Entries by TATIANA

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!

I had a great road trip with Chhaya yesterday, driving back home from Anchorage. It was a perfect day - blue skies, sunny, warm and the air smelled like blooming trees and flowers.
I usually drive straight through with a break or two for me and/or Chhaya to pee but this time I took my time, stopped for pictures and discovered some new places. I had the best drive back home ever.
The highway between Anchorage and Girdwood is very scenic. Really, the landscape is spectacular, you see mountains and glaciers. It's even voted one of the most scenic highways here in the US.



When I stopped at this sign (below) I met two ladies from Long Island New York, on a two week RV adventure in AK. I told them some of my favorite spots and they are going on a rafting trip in Denali, I want to go on that one also. They loved Chhaya and she liked them too. After I took a pic of Chhaya one of them said she was going to take a pic of me and Chhaya together. I said that I didn't want to. She was like....WHY? I told her I felt grimy (up since 7, spent the night in the car, had a facial and 14 hours later I felt not so fresh). In her heavy New York accent she said, "You are supposed to feel grimy, take a picture!". I obliged and she was totally right, of course! Who cares about a little grime, right? I love people from New York in general, I don't feel they are rude at all (like so many others do), I like honest and candid, I prefer that any day over fake and backstabbing. More of what I relate with myself. New York City is my favorite city so far in the US. Just thought I would throw that in here since I am talking about New York.







The Kenai Peninsula sign. This is where we live.....well, not exactly where the sign is (but you get that, right?).



I don't know the name of this lake but I stopped because I saw the mountains reflect in the water and some fish jumping.



Tern Lake. This is where you go either straight to Seward (if you come from Anchorage) or make a right and the road will take you to Homer where it ends. I discovered a day use camping area here and some trails that I didn't know of before.



When I finally arrived in Soldotna the sun had set, some pink colors were still lingering over the Kenai river.

Last night when I was driving back home from Anchorage I saw a huge and very scary looking cloud to my left while coming up on Sterling. I have never seen such a cloud before, it looked like a demon or something. I could finally turn off the road a take a pic of it right before I got to Soldotna. It looked much larger and scarier in real life, hovering over the trees.



When I got up today I smelled smoke in the air and when I got to Coffee Roasters and saw the first page of Anchorage Daily News the smell of smoke and the cloud got explained to me. There was a very large wildfire burning here yesterday and the scary looking cloud was basically smoke from the fire, hence the smoke smell. The fire seems to be caused by human error. I hope nobody got hurt.

Somebody got up early today....I took a small trip to Anchorage. Spent last night with primping procedures like waxing my legs, moisturizing from head to toe and painting my nails. The color is called Go Ginza by Essie, fitting because it looks like my little brother that lives in Sweden got a job in Tokyo.....I can't wait to visit him there! I have a fascination with Japan and everything KAWAII.



Dinner at Mooses Tooth....yummy pizza and then a rhubarb crisp. I also caught up on the latest global news, you don't have to read any magazines just keep up with my blog and I will fill you in on all that you need to know. For free! My boyfriend is on the cover of TIME, I'm so proud of him!



The sun set by Mount Susitna, also called The Sleeping Lady. I'm sleepy myself....time for bed.

What a great day! You know that you love your life, despite any minor problems and annoying people, when you laugh out loud by yourself for no other reason than feeling happy.
That was me earlier today.....or maybe I'm going insane? Either way, life is good.
I just got back from the gym. My new routine consists of swinging 100 lbs weights around while loudly grunting. That will get you in shape in no time.



It's Sunday afternoon. I will spend it by being lazy outside, doing a couple of loads of laundry and cuddling with Chhaya. Look at my little gargoyle, she is such a cutie!