Sorry I’ve been so lax with posting lately. Lots going on in multiple areas lately. Anyway, here’s a question…
What is your favorite prepping tip?
Come on guys, give me some feed back. If that one doesn’t interest you, then another question…
What is the prepping item that you really, really want but can’t afford?
Let’s see what all we come up with.
Dehydrating and a solar generator are my two answers.
Thanks guys!
A Proud Daughter of Texas
For christmas one year, my parents gave my children a TV with a built in VCR. It was a great gift and they loved it, although it didn’t last but about a month before a tape got hung up in the VCR. So we took it back to the store and on a whim decided to trade it for a Nintendo 64 game console and a couple of games. We thought it would be a fun thing for the kids and I wanted to play too. I look back at this move as one of the worst things I have ever done to my son.
Most people can handle playing video games. They spend an hour or so playing and get up and move to another activity, but there are those in our society, in increasing numbers, who become addicted to the activity of gaming. Along the same lines of gambling, alcohol and drugs, to be honest. My son is one of these people. His life has been consumed and ruled by nothing but gaming, sleeping and eating for almost a year now. Before that, school was the major distraction from his gaming. He has been allowed to carry on in this behavior since about kindergarten, and now, after pretty much hitting bottom, he has finally come to the realization that he is ruining his life. I just hope and pray that he will give it his all to beat this problem. For the last year and a few months, he has been living with my ex husband who has allowed this to go on…to be honest, it’s pretty hard to know how to deal with someone like this, so I don’t know how much better I would have done myself. Before we divorced this was a problem that we dealt with constantly. Now, he is going to move in with his grandparents, who have great hopes of helping him to make some great changes in his life, like getting his driver’s license, getting a job and going on to college.
I don’t tell you all of this to gossip about my beloved boy. I just want to put a big WARNING out for those of you who have young children…PLEASE don’t let them play video games!!! I know, everyone thinks that their child will never have these problems. Well, I never thought it would happen to us. To be honest, I never knew this problem existed until I started to live it. The stress of gaming and losing games started to change my son’s personality at a young age. I noticed it pretty quickly, but didn’t have enough snap to take the system away. The anger and tantrums should have told us to toss that piece of technology into the nearest trash bin, but we didn’t. I did try to limit the amount of time he played … thus the tantrums. Oh the mistakes I look back upon. I kick myself over and over.
You can do some easy research on this subject and see that it is a massive problem in today’s society. It breaks my heart to look at others making the same mistakes and I have tried to warn them, but again, they usually think that their family is immune. I pray that they are…otherwise they are in for a huge amount of heartache.
Please, please consider this as a plea to save your children. Thank you and take care.
A Proud Daughter of Texas
Why are Preppers pictured as somewhat on the verge of lunacy? Take this article for instance, http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/21/us-usa-civilization-collapse-idUSTRE80K0LA20120121. The people in this article are colored as scared, and somewhat delusional. I know that some of this is as much the fault of a certain type of prepper as it is uninformed and somewhat narrow-minded people. We all have heard of or read the blogs of those who live for the most horrific disaster imaginable. These guys have the right to feel this way and I say have at it. But it does seem to cause those of us who don’t have this mindset to be painted with the same brush so to speak. Then we have the majority of people who live in denial and think that their lives will go on just the same way for the rest of their lives. They think, I’m sure, “who are you to dare to suggest anything different”!
I’ll tell you a little about my journey towards preparedness. I can remember for years hearing that our country is in financial peril, but I really don’t have the financial acumen to understand all of the ins and outs of the reasoning for these statements. I do know that if I ran my financial life the way the government runs our finances, I would be in jail by now. That, I realize, is a simplistic comparison. Anyway, this was my first tiny nudge, but I really didn’t do anything until I moved to the Gulf Coast and started prepping for hurricanes. But when most people were storing a day or two of food and water, I began to add more and more to the pantry until I had enough to fill the back of our SUV with food. So along comes IKE and wipes us out. 52″ of water ruined the house and all we had in it. But we had plenty of food and ways to prepare it, so that was great! Then a month after IKE, we were in the beginning steps of putting our lives back together, and the bottom dropped out of the economy. Then my husband was informed that his company would be closing in two months. That was a low blow after all we had already dealt with. Luckily the company was able to pull things together and stay open. But we lived through a few months of not knowing. This is when I realized that no matter how stable your life seems, there is always a chance for things to go wrong. This is also when I started listening to The Survival Podcast.
We moved into our new house and lived for two years before more life changes happened. I won’t go into the details, but at this time I realized that my marriage of 25 years was irreparably damaged and was at an end. This was never my plan. I had the dream of being the wife and mom and had lived this life since my children were born. Well, needless to say, this plan was blown to smithereens! So, due to my prepping, which my family just laughs about, I was able to pull together an enormous amount of food to send with my husband for his new apartment. It took a large bite out of my preps, but I felt a lot of it was his too. Anyway, with so much turmoil at this time, my prepping took a back seat for a few months, but after I settled down some, I started back and really was able to get some things that I couldn’t earlier, due to budget allowances. My life is very different now and I’m unsure what it will look like down the road, but I know I can make it!
