A hair clip, a hair clip, my kingdom for a hair clip!

You never know what you are going to need until you get in the situation to need it.
I needed a hair clip.

I had taken my son to the dentist and had opted to sit in the car with my book. I had damp hair from the shower, and was wearing a shirt with bleach spots and a hole in it. I did not care to go in and sit in a dentist's office where people I knew would be looking at me. (we live in a small town where everywhere you go you see someone you know)

After an hour, I had finished my book. It was getting hot. My hair had dried, and I was feeling the heat. I needed something to pull my hair up off my neck. I looked around my car: a flashlight, a pair of scissors, an earphone set, some change, some sticky notes, some napkins from fast food places - nothing that would work to pull my hair back.
I looked in my purse: mostly paper stuffs; nothing that would work for hair maintenance. I'm a minimalist when it comes to my purse.

I tried twisting my hair and using a pen to hold it up. It immediately fell back down.
By this time I was getting impatient for my son to be done and come out so we could go home and I could actually curl my hair and pull it up in a ponytail.
I couldn't understand what was taking so long!

I was also getting thirsty. I knew that my thirst was a sign of dehydration. I also knew I had bottles of water in the trunk of my car. I usually have them behind my seat on the floor, but we had thrown them in the trunk when it was my week to drive to seminary.
I knew I could easily get out and get one. I just didn't want to walk thru the gravel to get it - because in addition to looking like crap, I was barefoot! I had simply forgotten to put on shoes when we went out the door. You would think a person with 150 pairs of shoes would remember to put a pair on!
I'm just used to going barefoot at home. It feels natural to go au naturel when it comes to my feet.

Shoes - ahhh - I adore shoes!!!! The styles! - the colors! - it's all about fashion

when it comes to shoes.

---But, since I wasn't going to be on display, there was no need for shoes.

(and, yes, the clown shoes are included for a reason - but that's a story for another day!)

Anyway, I got out of the car (actually my feet are pretty tough, from going barefoot so much) and got my water bottle. I also searched for something for my hair. Nothing! How could there be nothing I could use?!  I would even be McGyver and improvise - but there was nothing!

Even God had something to work with when He created the world!

After swigging the warm water from the bottle, I sat some more. Finally my discomfort got the best of me and I went into the dentist's office. It had now been 2 hours. I sat down next to a perfectly polished mom with an adorably dressed little girl. I looked like a hillbilly, but tried to appear nonchalant. The cute little girl kept staring at me. Maybe she had never seen someone so bedraggled before! I just wanted to go home and finish getting myself put together!

FINALLY the dentist was finished. It seems they had trouble numbing Nephi up enough to work on one tooth. He came out swollen on one side like a balloon! Poor guy!
Both Nephi and I couldn't get home fast enough!

This experience taught me one thing - put some hair bands in my car!
In the past I had an emergency mani/pedi kit in my glove box. I need a hair maintenance kit, too.

Two factors caught me off guard to being unprepared- last year my hair wasn't long enough for a hair clip, and yesterday it was not this hot!

It makes me wonder about what I'm going to need in an emergency that I can't get access to. Having a drawer full of hair things at home did me no good in the car!

So - maybe I need to look thru my 72 hour kit and see what I've put in there. (Do I have hair bands, for instance?)

I saw a survival kit that one person had put together in an Altoids box. It could fit in your pocket.  Some hair bands included, and I could really use one of those in my  car, in my 72 hr. kit....etc!!!

WISE AND FOOLISH

I was reading in Matthew 24 and 25, and came across the parable of the Ten Virgins.
I love this parable!

(I love this picture because not all the women are young, and they are all bringing gifts for the bridegroom.)

Then shall the kingdom of Heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps,

and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them.

But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh,

go ye out to meet him.

Then all the virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you;
but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage,
and the door was shut.

Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh.

I think to get all the meanings from this parable, we need the Lord's spirit to help us.

Thru the years I have heard different meanings put to this parable. Here are the representations I have learned about:

The Bridegroom = Jesus Christ

The ten virgins = followers of Christ

The 5 wise virgins = followers of Christ who have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived. (D&C 45:57)

The 5 foolish virgins = followers of Christ who have not received the truth, and have not taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have been deceived.

And until that hour (of the coming of the Son of Man) there will be foolish virgins among the wise; and at that hour cometh an entire separation of the righteous and the wicked..... (D&C 63:54)

oil = The Holy Spirit
oil = food storage - you cannot purchase the spirit, but you can buy food storage

I know there are 2 separate events here:
the tribulations leading up to the Lord's second coming      and
The Lord's second coming.

