Finally starting to see the light

Well, here it is! Another month has almost past and I am finally starting to adjust to this new life as a soldier's wife! Right now, my husband is away at training and surprisingly, I have lost 12 lbs! I guess all that running around with two kids is paying off. There are still things that I dislike about Alaska:

It is August, 50 degrees and it rains every single day!!!! I mean every single day!!!

Road Construction is everywhere and it takes twice as long to get anywhere

Other than that, I guess I don't have much to complain about. We had Vacation Bible School this week and it was amazing to get out and have somewhere to go. I have another teaching interview this week...fingers crossed that I get the position. It is right on base and everything would be right there. I am not getting my hopes up...I didn't get the last three positions I interviewed for.

I am finally starting to meet people and make friends. It is nice to be able to hang out and make it to the gym every once in a while but the kids really keep me busy. It is already 8 and it is my son's bedtime so I better go.

Here and still adjusting

Well, getting a job anywhere in education is possible when you arrive at the right time of the year...we arrived at the very end of the school year because the school year ends a week before Memorial day here....so still no job...I have not been without a job since I started working at 16. Even in the summers, I would work part time or do summer school...

Times have gotten rough and I do not mean financially. We have been very blessed in that department. I mean emotionally. This is where I become selfish for a few minutes and really just put on paper how I am feeling.

I love my husband and what he is doing for his country. I love my two children and do not know what I would do without them...but I AM NOT A STAY AT HOME MOM!! I do not know how people do it...I give them all the credit in the world because being a stay at home mom makes me lazy...Some people will not understand how I can say that but I am not. It is wrecking me...we only have one car at the moment and are waiting to get another one until I get a job. My kids have been in daycare since they were both 8 weeks old..my three year old is having withdraw. He misses playing with friends, being in class to learn his letters, numbers, shapes and just discover the world around him. Now I will say as an educator..I do all of that with my children but it is not the same when MOM is teaching him or when someone else is teaching him.

Also, I am a social butterfly. I love hanging out with friends and spending time with other people..I need some adult interaction!! It is hard to meet people...(my husband is the shy one and does not put himself out there in that way)...I feel very isolated.

Driving to Alaska from North Carolina...yea I said it!!

So the next year was a blur...my husband joined the military and we were apart for a good part of 8 months...my daughter was 6 weeks old when he left. Now it wasn't bad. I found and learned many things about my friends and myself over that time.

1. Our relationship grew stronger. We missed each other and it was like we were dating again~
2. We visited as much as we could...we probably saw each other every couple of months but when we could we talked, wrote and just got to know each other again.
3. I found out who my real friends were and who I could trust...
4. I really just grew from the experience and did a lot of growing up over that time...

Then, they told us where we would be going...I still remember the text...well, I hope you are ready for the cold because we are going to Alaska..at least Sasha (our Alaskan Malamute) will be excited...imagine the last place I ever thought I would end up is Alaska.
Well, then we decide something even crazier...we are going to have the animals fly by themselves on a plane..(I still owe my best friend so much for taking them in until their flight...that is for another time)
We (my husband, me, my three year old and my 10 month old) will drive from NC to AK..

Well, we made it..and it was an amazing experience. View was fantastic, met some interesting people along the way and even through the Yukon which is the worst road that I have ever driven on (and I lived in PA), it was an experience I would do again in a heartbeat.

A few suggestions:
Buy the milepost...it had some great suggestions and we really got to see some great attractions
Have time to take the trip...we were given 10 days to get there and we used every minute
Have patience...temper tantrums, fights and weird hotels will happen...
Stay openminded..different, does NOT mean bad!!
Watch out for the wildlife..goats, caribou, moose, bears..you name it we saw it and had to be very careful.

One month and still adjusting

There are many reasons I have decided to start a blog about moving to Alaska:

1. People who have never lived in Alaska have this bizarre, made up view of what Alaska is like..so I guess to squash some myths and put some truth out there about Alaska.

2. I went from being in charge of my life to becoming a military wife and sometimes I need to just vent.

3. I miss my work life and need something to do.

I want this blog to serve many purposes so lets start by saying...I am not here to offend or degrade in anyway. I just want a place to feel comfortable to write down my thoughts and sort out this new life I am adjusting too.

So here I am talking a little bit about myself and how I ended up in this situation. The only way to do that is to start from the beginning.

I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA. I decided that as a career I would pursue it in education...I went ahead and got my bachelor's degree in Elementary education and met my husband along the way. When the jobs fell short in PA, we relocated to North Carolina and that is where I would have to say...life really began.

I got a job, my husband found a job as a mechanic, we bought a house, had a boy, got pregnant again with my little girl and finished my Master's degree in Administration. I had great friends that I still think of as family and miss very dearly. At that point, my husband decided he wanted to join the military. They cut his pay, did not offer any benefits and he was working many hours with limited pay.

I was all for my husband joining the military. He needed a new career and this seemed great! He would be serving his country and doing something that he felt gave him purpose...I could find a job anywhere...I am a teacher..education is everywhere lets do this!