I made a New Year's resolution this year to improve my food storage. I get the "preparedness bug" every few years, so I go out and buy several cases of whatever is on sale and that always seems to makes me feel better. But this time I'm going about it a little more systematically. I've been perusing various food storage calculators to determine what to buy and how much. And today I have spent quite a bit of time pouring over the Walton Feed website trying to figure out what I need and what is available.
Honestly, my findings have been a little frightening.
Did you know it is possible to buy a 25 pound bag of something called "meat substitute"?! And it's available in various flavors? I'm a big fan of protein, but that's just not right.
I also had no idea that there was such a thing as shortening powder. Imagine that, powdered fat. (I've always followed my grandmother's advice: "Never be so poor that you can't buy butter." So I'm going to splurge and get powdered butter. Yum)
And it is recommended that for my little family of five, I should store almost 1200 pounds of grains. I'm all for following wise counsel, I just have no idea where I am going to keep all of it!
I realize, however, that if I'm going to go to the trouble of buying all of this stuff, I need to learn how to use it up. So today I made whole wheat bread. I don't think I've made bread since my newlywed days. (And even then I had a bread machine.) I used a recipe that consisted entirely of food storage items so that I could figure out if I will literally be able to put my money where my mouth is. I was pleasantly surprised with the results. And even more pleased that my kids loved it.
But for the most part, I'm a little overwhelmed with this project. I know that it is often recommend to just get a little at a time, but I'm kind of anxious to make sure I at least have the basics. I figure after that I can slowly work on getting the more non-essential items like cake mixes. Although, if you were to ask my sister she would tell you that cake mixes are essential items--the reason being that if you are ever in a stressful life situation in which you need to depend on your food storage, dang it, you're going to want cake!
(And the last time I was at her house, I counted twenty three cake mixes in her basement)
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
50 things that make me happy
As promised, here is my list of things I love.
1. my husband
2. my kids
3. my goodly parents
4. date night
5. springtime
6. homemade bread
7. sleeping in
8. scriptures
9. getting email
10. rain
11. bubble baths
12. singing
13. my iPod
14. painted toenails
15. back rubs
16. my courtship story
17. flowers
18. cooking
19. sleeping children
20. Mt Timpanogos (the mountain, although I love that temple too!)
21. watching a great movie for the first time
22. freshly laundered sheets
23. being accidentally gorgeous
24. my garden
25. Family Home Evening
26. my sisters (and I suppose my brothers too, but its just not the same)
27. m&ms
28. eating out with friends
29. fresh fruit
30. Dr. Pepper
31. General Conference
32. my piano
33. love letters
34. my daughter singing songs she has made up
35. our soldiers
36. my soft and yummy bathrobe
37. summer nights
38. fresh cut grass
39. mild to moderate exercise
40. kids playing with cousins (they love their friends, but there is something special about cousins!)
41. Cafe Rio salads
42. my desk (my husband built it into a closet. It is awesome!)
43. family dinner
44. my big porch
45. Bubba's curly hair
46. a clean house (Stop smirking--it happens!)
47. my oldest son's thoughtful questions
48. The 4th of July
49. memories
50. being married
So. . .what do you love?
1. my husband
2. my kids
3. my goodly parents
4. date night
5. springtime
6. homemade bread
7. sleeping in
8. scriptures
9. getting email
10. rain
11. bubble baths
12. singing
13. my iPod
14. painted toenails
15. back rubs
16. my courtship story
17. flowers
18. cooking
19. sleeping children
20. Mt Timpanogos (the mountain, although I love that temple too!)
21. watching a great movie for the first time
22. freshly laundered sheets
23. being accidentally gorgeous
24. my garden
25. Family Home Evening
26. my sisters (and I suppose my brothers too, but its just not the same)
27. m&ms
28. eating out with friends
29. fresh fruit
30. Dr. Pepper
31. General Conference
32. my piano
33. love letters
34. my daughter singing songs she has made up
35. our soldiers
36. my soft and yummy bathrobe
37. summer nights
38. fresh cut grass
39. mild to moderate exercise
40. kids playing with cousins (they love their friends, but there is something special about cousins!)
41. Cafe Rio salads
42. my desk (my husband built it into a closet. It is awesome!)
43. family dinner
44. my big porch
45. Bubba's curly hair
46. a clean house (Stop smirking--it happens!)
47. my oldest son's thoughtful questions
48. The 4th of July
49. memories
50. being married
So. . .what do you love?
Monday, January 7, 2008
50 things that bug me!
