In order to win a $10 gift card from Emergency Essentials, I'm reviewing their Food Storage Analyzer.

This is a tracking system like many out there, where it shows how much you have, and gives recommendations of what you have left to buy. The nice thing about this one, is that it includes nutritional values and links directly to where to buy the products you are missing. I would not recommend getting everything through Emergency Essentials - you can get many things lots cheaper through the LDS cannery or Walton Feed. However, for convenience, and smaller purchases, I've really liked Emergency Essentials. They have one of my two favorite powdered milks, the Provident Pantry Nonfat Instant dry milk. It tastes as close to the real thing as I've found.

I do recommend that you look at the church's web site for their recommendations on what to store, rather than rely solely on a store's recommendations. Of course, they're going to want to sell you as much as they can, as that's their business. So, always one for unbiased, I do suggest you stick with the church's guidelines, at least to get you started with the most important stuff.

All said and done, I think this is a good tool, and would recommend it to friends. (Now send me my $10 gift card so I can buy more milk...)

On my way to "Big as a HOUSE"

So here's the deal. I have a baby growing inside of me. I also have a fibroid tumor (NON-cancerous) growing inside of me, and it's currently taking up way more room than the baby. My doctor found it when I was pregnant with Bekah, and it didn't cause me any problems at all. We fast forward to a few weeks ago, and I start googling "I'm only 7 weeks along, and growing WAY too fast..." I just finally put it out of my mind with "It's my third child" and "I've always carried way big" and "I'm just that much more woman to love..." Well, fast forward again to my 12 week appointment, where my doctor goes to check the heartbeat for the first time. She feels around on my tummy to get the right position, and is SHOCKED that I'm as big as I am. Reading her response, I said, "Is it twins?" She said that I was measuring at a 16-week size, and that she'd like to do an ultrasound right away. Yikes. It's then that I remember and mention to her my fibroid. Well, it's probably just that. Can we just wait till the normal ultrasound (since I'm paying for it...)? No, I think we should have a look now. Besides, then we'll get a really great heartbeat, and you can call your husband and let him hear.

So they get me in right away. Lucky scheduling break for me. The sonographer takes a look, and finds that lovely fibroid, which a friend decided I should call "Bob", and says that it's the size of a large grapefruit. It's doubled since we last saw it (4 years ago). I go back to the doc, and, okay. We know that the baby's the right size. Has a strong 162 beats per minute heartbeat, and looks totally healthy (although too young to see any "parts"). Whew! And we are just going to "keep an eye" on Bob. It's at the top of my uterus, which we knew from Bekah's pregnancy, so it won't get in the way of delivery. Although, since it's so big, it has the possibility of tricking the uterus into thinking that the baby is big enough to deliver, so a possible pre-term issue. And though it's non-symptomatic now, it may one day start to cause issues/pain/etc. So we're keeping an eye on it.

And then stupid old google tells me that these things could possibly be cancerous, and this lady had to have a total hystectomy, and these ladies had miscarriages because of theirs, and BLAH BLAH BLAH. I've tried to be calm and just take my cues from the doctor, who's not overly worried. But you know how google can get to you sometimes...

So, I asked Frank for a blessing today. I've been generally calm and level-headed, and peaceful when I've prayed, but I just wanted an added boost of peace for anything that might come up. And boy, I don't know how people get by without being able to hear from their Heavenly Father through a righteous man. I was told that He is very aware of me, what's going on with my health and my body, and that this baby has been sent at this time to be a member of my family. I will be able to deliver without incident, and these things will not cause me problems. If any issues do arise, my doctors and my faith will enable me to overcome them. I was also blessed with the physical, emotional and spiritual strength to get me through bringing this child to Earth.

It was so wonderful. Just what I needed. Heavenly Father knows me. I KNOW that. I wasn't SO worried, but I don't know where things will progress, and how worried I may get. And He just went ahead and removed the worry from the whole process for me. I'm so very thankful.

And one other added bonus: when the stupid people ask if I'm giving birth to a horse, or if I'm SURE it's not twins, or if I'm going to go into labor TODAY, I can now say, "No, I just have one baby and a giant TUMOR!" and then they will feel really bad!!! Mwahahahahah!

