My Latest Discovery: Coconut Oil

I have been hearing about all of the possibilities/potential uses for coconut oil, and my interest was piqued. Luckily, I managed to find a large tub of it on clearance at a local bulk foods store, so I decided to do some research to see if it is as versatile as people claim.

-Coconut oils works as a moisturizer and aftershave, according to several sources. Also can be used alone or as an ingredient in homemade deodorant. I have also heard rumors that it can be a handy lubricant for, um, personal use.
-Can be used for cradle cap, in place of baby oil, to loosen flakes.
-Some sources claim it can be used as a diaper salve.
-Using a one cup to one cup ratio, it can be used in cooking as a lard/oil/butter replacement, especially when it comes to greasing pans and the like.
-Can be used in cooking and baking as other oils.
-Some sources claim it can be a stress reliever if rubbed into the skin as a calming facial on a hard day.
-Can be used as a conditioner for a flaky scalp (makes sense, with the cradle cap usage and all).
-Coconut oil and baking soda can be mixed and used as a toothpaste.
-Massage oil........I'm already swooning.
-Mix coconut oil and sugar for a body scrub.
-Melt and add to smoothies. Yummy!
-You can mix coconut oil with peppermint oil extract and rub it all over exposed skin in place of insect repellant.
-Handy to use when your kids get chewing gum caught in their hair (and every kid does at some point).

What a versatile addition to food storage! I'm way excited to try it out!

A Simple Kind of Life

I am currently researching ways to simplify my life, to destress and stay motivated through natural, non material means, to life a healthier day to day life, and to focus on the things that matter, like our family, friends, and home, instead of shallow things. It's not easy. I'm a cynical soul, an emotional shopper, with a tendency toward anxiety, depression, self-doubt, and a nagging compulsion to compare myself to others. I fail more often than I succeed. But, I am trying to change that, and that is what matters.
So, here are some things that I have been doing to recenter my life, or things that I am investigating, and these are also things that I need to remember to keep working on/toward:
-Donating goods and time to causes that truly need it. If we don't need it, I find I am wanting to eliminate it from our lives, and I also find I am happy when I am working on something that brings me, and others, joy, like volunteering at our local animal shelter.
-Cooking more meals at home, and relying less on takeout. This is not easy for me, but I am trying, nevertheless, and feel it is key to a healthier lifestyle.
-Working on improving our financial fitness (not so good at this one, but we are making some forward steps).
-Setting and fulfilling emergency preparedness/self reliance goals as a family, which I've discussed before.
-Exercise. I am not doing so well here, but that is partially due to a lingering sickness.
-Working on spending one on one time with my children, which is wonderful when I can get it.
-I am reading more, which, as someone with two degrees in English, you would think I would have been doing, but once you have two children, it's not always so easy.
-Blogging. (Obviously.)
-Hubby and I have found a source of free Swedish massages, and I look forward to utilizing that as time progresses.
-A friend is a reiki master, and I'm interested in looking into that to combat stress and anxiety.
-Centering my life more around the homemade and less around store-bought. I'm not sure I can commit to this 100%, because I do like the occasional splurge, and I am not someone who will, say, convert to cloth diapering or something over disposables, but I'm trying to enjoy the simple things, to go all natural/more green where I can (just snagged some homemade cloth baby wipes--adorable), eat healthier, etc.
How do you like to simplify your life when things get crazy?