Our Savior warns us to watch and be ready always.

First of all we have to get ready.  I believe that means spiritually and physically.
Then we have to stay ready. That is the hard part.

It was so hard for the 10 Virgins, that they fell asleep waiting for the Bridegroom.
They were asleep and they heard a shout - a cry!

They woke up and went to go in, but 1/2 of them weren't ready.

Are we asleep? Has the event we have been warned to be prepared for been so long, that we grow weary of waiting?  Maybe we feel it will never come.

Will we be awakened with a cry, and need to be ready right then?

The wise were ready because, before they went to wait upon the bridegroom's coming, they bought enough oil to refill their lamps. They planned extra. They planned ahead. Did they know they would need extra oil? Did the bridegroom say he was going to take extra long?  No - they didn't know, but they prepared extra anyway.

I do not want to be one of the foolish virgins and be caught without my oil - be it the spirit or food storage.  (I would be the one with my hands on the gate saying "Let me in!!!)

We cannot be here to greet The Lord if we have died of starvation first!!!!!

I am grateful the Lord has warned us to prepare, to watch and be ready.

FOOD STORAGE MADE EASY

I just discovered a really great website:
www.foodstoragemadeeasy.net

it has all the information I was trying to research!    Here are 2 girls after my own heart, who have done all the research for me.
I bought and downloaded their ebook  Food Storage Made Easy Binder

I am excited about using this to help me become the prepper I need to become!

I have to admit the color of their pages were a draw for me - pink and green are my favorite color combinations - so to have a binder in pink and green is a dream come true!  (I can have my EP notebook and cuteness too!)

check out their website when you have time!  It's awesome!

NO EXCUSES

I have been really troubled lately thinking about the counsel to store food. (Reading the book about the prophets and food storage has really got me thinking)

If the Lord has told us repeatedly to store food for a coming time of need, and we ignore it, or half-heartily do it, what does that say about us?  Why is it so hard to follow this counsel?

What excuses do we have?  

Ahh, the excuses are many:

It costs money, and our budget is tight.

Do we have a tv? (or 2?) That cost money. Did we not buy a VCR, then a DVD player?  Do we have computers, video games, movies, ipods, ipads, etc, etc, etc? Why is the lure of entertainment more important to us than storing food? 

Because we are a nation, a people who don't want to go without; we want our toys.

When I think of the amount of money I have spent on clothes instead of food storage. . .

(Does it matter that I buy my clothes, jewelry, shoes at garage sales?  I have still chosen to buy something that will have no value when I am going hungry. - yeah - I totally love my collection of shoes, and it is hard to not buy a cute pair when they are only $1!!!! 

But I have spent enough one dollar bills that I could have bought a solar oven! (one of the things on my wish list) 

It all comes down to choice. 

I believe we are spoiled beyond belief. The stores are full of things to buy.

Food- we can buy any variety of food imaginable. And it's unimaginable that food will somehow disappear. 

We are fooling ourselves if we think it will always be the way it is now.

Actually, we are getting warnings that things could change in an instant -with natural disasters, rising food costs, etc.

Are we really that clueless?!          What does God have to do to get our attention?????

We know it's important, and we will get around to it. 

(we're always in a time crunch) 

The problem with this excuse is that there is never a good time to work on storing food. It takes time and effort to think about and plan, and most of us are just so busy.  Packing this into our already hectic day is just too much! We want to, but are hounded by the other pressing things on our TO DO lists.

We procrastinate and procrastinate thinking that we will have time, sometime, to somehow do this too.

I remember when my kids were little, and I was in the thick of diapers, driving, and all that having a large family entails. My 72 hour kits consisted of empty backpacks sitting in the closet. I wanted to work on them - have them full of everything we need in case we had to leave quickly. It just seemed that there was never enough time to get to that project. I was very lucky (blessed) that we never had to actually use them. We would have been in big trouble if we had.

I think most of us do believe that the time to prepare is running short.

What we really won't believe is if (when) we run out of time!  Will we stand there in utter amazement and say "Wait!  I was just going to. . . . . buy that hundred pounds of wheat!" ? 

Is it really going to be someday too late????

Building up a year's supply takes time, and unless you have lots of money and can buy everything you need at once, it is done a little at a time.
Does that mean I should just give up? 
No!
Doing it now, a little bit at a time, is better than not doing it at all.

1 bucket of wheat or beans is better than no buckets.

And what about the blessings of being obedient?  Was getting food storage a commandment? 
Is that why so many of us ignore the counsel- because we feel it is a suggestion, and not a commandment?

