Newbies in Nunavut

Setting Sun

2011-11-13T14:26:00.000-08:00

We are halfway through November and I write this after a chilly walk in the dark and cold with my husband and pup. The darkness has fallen upon us and today was by far the coldest day we have had this year. I am not sure that I am prepared for the full 24 hours of darkness, but I guess it's coming whether I like it or not.

I know I haven't updated recently and that sounds about right, doesn't it? A lot has happened in the last few months, and my only excuse is school. It keeps me so busy and I really have no energy to do anything else at the end of the day. Hopefully after I finish my contract in December I'm able to make more frequent updates.

I have just over a month left and then Josh and I will enjoy another Christmas here in Kugaaruk before heading on the trip of a lifetime to Australia and Fiji! We decided that we needed one more big trip before embarking on the next chapter of our life, which will be kids = ) No I'm not expecting at this time, but hopefully all goes well and we will be adding to our family sometime next year. In terms of our trip we are going to be spending 2 weeks exploring Australia and relaxing in Fiji for a week. The sun and heat will be welcomed after months of cold and darkness. We will then spend a few days in Saskatchewan and Alberta; I'm extending my stay to spend some extra time with family and I think it will be a wonderful trip.

Life here in Kugaaruk has been about the same. The grocery store is still less than great, but we are surviving and not starving by any means, but boy do we ever miss food mail. Our town was struck with sadness last week though with the death of a 12 year old boy who committed suicide. It was a shock for the town and it's been difficult to understand. The funeral will be held next week, which will hopefully help those still suffering deal with some of their feelings.

All in all, things have been ok, a bit of a struggle at times, but we are surviving. I'm looking forward to spending Christmas with Josh and Dexter again, we miss our families a lot, but enjoy the peacefullness Christmas in the north brings. We do look forward to seeing them all in the New Year though. I hope all is well with those of you who still read my blog, I tired to add a couple of pictures from our walk today, but of course they aren't uploading, so I will have to try again later. Stay warm, and safe, and if you have the luxury of seeing the sun for more than 4 hours a day, soak up some for me = )

No Excuses

2011-09-10T21:19:00.000-07:00

There really is no excuse for my lack of entries, I just haven't taken the time to make my blog a priority lately, which is not a good thing!

A lot has happened in the last couple of months. Josh and I had a fantastic holiday back home in Alberta and Saskatchewan, we enjoyed hot weather, drinks, good food and spent a lot of quality time with family and friends.

When we returned from our rather short lived holiday school was pretty much in full swing! I have been so busy planning morning noon and night; it never ends! I have branched out this year and am teaching Grade 9 - it's going less than great, but I'm plugging along. Each day is a challenge, but Christmas is in sight and shortly after Josh and I will be laying on a sandy beach soaking up the sun and sip on Pina Coladas =)

Kugaaruk caught a bowhead whale a few weeks ago, and that was a very proud moment for our community. I will post pics one of these days, or in three months or so ; ) The barge is due to make it's first stop in Kugaaruk late tomorrow evening or Monday morning, again very exciting! I have forgotten what we ordered and can't wait to unleash the goodies from within the wooden crate = )

The temperature is dropping and the days are getting shorter. I'm really not sure if I am ready for winter already, but it's coming whether I like it or not. Hopefully things will come down and I'll be able to update my blog more frequently. I'm sorry for the delay in entries and really for this short entry lol, but alas, I must head off to bed; I'm headed to school in the morning for the planning that never seems to end. Good night all = )

You Paid What?!?!?!

2011-06-23T10:40:00.001-07:00

I love summer! Summer means warmth, sunshine, less layers of clothing, and better produce and more variety at the store! Yesterday we ventured out to do our usual Wednesday shopping trip at our local Co-op. We brought along our new corporal and his family, it was nice having grocery shopping buddies again, I haven't had one since Lindsay left and it's been far too long! Our friend recently became the assistant co-op manager and so I knew that this week was going to be a gooder - fresh pineapple and mini-watermelons! We are leaving in less than a week so I really have to pull back from buying everything I could get my hands on that wasn't moldy or close to going rotten. But I did manage to find a watermelon that when tapped sounded just right and was a nice even green all the way around. Now I knew that it wasn't going to be cheap, but I can't pass up watermelon as it's my favourite fruit. So into the cart it went and I finished up our shopping and headed to checkout. Prices don't' really shock me anymore, but when that 4 lb mini-watermelon, did I mention it was mini, was rung up I experienced a bit of sticker shock! Are you ready? Yes folks I am the crazy person that paid $16.98 for a mini-watermelon! Josh gave me a look like "You've got to be kidding me!" and I said "it'll be worth it!" And boy was it ever! I cut half of it up this morning and I'm pretty sure half of what I cut up ended up in my mouth and I even gave in and gave Dexter a few pieces as it's one of his favourites as well. It was by far one of the sweetest most delicious flavours I've had in a long time and I must say, totally worth the $16.98. I must confess that if we were staying in town longer I would probably be going to the store to purchase another one! I would never consider paying that much down south, but up here it's so worth it. So call me crazy folks, but the sacrifices we make to live up here make moments like that totally worth it! Talk to you later I'm off to eat some more watermelon!

Dog Days of Spring

2011-06-10T16:14:00.000-07:00

Let me begin by saying I love my dog...

So it was time for our daily walk, Dexter was excited, I was all geared up and ready to go and we ventured out. The weather today was not great, overcast and wet, but it is warm enough now that ski pants and my winter parka are no longer needed; this was the good point of our walk today. Now our walk started off great, Dexter was splashing in puddles, climbing into any remaining snow banks he could find and was having a great time. When I walk Dexter by myself I rarely let Dexter off his leash unless we are out on airport road and it's a quiet day, today we stayed in town. We were strolling along, saying hi to onlookers, answering the normal questions "What's it's name?" My response "Dexter" Followed by, "Is it a girl or a boy" Responded with "He's a boy." And we carry on walking.

Now things were going great and I decided we should walk out to the bay today b/c I haven't been there for months, so off we go. Along the way a little boy tells me he's scared of dogs and I assure him Dexter isn't going to get him and to carry on playing. Now we are approaching the curve up to the bay and I was aware that there was a group of sled dogs that would start barking the minute they saw Dexter, but I decided to keep going b/c once we were around the curve they would quit. Little did I know there was a second pack on the right side of the road, and one of the dogs was off leash. Now Dexter thought this was awesome and flipped his head around, pulling off his halti and making a break for it. Luckily the other dog just growled at him and went back to his pack, while Dexter ran around for a minute or two before I caught him and got him back in order. Not pleased with him at this point, but his excitement was understandable; we then started the journey home.