What We Store and How We Prep: Meats

I am such a guilty carnivore. A fair amount of my friends are either vegetarians/vegans, due to the fact that we all like volunteering our time for animal causes/rescue (pets), but I struggle giving up meat products, mainly due to personal beliefs and preferences.
My in-laws bought us a freezer a few years ago, and at the time, we didn't buy much meat because it was essentially two of us eating (our oldest was no more than a few months old at the time, and on formula), and we felt that meat was very expensive, let alone having somewhere to store it. Between the new freezer, and finding a local butcher where the meat was high quality, locally grown, and grain fed for less money, we ran out of excuses.
Now, I consider meat a vital part of our family's three month supply of foods. We keep on hand at a time (these are averages):
-10-15 pounds of ground beef
-10-20 pounds of chicken (boneless)
-about another 10-15 pounds of various chicken parts or fryer chickens (bone in)
-about 5 pounds of ground turkey
-10-15 pounds of various sausage products
-5-10 pounds of bacon
-10 pounds of roasts (about two of them)
-10 pounds of hot dogs
-5-10 pounds of fish (this can fluctuate, sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on sales)
-a few pounds worth of ham steaks (I usually try to keep 4 or 5 ham steaks on hand)
-10 pounds of various other meat products, like an occasional rack of ribs, steaks, pork tenderloin, pork chops, and the like
The main worry I have with this aspect of our food storage is that it is very electricity dependent. If the power goes out for several days (we've lost it for two days before), then what? This is something we are still working on figuring out. We have started looking into canned meats and meat alternatives. We have a few cans of tuna (the hubby really doesn't like it, so we don't buy it much), have started keeping canned chicken (several pounds worth), and are venturing into using textured vegetable protein, a soy based meat alternative, that you can get in various forms, like bacon flavored, chicken flavored, beef flavored, and even taco beef, but we only have 2 #10 cans of this, with plans to buy more in the future.
Any experience with canned meats? Self canning meat? Ideas how to preserve freezer items when the power goes out? Good recipes using TVP?

What We Can Learn From the Great Depression

In an effort to try to encourage myself to take on a more frugal, self-reliant lifestyle, I have been researching accounts of the Great Depression. What a truly humbling experience this has been for me. I read the stories and see the photographs, and my heart becomes full. Knowing how the American people suffered reminds me to count my blessings that my choice to become provident is just that--a choice--and not something that I have been thrown into in an attempt to survive. I encourage you to take some time to find out more about this period of time in our history and to see what you can learn from it, and I pray that it will help motivate me to create a more self-reliant and humble lifestyle for our family.

Chinese Style Pulled Pork

I made the *best* pulled pork the other day.
It started as ribs, and I turned it into pulled pork on a whim, and it was fabulous.
Take 2/3 cup of orange marmalade, a half cup of soy sauce, six tablespoons of ketchup, and a couple cloves worth of minced garlic and mix together in a bowl to combine.
Pour half of the mixture in a slow cooker, add the ribs, and pour the remaining sauce on top of the meat. Cook on low for 6-7 hours.
Cool meat enough to handle, debone ribs, and shred the meat. (We used the slicer/shredder attachment for our Kitchenaid mixer, and it worked really well.)
Make another batch of the sauce (with the same proportions/measurements), add to the shredded pork, mix, and heat thoroughly. Wonderful on sandwiches!

Time to Be Random

Random mumblings from my tired brain....

-On Facebook, lately, I have been involved in many conversations that seem to have one common thread: loving those that are different than you, who persecute you, who choose a different lifestyle or religious choice, etc. Basically, loving those who can be difficult. And I kept preaching this concept, but I am currently involved in a situation where I feel as though I am being tested in this area. Someone in our lives, whom we barely even know, has been causing our family some difficulty with false accusations/strange behavior, and it's something that has angered me and stressed me out. But, the overwhelming prompting I am feeling is to still show kindness and civility, even though I am upset that this person was so irrational. I'm hoping I pass this test, because it is not easy, but I know that if I proceed with love in my heart, Heavenly Father will help me through this...oh, I hope so.

-I'm teaching a class tonight at our church on bulk buying (i.e. stocking up on sale items, warehouse clubs, building food storage, etc.). I'm so excited to share something with my church sisters that I feel so passionately about and something in which I have an unwavering testimony. I really feel so strongly that we should store and stockpile items and food that we use on a daily basis because we never know when a personal crisis or financial setback will occur. Keeping a three month stockpile of food (working up to a year's worth) is an investment that will help protect our family when done in conjunction with emergency preparedness goals. A little at a time builds up to something great!

-I've been blessed to be able to reconnect with a family member lately, one that I haven't been close to in years, due to various (stupid) reasons, and I'm so grateful. It's so refreshing to move past petty issues and concerns and get to know someone, and even more wonderful when you discover you have much more in common with them than you ever thought previously. This is so beneficial to me in my life right now.

