Amazing Skies..

Everything about Alaska, According to Yours Truly

What are 5 things that people wouldn't realize in Alaska??


1. That when I say "Oh it's -30 below today.." It's not really as cold as it sounds. I mean it IS cold.. regardless of how I shrug that off. But when it's -30 you aren't hangin outside. You just aren't, unless you do work outside or something. When it's this cold out you go from warm house, to warm car, to warm work.. and so on.. and if you are someone who works outside, you have sense enough to dress for the occasion.

They make great coats here. :)

2. That fast food, is really not fast. Be prepared to devote 20 minutes to a drive thru.. maybe more. If you get out any sooner than that, well you are lucky.

3. That theres alot of people here from alot of different places. I meet someone from Kansas or knows were I live probably about once a week.. which is pretty awesome!

4. Alaska uses the term "treating the roads" or "icy roads" very loosely. Fairbanks roads are not well treated at all for the winter conditions. At home, if there was even a small slick spot on the road. I mean SMALL like a foot length patch of ice, people would be all wound up about the fact that the city didn't put something down so they won't slide..

Hahah.. not Alaska. The intersections in Fairbanks are death traps. Just today I came about 3 inches from getting to know a nice lady in a Mercury a little too well. Thankfully I was going slow and had another lane that I could pull into to get control. They are very slick. You have to know where these area's are and avoid them at all costs.

Or spend 800 bucks and get Blizzak tires.. and since we all know I am made of money, I just avoid avoid avoid..

5. For a town the size of Fairbanks we have some GREAT radio stations. I mean we have a cross section of all music genre's.. I thought when I got here I would have to listen to country or church stations.. but I was really surprised!! They have some great alternative and rock stations and a great country station and a good bubble gum pop station.

I am all set! Po Po Poker face!

4 Things that You Find the Most Beautiful about Alaska?

1. The sky. I can't even begin to describe it. It's like god paints a new one everyday.. Its not even clouds.. its so weird.. it's like all of these flowing colors all at once.. It's too meserizing.. It's a wonder I haven't driving off into the ditch on the Richardson Hwy stareing out into space so much.

2. The Coffee. You have to live here to know. It's amazing. Once you drink Alaskan coffee you will not drink other crappy Lower 48 coffee. We may not have much, but our coffee is darn good.

3. The People. In my job, for 1 1/2 more weeks, I get to meet HUGE cross section of people from the interior. All over Fairbanks, North Pole, Nenanananananana, Healy, Cantwell, Anderson, Salcha, Delta, McKinley Village.. All SUPER awesome people. Everyone has a story, everyone is willing to share and depart some of there Alaska knowledge with you and I have yet to meet a "snooty" person here.

4. The fact that around every corner, down every road, there is something so beautiful or breath taking that you have to stop and get out and enjoy it. Even if you've seen it 50 times. Everytime it's amazing and stunning.. And so tremendous that it makes you sad that you can't share it with everyone who isn't there with you.


3 Things You Find Yucky about Alaska?

1. The smoke. The Smokestacks in the winters.. and the fire smoke in the summer.

YUCK!

2. The drivers. Some people here are very very bad drivers.. which is funny considering we live in such a ever changing weather enviroment. People seriously either think it's NASCAR or they drive WAY to slow.

And driving with your moose lights on all day and all night.. UGHMGMG!!! DONT get me started!

3. That some things can be very expensive. Gas.. KFC.. out of season fruits and veggies.. liquor.. Thank god I stopped drinking cause it's far to expensive of a hobby here. A bottle of vodka at home that would cost 19.99, costs 40 bucks here. Holy cow!

And FYI.. gas.. 3.27 as of today.

2 Things You Thought You'd See but Haven't..

1. Colder temperatures

2. Moose. Haven't seen one in a LONG time. This is unnerving.

1 Famous Person that has read this Blog..

1. The Hawk Shop Guy!! He has a show on TV that's a buy, sell, trade show for Fairbanks. People call up looking to sell there stuff and Hawk hosts it. Think Craigslist on TV. He's super funny. I watch it every week it's on.. And he said my blog was great!