Is the Lord testing us - to see if we will be faithful and obedient in the procuring of food storage?

Could this be about more than the physical blessings we would receive by having food storage?

Maybe one of the blessings we have received for having a year's supply of food, is not ever having to use it!

It comes down to time and money. If we are severely lacking in both, and we are doing everything in our power to be obedient to this counsel to store food, the Lord will help us do so.

I know that is true in my own life.

Looking back, I am amazed at what we have accomplished in storing food, when my husband and I have struggled just to live daily life. We have been what others would consider poor, while raising our large family. We didn't go on many vacations, we were careful with our money (for the most part) and I was able to buy what we needed at garage sales - (I got better quality things than I would have gotten if I'd bought them new).

Building up a food supply was always part of our life, and we have been blessed for the sacrifices it took to do it.

Is that the key?  Sacrifice?

Isn't there a scripture about sacrifice and blessings? 

  "Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven" 

              (I Googled it:- found in the song Praise to the Man)

What are we willing to sacrifice. to obtain our emergency supply of food, water, and everything else we need?

And why would we not sacrifice, to save our family's lives?

PEACEFUL AND SAFE

I have a real feeling of peace this morning. I know it is because I have finished my research on water (and posted it on this blog.) I printed up the information and put it in my EP notebook. Having the information and knowledge is almost as important as having the food and water. -What good is the food and water if I don't know what to do with it???
I am well on my way to having a good water storage & water purifying system. (been storing water for a while now- adding to it every time I get a good container)

The peace I feel is such a great feeling!  The song going thru my head this morning was:

"..... all is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin." (Come Ye Thankful People p 94)

I got this mental image of gathering my family into my home, and being safe because we have everything we need here. The storm of the world could be blowing outside, and we are safe from it.

Peaceful and safe. that's how I want to feel.

I am not fully prepared yet, but am confident that I will be because I am steadily working on it.

PROPHETS SPEAK

I am reading a book:

Prophetic Statements on Food Storage for Latter-Day Saints
 by Neil H. Leash
(see exerpts I posted in 'Pages' titled: Prophets Speak)

It has me scared to death!
I am scared because we have been warned for more than 150 years and we still are not doing it! The Lord will be patient for only so long, and then it is OVER!
I have heard about food storage and emergency preparedness over and over and over my whole life; I should be the most prepared person out of any prepper out there!  and I am not!
I must repent!

What I found really interesting is the timeline:
1857 Brigham Young counseled saints to get a 7 year supply of grain.
1937 President J. Ruben Clark counseled saints to get a 1 year supply.
1973 President Ezra Taft Benson: counseled saints to get a 1 year supply of clothes, food, fuel, and medical supplies.
2002 President Gordon B. Hinckley counseled saints to get a 1 week food supply. then 1 month. then 3 months.
 ". . . I fear that so many feel that a long-term food supply is so far beyond their reach that they make no effort at all."

What does President Thomas S. Monson say about emergency preparedness and food storage?

WHAT IF?

Lets play the What If game..........


What if I woke up today and couldn't go to the store ever again?!
What would I run out of first?
Milk.  We would be without milk in 4 days. (I have 4 gallons in the fridge)
Then bread would be the next thing we run out of. I have 2  half-gone loaves in the cupboard - 1 wheat and 1 white. I have 2 loaves of wheat in the freezer.
I could make bread, but I only have about 15 lbs of flour left in my cupboard. I could break out my #10 cans of flour in my Food Storage in the basement.
Fruit would be next. I don't have much fresh fruit in the house.  And fresh veggies; I only have a little celery in the bottom of the fridge.
We could live for a while on the canned goods in the cupboard, but I'm sure they wouldn't last as long as I think.
We would be in to our food storage within a month or 2, and right away on some things.
hmmmm.
maybe I need to go to the store and get enough food to fill my shelves clear up. Maybe get more canned fruit, and some powdered milk. I think I will look into buying a 50 lb bag of non-instant powdered milk from a dairy. We had it years ago, and it tastes better than powdered milk.
Having full cupboards would be the smart thing to do.
playing the What if? game keeps me from playing the Why didn't I? game.




Later, after thinking about this some more:


the full cupboards would be so that I could have time to go to long term survival - not only take inventory to use my food storage, but plant a garden and become more self sufficient.

Monday March 19, 2012
Just organized my canned food cupboard to put away the food I bought over the weekend. It is a good feeling to know I am stocking up a bit. Now that I've reorganized, there is room for more, so the next payday I am going back for more.  Having a cupboard full of foods I cook with and we eat often gives me some peace of mind.

