Loving Kodiak!

I has been almost 3 years since we moved to Kodiak and it is still one of the best decisions we have made.  Yes, it's very remote and far away from EVERYTHING but that's what is also so great about it.  You get to know just about everyone here rather quickly being such a small community and that can be good and bad.  If you find someone you don't click with, unfortunately you WILL run into them just about everywhere.  But most of the locals are truly wonderful and full of helpful hearts.  With the Coast Guard base and a Navy training base here, every spring there is a huge turnover with transfer season that brings tons of new faces and a change in dynamics that is both inspiring and sad at the same time.  It's starting over with friends, neighbors, volunteers, etc. that can make it bittersweet.

There seems to be more to do here than anywhere we have ever lived and so many great experiences for kids.  We have been busy with 4-H, community art classes, gardening and just enjoying the beauty of Kodiak with tons of hiking, fishing and beach combing.  There are very active church groups of several denominations, other kid groups like Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and FFA, also an active gardening group, actors guild with some pretty impressive productions. There really is no other place like it!!  That's why we have called it HOME for almost 3 years and not sure when we are moving off the rock.

Kodiak, AK

Yes, I fell off the blog-bandwagon... after a crazy, whirlwind of a move to Alaska, we've been spending every waking moment enjoying our new environment.  I can't even begin to explain how beautiful it is here...even on a gloomy day!  The island has not only met our expectations but truly exceeded them in the 7 months we've been here.  We knew we loved Alaska when we vacationed in Juneau several years ago but really did not comprehend how much we would instantly love it as a home.  Here are just a sampling of pictures of the scenery...

During a hike on Near Island...

 

 

 Cloud break after several days of rain, it was nice to see the sun peeking thru, shot this at Deadman's Curve...

 

 

 Another pretty shot of the sun burning off the clouds after a morning rain shower and blessed us with a beautiful rainbow...this picture doesn't quite capture the colors but still beautiful!!

 

 

 Anther Near Island picture when we ventured around the float plane area.  Just gorgeous and these guys are flying all around the island as long as the weather is ok.  They are sooo picturesque!

 

 

So there is a sampling of where we have moved and started our new adventures...Kodiak, Alaska.  We hope some family and friends visit soon!

 

Menu and To-Do Board project

I have to start off by saying... I LOVE PINTEREST!  There are so many great ideas and pictures that really get your creative side flowing!  I looked at several ideas for a menu board and then came up with this variation for our family.  I found a plain cork board at Savers for super cheap.  Touched up the black frame with some black paint (it had a few dings and scratches).  Then mapped out what I wanted on it.  I used a ruler and permanent marker to draw out the grid and then wrote in my titles.

In the top left corner I put 'The HAGEN family' then 'Menu' and 'To-Do'. Down the left side are the days of the week and at the bottom 'Reminders'.  I had a cute basket that I mounted to the right to hold my laminated slips of paper to use along with some dry-erase markers.  I found some cute push pins, a cute sign and greenery to hang up on the top and viola....my project is done!  I LOVE IT!!

Alaska....

So, the latest and greatest is that my hubby Larry interviewed for a job last week and it'll be in Kodiak, AK.  Now, I have a LOT of mixed feelings about this new turn of events.  He rec'd a call yesterday that he is a top contender and they are checking his references.  That means we should know something by the end of the week.

There are a lot of pros and cons about this possible move!  First of all, I am very close to my family (even though we don't live that close currently) and it would be even harder for me to get home (Rapid City, SD) and almost impossible for them to visit in the future.  (I do have family also in MI and MN but I was born and raised in SD.)  My husband isn't as close to his family so it's not much of an issue for him.  All of our parents have some health issue of one thing or another plus, I still have a grandmother alive and an older aunt that I am close to.  I really don't get to see them that much now but it does cross my mind on how much longer they will be around.

It is a given that moving is a pain in the butt, but besides the family issue, there really is nothing else stopping us from going.  We love the outdoors, we have been to Alaska before and LOVED it.  My hubby loves to fish and we'll be right near a Coast Guard base that is huge so there will be plenty of amenities and opportunities for us.  I love that there is only 11 or so miles of roads on the island and you can only get there by plane or ferry.  And besides, it can't be THAT remote if there is a Wal-Mart there!  LOL  Everything I have read and the pictures I have seen (both summer and winter) have made me excited for this new adventure.  This week could be a huge turning point in our lives...I'll keep you posted on what happens!! 

