Entries by TATIANA

I did some shopping in Anchorage too. I found a pair of jogging shoes, love the colors.
I wanted two new pairs and I did find another nice pair at REI but I was not 100% convinced that I needed them, those were Brooks. These new ones are Under Armour and I found them at Sports Authority, never tried that brand before. Then I just had to get this cute wind breaker jacket, the colors are so me and it will be perfect for Burning Man at night, if it's windy. I also wanted a pair of simple jean shorts for Burning Man and found what I wanted at Forever 21 for only $ 17.80. Cheap. And then a pink tie dye looking sports bra that looks super cute on, perfect for Burning Man too. I am very happy with the shopping. Oh.....and a tin box that says "Art Supplies" on it and has a picture of a girl holding a bow. I love it and gave one away for Christmas and have been wanting one for myself since then and now I finally do.



I was texting with Mandy last night. Sometimes we text about work and money (scandalous stripper talk) and other times we text about food (proper house wife talk). She told me that one of her fave things to eat is tomato, mozzarella, cucumber, some fresh ground pepper and balsamic vinegar. That sounded so delicious so that is exactly what I got when I went to the store today (already had the pepper and balsamic vinegar at home) and I enjoyed that meal to the fullest today. Thank You Mandy!

A visit to Anchorage is not complete for me unless I visit Anastassia for a facial. Her place used to be called Anastassia's but she changed it to Adagio Day Spa a while ago. It's located on 404 K Street.



She also opened another salon inside the Captain Cook Hotel. Esthetics European Skin Care. Good for her! Captain Cook Hotel is probably the nicest hotel in Anchorage.



I love Anastassia's facials, I have been a loyal customer for years, she is very good at what she does. But she can be unpredictable and I don't really like that.....at all. One facial might last 90 minutes, whereas the next time it might be close to two hours long, which of course I prefer. Most of the time she includes an absolutely heavenly and long face massage but sometimes she skips it. She used to give a neck, arm and hand massage during the mask on the face time, lately she has been skipping that too and leaves the room instead. I'm not sure what to make of it, I will continue going to Anastassia because I think that the facial she delivers is high quality but I like consistence in the treatments. I will explain the lack of both the face massage and the neck/arm/hand massage this last time I saw her with that she was busy and stressed out a bit due to the new salon opening that same day.
Here I am getting steam blasted on my face. The steam opens up the pores and allows for a thorough and deep cleaning. Even though the extractions can add up, it felt like she squeezed out gunk from every pore in my face this time.....you never leave the salon with a red and irritated face. Anastassia pampers your skin with nutrient rich masks that smell like essential oils and herbs.



I wish I could have one of those face massages right now. It would be so nice to have a personal esthetician and a massage therapist on call 24/7. I would keep them busy, because going to the spa is one of my favorite things to do. I would probably have twice weekly facials and a full body massage everyday. Bliss!

The fire is still raging on and spreading here in Kenai. Last night ashes were falling from the sky and when I drove home from work, the air was hazy and smelled like smoke. My friend Sharon had to evacuate her house last night, she has horses and dogs. Her house probably burned down, I don't know yet, I haven't been able to get a hold of her today. Some houses already burned. It's crazy. And they think this fire.....which is huge, was caused by a campfire that wasn't put out properly, at least that is what I heard a few days ago. And I heard on the news yesterday that about half of the forest fires in Alaska are caused by cigarettes that people just throw outside. Whether that is true or not, you don't throw your cigarettes outside....I can't stand it when people throw their nasty cigarettes outside, or any trash for that matter. Disrespectful and nasty. And there you go, that kind of lazy behavior causes fires that destroy people's homes, burn up trees and vegetation and probably kill a bunch of animals. Think about that next time you roll down your window to throw out that cigarette you dumb fuck. The fine for that should be $ 1000. Ashes on my car this morning.



To a different subject, the flowers are starting to appear along the roads by my house.
Very pretty.

Today I picked up another package. My nice fans from all over the world send me things on an almost weekly basis. All I do in return is send them a piece of paper with my autograph. Life is good! Well, actually I ordered some stuff from Amazon last week and all the stuff finally got here. BUT, somebody did give me a few gift certificates for Amazon and that somebody is a person that reads my blog.....Thank You again P for your kindness! 🙂
So a few days ago these fringe boots arrived. I am apprehensive to ordering shoes and clothes online. Will they fit? What do they look like in reality? But I really wanted some fringe boots for Burning Man and in general, I think fringe boots are sooooo cute. And I like the hippie style, I have been calling myself a neo hippie for over ten years now. What's a neo hippie? Someone like me. Love these boots, they fit and they were really cheap! The fringes are long and I might attach some colorful beads to them.



And in today's package, another pair of fringe boots. These shorter and on a flat sole, plus they are PINK and have wood beads. Same here, they fit and were cheap - so I am very happy with the buy! Now I have cute shoes for Burning Man, I wasn't really prepared last year and ended up wearing flip flops in the daytime (perfect) and my Hunter boots at night (not the best choice).
Also in the package, some new books. I heard them talk about Dead Doctors Don't Lie on Coast To Coast AM a while ago.
The mosquitoes are aggressive now. Yesterday I got bit and had two large red welts on each thigh. Today I got bit on each butt cheek and it looks really bad, like I have some giant zits on my butt. I'm feeling very itchy. Annoying.

