Holi-Daze

My first semester at the University of Alaska Southeast has finally concluded. I should have packed for my 7:30 AM flight probably further in advance then midnight... but there were so many thoughts running through my mind that I needed to just sit down to write and process it all until I regained focus. Taylor Swift is playing in the background (meaning that 'Blank Space' is essentially on repeat), my hands smell like cleaning supplies and I am feeling pretty grungy. But in a weird way, it's like the best feeling ever. I am in my element. Though this post is filled with a few random thoughts in no logical order, it may still be worth reading.

Why not start with Thanksgiving, even though it was weeks ago?  Thanksgiving was wonderful--we went over to our pasture's house for a delicious meal and then later that weekend we went contradancing and ice-skating. I only fell once while ice-skating, thank goodness. I'm thinking that rollerblading was a pretty helpful thing in helping me acquire the ice-skating skill. However, they are drastically different things--which I tried explaining to people. But, what'er. Naturally, I hae zero coordination when it comes to dancing, but barn dancing was a lot of fun. Hours and hours of being twirled and feeling whirled. Did I ever feel dizzy? Absolutely. #noregrets

Finals week was this past week and thank the lahrd that they are over. My focus and determination for them was at a low. The stress was manageable and if anything, I felt more stressed because of other things I had to be doing on top of "studying". And well, I began reevaluating my life goals again. And by life goals, I mean my desire to teach. The other day I was asked where I see myself in five years and I said that I have no idea. Yes, like everyone, I have goals and dreams. Goals and dreams that don't require me to have a degree. Goals and dreams that allow me to kick it as a youth for as long as I can. Don't panic, I'm not alluding towards the fact that I am dropping out of school (even though I would love to).  I've just been feeling rebellious towards the education system and after four years, I've figured out how to work said system in a way that lets me slack. But like, what the heck? That is not me. Like, at all. So much internal conflict. #panic

I know that I have changed since being here this semester but I don't think in a bad way, per say. Granted, I am ready to peace out and get my degree, but alas, I have two more years putting me at five and half total. So one could clearly say that I'm not really about that academicife anymore. The main thing that I am happy about from this semester is the fact that I've grown immensely in my faith. It has always been there but this semester has been the cherry on top of this Christian Sunday (get the pun?). #blessed

I have grown socially because being in an environment and knowing basically no one, pushes you to go out of that comfort zone. I wasn't in Eau Claire where everyday I knew that my support group was there if I needed it. Instead I was only able to receive consolation through a phone call, letter, or Skype. And man, that is so tough. I was forced to open up to others to talk about the things that were heavy on my heart. #worth

I have gained much knowledge about a University that I knew nothing about. The student body is significantly smaller than that of Eau Claire's which in my opinion, has pros and cons. I know that I have gained skills and have had opportunities that will take me further in life than just a simple statement to throw on my resumé. #clutch
 
Switching gears now I want you all to know that the past few days have been filled with cleaning rooms in the residence hall as well as garbage cans. Yep, I literally crawled into a garbage can a little shorter than I to clean it out. I probably got high off of the fumes from the disinfectant spray that I clouded myself in. I also spent time cleaning pee off of toilets and other gross things. Though, I do find cleaning to be enjoyable (in a weird way). While cleaning all of these things, I began to think of it all as a metaphor for life. We all have things that take away from the pureness of our lives and the dirt further affects the relationships we have with others, ourselves, and our faith--whatever it may be. It's a challenge to get rid of these toxins but when you do, it's easy to regain focus of what is and isn't important to you. We also have to remember that the poisons will continue to present themselves so we are consistently cleaning.

Anyways, veering away from Allie's internal thoughts, I am currently back in the Midwest. I actually missed it more than I had expected. I landed in Minneapolis around 6:30 on Tuesday night, after about an 8 hour day of flights and layovers (which was a nightmare). I spent the night galavanting through the city, but actually only Olive Garden, and crashed early. Then Wednesday morning Abby and I headed to Eau Claire and said hi to tons of people. I was basically excited to see everyone and everyone (I'm assuming) was just as excited to see me. Walking into Oak Ridge that morning was so wonderful--the staff was in the lobby and I truly felt like I was home. Not that Greendale isn't home, but I have spent more time in the Ridge and Eau Claire than I have in Greendale over the past four years. There was so much love (and tons of tears)--which I'm all about.

