One Very Confident Pornstache
November is full-swing holiday season, and as a festive person, I thrive from October through December, with a huge slump I’m definitely not looking forward to in January. But November is usually a busy (and expensive) month for me as I travel home for the holidays and start my holiday shopping, even though I still wait until the last minute to buy gifts. Again, I’m getting ahead of myself, and I’m sure you’ll read all about that in the December blog. But for now, let’s focus on November.
I also just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who read and subscribed to my monthly blog. I received such great feedback, and it has been such a good outlet to keep me from stressing about posting on social media. Again, thank you!
November Favorites:
Favorite Album: Everyone’s a Star - 5 Seconds of Summer
Favorite Show: Real Housewives of Salt Lake City
Favorite Movie: Something Beautiful
Reality Layover
Picking right up where I left y’all in October, I was coming down from the high of my trip to Colorado, and when I landed back in Anchorage, I only had five days before I had to hop on another plane to come home for an early Thanksgiving in Fresno. In those five days, a lot happened. It went from being able to see the grass in the front yard to almost a foot of snow covering the entire city.
As the snow was getting ready to fall, we had a small family of moose in our neighbor’s yard just chilling and relaxing, which is definitely a normal thing to see in Anchorage. The thing about moose is that they LOVE to play with pumpkins, and they tore TF up outta my neighbor’s Halloween pumpkins.
When I said a lot happened in those five days, I wasn’t kidding. By Wednesday, I woke up with a 102-degree fever, and my muscles had never ached so badly in my life. I could only assume the Halloweekend in Denver had finally caught up with me, and this was the universe continually telling me that my 28-year-old ass needs to stay home and not be in the clubs with the youngins.
But this sickness got me down SO badly. I could barely get out of bed and was in constant sweats and pain. The lucky thing, though, is that it only lasted 24 hours. By the time I woke up again, I was recovering from being so dehydrated and hungry that it became a whole separate issue.
By the end of the week, I had gone through so much before I had to hop on a plane for a seven-hour journey back home that my body was in turmoil. So what did I do? I went to my best friend’s birthday dinner, and we spent $600 on a seafood boil. I would NEVER miss this party because I love her so much, and I would do anything for her. Just take a look at this massive trough of a boil.
The way I was digging through it looking for potatoes and sausage like a pig at one point was wild. What made it even better was that we all got our own flavored butter. What kind did I get, you ask? Spicy lemon pepper. And I was in HEAVEN. I had never had a meal that tasted so amazing and still made my stomach turn with every bite. Worth it? 100%! Should I have done it before a flight? Well... good luck Charlie is all I had to say for myself.
Back in California… Again…
After a redeye flight, a quick breakfast at the Seattle AMEX lounge, and another two-hour flight, I was back home in Fresno for the next week to celebrate an early Thanksgiving. That part was whatever, but the REAL reason I was there early was because it was my nephew’s third birthday. I missed it last year and cried so hard that I promised myself I would never miss another one again. Again, getting ahead of myself.
The first thing my family and I did was celebrate the traditional American holiday of Thanksgiving for those reading this in a different country. You know it’s not my favorite holiday, but I really enjoy the vibes and taking family photos because it means I get to buy a new outfit. This year we went with shades of brown. As you can see in the photo, my nephew (model superstar) HAD to wear his cowboy hat for the pictures, and what he says goes. It was his birthday week, so how could we say no?
Visiting home is always such a surreal experience. Most of my friends live their everyday lives in Fresno/Clovis, and I’m just that friend who pops in from Alaska from time to time. I think what I’m trying to say is that they’re all buying houses, getting engaged or married, having kids, and I legit couldn’t be happier for them. It’s so cool getting to see my friends — who I’ve basically been besties with since middle school — live and thrive in their lives, and that I get to be a part of it. It makes me happy knowing that when I have a cool life update like that one day, they’ll be part of it too. One thing we all love to do is beat a dead horse and still bring up drama from middle school. Mind you, that was like 14 or 15 years ago, and we will keep kicking that dead horse until the day I die. Those years at Clark Intermediate were so crazy that I swear I’m still learning new things from everyone’s point of view.
My friends were part of one of my life updates too: my new mustache era. Whenever I get bored in life, I usually shave my entire face, but this time I kept the mustache. The issue is that my mustache is light brown/ginger and barely shows up on my face. That’s why I never kept one. I had one back in South Dakota during the pandemic, but it didn’t last long because it looked bad on TV. So to make it look somewhat decent, I decided to dye it dark brown to match my hair, and OMFG it looks good (in my opinion). Please tell me your thoughts on the mustache. Should I keep it?
