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dogmom4

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Blog Entries posted by dogmom4

  1. dogmom4
    Over at Preparedness Pro a challenge has been issued to go two weeks without going to the grocery store for food or household supplies sometime during the month of August. My family is going to start tomorrow. We've actually been kind of doing this for the past 2 weeks to reduce some of our short term storage...less to have to move. But, I had a small budget for fresh produce since I didn't do a garden this year. The challenge I have this time is that the fresh produce I have now is not going to last 2 weeks. "sigh"
     
    Anyone interested in trying this? If we can't do 2 weeks comfortably...well...that wouldn't be good....
     
     
  2. dogmom4
    I've been neglecting this blog again, but I have actually been busy doing...getting ready for our move (37 more days!) and some prep stuff. I've decided to put a link for my other blog because I've been updating that one regularly...gotta make life simpler...
     
    http://lifeonarollercoaster-stacy.blogspot.com/
     
     
  3. dogmom4
    Plant Something: Today we planted eggplant, pumpkin and more watermelon transplants in the work garden.
     
     
     
    Didn't do much else after work. My energy level was pretty low today..
     
     
  4. dogmom4
    Plant Something and Work on your local food systems: I picked up a dozen freebie tomato transplants from our local university. These will go in the work garden over the next few days. We are going to be overflowing with tomatoes come August! This is a good thing...the hope is that we will have so much that we can send a lot home with the childrens families. (And I plan to can some ) It's really interesting how the children are so different with gardening. About 90% of the kids in my classroom live in apartments and have no access to any kind of gardening. Our garden is right next to our play yard , so when we are outside, the children have access as much as they want. Some aren't interested much at all. A couple really only want to come in when we are watering. But, there are 2 boys and 1 girl who are very interested in this. From the beginning, they are the ones who always wanted to help when we started out with our container gardens. When we started some plants from seeds they were the first ones at the table to help and the ones who checked everyday on the seeds growth. Now that we are using our garden beds they're the ones who are in the garden each time(they spend most of our outside time hanging out in the garden)...wanting plant something, checking on what we've already planted and smelling our scented pants(yarrow, anise, mints and rosemary). I'm so excited about this! I love seeing kids who are interested in gardening....
     
    Cook something: My goal is to clear out the freezer about and use up bulky goods before we move. So, today we had a boxed pasta dish with hot dogs (found in the freezer) and more of our masonades( I have a lot of frozen lemon juice).
     
     
  5. dogmom4
    Plant Something /Local Food Systems: Planted 3 watermelon and 3 cantaloupe plants at my work garden. The children are getting a big kick out of the garden.
     
    Cook Something: We are eating smoothies daily made with fruit from our garden. Also, we made something new I found at this blog...she calls them masonades. We've only made the lemonade (with frozen lemon juice from our tree). They're delicious on a hot day!
     
    http://coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com/2009/03/masonades.html
  6. dogmom4
    Don't tell anyone, but, it's really day 6. Yesterday was just so ridiculously busy that I didn't do anything that would be considered a challenge.
     
    Today was better.
     
    Prep something: I found 4 boxes of empty canning jars I had gotten from Freecycle and stashed (and forgotten about). They're soaking in hot water. Once they're washed they'll be filled with some prep item (rice, pasta or something) so they can won't take up as much space.
     
    Cook something: Made smoothies with peaches and strawberries from the garden.
     
    Reduce waste: We donated and consigned a huge amount of stuff. I'm liking the empty spaces I'm beginning to see and the fact that I'm getting my prep stuff organized.
     
     
  7. dogmom4
    Harvest something: I harvested about a half dozen peaches from our tree. Not enough to do anything with...except eat!
  8. dogmom4
    Prep something: Today I was gifted with 10 pounds of steel cut oats. These will get vaccum sealed in jars and added to my reserves.
  9. dogmom4
    Plant something: This one won't be happening at my home very much because we are moving at the end of the summer. But, the raised garden beds at my work have been weeded and are useable now. This is where most of my gardening energies will be going this summer. Today we planted 3 tomato starts. One Early Girl, one Shady Lady and one unknown that was donated. The sunflowers the children started in the ground from seed are about 2 feet tall now and we have a dozen transplants that the children started from seed...squash, watermelon, tomatoes, cantaloupe and some flowers. These will go in the ground next week. Tomorrow a lady from freecycle is bringing by some muskmelon transplants for us as well.
     
    Prep something: I added more refried beans and brown rice to my storage.
     
    Cook something: Made a small pork roast in my solar cooker today. I would put up a picture but I don't know how to do that yet.
     
    Work on local food systems: This is something I'm doing at work. The goal is for these gardens to be eventually be able to help feed the childrens families. The children have been harvesting strawberries but none of them have made it home. They like to eat them too fast!
     
