Currently living/working: Uniquely this winter, we both actually have 1 job outside of the house; both allow us to make our own schedule. Justin is still working part-time for Discover Denali, our borough’s visitor center that promotes tourism beyond Denali National Park into the surrounding gateway communities. My job is with Alaska Geographic. Some might recall I worked for this company during the summer as an educator. This winter, I am stocking the tiny store inside Denali National Park’s winter visitor center while my friend (who is the manager) is traveling. Regardless, I am loving it as it brings me back to my Hallmark days (where I worked for nearly SIX years from ages 16-21).
Current mood: I’m just hoping 2025 is just a teensy weensy easier than my soul-crushing 2024. (I am allowed to be a drama queen on my blog.)
Currently proud of: In the backpacking world, Backpacker Radio is one of the hottest podcasts out there, and I’ve wanted to be a guest on the show for quite some time. It finally happened—our 2-hour (!!!!!) episode went live this week!
Current guilty pleasure: Alaska winters typically turn us into the least productive versions of ourselves with a mushy pile of unaccomplishments, and we’re embracing the winter big sleep after another dizzying summer of seasonal work.
Currently thankful for: Being home for Christmas versus traveling was divine. We went all in on holiday spirit—cutting a tree for free from our backyard, decorating our cabin with salvaged 1970s pieces from my mom’s house, opening our yurt for a little getaway and enjoying some framily traditions.
Currently amazed by: I keep challenging myself to hike/ski/bike more miles each year, but I’m not sure how I’ll top the 300 miles I logged in 2024 (unless we ever do another thru hike … one can dream). I do want to celebrate the fact that I barely managed 100 miles in 2020 and 2021, and have since tripled my annual mileage.
Currently worried about: There are wolves in our neighborhood. Yes we live right next to a national park, and wildlife is common. But not wolves normally & unfortunately, they even killed a few neighbor dogs. While it’s been fascinating to see large foot pads with claw marks & scat around the neighborhood, I’m not really sure how I’d handle it if I found myself surrounded by a pack of wolves?!
Currently regretting: If you didn’t notice, I skipped sending Christmas Cards this year. I just didn’t have it in me, but hopefully I’ll get it together for 2025!
Current confession: Last January-April, I watched at least 30 Hallmark movies while caregiving for my mom. Leading up to Christmas, I decided I missed them!!! So I started a tradition of watching a Hallmark movie on the nights Justin plays poker.
Currently excited for: We have a lot of friends lined up to stay in the yurt this summer already … but really cannot dole out any more “friends & family” discounts if we want to make a living off our yurt rentals 😉
Currently not excited for: We don’t have a lot of winter neighbors, but we have a new one right behind us. Not only does he have a very annoying barking dog, he also has a coal stove and the smoke blows right in our face as we open our door to go outside. (Side note: Healy has Alaska’s only operating surface coal mine.)
Currently reading: Now that 2024 is over, I’m proud to say I surpassed my reading goal of 25 books with a total of 35 books read! It’s the most I read any year! The Goodreads roundup says I read about 10,000 pages, and I really discovered lots of gems this year.
In December, I finished off the year with 2 books:
There is a book club in my community, and unlike other book clubs, it’s the kind where there is no set number of members and it’s not exclusive. I’ve basically been sitting on the sidelines of this book club for 2 years, and the stars finally aligned that I could get my hands on the book they were reading and make the potluck/discussion. So my first book club book was Stolen by Ann-Helen Laestadius. It was LONG. And I did feel like the first half moved at a snail’s pace, while the second half moved at lightening speed. Still a worthwhile read if you are interested in a cultural behind-the-scenes look into reindeer herding among the Sami indigenous group in the Nordic region.
My second book club read was Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingslover. This fiction book is the kind that intertwines 3 parallel stories from southern Appalachia. Besides the rich character development and pot, the nature-focused writing was lyrical. It’s my first Kingslover book, and I think I’ll pick up others from her.
Currently watching on Netflix/Peacock: This is embarrassing, but you know how each app gives you an end-of-year summary? Our “Peacock Unwrapped” streaming stats told us we watched 140 episodes of Below Deck this year. Below Deck is also the main reason we have Peacock. Since we discovered the show in January 2023, we have blown through all 11 seasons of Below Deck, 2 seasons of Below Deck Australia, 9 seasons of Below Deck Mediterranean, 1 season of Below Deck Adventure and now we are halfway through Season 4 of Below Deck Sailing Yacht (there are only 5 seasons of Sailing Yacht). Thankfully, there are new seasons coming out, but we will still experience withdrawal at some point.
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I forgot you worked at a hallmark store long ago; no wonder you enjoy your current job of stocking! Too bad about your neighbor. That’s scary about the wolves. Although you say it’s been “warm” in Alaska that’s still too cold for me!
So, this whole time I thought Below Deck was some kind of Drama but wow, it’s reality tv! I didn’t know!
I always forget you also worked at Hallmark! I was only there for junior/senior years of highschool, though.
I love how your yurt is basically a second floor to your cabin, just down the street!
Also, getting onto Backpacker Radio—awesome! That’s great! Hope you get a lot of new book readers, too! Will listen this week.