Everyday Epiphanies

The Barut Expedition, Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Art of Dip Netting.

An amazing phenomenon occurs for a short time each summer in the Last Frontier as thousands of Alaskan residents, gather their long pole contraptions with large nets attached to them, strapped to their cars, trucks, campers, and RV, driving along the Seward Highway to venture on this fishing tradition.

As long as we’ve lived here, I’m ashamed to say this is the first time we’ve ever tried fishing. Well, there was that one time we went to the lake, rented a boat off Ft. Rich, and soaked up the sun. But no fish was actually caught,  but we sure "looked" like fishermen! But this time, this was the "real deal", I mean we came out of there reeking of fish!

This adventure, Dip Net Fishing,  is a privilege to the residents. It’s a time we fill up our freezers with Salmon, with the intention of filling it up, at the cap of 65 salmon for my household of 5. We ventured out into the Kenai River not knowing what to expect, but so excited for this once in a lifetime kind of adventure.

How does one dip net?
One must acquire a huge net, apparently, the bigger the better… we purchased what seemed to be a huge net for us, turned out to be a tiny net. Luckily, our good friends, The Newbys were there to get us the right gear!

We are outfitted with chest waders that will keep us warm and dry.

Holding your dip net straight out in front of you into the current, you wait….

Waiting may prove to be the hardest part, but on this day, we didn’t have to wait for long, to feel that tug in our net. Then you give that net a quick twist so the salmon can’t escape and walk backwards pulling the net behind and empty your fish to the shore.

 Once the fish is ashore, you may want to designate someone to be the official “Bonk The Salmon On The Head” or “Tear it’s Gills Out” position.


Then you clean that fish out (guts and all) and feed them to the birds!

Then, there you have it, your catch of the day!!!  And repeat the process... that day we caught 5 in just a few hours...


While the hubby fished... we sat in the sand, hung out, and most of all, loved on "Rhage"...





Stay tuned for Chapter 3, Fly Fishing and The Grizzly...

Blog to Book...

So Tonya (my boss and friend) came to work this afternoon to show me her latest creation... and I could barely pick my jaw up off the floor having those "Why didn't I think of this" kind of moment... As an avid "blogger" who pondered the very thought the night before, now that my posts have became few and far between, realizing that it does take "time" to blog. There are days I have a lot to share and on those days, I wondered how I would treasure these moments besides being on the world wide web. I have always "copy and pasted" my ideas and scrapped them, which is the reasoning for the birth of this blog in the first place. But after seeing how she turned her blog into a hard bound book about her life, I imagined several volumes in my bookshelf.

So this is what I'm doing tonight. Found a program on Blurb. It's uploading my entries as we speak. And in a few days, all that late night heartfelt writing from my soul to those not so abstract, will sit before me, just like a story book, to share with this family for years to come..

I've decided to do these books by years... I started in 2006, so here I go, down memory lane....

My Sister's Keeper...

is "weeping" the nation... well for me and my Monday Night Movie Crew, we were basket cases in the first 10 minutes of the movie... It was a great movie, makes you think and cry a lot... I have not had the chance to read the book (yet) but I hear the ending is different and you just get more details from the book, so that's still added to my Summer Reads... but be prepared, grab your box of kleenex, and go home and love on your children, cause this movie will tug on your heart strings.
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On another note, I had every intention of publishing Chapter 2 of our fishing expedition, but look at that time, 2 am, and a full day of work ahead...

The Barut Expedition

Prologue:  We've lived here for over 4 years, all of which, we've never "Gone Fishin'".  I blame it on his crazy hours at work, or the constant excuse, "We'll do it next year", then there's the crappy weather we've had the past two summers.. But either way, we've never ventured into the art of fishing till now, or anywhere outside of Anchorage really.  I like to think having "Alaskan-Friends" in our lives, like the Newby's, the Pepins, the Shoemakers, the Rodgers, and the gals at the scrapbook store, have encouraged us to get out there and venture out into The Great Outdoors. Albeit, there are so much more we'd like to do. But this is just the first step, I'm glad though, cause it really opened our eyes to really experience what Alaska has to offer.

Chapter 1: Destination Kenai, Alaska...

About 160 miles from our cozy little nest in Elmendorf AFB, a cabin overlooking the cook inlet with several mountains in the far off distance, await our arrival and for our 4 nights/ 3 day stay. With the intention of giving dip net fishing our first try at the Kasilof River to catch our very first salmon.

