Living off Food Storage

For years we have been warned to be prepared in the event of a disaster, whether it occurs far and wide to the general population or is an event that creates crisis in our immediate family. I have been working in spurts for a number of years to be sure I have some food on hand. Recently the bishopric in our ward at church decided to challenge the members. They are randomly selecting families in our congregation to live off their food storage for a specified period of time. No shopping allowed! We can call someone who lives nearby and ask for help if we need it, but we are not to rely on the stores. I was excited by the challenge but didn't expect to be asked to do this for 2 solid weeks! (We thought it was going to be 1 week!) So here we are, baking bread and making powdered milk. And we are eating well because we do have some things on hand. I really wish for a garden, and we will probably miss out on a couple of small things, but where there's plenty of toilet paper and a little chocolate, there will be relative peace.

Last night we had a food storage meal that was yummy. I dressed it up a little bit and it was better than the other times I've tried it.

Here's the basic recipe:

flour tortillas

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilis
1 can diced potatoes, drained
1 can black beans, rinsed, drained
1 can whole kernel corn, drained

Mix the contents of the cans in a skillet over medium-high heat until heated through. Serve in tortillas.

I actually diced half an onion, browned it in the skillet and then added the contents of the cans. I added some cumin and an additional can of light red kidney beans. Then I added some pieces of bell pepper for color. You could serve this with sour cream or salsa... whatever you like. Feeds a small army. Pretty good!

Will you help a friend get a scholarship?

It just takes a click or two to vote for Maryssa. She is the daughter of a friend and a fellow homeschooler and is trying to win a scholarship to attend fashion design school. This campaign runs through the end of July.



Vote for Missa!

Never been tagged before...

I'm one of those who tosses all the forwarded emails and never sends the chain letters on... but this one I'll do since it's you Jennifer!



3 JOYS
My family, especially watching my children learn new things.
Music. Singing for people is the best!
My testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

3 FEARS
Deep water. Not a good swimmer here.
Losing a child as in kidnapping, etc. (There are things worse than death.)
Losing my health and not being able to care for my family.


3 GOALS
Goal weight: 125 lbs. (Only about 14 pounds to go!)
To have food storage enough to survive and share if needed.
To become certified to teach Dr. Fuhrman's Eat For Health Program.

3 CURRENT OBSESSIONS
Dr Fuhrman's Eat to Live/Eat For Health philosophy
Eating healthy food without going crazy.
Sewing with my 10 year old daughter. She has a real sewing machine and is quickly falling in love with fabric! We might even open an etsy store in a couple of months. (I'll let you know!)


3 RANDOM SURPRISING FACTS
I was allergic to chocolate when I was young, so I've been making up for time too!Thankfully, somehow I grew out of it.
I read over 7000 pages aloud to my younger children last year. Some of these were very big novels like Harry Potter books and Eragon.
I broke my arm in Salt Lake City and got to go to the Primary Children's Hospital when it was still owned and operated by the church. That was in 1971.


I tag: Melody (if no one's gotten you yet!!)

Guess what my latest treasure is???

I've been learning (well... attempting to learn) American Sign Language. I was enrolled in a class this past year and plan to continue in the fall. It's pretty intense at times. Anyway, I found out that the Church has several things published in ASL including the full body of the Book of Mormon and the Articles of Faith. I also got the ASL version of the Legacy movie and a short DVD of the Young Women's Theme. I have a lot to look forward to. Maybe...just maybe... this will improve my skills!

Youth Conference this week

My 15 year old daughter is off to Youth Conference this week. She will be singing an original song in the talent show on Friday. I wish I could be there to hear her! If you want to listen to her sing, click here: Birthday Candles

If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear...

Finally I have a second 'gorilla' shelf! I have a bit more space to store food and supplies in the event there is a crisis. My dh and oldest dd put it together today and my 11 year old son helped me squeeze it into it's spot. I am rearranging the canned goods and deciding how to manage the rest of my 'stuff'. I have a long way to go to feel really prepared, but it's nice to take a giant step forward!

What are you doing to be better prepared?

Books Books Books

My books and I have a special relationship. If I could have a special room in my house just for me, I would have an enormous library filled with floor to ceiling shelves of beautiful books. I'd have a Persian rug beneath cherry tables and chairs with hanging chandeliers and lamps showering clean white light from every corner. I would ride the floating ladder to choose as yet unknown favorites from the highest shelves and then sit for hours and hours and read. Honestly, I'd rather read than eat... most of the time.

