The End of Another Year....

It's always fun to review the past year...I have the tendency to focus on the all the bad things that happen in a year when first looking at it however the good slowly begin to pop up. This year has definitely had it's ups and downs as is to be expected--if you had told me last year that I would be back in Alaska willingly I would have laughed hysterically. And even now that I am here I wouldn't say it was my first choice, however I know I am where I'm supposed to be. So let's review what 2013 had to offer me.....

In January I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Seattle for a week of training with HAP Alaska-Yukon. It was incredible to meet new people that shared my passion/love of Alaska and see what Seattle had to offer on a tourist level. I was able to see Jodi and Gil (my mom's cousins) while I was there; I think it had been almost 7 years since I had last seen them so it was really nice! I was able to go see the gum wall, go to Hard Rock Cafe for the first time and see what shopping was like in a big city. I remember absolutely loving the architecture downtown and getting to see the underground tunnels that they had when Seattle was first founded. For those of you that don't know...I do love history so it was neat to be able to take some of that in.

After that I spent a few weeks in Provo, spending time and saying good-bye to many of my friends. I had no idea when I would be back through there again. And then it was onto my next adventure in Arizona. While I was in AZ Daniel and I broke up. It was hard, but definitely for the best. I was able to soak up the sun poolside in between working for HAP Alaska-Yukon. I was able to re-establish some friendships that had been neglected due to distance and I was able to make many more new friends. I'm so grateful for all of my friends that I made while in AZ...I don't know when I will be back down there or if it will ever be a permanent move, however I LOVED every second I was in Arizona and what it had to offer me. I frequented the zoo on several occasions and even made a spontaneous trip to Mexico for the day...that was so much fun!

My cousin Zach ended up getting home from his mission about a month before I was supposed to head back up to Alaska. During one of our conversations I happened to mention that I would be driving back up to AK the beginning of May and that if he wanted to he was more than welcome to tag along....I had told mom and dad that I would have other people driving up with me...but most of them ended up bailing on me because they had to get to AK before I could leave. So unbeknownst to me Zach said yes but didn't actually plan on coming up BUT when I made it to his mission farewell before heading up he packed his bag and away we went. The trip was so much fun! Haha we were able to catch up with each other and get to know each other better. Zach ended up staying up here for the summer working with a hunting guide outfit. It's sounding like he'll be back with them again next summer which will be awesome! His family ended up coming to visit this summer; I took a couple of days off and we made a mad dash down to Homer (that's 10 hours away for those of you that don't know Alaska...) and spent a couple days down there. We had some fun fishing adventures!

This summer was a whirlwind of activity--many new faces to meet with HAP and many old faces to catch up with. I was so busy though--in years past I have worked 40ish hour weeks as the reservation agent, however this year I took a different position as a Transportation Supervisor. Almost the whole summer I was working 6 days a week and between 65-80 hours within that week. I may or may not have broken down into tears at some point, however I did love my job. While working this year I ended up getting my Commercial Driver's License...ever since I started working for HAP four years ago I have wanted to get my CDL. It was a lot of hard work and very stressful, but I felt so accomplished.

When I left Arizona in the spring, I had every intention of coming back come fall. However, as the summer progressed I just had this nagging feeling that Arizona was not the place I was meant to be...I felt the urging that Alaska was where I needed to be. I was praying and fasting about the decision but I wanted to be sure that it was the right decision. During that week I ended up getting an offer to work at a local Oral Surgeon's office (see one of my previous posts for the full story). I finished with HAP and started at Dr. Sutley's the following Monday. Within a few weeks I moved from the Receptionist to the back as a Surgical Assistant/Technician. I absolutely LOVE my job and the office that I work for. The Sutley's are so generous and with the clinic family comes first.

Thanksgiving came...it was nice to spend that with my family this year--it was the first time since I was a senior in high school that I got to spend with my family. Then came Christmas! My mom and I were able to be apart of the Fairbanks Symphony Chorus this year...we had our Christmas concert. It was so fun to be able to do something that both my mother and I love. We had so much fun and are looking forward to singing Verdi in the spring.

And to top off the year I decided to send it off with a bang...by getting into a car accident. I have been house-sitting for the last couple weeks and was on my way to work last Friday when I slid over into the opposite lane and crashed into a semi-truck head on....I was driving my mother's car (mine wouldn't start the previous evening) and it was totaled. However I have no doubts that there was a reason my car did not start the previous evening, some people call it luck, others karma...personally I know it was divine intervention. I was able to walk away from my accident with a minor burn on my wrist from the airbag, a couple bruises from the seat belt, and a very stiff back. All in all I am so grateful just to be alive!

As the year is winding down, I have had a chance to take a look at what all I have accomplished and what I was hoping to accomplish. I may not be where I thought I would be right now, however I have no doubts that I am where I am supposed to be. I'm so grateful to my family for allowing me to stay with them so that I can pay off some bills and get some money put into savings. I'm excited to see what 2014 has to offer, I'm sure that there will be many fun adventures.

Have a happy and safe New Year's eve and day!

Lots of love from the North Pole!

Ashlyn

The End of Another Year....

Well this year seems to have been a difficult one for me to remember to blog....I think I only had three blog posts for 2013...I'm sorry for that but it was a bit of a busy year. Since I was last on a few more things have happened. When I was hired at Dr. Sutley's it was as a Receptionist with the hopes of moving to assistant eventually. When that eventually was going to be was kind of unspoken...well within threeish weeks of working as a receptionist, there were some more job changes and I was asked if I wanted to move to the back as an assistant. I was thrilled beyond belief, this was the field of work I wanted to be in to build a career.  These last few months have been crazy as I have been learning how to assist Dr. Sutley, reading the x-rays better  It's been great getting to know the girls at work better and the Sutley's are truly amazing people. At our clinic it's very family oriented--they are really understanding if something comes up. I am truly blessed, this job literally fell into my lap and then the people are incredible.

I've also recently been called as the Relief Society president...round two. I'm excited to get to know the girls in my branch better and to be a little more involved.

This is a pretty short post, but you know what...it is what it is sometimes! Haha I have to go help mom get the house ready and bake cookies for Santa.

Merry Christmas!!!

Ashlyn