The 2.5 hour drive was not a very comfy one. With our truck filled to the rim and then some, 7 people in a 7 seater, leaving 2 hours later than planned on, oh and the kid who is sensitive to motion, hence the extra plastic bags, tons of napkins, and crackers. Made this ride an unpleasant one.

I didn't print out directions from mapquest the night before. But have no fear, the hubby with his handy-dandy GPS tracking iPhone was gonna bring us there. Right? Too bad Alaska has all these little roads in between that are not included in this new age technology. Driving along, I notice we were coming up on the road we needed to turn into, "Kalifornsky Road".  But the hubby with his "3G" said we needed to keep going straight. Hmm? It just makes sense doesn't it, to turn on the road we needed to be on? Long story short, we found it, 30 minutes later, going back on "Kalifornsky Road."

The cabin we rented was amazing! The kids had their own room, we (and Izzy) had ours, and the parents slept upstairs in a beautiful loft with an amazing view. It was equipped with everything right down to the towels and toilet paper, which seemed to be important to us "city-folks" who cringe at the idea of porta-potties.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our view (above) during the day was gorgeous! And (below) at night at 12:30 am overlooking the Cook Inlet and seeing Mt. Redoubt was amazing!

 

Kenai/Solodotna area is absolutely breathtaking! More to come, stay tuned to Chapter 2: The Art of Dip Netting... (bear with me as I make scrapbooking a little easier for me by journaling my thoughts down so I can just copy and paste it on to my layouts!)

Still Here...

... but not for long.

We are gearing up for a fishing expedition, Alaskan Style.. Oddly enough, I'm really excited. Not only do I love fish/salmon.. but the idea that I will be treading the Alaskan Rivers (Russian, Kasilof, and Kenai) with my waders, giant dip nets, my camo vest, and all I need is my Alaskan Grown Sweatshirt, then it's off fishing, Alaskan Style. I've never been the outdoorsy type, but on the flip side, I've never been a runner either, and now run an average of 25-30 miles/week. So I'm going with an open mind and an empty stomach!

Other than that... we've been busy with the in laws in tow and our fab weather, it's so hard to find the time and energy to sit in front of this laptop and surf the web.In between all of this I've been booking some summer sessions as well, making the most of our Alaska sun and creating meeting new clients.

Right Now (as seen EVERYWHERE!)

It's been a busy week so far even though it's only Wednesday night... The in laws are in tow and the hubby has no time off, so I am their official Alaskan Tour Guide.  My entries may be short (and in this case, copy and pasted) but I will swing by here every now and then to share what's going on in this life of ours..

(Izzy and her "mama" in the backyard at 10:15 pm)

Outside my window... The sun is shining bright at 10:26 pm and those clouds from earlier today has finally cleared up

I am thinking... about getting back to my BDB series.. it's killing me to know that I only have a few more chapters to go, but the mounds of photo editing await me.

I am thankful for... steak. I love me some steak! (Of course, my family, and the in laws who have been here for 3 days thus far who has been spoiling us)

From the kitchen... steak... nice hearty New York Strip and Rib Eyes.. yum! And fresh Pineapples from home.

I am wearing... American Eagle Sweats.. comfy!!

I am creating... my visions from this weekends weddings.

I am going... to work tomorrow, gear up for a nice outdoor run when I get home (it's supposed to be warmer), and plan our weekend getaway to Seward and maybe Homer...

I am reading... (insert blush) Butch's story (Book 4) of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.. and dying to get to Book 5.... 

I am hoping... to take the in laws to Kenai for fishing!!!!

I am hearing...  ESPN.. apparently Shaq has been traded to Cleveland.. fast forward, wouldn't it be nice to be Cleveland vs Lakers next year and end up with Kobe Vs. Shaq... Not to mention LeBron's chance to the championship!!!

Around the house... the shines through the windows, illuminating this house into some golden resort...

One of my favorite things... getting a phone call from Erica (and seeing the photo that pops up, we have our favorite characters from the BDB series, she likes "John Matthew" I'm totally a "Zadist" gal)

A few plans for the rest of the week... playing tour guide to my in laws who are in town till the 11th of July.  We will be heading to Seward on Friday then to Denali Saturday afternoon till Monday... Then Kenai 3rd of July till 5th...

Behind The Scenes.

