Home Sick

Happy new year and yes, I have really been a bad blogger. With the holidays and work it got away from me. As did allot of things.
We had a nice holiday break. Nothing exciting to really tell. Just the five of us (this includes the dogs) Karter made a haul as normal. Every year I say I am going to limit it, but then I see something that I know he would like (Or I want). This year it was this little remote controlled mini helicopter. I had my eye on it this past week and the other day I was home alone and decided it was mine! Karter and I had words over it on Christmas day...something about it being his and he wanted to play with it blah blah blah. But, he and Tony were gone. It is a tricky little bugger.You have to be very gentle on the trigger or it flies out of control and will hit you in the eye and cause a small amount of blood. How do I know this....well lets just say I need to learn to duck and let go of the trigger when it flies at you. I know, its all fun and games until someone looses an eye. I will master it sooner or later.
We went over to Jackie and Joels (Co-workers) for Christmas dinner. OOH! I forgot to tell you of the great adventures of our office Christmas party! Dr. Peterson....you will love this.
OK, so the office I work in as you know is a bit different then any other office I have been in. Very how do I say it...liquid.We all like to get together and enjoy food,fun and...well they enjoy the booze. We were at a local Mexican restaurant and they put us all downstairs.The stairs were questionable, but what do you do? As the night progressed so did the spirits.Lots and lots of spirits. I Shannon sat back and watched.After a couple hours of this I looked at my co-worker and said it was time to go, so we left. After we left, my other co-worker,Jackie fell down the stairs.She feel backwards down the stairs and slammed her head on the concrete floor. She was out. In fact they really thought she was dead. She did not move and was not breathing.Dr.Guy was right there and was trying to not move her when she came to. We still don't know what that was about. Well long story short.The EMTS arrived and took her to the hospital. She had a brain bleed and does not remember any of the the events. She was in the hospital for 2 days. She is still in so much pain. She is very tiny (size 2) and really hurt her ribs and neck. That was on December 16.It was so scary. I am so glad she is ok....still healing, but ok. Now you would think this is a lesson to us all on how not to drink. Nope, 4 days later at the "2nd office" Christmas party it all started again. This time there was no EMTS, but 1 bottle of red wine on the carpet and rum all over the lab floor. I went home. Never a dull moment at work! It is not a real party until the EMTS are called.
As this month started, I started to have a weird yearning for Boise.I have missed my friends and family allot with the move but this was different. I have not missed Boise or really want to come back and visit.I was content with being here. Until now. I am home sick.I think with everything happening with mom and her week stay in the hospital and the holidays, it just finally hit.I need to go home for awhile. I need a Blimpie sandwich,a Cobby's sandwich,I need to eat at the cheesecake factory,olive garden,cafe'ole...wow, am I hungry. I want to see my friends and see there faces, not just their face book logs.So, I am coming home for a visit.I will be there March 25-April 6. Dr. Guy is going to Hawaii and I am taking the time too.I was going to bring Karter, but flights are to much right now. We are sending him home this summer for 2 or 3 weeks to stay with gama & papa. 3 weeks without my son...hummm wonder how that will work?
We are all well! All healthy and been very well for the winter.We have dodged H1N1 and it seems staying home with no friends is the true way to stay healthy. hahah
I hope this finds you all happy and healthy as well!
Much love
The Eskimos
P.S. The training for the 2nd annual running of the reindeers has begun! Feb 28, 2010!

