Gold Nugget

My knees, which are well known for being grumpy when running/biking/hiking/essentially doing anything of distance, were hurting, but I pushed on. The pavement was on a downhill slop at that point and all I had to do was keep moving my feet forward. Gravity would take it from there and do the rest. A quarter of a mile and two quick turns later I found myself running down the finishers chute, just seconds away from finishing my first triathlon. 

Less than two hours earlier I was standing in a line of some 1600 other women in nothing but a tight spandex tri suite and swim cap pained like a sugar skull waiting for my turn to start. I was thinking about what ever possessed me to think that any of this was a good idea. Only two words kept coming to mind. Happy & fat.

Happy fat. Also known to some as that 'little' bit of weight one acquires at the beginning of a relationship, when you start filling your time with Netflix binges and dinners out with your significant other when it used to be filled with  trips to the gym after work and sleepless runs at midnight. Getting married, moving to Alaska, changing jobs, were not the only lifestyle changes that took place for me last year. I also went from clean eating to adopting the more free eating habits of my husband and opting to skip most of my trips to the gym to hang with my beloved on the couch watching movies. While I don't regret the time we've spent together doing these things, I have been watching in horror as my body has also decided it was going to do some changing of its own as a result of these new [sometimes bad] habits. One day during the miserable, snowless winter (which DID NOT help. I love playing in the snow, but when there is none and only coldness, I'm not motivated to get myself outside) I decided I'd had enough. So I convinced my friend Cally to sign up for a local, all women's triathlon with me. 

We've spent the last couple of months training, which brought me to crossing the finish line of my very first triathlon. Sure, I'm not back at my desired weight, but the process was fun and the experience was far more rewarding than numbers on a scale. Perhaps this isn't my last tri either. I guess time will tell...

Bucket Turns 1

Being the dog person that I am, I never thought I'd ever really have a cat. I also never thought I would have one that I liked so much. 

Today is Bucket's first birthday & we had to celebrate in style. So we cooked up some BBQ, had a picnic outside in the beautiful spring weather, and enjoyed the fresh air. Bosco munched on a bone while Bucket sauntered around and chewed on long grasses.

Happy first birthday Bucket cat!

Momma Bennett Come to Alaska

We had the pleasure of Brian's mom visiting us for a few days this past week.

Despite not having much of a plan we had a phenomenal time showing her around our new home state.

Brian was at the airport waiting for her when her plan touched down Friday afternoon. They promptly came to where I work & picked me up for lunch. After a quick catch up, we downed some food and they dropped me back off at work. Brian gave him mom the tour of Anchorage and the base.

The next day we headed for Matanuska glacier, where we spent the better part of the day climbing around the face of the glacier.

On the way home we drove as far as we could go up Hatcher Pass to take in the view. Most of the road will be closed until early July and despite the terrible snowfall this winter, several people were still skiing and snow machining at the top.

After sleeping in the next morning we set our signs south of Anchorage and toured the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center where we got up close and personal with the furry natives of Alaska.

When we had our fill of the rehabbing animals of the AWCC we pointed the car towards the Byron Glacier trail and set out for a short but beautiful hike.

Since the skies had cleared on the last day of her trip, we took Momma Bennett out to Talkeetna to not only walk around the tiny town but for uninhibited views of Denali, who was out in rare form, showing herself from base to summit.

If she didn't have a great time with us here in Alaska, we can at least say we wore her out as we didn't stop moving the entire time. My kind of trip indeed! I'm a huge believer that vacations are for exploring and adventuring - you can rest when you get home! We love & miss you Momma Bennett & look forward to our next get together. Xoxo.

Cry a river. Build a bridge. Get over it.

Go ahead

You never know what could be on the other side.

Trail of the Blue Ice

Although it was cold, the sky was blue and the sun was shining for the first time in weeks. Or at least, it was shining for the first time in weeks that I wasn't working/moving/tending to a sick puppy. So Bosco & I hopped in the car and took a drive. The road led us here...

Man Alaska, you don't shine often, but when you do, you really know how to do it right.

Moving On

Despite our well laid plans to move off base, the Army always likes to show it's authority over our lives and ruin the best laid plans. Only after we had turned in out 30 day notice did Brian get word that he was being sent to Fairbanks for two weeks for training. So the mad scramble was on to find a place in Anchorage we both loved and wanted to stay in for our remaining time here. Thankfully, amid all of the craziness of the Iditarod, Bosco getting sick & just the craziness of every day life in general, we were able to not only find a place we agreed on, but that we both fell in love with.

Only then did the real fun begin. Brian packed his bags and set out for his two weeks in Fairbanks while I was left to pack our (entirely too big) 4 bedroom house & move it to our (adorably cute) 2 bedroom. 

Bucket was in love . Everywhere she went there were boxes and bags to sit in!  

Every night, after work I would fill any and every container we owned with our possessions and load our truck to the brim. The next morning, on my way to work, I would stop at the new house first to unload and unpack. I repeated the process until everything I was physically capable of moving on my own was packed, moved, and unpacked. Thanks to the help of some great friends I was able to move our bed over to the new place & spend a few nights in it, cleaning and prepping for Brian to come home to a little semblance of a home after living out of a suitcase for two weeks..

Bucket was unaware that despite all the fun she was having, she was required to get a bath before she was allowed into the new house. Suddenly, moving was not as much fun as she had previously thought. 

Brian came home two days before we were to clear out of the old house. We spent the first day, with the help of MANY AMAZING people, loading a single U-Haul truck with all the large pieces of furniture I was unable to move on our own. The process we thought was going to take all day took less than 3 hours from the time we picked up the U-Haul til the time we dropped it back off. We were able to spend the rest of the day finishing the cleaning.

We're now completely unpacked in our new home and thoroughly enjoying all aspects of it. Want to know what it looks like now that it's set up with all our stuff? Well you're just going to have to come visit to find out! *wink wink nudge nudge* Just give me a little heads up & there will be chocolate covered strawberries waiting for you on your pillow (as long as Bosco doesn't eat them first).