Living in Alaska - Life in the Last Frontier

I don’t have any photos to share in this entry. I haven’t been feeling very well over the last few weeks (off and on).

The doctor called with the results of my Glucose Tolerance Test and I’m pre-diabetic. I suspected these results as I’ve had some symptoms over the past 6 months which have concerned me.

My father had type 2 diabetes which he was able to manage by diet and exercise, and when I told the doctor that I’ve had certain symptoms recently, and there was a family history, he ordered the tests.

The good thing is that pre-diabetes does not have to lead to diabetes. With adequate exercise, weight loss, and wise food choices, it can be reversed.  I started eating healthy (and cutting calories) three days ago, but I haven’t been feeling well enough to jump into an exercise program yet.

I don’t know what has been making me feel so terrible, and sinus headaches and nausea are no fun at all.  I spent all day yesterday in bed with a painful headache and upset stomach.  Steve was on night shift, and I think I fell asleep at 7pm and slept on and off until 10am this morning.  He’s off for the next couple of days, so I’ll be getting the TLC, he’s so good at giving.

Next week, I am scheduled for a stress test. This is because I’ve been having heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and infrequently some chest pain when I overexert.  I have asthma, so this could be behind it. I had an EKG and it was normal, but I wasn’t doing anything strenuous, so they’re going to monitor me on a treadmill.  I don’t get any chest pains when I’m in dance class, even though I work hard for that 1.5 hours. The doctor said that’s a good sign.

All of this could be hormonal (the joys of being a middle-aged woman), but better to be safe than sorry.  In the meantime, I’m learning all I can about healthier cooking, even though I hate to cook. I need to make changes in the way Steve and I eat, and you really can’t eat healthy unless you prepare food from scratch. Pre-packaged and pre-processed foods (for the most part) are not the best choices if you want to be healthy.

Steve is borderline hypertensive, and has high cholesterol - and we both need to take off the weight we’ve gained since moving to Alaska.  There are a good amount of people here with extra padding, so I’m going to blame the cold winter. We need the insulation! OK… maybe not as much as we currently have.

I found this article (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9048817/) that ranks the states in the US by the percentage of overweight population, and more then 25% of AK is overweight. Alaska’s not alone with our percentage of overweight folks. Where does your home state rank?

Anyway… that’s what’s going on with me, health wise. I’m glad that Steve is on the same wavelength I am in regards to healthier eating. It will make things much easier if he’s not pigging out on junk food and taunting me with the things I shouldn’t eat.  Doing this together will be beneficial for both of us.

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What a busy week I’ve had! I’m glad to finally find a little time to update this blog.

NOVEMBER GRATITUDE

I’ll start with my daily gratitudes, as I have six days worth!

Thursday, November 5th: Today I am so very thankful that Steve works at a job which allows him to have a week off every month. He works very hard during the rest of the month (12-hour days and swing shift), and commutes a long distance (70 miles RT), so this week off is well-deserved. Most of all, it allows us to plan mini-vacations, even if those mini-vacations only mean turning off the phone and computers, and snuggling for a movie marathon.

Friday, November 6th: Today I am grateful to be married to a man who supports me in my photography passion. Steve never balks at taking me on photo excursions, he always suggests getaways that he knows will provide me with many opportunities to exercise my camera, but most of all he is the best PR person a gal could have in her corner. He constantly talks about me at work, he hands out my business card, he sells my prints, and just this week, he sold all of the extra calendars I had ordered. Tonight, he will be at my side for First Friday, encouraging me with words and smiles; his mere presence making the evening even more special.

Saturday, November 7th: Today, I am grateful for the arts, culture, and entertainment.

Even though I live in a small city, far away in the ‘last frontier’, Fairbanks does a great job of offering fabulous plays, musicals, lectures, recitals, sporting events, performances, and much more.

I’m always pleasantly surprised by the many talented people who live in my town. I enjoy attending special events, and I’m easily swept away by the sights and sounds and emotions of a performance.

Before Alaska, I lived in cities that had a multitude of choices for entertainment. But because the cities were so large, I didn’t attend as often as I could have. Many times, there was a long drive involved, or there were huge crowds of people (I don’t like big crowds), or more often - the cost was out of my budget.

But here, all of these events are easy to attend, as the average drive into town - or even across town - is about 15 minutes. Our population isn’t large enough to cause overcrowding, and most events are affordable.

Granted, we’re not going to see a huge Broadway production here, nor very many big name concerts, but the entertainment we do have is quite enjoyable.

I do my part to support the local arts and I’m quite thankful there are so many people here to entertain me.

Sunday, November 8th: I am so thankful for totally 100% lazy days! And that’s exactly what today was like. I stayed in lounging clothes all day, warm in my house, kitty napping on my hip, watching mindless TV. These days are great for recharging the batteries, and I’m glad for the opportunity to have them.

