A trip to Anchorage-
Technically this was another "work trip," but it was really geared towards letting us see our co-clerks again (except for the other 2 that live/work in Juneau with me and the 1 friend that came to visit Juneau, I haven't seen the other 11 clerks since September) and to attend the FAB holiday parties around town. Knowing that I wasn't going home for the holidays this year, I took this time as an excuse to binge eat holiday treats. I also learned to cross country ski (at night, of course). Oh, and after arriving late to the court system fiesta, we had to eat Mexican food in the middle of the black lights of the dance floor surrounded by perhaps the worlds tackiest DJ. It was wonderful! The view from the plane on the way too home was none too shabby either (check it out for yourself).
Christmakkah in Juneau-
Perhaps the hardest part of not going home this winter was missing the holidays (and holiday cookie baking). However, many of my lovely friends were also in town so we just made our own Christmas (complete with a prime rib that took over 3 hours to cook...dinner before 10 PM on Christmas Eve, what?). Beth (my roommate) and I decorated our place and put up our own tree and my friends and I did a little grab-bag gift exchange. Just last Friday (as in January 13th), we had our office holiday party. All in all, I think I went to 4 different holiday parties where I got presents...so I definitely did not feel like I was missing out. Here's a look at our apartment all decked out
Juneau New Years-
Oh New Years. What a hyped up holiday! Here in Juneau, we don't pay money to go to the "hot" parties or stand outside to shiver while watching a giant ball drop. Oh, no. Here, there's only one party in town so everyone gathers at the wharf (after attending various preparties) and the whole place turns into one giant club. At midnight, we still had a countdown and they dropped some big spider balloon thing from the ceiling (at least it looked like a spider to me...maybe it had a shape?). After midnight, the crowd slowly shifted to the bars to keep the party going. Eventually, Beth and I decided to head home...we had grand hopes of taking a cab (they're free on New Years!) but after realizing they were also super full, we decided to "start heading towards home." Really, that meant we trekked up the hill...did I mention the blizzard that night (tons of snow and wind)? Oh, and I was wearing heels (because that's practical). I made it home with all 10 toes. Enough said. And then we had a huge champagne New Years Day brunch. All I wanted was coffee...which I think means the night was a great success :)
The Rest-
Besides that, we've had a TON of snow lately (even though the rest of the country seems to be falling behind). I've been up snowboarding quite a bit. It's absolutely beautiful up on the mountain (imagine trees that look like standing mammals because they are completely covered in snow). I haven't taken any pictures because I'm afraid that I will fall and lose/break my camera, but I may get braver from now on. Really, there are several days where sitting on the lifts seems like a tourist attraction in itself...you get beautiful views of the surrounding area and it really feels like you're at the top of the world. It's not all blue skies...we've had some rain lately (bah), but overall it's been non-stop precipitation. Today, it finally cleared and we had some sun (shocking). They are even predicting sunshine for the next week (a feat that hasn't happened since I moved here...I'll believe it when I see it). However, when the clouds clear, it always gets colder here so I think the high today was in the teens and tomorrow it's somewhere around 8 degrees. Of course, that did not stop me from getting outside. I hiked up a mountain with some friends and then cross country skied to a nearby cabin to warm up before hiking down. Here's one of my favorites of the day:
Enjoy! If I haven't heard from you in a while, give me a call or send me an email. It's always nice to hear about the happenings down south-
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