The Year of the Dog

Speaking of dogs, mine has currently run away.

I recently became the foster mother to a shy, old, anxious retired sled dog by the name of Una. She was a December gift after months (and years) of wishing for my own dog. Today she ran away.

I came across this blog after looking through my old documents. I can't believe we did this - I don't even remember it!

As you probably guessed we're all in and out of college by now. Just one of us left on her last semester (Go M!!). I graduated with a Bachelors in Criminal Justice, K a B.S. in English, and S a B.S. in Education! Wow. We're all so accomplished and old now!

We are just scheduling our annual Christmask and on Saturday we'll have a brunch with us and our moms! We're all in the same state after being apart here and there since 2012.

Anyway, it's late. M and I just got back from searching for Una. I was positive we found her tracks in the snow and we tried to follow them with no success. :( I appreciate the messages from facebook and encouragement from people, but I don't appreciate the occasional dig at my negligence as a dog mom. I keep Una's leash on because she's impossible to catch when I let her out to pee, so she escaped with her leash on. The comments are minute, but the last thing I need right now is someone telling me "The leash can get caught on stuff you know" or asking "how did this happen? How did she escape with her leash on?". Like, I know, SHARON. I KNOW that it's not the greatest idea and now she might be stuck under someone's porch unable to escape because of her leash! I know! Thanks for the help!

Ok, calming down.

WELCOME BACK TO OUR BLOG EVERYONE

Happy thoughts: I am also dogsiting a little Shih tzu named Wesley. He's adorable and frustrating at the same time. Sadie's still around, so we have quite the puppy party.

I moved out after college into an apartment with M (her parent's basement). It's awesome. I love living with her. It's a blast. I've been unemployed since Sept so I've been playing xbox all day. Currently on Skyrim, played a fair bit of Assassin's Creed, and Mass Effect 3. I'll tell you about my job before September in another post ;) I'll work on piecing together the time between now and 2012 when we stopped, while also moving forward to what we are currently doing.

To wrap up, since it is a new year, I'll post a list of highlights from 2017:
-Went to Tennessee for the first time, spring break 2017, coffee tour of the century with Shelby and Lizzie
-Internship at Yellowstone
-Graduated College
-4 Roadtrips: AK-VA, VA-AK, AK-WY, WY-AK, WA-AK
-Acquiring 2 dogs
-Starting P90X with K and seeing her every day
-Moving out!
-Living with my senior year roommate on Coffee Rd. (we love coffee)
-MASK all in the same place again!
-Finishing Don Quixote after nearly a year

Well, the beginning of a new year, of a new blog, and of new adventures. I hope we look back on this in ~another~ 10 years and catch up again. :)
Until next time.
A

College

Well, wow. We haven't posted in awhile. It's very hard, sending emails all the time, recounting events to different people, it's hard to update and stay in the loop. So here's a brief recount of my college experience so far. First week. Awesome. I really liked it. So much. It was exciting and different and I liked that. I was getting along great with my roomies and making friends. Next Couple of Weeks: I thought I was on top of the world. And once I figured that out I started to go downhill. It's like Satan wanted me to fall. So I did. And now it's the first semester is already half over. I've made new friends, experienced God in a whole new way, and refocused my life on Him. Some Highlights: - Bowling in the middle of the hall with shampoo bottles - People's expressions when I tell them I'm from Alaska - Meeting fun, new people. - Doing laundry with coins - Trying to unlock my mail box...and failing miserably. 8 times. - Meeting boys and counting myself as thier friend - Getting trapped in the bus doors (yes, this did happen) - Playing invisible volleyball - Watching 25 episodes of Once Upon a Time with my friend Rachel over a period of three days. - Going to see Raiders of the Lost Ark (with above aforementioned boys) and getting back 5 minutes before curfew. - Seeing my first Praying Mantis - Seeing my first dead snake - Dancing in the (warm) rain - going to my first apple orchard - getting hugs from my DN (dorm neighbor) She gives the best hugs - Seeing and listening to Frank Peretti in Convo - Helping CFAWers find their dorms (College for a weekend students)and directing them where places were - Tie dying shirts and breakdancing in the field - Growing up So yeah. That's my first-half of a semester in a nutshell. College is a weird place, but it's also an adventure. I'm glad I came here and I hope I can spend the next 4 years here. BUT I MISS MASK. The summers are going to be so precious. I can't wait. :) ONly 9 more weeks!!! -A

