-23 feels so awesome!!! — November Blue

38 degrees one week and -23 the next. 61 degree difference! This weather has been crazy up here, most locals say we don’t normally get this much snow, but I love it nonetheless. I’ve still been trying to embrace the snow and coldness and just take in all that it’s throwing at me. I have always loathed wind. It is a relentless force that can be loud and debilitating at times, almost infuriating. But the wind combined with subzero temps is a new kind of torture. You can’t run in and out of the store to your car to escape it because you have to make sure you don’t slip on the ice and cause even more harm. You have to carefully, consciously, take each step on the ice while taking and accepting each gust of glacial breath. I am not an expert in surviving suffering, I have not had to endure many severe hardships in my short life, but while I am withstanding the cold and wind, be it walking from the parking lot or standing outside waiting for my pups to take a frigid pee, I have really been trying to accept the challenge, carry on thru the unexplainable rush of senses my body is feeling.

Ok, enough complaining about the wind. I have had some fun in between gusts! I finally went sledding J The hill wasn’t very steep or extravagant, was actually just behind a high school in Anchorage, but it was still fun to get that first experience sledding in Alaska. We got a sled right before going and after sledding a few times we noticed that bit by bit, the sled was breaking. Pieces of orange plastic littered the hill, but the sled was still intact so we carried on. We then found a hill with a couple of jumps built it. My sled partner was less than thrilled about the idea of going down it seeing that it was mostly made of ice. But, in my new found ‘go get em’ attitude, I said ‘what the hell! I’ll go by myself!” and off I go.

One bump.

Caught some air, not too bad.

Second bump.

Whoa.

This is gonna hurt.

Flying in the air, sled to the right, steph to the left.

BAM.

Crash into a big pile of snow on my left side. Didn’t hurt as bad as I was bracing for, but I still felt the, hard, land.

My friend was not about to be shown up by a North Carolinian when it comes to sledding, so he takes a run. Goes similar to mine, except for when he hits the second bump the sled breaks right down the middle. No more sledding for us. Good thing was, we were able to take it back to the store with the receipt and get all the money back! Not only did I get to go sledding, but I got to go for free!

I have been trying to get the dogs outside more, but I’ve learned that if its below 10 degrees, the cold is just too much. They can handle the snow as long as it’s not deeper than a few inches, but even if the roads are cleared, they start shivering and limping in below zero temps. When it was slightly warmer we made it to the Eagle River Nature trail. It is so beautiful out there and the hike is relatively easy and flat. I think snowshoes would have been optimal because even though most of the trails were groomed, we still had to trudge in 6-8in of snow for most of trek. The dogs did great, they ran around, jumping in the snow, walking on the ice, and running around. They are def feeling the strain of the weather too. I wish I had more things for them to do inside to get rid of that energy, but they are holding strong, no emotional breakdowns yet.

I’m not taking any classes this semester so I am spending the time focusing on my grad school application to get into the Nurse Practitioner program at Univ. Alaska of Anchorage. Up until this point I have been taking courses as a ‘non degree seeking student’ until I officially apply to the program. Deadline is in March so hopefully soon after that I will find out my fate for the next years to come. My roommate got engaged on NYE (yay Marie!) so I will have to find somewhere else to live as well. The valley has treated me well but I may need to slide on down to Anchorage if I get into the program.

Dating has been very interesting in Alaska, and that is putting it lightly and in the most PC way I can. Takes a lot of time, energy, and drive to go on dates with new people on a consistant basis, it’s easy to get caught up in the rat race of ‘finding someone’. I’ve learned quite a few things about men in Alaska and also about myself, enough things to probably last me for a while. So with that being said I think I will spend the next few weeks focusing on making new girlfriends and trying to get out there and do things on my own (which has always been intimidating to me). But, in a year of new challenges, why not add a few more?

well hello sunshine

so ready to get off work

snow piles around mcdonalds

beautiful sunrise

people practicing with the parasail

so cold up at hatchers

sunset after suffering thru the wind