     
  10. dogmom4
    No, it doesn't have anything to do with the fourth of July... I found this very cool blog and on it was a challenge to do one thing every day to create food independence. Each day you: Plant something, Harvest something, Preserve something, Prep something, Cook something, Reduce waste, Manage your reserves and Work on your local food systems. I like this challenge because it gives me some guidelines...I find that the days can slip by and I don't do anything.
     
    Here is the link to the challenge. Anyone up for doing it with me?
     
    http://sharonastyk.com/2008/04/29/independ...irst-challenge/
  11. dogmom4
    I'm back after a necessary break. Time to get back up and make some plans.
    Menu Plan for the week of March 23-27th
     
    Breakfasts
     
    Oatmeal and o.j.
     
    Toast and eggs or bacon
     
    Cold cereal
     
    yogurt
     

     
    Lunches
     
    Lunch meat sandwiches
     
    Tuna sandwiches
     
    Peanut butter and jam sandwiches
     
    Pasta
     
    Leftovers
     

     
    Dinners
     

     
    Cornish hens, pasta, veggies
     
    Breaded fish, broccoli and rice
     
    Burritos
     
    Chili and rice
     
    Chicken tenders, veggie
     
    Snacks for the week
    Popcorn
    homemade fruit leather
    brownies
     
     
    +Going to transplant some cucumbers in to some larger containers
     
     
  12. dogmom4
    OK...so that's not the most positive title...but I'm not the most creative person when it comes to making catchy blog titles.
     
    I'm finding that it's most important to stick with familiar, daily routines when going through major changes in your life. It's easy at work...everything is still the same...for me at least.. But, at home I'm finding it hard to keep the routines...and my home doesn't feel like home anymore. Even with trying to keep the signs of moving out of the way...there are still boxes everywhere...and empty shelves... It's making me crazy.
     
    I've found out most property management companies in this area start listing places the first week of March...which is good because because a lot of the places we've looked at aren't worth the money. I'm hoping we have some better choices.
     
    This week I did get some things accomplished.
     
    1. Got rid of a large garbage can of junk.
     
    2. Boxed up some books.
     
    3. Vaccumed sealed 20 lbs. of salt.
     
    4. Added more stuff to the garage sale pile.
     
    5. Added 10 cans of soup to food storage.
     
    6. Cleared out purse and added to change jar.
     
     
  13. dogmom4
    I was just beginning to wrap my head around the idea of having to move from this house that we've been in for so long...with the possibility of having to move from this town that we've lived in for over 30 years. Then Friday dh comes home and tells me got a notice that his classroom is basically being eliminated at the end of the school year..think California budget issues and the trickle down effect it's having on everyone.
     
    Yesterday I was really surprised at how I was feeling. I mean, I've gone over different scenarios over and over in my head and how I would react to them, but, I felt like I shut down. I was walking around here in this huge funk and I couldn't pull myself out of it. What ended up happening was dh and I got in to an argument over something minor and he stormed out...but, before he left he told me he couldn't handle this if I couldn't handle it. That was like a bucket of cold water in my face. He's right...we will never get through this very uncertain future if we allow ourselves to fall apart. We can't afford the luxury of that.
     
    At least we have a few more months of income coming in...this will give him a chance to start looking for more work now. We've also started a plan...it's just a beginning...but it's something.
     
     
     

    No more eating out…everything will be made from scratch We are committing a higher amount of our payday to go in to savings I’m going to consign everything I possibly can that we don’t need We’ve upped the size of our change jar to a gallon size one No more movies out…if it’s something we really want to see we’ll wait until it’s on dvd I’m going to take half my food budget and put it towards the more inexpensive preps (rice, beans, etc.) Wherever we move to has got to have some space for me to garden  
     
  14. dogmom4
    We started looking at places this weekend. I realized that we've been really spoiled when it comes to storage space and room space. I am gonna have to downsize bigtime and become a lot more efficient in how I store things.
     
    I have about 150 empty canning jars of various sizes. The plan now is to start filling and vaccuum sealing them with grains, dry goods, etc..double storage. I emptied the drawer with pencils, pens, crayons, etc. They are emptied out of their boxes in ziploc bags in a fliptop storage bin. Also in this bin will be board games...also out of their boxes and in gallon size ziplocs (with a picture of the game cut off and in the bag). Card games will also be fit in. This will be the entertainment bin.
     
    Purchased some extra pasta and rice and made an order with Honeyville Grains. I'm keeping prep purchases small so we'll have less to move...but I couldn't skip this because Honeyville Grains had a 10% off the total order through tomorrow.
     
