Alaska: a few of my favorite things

Okay, so I wanted to blog something fun so I decided to post pictures and list some of my favorite things from Alaska. Because it truly was an amazing experience and i was super blessed to be able to have the opportunities I did.
For some background info, i spent eight months working at a wilderness lodge on the island of Afognak near Kodiak island. There were about nine people who lived on the island and then the guests we cycled through for each season. Here are my favorite things in no particular order:

This is back bay. I loved boat rides around here on calm warm nights.

This is the bar with some great people. Chyenn, worked at the lodge with me. Mike, was a part of Nat'l Geographic's crew-he's awesome. Faith, Tyler's wife and now a good friend. And last but not least, Donna Rose, a lodge client. One of the funniest ladies i know. 

Bear. This was the first bear I saw while at the lodge. Alive at least.

This poor bear nearly had a heart attack as we followed him with the boat.

 Berry-picking with these girls was one of the best times I had there.

 This guy is crazy. But I love him. Brian the cook everybody. 

 My first buck. Really cool. Introduced me to the hunting world. And now I kind of want to be a part of it. Frank was awesome enough to document it and tech me how to gut it. Frank is awesome. 

 This is one of my favorite spots. The burn pit. This is where we would burn trash and I would do it  a lot and I really enjoyed it. Especially when back bay was so calm and beautiful. I would just sit and watch the trash burn and usually listen to my limited selection of tunes.

 This is right out front of the lodge in Seal Bay, looking down the channel. 

 This was a good day. We were seine fishing and caught and processed salmon most of the day and took a break to barbecue some ribs on the beach. Nikkia was here then. He's great too. He would call me Diabla because I accidentally dropped his new knife off the dock and sent a barrel down the ramp at him. It's all good. We're friends. I sat in a sauna with him for a long time to prove it. I almost didn't make it. Those things can suck the life out of you. 

 An eagle. Wildlife everywhere. it was great. And normal at the same time. 

 This explains a lot. Crazy crazy girl. i don't know how i survived with her. Or without her too I guess.

 Fishing off the dock with Sofie and Little Garrett. I caught a fish. 

 I also shot a fox. It was pretty great. Don't judge me but I loved it. And i think hunting is a pretty cool thing if you go about it with the right thinking. 

 This is foxy. the lodges pet fox. We could hand feed her and find her running around between the guest cabins. She's off limits for hunting.

Here is the fuel barge. It would come by every couple months give or take and fill us up. i think it was called the Retriever. Some kind of dog name I know. Their crew was always nice.

 Haha, this is Garrett and Josh. It was an especially hot day and we were finishing up the construction of the generator shed and they just had the funniest outfits on. Garrett in his shorts and flip flops with his utility belt and Josh with his rolled gangsta status sweat pants and socks with crocs. I was dying.

 Garrett, or G-$. He is my favorite. I don't know why I don't have a normal picture with him but he was really the best. And a lifesaver and the crazy lodge. He was the only person i talked to about things i would allow myself to talk about. And he taught me everything I ever learned at the lodge. And he understood my need to always be doing something and he was just always there. With his stories and teaching experiences to help me along. I miss him the most.

 Say hello to Gunnar. i had the chance to babysit for this cute kid while his parents went bear hunting. How adorable is that crooked smile?? His parents offered me a nanny job in Colorado but i don't know how long I could take being a nanny for a one year old. As attached as I grew to this kid, I wouldn't want to become a motherly figure to him and I feel like that is what would happen with their family.

 While the National Geographic crew was here, we went shooting for fun and i got scope bit so we tried to stretch it a bit to scare the crew with some added ketchup and dramatics. We had them going for a bit until the laughs and ketchup smell gave us away. 

 Sofia and Little Garrett. Love  these kids. And their little sister Olivia. And their mom Huong. They definitely helped change the atmosphere of lodge life and made things bearable. 

 HAHA. This is Marty. You might recognize him from the show Ultimate Survival Alaska. He's a crack up. 

 Us girls helped Garrett assemble his seine net to pass the time. It was a lot of fun. And it included a lot of knotty jokes and good stories from Garrett.

 This is Randy. He was quite the catch. And a lot of fun to have around the lodge while Nat. Geo. was here. He even made us an awesome cd. Oh, and that thing on the hook is a skate. Or sting ray. We ate it. it was pretty delicious.

