1. What’s something you enjoy that contains garlic? Bread
2. What’s something you enjoy that contains ginger? Gingerbread men
3. What’s something you enjoy that contains cloves? I had no idea what food has cloves in it, so I had to Google it haha, so pumpkin pie
4. What’s something you enjoy that contains cinnamon? Cinnamon rolls, cinnamon toast, etc..I love cinnamon haha
5. What’s something you enjoy that contains celery? Minestrone soup

Today when I got to work, it was FORTY-NINE DEGREES inside the building!! Considering it was almost -30 outside, that was not good. I called Vicki, who told me to call Shelby, who called our maintenance guy, who then called a guy who fixes boilers. Shelby didn't want to close the store, so we all wore our jackets and warmed up next to space heaters haha. The boiler was fixed about the time I left (the fuel pump wasn't working, I think), so by tomorrow it should be nice and warm again. My legs are still cold! *gets an electric blanket* The store was super busy (everyone was probably tired of being stuck inside their houses lol), so I guess it was good we braved being cold :P

( 3. Do you believe in soulmates? )

A book with at least three POVs: Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr (Jan 1-5). His best book is All the Light We Cannot See, but this one was pretty good too

A book with magical realism: The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker (Jan 6-10)

The 24th book of an author: The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah (Jan 11-14). Man, the Dust Bowl was brutal D:

A book with a title that is a complete sentence: Good Dogs Don't Make It to the South Pole by Hans-Olav Thyvold (Jan 14-15)...because they get eaten. O_o Amunsden may have "won," but Scott's expedition is WAY more interesting

A book written by an incarcerated or formerly incarcerated person: Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account by Miklós Nyiszli (Jan 16-17). He acted like he was privileged working for Menegle (*shudders*), while everyone around him was getting murdered..yikes. Not a fan of his superior tone in this one :/

A book where someone dies in the first chapter: The Ice Lion by Kathleen O'Neal Gear (Jan 18-20). A futuristic ice age!! I started the second one in the series today lol (for the "set in future" prompt)

A nonfiction book about Indigenous people: Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII by Chester Nez (Jan 21-23). I find the Code Talkers fascinating! It's so cool their code was never broken, which definitely helped us in various battles

A book that features dragons: The Mortal Word by Genevieve Cogman (Jan 24-28). The fifth in the Invisible Library series..I'll probably read the whole series eventually lol

A book that takes place over the course of 24 hours: Orbital by Samantha Harvey (Jan 29-31). Ughhh, I haaated the way this one was written..too bad, because it sounded interesting anyway. I don't necessarily mind descriptive prose, but this was waaay over the top and kept getting existential..bleh. Of course, most other people on Goodreads loved it..weird how I'm in the minority with books a lot lol

A collection of at least 24 poems: Approaching Ice by Elizabeth Bradfield (Jan 31). Meh, not a huge fan of poetry, even if there is a poem about Cherry haha

( the prompts )

One day I'll get 11 books in a month!! Definitely a fast month, wow

The weather has been brutally cold these past couple weeks..the lows have been in the -30s and -40s in town, and -50 in lower-lying areas. Work's policy is to close if it's -40 at 7 AM at the airport, but we haven't had to close yet. Not many customers come in anyway lol. Luckily by next week it's going to get above zero again, yay!

27. Do Your Television Viewing Habits Include ‘Binge-Watching’? Sure, if I have the time lol

28. What’s Your Sunday Routine? Go online, maybe go to the store to get ready for the week ahead, go home, put laundry away, read before bed..

29. Have You Ever Interacted With the Police? Yeah..they intimidate me even if I've done nothing wrong LOL

30. Should Prostitution Be Legal? Probably not

31. Do You Worry A Lot About Germs? Kinda, especially when people are sick around me

February 1. Are We Becoming ‘Numb’ to School Shootings? I think so, I feel like they barely make the news now :/

1. What inconveniences do you experience every single day? Being short haha, not wanting to get up because I'm comfy, etc
2. What do you wish you weren’t so often in close proximity to? The smell of weed..gross lol
3. This past week, what would you have appreciated some advance warning about? Abby had bloodwork done recently, and today I found out she's in stage one kidney failure. :( I guess with the food she's been eating nitrogen builds up, which can damage the kidneys. The vet gave me some food especially formulated for kidney health, which hopefully she likes. I'm glad it was caught before it got worse, but I'm still anxious about it (I hope it's not uncomfortable for her!). She's almost 19, wow! I'm definitely not taking my time with her for granted now, every moment is special <3
4. What caused you to smile happily today? Petting the vet's cat Glitter, and Glitter licking the bag with the food in it haha
5. When did you recently give in to a sudden impulse? Maybe when I had food from Sonic a couple days ago..

