Keep the Crazies Out!

I’m so glad that I live in rural Alaska. Sure, we don’t have a theater, mall, McDonalds, Costco, or other major shopping centers, but what we do have is far better. We have subsistence in our backyards: a river, ocean, and tundra that fills our freezers each year. We also have protection from crazies that live in bigger cities like Anchorage and Fairbanks because we are cut off from highways and freeways. The only way to get to Unalakleet is by airplanes or boats in the summer. In the winter people from surrounding villages drive their snow-machines between villages. I highly doubt crazy people from big cities are going to drive snow-machines up to my town to commit murder.

Besboro Island Sunset

I remember living in Anchorage when my sons were toddlers and I would not let them play out in my backyard without watching them like hawks. In Unalakleet our kids play out freely all the time because we don’t have to worry about strangers kidnapping our kids nor do we have to worry about serial killers or drive-by shootings.

Reading the news just depresses me nowadays. Every single day, there are shootings and stabbings in Anchorage. I don’t know if the increase in crime rates is connected to the legalization of marijuana or the introduction of synthetic marijuana, but it really scares me. People are dying left and right and there just seems to be no end to all this crime.

The link below is a news article from the Alaska Dispatch that talks about the jump in crime rates in Anchorage. In the article, it states that there were 11 shootings just in the month of January and nearly half of them were drug related.

http://www.adn.com/article/20150129/spike-violent-crime-be-met-police-shakedowns

I keep reading about prison deaths and people dying from synthetic marijuana. Many of the stories in the newspaper seem so surreal. I’m hoping and praying that synthetic marijuana stays out of my town. I don’t want to worry about my relatives or friends losing their lives to drugs that should not be here.

My town is far from perfect. People bring in alcohol and marijuana, but they keep things civil; for the most part. The fact that everybody knows everybody keeps people in line. In bigger cities, individuals can get away with murder because they are not known, but in villages a killer will be found right away and prosecuted. They can be identified by witnesses or neighbors. On top of that, the whole village knows the individuals who are a bit kooky so it narrows down the suspects.

For now, I am grateful to live in a small town, secluded from big cities. It may be more expensive to live here, but our future generations have the luxury of safety and subsistence. I’d like to keep it that way.

Modern Ice Fishing

On Sunday, my family and I took a ride upriver. We didn’t take a snow-machine or four-wheeler like most people would. Because the river ice was frozen over and there was no over-flow, we decided to take the Jeep up. I know, it sounds a bit scary, but it’s a pretty common thing to do around here in the winter. With the temps being so low for weeks now, the river is frozen solid.

It was a beautiful day to go upriver. The temperature was about 24 degrees Fahrenheit and there was no wind to speak of, which says a lot because we have been having windy days almost everyday this winter. Everybody and their grandmas were upriver fishing. People drove up by snow-machine, dog team, four-wheelers, trucks, and SUVs. On our way up, one local man was towing several tall logs behind his Ford F-150.

Cassidy ice fishing for her first time

My husband drove my mom, niece, daughter, and I upriver in our Jeep. It was nice to go upriver and stay warm. I still bundled up because we were planning on jigging for trout. If we hadn't taken the Jeep, I wouldn't have been able to bring my six-month old daughter with us. I would worry that she would get too cold and sick; plus a baby on a snow-machine just isn't a great idea overall.

Ayuu trying her best to catch some trout

 We forgot to bring bait so we didn't have any luck catching trout. I told Ayuu that we would go upriver again next weekend, but would bring bait so we could catch. She and I are both avid fisher-women. She caught her first cohos this summer and she is hooked on fishing! :) My mom hasn't been upriver in years so she was excited to tag along. Although we didn't catch any fish, we all enjoyed the outing. My mom said if anyone asks what we caught to say, "fresh air". As long as we didn't catch a cold, all is well.

My beautiful mother enjoying the great outdoors

I Choose Not to Vaccinate

I’m part of this secret Facebook group, which consists of mothers around the world who had babies in August of 2015. Anyways, we discuss all kinds of things such as when our babies say their first word, their first time sitting up unassisted, their first time rolling over, rants about family members, questions about vaccines, whether or not our babies sleep through the night, how much breast milk our little ones eat, how much breast milk we pump, when we or our babies get sick, and so forth.

