Volcano!

Who knew that when our squadron came to Alaska this year we would be facing the threat from a volcano. Every other year we go to Hawaii, but this is our Alaska year. I never expected volcanic activity.

Late last week, we experienced an earthquake. I was debriefing after a flight, and thought one of the pilots was shaking his leg so much that he was shaking the floor. It was that night that I realized it was an earthquake and not a jumpy pilot.

The quake was just a precursor to increased volcanic activity. We are now in Alarm ORANGE and under a volcano WATCH. This all means that Mt Redoubt could erupt anytime in the next few days. Our next step would be a WARNING and alarm RED, meaning the eruption in imminent or occurring.

They aren't positive it will blow, but signs are pointing that way. The last eruption was in the late 80s, so they are due. If it does erupt, Anchorage will most likely be buried in a few inches of Ash. I have no idea how long it would take to get planes back in the air after an eruption, but I'm guessing a few days. We are near the end of our time in Alaska, but if the volcano blows who knows when we'll get home.

Tubing and Flying

The other day, I went tubing here in Alaska with 2 guys from my crew. We had SO MUCH FUN! It was like being a kid in my backyard again. I went flying down the hill and over the jumps. It was great! I was exhausted and soaked after 2 hours, but it was well worth it. It would have been better if I could have gone with Greg, but maybe we can go on Saturday.

Other than tubing, I've been sleeping and flying. As you my know, the NW has seen many storms this year with record snowfalls in WA and OR. Because of that, we've been flying everyday. More accurately, we've been flying every night. It's tough to fly on the other side of the clock. I listen to my IPOD in one ear and sing along to stay awake. Since the plane is so loud, no one can hear me sing, so it's OK. My friend Kait lent me her thermos, so I've had plenty of great coffee on the flights too.

It's no easy to stay awake, but it's all worth it. The data we collect improves the forecast for the West Coast by 25%. It's pretty darn cool!

POWER YOGA!

So my friend Dena suggested we go to POWER YOGA up here in Alaska. Why not? Yoga has been suggested to me by doctors, chiropractors, friends, enemies... I figure now was my time.

We went on Tuesday, and it kicked my butt! However, it felt so good on my back. It stretched me more than I've been stretched. It also made me realize how weak I am. Balancing on 1 leg shows you how weak that leg it. I also discovered that my left side is really weak. Do you see a trend yet? WEAK!

Now, on Monday and Wednesday I also went running. Elemendorf AFB has a BEAUTIFUL new gym with a track that is 1/10th of a mile. It's banked at the corners, so if I try hard I feel like I'm on a NASCAR track. Varoom!

Back to yoga though... We went back for another round of POWER YOGA pain today. It wasn't as fast, but worked different muscles. My arms feel is right now. I'm tired! I do love yoga though! I need to figure out how to put it into my daily life back at home. With my bad back, some work on my core muscles are needed.

Speaking of work... have I mentioned that I'm doing a half marathon next December in Vegas? Yup, Kari Kennedy strikes again! Who would have thought you'd be reading these things about me? Deeann, exercise, what???

Alaska

Greg and I have arrived in Alaska to fly for the next few weeks. It was a great trip up with a stop at McChord AFB, WA, my old stomping grounds.

So, I had to take a picture of my old office door to prove it. Oh the memories. It was the best first assignment I could have ever hoped for! I do miss Washington.

It was pretty foggy, so I didn't see much, be we did get some pretty cool pictures of Mt Rainer.

I also took some pretty cool pictures of the view of the mountains from the plane. When I took the picture, it made the propellers look like they were coming apart. It's a cool affect, so I thought I'd share it. Enjoy!

40 pounds

Yes, I've lost 40 pounds! That is equal to...

4.8 gallons of water
160 cups of flour
A medium size dog
about 4 cats
A 4 year old child

Yeah me!!!

5 MILES!

That's not just a subject line. It's the mileage I ran today!!! Yeah me. In the words of my sister... I rock!

I'm in Mississippi right now, getting ready to head to Alaska to fly storms tomorrow. Anyway, I've been here for a week and have really enjoyed running outside again. I feels so good! The fresh air, the pavement under my shoes, the sights, the sounds, the lack of going in circles. Perfect! Plus, the flight line at Keesler AFB is my FAVORITE place to run. I love seeing the WC-130s take off and land. It's cheesy, but it's very top gun.

So, I've been feeling really good running my 3 miles, and decided to make it 5 today. To do that, I ran completely around the flight line! Not exciting for you guys, but I'd never made it past the golf course, so it was HUGE for me.

I feel such a giant sense of accomplishment. It feels amazing!

It's even more important, because I just agreed to do a half marathon in December 2009 in Vegas with Kari. It didn't take a bit of arm twisting, because I'd been thinking for almost a year that I wanted to do that. It was on my list of life goals. It should be pretty darn cool.

Beer!

Greg and I received a beer making kit from the boys this Christmas. We made our first pale ale a few days ago. It started bubbling away 2 days ago. Now, it's settling and waiting for bottling day!

So, when Greg comes home we'll be bottling our first beer! I hope this works. However, if it does this may become yet another hobby of ours. It's pretty fun though. We'll see how this goes.

In one month we'll be able to drink our first creation. It's perfect timing, because we'll be in Alaska as it's aging. What a nice surprise when we get back!