Lions, and Tigers, and BEARS...Oh My!

My first bear sighting was tonight (August 28, 2010) at about 8:30 pm. The bottom two pictures are from my camera and lens... you can tell how far away the bear really was (don't worry mom!) A very nice man next to me had the same camera, but a MUCH better lens, and let me borrow is for a little bit, and those are the top two pictures. Obviously, a much bigger zoom!

It was so exciting to finally see one... I have been dying to since we got here. I was actually told where to go look earlier today, and I was able to talk Kevin into going and check it out with me. While we were driving down the road we could see cars lined up with people standing by the guard rail taking pictures. We knew there was a bear, so we stopped and ran over. Everyone was so friendly and talked to each other. Apparently, the same few bears are out in that area at the same time every night. I'm hoping I can get Kevin to go out again tomorrow a little earlier so we can catch the bear fishing.

In other exciting news... my mom got engaged tonight!! I still haven't heard the whole story, but her boyfriend Bruce (who I helped set her up with in the beginning) has been planning this for some time now. He actually sat and talked to my sister Lauren and called and talked to me pretty much ask our "permission". We both adore Bruce, and know that he will make my mom a very happy woman. I can't wait to talk to my mom tomorrow so I can hear all the juicy details!! :)

Anchorage Trip!

Tuesday Kevin and I took a day trip to Anchorage. We rode a Coast Guard C-130 plane, which was an experience in itself. First of all, it was SUPER loud! We were given ear plugs to wear, and it was still so loud you couldn't even talk to the person sitting next to you. Secondly, when we flew onto Elmendorf Air Force base in anchorage the whole back of the plane opened up...like the stuff you see in movies where they parachute out! We were already on the ground, but it totally took me by surprise. The seats in the plane we like old, hand-me-down seats from a real airplane and it sat 51 people surprisingly. Once we landed, we were on the middle of the run way at the Air Force base so you can only imagine the planes we saw. There were these jets that were "practicing" or something that were pretty awesome looking. I will have to ask Kevin what they are called again, but everyone was super impressed. I got a few good pictures through the window on the bus we rode to the "terminal" so I will try to upload those a little later.

Once we were there, the day flew by! I definitely realize now that a weekend trip would be much more productive. We wasted so much time getting our rental car and dropping off equipment for the Coast Guard. We ended up eating breakfast at IHOP and I have never enjoyed my french toast more in my life! It was AMAZING! After that we went to a small mall that had an American Eagle, Old Navy, Pac Sun, etc. It was your basic mall- but still lacking a lot of stores. After that we went to a shopping center with Target, Kohls, Sports Authority, and Best Buy. We only had time to go into Kohls and Target. Everything was so rushed and not what I was expecting at all. Next we went back to the base, picked up some paperwork, and then went to another mall. This was like the holy grail! It was HUGE... and had everything! I wish we would have just spent the whole day there.

Either way, I'm glad we went. It was nice to see what the real world looks like. I was disappointed we didn't get to eat at least one other meal there, but it is probably for the best! It was definitely hard to come back home after that trip. I have no clue how I am going to handle it when we go home for 2 weeks!

Diary of a Mad Hungry Woman

Well hello there long lost friend! I'm so sorry I have been mistreating you! Things have been so busy and I have been so tired by the time I get home from work that I haven't had any creative juices running. Plus, to be completely honest... my life is pretty boring! I do have some upsetting news about the City of College Station and the EXIT Teen Center which is where I worked all through college, but I will save that post for when a little more information is released.

So onto why I decided to post tonight. First, Kevin is working nights so I am stuck at home watch the Disney Channel (don't judge...). Second of all, since Kevin is working tonight, he asked me to bring him some dinner. We have seen several commercials about these new tacos from Taco Bell called "cantina tacos". They resemble out favorite taqueria tacos, so we were pretty excited to try them out. Taco Bell is one of the 3 places we have to chose from, so new menu items is almost like a holiday! Here are the tacos I'm talking about...

They look pretty good right?!? I mean... as far as fast food tacos can go! The onion, cilantro, and lime is what "makes" our favorite tacos- so these had to be just as good, right? WRONG!! First of all... every one of those ingredients that I was looking forward to was MISSING! All that was on my taco was tomato...which I hate! Thankfully we have limes at home (thanks to the in-laws!) so I scooped the tomato out, cut up some onion, squeezed some lime, and put some salsa on...by this time my mouth was watering! I took my first bite and my mouth was not very happy. I managed to think happy thoughts and ate 2 of the 3 tacos, before I felt like gagging. Not worth it at all! :sigh:

I guess I will just have to hold off until November to get some good tacos, but the wait will be well worth it!

On the topic of food... you would not realize how much one person could crave specific food until it is all taken away from you! I find myself dreaming about Chick-Fil-A, Whataburger, Cheddars, and all my favorite Mexican food places (Casa Rod, Taqueria La Mexicana, El Pato).

Thankfully we will be taking a day trip to Anchorage this Tuesday and we will at least have a few more food options. Although none of my "cravings" are there either, there are places like IHOP, Chili's, TGI Fridays, etc. I have a feeling they will have to roll me back onto the plane at the end of the day because I plan on eating something horribly fattening and delicious for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

Well...now that I have made myself sound like the fattest woman on earth, I will be heading to bed to dream of chips and salsa. Hope you enjoy the rest of this weekend, and I promise that I will be updating more often!