Graduated

Last time A posted we had just begun senior year. And now we're graduated!! :D So I'm just posting. :) For fun. I will probably post a lot during college along with the emails so we can look back on this someday. So...that's all. -K

There's a kitty on my la- oh wait. Never mind

There WAS a kitty on my lap and I was happy. :P

Wellum. I'm pretty sure I'm going to our Capitol City (or...village?) for College. Yuppers. Affordable, small, close (ish), and not freeeeeezing. Also, I've got options over there. My mom just told me that her friends parents live there, and they have a small apartment attached to the house - where they live cause they can't go up stairs anymore. Annd thier kids were thinking it would be nice if someone stayed at the house..and made sure "they weren't dead, once in a while." 8|

So...I'd have a house (for free) that was only a couple blocks from campus. OR I could live ON campus. My choice. And there's many complicated pros and cons to both. :\
Too much to think about.

Yeah. ANyways...I felt like sharing. It's just dawned on me and I'm going to forget tomorrow, cause it's late. So yeah. :) Small update.

-A

Wow.

Four (5) posts from me in a row. It must be my new record!


-A

More updates. Yay!

Alllllrighty! All of my teachers are pretty awesome, as far as I can tell. And I'm already procrastinating...soo school has begun! :D

A Teacher Recap:
1) Math Teacher. Name: Luc (Luke) Ups: Looks like Hugh Jackman; Downs: ...it's distracting. :) Ups: He's also really funny. Also, being beginning Algebra, I have a vague, if not somewhat limited, concept of what's going on.

2) Argumentative Writing
Name: Sharon. (its weird like Sarah's school. All the teacher's want to be called by their first names) Ups: We listened to a really hilarious podcast in class; Downs: Not every class will be like that. We also talked about Cereal and Sex....an interesting combination...
Least favorite teacher from the bunch. But it's only been one day...we'll see.

3) Psychology
Alright. I already pretty much fail this class: if grade is determined on how to spell "psychology". I just spent like, 4 minutes trying to figure it out.
Name: Rosanne.
.....my first thoughts were "Get me out of here." She's very...I don't even know. Like...gah. I need a face to face description. She's very unique ...But I liked her in the end. She's funny in her own way, but still...her. :P It's really hard to explain.

4) Photography.
Name: Tim
Someone told me he was grumpy. And I expected, you know, figuring the odds, that my last teacher would end up being awful. But, he's really nice.(YAY) I need to buy a camera (yay!/and no!) and he referenced some good, reliable, cheap (Student Discounts!!) sites to buy from. Soo awesome. But since it's digital, the class focuses on heavy editing, which I don't really like. I like...just plain, good, raw pictures. The way they were shot. But *shrug* I can handled it. It would be good to learn the program and use it when I need to, but I think for my own photos I won't use it.

Awesome. SO - classes tomorrow. Math and Writing. I'll probably give you all a schedule of some sort so you know where I am and when, in case you need something or what not....Maybe not. :P I hope you guys are having a good school..days...year. and I can betcha this: College is waaaaaayyy better. :) I love it.

Now I just need to stop procrastinating. ....graahh.

Oh! And Kosy!! Could you post some pictures from camping on Facebook (<-- haha...an anphiboly*) and tag me in them? Or send them in a message? Awesome. :) I might want a profile picture out of them.

-A


*Critical Thinking Lesson of the Day:
Anphiboly - an argument/statement that commits a rather humorous fallacy. My favorite type. :)
Example:

Mr. Wilson shot an Elephant in his Pajamas.

...it can be interpreted lots of different ways. :) hahha. They always crack me up...

The first day of college has begun...

