Well we had an unwelcome guest in our home this week,...bronchitis. I slept on the couch to try and get some sleep between my husbands coughing & snoring...so not fun. I bought a can of Lysol, opened the slider & window, and hopefully bronchitis left to bother somebody else....but of course I now hear coughing coming from the 13 year old son.

We were able to pick up a few more preps this week. I found this cute little lantern that holds oil or kerosene , some replacement wicks, found some butane for our lighters, a first aid kit for our bugout/hiking backpack, and some tablets you add to water to clean it. We tried to buy ammo, but they were out (I wasn't surprised just hopeful they might have some)

Every week I add to our food storage using sales & coupons (except what is cheaper in bulk) . This week I'm picking up some more water, because of the feedback from you all, and that is the one thing I'm always concerned about.

I'm still reading The Encyclopedia of Country Living (Carla Emery) and everytime I pick it up I know again I made a great choice for a reference book for my collection...so much information...it makes me so excited to move off grid & work to live not live to work.

Enjoy your night!

Feedjit

So I just went to one of the many blogs I read and saw this http://wretha.blogspot.com/2009/03/privacy-and-feedjit-rant-and-request.html

I will remove mine right after this post. I was just so excited to have my very own blog, I wanted to see if anyone was reading it. That doesn't matter to me... if this little widget thing is going to make ANYONE leery of visiting me, it's gone. Sorry if anyone saw it and it offended anyone.

Enjoy your day,
Warm Regards,
Josselyn

Supplies

One of the things I am continuously concerned about is if I have enough supplies. I had been reading a lot of blogs, and felt totally inferior to the survival gurus. My philosophy (for lack of a better word) is I need to make sure I live life in the here and now, as well as prepare for the future. Having a 13 year old with mild Cerebral Palsy & Aspergers, as well as a 9 year old with Autism means I have to make sure their quality of life in the present is taken care of , as well as their medical & educational needs. At the same time I want to make sure we have a good quality of life in the future, and their needs are met as best as can be when either the SHTF, a natural disaster occurs, economic breakdown, job loss etc... Roof over head, food on table, clothes on back and our health.

I am always in awe of what people are able to do in other blogs, they seem to be able to dehydrate food with their left foot, while bathing their multiple beautiful children with their right, at the same time they can put together a home cooked meal using their preps, sew a hole in a sock and with that extra arm (I swear they have one LOL) blog and share their knowledge with their loyal fans! I'm just trying to keep my house clean, and take care of my kids.

So anyway, this is why I really would like to get out of our apartment, live rurally, away from the drama of people, prep & spend time with my family. I would like to share what I have accumulated and run by you all what I think I need. I will definitely be stocking up on water (Thanks guys). I know that I am way behind others who are already homesteading or are well prepared, but I do have a lot of supplies your average Joe doesn't have which gives me a bit of a head start. I also have storage restrictions (apartment living) that prohibits me from storing more propane. I wouldn't want to blow my neighbors up. (Or would I? ..music at 4 in the morning ; )...LOL)

Thanks for "listening" to my rambling this morning...comments are sooo appreciated. enjoy your day all!

Hey Everyone,
First I'd like to thank all the people who have commented on my posts since I started my little blog. I truly appreciate it.

One of the things I get concerned about is trying to take in and try too many things at once & overwhelm myself. I am also concerned that I am not prepared for much of anything...For example I have plenty of cereal...not enough water. Any suggestions on how to know if I'm doing okay(prepping) would be greatly appreciated...(Did that make any sense? LOL). This is the only place I've found people who have a bit of a clue...& like talking about it.

I'm enjoying The Encyclopedia of Country Living, it's hard to put it down. If I can get rid of this headache tonight I'd love to read more.

Finally, tonight, I'm an avid couponer, that's how I stock up. I went to Kroger I got $81.25 for $47.01...Good deal.

Have a nice night!

Books....

Well tonight is my TV night, pretty much the only night I watch TV. I watch Ghost Hunters and UFO Hunters. During the TV shows & commercials, I either read, clean the bedroom, or surf the net (really bad ADHD...can't sit still...LOL). So tonight I'm going start to poke through my newest book The Encyclopedia of Country Living (the 35th anniversary edition) by Carla Emery. It's a book I've been wanting to get for a long time. While my husband was on vacation last week he took me to a huge local book store & I found it. He bought How to Stay Alive in the Woods (Bradford Angier) & Edible Wild Plants (Lee Allen Peterson)...

I tell you he's come a long way, the hard way. I'm so glad keeping up with the Joneses isn't his priority anymore. It took a lot of long talks, gentle persuasion, and catching him reading some of the blogs I had bookmarked. I knew he had it in him, and it makes me sooo happy.

He was thinking of buying some more books, and was pleasantly surprised to find out we already owned some of them. Root Cellaring (Mike & Nancy Bubel) and Seed to Seed (Suzanne Ashworth).

A few weeks ago I found Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick & Injured (American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons) for $1.00 at our local Goodwill store. It's an old edition but for a buck...

Another book I've had for years, and actually started me on a frugal type lifestyle was The Complete Tightwad Gazette (Amy Dacyczyn). This book is awesome, it taught me how to save so much money. It definitely should be a book in everyone's collection.

Well off I go to try to get my kids settled...Have a great night.

Not much today

Today I had to work. I have to work all week. I usually only work weekend nights 2nd shift, so this is different for me. Basically I got up, got the kids off to school, went to work, kids came home...here we are. I get to do the same thing tomorrow....I'd rather be dehydrating fruit, prepping a garden.....I hope to get something accomplished this week.

A Little bit of Everything...

Hello All,
Sorry the post might be a little scatterbrained tonight, the ADHD is winning and my husband lost my keys. UGH!

Anyway...The apples came out good, the problem....Eating them as fast as my little dehydrator can work. My husband watched the videos on dehydrating I posted earlier & actually offered to buy me one of those Excaliburs. We'll see if that's in our future. The only question I have about the apples is.... For long term storage do I dehydrate them until they're "crunchy/crisp"? If anyone knows I would greatly appreciate it.

I really don't like feeling so out of control. Everything I thought & grew up with has been a lie. I wish it didn't take me so long to figure some of these things out, then I would already have the kind of life that was truly important to me, and not the kind of life that "everyone else" thinks is important to have. I always knew something wasn't quite right & I hope I'm not too late.

I had my sister (she lives 20 hours away from me) read my blog. She said "I don't quite get it...why is this fun? & who would read it?. ... (I think I bit a big hole in my tongue)

All those "super cool bloggers" got me off my butt, thinking & doing. Maybe someone will read my blog & pick up an extra can of beans...LOL