Being part of this secret group makes me realize how lucky I am that my baby, Cassidy is so healthy. I’m always reading about babies getting sick because he/she got shots that day or came home sick from daycare. Coming from rural Alaska, I don’t really have to worry about my baby coming home sick from daycare because our town doesn’t have a daycare center.

I made the decision to not vaccinate my baby because I noticed how sick my boys would get each time they were vaccinated: Brian especially. I looked over his health records and noticed that he got sick up to 16 times in his first year. He had upper respiratory infections, ear infections, was always wheezing, runny noses, fevers, vomiting, etc. It seemed that once he finished his antibiotics, he got sick all over again. Within the same month of getting his vaccines (2, 4, 6 month) he would get an upper respiratory infection. It was tiresome and frustrating because I couldn’t figure out why he kept getting sick. Not only did he have respiratory issues, but he also had skin problems (eczema and diaper rashes) and digestion issues (chronic constipation).

I admit I was young and naïve when I had my first two boys. I received pain medications during my labors without reading up on potential side effects they might have on them. I let my boys get vaccinated without reading the ingredients in each vaccine. I just went with what the health “professionals” said to do. They were so pushy about me getting the flu shot while I was pregnant. They were pushy about giving my boys vaccines too. They handed me papers with information about each disease the vaccines protected against, but these papers did not disclose serious side effects or potentially lifelong problems they would cause them.

It didn’t take more than a day before my boys would get sick after getting their seven-in-one-day vaccines at 2, 4, and 6 months of age. They would always get fevers, become increasingly fussy, get runny noses, wheeze, lose their appetites, and sometimes vomit.

My daughter, who is now 6 months old, has not had the same experiences as her brothers. Even when I had strep throat, she did not get sick. There was a day when her nose was runny and I thought she was getting sick, but by the next day she was perfectly healthy all over again. This last week, everyone in the house, but her caught a bad cold. The only time she had a low fever was when her first teeth were coming in, but she responded well to Tylenol. I strongly believe that my choice in not vaccinating her plays a huge role in her not getting sick. She is a happy, healthy, amazing baby girl. If I could go back in time with the knowledge I have now, I would in a heartbeat. I would protect my sons the same way I am protecting their baby sister. 

If my choice offends you, I urge you to look up the CDC website and read what they put in each vaccine. You’d be surprised to see and maybe, just maybe you would change your mind about vaccines as well. 

Baby Cassidy as healthy as can be <3

Excuse Me While I Hibernate

Wintertime is really hard for me. I don't know about you, but this cold weather really bogs me down. If it's not 10 degrees out, it's blowing 40 mph. Also, there isn't enough snow to really do any kind of normal winter activities like sledding and snow-machining. Our ocean is not frozen over. Our tundra is brown and bumpy. The kids want to stay inside and play video games. Times sure are changing.

I really cannot wait until summer. At least then I can go out boating, fishing, berry picking, and take in some Vitamin D. I've been feeling really tired lately. I wonder if it's the lack of sunlight.

A typical winter day for me consists of: waking up at 6:40 am, expressing milk for the baby, getting ready, getting baby ready, packing her diaper bag, dropping off baby to the sitter's, get to work, get off work, check mail, pick up groceries if we need any, go home, cook, wash dishes, express milk, eat dinner, drop off Keane to basketball practice, go home, have a snack, express milk, put baby to bed, watch Gilmore Girls, go to sleep. If I have any extra time I bake. Some days, it feels like there is not enough time in the day to get things done. Maybe I need two of me. Then my house would be extra clean! :)

On Sunday, I actually took a snow-machine ride upriver with my husband. This was my first ride of the winter so I was extra sore for the next two days. Anyways, we took a ride to Chirosky and just to the side of the trail there was a dead moose caught in an old snare. It was really sad to see such a large animal caught in a snare: left to die a slow, painful death. Who leaves snares and doesn't check on them? It's downright disrespectful and that moose is most likely going to go to waste: a cow moose at that. Just think that cow could have had offspring and provided our locals with meat in the years to come. 

On a happier note, it's caribou hunting season. Hopefully we get some caribou. Freezer could use some filling up on healthy meat. I'm tired of cow and pig. Anyways, it's about time to head to bed. I have work in the a.m. More another time.