If you have ever questioned your role....

Image Courtesy of Play.Google.com

Do you remember the book "Horton Hatches an Egg?" (By Dr. Seuss).  I was reminded about it today.  Just in case you need your memory jogged, here is a 'replay'.  "Mayzie" was a lazy bird who was sitting on her egg when Horton was walking by.  Listen to Mayzie:

“I’m tired and I’m bored

And I’ve kinks in my leg

From sitting, just sitting here day after day.

It’s work! How I hate it!

I’d much rather play!

I’d take a vacation, fly off for a rest

If I could find someone to stay on my nest!

If I could find someone, I’d fly away-free…”

Then Horton, the Elephant, passed by her tree.

“Hello!” called the lazy bird, smiling her best,

“You’ve nothing to do and I do need a rest.

Would you like to sit on the egg in my nest?”

Well, as you may recall, Horton agrees and Mayzie takes off far away and ends up on the Beach. She doesn't return for a long time.  Horton faithfully says with the egg despite weather, and media sensationalism. He never veered from his task.  

When Mayzie returned, it wasn't to see how her egg was doing, it was to see a circus. By now Horton and the egg had become a main event in the circus.

"And she swooped from the clouds
Through an open tent door…
“Good gracious!” gasped Mayzie,
“I’ve seen you before!”
Poor Horton looked up with his face white as chalk!
He started to speak, but before he could talk…
There rang out the noisiest ear-splitting squeaks
From the egg that he’d sat on for fifty-one weeks!
A thumping! A Bumping! A wild alive scratching!
“My egg!”  Shouted Horton. “My egg! Why, it’s hatching!”

So, now that the task is completed, Mayzie wants her day in the sun....

“But it’s Mine!” screamed the bird, when she heard the egg crack.

(the work was all done. Now she wanted it back.)

“It’s my egg!” she sputtered.  “You stole it from me!

Get off of my nest and get out of my tree!”

Poor Horton backed down

With a sad, heavy heart…

 But at that very instant, the egg burst apart!

And out of the pieces of red and white shell,

From the egg that he’d sat on so long and so well,

Horton the Elephant saw something whizz!

It had Ears

And a Tail

And a trunk just like his!

Oh the Folly of Mayzie.  She had thought that her station in life was unsuitable and that the grass was greener elsewhere.  She had delegated her duty and her influence away.

“My goodness! My gracious!” they shouted. “My Word!

It’s something brand new!

It’s an elephant-bird!!

And it should be, it should be, it should be like that!

Because Horton was faithful!  He sat and he sat!

He meant what he said

And he said what he meant…”

 …And they sent him home

Happy,

One hundred per cent!"

I loved the "100%" part.  As a parent, I know that I longed to be with my children as much as I could, but circumstances did not always allow it.  However, I made sure that practices, performances, FHE, Games, family trips, and simple things such as sleep-overs in the living-room and just snuggling under the covers were priorities of mine.  I love my children more than life...and have always felt that motherhood and being a parent has been such a great privilege that was extended to me by a loving Heavenly Father.  

I only had a handful of children to love and influence.  Imagine the role of our Heavenly Father in this same arena.  I saw this video today.....and I think it will now be one of my favorites.  Heavenly Father is a Father "100%", and he does it on such a grand scale.  How fortunate we are to be loved and respected by such a great being....who only asks us to call him "Father".

Where am I going to put ......

Have you ever asked yourself "Where am I going to put this?"   It happens often to me, and to many others who are making the decision to become more self reliant.  I have shared several ideas with you over the years. Here are some of my 'favs':

1. Freezer Organization.  I still use this method and it helps me know what I have and don't have in a very short period of time.  It helps me build my shopping or gardening list.
2. Organizing "Food Storage Style".  This is really how my sister lives.  I could live there too!
3. Organizing "Food Storage Style" in a Storage Room.  This is a real food storage room that they build/organized themselves.  As crazy as this sounds, it is a thing of beauty.
4. Inexpensive Can Organizer.  This is great for those who are on a budget.
5. One of my "all-time favorites" is this post on under-the-bed-storage.  It's amazing how much you can store under a bed!
6. I just love my little "Root Cellar" that I keep in my Pantry.  
7. I love how much I can fit into my pantry using method.  It's easy to find what you are looking for as you can alphabetize or use categories to quickly find what you are looking for. 