Bell's Palsy...

Well, I was diagnosed with this annoying disease about 3 weeks ago and I must say it's been frustrating!  The scary part was that the initial symptoms are similar to a stroke so the first day I had any symptoms, I was tired, my left eye kept going out of focus and later in the day, I went to brush my teeth and it was very hard to spit.  I looked in the mirror and the left side of my face was not responsive to anything I was trying to make it do.  When my hubby got home, I had him look at it and said we need to go to the urgent care and see what they say.  30 minutes after that, I was in the ER for more testing to be sure it wasn't a stroke.  I guess the initial test they have you do is see if you can raise your eyebrows...if you can only raise one, then it's probably  Bell's Palsy, if they both raise, then it's possibly a stroke.  It has something to do with the 7th nerve and where it runs and what it operates.  There is a much better description from the Mayo Clinic, check it out here http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bells-palsy/DS00168. 

So since this is supposed to be temporary in most people, recovery time anywhere from a few days to a few months, and then the severity of it can vary as well.  I can sleep at night ok, my eye for the most part shuts but it does get drier and tired from not being able to close fully when I am awake.  I bought some real tears eye drops that help with that.  Trying to put makeup on this eye is interesting too...like putting it on a different person since I don't have all the feeling there.  My mouth feels like I went to the dentist and got some drilling done minus the pain of a filling or whatever else.  It's easier for me to drink from a straw, I cannot whistle very good, spitting after brushing is about impossible eating anything big like a juicy burger is almost out of the question and some pronunciation of words can be tricky (esp. words with f or p sounds).  I read to my daughter almost every night and at first this was difficult.  For the first few weeks, I had an aching pain in my cheek, beside my eye and along my jaw.  It got severe enough a few nights that I had to go to the dr. to be sure it wasn't anything else...he just gave me some good pain killers so I could sleep and after a few days it mostly went away.  Almost like a ghost ache or something.

My droop is not really noticeable if I keep my face expressionless.  As soon as I talk, smile, smirk or whatever, then it's noticeable.  I am hoping it will go away soon, my hubby says that it seems my mouth is moving a little better.  I think it may be that I am learning to annunciate and move my mouth differently to get the words out more clearly.  Who knows...I would rather him be right but I really don't see any changes in the mirror so that's what I'm basing my observation on. 

Another thing I figured out after diagnosed is that this is not that uncommon.  I never have heard of it or heard of anyone having it but as soon as I spread the word to my family and friends, the stories were coming out the woodwork.  I found that it is common to happen to mother's during child birth and can go away just about as fast as it started.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my days are numbered and the end is near...I never realized how much I miss my smile until this!  And I like to smile a lot!

Happy New Year!!

2013 is here and I think I am ready to make some changes!
Resolutions aside, here is my 'hopeful' list for this year!
1) Eat healthier
2) Exercise more!!!
3) Try to get the family 'unplugged' for 2 days a week
4) Spend more learning time with Morgan
5) Do more activites outside like camping, hiking, fishing, gardening, etc.
6) Keep my blog updated more!  LOL
7) Finish organizing the house for more optimal use (desk, craft and exercise areas)
8) Do more crafts, make more cards, and listen to my creative urges!  :-)

What are your resolutions or hopes for this year?  Please share!

Holiday Letters

I can't believe it's been a year since I signed into my blog!  How life can take over and change your direction is amazing at the very least!  So, what drove me back to my blog is a need to get a thought out into the world.  Here's the question:

Should I write a Holiday Letter or not? 

With the growing popularity of online social sites (Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter, etc.)...have these continuous contact sites made us too exposed to our family friends so a letter for the Holidays ends up being just a bunch of repetative information?  I am torn!  I LOVE writing our yearly letter, not only for our friends and family but I always keep a copy to add to our scrapbook so I can look back and see what we did as a family.  I always include at least one photo (some years I have put multiple pics on the letter) which makes it even more capturing of the moments in time.  I know there are a select few people in my life that are not on the computer (grandparents & the older generation mostly), so maybe I should go ahead and write a letter, send it out to those not connected online and then just post it online for everyone else to see if they wish.  This would be a much cheaper option than in the past!!  Hmmm...