Otherwise, life has been proceeding as normal, the typical ups and downs that I am sure we all experience at one point or another. Trying to stay strong, working to pursue and accomplish goals, and striving to be a better wife, mother, friend, and person. It has been a struggle lately, for whatever reason, to stay afloat, and I've stumbled when it comes to some of my goals, but I am trying to tread water and make it to my destination. I must remember to take life one day at a time. It's so hard sometimes, though!

15 Years

On this date, fifteen years ago, I lost a friend in a tragic accident. I was fourteen at the time, and this person was one of the most down to earth, genuine persons that I had ever met, and have ever met, even at such a young age. When he died, a part of us all died with him. When you lose a friend in childhood, even in late childhood, there's a certain amount of childhood innocence that is lost with the deceased that you simply can't get back.
I think of this person often. I haven't seen a picture of him in 11 years due to a mishap involving a school project and a careless janitor that concluded in my losing all of my mementos of our friendship. I hear certain songs, and, to this day, they make me sob in remembrance in him. And although I have lost other dear, young friends along the way, he is the loss that has touched me the most, that has impacted my life the most deeply, and he is the one that I mourn today, fifteen years later.
Whether or not you believe in the concept of an afterlife, I know with a surety that our deceased loved ones live on, through us, through our every footstep, every memory cherished, and I carry them with me everywhere that I go. And I know that my friend is still with me, even now, as surely as I know my first name. I feel the presence of my lost loved ones so strongly, and whether they are still really there with me, or whether it's merely impenetrable memory, I don't know, but in some capacity, they are there, and I am comforted.
My friend, I miss you and love you more than you know. Rest in peace with the knowledge that you are remembered, and, as the hymn states, "God be with you 'til we meet again."

A Follow Up: DIY Mandarin Orange Peel/Zest

A few posts ago, I shared an entry dedicated to grating your own mandarin orange peel. This morning, armed with a container of peels from my newfound addiction to Cuties, I decided to give it a try.
I took the orange peels, layered them out in a glass baking dish, and baked them in a 170 degree oven until they started to feel a bit crispy/dried out (I checked them every ten minutes or so).
Once I took them out of the oven, I tossed them into my Ninja and, using the pulse setting, processed the peels in batches until they resembled coarse crumbs.

And voila!
Place in batches in freezer bags and freeze until needed!
I can't even begin to tell you how awesome my house smells right now, and I am anxious to make another batch as soon as I finish the rest of those cute little mandarins. I love using orange peel in glazes and Asian dishes, and I'll post recipes when I use them for the first time.

White Vinegar as a Rinse Aid?

Another thing we keep in bulk around our house is white vinegar. Several individuals have recommended that I use it in my dishwasher as a rinse aid, so I decided to give it a try, and it works really well! And at about $3.00 for two gallons at a warehouse club, that can't be beat!

How to Make Your Own Shower/Tub Cleaning Spray

I found this in several different places on the Internet (and yes, Pinterest, too), and decided to try it, since we keep "the blue Dawn" in bulk at our house. This cleaner comes well reviewed after personal research, and I decided to give it a try this AM. It's supposed to work well on countertops and appliances, too.

Bathroom Cleaner for Tub/Shower/Appliances, Etc.

-1 empty spray bottle
-2 cups of "the blue Dawn" dishwashing liquid (we buy this for $10 a gallon at Sam's Club)
-2 cups white vinegar

Open spray bottle. Heat vinegar until it is hot, either on stovetop or microwave (took me about 90 seconds in a 1000 watt microwave). Pour vinegar into bottle. Add Dawn slowly into bottle with the vinegar. Shake and use. I have been told a little goes a long way!
UPDATE: It does work! It made my stovetop wonderfully shiny!