Several years ago I began making a list of things that bugged me. I intended to eventually turn it into a cute and clever scrapbook page but since I haven't really done much scrapbooking since like. . .oh, 2004 maybe, it probably won't ever happen. But I think the concept is still valuable. It's an interesting way to learn about someone.
So here is my list, in no particular order and updated a bit (my old list included things like "leaky diapers" and "loud BYU students in my yard" which, thankfully, are annoyances that I no longer have to deal with.)
1. clutter
2. infomercials
3. rodents
4. whining
5. being cold
6. rap "music"
7. public restrooms
8. capers (and pimento for that matter)
9. junk mail
10. inflation
11. stepping on Legos
12. humidity
13. houses built on unstable hillsides (seriously, why do people do that!)
14. Cheeto residue on my fingers
15. weeds
16. B.O.
17. lying
18. long lines
19. static cling
20. food stuck in my teeth
21. mosquitoes
22. car sickness
23. stubbly legs
24. spontaneous combustion (this is actually more of a phobia than an annoyance)
25. the media
26. smoking
27. chalk dust
28. ingratitude
29. crime
30. pimples
31. hiccups
32. children fighting
33. ridiculous SUVs
34. sticky floors
35. spam (the email variety. . .but I suppose the "meat" version as well)
36. freezer brain
37. PBS pledge week
38. cleaning out the fridge
39. nagging
40. winter weather
41. getting old
42. headaches
43. being beckoned by my kids ("No, you come here.")
44. random piles
45. illness
46. dry skin
47. split ends
48. depression
49. sleeping alone
50. my resolution to drink less soda
And lest you think that I am an overly negative person--I also have a list of things I like. I'll post that later.
So here is my list, in no particular order and updated a bit (my old list included things like "leaky diapers" and "loud BYU students in my yard" which, thankfully, are annoyances that I no longer have to deal with.)
1. clutter
2. infomercials
3. rodents
4. whining
5. being cold
6. rap "music"
7. public restrooms
8. capers (and pimento for that matter)
9. junk mail
10. inflation
11. stepping on Legos
12. humidity
13. houses built on unstable hillsides (seriously, why do people do that!)
14. Cheeto residue on my fingers
15. weeds
16. B.O.
17. lying
18. long lines
19. static cling
20. food stuck in my teeth
21. mosquitoes
22. car sickness
23. stubbly legs
24. spontaneous combustion (this is actually more of a phobia than an annoyance)
25. the media
26. smoking
27. chalk dust
28. ingratitude
29. crime
30. pimples
31. hiccups
32. children fighting
33. ridiculous SUVs
34. sticky floors
35. spam (the email variety. . .but I suppose the "meat" version as well)
36. freezer brain
37. PBS pledge week
38. cleaning out the fridge
39. nagging
40. winter weather
41. getting old
42. headaches
43. being beckoned by my kids ("No, you come here.")
44. random piles
45. illness
46. dry skin
47. split ends
48. depression
49. sleeping alone
50. my resolution to drink less soda
And lest you think that I am an overly negative person--I also have a list of things I like. I'll post that later.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Home Improved!
It took us a bit longer than we had planned but our laundry room remodel is more or less done! Those final odds and ends seemed to really add up with this project. We are very happy with how this turned out. Hopefully we're done with major home projects now.
This shot was taken in pretty much the same spot as the one I posted in November.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Tagged
My friend Jen has tagged me to write six facts/habits about myself and then tag six other people. It's kind of hard for me to think of six interesting things about myself that are current. (I've traveled the world and done many interesting things but that was all many years ago!)
But here I go:
1-I am a recovering country music addict. I listened to country music pretty much exclusively during college but now it kind of makes me crazy. I can't stand the annoying twang and heartfelt ballads about trucks.
2-I love to sing. I used to sing all the time but then got caught up in my mommy life and my singing moments were pretty much limited to hymns in church on Sunday. But in the past year I have kind of rekindled my joy of singing just a little bit. I volunteered to sing a solo in church (I believe that every so often you need to do something that scares you to death!), I've done several duets with a friend of mine (including singing at the funeral for a person I had never met), and I sing at home with my kids a lot more than I used to.
3-I am addicted to checking my email. I think I come down to my computer and check my email no fewer than ten times a day. It started last year when email was pretty much the only communication I had with my husband. But even now that he is back I still obsessively check my email throughout the day.
4-I love to cook. I love trying new recipes or experimenting with familiar ones. I don't like using ready made processed foods and mixes--I like to do things from scratch. I almost never use "cream of ______" soup in anything. Recently I have been trying to prepare more healthy foods and have been on a campaign to cut out high fructose corn syrup and MSG from our diet. I am much more inclined to use natural and organic foods these days. Thank goodness there is now a Good Earth store in my town!