Brrr, it's -25 outside..Denali and the Alaska Range looked cool in the sunset though

( dec 28-29 )

Mom's friend Christine (who we visited in Juneau a couple years ago) slept over last night, and today we took a walk on the frozen lake (Ryan and Jo tried to go out with Sid, but he lasted like a minute haha). It was -11, but the walking kept me warm. Here are a couple pics!


I got frosty! I told mom she was Wilson, Christine was Birdie, and I was Cherry, because like him, my glasses were frozen and had to take them off haha. We pretended we were going to Cape Crozier (except we forgot our sledges, oh no!). Of course I had to think "stick it" too! It was fun haha (I'm even wearing my Cherry shirt today!)


I look weird without glasses, but it's still kind of a cool picture! Just going in your own backyard can be an adventure :D

( the rest of the 7th or 8th grade journal )

27. Your favorite place to be aside from your home? Valdez, in the mountains, etc

1. Do you have a yearly, or monthly, clothing budget? Do you stick to it? I don't
2. Do you buy trendy clothes, or classic pieces that can be worn for years? Classic pieces, aka t-shirts LOL
3. Is there a current fashion trend that you hate? Never really liked the ripped jeans trend..
4. Have you had clothing altered to fit you better? Yeah, I get pants hemmed because I'm short haha
5. Is there a piece of clothing, or accessory, that you covet? My opal necklace, comfy pants, etc

Brr, it got in the -20s today! Guess winter had to come eventually :P

I mentioned earlier in the year that my cousin Jordan's wife was pregnant, and she recently had her baby, which is named Evelyn Faustine Pfannenstiel..that's a mouthful O_o Grandma's a great-grandma now though, cool!

( last 6th grade journal entries )

13. Have you ever had a lemonade stand? I don't *think* so..I think Ryan and I tried once but dad didn't let us for some reason..

14. Do you think you look older or younger than your real age? Everyone thinks I'm much younger than 32 lol..they're always surprised when I tell them my age :P

15. Where have you lived throughout your life? California, Texas, Alaska

16. Do you want any piercings? No..I have excema, and that would NOT mix well with piercings

17. What’s your mouse pad look like? My laptop's is grey, and the one at my desktop has a mountainous icy landscape

18. Have you ever been to a psychic/tarot reader? No

19. How do you identify spiritually (do you follow a religion, what do you think about soul/spirit, etc.)? There must be something out there..

Temperatures in Fairbanks this morning reached near-record lows for the date.

According to the National Weather Service, the temperature of 22 below zero at 5 a.m. at Fairbanks International Airport marks the third coldest temperature recorded for Nov. 2.

Temperatures fell to 33 below on this date in 1907. Lows of 24 below were recorded Nov. 2 in both 1992 and 1975.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service is reporting lows of 25 below in North Pole and Manley Hot Springs, 27 below for Eagle and the Goldstream Valley, 24 below in Wiseman, 30 below in Circle and a whopping 40 degrees below zero in Chicken — marking the first time since 2008 that 40 below has been recorded this early in the season for the entire state.

This is also the earliest day in the season Fairbanks has reached 20 below since 1996, when temperatures fell that low on Oct. 25.

Expect similar cold temperatures tonight as skies remain mostly clear across the Interior. Also expect temperatures to remain chilly throughout the week until rising Friday, with highs are expected to reach the mid-20s above zero, with more snow in the forecast.