Reinventing Myself

I have this desire to be something better, to make more of myself, my family, my opportunities, our home. It's often overwhelming because this desire is so powerful, so strong, so encompassing, but I also acknowledge to myself that, however worthwhile and good my intentions are, no one can completely change their lives in one day, nor can anyone achieve perfection, no matter how much it is wanted.
I want to be steadfast and more determined in our goals to eliminate consumer debt from our lives, which means a stronger budget, less frivolous spending, and a concrete gameplan in order to do so.
I want to develop a lifestyle of simplicity and self-reliance. I want to waste less, to work on emergency preparedness, to obtain and maintain both a short term and long term food storage, to learn how to can, dehydrate, and preserve fresh foods. I want to learn how to make our possessions last longer, to create more handmade gifts, to minimize clutter and materialism from our lives.
I strive to be a better wife and mother, to be more patient, thoughtful, compassionate. I want to focus on putting their needs before my own. I need to show more affection and love.
I want to be an insightful, caring teacher. I want to be more productive, to place more effort into my lectures and my grading.
I desperately want a cleaner, more organized home. I long for a better cleaning routine, increased productivity.
I want to be in better shape. I want my body to feel better, to be stronger and more fit, and to live a healthier lifestyle.
I feel a need to be more charitable, more giving, more selfless and willing to share my time and resources with those in need.
I'm sure you understand why and how I am feeling overwhelmed. If only I knew how to maintain these goals while not becoming completely burned out and frazzled in the process....

You Can't Eat Your TV....

The hubby and I were having a discussion about our efforts to live a more frugal lifestyle.
In an attempt to do so, we have sacrificed a lot that our peers are doing. We don't go to movies more than maybe once or twice a year, if that. We don't buy gadgets much anymore. (I did buy a Kindle Touch the other day, which is quite wonderful, but I earned that money on the side by helping a family member with organizing a craft room.) We wear cheap clothing, and often find ourselves really pushing some items to their limits. Vacations? Nope. Randomly spending one or two hundred dollars at the mall "just because?" No. Shopping tends to have a very definite purpose, or it's purely window shopping.
Sometimes, I feel a little resentful at times because I feel like everyone else is out having fun, and we're paying down debt and trying to do and be better, which makes us feel a little awkward at times. It's easy to feel left out. It's hard when others don't understand what you are trying to accomplish and poke fun of your discretion.
One of the things we have been working on, as you have noticed, is food storage and emergency preparedness. We have sacrificed a lot of "fun" in order to build a small surplus of food, and now, to work on goals for our increased safety as a family. We have others asking us how we do it, and honestly, that's how--sacrifice. We refuse to go into more debt to accomplish these goals. It's not the point. The point is to simplify our lives and prepare for a rainy day, not to make our situation even worse by adding more debt onto the pile. It's not just about preparedness, or cutting costs, or having some extra food. We are working on changing our whole outlook on life.
And it's not easy. We stumble. We screw up. We splurge sometimes. We overspend. We get wasteful. But, as my hubby reminded me today, you can't eat your TV, or your cute clothes, or your iPods and iPads. Living frugally and becoming self reliant is learning to focus more on needs, rather than wants, and simplicity.
My husband is very wise. And he's provided me some food for thought on this warm, gray day.

DIY: Mandarin Orange Zest

In my quest to achieve frugality, I'm *attempting* (and often failing) at trying to waste less. And, seeing as I am now addicted to those darling Cuties mandarin oranges, I was excited to find a blog post that talks about how to turn those peels into fabulous mandarin orange zest. Orange zest brings such life into foods and sauces, so I'm totally stoked to try this.
How to Dry and Use Mandarin Orange Peels

At Long Last....

After a few years, and several attempts at reorganization, I finally have my modest food storage organized and shelved the way I like it. The hubby would like for me to move it into the basement, but I really appreciate having it handy upstairs because it is more easily rotated, and I can see it better. The pics really don't do it justice. I'm so, so pleased with the work. It's still a work in progress, but the organization is getting better--finally.