I was debating with myself whether I should make an appearance at work last night but in the end Chhaya and staying at home won. I went for a run, I amazed myself again over my own abilities. Isn't the body a fantastic machine, for a lack of a better word? Then I took a long bath and went to sleep early and got up at 9 this morning. A latte from Kaladi is today's plan so far.
So the reason I went to Anchorage earlier this week was to do a photo shoot. You don't have to be Gisele Bundchen to be in front of the camera you know......although in my head I am, almost. Ha Ha. So the photographer wanted to shoot by the waterfall I already took pics by almost two years ago. It's a beautiful waterfall in Eagle River, so I thought it was a great idea and had visions of the amazing images we were going to create. And I brought Chhaya too. Well, the shoot was.....awkward. One of my top three most awkward shoots.
You never know who this person might be that you are meeting up with and you don't always have good chemistry together. Some photographers I work well with and the results are really good. This guy, although nice is what we call "A Guy With A Camera". And there is NOTHING wrong with that, you can still (hopefully) take great photos and everybody has to start somewhere, obviously. There is more stuff involved than just aiming the camera at the object you intend to photograph and pressing down the shutter button. Lights, focus and angles are crucial, even Gisele could look not so fab in the wrong angle.....or could she?
But his communication skills were kind of lacking (at least the communication with me) and I felt annoyed and frustrated a few times. Oh well. That's how it is sometimes.
And you never know, it's very possible that we got a few good pictures. And I am hoping! I had Chhaya pose for some pics, so at least I got a few good ones of her. She is definitely a super model. The waterfalls are a short hike in through the forest from the parking area. They are rather big and very beautiful. Definitely worth seeing.









This is one of the pics from my last shoot I did at the waterfalls. That photographer was a real professional and we understood each other. It was September and my feet were completely numb when we were done and we worked fast.



If you want to see this place, look up directions for South Fork Eagle River Waterfalls. You can go up to the viewpoint or be down by the water. To be down by the water, make a right before the bridge and after a short walk through the forest (some climbing involved) you can enjoy the scenery.

I heard about some bulls in Spain that put a couple of bullfighters (Matadors) in the hospital and the bullfighting had to be suspended. I read up a little about it today but it makes me feel very uneasy and sad. I am, in case you do not know this about me (yet) for animal rights and I do not like to see animals get hurt, mistreated, I don't like zoo's and circuses and any other event that puts animals at risk for the sake of human enjoyment. Bullfighting and that other thing they do in Spain, running with the bulls is barbaric and I can't understand why people would even want to attend a bullfight or go running with the bulls. Oy vey, the Matadors got injured.....poor them! It wouldn't matter to me if they died from their injuries. I am sure that the bulls died a slow and painful death while thousands of people watched and cheered on like bloodthirsty maniacs.....sometimes human beings haven't evolved much since the days of fighting in the Colosseum, which was done to keep the masses happy and oblivious.
Yes, I have been to zoo's and to the circus and to Sea World, a long time ago before I really started thinking about the lives the animals must endure locked up like that. No more such visits for me. Unless I go there to report on some problem or investigate something.You want the circus? Go see Cirque du Solei. You want a zoo? Go to a strip club. You want a bullfight? Go to a some event where people beat or wrestle with each other.
And while I am on this topic about animal rights, let me talk about eating meat. I very rarely eat meat (yes, this includes chicken and fish). I think I've had meat twice this year. And there have been years of no meat at all. People erroneously believe that they need a lot of meat to grow strong and healthy, preferably everyday. This is what the meat industry wants us to believe, because the meat industry makes a lot of money. If people stopped and thought about, or saw with their own eyes, how most of those animals live (if you can call that awful existence living) and under what conditions, some would probably refrain from meat. And the animals are also given all kinds of poison (antibiotics) plus get fed some weird mixture of food that many times is not natural for them to eat (like ground up animals).
If you truly love your pet that you have at home then I think you can take that love a little further and start thinking about how the animals that you consume lived their life before they ended up on your plate or in that burger you ordered form the drive-thru. I have been around enough pigs, cows and horses to be convinced that they have feelings and think, I believe that animals are sentient beings. You can tell when you look into their eyes. So please, I ask you to be gentler to the animals, yourself and the planet and at least reduce your meat intake. Most likely you will get healthier from eating less meat. I have zero meat cravings (except when I visit the Polish Deli in Vegas and see and smell the Kabanosy sausages) and don't miss eating meat. And I feel and look healthy.
But before I start pointing fingers and pontificating, I am not innocent and free from flaws.
I do eat eggs once in a while, I could put in more effort to find eggs from local farmers where I live, where the chickens live good lives. I could and I should! I do eat milk products like cheese and yogurt. And those lattes I drink have milk in them. I tried soy but I don't like it plus I don't know what to think about the reports about linking soy and cancer, they are conflicting.
I know that there is almond milk and other milk alternatives, so I can definitely improve in that area. Yes, I can do more and improve myself, absolutely.

Look at this cutie! I want to give him hugs and kisses!