Thought

A Short Message

We will miss you Grandpa Bradshaw!

Dear Santa,

I am way behind on posting about what we did for Thanksgiving, but I know I will get around to it after this weekend. However, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is one of my favorite things in the world. Every year Rob and I (and on most years excluding this one, Suz) watch the whole thing.

Well, I heard of this other thing Macy's is doing this year. If you bring your letter to Santa to their store before Christmas, with a stamp on it, they will donate money to the "Make a Wish Foundation". This is one of my very favorite charities. Rob and I have already decided that eventhough we could probably drop our letters off to SC in person, we are for sure dropping our letters off at the downtown Seattle store this Christmas. We encourage you all to do the same, because I am sure you have all been very good this year!

Into the Woods

I went on a walk the other day and took this picture. Simple, but beautiful to me.

Where We Live

Finally, a couple of photos of our neighborhood! It's unlike anywhere we have ever lived!

November in Alaska

It has been really clear this week, which means REALLY cold (like below 0 at night)!

The snow here must just stick around until Spring, because we haven't had any temperatures warm enough to melt it. All the trees look like they are made of ice and snow.

They don't salt the roads here because the temperatures get too low for the salt to work effectively.

We plug our car in at night so the engine block doesn't freeze.

The seafood section at Costco here is AMAZING! They have everything and it is all HUGE!

Everyone here is crazy about Christmas. Christmas lights start going up right after Halloween.

Finally, We lose 5 minutes of daylight a day. Today the sun will rise at 9:19am and set at 4:11pm.

Update

1) First, a clarification... We DO sleep in our living room! At the time we took the picture we only had a futon, an Aero Bed (which we bought at Costco because it was cheap and it turns out it is SO comfortable and I am tempted to not even buy a bed at all), and a TV. Since that time we have bought 2 bar stools (so we don't have to eat on the floor), a TV stand, a TV tray, and a lamp. Alas, eventhough we have a two bedroom apartment we still only have enough furniture to fill the living room.

2) We do have more pictures of Alaska other than just our apartment, like the outdoors and stuff. Now that studying is done we can get to posting those this weekend.

3) Rob and I conquered our last certification requirements yesterday and today! I also found out today that I PASSED my board exam. Now I am Amanda Bradshaw MPAS, AND PA-C!!! And as soon as Rob's exam score comes back he will be Robert Bradshaw MBA, CPA!!!

Wow, together that is a lot of letters, but to you we are still just Mandy and Bobby!

Alaska, so far....

Boogedy Boogedy Boogedy Boo!

Do you remember this Halloween flick? Every would love to find a copy of this someday! (Remember to pause the music on the right side of the page before watching.)

Happy Halloween!

To Get You in the Halloween Mood

How funny is this? I mean, who thinks of these things?

Yes we are still up in Alaska, doing well. It is still cold; and yes, we are still studying for tests. The computer is still acting crazy, it rejects both my camera and my blackberry pictures... time to call the Geek Squad.

PS: Saw another moose in the middle of the road just chewing on some grass the other day, and a bald eagle just soaring above our neighborhood!

To Catch a Thief

Rob and I started our annual classic mystery movie Halloween event with Hitchcock's "To Catch a Thief". It has a great cast and it was really fun to watch. We love watching old suspense movies for our Halloween celebration. Although, it looks more like winter outside. It has been snowing for about two weeks now. We are trying to remind ourselves that we still have to remind ourselves that Christmas is still two months away!

Speaks for Itself

"You Can't Steal Happiness." -The Weepies

Food for Thought

"You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do."
-Henry Ford

Favorite Presidential Race Quote

Scott Adams, "When it comes to picking our next president, I can't decide if I prefer the smooth-talking, inspirational candidate who promises to give my money to people who don't work as hard as I do, or the old, short, ugly, angry guy with one good arm who graduated at the bottom of his class and somehow managed to shag a hot heiress and become a contender for president. It seems dangerous to underestimate that guy."