Battle of the Ages

I have been participating in a war that others have fought, and lost, for centuries. Every day is a new battle, a new skirmish, another setback, but I refuse to be another casualty.
I'm waging war against my dirty house.
It never ends. When you have two little ones, it's a never ending cycle of clean this, wash that, scrub there, wipe off here, vacuum this, sweep that. It never ends.
I am not a "good" housekeeper, really. This is something that doesn't come naturally to me, and is one of my greatest day-to-day struggles, especially now that I am chasing after little ones. I even have help with them, thanks to my mom-in-law, and I still can't always get everything accomplished because I am tired, and I relish the quiet time too much to want to clean.
I make a to-do list every day, and whatever doesn't get done, I have been carrying over to the next list. I have items that have to be done, and others that I hope to get done, but I had been classifying them as things that needed done during the day, instead of prioritizing.
I realized the other day that my lists were including 40 items, in one day, on average. It is no wonder that I am always feeling behind and that I am never doing a good enough job keeping up with the mess. No one can do that unless it's your 40 hr. a week job, and even then! Let alone if you have kiddos...it's impossible.
So, today, I am striving to make the lists shorter, focus on what truly needs done, and maybe a few daydream items and a couple fun items. It's going to take time to get into a new routine, but I really can't keep going on 40 items or more a day.
It most definitely is a war, and one I intend to win.

38 Principles of Self-Sufficiency, Part Two

Earlier today, I posted a link to a list of 38 principles to self-sufficiency, that I found on The Survival Mom, and I wanted to do a self-assessment of where I am at, and where I need to be.

38 Principles of Self-Sufficiency

by Don McAlvany

This list contains some challenging, provocative thoughts and some real pearls of wisdom. Leave a comment and let me know which principles hit home with you and if you have any to add to this list.

1. Change the way you look at everything. Rethink your entire lifestyle. I am such an emotional shopper--really, I'm just an emotional person. In addition to this, I have a bad habit of comparing myself to others and their possessions, and I also am trying to learn how to "save for a rainy day," which is hard because I don't tend to save $$, period. So, my foray into this is taking my newfound passion for food storage and emergency preparedness, starting there, and using it to then build up to other things, like monetary savings, home improvements, and the big ticket items. I am a creature of habit and routines, and trying to change how I look at things and reconsidering my entire lifestyle is something that I am working on (a couple years ago, I didn't really have food storage, and I laughed at 72 hour kits), but is very hard for me, as well.
   
2. Develop discernment about people. I tend to have a decent intuition when it comes to allowing people into our lives, or whether to avoid certain individuals, but I do make mistakes, and I need to make better assessments so our family can be surrounded by people who will support us, love us, and lift us up, rather than bring us down.
   
3. When you invest, invest first in the right people. For a long time, I have always enjoyed spending time with people who were right along with me--shop-a-holics, people drowning in debt, like we are (though we're working to get out of it), and I am finding now that I am miserable around some of those individuals. I also am hurt that some make fun of our goals. If you can't accept me at my worst, you certainly don't deserve me at my best.
   
4. Look at yourself honestly. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Strengths: I can be good at judging situations. I feel I am good with words. I am a champion bargain huntress. I am passionate about developing a self-reliant attitude. I have a fun sense of humor. I try to share my mistakes so that others learn from them. Weaknesses: Impatience. An inability to see the big picture at times. A short fuse/temper. I'm a world class procrastinator. I get discouraged easily. I sometimes struggle putting others' needs ahead of my own.
   
5. Seek the counsel of others you trust. I think I am doing a good job, or at least a better one, when it comes to this area.
   
6. Find like-minded people who can be part of a mutual support group and who you can cooperate with. I feel like I sometimes struggle finding people with the same goals and passions. I do have them, but I also feel like some in my life are poking fun at our goals, or think we're being too cautious or silly. I would love to find people as interested in "prepping" and self-reliance, particularly in our own age group.
   
7. Find alternate methods for doing everything. Very difficult for someone who loves routines and falls back on habits. But, I am attempting to remedy this, and I have loved ones who are helping me, especially my husband.
   
8. Develop an instinct for what doesn’t feel right. No matter how good something looks or sounds on the surface, go with your gut feeling, your instinct, your intuition. I trust my intuition, and I feel I am doing well with this principle.
   
9. Eliminate non-essentials from your life. Eliminate all time wasters and money wasters, and things you don’t need, i.e. clothes, furniture, junk, etc. Eliminate television from your life. What do you mean I need to give up my T.V. and my Facebook? I don't know if this is something that necessarily needs eliminated from our lives, but I definitely wonder sometimes if I spend too much time on the computer, and might have what is termed a "computer addiction" because I sometimes feel like I HAVE to check my mail or my Facebook account, even when I don't really have anything new to see. We are working on purging out things we do not want anymore.
   
