Have You Taken Your Health Walk Today?

Last year AEYC got approval from the board for each employee to get paid for a 19 minute "health walk" during the work day. People had been neglecting this wonderful privilege and since I'm in charge of preschool health, my supervisor added to my position the role of "Health Walk Coordinator." I get to get everyone up and at 'em and excited for a lovely (or wet and rainy) walk down the street to the water and back. It's a blast and even increases PRO-DUC-TIVITY!!! I love my office.

Quiet Harbor

The last cruise ship of the season came and went yesterday. Everyday in the summer months huge ships dock in downtown Juneau and the town is flooded with thousands of tourists who run around experiencing Alaska's capital for the day. Now they're gone and you can feel the difference around town. A lot of the shops have closed up, the streets are bare and it has certainly quieted down. It's kind of nice for us locals :)

The Sky Is Falling

Cloudy mornings aren't so bad when they look like this.

Baby Steps

This is what I get to walk by on the way into my office every day. It was from the early childhood conference in Juneau last year. Each of the paintings was done by a different age group and shows a different phase of development in the way it was painted. I particularly enjoy the baby footprints that lead the way so I don't get lost. We all know that my sense of direction isn't the greatest! As I continue to learn and become oriented, I am slowly but surely finding my place here and figuring out what my role at AEYC is going to look like. Baby steps :)

It's off to work we go!

In celebration of National Public Lands Day, we geared up and headed out into the rainy woods to do some trail work! The day was spent being one with nature and skinning some trees! Apparently if you remove the bark the trees won't rot as quickly. Very satisfying job, kind of like peeling potatoes? Longest I'd ever spent with a saw in my hand...I kind of liked it

Delightfully Dreary

Rainy season is finally upon us! Don't get me wrong, I sure did enjoy the sunshine, but I'm excited to experience the dark, wet Southeast Alaska fall that I've heard so much about. When it's dark and dreary, it makes the colors around us look a little bit brighter.

Fun, With A View.

I played on the playground in-between meetings today. How would you like that backdrop for a game of hide-and-seek?

A Serene Surprise

I was leaving an indoor turf facility where I was playing with preschoolers for work today and I had about 20 minutes to kill before I had to catch the bus back to the office. I wandered behind the building and saw an entrance to a trail. I headed into the woods and after not even a 5 minute walk the trail opened up and became the peaceful, deserted, serene oasis that is pictured below. All I could hear was the rushing water and the sun beating down (even though it's not a sound, I swear I heard it). I took a few minutes to marvel in what I had stumbled upon and it certainly made me slow down and appreciate the here and now.

Vulnerable & ALIVE

"When we were children, we used to think that when we were grown-up we would no longer be vulnerable. But to grow up is to accept vulnerability...to be ALIVE is to be vulnerable."

-Madeleine L'Engle

Glaciers, Ice Caves & Sunshine...oh my

Hiked Mendenhall glacier today. The adventure consisted of 6 friends, ice caves, scrambling rocky faces and ridges, trampsing through the woods and lots of sunshine! My bum knees are a bit mad at me right now, but I think they understand. Mother nature is quite the artist!

Photo credit for this photo, some past and some future, goes to Andrew Dubay :)

A Waterproof Wonder

Splashing around at the beach with my new rain boots. I've been wearing flip flops and short sleeves (Alaskan heat wave) but these will come in handy when the rain begins to fall in epic proportions very soon. One of the biggest debates in Juneau is what type of rain boots to get; Bogs, or XtraTuffs. People are usually very firm in their belief one way or another. I was excited to join team Bog and feel very confident in my decision :)

Home Sweet Home

319 B Street! I'm housesitting during my first 4 months here. It's cute, cozy and right down the street from the bus stop, library and the beach!

Sweet deal.

Sleep well, Sunshine!

Sun setting at the beach after another SUNNY day in Juneau, Alaska that once again hit 70 degrees. Mother nature is such a jokester.

Le ciel bleu

Blue is my favorite color. I think this is why...

