Friday Funny

I love this today!

Chillin' with my Bad Self at 2:30am

At the moment, I am trying to calm my frazzled nerves after watching "24" tonight. My theory is this: If I write about my normal, sedate, (non-special op's) & somewhat boring life, I will distract my brain from firing signals to my synapses at 250x the normal rate.

Saturday I mobilized the troops (slang for "lazy kids") and we scrambled around, spiffing up the house to show it once again. We left shortly after to watch the girls dance at the Poinsettia Festival. Mimi was soaking up the spotlight as usual, and Isabelle did a little hip hop number. She was so excited to perform her dance and practiced it frequently at home for a tiny audience of one, seated in a carseat on the floor. Later that night, I went to dinner & to see "Twilight" with the girls. Because I'd heard mixed reviews, I had low expectations and ended up really liking it. Contrary to most people I've talked to, Edward was just exactly as I'd pictured him. I couldn't get settled down after coming home--perhaps due to the fact that I'd consumed approximately 137 Diet Cokes--and held Food Storage Friday by my little ol' self at 2:30am.


I decided I needed something more specific than calendaring my meals, so I followed the how-to at "Safely Gathered In" and planned my 3 month supply. I feel much better about the organization. My first attempt at organizing pantry meals wasn't sitting well with me. I needed more structure. I followed the directions exactly and now feel like I've made a good start. The next step will be to do the math and write out a big master grocery list to work from and start collecting the ingredients. This process had always been very daunting to me, but I figure it is well past time to just start, and I have gained peace already just by making babysteps. It seems everyone I know has ALL their wheat and ALL their grains and ALL their water and honestly, I feel like a big doofus. Yes. I am just starting my measly 3 month supply.***

Anyway, my current plan is to accumulate all the ingredients for my meals on the above list and then work on gathering the long-term supply of food like bulk amounts of wheat, rice, etc. I have found safelygatheredin.blogspot.com to be invaluable! It's a very informative blog, and also very helpful in that they break the process down into just that....a process.

Today was church--without the two Littles. Baby and Mimi stayed home, because baby is sick and Mimi is just tired and grouchy. Little Jack napped from 11:30pm until 4:30pm! Poor little sick guy. I think his power nap was restorative, though, because he woke up playful and happy.

In Relief Society, we discussed Elder Uchdorf's talk, "Lift Where You Stand," which I've actually read a few times in the past week. We talked about how talents of body, spirit & personality are given to us from the Lord to be used in service, to give to others using our unique capabilities. It's a great talk.

Tomorrow I plan to knock out a plethora of errands, then come home and read books to the Littles and make cards for my card exchange. Life is good.


***And thanks, Mom, for my boxes & boxes of food storage you gave me! That's what got me started.

Whooosh-TA!

Today I cracked the whip.

I made everyone a cleaning list and we worked hard for an hour and a half. The sad thing is, the lists mostly consisted of basic pickup. It seems all I can do to just stay on top of the clutter and the put-away. I suspect the days of cleaning baseboards are gone. Max & Sis each had to clean their rooms and one other room really well. Max did the book nook. Sis did the kids' bathroom. Mimi did small jobs in her room and cleaned mirrors and doors. I thoroughly decluttered my room.

Mike also had a long list consisting of the kitchen, office and living room; I ended up with clean gutters, a sprayed driveway, a fixed rain gutter, a yard cleared of tumbleweeds & Christmas lights strung up.

It seems all I have to do to get my outdoor chores done is give my husband indoor chores. Heh, heh. (smirk, cackle, rub hands together.)

Max helped with the tumbleweeds. Here is the huge pile that is almost as tall as he is. He also pushed the baby around in the stroller for close to two hours...up & down the street and all around the park.

As a reward for finishing their long lists with a good attitude, we went to a movie. (I usually don't have the kids do chores on Saturday; they do an after-school job on weekdays and I reserve Saturday for family fun.) Sis' little friend Lauren was working right alongside her, motivating her and keeping her from dawdling, and she came with us to the movie. We saw "Madagascar 2," which was HILARIOUS. How did I miss the first one? I was gut-laughing the entire time.
A little side-note: Look at Mimi's shoes. Atrocious. White high-heeled sandals--totally inappropriate for a 5-yr old--with socks. In winter. My friend Ali handed these down to her and since Mimi worships Ali's 12-yr old daughter...the white shoes go everywhere, are worn with any outfit and are considered the height of fashion. There is no convincing her otherwise.

And in other news, here is my weekly addition to my food storage. At $1/box, how could I pass it up? It's vitamin-fortified, right? Nutritious. (I also added some Shirley J seasoning, a case of tomato sauce, instant yeast & 6 cans of chicken.)
This week's Food Storage Friday occurred on Tuesday, due to Wendi's trip this weekend to New York City. We took a field trip to the Bosch store and priced wheat grinders; we were both a bit surprised at how expensive they are. I plan to tweak Wendi's nose a little and tell her she could have bought a wheat grinder AND a Bosch mixer for the money she spent going to NYC. (yet again...smirk, cackle, rub hands together.)

I think my plan for Food Storage Friday next week is to get serious about listing on a 3 month calendar rotation all the pantry meals my family likes to eat. My goal will be to gather the ingredients for those meals. These meals might include some fresh ingredients, such as lettuce in taco salad, but those ingredients can be left out in an emergency and the meal will still be tasty. Meals like haystacks, taco soup, spaghetti, black bean enchiladas, etc. I will also work on my water storage. Another goal is to print my 72-hour kit checklist and actually put everything together in one place for a grab-&-go kit. I have most everything I need for our 72-hour kits, but it is not compiled into one place. Can you imagine me in an evacuation situation?....running around, willy-nilly grabbing what we need?