10. Simplify your lifestyle. Learn to say no to things or activities which do not make you self-sufficient. Doing this. It's a struggle. I am worried I am losing friendships as a result, but my family and our goals come first.
    
11. Develop physical, mental, and spiritual discipline. When it comes to physical discipline...well, let's just say I had a goal to exercise three times a week starting this year. I have purposefully done one exercise session. I am also a snacker and need more control in this area. Mentally, I am working on this, but it is hard. I have needed to seek outside help. Spiritual discipline is a hard one for me because I feel sometimes as though I am so different from my fellow church members when it comes to my views on life, politics, current events, etc, and I find that it can keep me from church at times, which certainly doesn't help me develop spiritual discipline when I am struggling in my relationship with my God and my Savior. I need to work on this.
    
12. Learn to treat everything as if it were irreplaceable. Working on this.
    
13. Buy things that will last, even if they cost more. We started doing this with our first child, when we realized we were buying cheap items over and over again. Spend more on something nicer, and you don't have to buy it again.
    
14. Acquire tools that do not depend on electric power. I don't know where to begin on this goal. I need to do some research.
    
15. Learn to spend time alone with yourself in total silence. Think, reflect, reminisce and plan (or strategize) in silence. Doing this. I am learning to love my quiet moments of meditation and reflection, especially when you work part-time and have two children...these moments are sacred.
    
16. Learn to spend time with your family without any superficial entertainment and distractions. Need to work on this. I constantly feel like we have to "do" something in order to have quality time together.
    
17. Learn something from every situation you are in. Everything you hear, see, touch or feel has a lesson in it. Learn a principle from every mistake you make and from everyday life situations. I do try to live by this principle.
    
18. Make sure your trust is in the Lord and not your own preparedness. Pattern your preparedness according to the guidance of the Lord. Listen to what He puts in your heart. Don’t use only your reasoning power. I do trust the Lord and his guidance and plan for my life. I might struggle sometimes feeling a spiritual connection or peace, but I know He has me in His care.
    
19. Learn to enjoy simple pleasures from the smallest things. Have a measure of joy and happiness that doesn’t come from creature comforts or entertainment. I am trying to do this. I watch my children and see the joy they derive from such simple pleasures. They are an example to me.
    
20. Store up memories for times of isolation or separation from your loved ones. Doing this via blogging, Facebook, photos, etc.
    
21. Establish priorities for all areas of your life, including relationships and current and future needs. Set goals for areas to become proficient or self-sufficient in. Set a schedule or a timeline to reach those goals based on the money and time you have available. We are trying to do this as a family. We struggle at times, but we are trying.
    
22. Examine the concept of civil disobedience from Bible times throughout history. At what point should the people of Egypt have said no to killing the male babies in Moses’ day? At what point should the people of colonial America have said no to King George? At what point should the people of Germany have said no to Hitler? At what point do we say no to the despots of our day when they take over our money,property, guns, our children and our freedom? Decide what is your choke point. When do you move toward civil disobedience? For many throughout history it was when evil leaders handed down edicts that were directly contrary to God’s Word or commands. Don’t set your choke point too early or too quickly, too late or never. Think through and calculate a strategy. Then never look back. This is such a personal question. What might be important to me might be contrary to someone else's beliefs. I try to follow my heart and the guidance of the Spirit, and I rely on my conscience and strive to think about my loved ones in all that I consider when it comes to the world around me.
    
23. Learn to ask the right questions in every situation. I'm great at asking questions and getting the answers I need, so this is a strength of mine.
    
24. Bring orderliness into your life. If you live in disorder, it will pull you down and break your focus. Think focus vs. distraction. Eliminate the distractions from your life. Working on this, but at times, I feel my life is so chaotic with everything that we try to accomplish. I need to keep trying.
    
25. Self-sufficiency or survival principles are learned on a day-to-day basis and must be practical. I spend time every day researching ways that we can accomplish our goal to become self-reliant.
    
