Summer 2011 Photo Shoot

Recently I was able to reconnect with a friend and photographer, Melissa Shelby. We took a little hike near Flat Top and some fun was had! Check out the fabulous photos on her website and, hopefully, I will get some on here in the near future ;) Thanks, Melissa!

Melissa Shelby Photography: Nelson Shoot June 2011

Recommendations

Summer offers many fun R&R activities and I have come across a book and a movie that I would recommend to my friends for some inspiration and positive juju.

I shall admit... I am a Real Housewives fan :) If you have watched the New York show, Bethenny Getting Married?, or Bethenny Ever After... then you are quite familiar with Bethenny Frankel. Her New York Bestseller A Place of Yes is a fantastic read. It is full of so much of what I believe and her personality shines right through the whole book. Bethenny offers 10 tips for success and good living, in general. Pick it up at a store near you ;)

The movie that I am so thankful I watched is Soul Surfer. I don't know that I would have had any desire to see it except that it was taking place in Hawaii and I have been missing the sun and my typical foreign summer travels so that is how I decided on it. Well, I watched the trailer first and knew right away that this would be a movie of inspiration. That it was.

Take time to do good in this world. Set the world on fire.

"Take my dreams, come and give them wings. Lord, with you... there is nothing I cannot do."

Set The World On Fire - Britt Nicole

Summer Solstice... Truly A Long Day! :D

Love these girls... the sun even came out for us!

Best friends since the 5th grade!

Thankful I got to spend it with my bestie and her lil' sis!

Here's a special shout out to my blog readers in Iran, Ukraine, Malaysia, Canada, Costa Rica, Russia, Brazil, Honduras, Australia, and the U S of A, of course... thank you and pura vida!

Deep Creek Clam Digging

Mt. Redoubt... the peninsula is SOOO picturesque!

We saw the sun go down, the moon come up, and the sun rise again :)

Part of the crew... fun company leads to fun times!

That would be a really tall man exiting a tent via a really small doggy door!

The train begins

Camp

The home of Rapunzel :) I sure love lighthouses!

Woohoo! Another camping trip was had! This time we went to Deep Creek, another spot on the Peninsula. Though the drive can seem long, it is full of SUCH beauty. If you are lucky you will see some wildlife along the way... if you are not so lucky, you might hit some construction. Regardless, it is a beautiful drive and if you love nature... this is the place to be at least once over your Alaskan summer! I am at my absolute happiest when in nature. My greatest recommendation-- be with people you enjoy. A friend of mine posted a quote today, "Surround yourself with love and support." Amen! That has been a philosophy that I have been embracing in recent times. Be around people who are willing to walk the walk with you-- who are willing to see you through your journey. People who make you laugh, sometimes make you cry healing tears, and most importantly, love you despite your imperfections. When we do things we enjoy with people we enjoy, the heart is filled with happiness. Thanks for a pretty awesome camping trip, friends! PS I didn't catch a single clam! :P

After camping, one of the girls wrote a note entitled "What I Learned While Camping This Weekend" ... here are a few that I really enjoyed:

In no particular order, other than which the come to mind, these are a few things I learned while camping this weekend:
1. You can go more than five years without seeing a good friend & then when you do, all it takes is an excited hug to catch up for those years!
4. It is perfectly normal for women to sit around a campfire and cry about moments they've had, shared or lived through & within 10 minutes be making each other laugh so hard you choke, pee your pants or shoot a beverage out your nose. (this is how we bond)
5. Some things burn way more than others when they come out of your nose.
7. No matter what girls can gross out the boys. We just save it for the right time.
8. Campfire is the best smell ever, even when you have to use  A LOT of lighter fluid and a whole box of matches to get it going!
11. You ladies all owe me a trip to Lowes paint department, we have some paint mixing to do....."soft pink, spring coral or melon mauve?"
12. A lot of people can fit on a three wheeler!
13. Meeting new people is so much more fun when you haven't showered and are covered in mud!!!
14. If there is a friend that has made a difference in your life, tell her, let her know she inspires you.
15. Drop it like it's hot!
16. You can get sunburned in the rain.
17. Tents turn into tumble weeds when not staked down!

Camping With the Goods

Miss Rebecca and myself :)

How much fun to be able to hang with my very good friend and co-worker over the summer vacay... love this family and love my summers!

Adele - Make You Feel My Love

Everybody Dies, But Not Everybody Lives

Driving the Alcan Hwy from Seattle to Fairbanks= ROAD TRIP!

The Alaska Highway (also known as the Alaskan Highway, Alaska-Canadian Highway, or ALCAN Highway) was constructed during World War II for the purpose of connecting the contiguous U.S. to Alaska through Canada. It begins at the junction with several Canadian highways in Dawson Creek, British Columbia and runs to Delta Junction, Alaska, via Whitehorse, Yukon. Completed in 1942, it was 2,237 km or 1,390 mi long, but is becoming shorter due to rerouting.[1] The historic end of the highway is near milepost 1422,[1] where it meets the Richardson Highway in Delta Junction, Alaska, about 160 km (99 mi) southeast of Fairbanks. Mileposts on the Richardson Highway are numbered from Valdez, Alaska. The Alaska Highway is popularly (but unofficially) considered part of the Pan-American Highway, which extends south to Argentina. (cited by Wikipedia)

The rig

Holding Bismarck the Buffalo

He was a little grumpy...

Black bear and her cubs... three of the thirteen that we saw within two hours!

I was in awe... completely enthralled!

Bad tourist... I know. HAD to mark it off my bucket list though!

Bijoux

Hell's Gate Airtram

Vancouver, B.C. = lovely place!

Notice the street name? :)

Chevak sunset in May

Beer bath cooler in Canada

Alaskan Grown

I just got back from Homer... it had been so long since I had been there that I forgot how absolutely gorgeous it is! I also stopped for my first time (that I can remember, anyway... I may have gone as a little girl) at Clam Gulch and the old Ninilchik town... great, great stops! Being with someone you 110% enjoy makes little trips like this one AMAZING! This Alaskan Grown girl is really enjoying her Alaskan summer thus far... quyana agayun. <3

Ninilchik (shout out to my Ashley!)

Clam Gulch. This word is just missing a "V" and an "E" ... it's the beginning of something beautiful. <3

Oprah's Farewell

I have not been an avid Oprah viewer, but she has been in our living room at my mom's house for 25 years. So, it would only make sense that my mom has the final show recorded and today I happened to watch it... absolutely beautiful messages. Here are a few things that I took from Ms. Winfrey's show:

*You are enough-- just as you are. To not only believe that you deserve to be validated, but to also know that you are inherently worthy of being validated is truly a beautiful message to hold and value.

*Be responsible for the energy around yourself and and energy that you give to others.
This one is such a beautiful, yet simple message to grasp. There came a time in my life where I realized that I don't have to have certain energies in my life, and what a freeing and truly more enjoyable life it is to live when one can come to this realization. It also reminds me of the philosophy we have in my classroom... "We are responsible of minding other people's buckets." With every interaction we have with others, we are either filling or emptying their emotional buckets. Be responsible.

*And, what I hope I teach and bring to each of my students... you have the power to live. Not to just exist, but to truly live and to live with passion. Take whatever it is that you are passionate about and serve the world. Living with a purpose and passion for positive living is within the reach of each one of us.

So, if you are not an Oprah fan... you have been missing out on some empowering and inspirational messages. The show finale was certainly worth the watch ;)

Pura vida