The Ups and Down's of my day.... :D

Down: Sitting in the hall waiting for the door to be unlocked and watching all the Early Honors people pass by into another room. All of them asking: "What class are you taking?" and having to answer: "Elementary Algebra", whilst they walked into the Calculus Class...ahh...the curse of un-intelligence.

UP: My teacher could be Hugh Jackman's younger brother, or a younger version of Hugh Jackman himself. 8D He also says "Super" really, really funny. He's half French and Half German...

Down: My argumentative writing class was switched, thus, my books were switched as well. SO - new books! :( Which are expensive...

UP: I bought the wrong book just yesterday, and didn't use it, so the bookstore gladly accepted it back and I bought my new (but USED!) books for way less and with the return money. :)

Awesome. Now, a haircut, new comics, and homework (<- Down) !! Overall, a pretty good day. :)
-A

Trying to salvage what's left of my brain....

As we all filed in for class, the first words me teacher said to me were
"this is the expectation in this class: to spend every waking moment working on your homework".
And I didn't take him seriously.
Critical thinking is hard and I'm already behind on my homework. 50 questions in the first section, 80+ in the next section, and it's already too late and I'm too tired to do the next four sections I'm supposed to do.
I am going to die.
no more procrastinating for me… Just homework. It is already evident that I don't have enough time for a job anymore. Unless I get into the groove of things and speed through my homework like Flash. Which is highly unlikely.
So yeah, that's my update.
On the upside, I'm actually doing work and stimulating my brain ( while also killing it). And I can actually enjoy my textbook when I don't have to worry about doing five other sections after it.
I know it's only the first day and that it will get better… Or maybe not. I can't wait for my other classes!! Sarcastic/excited

Signing off, senior/part-time college student, you're now brain-dead friend,
A

New Year

College orientation went great! Hung out with K.H (student's name removed for safety reasons) almost the entire time (cringe), but met some new people as well. :) And it wasn't entirely unpleasant. Very confusing during the registration process, and now I am taking Psychology, Critical Thinking(Required), Math, Photography (apparently the teacher is "grumpy"), annnd Argumentative Writing (*sarcastic* YAY!). I get to argue. In writing. Fun stuff. And they're teaching French next semester sooo....hehe. I was thinking about that. No German, sadly. Sniff. Anyways. Lots of fun! Got soaked from the INSANE rain and lots of comments (nice ones) about my Batman shirt. :) teehee. Interesting bunch of people. AND THE LIBRARY HAS A PENDULUM!! YAY! I was a little *TOO* overexcited about that apparently. It just....facsimiles me! (haha...typo, and it corrected it to...facsimiles...hopefully it doesn't mean anything bad). It FASCINATES me. :) (Sarah...it's the thing on LOST...the swinging ball). Soo....definetly going to spend time just sitting in the library...looking at a swinging ball and trying to wrap my head around it.
it's awesome.

AND I'M A SENIOR!!

....I'm a senior.....
Yikes.

-A

P.S. I AM EXCITED!! And terrified. WOW! YAY! yikes...Awesome!!

The Past: A Huge Chunk of Time

So while nobody's been posting, we've been doing several different and highly-time-taking things. K was out and aboot in Michigan and Canada doing awesome stuff that she'll post later; S was doing school work and working and being extremely self-disciplined; A was... I don't exactly know what A was doing, but she was doing something! Anywho, I (as in the pronoun, there isn't another person who's joined our acronym) was just recently employed with family. You see it was my Gma's eightieth birthday and for a surprise, my mom's entire side of the family came into town. It was really nice and the look on my Gma's face was priceless, however, I have a big family. And while it was grand and fun and exciting to see them all together, forty five is a lot of people to fit into one house for any amount of time (Luckily the weather was fantastic so the big family reunion was outside on my aunt's yard). We did several things like eat and play games and eat and go to the zoo and eat at the zoo and then eat some more. Honestly, I don't know how my mom did it. I'm pretty sure there wasn't a night when we weren't all together having dinner. Oooo!!! and A and S and I went to the Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows Part 2 premier. We dressed up and everything. It was pretty epic. Anyway, that's about all that's gone on around here. Now I have to start really buckling down and doing my summer AP school work. XP ew.
_M

M Word of the Post
meatus-n. a passage or opening leading to the interior of the body.