26. Always have more than one way to escape, more than one way to do something. Have a plan B and a plan C. This is a concept we are just starting to put into practice. I recently attended a fire safety class, and the local fire chief admonished us to plan two exits out of every room in the event of a fire. I think that is applicable to life as well. In every situation, try to have a back-up plan. It also would help to eliminate discouragement when things don't quite go your way at first--you have a fall-back plan.
    
27. Every day life, and especially life during a crisis, requires up-front systems and back-up systems if the first line of defense, or the up-front system, fails. Researching this, on so many levels. Hence, our passion for preparedness at this point in our lives.
    
28. Real education only takes place when change occurs in our attitudes, actions, and way of life. How very true. Dave Ramsey allows people to share their experiences in his debt-reduction books, and I remember a woman talking about bankruptcy, and how the first time was hard, and the second bankruptcy was a bit easier, and then the third, and it was the fourth bankruptcy that made them realize that this wasn't a grand fix. They needed to completely change their attitudes, their habits, their way of life, and their goals. Once they did that, they completely got out of debt and no longer rely on credit. But, THEY had to completely change EVERYTHING.
    
29. Wisdom is making practical applications of what you know. It is not enough to know everything you need to know. It will only serve you and others if practical application is made of that knowledge. It's like the hubby says about shooting--you won't know how to shoot that gun and handle it safely if you only go out with it once a year. You gotta keep up the skill level, so safety and correctness become habit.
    
30. Fix in your own mind the truth about your capabilities. In a crisis situation, this will keep you from being too cocky and will provide you with confidence. I'm pretty sure I won't be feeling too cocky in the event of a crisis. I actually worry about the opposite problem--being too panicked and unsure of myself.
    
31. Decide ahead of time, before a crisis arrives, how you will react in a given situation so that you are not swayed by the circumstances, the situation or your emotions. That is why we are working on these goals--so we won't be swayed by emotion and can think rationally in an emergency.
    
32. Beware of being spread too thin in your life. Decide on the few things in life that you must do and then do them well. Think focus versus distraction. Make sure that unimportant, non-essential distractions don’t keep you from achieving your important objectives. I need to work on this.
    
33. Learn to quit wasting things. Be a good steward of all that God provides. I can be so wasteful. I need to value and take care of all that we have.
    
34. Buy an extra of everything you use regularly and set that extra one aside for the time when such items may be difficult or impossible to obtain. Doing this. Yay!
    
35. In every situation, train yourself to look for what doesn’t fit, what’s out of place, and what doesn’t look right. I think women excel in this capacity, don't you?
    
36. Teach your children, and learn this yourself, that you are not obligated to give information to a stranger. You don’t have to answer questions that are none of their business, not even to government officials. AMEN!! I need to stop being so willing to give up my info for freebies, though.
    
37. Sell or give away things you don’t use or need. Consider giving away or selling half of your stuff, the non-essentials. Simplify and streamline your life, lifestyle, and possessions. We are working harder to give, rather than toss our unwanted items.
    
38. Find someone who lived through the Great Depression and learn from them. Find out how the became self-sufficient, how they made do with very little, and how they found joy and contentment in the midst of hard times. Will do!
    

Validation of My Parenting Style, Or, Why My Son Wants Breast Implants

I was raised in a pretty liberal Mormon household, as far as television, music, movies, and books were concerned. Although counsel in the Mormon church is to steer clear of rated R movies, I was allowed to watch them, provided my folks had viewed them first, and it was then that I developed a love for slasher flicks--along with classic rock, cerebral and often controversial literature, etc.
I had vowed to be as accomodating to my children's tastes as possible and within reason. I see parents asking questions on Facebook about letting their 10 or 12 year olds watch or read this or that, and I was thinking how I probably would have seen or read whatever they were talking about by the age of seven. And I think it's OK, provided there's parental moderation. I wasn't one of my fellow Mormon classmates who was sneaking out to go see rated-R movies, and I also felt comfortable asking my parents questions about life, sex, violence, etc, instead of searching for answers where I shouldn't. Also, I feel like ANYTHING can be taken out of context and made "bad" with the right material.
Case in point: the most innocent movie in the world, and one of Goob's personal favorites, Toy Story 3. He LOVES this movie, and has watched it...oh...about 900 times.
The other day, after watching it for the 901st time at his grandparents', I noticed he was walking with a swagger, a high pitched voice, and with makeshift boobs and a grin. I cautiously asked him who he was, and he excitedly answered, "BAAARRBBIIEE!!!" He spent an hour of his life being Barbie and wishing he had boobs.
ANYTHING can be taken wrong. Unless it's pornographic or intensely obscene, the key is parental moderation. My son now wants breasts thanks to Pixar. Will I ban the movie? Heck no. But, it did validate my idea that it's less to do sometimes with the material and more how we explain things to our children. Each parent has individual standards, but nothing is OK unless we provide answers to questions and a careful eye. I'd rather moderate than censor.

