Ahhhhh...warm breezes

From this:

To this:

We got lost after leaving the airport last night, so we 

finally checked into our room after midnight. Highways, 

toll booths, freeways--we have 14 miles of road total that

 we drive on--this takes some getting used to! We stopped

at a rest area to look at a map and there was a sign that

said  Be aware of venemous snakes in the area. I

would show you a picture but my husband is the only

one that got out of the car, thank you very much.

There is a hot pool with a hot waterfall outside our 

room so at 1:00am we were out soaking & swimming. 

It felt terrific after the long flight.

It is 70 degrees with a warm breeze blowing and I am 

sitting by the pool wondering what to have for lunch.

It doesn't feel like lunch time to me though...at home

it is 7:30 in the morning.

I have to set up for the early sales tomorrow and the

convention on Saturday, but for right now it feels

pretty good to just do nothing.

My husband and daughters left this morning for SC

to visit his relatives. Our rental car is a Jeep Liberty

so it kind of felt familiar. They will be gone until Friday

and on their way back down they are overnighting in

Jacksonville with some old friends.

Hmmmm now what to have for lunch...

TTFN

Ta Ta For Now--goodbye snow, hello sunny (I hope!) Florida.

MUSHROOM COFFEE

A few years back I was being treated by a naturopath for 

back problems and she shared a product with me that she 

had started selling. I had never heard of coffee made from 

mushrooms, but it sure sounded bad! I had developed some 

sort of allergy to caffeine too, so I was really missing having

 a good cup of coffee once in awhile. She made me a cup and 

oh my word I have been hooked ever since. It is made from 

the Ganoderma Mushroom. 

I recently became a distributor so I could buy the coffee at 

wholesale and maybe one day down the road I may build the 

business from home via the internet. For now I am just using 

the product myself and sharing it with anyone that wants it.

You can read a lot more about the amazing Reishi mushroom 

here, here and here. In fact, just do your own search online

to see what all the fuss is about.

The ganoderma is the king of herbs in the Asian culture and is 

known for a wide variety of more than 175 different nutrients 

needed for maintaining good health. I like the fact that it 

tastes better than most any other regular coffee I have tried

 and I am doing something good for my body when I drink it 

instead of feeling guilty about how bad coffee is for me.

The coffee is only sold in individual packets so the all organic 

Ganoderm powder is correctly measured into each cup. If it 

was sold in large amounts like a can the powder would all 

sift to the bottom. 

Yes, it is more expensive than regular coffee, 

but for my health I think it is worth it. If anyone is interested

 in a sample I would be happy to mail packets out when I get back

 from Florida. I also have a personal website I can send you to with

prices, etc. on it. It may surprise you how good this stuff really is!

I DIDN'T KNOW THE OCEAN STEAMED

We are definitely in the throes of winter now, with lots of snow 

on the ground and more falling everyday. The temperatures have 

been in the teens and then the sun comes out during the day. 

Yesterday the sun came streaming out and the ocean had steam 

rising off of it! I have seen that many times on lakes and ponds, 

but never a body of salt water. Click the pictures to make large:

The mountain is glorious with a covering of pure white snow.

See the steam rising?

Uh-oh. The not so neat part about snow and icy roads...I had 

just come home about 5 minutes before this and mentioned 

how icy the roads were. We don't get very many accidents here,

so when something does happen the response is immediate 

and numerous. The person from the car was standing there 

and I counted 18 people within 5 min. that showed up to help.

Look what I got for Christmas from my husband! I 

have already made noodles for chicken noodle soup  

with it and after tasting fresh pasta I am afraid I will 

never buy store bought again! It is super simple to use, 

my younger daughter and I made the noodles in a short 

time with just eggs and flour.

When I get back from Florida I am going to try 

decorating a cake with fondant and the pasta maker will

be a big help in getting the fondant flat and I can also use

it to cut strips and pieces. Now all I need is a birthday to

make it for  LOL

LOCAL GIRL MAKES GOOD

Alaska Airlines sponsored a contest to celebrate the 50th year of

statehood for Alaska in 2009. The winning student's artwork

would be painted on an Alaska Airlines jet, plus the Grand Prize

is a vacation for 4 to Disneyland--how cool is that!?

The winner is Hannah Hamberg from right here in Sitka:

WHAT INSPIRED HANNAH'S WINNING DESIGN?
¨Growing up in a small town in Alaska, I've seen how Alaskans 

work together and help each other. My design was inspired by

the way that we all ‘pull together.’

I made my first rough sketch on the ferry riding from Juneau

to Sitka, where after lots of thinking, I came up with the idea

of a musher being pulled by several sled dogs. I looked at my

sketch and thought about all the amazing things that surround

me every day; the wild animals, the people and culture, and I 

realized that there was something missing. 

I thought my design would be better if I replaced some of the

dogs with symbols of things that make Alaska the special place

it is: the ferries, the native people and their culture, the bears

and the whales, and of course the head sled dog to lead us to 

the finish line. I can't wait to see the finished plane land at the

Sitka airport!¨

— Hanna Hamberg, Grand Prize Winner
(Grade 11, Sitka High School)

You can visit the official website here and see all of the other

excellent artwork submitted by Alaskan kids.