As the week went along, I got to just hang out with my friends, whether it was breakfast, dinner, or just coffee. A big highlight was us going to Dave and Busters. I don’t know if y’all have been there recently, but it’s expensive and you barely get enough tickets to buy anything. I was winning a decent amount of tickets throughout the night, but when I went to get a prize, the selection was trash and way overpriced. I ended up with a tiny plastic avocado because it has become my weird little tradition to get a plastic avocado when I go. Don’t ask. But if anyone wants like 500 tickets, they’re yours.
Even though it was expensive, the memories were so worth it. Playing skee-ball, Mario Kart, and all the wacky games was the best. Watching the guys get competitive over air hockey was hilarious, and seeing them go hard on Dance Dance Revolution was even funnier. I love these moments with my friends of almost 20 years. It’s crazy to even say that out loud. We’ve literally watched each other grow up and still stayed close into adulthood, and I feel truly blessed for that.
Now it was time for the big event: my nephew’s third birthday. He wanted it to be Lego themed. The party was beautifully decorated, and there were sooo many kids, but my nephew only wanted to hang out with the adults while they built Lego creations and decorated the Lego glasses everyone got. I’m just gonna say it: I had the best glasses at the party. There’s an image somewhere on this page. I just went to find the photo and of course the only one I have is the most atrocious picture of me to ever exist… but enjoy.
In the end, my nephew got so many gifts that he got overwhelmed while opening them. He couldn’t finish and just wanted to play with the new toys. What did I get him, you ask? I got him a Bluey scooter that lights up because he LOVES Bluey and scooters. It was perfect. The moment he saw it (I put it together and put a bow on it), he wanted to play with it immediately. We had to keep telling him to wait, and this little monster would inch his hands closer and closer with the most mischievous look on his face. Let’s just say he loves the gift, and I’m currently winning as an uncle. That’s all I care about.
The birthday party did mark the end of my trip home to California, which meant it was time to head back to Alaska and return to real life.
Winter Is Here
It is always crazy to think that I live in Alaska. Every time I fly back to Anchorage I sometimes still cannot believe this is my life and this is where I live and work. Since I have been back, I have been doing some early morning runs, climbing and just honestly killing it at my job.
Late November is a weird time in Alaska because the ski areas usually do not open until after Thanksgiving, the mountains are loaded with snow and the weather is always nice when I am at work. But when the weekend comes around, the weather turns to shit and it is hard to plan anything. Plus the sun sets at about 4:30 p.m. now, so by the time I get off work it is already dark.
Since I was finally back in town, I decided to host a Friendsgiving for a few of my friends. We did not go the traditional route. Instead, we ordered pizza and sushi and had a great time talking about our lives. It is really cool that I have been able to build a community of people in Alaska where we can all just vibe and talk about everything.
Then Thanksgiving week rolled in. My roommates had a friend visiting from Austin, Texas, so it ended up being a busy stretch of exploring Alaska and eating out a lot.
One of the places we went to, and a spot I will take anyone who visits Alaska, is the Nordic Spa at Alyeska Resort. My company let us leave early the day before Thanksgiving, so my friends and I went straight to the spa. What makes this place so special is that phones are not allowed and it feels like an outdoor winter paradise. Imagine sitting in a hot tub in the middle of a snowy forest while staring up at the stars or stepping into a rainforest room filled with eucalyptus steam. It is one of my favorite places in the state, and it is connected to the ski resort, so you can literally come off the slopes and walk right into the spa. It was the perfect way to relax before Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving Day itself was not too bad. My roommates invited their family and friends over and we had a huge Thanksgiving meal. My only job was to bring an appetizer, so I brought a little family tradition to the table: celery with cream cheese topped with garlic lime seasoning. I swear it is good, and it is ridiculously easy to make.
After Thanksgiving, most of the ski areas across Southcentral Alaska finally opened for the season, which is my favorite time of year. The problem is that opening weekend is always packed with people, so I am still waiting for things to calm down a bit. So instead, my friends and I strapped on our skate skis and hit Kincaid Park for some winter fun. I forgot how much I hate going uphill on those skis. I am a downhill skier at heart.
To close out the month, my friends and I decided to get into the Christmas spirit and put up a tree. Alaska has its own twist on it. There are specific areas around the state where you can cut down your own Christmas tree, so that is exactly what we did. We drove a little over an hour, went down a snowy trail and eventually found the perfect tree for the living room.
Moments like that always remind me how unreal this place still feels, but November ended on the kind of note that makes it feel worth it.