We made a quick stop at the office, Dexter was filthy by this point, a sign of a good walk. When we got home I remembered I had a bag of garbage I had to throw out so we walked to pick it up from behind the house to bring it to the garbage. It only took a second, but Dexter took the opportunity to again break out of his halti and bolt. I couldn't believe it, after cluing into what just happened I started after him. He found some fish bones and proceeded to eat it, meaning there was no way of catching him at this point b/c he would just run away thinking I was going to take his fish, so I let him eat. I called him after he was done, but nope he wanted to go find some other delicious treat to eat. In the meantime I sunk waist deep into a snow bank that was much deeper and wetter than I ever imagined. I thought I was stuck for a minute and almost had to ask my onlookers for help, but I managed to get out. Now my foot was soaked and cold, and my pants looked like they had been through a mud bath. Again not very happy...

Dexter proceeded to run away and have the time of his life. A part of me wanted to just leave him and say come back home when your hungry, but there is so much garbage and crap around town right now that that wasn't an option. I then decided I had to go in and call for reinforcements. Josh and Tony arrived shortly after my call and the three of us managed to catch him after about 15 minutes of chasing him and having several people point and laugh at us. So wet, cold and very angry I gave Dexter a very cold bath to wash the stink off him and thought seriously about paying someone to take him off my hands.

He's a good dog, but days like these drive me crazy and really question why we ever got a dog in the first place lol. After a warm shower and a cookie I'm feeling much better and will keep my pooch, for now...

Spring is in the Air

2011-06-03T15:29:00.001-07:00

Well the temperature has finally risen to a somewhat tolerable number which means more time outside and mud puddles! Now I love wearing my black and white polka dot rubber boots, however, I have a yellow labrador puddle who doesn't mix well with dirty mud puddles! We spend our walks dodging puddles and walking on the snow that's still left wherever we can, but he still comes home a black as can be lol. Perhaps we should have gotten a chocolate or black lab instead lol Kidding, I love how happy he is to splash in the puddles and roll in the snow that still remains. We've taken him on several quad rides and he's getting a lot of exercise that he was lacking throughout the winter.

Vacation time begins again in a few weeks; I have a feeling summer is going to fly. I'm stressing about planning for the fall and getting all of my ducks in a row, but I'm sure I'll get there. The town has been really quiet during the day lately, as the kids are sleeping all day and staying up all night. They start to stir around supper time and go all night long, it's crazy, but they seem pretty happy and have been staying out of trouble so far so that's been nice. On that note I'm going to go outside, enjoy the sunshine and read my book before Josh gets home after which we will be bbq'ing up some delicious burgers to go with potato salad and corn on the cob for supper = ) mmm

2011-05-22T22:23:00.000-07:00

It's Saturday night and my house is clean, the dog is resting, hubby is out playing cards and I am curled up on the couch watching tv and enjoying the peace and quiet of my clean house, bliss = )

The past few weeks have been busy, but it should slow down considerably with school ending on Wednesday. I subbed all last week and it was tiresome, but fun! The kids are totally hyped up for summer and are loving the warmer weather and almost 24 hours of daylight. I'll be going in a bit next week to gather my curriculum materials for Grade 9 and getting my classroom ready for August. I'm covering a maternity leave until January and I am super nervous, but also excited for the challenge. With school ending I plan to spend more time reading, exercising and purging some of our clutter, but I only have 4 weeks!

That's right folks, in 4 weeks we will be going back down south! The trip was planned pending my employment with the school and when we got the news that I got the job it was a mad rush to book flights and get things planned. We are going to be spending 2 weeks camping at a beautiful cabin in Alberta and spending the remaining two weeks in Saskatchewan with family. I don't really consider sleeping in a cabin for 2 weeks as camping, but we'll still have a fire pit and at least this way I can stay away from the bugs = ) We are bringing Dexter with us, so the trip will be a bit more challenging, but I'm glad we won't have to leave him in the kennel. I'm really looking forward to relaxing on a vacation for a change, it's going to be wonderful = )

A vacation in July and work ending just before Christmas means a holiday in January or February and I think it's going to be a big one. We aren't sure just yet where we will be going, but it will be somewhere fabulous and will probably be one of the biggest we've ever gone on...more to come = )

In other news, the weather is warming up, and the snow is melting relatively quick. We are going to bring out the quads tomorrow and try and squeeze in a few more snowmobile rides before there's too much gravel exposed. I have a hard time believing it's spring down south when we have so much snow still here, but the news doesn't lie lol, I'm a little jealous, but I do enjoy my winter clothing so I'll survive = )

I hope you all enjoyed your May long weekend, whether you were camping, planting your gardens, relaxing, or whatever it is you were doing!

I'm Still Here

2011-05-01T10:05:00.001-07:00

Tis true, I haven't disappeared, I'm still here. I had written up a lovely blog before we left for vacation on March 23rd, however; my wonderful Internet connection failed and I lost everything. I thought about posting while on my vacation, but I didn't, b/c well I was on vacation and didn't have the time = ) Overall we had a fantastic vacation and are happy to be home. We had a great time seeing friends and family and loooved Cuba. Let me tell you a little about our holiday.

Our journey began with an overnight stay in Yellowknife where we enjoyed our first beer in several months and some delicious appetizers. We were Alberta bound the following day where we stayed with friends and family for a few days, enjoyed my first ever Calgary Flames game and got in some much needed retail therapy.

April 3rd started our holiday in Cuba, which I must say was fantastic and hurricane free! I highly recommend the Iberostar Varadero in Cuba, it was 5 star treatment at a reasonable cost. The food was fantastic, not bland at all. We went with my two sisters and their husbands and we had a great time. We took in a jeep safari and soaked up the sun every day by the pool. April was a great time of year to go to Cuba, the weather was fantastic!

From there our journey took us to Saskatchewan to spend more time with family. Saskatchewan is experiencing severe flooding this year, so we missed seeing my mom and her husband which was unfortunate, but we'll see them next time. My grandfather was quite ill so we spent a significant time with him. We lost him on April 19th at 7:30 pm, and I will forever cherish the time we spent with him. I was utterly heartbroken to hear of his passing, I am having a hard time believing that next time we go home he won't be there. I missed the funeral as we had already began our journey back home and it was too costly to fly back. I had my first real moment of regret of moving to the north, but it's one of the negatives and I've come to accept it over the passing days.

We returned home with our pup who was a little rough around the edges after being in the kennel for 29 days. He had kennel cough which subsided quickly, but he came back all in one piece and we were quite pleased with the care and service we received from The Great Slave Animal Hospital in Yellowknife.