If anyone is out there with the same issue or struggle, please comment and let me know what you think or if you have another plan of action for the holiday communications! 

Too funny...

While I was away from the family last weekend helping my move from WY to MI.... Larry said that he and Morgan  were getting ready to head to the store.  Larry was wearing some overalls (probably his hole filled and dirty pair) and as they were getting her jacket and shoes on, she looked at her daddy and said "You can't go wearing THAT!"  I was so very proud when he told me this!  That's my girl!  Love you Morgan!  :-)  Thank you for helping keep daddy on his toes and to teach him what is okay to wear to the store and what is not!  LMAO!!

Happy Veteran's Day

Today is a very special  day in our family...a day to honor those in our family and friends who have served or are serving in the military.  We are very proud to call ourselves a military family and hope that everyone says thank you to those you know are serving.  I think one of the greatest things I see is when someone finds out someone is military and they say thank you for serving...even to complete strangers.  I am in awe when complete strangers open themselves up like that! 

My hubby Larry, brother Cory, father Daryl, cousin Harley and many, many, many friends who have served or are currently serving are especially in my thoughts today.  I know someone from each of the 5 military branches and am very proud of them all!

Happy Veteran's Day!  Thank you for fighting for our freedom and security!

Gotta Love Fall

Today Morgan and I had a lot of fun at the Whistling Well Farm in Hastings, MN.  http://whistlingwellfarm.com/find_us.html
First we stopped by the chicken and turkey coop and fed several of them some corn and got to pet the local donkey and goats.  Then we picked apples straight from the trees where we walked around the orchard getting lots of fresh air. There were quite a few apples still on the trees thankfully since it's getting late in the season....a lot more were on the ground!  I chose several for pie baking and then we chose some for snacking on too.  We took our bounty back, picked up a wagon and headed for the pumpkin patch to pick some pumpkins to decorate.  We ended up w/ 2 little ones and 3 larger ones.  I think we have some good potential jack-o-lanterns.  :-)   This on one of the many reasons why I LOVE fall!  Hope you are all having fun enjoying the season too!

Where did the summer go?

I can't belive my last post was back in May!  How time flies!  I'm sure I say that a lot but it seems so true...especially when you have a very full calendar and a little one to keep track of too!

We did finally sell our house in Sparta.  I think we closed on it in early June, making our summer much more relaxed not having 2 house payments hanging over our head.  Right away after we moved into our new house, we found out that part of the nice wood fence had to be replaced (according to our neighbor) and so we went in half to get it rebuilt.  Bummer it wasn't even half as good as it was originally.  Larry said he thinks it could have just been reset but our neighbor had it in her mind to get a pretty (but definitely more wimpy) new one... and then while they dug out for new post holes, they pierced our underground sprinkler system at least once so we called in a specialist (also recommended by our neighbor) and after 10 heads and part of a line replaced and another part moved... $500 later we had our sprinkler system up and running...on top of the $1200 we spent for a new fence.  Thankfully that has been the extent of our major repairs since we have moved in! 

Let's see if I can recall what else we've been up to these past few months.  We sold our pontoon boat then bought a newer fishing boat that thankfully fits in our 3rd stall of the garage.  Morgan and I have started to go to the library on Mondays for some preschool-time which has been a lot of fun.  In August, Morgan and I went to South Dakota for Cory's wedding reception/picnic.  That was a nice trip!  We flew out, spent 2 weeks there, saw family and friends and then drove back to MN with my mom and aunt.   During our stay there, Larry had Coast Guard and regular work priorities so he was busy while we were gone....plus he bought himself a new car.  A 2012 Chevy Cruze Eco... what a great car!  We both thankfully really like the car and it's a great replacement for the Nissan Sentra his dad gave him a while back that was starting to fail. 

