On my second album, "Contagious Grooves", I had a song called "Surreality". (If you didn't already know I was a semi-pro musician before losing my mind to the dogs, google it!). I find myself in that state a lot right now.

For so many years I've thought about and planned what the months leading up to Iditarod would be like. I'd spend the summer prior making thousands of dog boots for the race. I'd re-read every book I have on Iditarod and take notes. I'd work extra jobs and extra hours to bank some money for the expenses. I'd fundraise and put together a sponsorship package and try to get some local businesses to sponsor me. I'd get t-shirts and products made to sell.

My days and nights right now are a crazy nonstop juggling act of sewing gear for next season, filling the occasional order that comes in on my Black Mountain business, working on Can-Am's new website (which I took on as a side job), sorting through and throwing out some of the years worth of unnecessary junk that I've accumulated since buying this house to clean it out and pack stuff up before renting it out while I'm gone, researching the road trip and how to get through Canada with the border still closed to Americans, and the usual day to day things like spending time with the dogs, kennel chores, house chores and work.

And packing. There are bins and boxes all over my basement and spare bedroom. Some are labeled 'Keep', some are labeled 'Sell', some are labeled 'Donate', some are labeled 'Alaska'.

Alaska.

I'm going to Alaska.

I'M GOING TO ALASKA!

Every once in a while I just stop and this out-of-body, surreal feeling washes over me as I realize that finally, after years and years of planning and dreaming of doing this, I'm actually doing it. I'm packing bins labeled 'Alaska'. I'm making the dog boots for Iditarod. I'm re-reading every book I have on the race and writing down pertinent notes that I want to remember. I'm doing all those things I had planned on and in just over 2 months I'll be driving myself, my handler and 25 dogs across the country and up to the state of my dreams.

And then just like that, the feeling passes and I just go back to moving at warp speed, trying to get it all done in time. Surreality.