This guy is the creator of the Dilbert Cartoon.

Favorite commercial while staying in Toronto, Canada

This is one of my favorite commercials while I was visiting Toronto, Cananda.

Thanks for Listening

This blue tootsie pop (well actually, one that looked exactly like this one) has helped to console me. I think I mentioned it once before, but I love the tootsie pop! Oh, and how random is this...


This is "Tootsie Pop". He happens to be one of my favorite breeds, the Australian Shepherd. Not only that, but he is my favorite color of Australian Shepherd, the BLUE Merle... the color of my TOOTSIE POP! Now if that isn't I sign I don't know what is, now if I could only figure out for what...

Just Hear Me Out...

Okay, I want to make this brief. I try to avoid getting into rants on this, because I know that is not what you came here for. However, Rob is out of town, so our time is money. Plus he has already hit the hay, since it is three hours ahead.

Anyway, I just hoped whoever is reading would listen to me for a minute. I am just so tired of actors and musicians and other famous figures saying such rude things about people they don't even know. Just because someone doesn't share your same views is not a reason to call them horrible names. Didn't their parents teach them that "if they can't say something nice, don't say anything at all", or even the "Golden Rule". I mean, I have my views on things of course, but I can't imagine saying some of the things these people do simply because they don't agree politically. It isn't even just them expressing disagreement with views, it is using expletives to describe them in profane and derogatory ways. I mean come on, is that the best one can do with their freedom of speech?

I am a firm believer that if you don't agree with someone the least you can do is be kind. So, in the off-chance the one of these offenders would come across this message (which is slim mind you) my plea...

If you can't implement the lessons taught oh-so long ago, than please stick a sock in it.

PS: I do believe that is a sock and not a yeasty tongue.

Starting Over Again

Moving into a new place, with just our suitcases makes for a bare apartment. Luckily we have found several touches to make it more like home. Bonus: practically everything was on sale!

I saw this when I was in Portland with Lisa and I fell in love!


My favorite glasses.


Rob's favorite glasses.


Also, love these plates.


These towels we found in espresso.


And this very cool magnetic kitchen timer that happens to match my trusty kitchen clock.

We have so many dreams of what we want our apartment to be, but the best part is that it is slowly becoming home.

Our New Ride!!

This is our new ride while in Alaska. We are very excited for this car. We feel like we got a great deal. If you notice, it looks like my old car, Jorge's, older and bigger brother.

Rob: I Dedicate This to You

I know it is late, but you're away and I am thinking of you. I was watching The Cosby Show and I was TOTALLY laughing to myself because Rudy's violin solo sounded very familiar. I couldn't find the exact clip, but I found a similar moment from the same episode. It won't let me embed it, but if you go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKiyHMjvcPU

and fast forward to 3:40 you can kindof see why it made me laugh.

I love you and I miss you!

We've Survived Week 1

I STILL haven't gotten the camera figured out, so I am bummed that I can't get the pictures of our place up yet.

Well, we finished the first week. I went out on some interviews, and Rob survived a hectic first week of work. I also got the chance to get back into something I really love, and that is riding horses. Our friends have three horses so we went on a trail ride yesterday afternoon. I was in heaven! There are acres and acres of trails right next to our house. They are cross country trails in the winter, and the rest of the year you can ride on them. The leaves were falling off of the birch trees and it was so quintessentially fall!

After the ride I picked Rob up from work and we went to look at a car. We have been using a rental this week and it has been quite the task to find a great used car. We ended up finding our car yesterday! We bought a white '99 Honda Passport, it is great because it was so hard to give up Rob's old car. This car is like Jorge's big brother. Anyway, we love it and are so glad we found it.

Well, we are proud to say we put the first week under our belt and are on our way to fitting in up here in Alaska.

PS

We had our first moose sighting coming home from work yesterday. Three moose were drinking water and eating grass by the side of the highway.