In September we decided to go on a mini-vacation for our Anniversary and Morgan's 3rd Birthday.  We headed north to the Lake Mille Lacs area where we stayed at Camp Holiday on Turtle Lake and had a really nice weekend.  We rented a fully furnished and outfitted cabin right on the lake.  And we couldn't of asked for more beautiful weather! We rented a paddle boat for an hour on Morgan's birthday and I even made her a cake!  She got to open up her presents and spent some good quality family time together.  On our last day we drove around the lake on the way home to get a better sense of the area and looking for other rental options for another trip in the future.  We found some good options!

Now October is here and our calendar is filling up quickly again.  Hopefully I won't take so long to update this as the last time.  So much for my resolution to add to this more often!  LOL  Hope all is well with everyone and you're enjoying the beautiful fall weather as much as we are!  Winter will be here before we know it!

Fair and Rainy

We sent off my mom today after a nice long visit with us.  She was a TREMENDOUS help during the move and after to help us get settled in.  If it wasnt' for her help, we would probably still be sitting with boxes in every room and the kitchen/dining room still blue (thankfully we got that paint job accomplished!!).

So, it's been raining off and on the past week or so and it hasn't been really warm either except for one odd day last week that was down right sultry.  I've got vegetables ready to plant in our make shift garden and lots of other yard work that I would love to tackle once it dries out.  I thought it was 'April showers bring May flowers' but this year sure seems to be running late.  I guess it's to make up for it being so early last year!  Eventually it will all work out and I can get started on our new yard whipping it into shape!  I've definitely got my work cut out for me...it's a mess and has been neglected for quite some time!

On another note, we got an offer on our house in Sparta.  It's lower than we were hoping but all in all, it's an offer so we accepted hoping that things will go quickly and smoothly so we don't have it hanging  over our heads anymore. 

Time is flying by!

It's been almost 3 weeks since my mom flew in to help with our move and it's been a crazy busy 3 weeks!  I'll update more this weekend when I have a few more minutes but just wanted to say hi and let everyone know we are moved into our new house!!!

Moving to MN

Tonight my mom flies into MN to start helping with our move!  We'll drive down to Sparta tomorrow morning and start organizing stuff for the packers who will arrive on Tuesday!  I can't believe it's finally here...MOVING DAY!!  It sounds like they will pack for 2 days, then load the 3rd day so we should be heading back to MN on Thursday afternoon sometime.  It would be nice if we could leave by lunchtime so we could make it back up to MN to attend the final walk through of our new house.  Larry will have to go alone w/ the realtor if Morgan, my mom and I don't make it back in time. 

Another exciting thing is that our new hot-tub will be delivered that day too!  Yay!  Hopefully by the weekend we'll be able to enjoy it! Wow, will that feel good after a weekend of cleaning, painting and then once the household goods arrive on Monday, we'll need a nice long soak! 

On another happy note, congrats to my friend Michelle & her hubby Karey who found out that they are going to have a GIRL!  They have a little 3 y/o boy Cameron that Morgan adores playing with and they are also moving from Sparta so they will have lots of changes going on in their household.  I wish them the best of luck in KY and can't wait to see pics of the new baby this fall! 

Let's see...so we now know of 4 babies with arrival scheduled in the fall (Aug, Sept, Oct).  The other 3 are:
- my cousin Ryan's wife is pregnant with their second baby...I believe they are due around Sept 24th (Morgan's birthday!!!)
- our good friend George's girlfriend is pregnant with her second baby...
-and our friend of a friend Jen Kellogg and her partner Janine are expecting a baby boy!
CONGRATULATIONS to all the new mommies and their families...lots of changes and happiness this year!

So, that is a quick catch up of what is going on around the Hagen's lately.  Lots of exciting stuff!  Stay tuned for more updates in the near future and possibly some move pics!

Another interesting website to check out...

On this morning's news show, they talked about an interesting website that I wanted to share with you.  It compiles sales on just about anything in your area or in any area that you want to go shopping.  Check it out:

http://www.salelocator.com/

It's nice to be able to look up specific topics.  It saves you the extra time you would usually spend looking at different adds or driving around comparison shopping.  Have fun sale shopping!!

2 great websites to check out!