*swoon* a celeb At the Porch Swing! Super Cool!

The Big News, The Ice Classic.. and the Light..

Oh friends.. it has really been an excellent week in North Pole, Alaska.. it really has.. SO much has happened I can hardly sit down and tell you everything.

My husband and I both got new jobs. That's the big news.

When I lived in Kansas, I used to dispatch for a police department. A pretty great one at that. And to be honest when you are a 911 dispatcher and that is TRULY who you are.. it's hard to go to a job and not be that any more. As my momma would say.. "it's permenant press.. and it doesn't wash out.."

So after trying my hand at another job in Fairbanks, I really decided that I wasn't happy at all. My heart wasn't in anything else but dispatching..

I took a job last week with a dispatch center in Fairbanks.. and I am totally stoked about it. I think being in the right job will be a huge step in really feeling at home in the wild frontier.

My husband also took a job in Fairbanks.. which is a great thing. He wasn't happy at all with his job on the Air Force. His new job will be something he's got experience in and something he really likes.. and he gets to work with good people. That's always a good step!

NOW on a more whining complaining note..

Look what is growing all over my bathroom.

No wondering I feel sick.




So I wrote a not so nice letter to my landlord and told him that I had told him about this 3 times now. Either clean up the mold or I am moving out!

I can't breath stuff like that in.. it can't be healthy right? I mean I'm ok with a little dirt or something.. but mold? YUCK. The reason? The faucet will not shut off in the shower. Hasn't since we moved in. It's gotten worse and better with varying degrees.. but the mold has just gotten worse. We put fans in there and try to run the exhaust but.. SURPRISE SURPRISE that doesn't work either.

If rentals weren't so hard to find around here (ok that aren't 5000 a month to rent) I would be out of here like white on rice.

On a brighter note.. I got my Nenana Ice Classic tickets.. Actually I paid for 4 but she gave me 5.. Holla!

What is the Ice Classic??

Well go to www.nenanaakiceclassic.com for indepth info.. but to make a long story short, it's a contest to guess when the Tanana River will melt and the ice will break up. There is a huge tripod in the middle of the Tanana in Nenana Alaska.. (yes, that Nenana) and when the ice starts to melt and break the tripod measures the exact date and time it occurs.

SO you buy a ticket and you put in your guess as to when it's going to happen..

It's a total crap shoot.. no real rhyme or reason to it.

But the cool part?? The jackpot for the winner is 283,000.00 if you guess it right on the nose. Cool huh?


Oh and friends.. the LIGHT!! I can't even tell you how freakin AWESOME it is to have the light stay out longer. It's amazing. This was taken tonight at 5:30pm!! 5:30!!!!! at 3rd Ave and Illinois St in Fairbanks. AND IT"S


STILL LIGHT OUT!
HAPPY DANCE!!

M-o-o-n.. that spells Moon...

The moon is SO crazy big tonight. Apparently yesterday and today was the closest the moon was to earth or something like that. For whatever reason it is, IT WAS HUGE. I don't have a professional camera to catch it, so it kinda looks like a head light.. but trust me.. it was super super crazy.



I went to Wendy's.. and got to watch some ice carvings.. only in Alaska...



Monday.. I will be letting you all in on the big secret.. are you ready? It's the dawn of a new day for our family.. and it's very exciting..

Just like the sunshine..



It's still winter... the trees are still heavy with snow.. and all is still cold in the last frontier. We are fat, sassy and cold..

And are still having a great time..

Allllllllllllllllllllllaska.. where the Light Comes Sweeping Down the Plaiiiiiiiiiiiins..

Oh friends..here we are again! I am back.. did you miss me? Did you figure out what my news is yet..?? Well things have took another turn yet again.. and I sadly, don't quite have an announcement for you just yet. But I will though.. and hopefully very soon..

