Priorities...

A while ago, I had complained that I didn't have enough time to do ANYTHING.

I even went so far as to make a LIST.

My list went a little something like this:

I wish I had more time with my family.
I wish I could ORGANIZE my house.
I wish I could catch up with Laundry.
I wish I could learn to say NO to people.
I wish I could just SIT THERE AND DO NOTHING.
I wish I had more time to bake.
I wish I could be a stay at home mom.
I wish I could homeschool my kids.
I wish I wasn't such a perfectionist.

Oh Lord, its hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way!!! (Hmm...)

And so on, and so forth.



Well... be careful what you wish for. Cause pretty much everyone on my list came true when I got sick. I couldn't do it myself, so my friends stepped up and helped. If they didn't DO it, they perpetuated the motion that forced ME to do it.

Now, my house is clean, the laundry is caught up for the first time EVER, I DID get a lot of time to just sit there. I have been baking more, with the kids. I sit there and have them cook dinner, bake muffins, cinnamon rolls, bread, and rolls. My daughter has been cooking dinner every night for the past week.



Last night, as I watched and guided her, she sauteed onions and carrots, stuck some Chicken thighs in the onions and browned them in the pot. Then she covered them with water and chicken base, and boiled them for about 25 minutes. She then made a flour water mixture and whisked it into the chicken broth and thickened it. While it was boiling, she popped open a couple of Pillsbury Grands Biscuits and popped them into the oven. After adding a bunch of spices to the mix, dinner was done. A semi-sort of take on Chicken with dumplings, but made by a six year old.



For the Church potluck on Sunday, Koy made Monkey Bread as I gave him the recipe that I have memorized in my head. 45 minutes later, out came the ooeyest gooeyest monkey bread one could imagine. (and of course, I shouldn't have any!)



They've been happily home every night cooking and baking up a storm.

After our Chicken-a-la-Kaisa, we played Bananagrams. Such a blast to play. Its sort of a take on scrabble that anyone who can spell simple words can play. Even though I am much more advanced than my first grader, she is a wonderful reader and speller, and can play with the best of them. She oftentimes beats her brother! We sometimes argue about how to spell a word, but other than that, she pretty much kicks butt playing any sort of games!



Now that I am fighting a few illnesses and am prone to catch every bug around (thanks to a supressed immune system), I've caught a flu bug. My body is aching, and my stomach burning. But I'll kick this, just like I kicked the last illness. Cause, I finally was able to see my priorities and follow them from now on!



And..."Lund is a word MOM, its on the SIDE OF OUR BOAT!" Seriously, she's only SIX!

How native is YOUR white husband?!

So, I don't know what the "PC" term is for my husband. Up here in Northern Alaska, we just call him WHITE. :) I mean, either you're white or your native. Even though I'm exactly 50/50 white/native, I'm still considered native. I don't know why that is...it just is.

So, he's white. I'm married to a white guy! But, man, he is the MOST NATIVE white guy I've ever met. Well, except for maybe my dad. I swear they are simply pigmentally challenged native men with blue eyes. Such dreamy ice blue eyes, sigh... (ooh, sorry.)

My husband is a great native. Better yet than that, he likes to make me stuff. Like ulu's.

I love me some ulu's.

I use them for everyday cooking. My ulu's and my Rachel Ray knives and my pampered chef cutting boards and bowls are my bestest buds. They spend their days with me cutting and mixing and making fun things for people to eat.

My husband made an ulu today for a friend. Qaagraq. I hope she likes it as much as I do!

We use ulu's for everything from cutting animals, to skinning, to chopping, to slicing to cleaning your fingernails! (Maybe that's just me...)

They're the best knives ever. Especially if you like Pizza! (Cause they're the best pizza cutters ever.)


Moose antler handled ulu with handsewn leather sheath.

looking_air@hotmail.com is the email address if you're interested...

CRAFTY!

So, I'm sort of on light duty for all my home duties, including cooking, wifing, momming, cleaning, walking...etc.



And my husband is off now for the next ten days, on his regularly scheduled days off. So, we do what we can. And that's to be CRAFTY!



I was told today, "you are really Eskimo!" In a good way. And, I'm happy to be called Eskimo. I AM Eskimo. I carve, and sketch, and sew, and etch on baleen, and make earrings, and bead and just about everything else Eskimo's do that's crafty. And I love it. I love sharing it, and teaching it. (Can you tell, I'm just full of love! haha)



I watched in amazement as my husband made a knife and sheath in under three hours, for a family friend, to thank him for all the help during these past few weeks. He's a man's man, and what do manly men need? Knives!