Saturday Happenings

The season has begun. People running around and pushing you out of the way.Stealing the parking spot you have waited for and shoving you way to the back of the elevator with boxes and bags of gifts. "Joy to the World" is screaming out of every speaker in the store and if I hear the "Little drummer boy" one more time I am going to go nuts! Happy Holidays all! I was off early today to get some great deals at JC Penny's. They always have such great deals on Doorbusters! I get really excited on Wednesday when the flyer is in the newspaper. The people at work like to hide it from me because I wait all week.Today was the day 7-1pm and I was off by 9:00am. I had a bazaar to stop at and then off to Anchorage.As I drove to Anchorage I came over the hill and I had a view of all the mountains and ocean that took my breath away.It was so clear and crisp.The mountains were sharp and looked like I could have just reached out and touched them.Although winter can be rough up here,this reminded me how lucky I am to have these views.It still is a treat for me to see such beauty.Ok, back to the good stuff..doorbusters!
I was on my way to the parking lot and got the bestest parking spot right off the bat! Whoot Whoot this was a great sign of things to come! I leaped out of my car and bolted to the elevators....I pushed the button and off I go!No one in sight...Haha I had out smarted the Alaskan people yet again.The bell dinged on floor 2 and the doors opened. I swear I heard the angels sing!I was VERY wrong...It was a screaming child and 300 people waiting to get into the store.Holy Crap! What have I done?
I stop and think what is my beat move....leave and forget it or push on and continue to think I have out smarted the Alaskans! I push on and I push several small children and elderly ladies..I see the door and dart in! I have made it alive! I take a deep breath and move on to the men's area.Two flights of stairs and I stop for a breath and see the elevator I could have taken (this is where I miss my glasses the most)I find what I am looking for...three shirts,a leather jacket and 1 remote controlled helicopter ( I am tempted to by myself the helicopter, but I guess Karter wants it more and when I break it, I will blame him)Ok, off to pay! Record time I have made 33 minutes,got everything I wanted and some more just in case. I see a counter where no one is at...I walk really really fast (Ok, fast for me)I start to set my stuff down and HA! A large black lady almost knocks me down with her small child in corn rolls and beads.Her hair could put an eye out.I do not let this happen.I shove my hip just to the right enough that the coat she is buying falls on the ground. Success! I win! HAHAHAHAH I smile at her and smirk in jest. I showed her. Take my counter.I begin the ring-up...$10.44 a piece for the three shirts. $17.44 for the leather coat (Yes, you read right!) $14.44 for the helicopter. My total $51. and some change.But wait...I have a 15% off coupon up my sleeve. I look around at the crowd and remove the golden coupon! People gasp!(Ok, not really, but go with it) I slam it on the counter..."BAM"! take that JC Penny's. The clerk looks and obeys. Total for this event? With all my discounts...$44.87.HELLO the crowd goes crazy!
I jump a little in my spot and grab my bags before there are any questions. I ROCK. Now I know we are all really happy for Shannon and know we are getting to the end of our story...Ohh no.Lets think back to when Shannon jumped out of the car and ran to get into the store. What did she forget to do? Perhaps look where she parked and what floor? ooh no. This she forgot to do. Now, the parking lot is 5 stories high and I am not sure where I parked on which level.I do not realize this until I get to push the button.Fear now envelops me.Where is my car. It's cold,I have all this stuff and what if that black lady and her child finds me? I try floor 2...nope no car. Floor 3 nope no car.4,and even the top just in case....no car. I have to stop for a minute. What did I drive anyway? My teeth are now chattering because I did not wear a coat (did not match the outfit)and I was in a parking garage. Down I go.5,4,3 and then like a beacon...floor 2 and one ford explorer on the corner! Thank you Jesus! It took me 15 minutes to get warm.I spent more time trying to find the damn car then in the store.BUT, I had won! I had great stuff and still had money in my pocket.I showed them.Now, the real issue. I have to go to Costco...on a Saturday. :(
Love to all!
The Shopping Eskimo!

The hardest week in Alaska

I should have known that if I posted nothing was happening in our world, something always does.
The week started out as any normal week.I often call my mom on Monday's on my way to work just to check in.On this morning, she did not answer.Not to worry I am sure she is busy and will call back. I called again at lunch and STILL no answer. Weird...I try again on my way home and no answer. I now decided to call my father who is a man of many words...not. He answers and is calm about the whole none answering thing.I do not feel a sense of calm.I demand an answer.Come to find out my mother is in the hospital.Panic now sets in. My mom is a healthy woman and I do not recall anytime that we have ever had to take her to the hospital for an emergency in 39 years.
Monday morning my mom woke up in sever pain in her right hand and foot. She has been a bit under the weather for about 3 weeks. It started with a blocked saliva duct and earache that antibiotics were given for.BUT, seems mother did not take the whole Rx until they were gone (Let this be a lesson to us all)She was admitted and they started to run tests. Nothing was found until Wednesday. She was infected with a very serious infection called C-Def. It is common in older people in hospitals or nursing facilities.She got it from taking antibiotics.It is very serious and life threatening.Not only has the C-Def attacked her body, come to find out it had attached to her muscles causing rheumatoid arthritis...thus the pain.By Thursday, she had had it. Too many needles and the pain was too much.They started a steroid and anti-inflammatory and like a gift from heaven, the pain was gone.At last she sounded like herself and I could calm down.I was on the next flight out Friday night but with her improvement, I did not come home.She went home yesterday and I am so pleased.She has several weeks of recovery ahead of her and more tests to see what the damage will be long term. I am so Thankful for her recovery. The thought of being on this earth without my mom is something I cannot even imagine. Worst yet, I was here in Alaska away from her when she needed me the most.Helpless is a good word for the day.All I wanted to do was come home and she kept telling me no. I was lucky to have family and friends keeping me up with all the situations, but it is not the same.
As of today, she sounds like mom and is home resting.She will need to take more time off from work, but they are all very supportive and her job is safe.My lesson in all this is never take advantage of the people you love and need in your life....they may not always be there. This is the first real scare I have had with my mom and I will prefer not to have anymore. I know that life does end for us all, but I think I would like it on my terms. :) So,with Thanksgiving week starting, I have so many things to be Thankful for, but I have to say right now...it's my mom and the fact that I can pick up the phone and there she is...when she answers.
Lots of love!
The Eskimo's

