What's in a Name?

So the decision to move to Alaska took me no time at all to make...the decision to start a blog? Required MUCH more thought...and took A LOT longer...and once I decided to START blogging, the many, many design / template / layout decisions were ten times more difficult than the move...so many choices, so many ways to go...and the name??? It's like trying to decide what to name your child...or your dog...I want it to be just right, to reflect me, to be unique...I read suggestion and idea sites, followed their advice and wrote down my ideas, then walked away...gave it some time...I settled on a name, started the blog...then decided I wasn't sure.

I mentioned "Dog, Dog, Moose" to a couple of friends...they laughed, and voted for it. It's random, and silly, but it makes me smile...my inspiration for it came while laying (lying? I'm never sure on this one) in bed one night...with my two dogs snuggled with me, thinking how could I incorporate my move to Alaska (without making the blog JUST about Alaska) with my dogs in some way without coming across as a completely crazy dog owner. With animals in my mind, I thought of "Duck, Duck, Goose" and then thought, "Dog, Dog, Moose"...my two dogs, and the soon to be many moose sightings I anticipate experiencing up in Alaska ~ and that's the simple explanation to my choice in Blog title ~ nothing terribly profound.

And now, because I'm still learning, here is a gratuitous dog photo of my boys...



P.S. Can you tell I like using ellipsis marks?!? :)

Entering the Blogging World

I have been a blog reader / lurker for a couple of years now. I love finding great crafting ideas, quilting inspiration, and new recipes among other things in my blog reading. There are blogs I follow where I feel I know the blogger even though we've never met. It feels a bit voyeuristic at times but I know people only share what they want you to know so I don't feel the least bit guilty peeking into their lives. And then I have friends in real life who blog and even though I know a lot of what is taking place with them, I still enjoy following along in their on-line activities.

I've decided to jump into the blogging world because at the age of 35, I'm making a somewhat major (for me, anyway) life change and wanted to record the experiences as they happen. I also want a way to keep in touch with friends and family who will now all be rather far away.

I've lived in Colorado for all but 2 years of my life and never really gave a lot of thought to moving anywhere else because it is a great place to live. But this past December, an opportunity was presented to me to live in a beautiful home in Anchorage, Alaska and I didn't even think twice about it before saying "YES". This is somewhat out of character for me because I am usually a planner and a worrier and I need to have everything lined up in my life or at least spend time thinking it all through before I make a major decision.

There were 3 major items to take care of as far as I was concerned:
1. Find someone to rent out my Colorado condo
2. Find a job in Anchorage
3. Purchase a vehicle to get me up there

So far, #1 is scratched off my 'to do' list - a college friend of mine will be moving in to my place - such a relief as I will leave many of my belongings here and really wanted someone I trusted to live here ~ thank you Ginger!

#2 is in the beginning stages ~ it is interesting to see how many CO / AK connections there are among friends I have here...I have feelers out for a couple of possibilities...this is not just a job search for me...it is also (hopefully) a career change...I'm not anxious about finding a job...yet...but this is definitely an area I'm praying about...for open doors, for wisdom in where to look and guidance in figuring out what I want to do.

#3 I have been looking for a used vehicle ~ trying not to look TOO hard yet as I really would like to avoid having a car payment until absolutely necessary...it's definitely tempting to go out and find something right now, but I'm trying to be patient and prudent.

I've been asked if I'm nervous, stressed out, worried etc...and my truthful answer to all of these inquiries is absolutely 'No'. I am really excited about experiencing life in a new city, meeting new people and making new friends. I feel like I am ready for a change in my life ~ I just didn't know how it would manifest itself.

I'm still figuring out blogging so please bear with me - I promise not to always be so wordy and I will include pictures for sure! :)