5-I like to read but don't generally read novels. I like self-help books (I tend to need a lot of help!) and books about health. I faithfully read the news every morning (including the obituaries) and enjoy reading magazines.
6-I like to watch reruns of my favorite TV shows. I think I've seen every episode of Friends, Seinfeld and Scrubs. (But now that I think about it, I probably just watch these shows over and over because I don't have cable!)
Tag you're it: Emmie F., Annette L., Holly S., Taryn S., Sarah S., Kate S-B.
But here I go:
1-I am a recovering country music addict. I listened to country music pretty much exclusively during college but now it kind of makes me crazy. I can't stand the annoying twang and heartfelt ballads about trucks.
2-I love to sing. I used to sing all the time but then got caught up in my mommy life and my singing moments were pretty much limited to hymns in church on Sunday. But in the past year I have kind of rekindled my joy of singing just a little bit. I volunteered to sing a solo in church (I believe that every so often you need to do something that scares you to death!), I've done several duets with a friend of mine (including singing at the funeral for a person I had never met), and I sing at home with my kids a lot more than I used to.
3-I am addicted to checking my email. I think I come down to my computer and check my email no fewer than ten times a day. It started last year when email was pretty much the only communication I had with my husband. But even now that he is back I still obsessively check my email throughout the day.
4-I love to cook. I love trying new recipes or experimenting with familiar ones. I don't like using ready made processed foods and mixes--I like to do things from scratch. I almost never use "cream of ______" soup in anything. Recently I have been trying to prepare more healthy foods and have been on a campaign to cut out high fructose corn syrup and MSG from our diet. I am much more inclined to use natural and organic foods these days. Thank goodness there is now a Good Earth store in my town!
5-I like to read but don't generally read novels. I like self-help books (I tend to need a lot of help!) and books about health. I faithfully read the news every morning (including the obituaries) and enjoy reading magazines.
6-I like to watch reruns of my favorite TV shows. I think I've seen every episode of Friends, Seinfeld and Scrubs. (But now that I think about it, I probably just watch these shows over and over because I don't have cable!)
Tag you're it: Emmie F., Annette L., Holly S., Taryn S., Sarah S., Kate S-B.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
When your hobbies come back to bite you
Have you ever sat outside near a stream and listened to the relaxing sound of water spilling over rocks and splashing into puddles? That is quite possibly the most tranquil of all sounds.
Now imagine that same sound inside your house, only the water is spilling over a windowsill and splashing on the the carpet. I promise that sound is neither relaxing or tranquil.
Such was my morning yesterday. When I went down to my son's basement bedroom to wake him up for school I heard the alarming, yet undeniable, sound of water trickling in from the window. I could see that the window well outside had filled with several inches of water that was leaking into the house. Apparently the downspout from the roof was clogged and the rain gutter had filled up with water and then froze. So all of the rain that fell yesterday morning (and I guess the water from melting snow as well) had no where to go except out the end of the rain gutter and directly into the window well below it.
Don't you hate it when that happens!!?
As I frantically tried to mop up the mess with every single towel I own, my husband climbed up to inspect the downspout. The problem? A tennis ball.
Evidently one of the kids failed to report loosing a tennis ball on the roof last fall. The ball had rolled into the downspout and completely sealed it off.
All day yesterday I contemplated the irony of it all. I was so delighted by my newfound joy of tennis that I had begun teaching my children how to play. Everyone got new tennis rackets and we spent a few warm fall evenings at the courts as a family. We had a great time just being together. One time I even teared up a little bit as I watched my kids hitting the ball back and forth with their dad. The phrase "wholesome recreational activities" from the Family Proclamation kept coming to mind and I realized that what were were doing was a good thing. I knew that the side effects of playing a sport together--the relationships, the memories, the fun--would be worth all of the effort and hassle it took for us to do it.
So as I listened to my husband scooping bucket after bucket of muddy ice water out of the window well, while I was on my hands and knees sucking up water from a soaked carpet with a wet vac---I realized that this was a side effect of family tennis that I hadn't really bargained for!
Now imagine that same sound inside your house, only the water is spilling over a windowsill and splashing on the the carpet. I promise that sound is neither relaxing or tranquil.
Such was my morning yesterday. When I went down to my son's basement bedroom to wake him up for school I heard the alarming, yet undeniable, sound of water trickling in from the window. I could see that the window well outside had filled with several inches of water that was leaking into the house. Apparently the downspout from the roof was clogged and the rain gutter had filled up with water and then froze. So all of the rain that fell yesterday morning (and I guess the water from melting snow as well) had no where to go except out the end of the rain gutter and directly into the window well below it.