Being home brings many smiling faces and handshakes, which I really love. The sense of community we have truly makes me remember why we love living here. Many kids have approached me and asked if I will be reopening the Drop In Center. I have applied for a position with the school, so I'm waiting to hear from them before deciding to reopen the Drop In Center, but it's a good feeling to know it's missed. I haven't made it back into the school to sub yet, and we are running out of school days - only 15 left until the kids leave for summer holidays. I'm hoping the position works out with the school, and if not I will continue to sub next year which is just fine with me too.

So in summary we are glad to be home, the weather is starting to warm up and we have almost reached 24 hours of daylight. I can't believe how much sunshine we are getting, and I love it! I hope I haven't lost all of my readers, and I promise to write more, I am going to make it a personal goal to write more frequently, I need to stop neglecting my blog! lol Take care and I'll hopefully write more soon!

I leave you with a picture of my Grandfather and I, one of our best and sadly our last...

7 days!

2011-03-16T12:01:00.000-07:00

We officially leave for holidays in 7 days - weather pending of course = ) I am sooo excited, words can't even describe how eager I am to soak up some warm sun, hug a tree and eat food that I haven't had to prepare! I can't wait to see our friends and family, vacation really brings a lot of wonderful things = )

Our holiday consists of 10 days in Alberta, a week in Cuba with the remainder of our holiday spent visiting family and friends in Saskatchewan. I am really excited to go to Cuba, it will be our first time and two of my sisters and their significant others are joining us, so it should be a blast! We haven't had a family-type vacation since my sister's wedding in Mexico 2 years ago so it should be fantastic. I am hoping we avoid all hurricanes and bad weather in general.

These last few months have been trying, especially with winter being as long and cold as it has been. The sun is back though so I find that makes a huge difference in my energy level and overall happiness with living in the Arctic = ) We are actually a little sad we couldn't have planned our holidays differently, we would much rather go out in January when it's dark and cold, the weather seems like it's going to start improving just in time for us to go on vacation.

I know it's time to go now though for several reasons:
1) I taught Grade 6 this morning and they asked me in Inuktitut if my hair was going grey and why it was grey when I was only 25 - time of a haircut and dye job!
2) I have run out of lunch ideas, making lunch every day stinks and I am sooo ready to have lunch made for me by a chef, my mom, my grandma anyone and everyone who will do it other than myself = )
3) The sunshine - now I know I said earlier that it is back and I love that, but the sun here isn't warm. Its deceivingly cold and I get sad every time I walk outside waiting to feel the warm sunshine on my face and my cheeks are frozen instantaneously and my eyelashes freeze together so I can't see a thing while going for my morning walk with Dex.
4) We keep watching shows and movies where people are enjoying a glass of red wine or a nice cold beer and my mouth waters at the idea of enjoying a nice tall glass of red wine = )
5) Did I mention my hair? - It's going grey
6) Shopping at the Co-op just isn't giving me the retail therapy every girl needs every once and a while = )

I really can't wait and I hope everyone can pray for nice weather for us for Wednesday and I will update on our travels as I can.

Oh and before I go we have potentially fantastic news! The long open Corporal position here in town may have been filled, which means a new walking friend, a baby, a dog for Dexter to play with and goodbye to relief members! Sooo excited!

Ok one more thing - it looks like the school is going to have some open positions and I'm going to apply! We are hoping I can get one of the full time spots, which may mean we might have to miss one of our trips out, but it would be worth it in the long run. Any who that's it for us, hope everyone in the blogger world is doing well and I'll write more soon = )

Parkas!

2011-02-25T12:13:00.000-08:00

We picked up our parkas the other day and we were quite pleased. We got a great deal on the sewing and ended up paying about $275 for each parka, including the material! They are really warm, I find myself wearing just a t-shirt underneath and staying quite warm, which is a nice change from my not so warm Columbia jacket from down south.

Overall we are pleased with how they turned out. Josh's is a bit too big, but he loves it. I think I'm going to need to get some sort of pom pom furs made to break up the brown a bit on mine, but I do like it. It fits pretty good, again a bit on the big side, but if I ever get pregnant or decide I need to gain a few pounds I know I'll have some room to grow = )

Here are some pictures, Josh's first then mine = )

We are now less than a month away from our holiday and we are sooo ready to go. We need a break from the winter and the sameness of our daily routines. You know that song that goes "Everyday is exactly the same??" Well some days that how my life feels lol. I know we will have snow here until July, but I know I will feel better about the whole winter thing once it starts to warm up a bit and I can be outside for more than 10 seconds without my face and fingers freezing. I also want to get out on the snowmobiles; we've only gone once and it was short lived b/c I didn't have proper clothes and it was freezing outside. I'm not a big fan of snowmobiling, but I'm hoping to learn to love it once it warms up and I can get more comfortable with it all. Any who, not much else new here, will write more again soon = )

Pink?

2011-02-17T08:22:00.001-08:00

Hello all my fellow bloggers = )

I decided it was time to post another update as it's been a while. Not too much has been going on, surprise, surprise, but there have been a couple of things worth blogging about. The weather has been really cold the last few weeks, I am really looking forward to spring when we can spend more than 10 minutes outside without our eyelashes freezing together or our toes feeling like they are going to fall off. The cold weather has equated to a lot of time indoors, which has given me lots of time to cook, bake and clean (WOOHOO *note sarcasm). I enjoy doing all of these things, but I also like being outside, and even poor Dexter hasn't really loved being outside all that much lately. But it will be warm again soon I'm sure, and if nothing else I'll be in Cuba in a few weeks and I'll have pleanty of warmth and sunshine to take in while I'm drinking mojitos and lying on the beach = )

Our parkas are still being made, we are hoping they are finished this weekend - I will post pics once they are finished, I am so excited to see them. We also had some seal skin mitts made and picked them up yesterday. Josh and I both got a pair and we had a pair of gloves made for my uncle down south. Now Josh and my uncle's mitts turned out beautifully and the sewing was pretty much perfect, however; my trim needs to be changed out because well, it's pink. Now I love the color pink, but I was hoping for black, white or brown trim when we met with the lady and to my surprise and dismay there was pink fur on my mitts when I picked them up yesterday. The lady who sewed our mitts said she would change it out for me, I felt terrible telling her I didn't care for the pink, but they aren't cheap mitts and I want to get something I really like. Again, the sewing job it beautiful, the pink just isn't jiving with me lol

Other than that things have been going well here. The Drop In Center is running with huge success, we have about 10 sessions left, give or take and I am looking forward to a bit of a break. I love doing it, it's just a tonne of work each week! The town is hoping to keep it running throughout the year, which would be great for the town and the kids. I'm hoping a local person will offer to take over as project manager so it can continue after I'm gone, but we'll see.