Wow..no wonder it was so cold in my apartment last night (the heat doesn't work well when it's that cold). Glad I don't live in Chicken LOL, brrr. It's supposed to be in the 20s again on Friday, which will be nice lol

I'm terrified, but still hopeful, of tomorrow (I hope my ballot made it through the mail alright!). Please let the right guy win, America :P

( 2. Have you ever considered moving because of an election result? )

Today's trivia: The most popular item at Walmart are bananas. They sell more bananas than any other single item they have in stock

1. What is your most recent experience with caring for plants? Hmm..I might have watered some in the past year or two, but can't remember for sure..
2. When was the last time you administered first aid? Not sure..
3. When did you last receive words of encouragement? Recently probably
4. When did you last hold a baby animal? It's been awhile lol
5. What was your last alcoholic drink? Champagne

How cold has it been this week? On Tuesday I put my regular shoes in a bag to take back to work..it only takes around ten minutes to walk there, but when I went to put them on, they were FROZEN. I now totally understand when polar explorers had to mold their shoes to the shape they needed, otherwise they'd be too frozen the next day to do anything with. That is CRAZY. It's supposed to warm up to -5 on Monday, yaaay heat wave :P

( Day 7-10 )

FAIRBANKS — Here is one explanation for why there has been so much complaining about the cold and the photographing of bank thermometers during a weather pattern this week that by Fairbanks standards isn’t particularly notable: While 40 below zero temperatures are normal for Fairbanks, it hasn’t been this frigid in nearly two years.

At Fairbanks International Airport, the temperature bottomed out at 39 degrees below zero on Monday morning during a cold snap that started Friday. The temperature has been even colder in the eastern Interior. Those temperatures are chilly, but far from unusual for Fairbanks.

“I was just amazed at all the hubbub about this. It really shows the effect of the new normals,” said Rick Thoman, Alaska Climate Specialist at the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. “No one in Fairbanks 1975 would have been oohing and aahing about whether it got to 40 below.”

But Fairbanks is entering this winter after the particularly warm winter of 2017/2018, during which the temperature never fell below 33 below.

The last time it hit 40 below in Fairbanks was on Feb. 12, 2017, when the temperature reached 41 below, Thoman said. In general, the temperature has reached 40 below or colder in 83 percent of winters since 1976, the beginning of the modern era of weather reporting here, Thoman said. Winters without 40-below weather were rarer before 1976, he said.

Although it hasn’t reached 40 below this year, there is still time for plenty of time for cold winter. The National Weather Service forecast for Fairbanks predicts snow and temperatures as warm as 7 below zero by Wednesday, followed by more cold air with temperatures in the 30’s below zero later in the week.

Wow. Yeah, I do remember a couple days last winter when it got in the -30s, but it was pretty warm otherwise..we must be spoiled now haha. My heat works much better now that it's "only" -11 lol :P

( Day 8: Your least favorite song from your favorite band )

Today's trivia: Bananas can't reproduce on their own. They are a hybrid of two other plant species. It has no seeds and has only been able to reproduce with the aid of farmers, who remove and transplant part of the plant’s stem in order to create more bananas

I never thought I would say this..but in March I'm going to California with mom to watch one of my cousin Scott's volleyball games at UC Irvine! I NEVER thought in a million years I'd travel somewhere to watch a sport, but I guess I am now LOL. They'll be playing Hawaii, which is one of the best teams in the country..# 2 or # 3 or something like that. I was excited when I saw it was Hawaii, because their matches against Hawaii are always super intense and exciting. Debbie (Scott's sister) is married to UC Irvine's coach, which must be interesting lol. I haven't seen them in quite awhile, and I've never met the coach and their daughter, so I hope we can at least say hi! (I asked Judy, Scott and Debbie's mom, if she was going to be there..she's not sure yet, but I hope she can!) I really want another picture next to Scott..it's possible he grew more since I saw him last, and even then I looked like a midget next to him haha (he's 7' and makes tall people like his siblings look short!). I'm also hoping to meet up with Dana, and catch up on geocaching lol (it's hard when you're with people who don't care about it, you miss so many of them!). We'll be gone about a week..should be fun!

One cool thing about it being -22: a Fata Morgana mirage over the mountains! It's caused by varying temperatures, and looks so cool!

( Days 5 and 6 )

Yep, Abby is definitely the kind of cat that loves knocking things off tables and stuff lol. The noise the cat made when Simon was drilling the nail had me LOLing :P

The sun starting to go down at 3 PM and -12 for the high? Yep, it's winter :P

( pics for nov. 17-20 )

Today's trivia: The Lincoln Tunnel (which connects Manhattan and New Jersey) is the only three-tube underwater vehicular tunnel facility in the world