However, today I just want to suggest that you think 'up'.  You may have cabinets that have a top shelf that you do not use on a daily basis.  If you are stuck looking for a place to store items that you need on occasion.....look up.

The goal is not to put your canned or dry goods out of reach.  The goal is to find places that you can put them and have them available to you when you need them.  Instead of old cookie jars, vases from flower bouquets from days-gone-by, consider putting food items that have a longer shelf-life 'up there'.  In this particular case....you will still see them every time you set the table!

Consider it!

....and a Child Shall Lead Them...

One of the most important aspects of preparedness is spiritual preparedness.  Being that person that our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have made us to be.    Filling our lives with good works, service, compassion and love.  These brothers are the epitome of love and being sensitive to spiritual things.  From the looks of things, how else could they communicate with each other.

"....and a child shall lead them....Isaiah 11:6"

(My apologies for the size of the video, it does not allow me to resize it, but the message is so worth it!)

It's a Matter of....Yummy Bean Sprouts....at home!

Aren't they lovely?  Yes, I am saying "lovely" about Bean Sprouts, but these look and taste great.  I wanted to show you my experiment and slight changes that I made to a method from Rita Bingham's Natural Meals in Minutes.  She gives you directions to use a 2 quart container to sprout with.  For my purposes, that was just too large, so I went looking around my house and found the following items which I used to grow these yummy sprouts.

I used a 1/2 Cup of Mung Beans and soaked them over night.  Can you see how much they expanded over night in this mug? I then found an empty #10 can, a nail, and a large clear disposable cup.

I used the name to puncture holes in the cup for drainage.

Puncture the sides and bottom.

Placed the soaked Mung Beans in the cup and place several layers of a cloth that will protect the beans, but also keep them moist. I think next time I will use Burlap as Ms. Bingham suggests.

Because I was sprouting a smaller amount, I only used a 2.5 pound weight.  This was a little tricky to find something of the weight, that I didn't care if it got wet and could fit in the cup.  Thanks to Rooster Senior, I used some of his nails for his nail gun, put them in a baggie and weighed them on my kitchen scale to calculate how many I needed.  

Layer the beans, cloth, and weight in the cup.  (I also got the cloth wet by running water over the whole unit and let the drainage holes release the excess water.  

I inverted a saucer and placed it at the bottom of the can.  This allows water to run off and reside under the plate.  This could be obtained at the dollar store if you didn't want to use your own dishes.

Place the filled cup into the can.

Here is where you get to make a choice.  You can either rinse the beans 4x/day and then keep them in the dark with a lid. (By the way, keeping them in the dark gives you beautiful white sprouts).

You can also cover them with a towel and drip water on the towel throughout the day and night.  As it is soooooo cold here right now and as one of my neighbors has had a frozen pipe issue, I chose to dripping water method.  

Now can you see why I chose a Clear Cup?  See the thick white sprouts working hard because of the weight on top?  

I could have waited another day to take them out of the cup, but I was just so curious I didn't. They taste wonderful and even Rooster Senior, who doesn't like anything that looks like a pea liked them.  He cautioned me though, only put them in salads or sandwiches.  He said that "if they were cooked, they would be too much like peas", which is a big no-no around here.  I don't think that would be the case, but it is his own reality.  I could also put them in the bread dough if I were baking bread.

If you want to see it in video form....here you go!

I think this experiment was a success, and I will do this again.  I loved the fact that I could do this with things around my home.  Also, I love the fact that I made about 2 cups of Bean Sprouts for pennies.  

Try it!

I'm getting lessons...

My husband came home from his Church Meetings tonight and asked if I had heard about the mother in Georgia who defended herself and her two children when an intruder broke into their home with a crowbar. He said that he heard the 911 call and wanted me to listen to it as well.  Then, he proceeded to talk with me about...... essentially taking gun lessons.