So, all of this is to say that I don’t think that I am crazy, or a conspiracy theorist. Just a woman who knows that life deals us all some blows at times and I want to cover some of the bases to help ease the sting. (I think I hit all the clichés there). I hope this resonates with some of you and shows you that prepping is just a bit of insurance and the path to a small measure of peace of mind, not some morbid waiting for the end of the world.
Take care.
A Proud Daughter of Texas
Is it just me, or have you all noticed that the price of paper goods are through the roof? I just came back from the store and I just couldn’t pay the asked price. I know…we’ll have to have it sooner or later, but WOW, I’m seriously bummed! Yes, other prices are going up too. But this one hits where it hurts. In case you guys don’t realize it, ladies go through a lot of TP in a week and the blow to the budget is pretty strong.
I read a few months ago about a family who cut up and edged out wash cloths to use instead of toilet paper for “liquid” use only. They kept a bucket, sort of like a diaper pail, by the toilet and at the end of the day they would run a load of these cloths with soap and bleach. Sounds like something we all may need pretty soon. I have actually bought the wash cloths, but haven’t done the prep work to them. I guess the time is getting closer. I have a washer that is very water and energy-efficient, so the cost of washing them isn’t high enough to make this idea a loser.
One thing I would like to buy is one of the little countertop washers that kind of look like R2D2. It doesn’t hold a lot of laundry but it also doesn’t use much water. It turns by a crank and drains by a hose. Here’s a link to one at Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/The-Laundry-Alternative-Wonderwash-SpinDryer/dp/B002C8HR9A I’m not saying to buy from them and I know I’ve seen better prices, but Amazon usually beats most on shipping. Anyway, this would be a great little gadget to have. I know I would rather turn a crank than scrub on a scrubboard!
So, if you have your own beef about a product that you find hard to pay the asked for price, please let me know about it. It may be something that has slipped by me and we all might need to be thinking of alternatives.
Happy shopping!
A Proud Daughter of Texas
It’s been about 20 years since I last took a CPR/First Aid class, but this weekend I changed that. I really enjoyed it, even though we had to be there at 7:30 on a Saturday morning. I love sleeping in on Saturdays. Anyway, the instructor was actually pretty funny and the other attendees were friends, so it was a pleasant four hours. The course was very, very basic and didn’t actually teach me much more than I already knew, but it’s good to refresh your skills. Especially the CPR skills. I would like to take a full blown first aid course. Maybe someday…
For years I have tried to keep a well supplied First Aid Kit. But in the last year I have stepped it up and added some extras that will help in case there is no doctor around or EMS is unable to get to us in time. The first of my additions is called Quick Clot. This is a product that comes in packets with a mesh bag holding a special clotting agent in them. They are used in the military to stop the bleeding from gunshot wounds, which to be honest sounds like a lifesaver. Hopefully we will never need these for gunshot wounds, but the odds of you or a family member experiencing a knife wound or power tool injury are much higher. So why not be ready. Another thing I have added is burn gel. The product, Burn Free, is supposed to be good for small burns and full body burns. Having been burned as a child, I can tell you that this is a product to have in abundance! I can’t think of any wound that causes traumatic pain and lasts for days that’s worse than a burn. If it’s a really bad burn, the effects could last for years. Also, Silvadene ointment is a wonderful treatment for burns. It requires a doctor’s prescription, but the jar is large and will last for a long time. The third thing I have added is a suture kit. I have no skill with this item, but I do plan to try to get a doctor to teach me to stitch and treat wounds or maybe the better way would be to take college courses. I’m not ready for school again though.
Everyone has an idea of what needs to be in a First Aid Kit. We all have personal experiences that influence us or we have special needs for ourselves or family members that require certain supplies. The most important thing is to go ahead and start a kit, if you havent already done so. Buy a fishing tackle box and fill it up with boxes and boxes of supplies. Over time you will be amazed at what you have accomplished! Warning…others will call you paranoid, worry-wart, crazy and many others that you have already heard if you are a prepper! As usual, just ignore them. They will come to you when they need to use your kit though! No gloating allowed…yeah, right!
I wish you all a safe and happy week. I havent asked for prayers for our nation lately, but tonight I am doing so.
Take care.
A Proud Daughter of Texas
I know its old news by now, but really? An Alice in Wonderland Party with the movie cast present at the White House? Man of the People…I know all of us regular people can afford that. Hunh… Here’s where Mr. Jim’s sarcasm key would come in handy!
I’m reading “The Eagle has Crashed”, by Ted Lacksonen right now. It’s set in 2029 and 2030. I honestly think we don’t have that long before this sort of thing happens, but who really knows. By the way, I found the book through THE SURVIVAL PODCAST. Jack had an interview with the author that I havent had a chance to listen to…too busy reading! These things are fiction of course. I feel like they do give us an idea of how bad things could get. Pretty interesting stuff.