You know something.. the light brings alot of new hope here. It's amazing what the sparkle of sunlight does to the soul. I love how the snow lights up on the trees.. how you can see for miiiiiiiiiiles.. I love the the sun lifts the clouds and all you can see are mountains in the distance.

The sun brings the dawn of a new day.

Right now, the sun is up from about 9 til almost 5 everrrrrrrrrrrrryday. It's amazing. You really don't ever realize what the sun does for you til you've been without it for awhile. It helps.. it really does.

What I want to say in closing is that I am a very very very lucky girl. There are some really great people in my life and I feel like I am really blessed to have them.

I can't say that I would have gotten this far without them.

Firstly my husband. I've got one of the best husbands there is. We have talked over and over about how much this experience has strengthened our marriage. It has been hard and it has been life changing. But for the simple fact that our marriage has been better for it, it has all been worth it.

Jeff and Amy.. What an amazing couple. I met Amy over at Cathy's "Keepin it Real" blog all about life in Kotz.. We started emailing and chatting.. and started an amazing friendship. Amy has been a constant source of support and encouragement. She has always believed in us and believed we could succeed here. Jeff and Amy have been such amazing friends.. and have helped us in unbelieveable ways.

And they have a cute dog too!

My friend Holly.. I've never met a girl who is more intelligent, thoughtful and caring towards people. She has constantly pushed me to be better, to not give up and to achieve this crazy dream She has amazing sense of herself and she knows just how to keep me in check. I can tell her anything and she still loves me. What makes me sad is that when we went to school together we weren't better friends. I definately missed out on that and I'll always regret it. I treasure her friendship. I am in awe of her as a wife and I know that she will be an insanely wonderful mother.

My mommy. She's beyond what I deserve for a mother. I can not WAIT til she gets here this summer.


Ok.. so there it is...

That's all for now..

Soon there will be more..

oxoxo

On Hiatus for A Bit!!!---- BIG NEWS PENDING!

Ohhh my dearest friends..


BIG BIG BIG news in the VG household lately.. There is alot going on, there is a long that is going to change.. and WOW.. none of it I can share with you just yet.

But until then we are going on a tad bit of a hiatus from blogging.. Never fear loves, just a few days..until things settle down a bit.

At the Porch Swing will offically be back on Jan 27th, 2010.

As sooon as I can tell you of the changes, you will be the FIRST to know!

Keep me in your thoughts.. check back.. FOLLOW on facebook.. because our Alaska adventure could be changing for the better..

Love to you all..

AND It's getting lighter out! This is a GREAT THING.

Maybe that's why I'm so happy and hyper.

haha.

All Apologies!

I was reminded by one of my most faithful that I was a tad insensitive towards my southern and midwestern folks in the Lower 48.

I apologize for that, as she is correct, they are watching crops dying day after day and farmers loose millions of dollars.

My OJ costs will probably sky rocket because of this, as shipping here is always high but with this, it will soar things higher. I feel for farmers, as I grew up in a farm state and it is not an easy profession. The weather is never your friend.

I also was reminded that Floridians especially don't heat there homes, because for the most part, theres not a need too. So when it's frigidly cold, obviously that is an issue.

And when you live in one of the most warm states in the nation.. you don't always have a parka handy!

So, big apologies Floridians, southerners, most sincerely... I do not wish to offend. I see how my post was a tad brash. I completely get where I was wrong.

What I would say, not in defense, but just to throw out there..

is that sometimes it gets frustrating to feel like nobody realizes that there are 600,000 people who deal with this weather each and every winter. It gets frustrating to watch national news outlets like The Weather Channel and never be mentioned. It makes you pretty much feel like the USA is only 49 states instead of 50.

No amount of clothes, heat, car accessories will get you prepared for -40, 50 or 60.
It gets to a point when cold is flat out COLD. There is no way around that. There aren't enough parka's in the universe for that kind of cold not to penitrate.

