old after about the second time. Especially when it is people that don't need to know.
• Living by ourselves is such a blessing. After babysitting for my in laws twice now, I definitely understand why you move out when you get married and don't have kids right away! Coming home to our own quiet place was so relaxing after those times!
• Trying to do homework and actually focusing on it is hard on a marriage. There is not a lot of freedom to stop thinking about what needs to get done to spend time together that is rich.
  

For more of what others have learned, visit Musings of a Housewife!

Godspell

Each year, the high school choir puts on a musical. And each year, it is always exceptional. The kids are always great at their characters, and everyone does an amazing job. This year, they did Godspell. I did not know anything about it, but decided it would be worth it to go anyway. And, of course it was!

Saturday night, ee ended up sitting on the third row, which ended up being perfect for me to take photos! I was not planning on doing so, but I had to take advantage of it. I brought only my point and shoot, since my XS is a bit noisy with the shutter and all.

The director.

This scene was great! They did this dance routine, and it was choreographed, yet, each of the kids did their own thing slightly, so it was a lot more interesting.

We loved the supergirl outfit!

These were my favorites that I took. I linked to them from FB for convenience since I uploaded them all there. Thanks everyone for an amazing performance!

Couple of Links

The volcano has now gone off so many times that I have given up counting. Today started off a bit overcast, and now we have a snow storm.

A friend of mine found this awesome time lapse video of Redoubt erupting someone in Seldovia made.

And I found this news article amusing - Alaska could have "Marmot Day" instead of Groundhog Day. And DST? We could really do without that. The comment is made in the article that changing it messes up our business dealings with the Lower 48....have we ever been in sync with them? No! Alaskans seriously get called early in the morning quite often, because the time zone is not figured in. Very obnoxious. Hawaii would be even worse!

Sunset March 26

I successfully have left the house twice in the past 24 hours! My cold has gone away enough that I can leave. C and I went to the beach to takes photos of the sunset last night. Ash makes for beautiful sunsets. It was cloudy right at the horizon, so I didn't quite get the effect I wanted. And yet again, it was super windy and cold down there. I can't wait for summertime, when I don't have to wear gloves and coats!

I've been trying to take more interesting photos and not just the straight on sunset ones. I was happy to find puddles galore at the beach last night.

Happy Friday!

Ash Photos

A cloud of ash, before it dumped on us.

Us with out ridiculous dust masks on :)

Before the ash started really falling.

The brunt of the ash we got. The photo does not really capture it. But the snow just looked gross!

Stolen from Facebook. At a friend's house in my hometown. I think they got it worse than we did.

And my windshield on my car. I had to wash it off this morning. Otherwise it scratches the glass. The car wash last night had lines of cars. Insanity. I hope this is the only ash we get. (haha) My town only momentarily stopped for this event. But I don't want to go outside in this! Nor do I want it to to continue long enough to affect our vacation!

It snowed this morning, so the ash in my backyard is covered up. But you can still see it everywhere in town and where the snow has been churned up.

Ash is falling

My status page on Facebook is literally covered with friends talking about the ash. It is now falling, and I can see it. It's hazy outside, and the wind is blowing the tiny flakes around. There is brown snow on the hill. My snow hasn't turned colors yet.

One friend of mine is trying to fly to the lower 48 today...it's a no go. She has to wait until at least daylight tomorrow. I hope the volcano stops for a while!

I will likely upload pics when I have some more interesting ones than just the ash cloud.

Have a good day all!

Photos from this week

Here we have a small portion of the eagles being fed on Monday. An insane amount of huge birds circling.

The photo on the right is of an immature eagle.

This was the first time I really got to play with my new camera, but it was not a good time really. It was so windy and freezing that I did not want to experiment, and only wanted to sit and watch from the car. The birds were flying around so fast that I did not have a chance to fine tune what I was working with to really know what worked the best. Hopefully in the next couple weeks I can go to the beach and test out my skills.

I stayed home from youth group tonight and watched a chick flick while C was gone. My cold is hopefully on its way out. When the movie was done, I got out my camera. I played around with the aperture and my little leprechaun figurine.

