A to the K: Day 1

We made it over 3,000 miles via direct flight, chasing the sunset, into Anchorage, AK. We arrived at midnight and it felt like dusk in Colorado. Being at 61 degrees North in summertime is a hoot and an adjustment!

Once we awoke the next morning at our cousin's "little house", the sky looked about the same as when we fell asleep. Eager to see our younger cousin whom we haven't seen since our wedding five years ago, we trekked to the "big house" uphill complete with stoned paths, Ents and a magical unicorn to guide us.

We enjoyed homemade breakfast crepes with mangoes and french press coffee complete with an amazing view at the "big house". Thanks Jen!

Our cousin is now seven and full of excitement, joyous energy, curiosity and creative tenacity. This little boy is so smart and know so much about the world he lives in, about nature, flora & fauna. He knows himself well and boy can he hike a mountain!

We gathered all five of us in the Subaru and found a nearby hiking trail up Indian House Peak. This peak was actually a cliff with a narrow walking path. We likely climbed 2,500 vertical feet in roughly 3 miles. Stopped for a snack at the top and ran our way downhill to avoid the rumbling and approaching thunder clouds. Once down, we refreshed our bodies at the local pub, the Brown Bear Saloon, for cheeseburgers and cold beers.

Top of Indian House Peak

After our revivial, we took a small hike up on our cousin's property overlooking a beautiful valley! We polished off the evening with morsels of whale meat (likely my first and last morsel, but happy to taste it), Thai dinner and G&Ts. Not able to hold out much longer on Day 1, we slipped on our eye masks and sunk into bed, which looked about the same as when we awoke that very morning. This latitude will take some getting used to!

For now,

J&N

Help for us ridiculous Americans

Basics on soccer and the structure of the World Cup:
http://the18.com/news/your-guide-world-cup-2014-part-3-rules-format

The US is in the Group of Death this Cup, meaning we have very skilled opponents in Group play, and it will be surprising if we make it to the tournament. Awesome, but unlikely.

I am a little surprised to learn that the Group members are not chosen totally at random, but with a few qualifications to the random choice. Having learned a little, it makes sense the way they do it.

John Oliver continues to have great commentary on how the world works, and has 15 minutes of brilliance about FIFA here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlJEt2KU33I&feature=kp

World Cup!!

The World Cup is on! Oh boy oh boy oh boy!

I follow Tottenham during the EPL season, and since 2005 (when I spent a month on a ski vacation) I've been a fan of Argentina. And, of course, I'm rooting for the USA. Hopefully we won't embarrass ourselves too much on the world stage.

Stuff

"A strong woman knows she has strength enough for the journey, but a woman of strength knows it is in the journey where she will become strong." ~Unknown 

Getting rid of stuff isn't easy for me, but knowing there is a purpose sure makes the journey worth it!  We recently participated in a community garage sale among thousands of other homeowners within the residential boundaries. Wow - do people have lots of "stuff"!

About to be live-aboards, we're going through our own personal phase of purging and eliminating stuff from the many years of collection and of how we identify ourselves in our personal lives.

The things of value and meaning will be stored for safe-keeping. The stuff that weighs us down or can't remember why or where it was bought will go to friends and/or charitable organizations. It feels good in both senses - to lighten the load and maintain only things of sentimental importance.

Our unsellable garage sale items went to Mountain View Westwood, a local Denver charity to help single parents regain a sense of control and purpose in their lives after being pushed from their homes by an abusive spouse.

Craigslist is such an awesome resource for both selling and buying! We've sold nearly $700 worth of items and looking for a buyer on our 2012 Subaru Impreza - any takers?

Goodwill has been gifted with clothes, shoes, and kitchen items

Salvation Army will come to our storage unit (free of charge) and gather a mattress, couch and other miscellaneous items for those in greater need.

Friends were given various items and took them freely! 

For us, It feels amazing to give to the community and it feels even more refreshing to rid ourselves of things that don't serve us and start to explore the things that will make us brighter, happier and less weighted.  As we downsize both physically and mentally, we have the opportunity to grow emotionally with less stuff in our way. Life sure is interesting and happy right now!

Have you looked in your closet recently and decided what doesn't serve you? What one little thing of "stuff" have you been holding onto that you really want to purge from your life? Try to remove that thing and see how it makes you feel!