Thanks to everyone – whether you have left me a comment, sent me an email, or just sent good thoughts this way. I felt and smiled at every kind communication you sent. They mean a lot to me.

I am a happy person. I’m a strong person. I’m not worried about my situation, because I’m always okay. Better than okay!

I have two quotes I’d like to share, both by the same brilliant man:

Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward.
Henry Ford

If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.
Henry Ford

This is what I see when the doggie treat jar comes out. We can all learn a lesson from these guys about expecting good things to come to us.

One of the reasons I enjoy doing verypink is the fact that my life generally moves along swimmingly, predictably and without chaos. This gives me the time and energy to have fun with my posts. I adore taking the photos and writing the text. L-O-V-E it.

Unfortunately, I’m unable to muster up the photos OR the funny right now. Things are not moving along swimmingly. I sort of hate the fact that I’m writing a post about not writing a post…but I think this is better than just disappearing. I hope to be back up and running very soon.

Rest assured – everyone is healthy. The dogs are fine. I will be fine again, too.

In the meantime, Lou and Ike.

This is the last post from my Alaska vacation, and it’s Friday. Prepare yourself for fast topic-changes…

		Sixty degrees! I am so not kidding when I tell you that everyone here is in shorts and flip-flops. I’m wearing them, too! Next…!
		Since there were a couple of requests for it, here is my new cut and color. Compliments of my pregnant, hairdresser sister. Self-portrait and a little windy, but you get the idea. Next…!
		Timmy: Look, Mom! I got 100% on my spelling test!
		Molly Renee: Look, Mom! I grew lungs! My sister is very proud of both of her kids. Next…!
		To all of the Deadliest Catch fans out there…ever wonder where the crab pots go during the off-season? Well, they become lawn ornaments.
		Again – so not kidding. This is a very common sight in Kodiak. Next…!
		A prettier scene…this is Kodiak Harbor. The center of commerce in this little city. Next…!
		Phyllis and Izabelle. This is the only pregnancy photo my sister would allow on verypink. She looks good, but she’s feeling kinda huge. I leave here Sunday night, arriving back in Houston early Monday morning. Forgive me if there isn’t a post on Monday. Have a great weekend!

This post is (mostly) a photo series featuring my 7-year-old nephew, Timmy. His mother would like me to include this disclaimer:

Timmy is an active, normal kid who rides his bike, plays in the dirt, annoys the dog, and eats his vegetables.

But he’s also being prepared for an adulthood that involves responding to emails while crossing a busy downtown street. You’ve seen ‘em…The Crackberry People. They use their Blackberry phones as if emails and texting are a life and death matter.

Here’s Timmy with his Game Boy…I don’t see much difference.

I suppose I should mention that I’m still visiting my family in Alaska.

		Here he is at a hamburger joint…
		In the car…
		Lunch in the diner…
		At his mom’s hair salon during my cut and color…
		And during last night’s sushi dinner. In twenty years he will have replaced the Game Boy with something that has a QWERTY keyboard…I only hope it’s as much fun as killing bad guys. I’m making fun of the whole thing here, but I have to say: Wow. It’s EASY to take this kid out to dinner.
		On a different note… If you haven’t had the pleasure of eating sushi made from fish that was caught that day and delivered from docks one block from the restaurant, might I suggest it? Mindblowingly delish.
		Mandatory doggie photo: 10-month-old Izabelle. She is my first terrier experience. I’ve never met such a tenacious animal. Sweet, but stubborn.

Whew. I’m here. It took 16 hours…including one successful flight, one missed flight, one denied standby flight, one very chilly flight (I was in shorts)…but I’m here. (On the chilly flight, the outside of the plane actually iced up. Brrrr.)

I can show you what I have seen so far…

		Anchorage wasn’t my final destination, but a nice welcome, nonetheless. I spent a lot of time in this airport. About five hours, to be exact.
		I spent a good amount of time staring at this counter…
		And did a little of this… Alaskan Amber, if you were wondering.
		And a little of this. I had a lot of time to kill.
		When I arrived in Kodiak, it was abundantly clear that I wasn’t in Texas anymore. This photo was taken at 10:30 at night.
		I’m all messed up with the time change, so everyone is asleep except for me and this beast. This is Izabelle. She will have to take over the Basenji content on verypink this week. My next goal: take photos of something other than the airport.