Happy Summer

So we had a barbeque (which I think should be pronounced "barbek") the other night with some neighbors. I neglected to cover every inch of my children with bug spray, and this is my come uppance:

Sorry Bekah.

This is what she told me this morning, "I had a good night's sleep last night. But something happened to my eye."

Anyone else have this problem?

I don't write much in my blog. I don't read many other people's blogs either (it's nothing personal I swear - let me 'splain). I guess it's because, well, for one, I'm lazy. But the number 2 (I just said number 2) reason is that everyone else's blog makes them look so amazing. And I think, "Blah. What could I even write? I don't do any of that cool stuff." I know, I know, I need to stop thinking that kind of (cover your ears [eyes?] girls) crap. But it sneaks in there.

Cuz here's the thing. My house is NOT immaculate. Nor are my children. I don't even do their hair every day (or sometimes - if you saw them in church today, you'd know - I don't even do it on Sundays...). I don't do hundreds of creative things with them all the time - heck, I barely make it out to the park once in a blue moon because it's so stinking humid. I don't sew, I have baskets FULL of clean laundry that hasn't been folded for I don't know how long, I don't create new recipes for spelt or the wheat grass I've sprouted... okay, maybe I'm taking it a bit too far.

And here's how I'm going to make it all better for myself. I am going to pat my back in front of everyone. I have 2 sweet, well-behaved girls. I take them to the library usually once a week, and they love it. I keep my house much cleaner than I used to. I have a great relationship with my husband, and I never put him down or complain about him to my friends/family. I (feel like I'm scraping for more good stuff, but I'll get there...) teach 7 piano students, and just had a very successful and enjoyable recital over at our house. I have a good start with my 3-month and 1-year food storage, plus 72-hour kits that we never had before this year. Um, I have stopped buying milk, and my kids are totally fine with the powdered stuff (well, Leah stopped drinking milk out of a cup - i.e. will only take it over cereal, or with chocolate - long before I introduced said powder, but she didn't even notice the change over her cereal). I'm pretty jazzed about that one actually. I just feel that much more prepared for the eventual craziness - I tell you, if people were shot over the gas shortage, I can't even begin to think what's going to happen if we can't get milk in the stores... But I digress. I have window coverings on about 3/4 of my windows, about half of which I "created" or sewed myself. And most importantly, I love my family, and I know that they know it.

Sure, there's SO much more I CAN and, really, SHOULD be doing (not in a beating myself up way, but a legitimate acknowledgement of falling short of what I am capable of), but I'm doing okay. So, take that, Mrs. Negative Pants (that's me). You're not so bad. Go ahead and post on your stupid blog, and let others inspire you instead of being a lame-o and letting them get you down.

Posting...

New food storage book to be released

Hi friends. I am very excited to tell you about a new food storage book that is coming out. It's from the lady who brought us everydayfoodstorage.net, which I 've written about before. I told you that her 100% whole wheat bread recipe has ended my search, and I've since tried the white bread version on the same post. It too is divine, and it will now replace my old favorite recipe - which was delicious as well. So I'm very very excited to try out more of her recipes, and have it all in one place (and not on the computer, just in case of the apocalypse or whatever. :)).

It's available for pre-order on Amazon, which is what I'm planning to do. Thanks for indulging my obsession. It's all I've been thinking about lately.

Incidentally, we're doing well. We had a fantastic Easter up in VA with (almost) the whole Schwartz family.

Food Storage Update

So I'm still obsessed. Which is good. I am not always the best at seeing a project or goal through to the end, and I'm doing my best to make this an exception. :) I am trying to follow the counsel of Elder Robert D. Hales in the latest conference to be, with my husband, "provident providers."

"Our challenges, including those we create by our own decisions, are part of our test in mortality. We must practice the principles of provident living: Joyfully living within our means, being content with what we have, avoiding excessive debt and diligently saving and preparing for rainy day emergencies."