Being in Eau Claire the past two days has brought tons of bliss and has been such a wonderful way to start off my winter break! Gary is picking me up tonight and from there, we'll had back to the 'burbs of Milwaukee. Wish us safe travels and hopefully I will see you over the break. Hugz.

- A

Completely and Perfectly and Incandescently Happy

Dudes. This past weekend was so wonderful. Like, seriously. I don't even know how to share it all with you. There will probably be no eloquence in this post, just a heads up. But here we go:

Part of it was spent at a women's retreat with one of the churches/youth groups at The Shrine of St. Therese. IT WAS GORGEOUS. Once we got there, we took a walk around and went exploring. I felt like Lucy Pevensie in the Chronicles of Narnia. Everything was a frosty tundra. During the sunset, the sky looked as if it were on fire illuminating the mountains and surrounding nature. Once everyone arrived (about 25 people or so), we ate some dinner and began the weekend's festivities. Much focus was placed on prayer, which was glorious. To make things better, we spent a good chunk of time scrapbooking, having quiet time with God, eating too many molasses cookies, walking, seeing the Northern Lights, girl talk, and of course, snuggling. My mind was clear and my heart happy.

Then the other part of the weekend was spent ice-climbing. And let me tell you all that it was pretty treacherous. There were six moments when we thought at least one of us or all of us were going down. Let me tell you about it:

1. Not So Frozen Lake: The Mendenhall Lake had just frozen over so we decided to spend 20-30 minutes crossing it to get to the glacier. Pretty treacherous. As we were nearing the ice-berg formations, the ice began to thin and become less stable. So in order to get off, we had to go up towards shore and climb the slippery iced rocks. However, the ice was especially crackly at this part. We didn't know what to do. Until Mitchell decided to sacrifice himself and cross over on his stomach to distribute the weight. Before he did so, we had to come up with a rescue plan just in case. It felt like hours waiting for him to cross, but despite the sounds and water bubbles underneath the frozen glass, he survived. Which meant that we could all cross. Packs and all.

2. Slippery Slope: Once getting off the lake, we still had a ways to hike to get to the actual glacier. This entailed us climbing through uneven terrain (which normally I'm fine with but this time wasn't) that was covered in ice and frost. I slipped, fell, and slid one too many times to still somehow be alive. We also had to cross a creek with rushing water, but figured it was okay because it was frozen over at the narrowest point. Well, I went in and was soggy (but luckily that part happened at the end).

3. Duct Tape Crampons: As we were hiking around, my footing was off and I was tripping more than usual. Well, that's because my crampons were sliding off of my shoes, so we literally had to duck tape them. A little sketchy? Absolutely. But worth it? Yes. The same thing happened with Mitchell. Except he was missing spikes in a few spots, so his were probably less functional and more dangerous than mine were. Meanwhile, Brittni and Ben were running around like Popo and Nana the ice-climbers from Super Smash Brothers.

4. Melting Ice Cave: Climbing up the glacier was pretty fantastic. There were a few crevices that I almost fell into. But luckily Ben made me strap my backpack around my chest so he could hold on and pull me back if I were to have actually fallen in... These crevices needed to be conquered in order to get to the ice cave. This ice cave once went out to the lake but last summer a huge part of it collapsed. The ice was pretty thin, but we still thought it would be a good idea to cross it...

5. Repelling: Ben set up a climb on an ice-wall (more or less). My ascent went fairly well, besides the shards of ice that went into my eye from my ice-picks. But the descent. That was dangerous. This required walking off the ledge backwards while Ben belayed. It was freaking terrifying. It was just me and a rope tied to my harness. After working up the courage to scale down, I started to go off the edge. Things were going fairly well as Ben was talking me through it. However, at some point, I totally lost control and ended up upside down...hanging by a rope. I seriously have no idea how that happened. I just was kind of let down upside down at that point... For the others, their ascents and descents were successful. Brittni, Mitchell, and Ben were all pros. Leave it to me to be the one that almost dies.

6. Blizzard: We were getting ready to head back and make it out in time before it got dark when all of a sudden, the winds picked up and snow was everywhere making it nearly impossible to see anything. Things were starting to blow away, we almost fell off the the glacier, but survived.