Feelings

Well. Here I am. And you guys are gone. My first blog post in a while. Yippee! Too bad though, that most of the stuff going on right now isn't rainbows and butterflies.
Tensions, and emotions, are running rampant in my house. It's hard to watch my mom and grandma talk about what to do for the memorial. You can just see that it's killing them inside.
They shouldn't have to do this.
I miss you guys.
I feel like an emotional barrel. A barrel that's buried in the middle of the earth. It's SO buried that it's come out the other side of the earth so that it's not buried anymore. But it is.
This post represents a small bit of what's inside that barrel.
My emotions. What I'm feeling.
I feel like, if I put my feelings, my emotions, the things I keep hidden, out there for people to see...then I make myself vulnerable. They're out there. For people to comment about, to criticize, to judge, to think about, to KNOW.
I'm going against every fiber of my being by posting this.
I feel helpless. I'm strong in front of my family. I'm strong in front of myself. I'm strong in front of you.
But in front of my computer. My words. I quake.
I have to watch my family go through this hard time. It's painful, for them and for me.
I want it to be over.
Wow. You guys wanted me to talk, you got me to talk. And you aren't even here. There's some skills right there.
Sorry it had to be so depressing.
Donald Trudeau died on November 30, 2010. He was the best grandpa I could have ever had. He was always happy, always smiling, and I've never looked up to anyone like I looked up to him. There were so many things I wanted to say to him. But never did.
"Grandpa Turtle", as we used to call him, will be forever in my heart.
And one day I'll see him again.

-A
All I ask is that you pray for my Grandma and Mom. They're taking it super hard.
Thank you.

Quote

Well now that I've posted once might as well keep going :) Here is a quote from a book I read recently (in an hour!!) that I liked about companionship.

"First of all, Jesus sends the twelve out in pairs (Mark 6:7). We keep forgetting that we are being sent out two-by-two. We cannot bring good news on our own. We are called to proclaim the Gospel together, in community. There is a divine wisdom here. 'If two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I am among them" (Matthew 18:19-20). You might already have discovered for yourself how radically different traveling alone is from traveling together. I have found over and over again how hard it is to be truly faithful to Jesus when I am alone. I need my brothers or sisters to pray with me, to speak with me about the spiritual task at hand, and to challenge me to stay pure in mind, heart, and body. But far more importantly, it is Jesus who heals, not I; Jesus who speaks words of truth, not I; Jesus who is Lord, not I. This is very clearly made visible when we proclaim the redeeming power of God together. Indeed, whenever we minister together, it is easier for people to recognize that we do not come in our own name, but in the name of the Lord Jesus who sent us."
-In The Name of Jesus, Henri J.M. Nouwen
-K

WHOA

Ok wow. So...we went to the homeschool prom which was pretty awesome, oriental themed. We danced and stuff... :P Yeah.
And me and A went camping and then we went camping again but with S that time and a bunch of boy scouts. And we planned the next medical TV drama.
And I took my AP tests, and S got her lisence, and summer came and we finished school (except for S) and we did a bunch of fun stuff outside and me and A went rafting with my family and I helped cook for Kids Camp bootcamp and M and S are going to be group leaders this year (wooooot!)
Aaaannnddd....we watched X-Men last night ("beautiful man....") and we watched Madagascar 2 this morning (amazing movie).
On Wednesday A and I are going canoeing for 5 days. Tomorrow M and S start Kids Camp. Summer is here and it is blissful. Trigger and Solomon are very strong.
Me and M are done teaching preschool...I bought a swimsuit on ebay. Calvinism is different. We're trying to buy Les Miserables tickets for this summer (BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER!!!!!!)
And that's all I can think of now.
-K

...

There was a ship on the ocean, ship on the ocean, then it diiiiieeed.