Home: Eagle River, AK

Our camera is still crazy, so I haven't been able to post pictures. We have been in Anchorage since Sunday. We actually live in Eagle River, which is 10 miles north of Anchorage. It is gorgeous! Above is a picture of Eagle River. Right now the leaves are all yellow. There is snow on the mountains, "termination dust", indicating that summer is surely over.

We live in a cute mother-in-law apartment. Currently, it is only furnished with a small TV, an air mattress, and our landlord's futon. Rob works in downtown Anchorage. Today I met him for lunch at the Nordstrom cafe, a little taste of home, which was fun. I have been busy with job interviews. Other than that we have been busy getting to know the people, looking for a car, and enjoying our new adventure. Being away from family is always hard, but we are trying our best to make the most of this experience. Well, that's it for now, more later.

North to Alaska

We leave tomorrow to begin our adventure north. The past several weeks have been packed, but we must fill you in later. The camera is currently not cooperating with the computer, so stay tuned!

Wish us luck!

What a great start to the 2008 season of mountain west football. BYU beat Northern Iowa and Utah beat Michigan. I am so excited to see how well the mountain west conference is doing. I was even excited to see Utah beat Michigan today and usually I am not too thrilled to see them win. However, I believe that any non-conference win for the Utes or the Cougars is great and I praise them on an outstanding start to this season.

All Signs Point to Alaska

So the countdown is beginning. We bought our tickets yesterday and we have a place to live. So, it looks like this Alaska thing is really gonna happen!

If that isn't enough, and without getting overly political, we wake up this morning to a new VP choice from none other than the great state of AK! I think all signs are certainly pointing to Alaska!

Oh, just a sidenote, they said on her bio that Sarah Palin loves moose burgers. We happen to LOVE moose burgers as well, thanks to Shaun and Becky. Add a little pepper-jack cheese and guac and you've got yourself the perfect lean BBQ treat!

A Fabulous Dinner Double Date

We went out to dinner with Suz and Thai this last week, after our busy move. It was so much fun! We could have stayed there all night just talking! The food was excellent, and the ambience was perfect. It all made for a very enjoyable evening!

Mac & Cheese with the Cieslaks

Also before I left I got to catch up with Dan, Stacie, and Danielle. It was a terrific afternoon complete with my favorite lunch: hot dogs and Kraft mac and cheese!

It was so great to see you guys. I can't wait until we get to spend time with you guys again soon!

Saying "See Ya Later" to a Bunch of Terrific Friends

Before leaving town we had a BBQ with some of our good friends, the Davis High Crew + spouses + kids.






It was so fun to get together. We were so thankful everyone could come and we had a terrific time, topped off with delicious red velvet and triple chocolate cupcakes, thanks again Natasha!

Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend

We never really thought this day would come. However, we decided to sell the Accord. We are lucky it went to a good home, but we will miss it dearly.

No Brakes Bradshaws

Here we are, the "No Brakes Bradshaws"! We showed the Alpine Coaster who was boss multiple times!


For our last week in Utah, we went with Rob's family to Park City for a super day o' fun. We had a BBQ, rode the alpine slide and coaster, walked up and down mainstreet, got some ice cream, browsed the outlets, and topped it off with dinner out. It was a great day!

This picture should say it all!

A Blast From the Past, NKOTB

What do you think...

Should I keep the group together? Or, should I only keep my favorite and sell off the other four? Decisions, decisions! Truth be told, Barbie can only date one of them at a time, and I'm pretty sure she has eyes for Joe!

Finally, a PA!

Today marks the 1 week anniversary of my official PA graduation. I know I did the schoolwide graduation in May with Robert (the school graduation is only offered in May), but we actually graduated from PA school on August 1st. So, two graduation ceremonies later and I am finally done!

Here are some of the gals. I had such awesome friendships during PA school, our class was awesome. We became really close and although school was really stressful, we managed to have a terrific time!

Shawna and Marshall and their cute family!

And of course, Becky and Shaun.

We will miss all of our friends as we move away, but we promise to keep in touch!

Thanks Rob for being a terrific photographer!