**Though many of these things did happen, several of them are also embellished for dramatic affect.**

It really was a wonderful experience (despite the dozen bruises I have on each knee) and I had a lot of fun with it. I would not have asked to be in better company and we all had a YOLO mentality. We knew that God was on our side if anything were to go wrong, which proved to be true. There is absolutely nothing that I would want to change about that weekend or any of the days I have spent here. It just keeps getting better and better.

- A

Well. I look awkward.

Hands That Hold the World

I had the privilege of waking up this morning on a cliff and all the beauty that surrounded it. Hearing the sound of the sleeping whale on the surface of the water was calming as was the sight of the several eagles and birds that followed them. Peering over the edge of the cliff, sea lions and otters just waking up to start their day were visible. Amidst all of this beauty, my heart instantly felt overwhelmed with the idea that the hands that hold the world, are the hands that hold my heart. Seriously. God is awesome and being here in Juneau, is a constant reminder of that.

The reason I was able to see all these things at 7 AM was because of a night spent at Lena Point camping. We hiked through the woods at 11 PM (while listening to Out of the Woods by T-Swift) through the dark avoiding holes in the ground and puddles to get to our spot with a few head lamps between us. There were ten of us gathered around a fire enjoying and appreciating one another's company and filling up on s'mores and hot dogs. And what's a camping trip without scary stories? To rid ourselves of the goose bumps covering our bodies, we all lit off sky lanterns and watched them light up the dark night sky. SO MAGICAL. And, surprisingly, we were able to actually see the moon with its few surrounding stars. We definitely lucked out with the weather in somehow avoiding the rain. Despite the warmth that the fire provided, at 4:30 AM Dawn (my roommate) and I decided to peace out and head into the tent for some sleep. However, we only had one sleeping bag and a fleece blanket for us to share inside our icy tent. So... we were pretty much freezing. Snuggling was only able to keep us warm for so long.  In a groggy state, I left the tent at 6:30 AM and vaguely remember tumbling and falling to the cold wet soggy ground. I think I laughed it off? From there on out, people slowly began peering out from the tent and joined the posse around the fire. Pretty much everyone was complaining about how cold they were. We left camp at around 9:30 AM and the rest of my Sunday was spent sleeping and doing homework and getting a waffle and enjoying the sunshine.

I hope that you all had a lovely weekend and enjoyed the warmth of your homes. Hugs and love!

- A

 

 

November 1

HAPPY NOVEMBER 1.

There is no better way to celebrate than sitting in Waffle Co with coffee and some good company while avoiding the gloom n' doom of this thing called homework. With each passing car, each drop of icy rain, and sniffles from passersby, it is quite obvious that winter is coming. It does make me a little sad to think about Fall coming to an end, but I'm not going to lie to you: I am SO looking forward to that first snowfall. As the snow creeps over the mountains more and more, my heart grows happier and happier. There is something enchanting about the winter: rosy cheeks and pink noses, hot beverages, cuddling, bliss, and serendipity. I know that it will probably be a few more weeks before that first magical snowfall, but my futuristic self can't stop thinking about it.

ANYWAYS, this week has been a really good week. The highlight, though, would be that I was able to get out and go 'blading for six miles. The wind from my speed on my face (but actually wind from the cold), time with God, and the sense of feeling invincible. AH. SO MUCH BLISS. However, I think that my knees are permanently damaged from my epic rollerfail on the yellow death bumps this summer. Once my roller high wore off, I noticed abnormal things happening: my knees crack every time I go down the stairs, lock up for periods of time, and covered in mysterious bruises. I don't have any regrets, though. Though, I may have several regrets in the future. But for now, I'm invincible and it was totally worth it.

Veering away from my rollerfun, I'm going to tell you all to listen to T-Swift's new album (even if you're not a fan). I've probably listened to it at least 50 times within the week. I also hope that you celebrated National Candy Corn Day on Thursday and I hope that your Halloween was spooktacular. I started my day dressed as a cow and morphed into a lumberjack which ended up being casual hipster Allie.  I'll admit that I consumed primarily candy (and alcohol) and would not be surprised if I develop several cavities from it. Which would be a nightmare. I also need to confess that I am candy corned out--at least for a few weeks. 'Tis (no longer) the season. Time to incorporate vegetables back into my diet. 

I hope that you all have a lovely day and are not too sick from any Halloween festivities (:

Much love!!!
- A

(candy corn vodka=the best)