Especially Eskimo Manly Men!



Normally, I'd be doing my own thing, but my life has suddenly forced me to take time to do everything. And I'm thankful for that. I was able to actually watch him work. And seriously, I feel ... so ... proud!



I didn't actually get to watch the knife making, but I did watch him make the sheath. A thick quarter inch piece of leather, hand cut into a single sheath to fit each knife perfectly.



Concentration, and perfection.



So, for those of you who are interested...he DOES make custom knives for people, with custom colors, custom designs, and custom sheaths.



This one, though, was given to Qaluraq.

Back to the grindstone...

I'm home, thank GOD, and on the mend. On the LONG journey to be healed.

While I was gone, I missed out on a few really important things.



Really important.

Among other things, the eternal Eskimo in me is very disappointed that I missed my son's first seal catch. NORMALLY, this eski-momma would have called an elder and had EXACTLY what I needed to butcher the seal ready so that the elder could simply enjoy the entire thing without worrying about taking care of it.



Sometimes elders like to take care of seals and so, we would just bring said seal to their house, and say, "Here you go," and allow the elder to talk to the young hunter about the hunt.



Koy was able to catch his first Uugrukchiaq (smaller bearded seal) and it is sitting under a tarp frozen waiting for an able elder to take care of it. I feel like a failure as an Eski-momma.



I forget how old I was when I went out first, but I got to go hunting a lot with my uncles because I was a good shot. There are a lot of different traditions that Eskimo people practice. My tatta did a lot of things that I thought were sort of weird growing up, but now, I'm trying to grasp exactly what he did out there. For one, you give the seal a last taste of salt water, to guide their spirit to the spirit world, or their form of heaven.



So, right now, I'm back and staring at the seal outside. I have an elder, but he is in a village, so I'll have to figure out how to get it out there...(airplane!?) Of all the things that are bothering me, you'd think maybe my hands, or my feet, or my lack of ability to take care of my family would be. But just sitting here NOT able to take care of that seal is driving me crazy. I am seriously tempted to call someone and have them like...be PAID to take care of it. Ugh.

Maybe it's time for my six year old to cut up her first seal alone. I forget how old I was, but man...it was hard.

On another note...my hands look much worse that they are feeling. I have some feeling back in my left hand, but not much. It's a long road, but it's happening. I just wish it was during a time when there's nothing to do in AK. That way, I wouldn't miss out.



Funny though, is that my son missed the largest wrestling tournament in bush Alaska because he was run over by a trailer full of seals. I mean, where else are you going to hear that?!

"Was this a work related injury?"

"Why yes, yes it was!"

I wonder if a 13 year old can get workman's comp for hunting for his family and getting run over by a trailer!??

A little late, but HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

My cousin Stacey did the honors of taking "Alice" and "Mario" trick-or-treating in Kotzebue.



Thanks Stacey!

Although Kaisa was super disappointed in not being Little Red Riding Hood, she DID get to use Clara's SUPER DELUXE ALICE costume. So, it was grand.



She DID take the "not-dumb" pillow case and fill it to the brim with all that sweet, sweet sugar that coincidentally, I can't have. It's hiding under that same pillowcase in the kitchen. All teasing me and stuff.



Sigh...

P.S. PERFECT costume Clara!

Goodbye sweet love!

So, as I sit here getting better, I am having a SERIOUS craving for a White-Chocolate Caramel Mocha from Terra Bella.



But guess what? I can't have one. UGH. Unless its a fat-free, skinny sugar-free kind.

Why? I have some awesome drug-induced diabetes. Great.



Bye, bye Sweet, sweet sugar. So long garlic mashed potatoes. Toodeloo homemade egg noodle pasta. Bon Voyage homemade dessert every night.



Ohhh, my teeth hurt and my stomach aches for your sweet taste enveloping my mouth. My body (literally) shakes at the yearning I'm feeling for you.



Alas, I will pass you by as I drive my ride-a-long cart within the aisles of Target. I will give up visiting you at the Great Harvest Bakery. My fingers will stop filing through the pages of that Taste of Home Holiday Magazine.



Oh, sweet, sugar and carbs, Goodbye forever!!! WHY? WHYYYY!!!!!???


(or at least until I'm off this stupid drug, and then...IT'S ON!)

Tough little kids...