nearly 10 inches shorter....but hair grows. :-)

 was feeling frumpy and i think i worried that a stylist would just look at frumpy me and give me some standard frumpy 50 year old hair style so...the other morning i put it in a pony tail and lopped off 10 inches...more once i evened it out.

 always fun getting the reaction, which a friend at work not too long ago who had cut off her locks had said as well.  i still should probably make an appointment to even it out a bit more and/or put in a few highlights and such...so far i'm pretty happy with the shorter look though.

 these are at zoo and conservation center by the way...still catching up on Junes photo's.

 over the years i have done chops of my hair. i actually think it's good for your hair to give it a good chop on occasion.  my hair has always grown back pretty fast really and eventually i tend to get bored with having less options, which happens with shorter hair.  i am a Gemini.  haha.

 i have also never wanted to be my hair.  my hair is a part of me, but i am me not matter my hair length.  i think when you have long hair you almost get afraid to cut it, like you are taking away a part of who you are. so i guess when you do cut it, it is a bit freeing.

 so, nice to get loads of likes and comments on facebook and more comments at work.  one co-worker has been in the same debate with her longer hair.  to cut or not to cut.

 i think a few were a bit sad to see my hair chopped off, though still positive.  it does grow back....at least for now it still has.

 these baby bears are super cute.

 work this week was 90% Emergency Room and 10% PACU.  not even sure what that stands for.  post surgery recovery...they were totally backed up i guess with no rooms seeming to come available.  me and another girl from float pool came in to save the day even though neither of us had been oriented down there.  didn't seem a bad gig to me.  i'm sure now that i've been sent there once they will be likely to return me again.

 i did get rooms for my patients and then went down to the ER to save them!! since OR patients got the last of the beds...ER quickly backed up.  i think by morning we had 15 holds...i had 4.  not a bad night.  the next night i was in the acute part of ER most of the night.  they don't always put me there but i think i survived.

 last night i was on the west side of the ER and then later moved to the east side.

 i'm all good with family and friends being "advocates" for people but let me just say that being an advocate does not mean you are required to be pushy arse holes..just saying.  i held my tongue.  i'm better at just shutting up than faking nice.  i'm sure i did make a few slightly snarky retorts.

 when the one family member got in my face complaining of the wait and saying, "should i just go out and buy her some ibuprofen?"...or some such nonesense, i almost said he was welcome to wheel his mom out and go to one of the other hospitals in town, but i suspected since everyone was on divert the wait times at those would not be much of an improvement.

 most of my training was at Los Angeles County Medical Center.  wait times in those county hospital ER's go far beyond the less than 2 hour wait time this guy was dealing with.  they roll trauma after trauma past....8-10 hour waits was not unusual for less critical issues. Whiners...

 they are supposed to start on my roof in the next few days.  would have been today i guess but it was raining pretty good this morning.

 wasn't sure so i closed all my blinds so that i would wake to noise and some roofer standing over me.  tonight i have fresh sheets to sleep in.  aww...!!  did sleep great today. nice that i won the ER drawing and went home last night at 5am.

 this one doc in the ER is actually super caring with patients and good, but he can get a bit cranky...nothing major just cranky when he's tired...at one point he stood tapping his foot at me.  i almost said that line from "Legally Blonde", "don't stomp your prada shoes at me".  only so much i can do....i had his last patient of the night.  he was trying to get her taken care of so he could start to catch up and go home...he was several hours late getting out of there anyway.  i really did not hold him up.  i think he knew i was dealing with the idiot son anyway. he told another nurse later the son was a doosh.  (totally spelled that wrong)

 got a late start as usual on the walk but really not too bad.  i keep debating where to go.  i want to do different hikes and change it up a bit.  still debating a short road trip over the next few days.  always fun.

 ended up going out to Reflection Lake for a loop and then drove out to Palmer and returned via the Old Glenn.  it's been awhile since i drove that way.  clouds, sunshine mixed with rain at times. pretty out though.