38 Principles of Self-Sufficiency

I LOVE this blog entry on The Survival Mom:
38 Principles of Self-Sufficiency

What We Store and How We Prep: Personal Hygiene/Toiletry Items

One of the many things that we store in the event of an emergency/financial downturn (in our home) are personal hygiene and toiletry items. I do this for several reasons:
1) I have tricks to scoring them in bulk, for minimal cost.
2) Generally speaking, a lot of this stuff doesn't expire. (I ask you, have YOU ever had a box of tampons "go bad"?)
3) In an emergency, maybe, for example, deodorant isn't something that will save your life, but if you are already sacrificing a lot of comfort, maybe not being stinky will make you feel better. I remember someone saying that they would pack a razor because smooth legs would be comforting to them. If it makes you feel good in a time of crisis, why not?
We stockpile toothbrushes/toothpaste, deodorant, hand and bar soaps, body washes, shampoos, razors, lotions, tampons/pads, and toilet paper. I'm sure I might be forgetting something, but you get the general idea. Sometimes, I'm not as good with keeping up with a stockpile of pads and such, but I try to keep at least some excess around the house.
So, what are the tricks to getting these items for little $$?

• Utilizing warehouse stores. You can find stuff like deodorant for really inexpensive prices. For the amount of two bars of it at a normal store, you can snag four at a warehouse club. And they do carry name brands, like Secret, Dove, and Degree. Warehouse stores are also excellent for toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, body washes, shampoo, razors, toothbrushes/toothpaste, soap, etc. If you're not much of a couponer, you can still get great deals using this method.
• Shopping sales. The weekly circular of your local grocery store is key here. A lot of grocery chains will post their ads on their websites (I know mine does), if you don't wanna pay for a newspaper (I know I don't). A lot of times, stores will have "stock-up" sales, which are where you will be able to find these items for less. For example, at my local grocery store, I picked up Dial hand soaps for $1 a piece. 8 hand soaps for $8 is pretty good. Items like toothbrushes and toothpaste can be good deals going this route, as well.
• Coupons. I am NOT a coupon sort of gal, but I do use them on a few items, and this is one aspect of my storage where I am known to use them on occasion. I can get low-cost, swanky razors this way, along with pads/tampons, lotions and shower gels, shampoos...the coupon market seems to love this subsection of the grocery store. And, once again, you can find many coupons online, or have a friend save the circulars out of his or her newspaper, if you can.
  

To give you some rough figures, we have 11 bottles of hand soap, 24 bars of "normal" soap, about 6 9-roll packs of toilet paper, more body washes and shampoos than I can count, same with lotions, two large pump bottles of baby wash (and I mean LARGE), four large bottles of kid-friendly shampoo, about a dozen (plus) toothbrushes, three full sized, unopened things of toothpaste, plus numerous sample sized ones (we also like hoarding sample sized products when we can get them)...I say this not to brag (OK, maybe I am a little), but to show that getting a good stockpile is POSSIBLE on a LOW budget. We have a grocery budget right now of about $300-500 a month, which includes all food, emergency prep items, long term food storage, extra for our short term food storage, personal hygiene stockpile, cleaning supplies, kitchen utensils and small appliances/supplies, AND our children's clothing budget and formula/diaper budget. With the right tools, you too can do this. If my terrible-at-finances self can do it, I promise you...YOU CAN, TOO!! Get motivated, and start stockpiling/preparing for a rainy day!