The weather has been crazy around here the last couple of days. I live about ten miles as the crow flies, from the mall in Texas City that was hit by a tornado yesterday and a friend of mine had flooding in his family’s house. What a mess! On another note, I sure wish that people would set up water catchment systems so that they could keep their gardens going, if there is another drought this summer. That is the forcast, by the way. Mine was a simple system of large garbage cans with two goldfish in each. They ate the mosquito larva and their poop made the water very nutrient rich. So guys, try something, anything, to ease your water bill and your worry about drought. You’ll be happy you did when the time comes that you really need it!
Well I guess that’s all for now. Y’all take care.
A Proud Daughter of Texas
Since the last link was received so well, here’s another one. http://moderndayredneck.blogspot.com/ This one is fantastic! I am new to his blog, but will be following it closely now. I love his post about his own method of starting his homestead. Be sure and take a look.
In other news, my office job will come to an end this next weekend. This was my choice. I am not going to kid you guys, I am not meant to be in a little office all day, running reports and doing this and that on the computer, along with about 20 other jobs. This type of work needs a mind that’s sharp as a tack to keep up with all the threads hanging everywhere. I am still working at my other job and I love it. It’s mindless but enjoyable work. They feed me too!!! That’s always a plus. Also, it’s only a mile from where I live, so my gas budget will be amazingly cheaper. I still want to get something else to do, maybe at home depot or lowe’s (to get the discount;).
So, there are some political things that are bothering me right now. First off, have you heard about the U S Army allowing muslims to wear their head coverings (hijab) with their JR ROTC uniform? Read this -http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2078724/Muslim-cadets-WILL-allowed-wear-hijab-14-year-old-forced-quit.html Yep, it’s true. How long now until the regular Army makes this move? Sharia will be taking over pretty soon. We’ll be just like Europe. These things are slipped in on us, one by one, and we don’t take notice. If it was done all at once, there would, of course, be an outcry, but this way is the proven way to slip controversial things by the citizens. To be honest, most folks have been brainwashed, yes, brainwashed to feel that we have to accept everything, because we wouldn’t want to offend anyone. Sad…
Next, look at this link - http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/how_the_feds_are_tracking_your_kid_xC6wecT8ZidCAzfqegB6hL?fb_ref=m_site&fb_source=profile_oneline . Do you really want the government to have this much information about your kids? I know, that horse is already out of the barn, but I feel the need to say, have you thought about maybe homeschooling your precious children? It’s about that time people. This thing isn’t the only reason, and those of us who like less government in our lives recognise that this is way out of line. Our kids are OUR treasure. Why would we let their futures be influenced this way?
Now, on to some nicer topics. With my christmas money, I bought myself a camp oven! I also bought some carry bags for my shotguns, but the oven is my toy. I’ve wanted one for a long time, so I went to Academy and didn’t even hesitate, just grabbed it and ran. I got a knife sharpener and a few other things too. So I’m a happy lady today. It really feels great to add to my preps. Someday soon, hopefully, I’ll be able to use some of these things on my own homestead.
Well, that’s it for today. I wish you all a blessed and happy New Year!
A Proud Daughter of Texas
For the last few months I have been following an interesting blog. At this point in the blog I am following the family’s move to Texas, which area I don’t know. They came down here a couple of weeks ago and are trying to quickly build a cabin. They are living in an RV with several people and dogs! Watch and read their progress here http://bunkerindex.blogspot.com/
Hope everyone is doing well.
A Proud Daughter of Texas
I’m jumping on my soapbox…
The cost of the Obama’s “Annual” Vacation is being reported by The Hawaii Reporter, as being at least $4,000,000.00! Yes, that’s FOUR MILLION!! Really? That much? It’s sad to me that anyone would spend that kind of money on a vacation, but if it is their money, it’s really none of my business. Now, I know that this vacation is using some of our tax dollars, and I wouldn’t care if the President and his family took a modest vacation on us, say once a year. But these people have to name their vacations to differentiate which one is which, they take so many.
Isn’t this the man who is for the down and out, the poor and the jobless? Now I’m not someone who believes in the government paying for all our needs, but wouldn’t some of this money be better spent helping some validly needy people? What hypocrisy and waste.
So the next story that has my dander up is that we are getting close to sending food aid to NORTH KOREA!!!!! Again, REALLY? See the paragraph above…. What is wrong with this picture??? I personally know people who have lost their jobs and are suffering to make things stretch so they can eat, and we are talking about sending food aid to North Korea. By the way, WE CAN’T PAY OUR UNITED STATES DEBT, so why are we sending resources to other countries? Age old question, I know.
Folks, just face it…this country, run like it is, is doomed. Please get your financial and spiritual houses in order now, so when things go south, you will have a chance of making it through.
Sorry for the doom and gloom, but I don’t see any way around our future, the way we are going.
Take care and may God’s blessings rain upon you all!
A Proud Daughter of Texas
These are links to the stories I referenced.