* (please note: "evacuation situation" rhymes nicely. Should I compose a rap?)
* (also note: the phrase "willy-nilly" is vastly under-used. I will for sure include it in The Food Storage Rap.)

For anyone who is interested, it is now 3:08am. What the crap am I thinking, being up this late??? Goodnight.

Harrumph.

Anyone who knows me well knows that food storage gives me anxiety. As in "hee hee HOO" anxiety. My mind gets wrapped in knots, trying to figure out how to get organized for emergency preparedness.

I recently attended this fabulous bread class for the 3rd time, dragging Wendi with me; you learn how to use your wheat storage to make homemade bread and other various bread-based meals. Wendi and I decided to get down to business and really get organized...and do it together.

Hee hee HOO. Hee hee HOO.Everything's more fun with a friend, right?

(Well, except for running. Running is not fun with a friend.
I hate to run with others. It ruins my zen moment.)

We decided to embark on the journey together, supporting & encouraging each other. We'll get together every Friday (because I never do anything productive on Friday & am always looking for an excuse to socialize that day). Paying homage to Jill's Creative Friday, I'm calling it Food Storage Friday.

Yeah, I know. My Friday is not as fun.

I've been buying extra items here and there, doing what I'd call "stocking up." So I have a bunch extra of the items I use frequently. But I don't like the feeling of not having A Plan. I have a mis-mash of random products in my pantry. I have a feeling that in an emergency situation, like Hurricane Ike or some such stressful circumstance, I'd end up slamming together a weird concoction like " Lima Bean & Spaghettios Tetrazzine" or Cap'n Crunch garnished with green beans.

Hee hee HOO! Hee hee HOO!
So our plan is to make a list of the meals we frequently eat. Then we'll figure out which meals could be stored. For example, I like taco salad. To store this meal I made a list of the ingredients it takes to make this meal and then I will start to accumulate enough of each ingredient to make taco salad every other week for 3 months.


A while ago I started a list of meals that I could make from my pantry. (Remember THIS post about "Panty Only Meals?" heehee) They are just really simple things I could prepare from my pantry in a disaster situation. The problem--and this is where my mind starts to tangle in knots--is I don't really like to cook this way. So how do you build your food storage and rotate it? We basically decided to store meals that can be flexible in a situation where you don't have fresh ingredients--like lettuce for taco salad--or meals that you can substitute canned ingredients--like canned chicken in enchiladas.

Hee hee HOO.

I've been reading websites, accumulating information and trying to figure out a starting point for MONTHS. I've accumulated a lot of information. I just don't know how to narrow it down and start in a methodical way. Basically, I just make lists and then never do anything. I'm really good at gathering information and researching, but not so good at the logistics. I get all excited about it, get a plan, then it fizzles because I'm not organized about it. I get overwhelmed. Anyone want to send a few tips my way?

Frankly, the whole topic gives me an anxiety stomachache. I feel inadequate and I'm fairly sure that President Kimball is watching me, from the other side, shaking his head at what a dork I am.

Mimi had fun, though, during our time together. Here is my little girlie, doing a self portrait! She's been watching her blogging mommy. (Take note of her crazy hair--an aftermath of her nighttime twirlies.)
She flitted around, taking photos of this & that...her favorite shoes...
...her favorite mug...
...Jack, who tried to grab the camera...He doesn't care for the paparazzi...
(Look at the puppy footsies. Don't you just want to squeeze him?!)
So, I'm finishing this post at 1am, which is probably why I feel discouraged; everything seems insurmountable at 1am. I'm just not sure how to proceed. But here is a great quote from the FAQ page on the Provident Living website:

Get started! If you have already begun, faithfully continue your efforts. As President Hinckley taught: 'We can begin ever so modestly. We can begin with one week’s food supply and gradually build it to a month and then to three months. I am speaking now of food to cover basic needs. As all of you recognize, this counsel is not new. But I fear that so many feel that a long-term food supply is so far beyond their reach that they make no effort at all. Begin in a small way, my brethren, and gradually build toward a reasonable objective' (In Conference Report, Oct. 2002, 65; or Ensign, Nov. 2002, 58).

And here is another encouraging tidbit:
THREE-MONTH SUPPLY
"Build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet. One way to do this is to purchase a few extra items each week to build a one-week supply of food. Then you can gradually increase your supply until it is sufficient for three months. These items should be rotated regularly to avoid spoilage." ~ from "All Is Safely Gathered In," the LDS church's current Food Storage Pamphlet

And another quote from the FAQ page on the Provident Living website:
What’s the difference between the three-month and
“longer-term” supply items?
Three-month supply items are non-perishable foods that you normally eat, such as canned and commercially packaged foods that have a stable shelf life. “Longer-term” supply items are basic food items like grains and beans that have very low moisture content (about 10% or less), can be stored for long periods of time (20–30 years), and would sustain life if nothing else were available to eat. A portion of longer-term supply items may be rotated into the three-month supply.

I'm not sure why I'm worried about storing extra food, anyway, because clearly I can live off my extra fat storage. Kind of like a camel.
Here is a "Before" picture. Sigh. Look, I had cheekbones! (The sad thing is, I looked better the day the baby was born. I pack on my baby weight right AFTER the baby is born. Go figure.)

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

And that, my friends, is why this post
is titled "harrumph."
Goodnight.