While watching the news this morning, I heard about 2 websites that I thought were worthy of sharing:

http://www.billshrink.com/
 - you can get great  tips on how to save money on many topics

http://www.mylitte.com/
 - if you are a coupon shopper or want to learn how to start, this site has great info, tips and tricks on how to save money on your shopping

Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!  Happy Spring to everyone!  I sure do love this time of year!

Great birthday party ideas & tips....

I had a few minutes to browse the internet and some of my favorite sites and ran across this gem and her great birthday party tips and ideas.  Here is what she has on her business site but I'm not sure how often it changes so I copied it here so we can all find it a little easier for future use.

First, here is the website address of Twiggle Box http://twigglebox.com/news.html, which they give out fun free ideas and tips along with their inventory of adorable hair clips, barrets and headbands for children.  Just adorable and they are reasonable too so if you or know of anyone in the market, please pass this little gem on!  The blog address is http://www.twigglebox.blogspot.com/

If she starts posting more soon, this may be another one of my favorites!!

Here are her tips:

Better Birthday Bashes!

Kid’s Birthdays seem to be getting bigger and better every year. But a great birthday doesn’t have to be a headache, or break the bank. Here’s 5 tips for Better birthday Bashes from our experts at TwiggleBox.com.
1. Begin with the End in Mind! I always purchase or make my thank you cards at the same time as my invitations! I pre-address the thank you’s, even though I’m not sure which guests are really going to come. I’d rather throw out a 5 cent envelope than have to look the address up again. And if the Thank You’s are sitting ready and waiting, it is much easier to remember to complete the task and send them out.
2. Keep it Simple! Theme’s can help a ‘party planner’ (aka MOM!) focus on invites, decorations, games and more, but they don’t have to be complex (think circus with clowns, tents, and animals....sounds like a headache). Here a some SIMPLE theme ideas that will help reduce the stress and headaches, and still bring unity to the party. Pick a color (pink, green, yellow etc.) and use that to unify invites, thank you’s, birthday cakes and more. Use your child’s initial. It’s easy to find a letter stamp to monogram favor bags, cards, and even table cloths.
3. Keep it Small! When I had my first 2 children with birthdays 2 days apart, throwing a party (actually, 2!) seemed overwhelming. My mom gave me this great tip: Invite as many party guests as your children’s age. This has been a life-saver for me! Now a mom of 5, I still use this rule. My 8 yr old invites 8 guests, my 3 yr old gets 3. This helps keep our parties manageable, affordable, and fun. Little kids can become overwhelmed by large groups, so this rule works great!
4. Keep it Short! There’s no reason to have a dozen screaming children for hours on end. I use the 20 min rule... 20 minutes for each year of age. My 6 year old got a 2 hour party, my 3 yr. old 1 hour. Since children’s attention span expands with age, it makes sense that a young child’s party shouldn’t last as long as an older child. Birthday parties are not a ‘free babysitting service,’ and they should accommodate the needs of you and your child, not the guests!
5. Over-Schedule! It’s hard to tell how long party activities will take. I have a few kickbacks that take no prep, but will entertain birthday guests just in case we have extra time. Duck-duck goose, charades, red-light-green-light, or even just a favorite story book on hand are all easy to adapt to any theme (just change the name!), and can be used if you have extra time. I also like to keep some fun upbeat music on hand, most kids love to dance, and this takes no prep. It’s even more fun if mom and dad get in on the action! On the other hand, if you’re short on time, they are easy to cut out, and no time or preparation energy is wasted.
Birthday parties should really be about the child who’s growing up, and both mom and dad should be able to enjoy the moment WITH their child and friends. Kids will be more relaxed if their parents are, so remember don’t over-do it!

March is half-way over ALREADY!?!?!?!

So, where the heck did February go?  I think I must have lost a month during our furious house hunting trips plus running back and forth between MN and WI constantly didn't help matters much I'm sure!  I was just looking at the calendar for the next few months and I couldn't believe my eyes...St. Patrick's day is just 2 days away.  Sheesh! 

With that thought of time flying by, I reallys obviously haven't been doing so well on my resolution  list but...now that I really sit and think about it, I'm doing fairly better than some folks.  At least I'm TRYING to make an effort towards my goals for this year.  So let's see...


