19 days and counting...

19 days and counting! 19 days and counting! 19 days and counting!

I have 2 1/2 days left at my current job before I become a stay at home mom for the summer and focus on the big move. We have 19 days till we move out of Cincinnati. The move will save us money from having to sign another lease or go month to month. The month to month rent price was ridiculous.

In the mean time, let me give you an update. 

1. I received my Institutional Recommendation for my Alaska Professional License. The only things left are 2 Praxis exams, and 2 college courses. 

Praxis exams are going to take place in December and March. Barrow has Ilisagvik College which offers my courses. I will be taking, hopefully one in the fall and one in the spring. By next spring I should have all my requirements for a Professional License. 

It should be noted that by next spring I will have passed all except for one Praxis exam in science. I am thinking about taking the Earth Science exam. I would be able to say, "I'm qualified in all science topics Middle School to Physics." I know, it sounds crazy, but I love teaching science. Its not work when you enjoy talking about it. 

2. We have been getting serious about sorting, selling, donating and storing our things. We still have a lot to do!

More Shipping!

Just look what we did....

There were 13 boxes in this load. We have 3 final boxes to send next week and that's it. Nothing else will be shipped to Alaska. 

Curious about what we sent? 

Emily, Abi and Georgia each got a no questions asked 18 gallon tote. We called it their happiness boxes. It should contain toys, books, pictures or anything that will make them feel at home in Alaska. In addition to that, I requested that they pack 12-15 hangers for their clothing. Georgia and Abi were crafty. They combined their items to get more stuff. I agreed to add the board games to my happiness/entertainment box which now has all of our movies and will get the Xbox added to it. 

There are several boxes of food, several. There are food items that I know from experience that I will miss. We included a a few large flours, sugar and 10 lbs of rice. I didn't just go out shopping one day and bought everything I needed. This has been a long few months of buying items without going over my monthly budget. I refuse to spend money that I don't have and I don't touch my emergency savings. (Thank you Dave Ramsey!)

I sat at my computer and with the aid of excel, created a document full of lists. It evolved into our Alaska Planner. I had a list of food items, misc, toileteries, etc of things I wanted to buy for Alaska. It enabled me to keep a log of items that I bought and things that I needed to buy. The pictures are a screen shot of the document. This is an older example and does not include all my items. 

The goal was to buy enough food items to last us the summer. The toiletries, cleaning and misc items could last us a few months to a year. I was able to catch sales and stocked up on items. It was a great experience. I will update you if this works! 

I have to travel to Anchorage in August for New Hire Inservice. I plan on buying all my kids their school supplies unless the school offers a one set price box of school items. It makes shopping easier when that is done. It will also give me the opportunity to get any items that we really need before I fly back to Barrow for the school year. I will be able to check 3 bags with Alaska Airlines plus have a carry-on! I'm thinking about flying with two coolers and a large empty suitcase. I can put all my clothes in the carry on and survive quite nicely!

I can't explain enough how exciting this has been. The whole process has been like the GroundHog Day of Christmas. I keep getting excited and happy every time I get to do something for Alaska. 

Still counting down!

Let the Shipping Begin!

Today was an early release at my school in Ohio and it was a rough partial day. I was in need of some happiness and smiles. After posting some messages on facebook about needing some prayers. I went home to mess with my boxes. I gathered five of my "if it fits it ships" boxes and two of my large green tubs. I checked and doubled checked the contents and wrote the address labels. I had to write directly on the green tubs because they were plastic. We drilled holes through them easily. We drilled from the bottom up. I can't remember why we did that but I'm sure it makes sense. Each box had four thick zip ties and handles to seal it securely. 

This is the stack of boxes that we were heading out to mail. We put them on the porch and pulled the car up to save our backs!

This is how I addressed the plastic tubs that I bought on sale at Big Lots! They are thick and hopefully will make the trip without losing any of the contents.

Yes, the big boy fit on the scale! I was worried that I wouldn't but it did!

We filled their mail cart. Then turned to see a long line forming behind us. I think we will try to send some on Saturday morning or at a better time. The postal workers were very patient and helpful through all of our questions. I can't wait to go back and see them! 

And our long list of boxes! It wasn't as expensive as I thought. We used the "if it fits it ships" boxes for the really heavy items. We freed up weight in the other boxes for important items. (Yes, possibly shoes!) We still have about 18 boxes to go..... 
These boxes will get there in about 10 days because we decided to ship them as cheaply as possible. The Plant Manager at my school will arrange to have them put in my assigned housing. These should be waiting for me when I arrive in a few weeks!

And time keeps on ticking, ticking, ticking, ticking......

Your life in a box.

As part of the move, we decided that everyone would be allowed to mail two 18 gallon totes weighing up to 50 lbs each. We bought several of them at Walmart for food and household items. Two boxes. Your whole life and very existence has to fit in two of them. One would have clothes and shoes excluding cold weather gear. Muck boots are in suitcases for the plane. The other box would have all your worldly goods. In Georgia's case, its baby dolls and pet shops. 

Could you fit all your stuff into this box? 

I'll post pics as the time get closer of how the amazing feat was accomplished.