Reflection & Appreciation

I know I’ve been a little MIA the last week and a half. And as much as I hate when people start blog posts off with the whole, “I’m sorry I haven’t been around…” spill, it’s the truth. I hate when I’m missing from my little online space. Something about being able to put onto my computer screen everything that’s going on seems to relieve some tension and make me feel better.

Things have been busy, to say the least. Morning sickness has mostly subsided, but I’m still super tired by the end of the day and all I really want to do is go to bed. Not to mention, my workload is crazy right now. I’m polishing off the last few projects on my list from April and starting on May’s client list. Needless to say, I spent the end of last week working my butt off in preparation for our trip to Anchorage this week.

So far, after only a day and a half into our mini-vacation, I realize how little the Coast Guard Base in Kodiak has to offer its residents. I know our Base is smaller and that the Coast Guard doesn’t get near the same amount of funding that the D.O.D. branches of the service get, but seriously? This base is…unbelievable when compared to ours. I know that there are a lot of people in Kodiak who work hard to make what we do have so nice, but this base and their amenities kind of put ours to shame. The Commissary/Exchange? Bigger than our Walmart. And, did I mention that there’s a Starbucks ON base?

It’s been an exciting to trip so far; and if I can thank Kodiak for anything it’s that I’ve learned to appreciate the things that once seemed so common to us when we lived in Alabama. Like the luxury of being able to get out and go shopping. In a store. With options. Instead of online where you’re guessing at quality and size (and paying outrageous rates for shipping). So far since we’ve been here I’ve been to the Olive Garden for lunch, Target twice, Kohls, the Apple Store and a handful of other stores while we were in the mall. And each trip felt like Christmas morning. I’ll be so thankful when we move back to the Lower 48 and these tiny little perks of life off island become the norm again.

I want so much to say a few things that are on my mind right now. I need to post one of those “certain things/people suck” kind of posts, but I want to hold off. There are just some things I don’t need to share on this blog because I don’t want to intentionally hurt anyones feelings. But…if some of you were here right now to sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee and nice long chat with, I’m pretty sure I could talk your ears off. I need a good venting session. Thankfully, my husband knows what’s on my mind and why I’m frustrated (as is he) so he listens to me when I need it. He’s kind of awesome like that.

I picked up a new MacBook in the Apple Store yesterday so that I could get some work done here in Anchorage while Josh is in school. I’m hoping that that’s going to help with my lack of blogging skills as of late. After sitting at the computer for most of the day to work, by the time I’m finished designing, I really don’t want to sit at my desk and write. I had a lot of really annoying back pain with Noah that has started to flare up already in this pregnancy. I was hoping that it wouldn’t be a big deal, but so far, it’s kicking my butt. Here’s hoping that a laptop and a nice comfy bed at the end of the day will entice me to blog more again.