Daylight Questions

I am not in Barrow but I found this online. 

How to pack a sea bag

Emily and I packed 1 full sea bag full of clothes for Alaska. It has 50 lbs worth of clothes for three happy girls. We decided to just put their clothes in the sea bag and fly with it to Alaska. 

The current count for the plane is:

1 sea bag of clothes 

1 gun box

1 fishing bag

We have 3 spots taken and 7 more to pack. Space fills up quick! And in my new hire packet it stated that Alaskan Airlines will allow a third checked bag for free in Alaska. We are going to hit Wal-mart in Fairbanks for last minute food, misc and toilet paper. 

If we do that, then we will arrive in Barrow with 15 bags! Wow! We are still planning it out. We still haven't gotten our boxes together. And like most things in our lives, its not set in stone. We can change our minds. Its nice to have options. 

Physicals are finished!

My new hire packet included a physical for employment. There is no longer a TB test requirement. (I hate that shot in the arm.) I called the VA clinic to get an appointment. The closest they could get me in was July! Yes, due to the increased amount of veterans entering the system after Obama-care's required insurance, there is a backlog for appointments. The only way the backlog can be fixed is to hire more doctors, nurses and support personnel. (I will get down off the soapbox now.) The only solution was to find a cheap urgent care option to give me a physical. 

Solution:

Kroger offers a Little Clinic in their store. I paid my fee and was in and out in 20 minutes. Toby did his physical just in case he needed one. 

Now, I can finally mail my new hire packet to Barrow! 

Background check for housing is here!

I received an email for me and my husband's background check. Once again the excitement started to rev up. I filled the papers out and sent them back the same day. I am very glad that I have a printer/scanner/copier. It has come in handing during this time. I'm still trying to decide what to do with it when I move. Its kinda heavy and won't fit in the USPS boxes. 

And speaking of boxes..... this Saturday I will be shipping the first round of boxes to Barrow, Alaska! I'm going to take lots of pictures of the fun. Emily will miss out because she is zip-lining with some pals on Saturday. Georgia and Abi are great helpers when it comes to packing. 

Just a reminder....

36 days till we leave Cincinnati!
51 days till we fly to Barrow, Alaska!

Where's the Beef?

My new hire packet contained an ad for the AC store. I thought everyone should see this. Yes, I understand that the cost of living is greater. It isn't that bad because teachers have been living up there for a very long time. There were several teachers that have been with the school district for 20 plus years. 

Remember to smile when you view these!

This is the complete ad that was sent to me. 

Value pack seems to have some good stuff in it. I can use the ham bone for stew and there's some variety to it. 

Get out the grill for this one. We don't eat lots of steaks and spare ribs in this house. 

Super Value Pack might be for us. The Sampler Pack might be a good start for our freezer. 

Boat Pack? I guess for the fisherman going out to sea for a bit. It does contain lots of the meat the girls and Toby enjoy. 

Ah, no. We gotta have more than just cow in our freezer!

We gotta have more than just Porky in the freezer!

I like the Economy pack. I'm not sure what to do with an beef oxtail. 

Don't get upset with me or complain about I'm spending too much money. I haven't made a decision on how we are going to get meat. We are going to take coolers with us on the plane. Coolers with lots of meat and fresh produce. We will not starve. 

New Hire Packet Is Here!

My new hire packet is here! It is filled full of information that really helped me. It contained answers to questions that I didn't even think about asking. 

I spent about 2-3 hours looking, reading and filling out paperwork. I used sticky note tabs for documents that needed copies or more signatures. I have only a few items to finish before I send my documents back. 

The excitement is like a volcano about to erupt. I am overjoyed at this opportunity. I was so worried about my highly qualified status that I was making myself ill. I'm back on track and positive that things are going to work out in the end. 

Stores in Barrow

The internet has been very helpful in researching Barrow. There are two stores in Barrow. One is a locally owned and the other is the AC store. Its like a large NEX/PX for the military people out there. I looked online at the ads for the AC Store. Prices are higher than what I pay now. I plan to only shop at these stores for little things and do the majority online with Amazon or other free shippers. I thought everyone might get a kick out of the ads so I posted them.