Don't you hate it when that happens!!?
As I frantically tried to mop up the mess with every single towel I own, my husband climbed up to inspect the downspout. The problem? A tennis ball.
Evidently one of the kids failed to report loosing a tennis ball on the roof last fall. The ball had rolled into the downspout and completely sealed it off.
All day yesterday I contemplated the irony of it all. I was so delighted by my newfound joy of tennis that I had begun teaching my children how to play. Everyone got new tennis rackets and we spent a few warm fall evenings at the courts as a family. We had a great time just being together. One time I even teared up a little bit as I watched my kids hitting the ball back and forth with their dad. The phrase "wholesome recreational activities" from the Family Proclamation kept coming to mind and I realized that what were were doing was a good thing. I knew that the side effects of playing a sport together--the relationships, the memories, the fun--would be worth all of the effort and hassle it took for us to do it.
So as I listened to my husband scooping bucket after bucket of muddy ice water out of the window well, while I was on my hands and knees sucking up water from a soaked carpet with a wet vac---I realized that this was a side effect of family tennis that I hadn't really bargained for!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
To whom it may concern. . .
Today I did the most unfortunate of things. . . I went Christmas shopping at the mall. I can think of no other activity that kills the Christmas spirit quite like going to the mall in December! I went there to buy a dress to give to my daughter. In the first department store I visited I found the perfect purple velvet dress that I knew my little princess would absolutely adore, but it cost exactly twice what I had determined I was willing to pay. So I went to six other stores on what turned out to be a wild goose chase, looking for another "perfect" dress (heck, I would have settled for an "adequate" dress) and found nothing even close. As you probably guessed it, I ended up back at the first store and bought the expensive dress I had looked at hours earlier. I left the mall exhausted and grumpy and fiercely determined not to go back for months.
In the car on the drive home I composed the following letter in my head. This is not a letter I will ever actually send to anyone because I know it would never do any good, but I'm writing it here so that I can vent just a little bit!
Dear Manufacturers, Designers, and Retailers of children's clothing:
I feel it necessary to bring it to your attention that although little girls tend to exhibit an inordinate amount of sass these days, they are, in fact, NOT just short teenagers. Designing a dress for a five-year-old that could only be described as "sexy" is just wrong. Please allow little girls to be little girls. While your bold and crazy prints would be lots of fun on T-shirts, my child has to wear these clothes to church and a color scheme that looks like it is trying to recreate the view inside a kaleidescope is just not appropriate. Likewise, silky, clingy, skanky fabrics are just not suitable for items intended for young children. What ever happened to cotton? Oh, and sleeves would be nice. And no--covering up a sleeveless dress with a cheap little jacket thingy is not the same thing!
And while I'm at it, let me also inform you that my child has no desire to be a billboard. Must you plaster Dora, Tinkerbell and every other children's icon on all of your clothing? Is it too much to ask for plain fabric or a simple floral print once in a while? My kids are bombarded by commercialism enough as it is, they don't need to be constantly reminded of the most popular toys, TV programs or movies every time they look at their own pajamas.
Please consider putting the "kid" back in kids' clothing. Otherwise, I will be forced to learn how to sew. And I assure you, no one wants that.
Thank you.
In the car on the drive home I composed the following letter in my head. This is not a letter I will ever actually send to anyone because I know it would never do any good, but I'm writing it here so that I can vent just a little bit!
Dear Manufacturers, Designers, and Retailers of children's clothing:
I feel it necessary to bring it to your attention that although little girls tend to exhibit an inordinate amount of sass these days, they are, in fact, NOT just short teenagers. Designing a dress for a five-year-old that could only be described as "sexy" is just wrong. Please allow little girls to be little girls. While your bold and crazy prints would be lots of fun on T-shirts, my child has to wear these clothes to church and a color scheme that looks like it is trying to recreate the view inside a kaleidescope is just not appropriate. Likewise, silky, clingy, skanky fabrics are just not suitable for items intended for young children. What ever happened to cotton? Oh, and sleeves would be nice. And no--covering up a sleeveless dress with a cheap little jacket thingy is not the same thing!
And while I'm at it, let me also inform you that my child has no desire to be a billboard. Must you plaster Dora, Tinkerbell and every other children's icon on all of your clothing? Is it too much to ask for plain fabric or a simple floral print once in a while? My kids are bombarded by commercialism enough as it is, they don't need to be constantly reminded of the most popular toys, TV programs or movies every time they look at their own pajamas.
Please consider putting the "kid" back in kids' clothing. Otherwise, I will be forced to learn how to sew. And I assure you, no one wants that.
Thank you.
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