We have about 5 weeks until our vacation and I am super excited to see our family and friends again, and can't wait to eat some Dairy Queen, a Donair and maybe a sub or two = ) Everytime a DQ commercial comes on lately my mouth waters a little more each time lol I am also looking foward to wandering the malls and scooping up things to bring back home with us. Well that's it for me for now, but I will write again soon and hopefully be able to post some pictures of our new parkas - I'm just hoping there isn't any pink on it!

Shovelling - Oh How I Despise Thee

2011-02-01T09:57:00.000-08:00

I didn't particularly enjoy shovelling down south and I must say I dislike it even more up here in the north. Unless you shovel the minute the snow hits the ground the snow becomes this crunchy hard substance that is next to impossible to shovel. We did not bring our shovel or ice scraper with us, which I totally regret - I would give anything to have my ice scraper to battle this frozen substance. I spent an hour and a half yesterday shovelling at the detachment, came home and did our front steps (not to my husband's specifications, but that's a whole other story lol) and today I shovelled Dexter's dog run and the back steps.

Now I generally don't mind doing "yard work" type things, but shovelling has got to be the worst. I love raking leaves and playing in the dirt with pretty flowers. Shovelling gives me no satisfaction whatsoever, b/c the minute you think your done and you feel that tiny morsel of relief, mother nature slaps you in the face and gives you another torrential downpour of snow. I know I can't leave it, and I get paid for shovelling some of it, I just hate it. I wish I never had to shovel ever again, however; in case you were not aware, I live in the North. I live in a place where there is snow 10 stinkin' months out of the year, which leaves only 2 months out of the year where I don't have to shovel. So that my friends is my story about shovelling and why I hate it and if you hate shovelling too feel free to post a comment, but if you like to shovel please come on over I'm sure I can find you something to shovel = )

And finally I leave you with a picture from which all my hatred of shovelling comes from...

Online Shopping

2011-01-28T12:47:00.000-08:00

I find myself occasionally looking online for products that I can't find up here and don't really want to have family members ship up to me. I've started baking quite a bit since being up here and I wanted to do a recipe requiring a bundt pan, which I do not have. I had a friend of mine offer to send one up but with some searching I came across this great website www.goldaskitchen.com It's a Canadian based site that is filled with baking goods and the shipping prices are quite reasonable! I as thrilled! I ordered a bundt pan, some sprinkles, two silicone cookie sheet liners and a 3-tier cooling rack. I was so excited and wanted to share it with everyone. I've wanted a cooling rack for some time and had it on my list of things to get when we go out on our IPA, but when I came across this website I decided I would order it and save some room in my totes for more down south purchases = )

For the pet lovers out there I also came across www.petonly.ca They are also a Canadian based company that will ship anything and everything pet related = ) They'll even ship dog food. Shipping rates for big items is quite high, but overall it's not too bad, and much cheaper than getting anything sent up here from down south.

So on a cold blustery day here in Kugaaruk I sit at my computer searching for more great deals online and free shipping; but let's just keep this between you and I, don't mention it to Josh ; )

Kug Update = )

2011-01-27T10:02:00.000-08:00

So I haven't updated in a while, surprised aren't you?? lol I find myself not having the time to really sit down and write lately; I am surprised by how busy we are living in a community where there is supposedly "not much to do"

I am currently juggling three jobs, well sort of. I'm still subbing and getting on average two days a week, I took on the cleaning contact at the detachment and I've started a Drop In Center for youth ages 6-12 that runs two nights a week. I've only had two nights but both have had great success. The program runs until the end of March, just before we go on our next holiday and I am really pleased to be able to involve myself in the community in this way. It keeps me busy and gives me something to do which has been awesome!

We've started planning our next IPA and I am really looking forward to it. We leave at the end of March and will be going to Edmonton, Westlock, Calgary, Cuba, and rounding things off with a few days in Saskatchewan. I convinced Josh that we should go to a Calgary Flames game while we are in Calgary, and we've decided to make a night of it with dinner, the game and a night in a hotel. I am really excited, I've never been to an NHL game before and we haven't had a real date night in quite some time so it should be a great evening. We are also spending a week in Cuba with two of my sisters and their significant others. We were hoping to have a couple of friends from Westlock join us, but it looks like it's going to be a busy week at the resort and there aren't any rooms left! We are really looking forward to relaxing with some great family while lying on the beach drinking mojitos = )

Our winter hasn't been too terribly difficult. The last week or so has been terribly cold, -60 with the windchill and colder - so needless to say I am looking forward to going 90 degrees in the other direction in March = ) Overall though we have had a really warm winter and in other news, the sun is back! I didn't think the darkness really affected me too much, but now that the sun is starting to come back I am really noticing a big difference. It's nice to have it back and I am really looking forward to the 24 hours of daylight again = )

On that note I will leave you with a picture of the wonderful sun and I hope you have a fantastic day = )

Skating Kugaaruk Style

2011-01-13T13:08:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I was making lunch and looked out my window and saw the greatest thing I have ever seen!

Yes you guessed it, that little boy is skating on the road! There isn't a skating rink in front of our house, but I guess it can be used as one = ) In his defence it is a much quicker way to get around town. Got to go, I need to skate to the store = )

Christmas Chatter

2010-12-28T09:25:00.000-08:00

Christmas has come and gone for another year, it's our 3rd in a row that we haven't been home to spend it with family and I find myself wondering what, as Chevy Chase would put it, "an old fashioned family Christmas" even feels like anymore. We always seem to find people to spend it with. Our last 2 years in Westlock we spent it with our RCMP family and this year they said we were greatly missed, which makes us feel good. This year was very different than any previous year. Not only were we in the North, but we spent it with people we've known for less than 6 months, but we truly had a great Christmas.

Josh had Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday off. This never would have happened down south. Josh has worked the last 2 Christmas's and it was really nice having him home. We went to the Health Centre on Friday for a potluck lunch with the nurses and other staff. It was fabulous! I brought a cherry cheesecake and one lady licked her plate clean she liked it so much, this made me feel great = ) Friday evening we went to the Wildlife Officer's home to spend the evening with his family and the other relief member. Brenda and I did a combined supper, by the end of the evening our tummies were full and many laughs were had.