So far, I've:

• put together fairly respectable 72-hour kits that I'm proud of.
• I've created a space to hold my food storage. Actually, I've prepared 4 different spaces with shelves since no one space would fit it all, and organized my kitchen to make better use of the cupboard space.
• I've started making powdered milk instead of buying it from the store. (And you know what? My kids are FINE with it! And I'm saving so much money! My favorite is Country Cream - I will even guzzle a glass of it and can hardly tell the difference. Really.)
• I've learned about using freshly ground wheat flour to make the BEST 100% whole wheat bread. I call this recipe my holy grail - I've been looking for it for forever. You can find the recipe at http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2009/03/11/making-homemade-bread-the-food-storage-recipe-challenge/food-storage-recipes. In fact, this gal's whole blog is AMAZING, and I can't wait to get her book. (If you ever read this, HI CRYSTAL. You're my hero!)
• I've learned to use wheat gluten to replace or extend meat. AMAZING! If I'm going to have all this wheat, it's going to be so good to know more than one way to use it. Dani Garrett in my stake is brilliant with this stuff. I want her to write a book. Love ya Dani!
• I've purchased my water storage containers, and found a place for them in my garage (which was part of a long garage project that has helped us to finally park in a garage for the first time in many years).
• I've almost finished my 3-month food storage list, and have begun purchasing items for it.
• I've learned how to use coupons in conjunction with items on sale to get them for almost or completely free (!!!). That's been one of the most exciting things. So now I can stock up on food storage items without busting the budget. (I was actually paid $.20 to take 4 packs of gum out of the store last week!)
• I've used my pressure cooker to cook dried black beans - much easier than remembering to soak them the night before. I've started doing some research on ways to reduce gas... .

And there's more, but that's all I can think of now. I don't write this to pat my own back, but to help myself see my accomplishments and keep me going. And I have to give big thanks to my friends at the http://funwithfoodstorage.net/ network. I AM their biggest fan (those are their words), and I just want to spread the excitement. They have been so helpful in getting all of this from my goal/wish list to real life. They've broken it down into small steps and basic concepts, with videos along the way that are SO helpful to this visual learner. I HIGHLY recommend checking them out. I know I have before, but I'm serious this time! :) Jodi and Julie at http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/ have just made a new ebook that has put all their checklists and recipes and other awesome-ness together in one place. I can't wait to get my hands on it. Check it out here at http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2009/04/06/food-storage-binder-giveaway. I'm really excited to get my copy. And happy to finally be able to financially thank them for all their diligent and thorough hard work. :) (Hi Jodi and Jule. You are my other heroes!)

Emergency Preparedness

I don't think I'm alone in my new obsession. I think with the economic downturn that has affected so many, and certainly touches all of us in one way or another, many of us are finally taking more seriously the council to prepare our families and homes for those hard days that will (or have) come. My New Year's resolution is to get my 72-hour kits, water storage, 3-month food storage, and 1-year food storage supply taken care of. It is an ambitious goal, but I have found a great resource to help. It's foodstoragemadeeasy.net, and they have set up a system to send out bi-weekly checklists that will see us through all of those things in 1 year's time. I have been working on it since the beginning of the year, and am very excited. I would highly recommend that web site, as well as a group they are a part of at funwithfoodstorage.net to everyone. Please check them out.

Anyway, I am so excited about the deals I've found so far through being resourceful and, well, cheap. I've gotten free wire shelves from craigslist. I've gotten a set of 12 very sturdy wooden shelves for $48 from Linens and Things when they were going out of business. I've found really cheap and free water storage containers. I've found killer deals at the REI outlet with an additional 20% off on the day I decided to buy. And I've had other things sitting around the house that can be used in a new way.

So I've decided to take on several new piano students, and money is going toward my goal each month. It's made it so much easier to have that money already set aside - I don't feel like I have to sacrifice other things to purchase these things. I feel like I'm set up to succeed, and I'm really excited. I never thought food storage would be something exciting, but I truly am pumped about it. Weird, I know.

The other day, Leah was saying a blessing on our lunch, and she asked that our family will be able to be prepared for church (?) and for emergencies. I think my exuberance is rubbing off. :) My main concern in all of this is to prepare my kids to be able to handle an emergency without losing it.

So... wish me luck. I'll keep you posted.