Nothing new on the home front

November has brought us winter. It was really strange,one day we were in the 50's and then the next,snow.We have just enough to make the roads crunchy and the grass is covered.It has been here for about a week. We also have been cold. On average in the teen's or lower.We are all well and living everyday. This last weekend, Karter decided to get sick. He is not sick very often, but when he gets sick, he does it up good.We are on day three and he still is not 100%.This child really took the weight loss thing to heart. As of this morning, he is 123lb.Big differance from August and 148lbs.He is a little frumpy. All his cloths are to big and his pants fall to his knees.Thank goodness for Christmas.Tony is good, he is still the same. This man never changes.He does the same thing everyday and takes VERy good care of Karter and I. I am THANKFULL for him! He was there for me a week ago at 5:30 Am picking me up off the bathroom floor.He stayed home with me all day.I don't need a bell, I tap on the wall and he comes!Between him and NaNa..I was never alone.

No big plans for Thanksgiving.James will be here and we are going to Dr. Burk's again.It is nice to have somewhere to go.We always have fun and there is lots of laughs and food.We will stay around the house and play WII and have a dinner here on Friday.That way we all get leftovers. I will get up early (3:00 am)on Friday and head out to a few sales I can't pass up, but then an afternoon nap will await me.

I feel as if I have failed on my blog this time.I have no stories or new adventures to tell.We are safe and warm and together.I so miss my friends and family this time of year.I do miss you all all year, but this time is hard.Karter and I are planning on coming home the last week of March and I am looking forward to that. Need to see my grandmother and friends.It will be the longest I have ever been away. 18 months.I miss some of Boise, but over all,I am good here.I am pretty sure this is home now.I do not see us moving back to Idaho. I would miss the views and all my animals.Why I can't have Alaska with my frineds and family I will never understand....moving is not that hard!
Love to you all!
The Eskimo's

365 days in Alaska

October 29, 2008 we left Idaho for the second time and here we are 1 year later. So many changes and things have happen to us.I sit here and listen to the sounds of Tony doing dishes and Karter watching TV and wonder where the time has gone.It has been a fast year, but then again, It was long. They always say around here it will take you two years to settle. Living in Fairbanks for 2 years and now Anchorage for 1 I still wonder if we will ever "settle". We both have jobs and a roof over our head. We are healthy (for the most part...lol) we have food and all our needs seem to be met, but I still wonder "What's missing"? We do so much together that I don't know how to do things alone.With it just being the three of us, it can get lonely.I miss my friends.I miss my family and I miss the familiar sights,sounds and smells of Idaho. I forget how easy it was to get around town. I never thought about it, just drove. Here, I still struggle to find work sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I get out and I find my way, it just takes time and patience that I am not good at.We are so much better off here with Tony's work, but I still wish I could have all this and live closer to my family.I want Alaska and my friends and family. Karter is still missing Kuna and his friends.He had such a hard time fitting into this school and I don't think that helped, but this year is differant. He is doing allot better and next year, we go off to Jr. High.It is amazing how fast he has grown. Next thing I know his voice will be changing and he will want my car.Tony does seem to like his work. It keeps him busy and he gets outside allot. He's not a bench worker at heart.
I wanted to say something wise and fantastic about finding new adventures and loving the life in Alaska, but I can't seem to get the right words.I am thankful for the new opportunities and the blessing of Tony's job.I am thankful for our time together as a family, but I am also drawn to the familiarity of routine and security in Idaho.
Know you are all loved and missed very much! As of tomorrow, it is official..we are Eskimo's and full residents of Alaska.
For real at last!
The Davis Eskimo's