A

Pomp & Circumstance

My sister graduated today :) I don't want to go to school anymore....bleh.
I got new shoes and it was raining earlier, I don't look good in yellow but then again like nobody does. I can't wait until school is done and I can read books all day long. Or sleep. I don't get why people play Sudoku. I might have to get a job next year to raise money to go to Europe with Mr. Brown because that would be so cool but then I would have no money for college and we'd never be able to go camping because I would be working...hmm....
-K

Just postin'

I have a zit like right on my ear and it really hurts.There are a bunch of strange men in my back yard...one of them is pretty cute but most of them are older with beards and they're covered in mud and smoking and scratching and spitting and other man things and it's kind of creeping me out. I can't wait to go camping....Lalalala. I had to write a paragraph about myself for this Facing Your Future program to be shared with the whole group, and I didn't know what to write so I can up with this:
"My name is Kosette Isakson and I live in Anchorage Alaska. I live with my parents and sister in our igloo with our two polar bears. My sister and I share Snow Ball, the older of the two. She is, like me, nearly 17 years old. We also have a dog named Steele who wards of grizzly bears during the summers, though we have to keep him indoors during the daylight hours due to the mosquitos. Each morning during the school year I ride my dogsled team twenty-two miles to the community school where I am one of nine students K-12. My favorite meal is moose meat chili, and no, I don't eat whales-- that's just a silly rumor that people made up about Alaskans."
I just thought I'd share in case you guys have any suggestions to add to it.
-K

So yeah...

So yeah, we should all get together sometime cause I miss you all!! I want to see your faces...And we can change the blog background and my dad can teach us how to SURVIVE and do "man-car-things" and then we can play Halo and watch Tangled and talk about Batman and Flash and Superman and Whoever M likes (Hawkgirl?) and play in the grass (or not) or go to the sand dunes and play in the sand and then take pictures and do a puzzle and climb a mountain and swim in a hot tub and talk about Characters and the future and "deep stuff" and how our toes all look different and then we could, I dunno just chill for a little bit before going to the park and running around and around and around and around and then swing and jump off and be like WEEEEEEEEEEEE and make more videos. And then go camping.

Forever.

-A

Nulato April 14-17, 2011

Oh my goodness, my brain is fried. I had a really amazing trip. We did alot of new things this year and changed it up a bunch. We didn't do any mimes and didn't share any testimonies or anything like that. We just played games and ran around. It kinda made me feel like we didn't do anything... like we did present the gospel in any way. But God can do anything and we put lots of pebbles in peoples shoes, so that's good. I love those people. I couldn't stand to say goodbye to all the kids, then later to all the teens. I'm going to miss them so much. I really just hope that they're all there next year.
Something that really tried me was that it felt "lighter" spiritually, but it felt really apathetic. ya know? also, that there was so much fighting, all the time. All the fast kids who were really good at basketball made fun of the little kids who were slower. I didn't notice it last year, and i'm sorry i didn't. These kids, these teens are hurting so much that they feel the need to say the ugliest things to each other. i had crying kids come to me for a hug more than once. But it's still amazing. They're so fun to hang out with, and since we did alot of games and stuff, we got to connect a whole lot better than last year.
We went on a walk, went to the rec center every night almost, played endless amounts of bball, watch "To Save a Life", and just sat with each other. I honestly can't discribe it. The only word that I could use to discribe it would be indiscribable.
There's no place like it. There's no place like Nulato. It is so gorgeous there, and the kids are like little sponges that soak up all the love you could possibly give them. AH! I miss it so much, and i've only been gone for three hours. I could easily live out there for the rest of my life.
-M

Agnus
Shirley
Siarah
Ashlyn
Courtney
Cadence
Brianna
Josselyn
Larissa
Molly
Bennett
George
Gerald
Claude
Charles
Kyle
Kenneth (yes, K, there's a cute little kid named Kenneth in Nulato)
Matt
Marvin
Conrad
and so many more...

M's Verse of the Post
Lamentations 3:21-22
"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have HOPE, because of the Lord's great LOVE we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail."