 yesterday i got Rio and Blossom out for a loop in the Bog.  Rio is still slow and i am for sure taking her less.  she's done her time.  you rarely see any Mastiffs out of trails, let alone an old gal like Rio.  that dog will try and do anything for me though so i try to take the decision away from her.  i think she knows it's best too, but i know she misses us when we are away.

 always time for snuggle time with Rio on the couch though later.

 my steps have been great. even with zero steps recorded for this new day today my week average is still easily over 10,000 steps/day. so what ever i walk today will just increase that.  my pool and bike time could improve.  still want to get this 50 year old body looking a bit less 50 and more 30....haha...!! i see 70 and 80 year olds doing amazingly athletic things so i know it's possible !!

 the black bear shape is so different from the grizzly body shape. especially when you see the black bear in profile.

 our cool ranger from out last trip out to Round Island is headed back there to give one of the current rangers a break...!!  so excited for her, that should be fun.  she is the one who did the art for our logo and our next sticker.

 thought this was funny of the bear taking a deep sniff of the lupine...so not only do bears shit in the woods, they take time to stop and smell the flowers. i like them even more now.

 the kid next door has said he will watch Blossom and the cats while i am in Barrow.  so that is a relief.  this will be the first time i leave him with them for longer than while i am at work.  he is over 18 now and he has known Blossom her whole life.  hopefully, it all goes well.

 the lupine is pretty much gone now and the scenery has filled with fireweed.

 still mesmorized by their feet and claws...that was a huge thing that stuck with me when that bear was trying to claw it's way into my car while i was sleeping in there.  the claws clicking into the open window.

 i have been walking on my own a lot this summer and have not been anxious at all. it is amazing how these things happen and you learn to keep them in perspective.

 big cuts expected for our local military...congress may reverse at least some of those cuts. personally, i think Alaska being closest to Russia and Russia's new quest to take over the entire arctic..i think it's wise to keep a strong military presence here.

 a possible ferry between St Paul and St George...that would have been nice when we were there visiting.  our trip got a wee bit more spendy when we had to charter a plane between the two islands, which are pretty close together. water had turned rough anyway...but a ferry option would be great.  St George is less visited but much more picturesque.

 at least 12 sea lions killed near Cordova have been determined to have been deliberately killed by assholes...err, i mean humans. i hope whoever did this is caught and gets severely punished!  so irritating and sad to think we have people like this among us who have so little regard for life.

 a reward of $7500.00 is offered for leads that lead to capture.

 the black bears were being fed first, but the big brownies were hopeful.  a bald eagle did swoop down and steal some salmon...much to the joy of the many tourists watching the feeding.

 funny to see a black bear and grizzly together.

 there were a pair of baby moose being hand raised at the conservation center.  this guy came out and gave me a photo op. so cute and sweet!!

 an artist is making body casts which i guess are planned to be placed out on the mudflats around Anchorage...it's to show the plight of the many out there with mental health and those who have lost their lives to suicide.

 seems like a fine idea...but...a few things come to mind.  will they shortly be sucked into the mud.  will they stay there forever...what will they be made of and lastly...while they stand out there will they be a draw that will encourage more people to walk on the mud flats and thus risk their lives?

 little guy was munching away on the grasses out there.

 actually don't know if these are males or females.  just cute.

 moose babies are all legs.

 learning to bend down to eat like the big moose do. i could see shaved areas on both front legs, must have gotten iv fluids.

 how cute is this.  i am starting to wind down for the night. i don't think they will come tomorrow morning to do the roof.  if they do i will for sure pack the car and head out.

 of course, they have ruled the deaths of the pair on the Denali highway murder.  they were missing from their campground trailer and found dead in another trashed out trailer.  not sure what that was all about.  i'm always as careful as i can be.  in the end you can't live for the what ifs or you will miss out on the experience of it all.

 lots of swans outside of Portage

 Exit Glacier

 and i'll wrap it up with a beautiful night.

grateful for:  A.  that i work 12 hour shifts and that i can leave my work at work B.  laughter...one can never get too much. C.  compliments...they tend to be rare but with my hair chop i got loads.