 Sandwiches. So many sandwiches. Always. While we didn't have to make this many every morning. I made soooo many sandwiches that summer. 

 here's my real scope bite. So yeah, we exaggerated it quite a bit.

 So i fell asleep on the boat. it was a pretty normal occurrence. Especially after a long day of seining. That is not my beer.

 My first snowman of the season. The place was so beautiful in the winter. 

 Whales. So many whales. 

And the yelloweye rockfish. This is where one of my most favorite things about this summer comes from. Otolith earrings. The otolith is the ear bone in a fish and yelloweye have especially large ones since they can live to about 140 years. So we made earrings and necklaces out of them and I've been hooked ever since. And we made a killing on sales at the lodge. And Ke$ha's brother and filming crew bought some as well and the Nat. Geo crew too so that will be my claim to fame. Or a part of it.

And that's all i will post for tonight. That's only a fraction of eight months but it's a good fraction for now. 

Here are some of my favorite songs while in Alaska:

Dust to dust by the Civil Wars

Bye Bye Blackbird by Joe Cocker

Daisy by Brand New

Go Your Own Way by Lissie

Hurt by Johnny Cash

And those are a few of my Alaskan favorite things. 

Peace.

Pieces

First off, hello again.
It's been a while since I've entered the blogging world but something has drawn me back I suppose. At first I didn't really want to continue from this blog as I feel events in my life have changed me so much that it was necessary for me to start over. But after reading through my old blog posts, I realized that they are a big part of who I am and no matter the changes I have gone through or how much I don't really want people that I personally know to read about my real feelings, i guess I finally accepted that it's who I am and I shouldn't try to hide or start over.

So,

Don't Go Without Me

Let's start with Thanksgiving break. It was great! Did absolutely nothing but eat, shop, watch movies, eat, watch nieces and nephews, shop, and then more eating. Being home is such a wonderful feeling. There's a feeling of acceptance from family members that is hard to find in others. Definitely possible, not as easily found though. There's just something comforting in having a sister say "that's so Crista" in regards to music or fashion. Or being able to have them laugh at your ridiculous puns and jokes. Not necessarily because they're funny, but because it's just who you are. Or something like that.

I don't really know what love feels like but I know that I want so badly for everybody in my family to be happy and for everything to work out for them and for them to not feel pain or sadness, and I think that's love right? And maybe that's love for me. Or at least part of it.

Also, accepting your family for what it is. Because it's probably one of the hardest things that I am still trying to work on. We are far from perfect for reasons that I still don't understand but we try in our own ways. Maybe not the way that you would want them to try, but trying nonetheless. And that's just family I guess. (:

Everybody does it. 

Christmas is coming fast and I can't wait. And I can already feel the relief of a fresh start come January. It's hard now as finals seem to be consuming all thoughts but January always brings with it renewal and a revamping of my life. I love it.

Basically I'm obsessed with this song: Cset La Mort by the Civil Wars. And I have been for a while. I listen to it daily. Hourly even when I'm home. It's so beautiful. And dark, but more beautiful than dark. Just listen to the lyrics. Take what you will from them. I took what I needed.

Also, I'm on Pinterest, and I want to share stuff from there to here but there is just not enough time in the day to explain the significance of each pin so you can just check them out and gather what you will if desired. I think I pin pretty great stuff. But doesn't everybody? Well, I think I pin exceptionally great stuff then.

I'm on the home stretch. And the things that are getting me by til then?

• the Civil Wars
• Les Miserables clips
• naps
• rice crackers
• the thought of playing with the nieces and nephew
• knowing that Christmas and family await me at home
• New Girl, Parks and Rec, Office, Modern Family, and Once Upon A Time episodes
• Study Blue online flashcards
• peppermint milkshakes
• and Pinterest

And that's all I've got peoples. It's bed time. 

So Much Beauty.