I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but I purchased a camera bag that came on Monday. I bought a backpack one on the recommendation of a photographer friend, and I love it so far....although I haven't had a chance to take it anywhere yet! I have it all filled up with my various accessories and ready to go!

What I Learned This Week 9

I've learned a couple things in the past couple weeks.

-That housewarming we went to a few weeks back? The lady had a nice candle in a short window. In the photo below, you can see a problem...that none of us had noticed. It singed the paint above it! Never put a tall candle in a short window!

-I took a lot of photos on my birthday at the bowling alley. I bumped up the ISO to lighten things up a bit. I know how ISO works, but boy, it was bad. All of my photos turned out fairly grainy. Next time, I will know better with that camera!

I can't think of much today, as I have a bit of a cold. For more, visit Musings of a Housewife!

We make good punch

Everything is fine from Redoubt erupting. Good for us, but not for everyone else, the ash headed north. However, soon after C and I woke up yesterday morning, the power went out many places, but it was completely unrelated to Redoubt. But it was a bit unnerving. We were without power for 2 hours, so C stayed home from work for it. I had been planning on trying out my new camera out to view the eagles. Third time is the charm, and we got to see them being fed this time. Pretty insane to see all the birds circling. I took some photos, and may upload them later.

C went to work right after we came back. And he called me later with an amusing story. He was supposed to go in today, even with the power out. But the phones were not working, so he was not aware. Once he got there, a lady in the office came down and says, "C, you get the attendance award!" He cracked up, since he was late this morning and went home sick last week. But honestly, he doesn't miss work. So he had the choice of a day off or $100. He took the money. We're getting a vacation soon, anyway.

For small group last night, we had an organized potluck. We made a yummy sherbet punch that everyone raved over. We weren't sure we would get it right, so that was cool. Our leaders had put two tables together and we all had chicken tetrazini (sp?), broccoli casserole, asparagus, french bread, cookies and cobbler. Yum yum! It was fun. Plus there were 3 babies to fawn over, and two little boys. We had all the entertainment we needed.

C had a cold last weekend. And I apparently got it. I started feeling bad before small group, but I knew that going would make me feel better for a while, by not thinking about it. But now I am hugging the kleenex box :( Ah well, it looks cold outside anyway.

I love how the entire world freaks out about the volcano, and once the initial drama wears down after an hour, my town was back to normal. At dinner last night, no one mentioned Redoubt at all, just the power outage. Life goes on.

Redoubt Erupted

Well everyone, the volcano erupted at 10:38pm. I'd been watching the seismographs since I came home from work. It was getting more and more agitated, and it just went off. Apparently the ash cloud is supposed to be here in 3 hours. Not sure what will happen over night. Hopefully be able to update soon!

My Camera!

Ta Da! I am the proud new owner of a DSLR! C was not too enthused to take photos of me, so it's not the greatest..but it will work :)

There was a bit of a problem with the Paypal account of the seller, so I fully expected to have to wait a week or two to hear of a shipment. I was rather bummed, but what can you do? I was happy to discover the seller shipped it Wednesday.

Yesterday morning, I discovered, much to my delight, that the camera was on its way to me and was in the state! I anxiously awaited the time for the mail to come. It turns out that the mail didn't come until after 3pm yesterday! I ended up checking the mail 3 times (yes, a bit obsessive :) ) but it was not there.

This morning, I did not have time to check the tracking before I had to go to work. 5pm could not come fast enough. I got to the mail box...and there was nothing there. I was so disappointed. Then I realized that maybe C had checked the mailbox [He never does, but I have been making quite the fuss, and I didn't want the camera to sit in the cold]. I raced home...and he had checked the mail, and gotten a few letters...but no camera.

Oh boy, I was unhappy. I did not want to wait for Monday!! I hadn't been home 10 minutes when we heard a loud pounding on our door. I knew it was our neighbor, and he came bearing a great gift!!

He manages to get a lot of our mail. Our apartment building is not labeled at all, so our neighbor gets all of our deliveries. Good thing he is good natured about it :)

I tore open the box, read the manual while the battery charged, and have made C my unwilling model all evening. So exciting!!

