Epic Adventures of MiMi & Poppy: Been a While...

I know it's been quite some time since I posted.... you know, life just seems to be so full sometimes. But since we've ended our first full calendar year here in Alaska, I thought it appropriate to fill you all in. I am still employed at the Community Health Center that brought us up here. Work is busy, but I love my patients. They are sooooo needy... not just for meds, but for just real and accurate health education. We've all been fed so many lies over the past 60 years, and now there are a handful of us truly trying to change things.

Johnny is still taking GREAT care of me.... We eat more low carbohydrate now...I, more than him, but he cooks it! LOL LOVE this way of eating. It has healed many minor issues and reduced my risk of becoming a diabetic. Many of my patients are beginning to see real results with this kind of eating... lower glucose levels, lower cholesterol levels, and many report much less pain. Johnny still makes his famous jalapeno cornbread now and then..... I only rarely partake as it does increase my hip arthritis pain...

I did take a pretty bad fall in October; didn't break anything, but have had some low back pain and pelvis pain for which I've been in physical therapy. It helps, but after 2+ mos of only mild improvement, I think it's gonna plague me for years to come... Luckily, it's a minor annoyance most of the time.

Over the summer, Trip and Jade were sent to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) for complications with her pregnancy. So, we got to see them and the kids a lot during that time. Emma Kate was born July 25, about 6 weeks pre-maturely, and had very few real problems. She was on oxygen and a feeding tube for a bit, but she hung in there like a real trooper and was discharged not long after... After a few months, Jade opened up an embroidery business, Polkadots & Mudpies and is enjoying making some money while being a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM).

Sarah started a teaching job in August; she's teaching math at a Christian school near Omaha; while math was never her favorite, she is having a blast being back at work. She also moved her design business from Las Vegas when they moved; Twice Baked Designs is her FB business page. She makes all kinds of things from vinyl decorated cups & mugs, to completely refurbished and totally rocking furniture pieces.

Adam and Kimberlee finished their summer travels visiting all the family and friends in the lower 48 and then settled near Seattle. Adam retired from the US Air Force and has taken a job with the FAA. So, he still travels a lot. They announced at Christmas that they will have an addition joining the family in August. Soooo, we are very excited to welcome grandbaby # 8.

The hazards of living in Alaska have also included flight holds - We have gotten "stuck" in Kodiak twice this year... once last January, and again last week after our Christmas visit. But to be honest, we've not had it that hard! LOL It's very gloomy in the winter, but it's not as dark as long... as people had told us. Sunrise was about 10 this AM, and sunset will be around 4. Yes, I drive to and from work in jet black darkness for several weeks. But when it's sunny, we try to get out and about most days to avoid cabin fever. Today is the coldest day this winter at about 9 degrees. But we still only have minimal snow. Johnny's only plowed snow in the driveway once this season.

For most major holidays, we have been able to go "out" to spend time with the grands. "Out" or "outside" is the term we Alaskans use to describe leaving the state; we refer to the rest of y'all as the Lower 48. Most of last year, Adam & Kimberlee lived about 30 minutes from us; we TOTALLY loved getting to see Kinzie every week! Easter was spent with Sarah; Thanksgiving, I got to see Kinzie again & then hit Sarah's; and then Christmas, we got to see Trip. Johnny got to visit MS and see his mom and dad in mid-November; he really had a great visit and was thrilled to get to spend some time with his daddy. It was really hard just about a month later when his dad passed away. Johnny went back to MS and helped Mom with all the funeral details. We have GREAT friends that helped out as well and we totally appreciated all that they did for us!

I have accepted an adjunct faculty position with a local college and will be teaching nutrition. I have been working on my syllabus and getting everything ready for this course and new adventure. It's an introductory course that all the health care majors have to take for their prerequisites.

As we begin this new year, we look forward to enjoying even more of Alaska. One of our goals this summer is to take the Alaska Railroad to Denali, and in April or May, I want to go on a whale-watching day cruise over in the Sound. They were slated for this past spring, but when Jade's pregnancy has issues, we had to focus on her and Emma Kate, and boy, was tit SO worth it!

Hope to blog more this year, as we seem to have settled into some routine patterns, now.