Elegance with a Purpose

I was honored to be a part of this year's Christmas Tree Elegance Gala and tree raffle to support the Eva Foundation.

The Eva Foundation helps build self-esteem by providing individuals assistance in establishing a new life after abuse.

Nearly a dozen Christmas trees were decorated with specific themes and "prize" ornaments (like spa treatments, fishing trips and vacations for two). The attendees bought raffle tickets for the right to win a tree and its prizes. Each tree had a beautifully styled attendant to explain the tree's prize package.

Also included in the fundraising efforts was a live auction, where I was one lucky lady to be able to model a sheared beaver and silver fox coat! It's a good thing my husband wasn't able to make it to the event... or I'd have had him bid on the coat.

It's wonderful to be able to blend elegance with a worthy purpose, it was a highly successful evening.

Sharpening Your Skills

Pilots rarely hope for an emergency during a flight. But when one happens it is usually a good idea to have an action plan in mind... one that you can implement in a timely fashion (not the time to get the book out and read up on engine failures as you're plummeting to the Earth).

This is precisely why training and simulators are a great idea.

I was lucky enough to be included in a week's worth of Twin Otter simulator time at the Flight Safety International training center in Toronto, Canada this month.

Although not all emergencies can be trained for specifically (like landing in the Hudson River), most emergencies can be duplicated in the environment of the simulator. Yes, the inside of the trainer is identical to the cockpit of the airplane and we can see "outside" as well, depending on what the computer programmer wants us to see.

It's one of the only times when you can screw up and crash in an airplane and live to tell about it. Yes, I crashed at least once during my time in the "hot seat", but I learned from the experience and can handle the emergency for the future.

Sometimes I would love to have a simulator for my real life... just think of being able to test out an idea or action in your life and then see what the results would be BEFORE you actually went ahead and did it! Wow, that would clear up a lot of angst in the future.

Mrs. Alaska goes International!

It's that time of year...

As we approach the end of the year most people will have looked back on what they are thankful for and will look forward to what they can improve on for next year.
I am very thankful for my family, especially my little girl. She is very good company. She makes me attempt to be the best person I can be and I feel that she keeps me "on my game" even when I would rather just let things slide.
I look forward to sharing the wonderful world of the outdoors with my little girl and hope she grows to love it as much as her father, sisters and friends do. That's one of her sisters carrying her in the backpack on a Thanksgiving Day hike with good friends.
I've never had someone following my lead so adamantly before and I can only strive to make the footsteps I leave for her ones that she will want to follow in the future.