you got homework, boy!

Called a parent tonight.

Father: "What? My son has homework?"

Me: "Yes."

Then father proceeds to kick kid off of every possible electronic device...

"GET OFF THAT IPAD! NO IPHONE, NO COMPUTER, NO NOTHING! YOU GOT HOMEWORK, BOY!"

Man, the kid's gonna love me tomorrow.

"people that needs happiness"

These are the kind of paragraphs that make me love teaching. This one calls for a "bless his little heart." He obviously isn't from the U.S.

Time Travel, Angels, and Explosive Puppy Diarrhea

Today I fly back to Barrow, God-willing, of course. I hear the weather is an iffy thing in various parts of the U.S., but so far everything is a go for my route.

Speaking of my route... Check it out.

Atlanta to Seattle
Seattle to Anchorage
[long middle-of-the-night layover with a not entirely potty-trained puppy]
Anchorage to Fairbanks
Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay
Prudhoe Bay to Barrow

It's roughly 24 hours of travel. And honestly, it feels more like time travel, and let me tell you -- time travel is nothing to sneeze at. It's quite exhausting.

Granted, I am only time traveling back four hours, but still. Transitioning from east coast time to Alaska time wears a girl out.

So, here it goes.

Honestly, all I want is for Quya to not have explosive diarrhea at the Anchorage airport like she did two weeks ago.

** This post is dedicated to the stranger (angel?) who saw my distress at the airport and cleaned up Quya's disgusting mess by baggage claim #3. Thank you.

A Christmas nap. Honkshu, Honkshu.

Jesus Can Break the Chains of Addictions

My heart's prayer is for them to be free from alcoholism, drug addiction, and abuse.

Lord, hear our prayer.

tatqiaġik | for the moon to shine brightly

We've had some beautiful moonlight lately.

The streetlights make everything look yellow.

The ice formations on the wood are really quite interesting. It looks like some sort of white growth.

See my nice little tree? I put it up the day after Halloween.

Quya has been having play dates with Gracie, a practically hairless Weimaraner with Herculean strength. It's good for both of them to get their energy out indoors because it's starting to get too cold for them to go out for long periods of time, especially Gracie.

Yes, Virginia, there really are igloos in Alaska.

Every year there is a family that builds a giant snowman and igloo. You can't tell from the picture, but there are neon lights flashing on them. Also, since the time of this picture, they've built a seat into the front of the snowman so that you can sit and have your picture taken.