"I have had lessons before", I told him.  "But you were only a kid"...which is true.  I was so little that when I fired the gun, I fell over backwards.  This happened more than once.  Now mind you, when our family goes camping, target shooting is one of the things we do.....I just don't do it much as I watch everyone else and help pick up the casings when we are done.

Well, we watched the video and heard the husband say "shoot him again"...."remember what I taught you".  The interesting thing about this situation is that the husband had taken his wife to the shooting range, and taught her what to do very recently (in my understanding).  While he was on the phone with his wife, he was also calling the police and relaying to the 911 operator what was happening.  Remarkably, the intruder lived, but she reportedly shot him several times.....including in the face.

Well, I got an immediate lesson on where our firearms were and how to shoot one in particular.  He was serious.  I think I am going to be taking more instruction.....and soon.  My husband is right, I just have to stop pretending it couldn't happen here.

Listen to this 911 call....put yourself in this woman's shoes, and decide if you are ready to defend yourself and your family.  

New Pricing List for Family Home Storage Centers

Image courtesy of wildriverrouges

The FAMILY HOME STORAGE CENTER PRODUCTS list has been posted with several pricing changes.  (The comparisons below correspond to the 2010 pricing as that is the last I had record of).

Pricing increases appear in several of the following:

• Black Beans:  Was $13.20 for 25 lbs and is now $16.30.  In fact, all of the bean prices have increased.
• Non-Fat Milk:  Was $41.65 for 25 lbs and is now $47.20
• Macaroni:  Was $16.50 for 20 lbs and is now $20.25

Pricing decreases appear for several items including the following:  

• White Flour:  Was $10.30 for 25 lbs and is now $8.85
• Prepared LDS Family reports: A 25 lb. bag of white flour went down from $13.30 to $8.85 since 2012.

Please keep in mind that we have experienced a drought, so prices will fluctuate.  In addition, these prices are generally very, very reasonable.  

You can see the new pricing list at this link.

Additionally, to find a Family Home Storage Center (i.e. LDS Cannery) location, please follow this link.  

Farewell 2012....

Many parts of the Country are under a blanket of snow and ice. Some complain, but I am glad to have this form or 'water storage' in place when and where it should be.  As we have a new year that dawned this morning, I wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on the posts that you folks visited the most over the past few years.  

1.  A surprising and clear leader is the post about Mother's Day.  I am flattered, but very surprised by this.

2.  An expected leader, is the post about canning dry beans. I see this post floating all over Pinterest and I am again surprised and flattered. However, the credit needs to go to my sister (who wishes to be anonymous), who first shared this option with me. 

3.  Mylar Bags, how to seal and re size them comes in third.  I love using this product and would encourage you to try them.

4.  An annual favorite is the post about using one of my favorite products, Clear Jel.  This has been one of the leading posts in years past.

5.  This post is such a functional one.  It teaches us all how to can hamburger.  This is such a huge convenience.  If you have not tried this, I encourage you to put this on your list of 'things to do'.  When you come home from a busy day and don't know what to make for dinner, having a jar of two of this ready can open up all kinds of options like soups, casseroles, etc.

6.  Another surprise, to me, was the post of the role of a Relief Society Meeting Coordinator.

7.  A delicious post on Gourmet Cupcakes came in next.  

8.  An new member of the top 10 is the post about mixing/making Powdered Milk. If you want a method to make better tasting powdered milk, you may want to consider this one.  Just an FYI, I used this method to provide milk for my kids for 3 weeks before I told them what they were drinking.  They were very surprised.

9.  A new contender is the post about making and storing your own soup mixes.  This is another great 'convenience food' that you make with your food storage staples.  

10. Rounding out the top ten is post about how to maximize storage in your pantry.  I still use this and love it.  

Most of all, I wanted to thank you all for visiting and leaving your comments and questions. I hope that along the way, you have found suggestions or methods that have inspired you to become better prepared and enjoy the peace of preparedness.  Happy new year to you, lets move forward together to make 2013 a positively memorable year.