Friday night we also experienced our first Midnight Mass at church. Now I tell you this was an experience in itself. I haven't attended church since we moved, so I was excited to see the church and to celebrate with the community. Church up north is definitely different than church down south. People go for regular cigarette breaks, kids are running all over the place, babies are being passed all over the congregation and visiting is in full swing. My final verdict with regards to church in the north - our priest has the patience of a saint = )

Saturday we got up and opened presents. It was fun this year b/c it was also Dexter's first Christmas so we got to see him get excited about all of his treats and toys. Josh and I did really good this year. We got lots of movies and books, I got a beautiful necklace from Josh, slippers, pj pants and the list goes on. A favourite was a Cabela's boot warmer for Josh - he will have toasty warm toes now when he goes to work = ) We then had the relief member over for some deadly french toast, bacon and fruit. We spent the afternoon watching movies and getting ready for our next dinner at one of the teacher's houses. I made Dana's candied yams and they were delicious! Thanks Dana = )

A picture of our many goodies and Josh sporting his new Rider touqe = )
So overall we really enjoyed our holiday and even though we missed our family and friends from back home, we have mastered the art of adopting others to temporarily take their place, whether they like it or not = ) We are hoping to be home for next Christmas, but if we aren't it is a good feeling to know that no matter what we will have people to share it with = ) I hope you all had a great Christmas with your friends and family and from our house to yours I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

For a final picture, we have Dexter destroying a stuffed toy from one of the teachers.

Winding Down

2010-12-16T08:08:00.000-08:00

My days have been really busy since being back. I've subbed all week, baked, went to the Christmas Concert last night, finished wrapping presents and decorating. Ok I'm not THAT busy lol, but busy enough that I'm glad the phone didn't ring this morning with the principal on the other end asking me to come in to sub. I enjoy subbing, but the kids have been a little crazy this week, with Christmas just a week away and the Christmas Concert last night. We really enjoyed the concert, it was interesting seeing how alike and how different things were from what we are use to down south. The kids acted and sang and the audience shared many laughs and smiles. As the principal would put it "The evening was FANTASTIC." It really was though = ) It was really nice to see some faces I hadn't seen since we've been back, we even were given a couple Christmas cards from some of the school staff while we were waiting for the concert to begin. I actually feel terrible that I didn't think to write up cards for the staff members, but next year I will for sure.

We found out that Christmas Eve marks the beginning of approximately two weeks of Christmas games and square dancing at the Hamlet Gym. Now I know your thinking, that sounds awesome! It is awesome, but the town basically flips their clocks around completely. The game start around 7, with the dance beginning around 10 or 11 and the dance goes until the early morning hours. We told people that we will come Christmas Eve, but won't be staying until 7am! I will have pictures to follow, as I'm sure that will be a sight to see = )

All in all we are looking forward to our first Christmas here in Kugaaruk. We haven't been home in almost 3 years, and as sad as that may be we manage to do alright with the new friends we have met here. I think our next Christmas we actually do spend with family will see strange, but that might not be for a few more years.

On another note - I am going to be starting a 10 week project in the community running a Drop-In-Center for youth ages 6-12 two nights a week. I am really excited about the project, and am going to be spending the next couple of weeks planning our evenings, so if anyone has any ideas, crafts, etc I'm all ears = ) Again, pictures/future blogs to follow on this as well = )

Well I better get started with my day, so to all of you readers out there have a great day!

Cold, cold and more cold

2010-12-07T12:53:00.000-08:00

Well I've been home for just over a week now and I have finally settled back into my normal life. I had a rather uneventful trip home, ok that's not entirely uneventful, but my flights were all relatively on time and I made it home only an hour later than expected. The trip ended up being a bit more eventful than anticipated when I ended up having to bring a puppy back to Kugaaruk for friend's of ours, but all in all it was a relatively stress free day of travelling.

Last week was filled with reorganizing, unpacking, cleaning, decorating and wrapping presents. I am glad that things are pretty much back to normal - I need to dust and wash my floors, the two things I hate most in life and I'm pretty sure I can't put it off much longer, but maybe if I wait until the weekend Josh will dust = ) Dexter has been sick and that's been a struggle. We don't want to send him out as it's very expensive, but he keeps getting sick we might have to. I really hate not having a vet in town.

I think I was going a bit stir crazy spending so much time in the house, but that feeling dissipated after a movie night with some of the girls from the school and an awesome subbing day yesterday in the Grade 5 class. It was really nice to be welcomed home by so many people, especially the kids. Some people had thought I had moved away lol, I assured them that they would be stuck with me a while longer. I do think I'm going to have to get a bit more creative though with my time, as being outside when it's -45 and colder isn't desirable. Josh and I did complete a 1000 piece puzzle the other day which was lots of fun and allowed for some great quality time.

I am gearing up for the Christmas season, I have my small tree up and stockings hung, presents wrapped and lights will be hung as soon as my sister's package arrives (thanks Krissy). I plan to go to the office some day this week and set up the tree at Josh's work, otherwise it may not get put up until Valentine's Day and that would just be silly. I'll do some baking and Christmas cooking in the coming weeks and hopefully it will feel like a normal Christmas for us. We haven't been home in almost 3 years, so we are getting use to it just being the two of us (this year the three of us, as this will be Dexter's first Christmas). We will miss our Westlock friend's this year and in spirit of that I will be making Dana's delicious candied yams = )

I better wrap this up though and finish my laundry and stir my spicy chili...I might curl up on the couch with Dex and have a nap too, this whole darkness thing really messes a person up - it's dark by 1:30 in the afternoon now and I'm pretty sure I could go to bed right now and sleep until morning lol I'll write more soon, and maybe post a picture of two...enjoy your Vitamin D those of you down south, I'm very jealous!

Journey Home

2010-11-24T17:37:00.001-08:00

I am sitting in the Regina Airport after spending 2 wonderful weeks with family and friends and starting my journey back to Kugaaruk. I am eager to be home, to see Josh and Dexter and to sleep on my bed again. It has been a long month and a half and to some it might seem like a dream vacation, but for me I am definitely ready to be home. Overall our vacation was really wonderful; we visited with our friends and family, caught up on old times and had plenty to drink and eat = )

I am flying to Edmonton tonight and spending two days with my aunt and cousin. My aunt and I will do some last minute shopping, head to the hair salon and maybe sneak in another pedicure before heading home. Friday I have a lunch date with a good friend and bright and early Saturday morning, weather pending of course, I will be flying home to Kugaaruk.

Being on vacation really makes you remember why you love home so much. I've really missed wearing my pj's and sweat pants all day everyday, not having to wear make-up and worry about my hair and most of all I would say I have really missed the people and pace of life. Being down south quickly reminded me of the hustleand bustle people go through day in and day out, and what for? I'm not really sure to be honest with you. We sat in traffic for hours, stood in cashier lines, spent way too much money and not one person waved at me! I know that in a few months the things I love will be the things that kind of get on my nerves a little, but I think going on vacation reminds me of why I love living in Kugaaruk, which gives me a new sense of joy as I head back there.