I am very happy with it. Obviously, I have not had an opportunity to really play with it, as there is little to shoot in my apartment. Monday morning, I expect I will be out of the house as soon as I can be to take photos!

Link Love

Now it's time for another link love post....several months after I last did one...

Go Girl - Very strange thing I came across today...basically a cup for women to urinate in. Interesting idea I guess...

Fabulous Finacial's Emergency Planning Kit - A handy list of things it might be nice to have on hand.

Shade Clothing - modest clothing company. I really like the tank tops and camisoles. I'm thinking about getting one or two.

Google Holiday Logos - I don't know about you, but I love to see all the interesting ideas Google comes up with for their logo on holidays.

Wearable Airbag for the Elderly - Interesting idea.

To Improve your Marriage, Be Quiet - Older article that I found fascinating.

20 Architectural and Graphic Optical Illusions - Very well done!

How Stay at Home Moms improve Family Finances - For those skeptics out there

Ping Pong Balls Saved her Life - Modern medicine can't fix all :)

Photo: PacMan ghosts in the snow - Fun photo

Lunch Bag Art - A fun blog of a dad who draws on his kids' lunch bags every night

Are we too clean for our own good? - A sobering read on germs

Health paradoxes around the world - Strange things in different cultures that make you curious as to modern medicine's accuracy.

9 Year old boy writes dating book - Cute read

Man's photo in Iron Man - Awesome story! A man had no idea that his photo was in Iron Man, despite repeated attempted contact about it.

Lady washing...a turd - Amusing story about potty training.

Puppies save boy - Older story now, but timeless. 2 puppies saved a boy in the freezing woods :)

An alarm clock that runs away - I would loathe having one of these, but it's a very funny idea!

New Expansion Underway - Clever post on a man's pregnant wife.

Two girls painting their faces - Two little girls put blue makeup all over their faces. Amusing.

I think that is enough for now!

Spring break Laziness

Today has been a very lazy day. Youth group is a movie night tonight, so we decided to stay home and recuperate from my birthday. I have basically spent the entire day on the computer...what else is new?! We finally purchased our tickets for our vacation today. Ended up saving about $200 from what I was initially looking at, too. So that is a huge relief for me. We looked into some more attractions to go see, as well. The next step is looking into hotels. I spent several hours today reading reviews...which are kind of a pain. People can be so critical of nit picky things that I really don't care about. I think we've decided on one, but I'm not positive yet.

I also spent a fair amount of time looking at camera bags on the internet. I was looking at big ones that can hold everything - lenses, battery chargers, etc, or just a simple bag that holds the camera and a lens. I think that is what I am leaning towards at that point. It's very obnoxious, though, when I don't have the camera yet, and all the options are different. I am tempted to drive up the road to go check out what Freddies has...but I'm not going to have a chance to for a few more days.

I've done a bit of scrapbooking since it's spring break. It's so nice :) But now I'm dreading Monday when I have to be productive again.

So that has been the sum of my Wednesday. Hope it hasn't been too boring :)

Birthday recap

I turned 21 yesterday. Usually, birthdays don't make me feel any older, but I actually did for this one a bit. Like, now I can get a hotel room for sure on my own.

Anyway, the day started off with me winning a camera on ebay! $445, which was about the lowest I saw on the internet. I also spent the day trying to be artistic with my camera...

Then two good friends called, which made me happy. Also got a call from my sister and my niece!

C and I went bowling with the Red Head and the Canadian. Some other friends were there as well, so we did a bit of socializing, but not too much, just bowling! My mom came to town and stuck her head in to say hi.

We played two games and I managed to just barely win the second game, but not with any skill, especially because the boys ended up just playing around that game and trying left handed bowling, bowling under their legs, etc.

After bowling, we went out for pizza and bread sticks at our favorite pizza place. And from there, we went up to the Red Head's house to make a cake and watched a movie.

All in all, it was a very fun day and I am 21!

