a fiction and a non

Happy Sunday to ya! I hope you'll step out of your wonderful world of whatever Reader you use and take a peak at the new look. Fran hooked me up with a lovely new design and I think it's pretty cute. She's wonderful to work with!

Today I thought I'd mention some books I've read lately that I enjoyed. These won't count toward my goal of 35 books in 52 weeks because I finished them before the New Year. Still, they're noteworthy if you're looking for something to read right now.

This book was recommended to me by an ole college pal and I loved it! It was right up my alley with a splash of psychology, a dash of suspense, and a bit of a love story. Don't let the cover or title fool ya- I didn't get the "chick lit" vibe as I read this.

I really liked this one, too. It's full of info about how children learn and how we as a society have gravitated toward pushing our young ones to study, study, study! The authors write about how that's not necessary to development and give examples as to how you can teach your child by playing with him or her without all the fancy toys, music lessons or flash cards. Time spent with a child in conversation and play outweighs the time he or she has trying to pack in various cultural activities that are likely creating pressure to perform. It's food for thought, anyway...

Have you set any reading goals for this year?

Knitting and Cabin Update

It's another lazy day for me. I could get used to this! I have some household chores that I definitely should get to, but I will after I write this. I've been knitting today. It's a fun new hobby for me. I just pick it up when I turn on the t.v. I don't watch much television, though so who knows if I'll ever finish the scarf. The first part of the scarf is loosely done, but it get's progressively better as I go along. Here's a picture of my progress thus far:

In other news, we've been aproved for the cabin! We are going to the realator's office tomorrow to sign the lease and we are thrilled about it. It's difficult to keep this small space (that we live in now) tidy because we really have outgrown it. It's mostly all his army stuff that is difficult to organize. They issue so much stuff to him because of the cold climate here and he rarely uses any of it so it gets stuffed in closets and pelican cases all over the apartment and it all adds up. I'm looking forward to having a little more space. The cabin has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a hottub, washer and dryer, fireplace, dishwasher, and a neat layout. Here's a picture of the outside:

I look forward to sitting by the fire and reading a good book. I can't wait to have a glass of wine while I sit in the hottub and look out into the Alaskan wilderness. It truly is goregeous here. I know a lot of my readers are from the military forum I'm a part of so I just want to say being stationed in Alaska isn't the worst duty station you could get! It can be difficult with the extreme cold, but the beauty makes up for it tenfold!

October firsts

October brought about so many fond memories for the both of us and many firsts, too! One weekend we visited the Chena Hot Springs after a long day of fishing in a near by river. We hadn't had much luck so we decided to take the advice of a man we'd met who said his favorite fishing nook was in Delta Junction, Alaska. We hopped in the truck the next day, camping and fishing gear in tow, to a beautiful campsite a couple hours away. Camping in Alaska is much different than sleeping outside in Tennessee! I was so cold that night and my frustration grew every time I rolled over and saw  J sleeping (and sweating) comfortably in his sleeping bag. We had a good time, though.

The first snowfall of the season came in October, too. It brought about shooting lessons from two of the Army's fine veterans: Lt.s Joshua and J. I was somewhat frightened at first because of the hype of the "kick back" of some guns, but after I shot it, it seemed pretty easy. I actually hit my targets!

The days began to feel much shorter as the sun started going down much faster so Jordan and I decided to give scuba diving a try. We signed up for classes at Test the Waters Adventure Sports in North Pole, AK. This new activity was a first for both of us and we were glad to have found something that neither of us had done that we could do together. We bought all the gear we needed and jumped in the pool for lessons. Breathing under water is one of the neatest things I've ever done. Instinct is to fight it and swim to the surface, but after awhile, the regulators in our mouths became second nature. We did well in our practice dives and finished the test portion making us well on our way to being certified. We hoped to get our first dive under our belts in our upcoming trip to New Zealand.