Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Moose Hunting: A sport for some, Food on the table for many

It's been 2 days now since my husband left for moose hunting. I am hoping he would would come back sooner than planned. I really would love to see him outside my workplace once i get done because it's been pouring rain for the past 3 days now and it's almost non-stop every day. We talked to a friend of ours to pick me up in the mornings and I'll ride my bike to her job then we commute together and she'll drop me off at my house. I don't mind riding my bicycle for 6.5 miles if it's not raining and chilly at the same time. In times like this all I have to do is tough it out. Let's go back to moose hunting which is the main topic of my post. The past 2 consecutive years, we've been dining with a lot of moose dishes and that's how we get to save money on groceries. You know, a steak of beef or pork is much tastier than the gamy flavor of moose but wild animals has their advantages when it comes to health and nutrition benefits. I started writing this post and left it as a draft yesterday (9/14/2015) because i wasn't in the mood to finish it up. Anyway, I know the title says about moose hunting but i'd probably update you guys on what happened today. So i was supposed to work part-time in this local roadhouse/restaurant (20 hours a week) I started a week a go but then the owner went to Germany for a fall vacation to see her family. I was warned that I may never get enough hours so I wasn't really that surprised that today will be my last day (LOL). Apparently they don't have much goin' on this week so they asked me to probably come back next month but I will have to see if I'm available when that time comes. So to make the long story short, I'm a homemaker again (without the kids around)a bit sad but at least no more waking up too early in the morning so that's the bright side of it. I don't know I get bored so easily even with the internet on so I tend to start a drama between me and hubby about wanting to go and earn a living. What I really would love to do though is to have my own tiny little business so I am my own boss and I don't have to worry about getting late for 5 minutes everyday. Back to moose hunting, last fall same month of the year when bunny got a moose a hundred yards from where we lived in June Creek. How awesome is that? At that time I was still working with him for the Denali Borough but we had to come to work an hour or two late because we had to tend to the moose to keep it from spoiling. My husband is an expert when it comes to skinning big game animals. He grew up in South Dakota with hunting white-tailed deer for food and his parents raised elks as a business so he kinda had the training on how to do those kind of stuff. My husband is the sweetest guy I know (when he wants to be ;-)) but also the toughest. For example right now, he's out there braving the chilly weather we have during autumn just to put food on the table. I mean, I'm not saying we're gonna starve if he doesn't get any but it helps to lower our grocery bills and also keeps us from consuming a lot of the GMO and hormone-fed animals.I won't deny it, game animals aren't the best tasting meat in the world but it's good for you. This year we are planning to make sausages out of them and will probably add a little bit of pork meat in it for fat. Moose meat are so lean that's why they're really good for everyone wanting to have a great diet. I've been researching how to tan the hide so we can have a buckskin for some home-made leather goods. It's not easy that's probably why genuine leather products have their prices rocketing. There's less and less people that does the traditional tanning (i.e. brain-tanning) due to the laborious nature of the job. I have taken the class to get a hunting license and it was cool to learn the right way of hunting and harvesting the meat so there are none wasted. Had I known I won't be working anymore, I would have gone hunting with bunny for two weeks. He is adamant to get a moose no matter what but he needs to come back to work on Saturday since one of his co-worker is getting the day-off for an emergency in their family. I have not concluded what to do yet whether it is to stay at home the next week or hunt with him, we'll see what happens on Friday night. As much as I want to shoot my own bull, I hate the coldness of the weather right now and it doesn't help when it pours most of the time nowadays. It probably has something to do with the typhoon in Japan that's affecting our current weather up here in the North. Ciao!

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Pre-Wedding Blues

It's funny how we have planned to do our reaffirmation of vows twice now and we didn't follow through. I am deeply asking for understanding from my family and friends who were hoping to be a part of it. I sincerely thank you all for wanting to be with us on that big event and I promise not to forget ya'll when that time comes(this time it's for real but will be a surprise WHEN)definitely not this year though. I don't want to make excuses I know I screwed it up just like how the rain is trying to (ooppss wait a minute it's a slushy snow right now at this very moment while I'm typing this) ruin our road but thankfully we are moving to a new place so that should be out of the picture beginning tomorrow. Anyhow, the only consoling thing that happened was seeing my kids again(way back in May 2015) and because i got sick i had to cut my visit short ending up not seeing some old friends back in high school(I'm sorry about the pasalubong maybe next time). I did get to see Dubai and stayed for the night on my way to Manila it was kinda short but was glad to see my cousins and treated me out for dinner in Dubai Mall so that was neat. Thanks Again mga Ate: Myrna Navato and Rowena Navato(may you have a safe delivery soon!) Husband and I have been brainstorming on WHERE to have the event and there are pros and cons whether it'd be Manila or Borongan. It's mainly because I have my family and friends in Samar yet my college friends are mostly from Manila and most of my relatives are based in Manila as well. Not to mention that it's easier to plan an event when suppliers are just around the corner. But nothing beats the romantic feel a countryside wedding can offer. I love the idea of having a beach wedding ceremony and a reception full of people that I know of growing up but I want my closest friends from college and high school to be there so it's kinda hard to have everything I want when I perfectly know that they also have their own lives to tend to and a destination wedding won't do to either both parties. I am happy that some, only some of my friends in Manila will definitely do the honor to be there with me only because i have chosen them to be in the entourage( yes we are gonna have an entourage even though this is our second wedding). I'm hoping to have our American side of the family to be present as well but I understand that it's hard to take a vacation when everyone is committed to their work and I am just happy they were there for me when Trav and I did our chapel wedding in 2011. My point is, deciding WHERE to have our vow renewal is a very daunting task. I have to compromise some attendees to reach a definite decision that will make me happy and satisfied as well as my guests.

Thursday, August 6, 2015

How To Sell A House For Free

If you live in North America, you have probably sold a house once and bought a new one since you've settled down. I know mortgages are terrifying to have but most people in this country acquire their first property by getting a mortgage which is like a life-imprisonment for the most of us since we have to pay it at least in 3,5,7,10,15,30 or 40 years. If you get the 40 years it's like being in debt for the rest of your working days. Now if you're selling a house and you don't wanna pay a website or a realtor here's a few ways how to:

1. Post your listing in a website like Craigslist. You have to post it under your local city so people know where to look and can find your advertisement.

2. Post your ad in a local Page on Facebook. This is a very good way in putting out your property for sale for everyone in the neighborhood to see.

3. Make use of the bulletin board in the Post Office. Anybody who get and send out their mails through the post office box will be able to see your post. All you have to do is get the ad stamped.

4. Visit your local restaurant. Here in Alaska, some restaurants(at least the one nearby where i currently work for) has a board for local advertisement. Talk to the management about hanging your stuff.

5. Try some of the convenient store along the highway in at least 80 miles close to the property you're selling. Words travel fast.

6. The city hall can also serve as your advertisement place so while you're in town for business or shopping don't forget to hang that paper.

7. Through flyers that you can display along the highway where your property is in close proximity.

8. Tell everyone you know about the property. As i mentioned earlier word of mouth is one of the oldest advertisement there is without spending a penny.


I am sure there are still a lot of places that I haven't mentioned in here but for now, these are the things you can do to sell your property without a fee. We did sold ours through Craigslist just recently mainly the reason why I'm posting this article.