Izi and the A Peeps

Once upon a time…there was Izi. And she was very special. There was a prophecy about her but she wouldn’t know that because no one ever knows when there’s a prophecy about them. And her mom drowned in a lake because that’s what people do sometimes in lakes and her dad fled to earth to live in the mountains and Izi was like “hey, I’m a horse” and then her dad went back to Armasia and saw the lake and there was a flustern which is whisper in French but it isn’t a whisper in Armasia it’s an emotion flaring machine and so he drowned himself in the lake…sad. And so Izi was ALL ALONE. Until she met Riddle and Riddle made her happy because he makes everyone happy and they were friends once he left the city and they traveled together. And then there was Shayla who had basically the most depressing life ever and she was wandering around wallowing in self-pity but not really and she was a pica and Riddle was hungry and you can see where this is going but then Riddle was a raven but only because Shayla was a falcon first and then Shayla was a human and so was Riddle and the Shayla fainted because wow. And then Izi was like “cool, can I keep it?” because she is so funny like that and then Shayla woke up and she was like freaking out so she went on a walk but of course with her luck she almost died in a rock slide but a mysterious stranger with muscles like TREES saved her and Riddle found her and was like "dude, get a grip” but she woke up and told them about him so Riddle was like “fine, I’ll go stalk him like a creeper” but Trigger- the tree guy- caught on and was like “go away!” and Riddle was like “Uh- I don’t think so!” but then he did because of the tree muscles and then Shayla was like “ugh!” so she made them talk to each other like toddlers and they were kind of like “uhh- this is weird.” And then they decided to be friends because it was some kid’s birthday which made Shayla cry because her kid never HAD a birthday because it died inside of her  And Izi had to be the peacekeeper because everyone else was so dysfunctional. So then they found Armasia and these funny elf people told them that they were prophesized to rule Armasia and then gave them tea and Riddle was like “hahahahahahaha” and then they went back to earth and continued life as awesome shifter people who find things that come out of Armasia and say “go back in there right now” and then one day they went in there and the bad guys were getting really bad so the A peeps gathered an army- RAWR- and fought the bad guys and ruled as kings and queens which is a really scary thought to think of Izi as queen but that’s what happened. Then they were like immortal and they lived for a long long long long long long long time and then they were like “hey, let’s go do other stuff” so they lived in different places for a long time until they met up in earth and were happy to be together even though they were super old and Izi used a walker and chewed on random stuff with her gums because her teeth were gone because that’s what happens when you’re 14,000 years old. Then the S peeps found them and were like “save us!” so they did and they died but they were happy. The End.
-K

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

OHKAY. Well. WOW. Uh...

I CUT MY HAIR!!

Like....by myself. And I...love it. But it could be the adrenaline still RUSHING through my blood. No....I LOVE IT. And I don't care what anyone else says. I adore it. And I promise I will continue to adore it, since...I did this to myself and well...it would kind of stink if I went to all this trouble and then hated it anyway. Well. WOW. I loveit.

Well...I was feeling really depressed...and it's kind of a long story, anyways, I was feeling more depressed then I usually am about my hair and I had just washed it and it was curly except for the last two inches...which were rod iron straight. Well, that bugged me so I covered the straight part with my hands and thought about how it would look short. And...to me, it looked good. So....I...hesitantly...cut it. And screamed. How could I have done such a thing? I felt like Rapunzel in Tangled..."This is the best bay ever!!" and then "I am a dispicable human being". And well...since I already cut off a huge chunk...nothing for it but to cut the rest!! So I did. Thankfully, it's pretty even, and I like it soooo WIN.

I have never felt happier about my hair in this moment. I've been fantasising about chopping it ALL off before...but this is better. Now, I don't know what you guys will think...and that's OK. You don't have to like it. :) But I do. And...aah!! I'm all shaky. Little JJ is all supportive. HE likes it. :) haha. Ok. Well. Wow. Cool. Awesome. Can't wait to see you guys!!!
I shmuv you all!!
_A

P.S> Oh! Look! I can put up a picture! Cool!

P.S.S I know it's been this short before..but I forgot how much I loved it! I do look younger though... :)