So in summary I am really excited to go home and I cannot wait to cuddle with Dexter and Josh of course, and to have my life back to normal for a while = ) I will be updating more and I'll post some pics from our vacation when I get back, as I should have plenty of time - unless I'm sleeping of course, the sun is going down at 12:30 now! Eeek!

October and November Madness

2010-11-05T22:01:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if anyone still reads this or not, but for those of you who do I have some serious updating to do - as usual....

October was a busy month - The grade 6 teacher had her baby early which caused a simple two day subbing job to turn into a 3 week subbing stint filled with report cards and all. Needless to say I was somewhat stressed, which may account for my lack of blogging in October. I did survive though and had purpose for 3 weeks and enjoyed my time getting to really know those kids. Subbing isn't as fulfilling as I hoped it would be, but I'm glad I am able to help.

We had friends of ours transfer to Ontario, which added more emotion to an already emotional month. We miss them dearly and thankfully had a vacation to kind of soften the blow after they left. Lindsay, as I'm sure you anticipated, we spent our two weeks in Barbados thinking about you and Corey and I'm not sure how we will survive without you and the girls = )

Mid October brought Josh's birthday, new relief members and a new family moving into town. We spent a lot of time socializing and entertaining which really made the time pass.

Our fabric for our parkas arrived; I cannot wait to get them sewn when we get back - we are hoping Celine will still do it even though it's so close to Christmas! I will definitely post pictures when they are done.

October 16th marked the beginning of our first one month vacation...We said goodbye to Dexter and were off to Yellowknife, no wait, the plane was 3 hours late lol...After deicing and a visit with Allison we were on the plane headed to Yellowknife and before we knew it we had our first beer in hand and were ecstatic to be back in civilization.

On Sunday we flew to Edmonton and spent some time with some great friends and some not so great time shopping. I've discovered that I truly enjoy shopping from the comfort of my own home. I also enjoy not waiting in traffic, shopping lines and looking for things that I could be purchasing in my pj's with a warm cup of tea. Monday brought a cut and color with my aunt and a much needed pedicure. We then spent the next couple of days shopping, catching up with great friends, drinking wine, watching a movie in a theatre, and going for supper.

On the night of the 22nd we set off for sunny Barbados for two lovely weeks. Did I say two lovely weeks? Well let me tell you, the first week was great, sunny, hot, we met a great couple from Saskatchewan, had lots to eat and drink, slept in late every day - it was fabulous! The second week was less than desirable. I know you are wondering how could Barbados be less than desirable? Well for those of you who don't know, our family included, the Caribbean was hit by Hurricane Tomas on October 30th. Now we knew when we booked our trip that there was a chance of getting hit, but the chance was slim as Barbados is usually only hit by a hurricane every 50 to 55 years - we came on year 55. Despite fallen trees, crappy weather, no telephones and buffet food for 3 days - we did ok. We came out of our Barbados vacation slightly more tanned and very relaxed.

I am going to wrap this up, I have more to write, but it's late and I've written a novel - we are spending the rest of our holiday in Saskatchewan with friends and family and couldn't be happier. For all of you who have read this far, thank you and good night = )

2010-09-19T15:53:00.000-07:00

Hello blog readers = ) I will probably win the award for least updated blog in history, I just can't seem to find the time to sit down and write - perhaps I don't think my life is that interesting! But really it is! Things have been busy around here the last while. Our barge order came in this past Monday and let me tell you it was like Christmas in a crate = ) We placed our order back in May not really knowing what to expect, and for the most part I'd say we did pretty good. There were a few unexpected items, the order form was kind long and not very detailed and we ended up with 3 boxes of microwaveable cookies instead of chocolate chips and enough dried kidney beans to last until the end of time, but other than that the barge room is full and our tummies are satisfied = )

I've been doing a lot of subbing lately and may have somehow been tricked into subbing until we go on our vacation. Subbing is so different from having your own classroom, I'm really not sure what to think. The environment and atmosphere are completely different from down south and the expectations fall somewhat short of what I am use to. I am plugging away at it though and I'm happy I'm able to help, but I would like Wednesday's off so I can make fresh produce day at the grocery store = )

In the midst of the barge order and subbing we have been planning our first IPA which is so exciting! We are leaving Kugaaruk and flying to Yellowknife October 16th and Josh will be returning on November 14th...I on the other hand have opted to spend a couple more weeks visiting family and friends and will be returning to the land of snow and ice on November 27th. We haven't booked the tropical portion of our holiday yet, but will very soon! It's been a trying process to figure out flights and accommodations, but I think we are almost there. I am so excited to see the people and things I am familiar with. It will be strange driving a car again and being able to go out to eat.

I plan to post pictures soon from the barge and what not, but we have almost used up our gb's for the month with our Internet so I'll have to wait until the beginning of October. Up here you purchase so many gb's per month and that affects the speed of your Internet. We splurged this month and rented a movie off the Xbox for our anniversary, so we lost a gb there and may need to ration our remaining gb's for the month. I feel like I'm always rationing these days...water, downloading on the Internet, how many times we flush the toilet in a day, even how many loads of laundry I do a week....Things are definitely different here, but we are really enjoying our time and couldn't be happier.

Well I should wrap this up and get supper finished...Oh and for those of you who are wondering...still no snow, but I'm sure by the time I get around to blogging next there will be lots = )

Cheers!

The Latest Happenings in Kug

2010-08-31T14:40:00.000-07:00

Kugaaruk has been a very busy place these last couple of weeks. For those of you who were wondering, our stuff finally arrived last Saturday! It was funny though b/c we found out our stuff was coming in on a freighter and we were super excited, but then we found out that a local had caught a Double Tusked Narwhal and for some reason that trumped getting our stuff! We managed to throw all of our remaining 48 pieces into our house and make it back to the beach in time for the whale to be brought to shore. What a proud moment for the family and townspeople of Kugaaruk. The narwhal is known for it's tusk, but it is very rare for it to have two tusks, so it was definitely something we were excited to be a part of. Now if they catch the Bowhead whale in the coming weeks that will be even more exciting! And for those of you who are wondering, I did not try the muktuk - maybe next year = )

So our stuff arrives Saturday and the town catches it's first ever Double Tusk Narwhal, you would think that would be enough excitement to last us at least until Wednesday, but no, how does a tour of the Terry Fox sound with prime rib and all the fixings for lunch? Well it sounded really good prior to knowing what we were having for lunch and it was even better once we found out what we were having! We were invited out by the coast gaurd and crew to tour the Terry Fox while they were still in the bay. For those of you who dont' know, the Terry Fox is a huge icebreaker ship that brings cargo to the towns in the north - that of course is one of it's many jobs. The Terry Fox left last Monday and actually returned yesterday with their first round of cargo and will be returning 2 or 3 more times over the next couple of weeks with materials and supplies for the town, and hopefully our barge order. We had a great day on the ship and it was nice to "get out of town" for the day.