     
     
     
  15. dogmom4
    Dh asked if I wanted to go check out the shooting range that's about 40 minutes away (heck yeah! I've only been trying to get him to go for the past few months!) Two years ago dh was very much against having any kind of gun in the house. After two years of listening to me go on about what I've learned here and looking at what's going on in our world...well, his views have changed. So off we go...
    The place was packed... We got information on classes they hold each month ($125 per person for an all day class about laws, how to use them and the opportunity to try out a number of different guns) and we checked out the handguns they had for sale. $370 was the cheapest one they had there...wow....
    We could've rented one today but it was so busy there wouldn't have been anyone to help...and we didn't want to do something stupid...like accidentally shoot someone.
     
    Ds14 is a bit psyched about this since we told him we want him to learn too. One thing dh and I talked about at the beginning of the year is to set some prepping goals to do as a family...actually it was my idea but he's going along with it...kind of my way to get the family more involved and as a learning experience for ds14. We had a discussion in the car about why we prepare. I was pleasantly surprised over the discussion we had...ds and dh have been listening... They came up with a list of what we would need and dh told me to personalize it for our family so we can start working on it...didn't tell him I already have something like this....
     
    I'm feeling like this one of the bests preps to have...getting your family on board with you...
  16. dogmom4
    We're going to be moving some time before summer...after 14 years in this 3br, 2b with a 4 room garage conversion. Try and imagine how much stuff you can have with that much room... And we want to be ready to move with a 30 day notice if we find a place sooner than summer. We started a couple weeks back tossing what is really unnecessary. As much as I don't want to move, this is a good process. We're getting rid of stuff I knew we should've gotten rid of years ago...just never got around to it. So, it's been toss, donate and reorganize. We actually have some empty shelves! Dh and I had to have a conversation about how I am taking my prepping stuff...he's having a hard time looking at my bags of canning jars I got through freecycle, and the candles, and..... Guess I'll have to fill the jars with food...he doesn't have any issues with moving jars of food.
    I really needed this kick in the pants to get my prep stuff organized. I put my pressure canner in an 18 gallon tote with funnels, jar lifters, boxes of lids, etc inside the canner. My ball Blue book is next to it. Also put in the vaccuum sealer with parts and bags as well as the pump-n-seal. I'll see if I can post pictures later.
    In another 18 gal tote I have candles...most were freebies through freecycle. I have a smaller tote with lamps,lamp oil, wicks, and matches (in jars). I really like this because when I need something it's all together and in one place...not scattered all over kingdom come.
    So, far that's all I've done. My goal is to get in the habit of doing a little each day.
  17. dogmom4
    I'm really excited about this blogging area. We're going to be moving in a few months....this is my space to keep track of our progress in our move and how I'm going to keep prepping in the mean time. I decided to title it Bloom Where You Are Planted because I'm learning that being prepared is not necessarily about where you are, it's about what you know and how you can adapt it to any situation. Do I think we will end up on a lot of acreage with animals, etc? At this point in my life maybe not. But, I do know that there are many, many things I can be doing in my situation to be prepared. Welcome to MY world!
  18. dogmom4
    Today was a very long, busy day. All I can say I did today was to reduce waste: I picked up a bunch of newspaper that will be used for mulch and dinner was made up of leftovers to help clear out the fridge.
     
     
     
    Oh wait... I forgot...I got some muskmelon and tomato transplants from a fellow Freecycler (and they're heirlooms). They'll go in the ground next week.
     
     
  19. dogmom4
    It has been stormin' here since 3:30 this morning. Good for us because we really need the rain here. This is going to be a stay at home day. I'll be catching up on laundry and other household stuff.
     
     
    To do list for the week:
     

    lesson plans (Done) juice lemons (Almost done...about 50 left) Go through current first aid kit (check expir. dates) Order more of dh's meds (Done) Inventory batteries (Done-need more...someone's been raiding the stash) Add 2 gallons water to storage (Done) Check battery operated radio (make sure it still works) Check flashlights (working? Need new batteries?) (Done) Find out local emergency station and write it down! Establish an evacuation route from your home in case of fire or other emergency. Make a copy of a document that can serve as proof of residency and place in your 72 hour kit. (Done)
  20. dogmom4
    I think I'm gonna have to change this to posting about the challenges weekly. I'm having a hard time getting in here everyday to post. So, to end up the second week....
     
     
     
    Preserve Something: purchased a flat of strawberries...they are hulled (made ds14 do it ) and in the freezer to be used for smoothies this summer. Yum!
     
    Prep Something: Added paper towels to the stash
     
     
  21. dogmom4
    It has rained and it has poured here today. Everyone keeps saying we need the rain...but, we're all secretly wishing the sunshine would get back here quick... after all, that's why we live in California right?
     
    I spent way too many hours holed up in a classroom with a lotta kidlets that needed to be outside. Glad to get home and curl up with something hot to drink and my computer.
     
    I did purchase some sore throat lozenges to add to the medical stash and I picked up a four month supply of prescription meds.
     
    Cleared off half a shelf in the garage...then decided I didn't feel like doing anymore today. Must be all that rain making me feel lazy...
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