Another quake again

My goodness, we just had another earthquake. It was 4.3 right nearby, and from the looks of it, it was right out in the Inlet, near Augustine. Redoubt was down to Yellow, but shot back to Orange yesterday....hard to say, it might still go off soon.

Early Birthday Present

My husband is buying me the best birthday present ever!

The last time I went to see the eagles, I started really wanting a nicer camera. My point and shoot is great...but it is lacking a lot. And then he told me basically, "in your dreams." As I stated a few posts back, I have been developing my techniques a bit better, and understanding how and hat makes better photos from the camera.

I was explaining to C a few nights back that someday I really do want a better camera. I don't want a super pro one, just at least a DSLR. I talked about how I've been learning new things in the past couple of weeks, and really putting them into practice. How my camera is just not going to cut it when I really want to capture something. I made the argument that I have more than gotten my moneys worth out of my point and shoot by using it every day, and that a nicer camera would not change that. I was about to say that I would somehow save up for one on my own when C said, "Ok.......you can get one."

Yippee!! That was pretty shocking to me :P I told him that I wanted to save up for one on my own, and he laughingly was like, "How are you going to do that? It's our money" (Big inside joke - when we first got my name on his bank account, I kept referring to our separate accounts as mine and his and the banker lady kept reiterating "No, it's OUR money." Slightly obnoxious, but a big joke now.) And so he had a point there :P After debating on where to take the money from, we decided from our tax refund we just got.

The next morning I researched and researched some more on what I wanted. I'm bidding on cameras on ebay as we speak. Kind of risky, but I do my homework :P I decided on the Canon Rebel XS. It's the cheapest Canon DSLR, but it is powerful enough for what I want to do with it. I don't want to be "professional." This is a hobby for me. While I may purchase lenses and other equipment, I'm not going to go crazy buying a super expensive camera I don't know how to use. The Rebel XS is still pretty basic, but nice for what it is.

So that's my news :) C decided it was a good birthday present for me. One of my friends who doesn't take pictures of hardly anything was given a Rebel for Christmas by her fiance. We were not really impressed, but C was disappointed that he hadn't thought of it on his own for me.

I have been bidding on ebay for 3 days or so, and am trying to get a cheaper price than the $440 I have come across so far. But it may come down to that if I can't get one in the next couple days. I'm sure you will all hear all about it when it arrives!

Surfing in Cold March

It suddenly got very chilly here. The sun is out, but it is windy and about 10 degrees.

Yesterday, I worked, as well as Saturday. The past week I have not had much resting time, as I have been very busy. Today is the start of my Spring Break...and while I still have homework, it is a big load off of my shoulders. Last night, I ran off to Mariner Park (where we got engaged) and took photos of the sunset. And this road sign.

This morning, I was going to go attempt to actually watch the eagle feedings, but I was running late, and then I could not get my gas tank open! My lever thing that opens it was frozen. I finally got it open, but by the time I did, there was no point in going to the eagles.

I drove out to the Spit anyway, and saw a man surfing. I thought these people were crazy, until I started seeing some of Scott Dickerson's photos of it, and explanations. They surf in bodysuits, often on some of the nastiest days. I pulled over, and stepped outside with my camera. The wind was gushing so bad that my photos were not coming out nicely, not to mention I was already about to freeze! I got back in the car and took photos out the window. I watched for 20 minutes before leaving. Right as I was about to go, the surfer caught a great wave and didn't fall and kept going. I shot about 100 photos on continuous mode and I want to make a Gif out of it. Pretty spectacular. But that must have been the last straw for the guy as well, since he was done after that. I left before he had climbed all the way up the rock wall, so I'm not sure who it was.

On my way home, I took a slight detour on a road near my place. C and I have been curious about it for a while. It is a new subdivision for nicer homes, and we have talked about going up the road to check it out. So I did. There were two ways to go, and the road that forked probably had houses, but at the top of the road, where I went, was a cul de sac with nothing...but a very nice view! I was pretty excited. I have been wanting to take nice photos from higher up than our place, but the closest place to do that is about 2 miles up a nasty hill. So this is perfect! It's not the greatest, nor the clearest, but I will definitely be able to get sunrise photos from up there!