My favorite store in the world is Barnes and Noble, but I have to limit my visits because invariably I will buy something when I go in. I have had to resist getting an online account with them because it's so easy to just order anything I want. Recently I bought another book on nutrition called "The China Study". I just eat them up! (hee hee)

I think the book bug has bitten my 10 year old daughter. She begs to go to the library most every day. Thankfully it's only 3 minutes from our house! The book bag is empty... I think it's time to go tomorrow! I love the library.

Now... I do need to spend more time with my scriptures. I have been inspired lately by an online book that you might enjoy. It's being posted a chapter at a time with one new chapter each Wednesday. It's called "The Holy Secret" by James L. Farrell. Here's a link: http://deseretbook.com/secret/?chapter=1 There are several chapters posted already.

This summer my goal is to read:
Daily Scriptures
The China Study
Eat For Health
and with the kids:
Iron Thunder by Avi
and maybe the last 2 Harry Potter Books

So... What are you reading this summer?

Change your viewpoint~Change your heart

The following story was pointed out to me this week and it's thoroughly enjoyable!

“Pockets Full of Rocks,” by Larry A Hiller, Originally printed in March 1985 and again in the New Era, Jan 1996, p 44

It started when the boss yelled at him. From then on, things got kind of, well, rocky.

Malcolm Tent was still a young man when he began putting rocks in his pockets. It started one day when his boss, Mr. Gump, got angry at him for something that wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t yell back at his boss, because he might get fired. In fact, there wasn’t anything he could do except be angry inside. “But,” he thought, “I’m not going to forget this. No way.”

On the way home from the bus stop that night, he thought to himself, “I’ve got to remember how angry I am. I don’t want to forget this in the morning.” Suddenly he had an idea. There was a small rock on the sidewalk in front of him. He picked it up and said softly to himself, “I’ll keep this rock in my pocket to remind me of how unfair Mr. Gump was.”

And that’s what he did. That night he put the rock on his dresser with his keys and his comb. The next morning, when he got dressed to go to work, into his pocket went the ugly gray rock.

To continue reading this story... follow this link: "Pockets Full of Rocks"

Our house is a 3-D slider puzzle right now!

You know those little slider puzzle games with numbers from 1 to 15? That's what my house looks like this week!! The numbers are pieces of furniture and clothes and computers. We are moving and rearranging the boys and it's crazy! My 12 year old son will have a bedroom to himself for the first time since he was a baby. He wants a giant orange biohazard sign on his bedroom door! He is excited to have his own desk and a sunny room for his bird. The other boys will have high single bunks with long desks underneath. They are thrilled! (Well, maybe little-man is a little anxious about being up high, but I think he will eventually love it.) This is gonna take a while... see ya later!

The Wedding, Saturday, May 17

Everything turned out nice!! And I don't think anyone forgot anything. Usually the rings get left home or something (which happened the day I got married), but the wedding was great! There were so many helping hands and happy people, it made for a wonderful day for my daughter and her new husband. Here are a few pictures. I will share more as soon as the photographer gets them to us.

1/2 cup stress, 1 cup medical issues, and 2 cups of exhaustion =

Laughter!

That's how I chose to live my day today... by laughing my way through the craziness! Our son (child #5) was struck with symptoms that could have been a hernia or appendicitis. My husband carried him to have him checked out during the late evening hours on Tuesday and ended up at the urgent care center around 9:30 pm, followed by the hospital emergency room around 11 pm where I joined them, and then we were transferred to the other hospital where they have pediatric surgeons. They took him by ambulance to the other hospital while we followed. During the ride, one of the EMT's asked him questions and discovered that our son's gym coach was coached by the EMT a number of years ago. Small world!! After admitting my son to the second hospital I went home. That was about 3 am on Wednesday. Later in the morning the gastro surgeon consulted with another physician and went over all the test results including the CT scan. They decided that it was not appendicitis and had determined that it wasn't a hernia. They diagnosed him with a virus that had settled in his lower GI tract. What a relief! NO surgery! We went home around noon today.

He missed gym twice this week and wants to go tomorrow. We'll see.

Score for the day: Mom= 3 hours of sleep Dad= 1 hour of sleep

Update on the wedding preps: We have dresses for all the girls. It is nearly impossible to find modest dresses here. I found dresses that will work and after making sure the dresses are all sized correctly tonight, I will finish adding sleeves, snaps and an inset for the backs tomorrow. (You know, there are times I sit there sewing with confidence and I remember when Mom MADE me take home-ec in the 8th grade and how much I loathed it at the time. I am so grateful she insisted and persisted that I do it.) I love sewing, just not under stress. We have 2 days left! I'll post pictures of the bridesmaids after the wedding... Saturday!

