Milk Expiration Dates

...and other random stuff from Carolina Girl.

I have a few things that I wanted to share, so I thought I'd just pile them up in one random, multi-directional post. Stay with me, if you can.

1. Have you ever used the milk expiration date as a countdown of sorts? Let me explain. When I'm at the grocery store and I pick up a gallon of milk, I always look at the expiration date. And I always think of things that are supposed to happen before the milk expires. For example, if milk expires on Nov 12, then I know my birthday will come before the milk expires. I've used it to mark all kinds of occasions. Here are some more things I've thought of as I reached into the dairy case...my due date is before this gallon of milk expires, B-man will deploy before this milk expires, B-man will be back from deployment before this milk expires (a year later, mind you), the monthly bills are due before this milk expires, Christmas/Easter/Thanksgiving, etc will be here before this milk expires, and so on and so forth. Could I be the only one who does this? Am I the only one who does this?
Anyway, I was at the commissary the other day and I reached for a gallon of milk. The expiration date read July 13th. And guess what happens on July 13th??  WE GET THE KEYS TO OUR HOUSE!!!!! And I totally thought of this as I joyfully put the milk into our buggy and hurried to the checkout. Granted, we'll make it with this jug of milk by the skin of our teeth, but I'll take it! We sign the lease on Monday, get the keys on the 13th and the movers come on the 14th! Hallelujer!

2. The reindeer from the antler picture with B-man and Boo was only 2 years old! You can't judge the age of a reindeer by the size of their antlers.

3. I forgot to put this video in the last post from the Matanuska Glacier. We were walking back up to the car and off to the side of the trail, some folks told us to come over and check this out. The ground would move when you put your weight on it. It was like a water bed of rocks. Or a trampoline of rocks. You definitely moved on it, but it was very solid feeling underneath. It was very weird.

4. B-man and his team went hiking Tuesday morning on Mt Baldy in Eagle River. It was a nice clear morning and he saw the tip of Mt McKinley aka Denali way off in the distance. He took this pic with his phone, and you can only see the tip of it, but it's in the middle of the photo. You can see the snowy triangle of the top of the mountain. You can only see McKinley from this far South on a really clear day. We've learned that when you can see it from Anchorage, the locals will say, "Denali's out today." 

What a beautiful place to work out in the morning!
Well, until you remember that you're hiking this mountain in preparation to hike in the mountains of, well, you know where.

Are you still with me?
5. There's been a lot of talk about keeping yourself safe from the wildlife here in Alaska. Bears and moose in particular. The truth is, the more likely encounter is with a moose and they can be pretty mean and nasty. But, the animals that really have me concerned are the bears. Did you know that you're supposed to respond differently to different bears??
In an effort to try to help me remember what I'm supposed  do, I'm going to give you all a little Bear 101.

B-man had a newcomers brief this week and the forestry dude shared this info on what to do if you come across a bear. In general, for all bears, try to back away slowly and calmly. But, if the encounter escalates, this is what you need to know.
 
Brown bears: this includes brown bears AND Grizzly bears. Do NOT run! Try to back away slowly. If they attack you, lie on your belly or in the fetal position and protect your neck and abdomen (aka vital organs). Supposedly, if you just lie there and be still and quiet, they'll leave you alone (and hopefully leave the area) once they feel like you're no longer a threat. Hmmm...supposedly. Don't get me wrong, you're going to be hurting, bad, but hopefully you'll still be alive.

 Black bears:  Apparently, these bears take it one step further. They will attack you until you are dead and then eat you for supper. So, IF they attack, get the heck out of dodge anyway you can...RUN!
Now, before we moved, I thought I'd get some bear spray/repellent when we get up here. I imagined it to be like a can of pepper spray. You know, something that was small and that would fit on my key chain. Well, it's pretty big. Think Aqua Net aerosol hairspray can size. And...it's FIFTY dollars!! So, I just have been putting it off b/c do I really need it? Umm, after B-man came home and told me all of the lovely information from his Newcomers Brief... yes, yes I do NEED a large can of fifty dollar bear spray. B-man wants to know if I'd be able to find it in my diaper bag in time to use it. And I admit, that's a good question, because my bag is packed full of stuff, but I do need it b/c let's face it, I am afraid of bears. There. I said it.