Moving to Alaska in the winter...are you crazy?

So many people couldn't believe we decided to move to Alaska in the winter with no jobs and no place to live. I couldn't really understand what the big deal was, I love Alaska, winter, fall, spring or summer!

Now I am here and I am still very happy that we decided to make this move in the winter regardless... however I will admit it takes effort to keep yourself from getting cabin fever. I have mentioned in previous posts, my bout of Alaskanitis. If I were to surrender to the Alaskanitits I would have no problem accepting my sentence to life indoors 8 months out of the year. But that is not me, so instead I find myself filling my time between feedings, naps, and playing with searching for baby friendly indoor activities both at home and away! So far I have begun to accumulate the following ideas:

1) At home: running the stairs with baby safely attached in baby carrier.
2) At home: baby amused with watching daddy plow the drive while mommy snaps pictures.
3) At home: blogging and catching up with the lower 48 via Facebook while baby sleeps.
4) Away: Story time with baby at the Wasilla Public Library every Friday morning:FREE
5) Away: Turf for Tots at Menard Memorial Sports Center: $5.00
6) Away: Play date twice a month with moms we met through story time at the library.
7) At home: LOTS and LOTS of time spent on the floor with baby.
8) Away: potluck dinners at friend's houses we are meeting through story time.
9) Away: $8.00 yoga on Wednesday nights at Blue Mountain Yoga Studio while baby and daddy have bonding time.
10) At home: holding hands with baby while practicing our walking skills.
11)At home: Enjoying peaceful moments and spoonfuls of cookie dough during baby's nap time.

For anyone out there who lives in Alaska and knows of other indoor baby friendly activites to do in the winter please share! I am new at this and my list is somewhat small and really not that orginal...so please help a fellow-mama out:)

Comfort food, Oh' how I love thee!

When a good hug just isn't enough and your favorite movie can't help you escape from reality, reach for the cookie dough! Seriously, what is it about cookie dough on a bad day that makes everything better? I have to admit I have been having a few more bad days then good lately, which means all I want to do is bake, which means what I really want is just an excuse to eat the dough or the batter of whatever it is I'm baking. I have recently baked a German chocolate cake, brownies, brownies and more brownies, and cookies, lots of cookies. This has made me realize that even though I have been drawn to each different baked good in hopes of finding a little sunshine on otherwise emotionally cloudy days, the cookie dough is what works the best! What is it about cookie dough, in particular chocolate chip cookie dough? It is the most perfect combination of sweet, salty, creamy, buttery deliciousness! I just can't get enough! When I was pregnant I craved it like no ones business, and I totally ate it! That's right I ate it, not every day but when I just couldn't resist any longer I caved and sat with the big ole bowl on my belly and went to town. Of course when I visited my mommy online chat groups I NEVER admitted to this. However the truth is I ate it and just like now I LOVED it! Regardless of the fact that when I was pregnant I read countless articles on how it was bad because of the raw egg and it was a horrible source of empty calories that was going straight to my thighs and not towards nourishing the baby growing inside me. And now just like then I felt zero guilt. There is just something about it that allows me to detach from the real world and get lost in the sweet, emotionally nourishing nectar that is is cookie dough!

I raise my spoon to cookie dough, and thank every bowl I have ever savored for the delicious, euphoric, mind altering adventures we have taken together! Because sometimes there are just days when the adventure that is life gets a little rough and seems too overwhelming to deal with. That's when nothing can replace a good ole bowl of comforting cookie dough!

These days life in the final Frontier is a bit slow and not quite how I pictured it in my head at this point. However, with my bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough in one hand, my adorable little bundle of giggles on my hip I continue to go forth, determined to discover all of the adventure that is life as a new mommy in Alaska...

Alaskanitis is clearing up...

The Alaskanitis seems to be clearing up. I have not only made it off the couch since my last post, I have also successfully gone on four runs accumulating a total of about 4 miles. This is not quite the mileage I was putting on pre-baby but its a start. I have even decided to finally take the plunge and set my sights on completing a half-marathon in August. We will see if this goal actually comes to fruition, I am hopeful it will. As I told my husband last week I need to accomplish something, some sort of tangible task. Therefore I have decided on the goal of completing a half-marathon. I have not researched where in Alaska I am going to find such a thing or how logistically I am going to balance training runs with motherhood, nor have I defined an actual training program. However, I will continue to post my progress and we will all find out soon enough if I achieve this goal and if not the reasons why...

In the meantime we continue to hunt for jobs, housing and some sort of rhythm to life and parenthood in Alaska.