Today in Alaska

Sunrise: 5:14
Sunset: 10:24

That's 17 hours and 10 minutes of daylight. We're well on our way to 24 hours of sun!

And I'm well on my way to being in shape again. If I lose 5 more pounds I'll be back to my pre-baby weight. 10-15 after that would be ideal. Friday and Saturday my husband and I CHOWED down on chocolate chip cookies, then tonight I went out and got chocolate ice cream and strawberries to make milkshakes (they were fantastic). I'm not sure I can expect to see anything good on the scale tomorrow. . .

Oh well, as long as I keep moving and feeling better I'm giving myself permission to splurge once in a while. And certain hormonal situations make self-control nearly impossible.

Coming up: SEVERAL things will be checked off the Alaskan To Do List. We're done on campus on the 14th (I think) and after that we're heading off on a whirl-wind adventure. I don't have details or solid plans yet, but I'm thinking Denali, Anchorage, and maybe Kenai. As soon as I get my class finished I'll start making plans for a month long journey around the great white north. Then, we'll head back to Fairbanks to fly to Michigan for my brother's wedding, that will be an almost 3 week vacation, and then we'll come back and be responsible adults with jobs and boring lives.

The last week has been intense. Playdates and work and homework and and and and. . . .

and now I'm watching something on the History Channel about God=alien. I generally try to keep my language clean, but wtf? I love the History Channel. So very weird sometimes.

I have the hardest time remember whether or not I decided to use my daughter's real name on this blog. Argh! [While we're on the subject, go to spokeo.com and search for yourself. Then copy the URL to your page and go to the bottom right and click privacy. From there you can use the URL you copied to remove yourself. It's an online phone book that has everything from your address to pictures to approximate credit score. Too weird.] Well, whatever I call her, she is amazing. Her third tooth is making her look super cute. She also got her first two injuries last night. She knocked herself between the eyes with a pot and pulled something down on her finger. Both spots seem to have broken the skin.

Apparently, DNA is a medium for transferring information, and has enough space to store all the information of an entire society. So we should be looking at our DNA for a message from the aliens that planted/designed/seeded us. Yeah, ok, sure. I'll get right on that.

National Poem in Your Pocket Day

Love Sonnet XVII by Pablo Neruda

I do not love you as if you were a salt rose, or topaz
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
So I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

This is how I'd really love to see Denali:

Wouldn't this be the most amazing trip ever? Biking along, taking your time, stopping to camp where you wanted. Traffic would be considerably reduced (and much less dangerous) because motorists aren't allowed in the park, so shuttle buses would be your only traffic. Plus, you could pull a trailer with your camping stuff and save your back. I'll pull a trailer with the kid, hubby can pull our tent, etc. A nice, long, slow tour of the most incredible place on earth. Sounds like heaven.

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My daughter loves her daddy!

My little 'laide Muse was having trouble going to sleep. She was exhausted but not able to slip over the edge into dreamland, so like any good mom I popped her in our Moby wrap. I got her settled in and then pulled open the shoulder/chest pieces so she could snuggle in. Which she did. She loves her Moby. I covered her up and we walked around the house. Here would be a good time to mention that I have an attention span similar to that of most toddlers. Which is why I get along with most toddlers. Anyway, I had only walked around wearing her for about .2 seconds before I was bored. So I figured I would walk toward campus and meet my husband walking home from class. I'd be putting the baby to sleep, getting some exercise, and doing something nice for my hubby. Win-win-win. I walked out our door, through the woods, and before I got to the sidewalk, my daughter was settled in and dozing lightly. As soon as I met up with my husband, he said something along the lines of "Hi honey! I love walking home with you!" And my little girl jerked her head out of the wrap, looked up at her daddy, and started smiling and kicking her legs and bouncing up and down. She went from cuddled, tired, and dozing to excited, happy and wide awake just from hearing her daddy's voice.


She is incredible.

Sweet Victory

My daughter's crib is pushed up next to our bed. It has only three sides, so she can be with us, but in her own space. This is especially good, because we have a full size bed, and that bed is full enough with just the two of us.

Usually at night, the baby wakes up hungry, I pull her into bed with me, feed her, then wiggle her back to her bed. Wednesday night, she finished nursing, then thrashed and tossed and turned for a while. I sat up and tried to clear my eyes, and to my amazement saw my sweet baby crawl sleepily to her own bed, then crash into a deep sleep. I blinked at her, then covered her up and went back to sleep myself.

I couldn't believe it! I hadn't been trying to teach her that she MUST sleep in that bed (it's not required, just preferred), but somehow she'd decided she'd rather sleep there. Allelujah.

Anyway, I decided not to expect it, but to just be grateful to have witnessed such a miracle.

Then it happened again last night. Though, this time she fell asleep before she got all the way into her bed. Seriously, people, I love my life. That little girl of mine amazes me. As a matter of fact, I'm so amazed that I think I might go cuddle up with her *right* now.