I can't even tell you how much I am simply enjoying the snow today. Right now. I would be in bed right now were it not for the snow. It might also be the fact that I had a headache today so I took two Excedrin when I got home and because of the caffeine, sleep has not come easy. I'm alright with that tonight. I keep looking outside and getting goosebumps and then I start wanting to cry tears of joy for the beauty and tears of sadness for the wish to be out enjoying it with my family and nieces and nephew. It also brings back bittersweet memories of last years adventures. I sure do miss a lot of people.
The snow brings with it feelings of peace and calm to the world and I can't wait to go to bed with the thought of waking up tomorrow, putting on my warm clothes and taking a walk in the fresh snow, and then coming home and making some tea with loads of honey and cinnamon. Honey and cinnamon have been my go to cure-all for everything lately. I eat it by the drops and I have yet to receive the dreaded cold that this beautiful season brings. It's good stuff. I highly recommend it to anyone feeling a bit under the weather. Especially local honey. Yum.
Due to my insomniatic state at the moment, snowflakes and origami cranes were crafted from old magazines whilst watching Charlie St. Cloud (what an emotional roller-coaster of a movie, yet so beautiful and rewarding). I have decided this is one of the only ways to spend a Friday night on your own after a nearly all day work load. Also, I hate to admit it, but I started my Christmas music as well (I guess I'm one of those people.) How could you not with a blanket of snow covering everything and street lights glowing down the streets, illuminating the falling snowflakes? I just couldn't resist. Only the best kind of Christmas music though. The Believe by Josh Groban and When Christmas Comes to Town by Matthew Hall kind from The Polar Express. And also Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas by Judy Garland from Meet Me In St. Louis. These are some of the few songs that catch the Christmas spirit without being loud and gaudy. Don't get me wrong, I love those ones too, there's limited time on them though. One can only handle "Jingle Bells" so many times.

And that about finishes my post, I just couldn't hold in all the great feelings I had surrounding the snow. Poor snow getting so much hate from everybody though. Get over it people. Accept it, find joy in it, take advantage of it.
On that note, dress warm and stay happy. And drink tea or hot chocolate. I believe it does more that just warm the body, but also the soul. (:

"You can do it on your own, but you don't have to." Let others help you. It sucks, but it's great at the same time.

Happy weekend everybody! 

Being Normal.

This is Fraphne. A Scooby Doo combination of Fred and Daphne. I think I'm pretty funny sometimes. 

I don't know why I have to be making that face among all of the beautiful smiling faces but I guess that's just normal. This is my friend Mikes farewell. He's an odd child and I love these here people too much. 

And is this not the cutest green baby mustache you have ever seen?? Needless to say, I love my niece, and she loves her morning green smoothies. 

Everybody, listen to the Civil Wars. At first I only liked a few of their songs because I felt they were super folky, but then I guess I just came around and now I'm a firm believer. Which is good. Because they're great. Barton Hollow album. It's good.  

And that's it friends. Stay happy, everything will be alright in the end. I promise. It may not seem like anything at all will work. But then you have to remember that so many are happy with so much less than what you have. So be grateful for what you've been given and find joy in your journey. 

Okay, I'm done being annoying and preachy. 

America's Funniest Home Video!

Guys. Everybody, anybody. MY video, aired on America's Funniest Home Videos. The very video, sent from my phone, uploaded to AFV's website, aired on their opening episode for Season 23. How cool is that?! And just so you understand how excited I was about this, you have to know that I love AFV. It kind of goes hand in hand with the fact that I desperately love to laugh. And while I know that these videos are totally predictable and cliche, I still end up with tears in my eyes or abs of steel by the end of the night. Here's a picture just to note how much I love AFV. And Jackie Chan. Always Jackie Chan.

You bet your bottom dollar it was on my bucket list.

Enough of me, here's the link to Hulu, my video is about 8 minutes in. It's the one with all those stupid boys rolling on end tables:

Season 23 Episode 1

Wasn't it great. Not the funniest video, but it's mine, and those are my friends, and it's on America's Funniest Home Videos. So you can definitely say I'm pretty pleased with myself. Also, they owe me a t-shirt for this. How awesome would an AFV t-shirt be?? Pretty dang awesome I'd say. 

Anyway, that's my story for the day. Had to share my fame. (:

You rock. Happy Tuesday!

Wowzas.

How about that General Conference? Crazy right? It's kind of rocking my world to tell you the truth. A mission can either be an answer to all of my problems or simply a way that I'm trying to escape all of my problems. I sincerely wish to serve a mission and want to for all of the right reasons, but