Thursday, November 12, 2009

A Breezy Night in Juneau & other news

Wind gusts over night include one at 132 mph on Sheep Mountain (from http://www.kinyradio.com/)
A wind advisory is in effect through nine this morning.
Gusts to 50 miles per hour are expected.
Meteorologist Michael Mitchell in the Juneau Forecast Office says there were gusts to about 40 miles per hour at South Douglas. There was a gust to 46 at the Federal Building and it hit 49 miles per hour at the airport.
A 63 mile per hour was recorded at the Mt. Roberts Tram. There were gusts to 85 at Eaglecrest and a gust clocked at 132 miles per hour was recorded atop Sheep Mountain.
The Southeast winds are forecast to diminish to 15 miles per hour this afternoon.

And this one, too:

Studio settlement reported for fake movie news

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports Universal Pictures has agreed to pay $20,000 to the Alaska Press Club to settle complaints about fake news archives used to promote the move "The Fourth Kind."
The Anchorage lawyer who negotiated the settlement for the Fairbanks paper and six other media outlets, John McKay, said the fake online stories undermined the credibility of the news organizations.
Universal created a series of online news articles to promote the movie about a plague of alien abductions in Nome a decade ago.
(Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)

Sunday, November 8, 2009

We have a winner! Oh, and one more thing...

Last post, at the very conclusion of my rambling, I issued a challenge of sorts and I'm excited to announce that we have a winner. Woo Hoo!!! (Make sure to read all the way to the end of this post to see an additional question, with more salmon for the first correct answer.)

Hearty congrats to the Nowak family and their brilliant (yet humble) daughter Brooke for offering the correct answer which is "Robin Hood"! The opening song that is repeated throughout the movie is quite catchy. It's one that sticks with you fo' dayz!

I'll get a few cans of yummy salmon to you guys soon. Maybe I'll include some recipes in case you tossed all your Alaska-themed cookbooks when you moved to the LoneStar State.

CONGRATS AGAIN, Nowaks!!

*** More salmon will be sent to the first reader who comments with the name of the artist who sang the Oodalolly song for the movie... NOT the character (Rooster), but the artist. GOOD LUCK!

Friday, November 6, 2009

The Rundown from Up Here (plus a contest...)


Yes, that's our first snow of the season; we woke up to it on Halloween day.


Ok, let's review a bit...shoulder: I'm scheduled to see the surgeon on Monday the 9th. I've been feeling pretty good since I got the referral. Methinks it is a reflection of how much I don't want to have surgery and how much better I have just been dealing with the inconvenience and (slight) pain.


In a related story, I got my bloodwork results back and everything was normal (including glucose, which is a HUGE concern of mine since diabetes runs in my family), EXCEPT... my Vitamin D levels. Normal is apparently 32 to 100. My number was 16.5, which is common for folks living in Southeast Alaska. The symptoms of such a deficiency are sluggishness (yes!), headaches (yes), lack of motivation (yes), and excessive sleeping (yes). So I've gotten myself a bottle of Vit D and am to take 7000 IU daily for the next eight weeks. (The normal USDA recommended daily amount is 400 IU.) Anyway, I'm anxious to see how things are in a few weeks. I'm excited that this may be just the ticket to me getting more done around here, and in a much more pleasant manner, I might add. I'll keep you posted. Down with SLOTHITUDE! :)


Halloween costumes! So, let me just say WOW! We had a successful holiday if the costumes and candy are any indication. Gwen went as Belle from Beauty and the Beast. She looked beautiful and regal and very much the lady. She was so over-the-top compared to her classmates, but I seem to recall the same thing happening to me as a girl (in costumes such as "soccer ball", "southern belle", and "two-headed scarecrow"). I even let Gwen wear some lipstick - she thought that was awesome, but passed on the eyeshadow, wrinkling up her nose and saying "ewww". Gotta say I wasn't too upset about that! Gwen was a little shy about approaching houses, but Amelia just marched right up and yelled out for tricks or treats.

Amelia (Boo Boo) went as Boo from the movie Monsters, Inc. At the eleventh hour I got a sweet costume finished by utilizing my sewing machine for the first time ever. No pattern, very little measuring, but it turned out so well! Amelia was coached and kept saying things like "Mike Wazowski!" and "Kitty!", lines from the movie. She even had a Sulley doll for Daddy to carry around while they were out on the town begging for treats.

I've got some better pictures but I'm having a hard time using the laptop to get then on the blog. I'll work the kinks out soon and share more later.


And in the vein of the ever-popular BLOG GIVE AWAY, I'd like to offer a can (or more, depending on your family size) of locally caught and processed Coho (silver) Salmon to the first person who can name the movie this phrase is from....


"Oodalolly, Oodalolly, Golly what a day!"


Enter your guess/answer in the comments section and I'll get that prize out to you ASAP.
Good luck to all!