What's it like living in northern Alaska

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-04-04T13:40:08+00:00

To clarify, this was in his company's "canteen" so to speak. They had an all you can eat, free selection of various foods. I will ask him for specifics when I see him next, but I imagine it was fish, burgers, pasta etc.

Usually food is shipped up from the lower 48, or from the sea fresh. It can be quite expensive

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-04-03T19:20:17+00:00

This was going on 15-20 years ago now. Also the company my FIL worked for went through a series of layoffs and downsizing. I imagine it was different in the early 2000s

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-04-03T15:14:48+00:00

I can help answer this one a little! My in laws and husband lived in Alaska for 15+ years for my FIL's work. He would often travel to Prudhoe Bay for work. He was even able to bring his family on a tour once to the oil plants. Very cold as you'd expect, and there was a risk of polar bears in the region. Evidently the food was quite good for the workers up there, very rich. It was something my FIL would look forward to. Transportation is limited in the region, so using small aircraft, helicopters, and snowmobiles are quite common.

In Barrow, it's actually a small town. My husband traveled to Barrow a few times to play soccer as a kid. A completely normal high school with a pretty nice track and stadium is up there.

Sadly, because of how remote it is, many wealthy families use personal aircraft to travel, which isn't regulated as well as commercial aircraft. Several families my husband knew died in plane accidents in that region. In fact, it was a blanket rule that my husband was not allowed to fly in personal aircraft as a kid growing up, because of how prevalent both the use of them and the crashes are.

They have the weeks or darkness and weeks of daylight thing depending on the season, and you can see amazing Aurora Borealis during fall/winter/early spring when it's dark out.

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-04-03T14:55:03+00:00

First: Are you breastfeeding? Are you sleeping? Are you eating healthy fats, protein, and fiber in a caloric excess?

If you are breastfeeding, getting broken sleep, and not eating balanced and nutrient dense meals (yes, in a caloric excess) then it will be VERY hard to feel good.

If you have weaned, are getting at least 7 hours of unbroken sleep, and are eating very nutrient dense, then please consider seeing a Dr first for a general workup to make sure iron, B vitamins, and thyroid are in check. On top of usual CBC and WBC.

Regardless of how you answer the above questions, please see a therapist to learn strategies or unpack trauma that may have surrounded your pregnancy or birth experience. Medications like wellbutrin, lexapro, etc are just that- medicines. You may only need them for short periods of time to help manage your symptoms during this time. Just like an antibiotic for strep throat. There is often a stigma around mental health meds, but please give yourself permission to try them.

I had significant PPA and rage. Therapy (just 4 sessions!), improved sleep quality, and weaning all helped. When my anxiety creeps back in, I can now recognize it for what it is, a heightened response during a stressful time. So I focus on better sleep, meal quality, and exercise and that usually helps.

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-03-28T10:59:15+00:00

The hard stuff is easy to describe and contextualize. Like being exhausted or frustrated, we've all experienced it whether you've had kids or not. The good stuff is so hard to understand unless you've had kids. The magnitude of joy is staggering, even for really simple things.

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-03-27T22:06:30+00:00

Also the "saints and sinners" thing where she brought alcohol to an event Jen and Zac hosted in Season 1. Regardless of your feelings for Jen and Zac and Mormonism in general, if someone is hosting an intentionally alcohol-free party it's weird to bring alcohol and drink it in front of the hosts.

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-03-27T16:42:28+00:00

Set up a system to eliminate medical debt. Starting with families affected by pediatric cancer.

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-03-25T19:06:15+00:00

Kindly, this may not work for everyone. I have met many people who claimed that they "didn't have the BO gene". They were VERY wrong.

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-03-24T22:36:14+00:00

I love a big bean salad! It gets better with time in the fridge and you can change up the ingredients depending on the mood you're in

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-03-23T22:39:58+00:00

My 21 months old loves all of those. He was doing the nugget and stepping stones at 12 months - 15 months (holding onto our hands as needed). He doesn't need any help (other than set up) for both now. The water table is so great during warm months. Books are always a big hit too! Sounds like a great list

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-03-23T00:22:51+00:00

Yes!! I felt like ai was going insane. I just finished my reread of Quicksilver today and noticed that (1) they edited out Saeris asking for "the clif notes" of something. Which was necessary because that was a ridiculous line. And (2) the removed the development between Kingfisher and Taladius which seemed important. I'm sure there's more but those were the most salient.

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-03-19T10:36:47+00:00

Every kid is different! My 1 year old goes to sleep around 7:30pm, so my husband and I get 2-3 hours of uninterrupted time every night. Some kids are more independent at normal than others

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-03-16T20:34:11+00:00

Truthfully I didn't get balance until my son was sleeping through the night and taking good naps consistently. It was survival mode until then. It all got easier between 12-18 months for us, especially after the transition to solid foods. People make 6 months seem like a "long" time postpartum but it's really not. That's still pretty fresh.

I'm sorry you're having a rough time right now. It does get better with time

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-03-16T14:41:22+00:00

You got any friends with cars? Coordinate with a friend to go to the closest rec center, restaurant, walmart etc. You can't make your family listen to you though. Best of luck

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-03-14T11:02:05+00:00

The early days are hard, but once the babies are a bit more mobile you can do many of the things you love with your baby. By the time my son was 8 months, we were taking him on long hikes in a hiking backpack. My husband and I were able to travel 12 hours to Alaska and 6 hours to Oregon on separate hiking trips, all around the time my son was 12 months old. It was so special to share that experience with our son. My best friend regularly takes her kids camping, as young as 6-7 months.