And in other news I have been doing a bit of subbing and I'm really enjoying it. I didn't think I would really like subbing as I loved having my own classroom, but I think this will do for now anyways. I am enjoying the flexibility and I am looking forward to that first cheque = ) My finaly piece of news comes with the request for someone who is a qualified vet to move to Kugaaruk, as our dog has been having tummy troubles and we really don't want to send him to Yellowknife, so if anyone is interested we have an extra room = ) Hope everyone is doing well and enjoy the pictures, more to come soon as I can now upload at speeds we are actually paying for = )

2010-08-21T09:19:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated in quite some time and for those of you who actually read this I thought you might be wondering about the status of a few things...so here are your updates on our very exciting life = )

Our stuff has not arrived yet = ( Although we did receive a partial food mail order yesterday and our TV wall mounts. Funny how we have no TV's to mount on them, but I am very glad the shipping from Costco was free! The airline won't tell us if our stuff is coming anytime soon, they talked about chartering a plane early this week, but it's now Saturday, so I'm not sure that that is going to happen. We will call later today and see if anything is coming in, we are still hopeful = )

I finally got to get out of the house yesterday and do what I love most in life - TEACH! I was called in to sub for the Grade 7 classroom, and I must say I had a really great day. I was quite nervous as I had heard this was a really challenging class last year, but their new teacher has done wonders with them and we really had an awesome day. It was really nice being back in a school with kids and I think I am really going to enjoy subbing there.

Josh has been really busy with work lately, and is getting more involved with the community everyday, which is really nice. I'm not sure what I'll do when he's gone in September for 3 days, but I'm sure I'll survive = )

Other than that things have been fairly quiet. The grocery store has been suffering with the managers on vacation, every time I go the lettuce and cucumbers are rotten, which is very frustrating. Time is going really fast and we are hoping to have our first vacation in October, just need to decide where to go = ) I'll keep you all updated on when our stuff arrives, I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my new socks and silverware = )

Foodmail: Life Really is All About the Little Things

2010-08-06T15:42:00.000-07:00

Oh what a glorious day! Today our food mail arrived, no not our Household Effects, but our food! I was so happy when Josh phoned today to say that 9 boxes of food would be arriving today (some of it is also for the relief member who ordered as well). We only ended up getting 5 boxes, but I didn't care, opening those boxes was almost as good as Christmas!

As I unpacked the boxes I was overwhelmed by the several containers of parmesan cheese, fresh fruit, vegetables, cottage cheese, spinach, sour cream, milk, ground beef, cherry tomatoes and so much more. It's pretty incredible that about a month ago I could go to my local grocery store and did not experience these feelings of happiness. Josh is thrilled because he can finally have perogies since we have 2 huge containers of sour cream, our bacon bits didnt' arrive, BUT our bacon did so we can have real bacon with our delicious perogies = ) = ) = ) Now I know for some of you this may seem silly - You are probably thinking - a) this girl just got food delivered through the mail, how weird, and b) you are missing 4 boxes of your stuff, where could it be? and c) it's just food....But I tell you, up here it really isn't just food, it's the build up to things arriving and finally getting here, it's being able to plan to have lasagna tomorrow and I know I have all the ingredients = ) It's about not having to go to the store and be disappointed b/c the food mail wasn't put out or the thing you really want is expired and your not sure if you will survive if you eat it. Today really was a truly wonderful day and now I can anticipate the arrival of our remaining 4 boxes, I can hardly wait - they should be here tomorrow, possibly with my socks and nail clippers that may come with our HHE! I haven't seen the bill yet, but I don't think that will take away from the glorious day I had today!

For those of you still shaking your heads and thinking I'm crazy, I'm not crazy, I just live in the north = )

Have a great day, I'm off to eat sour cream!

Ranting and the things I'm looking Forward to

2010-07-26T18:21:00.000-07:00

Ok so I am beyond words when it comes to moving companies these days...We were told that our stuff would arrive between the 6th and 14th of July...Now I was not naive enough to think that our stuff would actually be here during that time, however, I did think that it would be here by now...It is now 26 days later, I've been wearing the same sweats and jeans for the last 3 weeks and 5 days, my socks have holes in them b/c Dex decided they would make great chew toys and I am already tired of wearing my hair in a ponytail every day...Now don't get me wrong, I love it here; I love the scenery, the quietness, the friendly people, quadding, the bay, there are so many things, but lately those things don't seem as important as having our household goods lol...I know that after we get our household goods I am going to be overwhelmed with where to put everything and so happy to have things to fill up my very empty house....

Now that the rant is over with, here are the many things I am looking forward to:

1. Our new featherbed - the bed here is just fine, but I have been looking forward to using this ever since we bought it
2. Our duvet - I wish we would have brought this with us, our bed just isn't the same without it
3. Our microwave - I've needed this a few times, and would really like to pop some popcorn now that I can eat it after 3 months of no popcorn, that's really all I want it for
4. Our tv and HD receiver
5. Our movies and books
6. Our pictures and photo albums to make our house our home
7. Our kitchen stuff - cups, dishes, pots, utensils - I never thought I'd miss this stuff
8. My clothes!!! This should be higher on my list for sure
9. Our camera charger, we have about 2 bars left and I don't want it to die out on us, resulting in a missed photo opportunity
10. Dexter's Dog food - this should also be higher on the list as he is almost out, thanks to Tammy and Hugh for leaving some food behind or Dex would have been out a couple of days ago
11. Finally, nail clippers - I usually always have these packed wherever we go, but neglected to pack them...Josh and I ask each other on a daily basis if the other has any nail clippers, it keeps us entertained = ) My sister has since mailed us some and I am hoping they arrive this week = )

There you have it, I know these things may seem trivial and unimportant, but when you go without them for so long you really start to miss them. So here's to hoping our stuff arrives before winter and before the holes in my socks grow any larger.

Two Weeks In

2010-07-15T21:54:00.000-07:00

I'm realizing I'm not very devoted to this whole blog thing, but I'm going to try harder. Well we are all moved into our house, well sort of...Our household goods were supposed to arrive yesterday, but who are we kidding?? As of yesterday the moving company didn't even know where our belongings were and our Relocation Officer is on vacation (convenient isn't it??)