"Today, many will rise above their believed limitations and make contact with their powerful innate strength. Why not you?"

 

 

After the anxiety the week prior, thinking of doing another wedding, let alone two, back to back, (insert self doubt)... the day or weekend was finally here!  That anxiety has turned into something more... a hop in my step, a big grin on my face, and somewhat of a "swagger" in my demeanor as I can proudly say, that we are placing another wedding under our belt. 

And as we placed the truck in park in that church parking lot, we were ready, in fact more than ready, we knew, we were gonna "rock" it and do what we do best!  A silent "who-rah" was exchanged between Paula and I as we double checked our equipment... We placed those camera straps over our neck and walked in..

 

To sum it up... we had a great time!!!  We captured so many great moments and ended up with so many amazing "creative" shots. (The kind that you keep going back and thinking, "damn, we did that?") 
With each wedding, we are getting so much more comfortable and believing in ourselves and in our "creative" ability to help make this day unforgettable for them. Showing them a different side to this special day, through our eyes...

"A firm belief in yourself is all that is needed to alter your life.
No one except you alone can change your life."

Lil Box of Sunshine...

I went down to the local Photo Shop here in town, Stewarts, looking for a diffuser for my flash. But they did not have the basic diffuser, so I opted for a mini softbox.

And so far I'm loving it.. It's like a mini Box Of Sunshine ;)

Here's WITHOUT the diffuser, harsh lighting...

And this is WITH my Little Box Of Sunshine...

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I stayed up till 4 am this morning and finished Book Number 3!  And not wasting anytime to start on 4! (That's 6 books to date for the summer, oh it's gonna be a good book reading summer!!!)

 

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I also stopped by Nordies to see get some shoes and I ended up buying 2 pairs. (But later that night, I returned the Dansko pair) and opted to buy it at Skinny Raven instead, Ms. Dansko (aka Paula) said they had more choices at the other store. But kept the first pair: (I love them!)

Just gearing up for back to back weddings this weekend!!!  You probably won't hear from me till after the weekend. I hope everyone has a great weekend and Enjoy your Father's Day... (Did I mention my In Laws are flying in on Sunday...)

See You Later...

For kicks, he calls us his "step family". 
He loves being with us.
We welcome him with open arms.
He's like a son to us.
A sibling to our children.
He's sweet.
Thoughtful.
Always courteous.
I never hesitate when he wants to sleepover.
Not even for 7 days in a row.
We've known him for almost 3 years.
When he's away, he calls us.
When he can't spend the day with us, we miss him.
We're so used to having him in our home.
But this summer, he'll be leaving.
Although only for a couple of months.
But it will seem like a lifetime for my kids.
We're gonna miss him...

See you in a couple of months "My-Son" (Mason)...

A Disconnected Kinda Weekend...

I had a lot of thoughts that ran through this head of mine this weekend and I wished I used that iPhone App that can record your voice to good use, cause as I talked to myself (don't worry, I don't answer myself) about my thoughts I thought it would make a great post.  But all that energy has subsided and gone out the window, and I'm left with remnants of what was too short of a weekend. I stuck to myself and the family, with minor fits of "rhage" that stemmed from the need to have this unrealistic idea that this house should be clean 24/7.  There were times, I took myself to the bathroom, shut the door, and just sobbed.  Not wanting anyone to know that I can't handle a house of 3 kids and a husband on 12 hour shifts, I regained what energy I had left, and moved on. "It is what it is." That's what I kept telling myself just to get me through.

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This weekend, I stayed away from the computer and internet, with the occasional facebook status updates via iPhone and just read..  a lot!  I'm already on the third book, which for me is quite a feat. That only means one thing, this Black Dagger Brotherhood series, is Ahh-mazing.. I'm trying to "recruit" people into reading the series, so I can develop group sessions to discuss the book ;) 

Hubby and I enjoyed just "chillin" at home, without worrying about errands, or having to be anywhere. He's a big gamer so while he did his thing, I sat next to him and scrapped. It's been a while since I paper scrapped for me and it was sure a treat to do a few layouts and a mini book.

 

 

And I finally scrapped one of those Weekend In Photos.  I loved the idea of capturing a weekend in photos and had fun scrapping them in this scallop album. (here are just a few pages)

 

 

 

 

It's late, but I need to get a few chapters in, cause I'm just dying to know what happens next with one of my favorite brothers, "Zadist"...