#1  Try to write more regularly on my blog and add pictures...so I was off to a good start, or at least I thought I was until this house dilemn took over and I was away from my computer more often than preferred.  BUT, I may be making a come back now that we found a house, will be moving w/in the month and hopefully settled into our new home by May.  So, overall, this goal is going okay.

#2  Drink more water...I almost want to laugh at this goal because it sounds so simple but in reality it is one of the hardest things I've had to try to overcome...I am not a huge water drinker and so, it takes tremendous will-power to even think to grab a glass...let alone more than one in a day!  I really haven't been doing well on this goal...need to think of ways to keep this on the radar daily...maybe the summertime will help since I love to drink suntea which has lots of water in it...does that count?

#3  Lose 20 pounds this year (I lost a little over 10 last year w/o being too serious about it)
...At first, I was working out and dancing on our Wii, and actually w/in the last week I've decided to kick it up quite a bit and workout during Morgan's naptimes and workout to a DVD that is a cross trainer program so during the week (almost every day) I either do cardio, yoga, strength training, or ab specific workouts.  I'm actually enjoying them!#4  Try to make a menu for each week and stick to it!!...yeah, I haven't had much time to really put this trick to the test yet either.  My goal would be to make a menu for the week and prepare some foods that can be frozen then be able to pull them out when needed as back ups or as the main courses.  Maybe in the new house I'll figure out how to make this work.

#5  Try to make more things instead of buy them (greeting cards, clothes, etc.)...so this goal I've actually been excelling at.  I believe every card that I have sent out this year has been homemade by Morgan and I so that is a miracle in itself!  I just bought 2 books that I'm excited to try to use that have ideas on things to make from older items like T-shirts.  Gotta love recycling old stuff into new usable stuff! 
Well, I think that sums it up for today...some goals are on track, some are coming along slowly and a few at snails pace...BUT...I haven't dropped the ball completely so that's always a good sign since a lot of folks lose interest or quit a month after they set their goals.

Girls just want to have fun...

Morgan and I have really been having fun together...here are a few pics from our recent play time.


FINGER PAINTING

STATIC HAIR...

and HAIR SALON...

We have lots of fun staying home...especially when it's cold outside! Looking forward to spring so we can go outside more!

House shopping...we can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Wow, it has been a while since I last posted on here.  I guess I need to work on that part of my new year resolutions!  Anyway, the house that I spoke of in my last post was in Stillwater, MN that had many multiple offers on it and we did not get the house.  I think after the decision came in, we were okay with it.  It would have been nice...but...

So we continued with our search, found yet another house that we liked, this time in Eagan, MN and put in an offer only to find out hours later that we again were going to be in a multiple offer situation.  I thought the housing market was having problems?  Not from our point of view except that a lot of the houses that we have looked at were just trashed, so that may be why the few that we liked enough to put in an offer were also the few that others were trying to buy as well. 

So... we put in an offer on the Eagan house on a Friday, ran across another house in Cottage Grove that caught our fancy and decided to look at it in the event the Eagan house fell through.  After looking at the Cottage Grove house (which was a traditional sale), we decided to put in an offer on that house as well with the stipulation that we could pull out of the Eagan house.  We really liked it that much more; especially since it would be move-in ready with a 3-car garage and nice fenced in yard...a good start to our list of wants. Our offer was accepted that night!  It was a nice change from working with bank owned properties the last two houses.  So, after it was accepted, we had a long Sunday to wait and see if we could get out of the Eagan house offer...and Monday morning we got word that we were free and clear to move on with the Cottage Grove house!  Hooray!!!

Working with traditional sellers is so much nicer than banks, since during the inspection there were a few questions and things that needed to be addressed.  So many times with the bank owned properties, they are sold 'as is' and you really have to invest more money into them.  I was greatful that when we found these issues, and addressed the issues to the sellers... they were more than willing to help get things fixed.  Yay!

Now we are waiting to hear about our official closing date which should be around the end of April...and now that it's already March, the time is flying by!  We are preparing our move paperwork so we can get the movers scheduled and even more importantly, get my mom's visit scheduled so she can help get us settled into our new home!! 

We're all excited, a little scared since our home in Sparta has not sold yet, but with some sacrifice and patience, I know it will all work out for the best!