I am so excited about this blog! I think this will really help me get organized with my EP. (I refer to emergency preparedness as EP)

I really had a great time setting up the background - thank you scrapgirls and DSE (digital scrapbooking experts) for the great embellishments!

BTW, If you are a serious prepper looking for more information about emergency preparedness you are reading the wrong blog!!!!!

I will get there with the best information I can find, and post it here, but it will be in a round-about way. I have a creative mind that easily gets sidetracked.

This is why it has been so hard for me in learning about emergency preparedness:

1- there is just so much information out there (the WWW is a vast place! A person can get lost exploring it's multilayered regions!)

2-it's just so BOR-ING!

I wish I didn't have to think about EP, but for the smart ones, it is a serious fact of life.

It just might save our lives.

I don't want my kids/grandkids, or even myself to say "Why didn't you do something to prepare when you had the chance?"

so - I will. I must.

first an inventory of what I've got:

a years supply of beans, rice, assorted other #10 cans. check.

water. check. - in barrels and lately in 2 liter soda bottles and juice bottles. the bottles are collecting under a table in the tv room. I just put a tablecloth over the table to hide the bottles. I really believe that here in the desert you cannot have too much water. I know that we would die without water faster than we would die without food. and I need water to cook the beans and rice.

A freezer full of meat. If the freezer goes out, I'm in big trouble! I would need to do something to keep the meat from spoiling. I know it's better to have it bottled. (One of the things on my to do list?) I've thought about drying meat - making jerky? -need to add that to my list of things to know how to do.

Here's my list of things I want to learn how to do: (hmmm - thought my list was longer)

make bread without a bread machine and oven

make yogurt

sprout wheat and other grains

make jerky

make homemade cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup

wow - that sounds like pioneer stuff!!!!

I always said that God knew I needed to be born when there were so many modern conveniences because I can't cook without a can, or do laundry without a washing machine. Believe me, I'm truly grateful for what I have in my life that makes my life so easy. (not that raising 9 kids was easy - but it was even harder for our ancestors)

-Although we (all of us) have had our own unique challenges in raising our kids in today's icky society.

I remember something my sister's friend said one time - I've never forgotten it:

"Our ancestors had to fight to save their family's physical lives, we have to fight to save our family's spiritual lives!"

So - now, we may have to do both!!!!!

are we up to it? am I up to the challenge? YES!

BTW - I know that there are those out there who already know this stuff and are doing this stuff. -Posting me all your ideas and suggestions may just overwhelm me and make my head explode! I need to figure out a place for the posting of ideas/information so that I can look at it when I want to.

what I'd really like to see posted are your feelings.