Monday, November 9th: Today I am thankful for my furkids. When I step out of bed in the morning, Sedona gets up off of her pillow, stretches, and follows me downstairs. Once the coffee pot is going, we go into the living room, and I scritch her under her chin, and across her snout, telling her how beautiful she is. Her tail wags from side to side as I call her my ‘baby girl’, and I swear she’s smiling at me. Her muzzle is white with gray hairs now, and she passed her 13th birthday this summer. I think she’s losing her hearing, as she doesn’t respond to my voice when I speak in a low tone anymore. She’s OK jumping up into my car, but I have to lift her out, as it hurts when she jumps from high places. But still, when I say “Wanna go bye bye with mommy?” she runs to the door to the garage; a ball of excitement. I love her company.

Airborne has learned to sleep in the living room, curled up on my soft fleecy afghan, when Steve is home. When Steve is on night shift, she sleeps in bed with me, and she paws and noses at the comforter until I lift the edge for her to climb under. I sleep on my side, and she curls up in the space behind my bent knees. I can feel the vibration of her purrs against me.

In the morning, she stands on the back of the sofa, having long conversations with me. She’s a vocal cat in the morning, and responds to everything I say to her. Once I get my coffee, and I’ve said my good mornings to Sedona, I pull Airborne into my lap, and stroke her head and tummy, kissing her all over her nose. It’s the one time of the day, she puts up with my mushy kissy smothering for minutes on end. I love the softness of her fur and the way she looks back into my face with her gorgeous green eyes.

My life would be so empty without my furkids. They have brought great joy to my life over the last 13+ years.

Tuesday, November 10th: Today I am thankful for insurance and decent health care. As a military retiree, Steve is entitled to a relatively inexpensive insurance policy that covers both of us, and we can receive free care at the military hospital. Granted, sometimes the wait is long, and appointments aren’t always the easiest to get, but our out of pocket costs are practically nil, and it sure beats not having access to any health care at all.

I’m also thankful for phlebotomists who do their job well. Today I had to have blood drawn on three separate occasions. The first gal did a quick, easy jab right into the vein, causing minimal discomfort. The second gal wasn’t as smooth as the first, but she had it over and done with rather quickly. The third woman - an older lady - hurt me both jabbing the needle in, and pulling it out, so much so that I loudly *OWWWWWW*ed! I told Steve I think her nametag said Nurse Ratchett (remember the mean nurse in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest?). I hate needles, and she ruined what could have been a relatively painless ordeal.

I’m thankful for Steve’s company throughout the whole ordeal too. He was a great comfort. After my morning at the hospital, he took me out for a late breakfast and some retail therapy.  I’m glad it’s all over. Now I just have to wait for the lab results to come back. (These tests are part of a full physical exam that I thought I should get now that the half-century mark is looming on the horizon)

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Happy November! Where did October go?! Hard to believe that we’re heading into the holiday time of the year, with Thanksgiving soon approaching, and Christmas on its heels.

Over the last several years, I’ve been designating November as a month for gratitude.  A friend of mine started the tradition in her own blog, and I thought it was an excellent idea. I’ve found that there are days when I really have to dig deep to find something to write about. I suppose on those days I make it more of a chore than it has to be, as there are so many little things to be grateful for. It doesn’t always have to be something BIG. I’ve been writing down my thoughts each day, so that I could share them here. My plan is to continue to give thanks for something each day.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1st

Today, I am so thankful for the view I have from the windows of my home. As I sit here typing on my laptop, I am looking directly out the big picture window in our family room. The window is 4′x4′ and is the perfect frame for the slender birch and cottonwood trees in the side yard. There are also a sprinkling of spruce in that direction, but most are spindly. The birch and cottonwood form a natural privacy fence between our house and the neighbors.

Right now, the boughs of the spruce are spotted with snow. Some of the smaller birch saplings are already leaning with the weight of snow. As more snow comes, they will continue to lean, until the upward tips bend completely to the ground. It’s amazing to watch them bend without breaking. The squirrels use them as a super highway to the higher branches when that happens.

From my kitchen window - a smaller 30″x30″ - which is located above the kitchen sink, I can look out into the back yard. This is where I am usually standing when I see the snowshoe hares hop through the yard. It’s from this window where I saw the fox the other day. I love having a window over the kitchen sink.

In my kitchen window, I have a red stained glass piece hanging. I made the piece in a beginners class back in 2004. In the winter, when the sun is low in the sky, the morning light shines through the glass and duplicates it on the floor. Light is so precious in the winter up here. Colored light is a delight for the senses in a black and white world.

Our sliding glass doors also look out on our back yard, as does the big picture window in the bedroom. From those large expanses of glass, I can watch the aurora dance in the sky without going out in the cold. I can watch moose wander through my yard. I can watch the sky turn pink and orange during our long winter sunrises and sunsets.

I love these ‘windows on the world’. I love having enough glass to bring the outside in. But most of all I love what I see through them.

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