Fairbanks is one of the most frigid parts of Alaska. I wouldn't say the coldest, but it's probably in the top 3.

Our pipes freeze, just as yours do. They burst all over the floor, flooding our homes. I have a friend who once had to stay up for two solid days just to keep moving around heaters under her sinks to be sure her pipes kept together.

We hate driving on icy roads, just as you do. We hate icy roads, snowy roads, snow butts, ice fog, the pitch black night. Winter tires here are expensive. VERY expensive. Not everyone can afford a new set of Blizzaks. Our roads do not get treated as yours do and at the same regularity. The road I take to work has been icy for a solid month. You just go slow and try to navagate through it.

Many Alaskan's home heat is generated by fuel oil. Depending where you live that can range from 3.00 to 8.00 per gallon. Sometimes more in the bush. I've been told that tanks for a semi small to medium size houses can range from 250 gallons on up. So at 3.00 per gallon, that is 750.00 to fill it up--- at minimum.

Housefires triple when it is wintertime. People can't afford fuel, so they burn wood via fireplaces and woodstoves. People sometimes don't know, or understand how to properly burn.. what to do, how to clean..etc And what happens next?

Bye Bye house.

Alot of houses are heated by electricity, which isn't cheap, trust me, I work for the electric company. Our power is not generated like the lower 48. We have to buy energy from hydroelectric plants in Anchorage, burn coal and try to generate some of our own power via a small power plant. AND of course part of the pie is that we have to burn fuel to create electricity.

And as previously discussed, fuel is high.

So a 500 power bill is not uncommon here.

Plus you have to plug in your cars, which is like having 15 refrigerators plugged into your house at once. And if you have more than one car..

You get the picture.

Groceries have to be bought at a more frequent pace. You can not "run out" of anything here that you need for staples. At -60 you can run to the store, but you aren't going to want to. And those things cost more money at the store in Alaska than say, Missouri. If you are looking for items that are "out of season".. well be prepared to lay down your first born for them. For instance, bananas. I got them this summer for about 2.50 per bundle. (is that what you call them?) I bought bananas yesterday at North Pole Safeway for 4.00 for about 5 of them.

I don't complain, because I wouldn't want to even come close to paying what people in Kotz or Barrow or Nome or Bethel pay for groceries. I have it good. And you my lower 48 have it stellar.

Vehicle gas is 3.35 per gallon in Fairbanks, Alaska right now. You burn a RIDICULOUS amount of gas living in this cold weather. I would say, since I don't have auto start, I spend probably 2 hours of my day getting bundled up, going out starting my car, unplugging or replugging, waiting 20-25 minutes for it to warm up and heading out. When it is very very cold, you have to keep your car running when you go in the store because if not, you will come out and it will not start. There isn't always places to plug your vehicle in here. That's something I didn't realize til I got here. But plugging in costs money and someone is paying for that plug, so they don't just have them out everywhere. It's just the way it goes.

All of this drains vehicle gas. 3.35 per gallon is cheap. Just 12 miles down the road in North Pole, the price jumps to 3.61. 50 miles down the road in Nenana, Alaska, it's 4.61. The bush.. 7.00 on up..

Why am I telling you this?

Well quite simply.. to just say that nobody knows exactly what is going to happen in the winter months. You just deal. You do what you have to do to survive. You help your neighbors, you help your friends and family. You learn to do things you never thought you would have to do, just to get to the next day.

Do I feel sorry for people in the midwest and the south.. Absolutely. Completely. Because they had a month of very very crappy hard core weather. Mother Nature is a cruel girl. And I hope as things start to warm up for them they can dig out and save what they can. People are resilant and always tend to find a way.

However, our crappy hard core weather will last another 4 to 5 months. We will see what happens in May-June, when we start to warm up and get ready for summer.

Maybe the Weather Channel will talk about us if we have 90 degree weather in the summer?

Probably not, since we aren't a state and all.

Happy Friday Eve!

Ice Fog.. Like Fog, Only Not as Cool.