In the last couple of days I find myself undergoing a bit of culture shock. I was struck with the flu yesterday and soon realized that the common amenities of my local Shopper's Drug Mart were not at my fingertips. I am feeling better today and will actually leave the house tomorrow and take Dexter for a much needed walk, and possibly try to find Gingerale or Sprite at the grocery store to make up for not having it while I was sick.

I am anticipating the arrival of our household goods, as I desperately need fingernail clippers and we have pretty much exhausted our movie options. Other than that things have been relatively quiet out here.

I would like to provide you with a list of my favourite and most suprising things about the north so far:

1. The beautiful Scenery
2. Going for Honda rides (Josh already tells me we have to start saving so we can buy one when we leave the north)
3. Having Josh home every day for lunch and every evening (This may get old quickly lol)
4. The simple way of life
5. The "predictability" of people - When we take Dex for a walk we know we are going to be asked about 12 times "Does he bite? What's yours names?" It really makes me smile

Things I've been most surprised by while in the north:

1. The cost of groceries (Although this is subsiding, as we like to eat)
2. How you won't see a kid all day, and then after supper they are everywhere and they stay up later than I do
3. The sunlight
4. How you go to the grocery store and they remove items from boxes prior to bagging (example: Pizza & Chips)
5. How friendly people have been

Well there is my first list of many to come. I hope to be able to add to my favourites and surprised list as we continue our adventure in the GWN = )

So Far So Good

2010-07-04T14:57:00.000-07:00

We have officially arrived in Kugaaruk and let me say, we are really enjoying it.

It was a long day full of flying, unpacking, and taking in all of the beautiful scenery on Thursday, but we are starting to slow down a little and are really enjoying being here. The air smells salty and fresh and the 24 hours of daylight hasn't affected us too much, although it is really strange walking outside at midnight and the sun is still up and the kids are still up playing. I see more kids in the evening then I do all day.

We are currently waiting for our house to be painted so we can move on in, which should be Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, and hopefully our household goods arrive soon after, but I'm not holding my breath.

I feel really thankful to the people who have helped us through these last couple of days and months. Josh and I tend to stress a lot before something big happens, and settle soon thereafter, and this case has been very much the same. So for those of you who are wondering how we are doing, we are doing really well. I am amazed by how adaptable we can be, especially Dexter = ) I look forward to updating you on our life here in the north and all in all, so far so good = )

Moving Day!!!

2010-06-29T11:25:00.000-07:00

This one will be quick...

I am among a large number of boxes, packing tape and an endless supply of packing paper and I am somewhat in awe of the fact that this is all really happening. The movers were here bright and early this morning and have been hard at it since then. It's weird to say "That gets shipped, oh not that goes to storage" Reality is really starting to set in, but I am quite excited. It's weird knowing I won't see a lot of this stuff for the next 4 years, but at the same time I'm wondering - do I really need all of this stuff? I think on our next move I will get rid of a lot more stuff. Speaking of getting rid of things, we finally sold our car and Josh is on his way to work out a deal with the truck...I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's all taken care of by the end of today.

As stressful as this move has been I am happy to know that we will soon be arriving at our new destination and starting our new life and adventure. I am thrilled that we are arriving in the north at a time where it is not frigidly cold and snow covered. I honestly feel at ease with things and I really didn't think I would ever feel that way. Dexter on the other hand....he would like to know where all of his toys and food have disappeared to lol

2 Weeks and Counting!

2010-06-16T20:43:00.000-07:00

Well here we are with two weeks to go and I can hardly believe it. Between the organizing, report cards, taking care of the dog and cleaning I feel that I am really looking forward to some down time. With our departure day quickly approaching I find Josh and I are slightly stressed but are managing things ok. I thank my lucky stars every day for Tammy and Lindsay, don't know what I would have done without all of their past advice (and future advice to come = ) )

My sisters arrive this weekend for a "girls weekend" - we will be shopping, going for pedicures and a supper that will likely be quite expensive, but totally worth it. The next time we see each other will hopefully be on our first vacation out and I hope we are somewhere tropical enjoying a Bahama Mama or Mojito = )

I look forward to thinking back on this time and realizing that all of these nerves and stressed out days were silly, because I truly believe we are going to love it in the north.

25 Day and Sad Goodbyes

2010-06-06T14:45:00.000-07:00

Well we are down to 25 days left here in Westlock. Time has been flying, we've said goodbye to some close friends already but things seem to be getting somewhat easier. I'm feeling more and more prepared every day. I still have a lot of things to go through in the house, but it'll get done. The coming weeks bring report cards, staff parties, packing, cleaning and many hours of sorting.

Last night we had our going away party with our Detachment Family. I have been reflecting and thinking about the last 3 years and I can't believe how incredible it is to have made the connections we have with so many people in such a short period of time. Many tears were shed, and lots of hugs were given, but it was really a happy time. I feel really blessed to have had the opportunity to get to know all of our wonderful friends here in Westlock. Despite all the tears and goodbyes, we had a great time last night, everyone made polar bear and bitter cold jokes all night and listening to stories from the past three years was truly a lot of fun. There are so many wonderful memories here in Westlock that we've made and I am really looking forward to our new adventure and our new memories that lie ahead.

With only 25 days to go, I am soaking up the warmth, and mentally preparing myself for this big journey, and I really think we are going to be ok. So with Dog in crate and my husband at my side we will soon venture out to the Great White North, and I am glad to say that I am looking forward to it = )

Nunavut - 38 Days to Go

2010-05-24T14:27:00.000-07:00

And so our journey begins...We are about a month away from boarding our plane to our new home in Nunavut. I am feeling very excited and nervous, but also sad to be saying goodbye to all our friends we have made here in Westlock. I am especially sad because I will have to say my first goodbye to a very close friend who is leaving to go back home for wedding preparations next Wednesday.

It seemed like when we first received our transfer notice time was flying, but now it seems like it is almost standing still. I feel like we are very prepared to take on the north, with the exception of me not having snow pants or a warm winter coat (we plan to have coats made when we arrive, and snow pants can wait a bit = ) ) Our barge order has been placed, TV has been purchased, and the new camera is charge and ready to go. I have been fortunate to have had the chance to communicate with two lovely ladies who have helped me wrap my head around the idea of moving. Without the two of them I think I would be a basket case.

The coming weeks bring many changes, but they are changes Josh and I are looking forward to. School will draw to a close, we will say our goodbyes and before we know it we will be off to our new lives in the Great White North. I hope this journey brings a whole new perspective and appreciation for life and what we have down here in the south. I plan to update as frequently as possible - I will let you know right away though that I am knew to this whole blogging thing, so it is going to take some practice. For those of you who read this I hope you enjoy hearing about our adventure = )