Like I said, I decided to laugh my way through the day. It has helped to lighten the load and allowed me to serve my family better. The bad mood I could have carried around just never materialized. It was a pretty good day!

Floating on a River of White Satin

Here's a sneak peak at my daughter's wedding gown. This has been my viewpoint for the past couple of days since it had to be shortened by a few inches. I'm hemming my way out of the folds of satin and should be finished today. I'll have a more complete picture for you in a couple of weeks!!

When it rains it pours...

It's amazing how a day can start. There is a clear blue sky and a nice breeze. Birds are singing. I love the warmth of springtime! No sign of rain. It's going to be a beautiful day!!

Oh really??

This morning several frustrating events occurred one right after another. 6:40 am. One daughter couldn't find her keys and had to be at work in 20 minutes. I'm up earlier that I want to be! We are searching everywhere. She finally spots them in the back seat of her car. 6:45 am. One son said he had a stomach ache. I asked if it was hunger, but he insisted it was an 'ache'. Dad tries to help daughter get her door open with a coat hanger. Not working. As he returns inside, he tells me that outside the front door there is a bit of a mess to clean up. We left 2 bags of garbage on the front porch overnight so we could clean the big garbage cans. We forgot to finish that job last evening and of course, some mysterious creature of the night got into the trash bags for tasty scraps of bananas and other yummy leftovers. He must have been a smaller version of the mysterious creatures of the night because he didn't make a huge mess. Thank goodness! 6:50 am. Dad is taking daughter to work and I am calling the insurance company to see if we have coverage to pop-a-lock on the car. Next, son with a stomach ache helps me double-bag the garbage on the porch and start the lovely rinsing of the garbage cans. 7:05 am. Son with a stomach ache starts off to the bathroom. I start a load of laundry. In a few minutes, son seems fine. I decide to wait a little longer and then I'll ask him what he wants to eat for breakfast. 7:20 am. I get a shower, knowing the pop-a-lock guy will be here soon. 7:35 am. Dad returns. Son with a stomach ache is groaning in the bathroom now. Dad goes in to check on him and take a cool washcloth. 7:45 am. The pop-a-lock guy shows up and gets the car open and the alarm goes off. It takes Dad nealry 30 seconds (which is another word for eternity) to disable the alarm. I'm sure some of the neighbors are thinking up ways to pay us back later! Son is in the bathroom, still groaning. I'm signing the papers for the pop-a-lock guy. Dad goes in to check on him just in time. The toilet is slowed up and the throwing up starts. He is sick for about 10 minutes. Sometime during all this craziness, we had decided that Dad would drive daughter's car to her workplace so that she would have it later, and I would drive my van to bring him back home, but when he tried to adjust her front seat, it would only go forward, not back, and is now ALL the way forward. Now she can't drive her car. She will need a ride home later. *sigh*

One hour later... son is showered and calm, the toilet is working. Dad has left to go work on his parents' roof for the day and we are going to see what else the day brings. I'm glad I can laugh this morning... I may need it to help me get through the next little storm!

The best thing to do with a paper bag...

For all the 21 years I have been a mother, the best toys have been paper bags and cardboard boxes! We have made time machines, doll houses, kites, hats, airplanes, sleds to go down hill and a million more things. What have you made lately?

Origami

My 9 year old daughter made this origami display for a children's variety show at church recently. She included tulips in the grass, a snake, a butterfly, a family of ducks on the pond and a dragonfly.

My daughter's new dress for the church dance

We made it in 3 days! Whew... that was lots of work! It's made with NewLook pattern # 6723 and it fit just right! The fabric is a navy satin with tiny bits of glitter. It is fully lined with taffeta (I added the lining to the skirt section since the lining in the pattern was only in the bodice). She found a short sweater to wear over her shoulders and it all came together just in time for the Etiquette Dinner and Dance last night! So... how does she look?

The Lunar Eclipse in February

We took pictures the night of the eclipse a few weeks ago and wanted to share a few. These were taken with my new camera (Canon PowerShot A570 IS) from our front sidewalk. The red colors were the correct colors to the naked eye, but the blue pictures were really my favorites!

Harmony is...

Waking up to the sound of birds in the trees at sunrise.
Washing my hands with cool, clear water.
Watching a peaceful, sleeping child.
Whispering in my husband's ear that I love him forever.
Waiting for the next good thing to happen.