The Art of Sleep

After several years of not sleeping and keeping my husband up with snoring,I decided to take control. As some of you know, I have battled this before, but this time I will win. Last July I had a sleep study. At the study they hook you up to a machine and watch you sleep. How you sleep with all those wires, I don't know. I did the study and found out that I in fact have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea effects many people.It is not just a "weight" issue. I thought that for years, but even at my lightest, Tony still kicked me in my sleep. I found out I stopped breathing 48 times in less then 45 minutes.No wonder I can't get good rest. They set me up with a C-pap machine (which I hate) but I try every night to build a strong relationship.It is the hardest relationship I have ever had.I then had my nose fixed. Seems I was not breathing out of it. What was it doing on my face, I still wonder. That was a month ago.I am re-training myself to use my nose and it seems to be working.Funny after 39 years, I have to teach myself to use my nose. OK, what I am getting at is as follows: I have this ritual every night now to help me sleep. I have the following in my room, just to get ready for bed.

1.C-pap machine (Full face mask)
2.Fleece sheets (ooh so soft)
3.4 blankets including the mink blanket
4.4 pillows
5.Electric blanket (compliments of Peterson Family Dentistry)
6.1 box fan (on High)
7.T.V. on sleep mode to watch days of our lives at 10:00
8. 1 yellow lab
9. Cold bottle of water

I go through all this to get 8 hours of sleep.I am still trying to get a full 8 hours with my mask, but I get only 4-6.Depends on how tired I am and when I rip it off and toss it on the floor (This is done in my sleep) I have noticed that I am breathing better and am more comfortable, but after I thought about it today....it is a fine art to sleep!
Love to you all
The "sleeping" Eskimo's

This blows!

The adventures never fail to come here in Alaska. We have had a gorgeous fall and as of Tuesday...first day of fall, we turned on the heat.I was afraid that when we moved I would only get two seasons, winter and winter, but Alaska did not fail me.Eagle River is beautiful. As you know, per our photo's, we live at the base of the Chugiak mountains.We have so many trees that are in fall colors.It looks like someone patched together a quilt on the side of the hills.It has been sunny and crisp. Just the other night we had a hint of smoke in the air that was from the burning fireplaces.I love that fall smell.The leaves have collected in small wet piles of color. With a slight breeze of just a walk will make them scatter up into the sky.
September is a slow month in dentistry.Seems everyone is busy getting back to school and a work routine that we get put on the back burner.As some of you know, I have sleep apnea and I sleep with a c-pap machine. Now, it is a love hate relationship.I have struggled with it off and on now for 3 months.After this struggle, I went to an ear,nose and throat Dr.He informed me that I was not breathing with my nose and that that was a major issue since the c-pap works with your nose.After meeting our deductible this year and all our medical is covered at 100% Tony decided that I should get my nose fixed.Good for Tony. I am sitting here typing with a pack on my nose and 5 of the most annoying painful days I have had in several years.I have these 3 inch plastic splints in my nose (To keep it from healing)that are nothing but trouble.I can't breath,sneeze,cough,talk or move without a nose muscle.Good job Tony! I know that this will all be worth it in the end(hahahah) but right now it just blows! This is what September has done to me. Dr. Guy went to New York for 6 days and I got to stay here and have my nose done. It is HUGE.Karter and I went to see "The Lion King" at the Atwood center in Anchorage and I swear I had the biggest nose in the theater. He LOVED it. I was so pleased.I now have a friend to go see musicals with. Culture in this boys life!
Tony is doing well. Got all his projects done for the summer. He has some slight sinus issues this week that required medication, but we will just add it to his other meds. Who's counting! Karter is fitting in well with his new class schedule and sorry to say out of 50 kids running, did not get voted class president. He was sad, but 50 kids? He was pretty broken up about it, but after a pizza and diet coke...he is good. He is down to 133.5lbs and needs a belt! I am very proud of him! Nanoock and Barkley are good. Running the back yard. We are planning a trip to Fairbanks in October to go fishing and see James. YUCK! I really don't want to go, but James has been bugging me for a year.I hate Fairbanks. But, maybe just maybe the fact that I can leave will make it better. I do hope to get to church when I am there....that will be great to see my old church family. SO, you are up to date on the home front! Hope this finds you all well!
We love you!
The Eskimo's