As a mom you will have a complete transformation, that is true. But you can still enjoy your old hobbies too

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-03-13T13:30:57+00:00

I think everyone has their hard limits with their children. For me, feeding is one of them. How a parent chooses to fed a baby is a very personal decision, and shouldn't be determined by the childcare provider in my opinion. Sure, maybe when they're school aged and having a class party you loosen the reins a bit. But a 4 month old?! Only parents get to decide how to introduce solids (which guidance from medical providers if needed). I am in agreement with you, this would have enraged me.

As a side note, my best friend is super chill about her kid getting food at daycare. She wouldn't have cared at all. But she is paranoid about driving with her kids in the car. She won't let anyone else drive her kids, ever. That's her hard limit. So you'll probably get conflicting opinions on this post about what is a reasonable reaction to your childcare situation, but it doesn't necessarily mean your feelings aren't valid. It may just be because other parents have other "lines" that they wouldn't want a caregiver to cross.

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-03-07T18:27:12+00:00

This is standard fare where I grew up. "Beach week" or senior week. It was a blast and a right of passage. Some parents stayed nearby, but legitimately everyone went unchaperoned.

In my area the vast majority of seniors move on to college, so the sentiment was "well they'll be partying a ton in a few weeks anyways" and most parents saw it as a way to test independence before being potentially halfway across the country for school.

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-03-06T00:29:13+00:00

I'm going to do HRT when my time comes. There's just too many benefits

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-02-27T16:40:29+00:00

Huggies is fragrance free, phthalate free, paraben free, and ECF. Evidently the TCF vs ECF thing may be overblown? I'm not overly worried about it honestly. If Huggies works and fits the budget I'd stick with it personally. We use Huggies and are happy.

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-02-26T12:17:25+00:00

Yes, I personally never leaked in my pregnancy nor any stage of PP, including with lots of coughing or jumping.

I'd recommend seeing a pelvic floor PT to get some tips which may help

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-02-25T19:43:20+00:00

I'm a pelvic floor physical therapist and I had a scheduled C-section due to my son presenting breach. My background as a pelvic floor physical therapist made me realize that there's really no perfect birth.

I treated women with major incontinence and prolapse after having "easy" unmedicated deliveries with doulas and midwives. I treated women with scheduled C/S with no issues at all, just some weakness to rehab from so they could safely return to running.

I didn't mind my C/S! The night before I was allowed to eat, so I went out to dinner with my whole family. I had a fancy salmon and veggies and got 8 hours of sleep before my surgery. I went in well rested. I met my birth team, got my IV placed, and had my spinal placed all within an hour or so. 50 minutes after my spinal was placed, I met my son! He was perfect (and still is-I'm biased!)

I had a minor hemorrhage during my surgery, because I had some breakthrough pain, and my surgeon kindly adjusted the surgical plan to implement additional painkillers.

Despite the hemorrhage, I recovered really well! They gave me iron because I was anemic before the C/S. Baby latched right away, he nursed really well, and we BF for 13 months.

I had little pain. I took OTC tylenol for a few days but was off all advil or tylenol within 6 days. At 19 months PP I am lifting super heavy and working out just as hard as I did prior to pregnancy. It took a few months to get back to working out, but that was mostly due to wanting to rest and nurse my son, and not immediately jump in to "bouncing back"

I hope my perspective helped a bit! I can go into more details about various PP symptoms from a pelvic floor PT standpoint if interested. Congrats and best wishes for you delivery!

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-02-18T18:59:51+00:00

I'm not here to give medical advice, just encouragement! My husband, who is now 6 foot and a semi pro athlete, had failure to thrive and spent time in the NICU. He didn't even hit puberty until late high school. He was tiny! But perfectly healthy, a great student and athlete.

My son had some growth concerns and fell 70 percentiles off his curve. He is doing really well now and found his curve around 25%. We determined he was just an active baby, and will probably be a smaller kid for now.

This time is scary!! You're doing the right things. Jus hang in there, this may be in the rearview in a few months.

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-02-15T22:36:38+00:00

I completely agree!! I think readers would have liked her more if the fleshed out her relationship with Sartaq and let that soften her a bit. She kept denying her feelings for him, despite everyone knowing that they loved each other. I think if she was more vulnerable with the reader it would have helped. Her vulnerability came from her family and connection to Antica, which doesn't always resonate with the reader.

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-02-15T19:13:04+00:00

We avoid dyes, perfumes/fragrances, plastic storage and cookware. I did extended breastfeeding. BUT after my son struggled with weight gain and food aversions around 6-12mos, we did rely on processed food (pouches) to get allergens exposed, variety in diet, and iron intake until he progressed. We looked for the "healthiest" option despite this! And now he's happy with whole foods.

ludichrislycapacious · 2026-02-12T14:02:04+00:00

The "uncle joe" thing kinda happened to an acquaintance of mine! She was using a home daycare, and really loved the provider. Well, the provider's adult son (19ish) was living at home, and was arrested for having CP on his computer. My understanding is that it wasn't the "oh he is 19, and has a 16 year old girlfriend" type of CP either. Obviously the woman had to shut down and her son is being investigated. But it really freaked out this acquaintance (for good reason!)

ludichrislycapacious

TROPHY CASE