This Used To Be Fun

After a week of step aerobics (without the step), I needed a change of pace. I hadn't done my Cardio Salsa DVD in about a year, so I took it out and did it. It's a fast DVD, and would be more fun if my ankles weren't bothering me so much. I simply can't do the moves as completely as I want, but hopefully with time that will get better. Back in the day, I used to go dancing at latin clubs, and it was a LOT more fun than this *sigh*.

Step Lift Step Lift

I dug out my Jane Fonda Step Aerobic tape, and holy cow I'm tired. How bad is it when I get sweaty during the warm up? sheesh

The Perfect Burger and Fries

Oh my gosh, I just might have to try these! Here are the instructions.
I added her link to my Blog List as well. These are just too cute!

Lovely Day

This summer we've had extraordinarily beautiful weather. Last summer was cloudy and rainy, so I'm loving the opportunity to enjoy my deck. We spent a lot of money on it, and Bill thoroughly enjoys just sitting out there surveying whatever it is men survey when they sit on the deck.

Last Sunday Bill, Cassandra and I spent nearly the entire day outside in the backyard. Anyone who knows me knows I don't go outside too often. Even though we have beautiful summers, we also have mosquitos the size of garbage trucks. They've been known to carry away small family pets and the stray unattended child. Bill put up several tiki torches filled with citronella fuel to help keep them away (the mosquitos, not the stray unattended child). It seems to help, but then there's the weather. Usually, it's not warm enough for me to stay outside for more than half an hour. The sun has to be out in full force for me to be comfortable out there.

Last Sunday was Absolutely Perfect. We had breakfast on the deck, and I stayed out there awhile looking over the shrubs and flowers. I had also planted some romaine lettuce and celery in containers, and I checked to make sure they were doing OK. Before long it was time for lunch, so once again we ate outside. It started getting hot, so I put on my shorts and Cassandra and I played with her bubbles. We hadn't done that in a long time, and we had a blast trying to assault Bill with bubbles!

After that, Cassandra went inside to do whatever it is she does, and I stayed outside just enjoying the sun. Our thermometer steadily climbed until it got to 88 degrees. Towards 4pm, I got a pitcher full of ice water and a towel so I could periodically cool myself off. I finally went in about 5pm because I was burning up and had had my fill of nature.

I'm not overly fond of hot weather. I could never live in the South where they have heat AND humidity. When we travel South, I'm completely miserable. The air up here is very dry, and it seldom gets above 75-80. Last Sunday was a perfect combination of warmth and opportunity to enjoy it.

*Sigh*

OK, some of you know that I work for a road maintenance company. We have a rogues gallery of employees. Among them are two convicted sex offenders, a convicted murderer who was told by the state of California to get the hell out (why do they always come to Alaska?), and the assorted drinkers slash ne'er do wells. Problems crop up every now and then, but it's not really anything that other companies don't deal with. My boss keeps them because they're good at what they do, and they keep showing up for work because no other employer will put up with their crap.

We hired one such person almost a year ago. I'll call him John. John was married and had two small children. He also had a girlfriend on the side, and she had a husband of her own. He was in and out of jail three times in the last year due to various girlfriend-related events. Most of our employees work 50-60 hours a week, but John couldn't even put in a full 40. He'd either leave early to see his girlfriend, or be in court. He was trying everything he could think of to get his wife to move out of the house with the kids so he and the girlfriend could live happily ever after. His wife wouldn't, and even got a job so she could support herself and keep the house. John started "living" in his car. He used the house to shower and do his laundry, but he slept in his car. He was broke, and he lost a lot of weight.

I'm talking about John in the past tense because he shot himself in the head last Monday, and died instantly. He and his girlfriend were sitting in his car around 5am in a National Park parking lot. A policeman came to the window to tell them they had to leave the lot. John asked the policeman to please give him a few minutes, and as the policeman was walking away, John shot himself. We can only theorize why he did it. We're assuming he didn't think he had much of a life. After all, his wife wouldn't leave her own home to allow him to move the girlfriend in.

Yes folks, that was my coworker. What a pisser.

Lots of Daylight

In Alaska, we get a LOT of daylight in the summer. Of course, we have to put up with a lot of darkness in the winter, but all the daylight makes it very hard to want to go to bed. Today we're getting 19 hours and 15 minutes of daylight! How can I even think about going to bed at 11pm when it's not dark??

The first photo was taken from my front porch on May 14 at approximately 10pm. The second photo was taken on June 6 at the same time. The first thing I noticed was how much greener the grass is, lol! The second thing is that the second photo is showing a shadow across my grass, so the sun is noticeably higher, and above the tree line, at 10pm.