Rise & Shine!

Sunrise hike before work this morning. Climbed up a mountain as the sun peaked itself over the one next to me. Wonderful way to start a day!

Wow. The Sequel

obviously not from today...an alternative view from yesterday :)

I feel like they had to stick together

Wow.

Sunset hike up Mt. Roberts. I think I'm sitting there in utter amazement of what I'm looking at. I have no words to describe the beauty I've seen here. Multiple times a day I turn my head to a new spectacular sight and all that comes out of my mouth is, "wow." I'll work on my poetic expression of nature's beauty...but for now, I'm just going to keep taking it all in!

GO DUKES!

JMU BEAT VIRGINIA TECH!!!!!!!!!! In honor of the big win today, Duke Dog came on my hike with me! J-M-U WISH YOU HAD A DUKE DOG! He's about the only thing that could make an Alaskan landscape any more beautiful! So proud to bleed purple and be part of the JMUNation! As ESPN says "this is James Madison's best work since the federalist papers!" GO DUKES! The lights of Madison are SO bright right now, I can see them from my backyard :)

Douglas Island

Beautiful Douglas Island where I live! It is just across the Gastineau Channel and a quick ride over the bridge from downtown Juneau.

Shhhhhh

"Listen a hundred times; ponder a thousand times; speak once."

--Turkish Proverb

I have had countless glimpses of the physical beauty of our world during my first week and a half in Juneau. Each time I have been reminded to shut up and just be. There is so much to hear if you just open your eyes, mind and heart.

Warm Welcome

I was warmly welcomed to my new office! I think that I'm going to like pre-school :)

The agency I'm serving at is called AEYC or the "Association for the Education of Young Children" http://www.aeyc-sea.org/

Pretty in Pink

September in Alaska. 70 Degrees and Sunny? This may be the most beautiful place I've ever seen.

Sandy Beach

I had a beautiful morning stroll to "Sandy beach" this morning. About a 2 minute walk from my house. Enjoying the holiday weekend, start work tomorrow!

Refreshing.

The air here is amazing. So fresh, crisp and rejuvenating. I can't get enough of it. Makes me feel so alive! Free to be.

Slow down

"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished" -Lao Tzu

"Boardwalk"

Went hiking with one of my future co-workers (I start on Tuesday) and she told us that there was a "board walk" at the beginning of the hike. We pictured a boardwalk that you would find in a beach town, but it was just a board, that you walk on. (pictured below) Makes sense right? Everything is very simple here. There is only one main road in Juneau and it is referred to as "the road." If you are going somewhere on "the road" away from town you are going "out the road." I smile every time I hear someone day that. Cracks me right up. I'll get used to it soon :)

Dancing in the Rain

"Life's not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain"

It rains A LOT in Juneau, especially in the fall. You don't wait for a sunny day to get outside, you just do it! It was pouring during day 2 of our training when our 8 mile hike was scheduled. The thought of postponing it didn't cross anyones mind. We geared up and headed out! I'm excited to dance in the rain on a regular basis this fall!

This is a picture of my roommate and I enjoying the splendor of the glacier that we hiked to in the pouring rain.

Sail Away

"A ship in harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are built for."

-John A. Shedd

The thing that excites me most about this experience is that it is new, unfamiliar and uncomfortable. JMU became my safe harbor and I am so ready to float onward.

Kayaking during my 4 day Americorps training with 12 of the other volunteers serving throughout Alaska. Ranging from age 22-37 and from all over the US, everyone had such a unique story and completely different reason for ending up here. We were a group of strangers, that could not have been more different, but united by the fact that we all for some strange reason decided to spend a year of service in America's largest, coldest and most isolated state.

Everyday Joy

This is the start of a new adventure in Juneau, Alaska for the next 11 months! I am serving through Americorps at an agency that works with early childhood development. My role will be focused on preschool health and connecting health related community organizations. As a way to share my experience with the people that I love, I'll post a picture a day for the next year. Everyday Joy.