Spa Days

I'm sitting here with hair color on my hair, and so I thought I would talk about beauty and EP. Let's face it, girls, we all feel better about ourselves if we can do a little sprucing up! I know that hair products, make-up, and manicure/pedicure kits are not essential to our physical survival, but they can sure do a lot for our emotional well being!
I seriously do not want to go around with gray hair, if I can help it!
I have a 6 month supply of hair color. I color my own hair, so it is easy for me to keep the supply on hand and just rotate it. Clairol hair color lasts 3 years (according to the Clairol website)
Even if you don't color your own hair because you go to a hairdresser, you can still have a supply on hand. If the world changed and you could not go to a hairdresser, there will still be someone who can color your hair for you. (I would do it for you.) You can find out what products she uses and go to Sally's Beauty Supply and buy the product yourself. (you'd be amazed at how inexpensive it is to color your own hair vs going to a hairdresser.) Of course, most everyone who gets their hair colored has light or dark streaks put in, and that is more complicated. Like I said- there will be someone who could do it for you, if you had the product.
Just don't do like I did and ask someone who has no idea how to do it! When I was in college I would buy a hair coloring kit called Quiet Touch.

It basically was to give yourself streaks thru the hair. I talked my reluctant roommate into putting it on my hair for me. After all, if I applied it to myself, how hard could it be for her to apply it for me? Aparently if you don't know how, it's not easy! I ended up with big orange blotches all thru my hair! There was no way to fix it (it was late at night) before my class the next morning. I went to class mortified about how I looked. Of course, the teacher had to comment on it, drawing attention to my horrible hairdo! What made the whole situation worse was the fact that there was a really cute guy in my class; I was hoping to catch his eye - I caught his eye all right, but it was not a pretty sight he saw! He ended up with the cutest girl in the class, and I ended up running straight to the store to buy more hair color to fix the disaster that was my hair! - I'm sure that won't happen to you!
We need beauty products in our emergency kits. Not only for the emotional well being I talked about earlier, but they can also help us physically. Who has ever had chapped hands and lips? Left untreated, they can become painful. We don't know if we will be living out in the elements, and the elements can wreck havic on our skin. Beauty Products in our emergency kits can do double duty. The beauty products I am talking about now are things that can help in a variety of situations for a variety of people.
for example: Vaseline. You should have a BIG jar of vaseline. It has so many uses! - I will post a list of products and their uses for you.
For now, if this helps you think about what beauty products you use and would like to continue to use, even in the event of an emergency, then I will have achieved my intent with this post.
Have a great day!

WATER

I want to talk about water. Water is more important than food, when it comes to survival. How many days can you go without food? (I don't know how long I could, I've never tried for more than a day of fasting)

There are many factors of course (weight, health, age, etc) but a normal person can go without food for weeks. (you will be weak, you will feel miserable, but you won't be dead. And that is only if you have water to rehydrate)
Going without water will kill you in 5 days or less. Have you ever been without water? (The water was shut off, or a natural disaster left you without water?)
I have not been in a disaster situation that left me without water, so I have not felt the effects of long term water deprivation.
I have had situations where my husband has shut off the water to fix a broken pipe.
The latest was a few weeks ago when, thru a bizzare accident I pulled the entire faucet pipe out of the ground when trying to water my plants. The water was gushing all over and I knew I would have to stop it from flooding the neighborhood - as it was running down the street. My hubby was not home so I figured I'd have to handle this one on my own. I knew that I had to pull the cover off the water main, but I was afraid of cockroaches that lived there. I got my best friend's husband to come over and do it for me. (thank you, Carmen & Sean !!! What are friends for if not to rescue you from a situation that includes bugs???) anyway, the whole point is - you need water to survive! While my husband was fixing the pipe we were without water.
I had my back up supply of water - I just pulled a couple bottles from under the table to use in cooking and washing my hands. But one of the kids wanted a shower and had to wait til the water came back on. You would have thought he was going to die! (he had just come from wrestling practice and needed a shower) We are so spoiled!!!!!!
What if we woke up tomorrow and the whole world had changed, and there was permanently no running water? - that would never happen, right?
 

We have to prepare as if it not only could but would happen.

March 20, 2012

Did you know that we can die in a matter of days without water?

Did you know that bleach weakens over time, and that the bleach you have stored to purify your water may be unable to kill microorganisms?

Did you know that dry chlorine is cheap and easy to get and stores years longer than liquid bleach? (I'm not talking about powdered bleach, but, swimming pool shock) are you as shocked as I am to learn this????

I have learned so much that I didn't know before, as I researched water storage and purification! I want you to be able to learn what I learned. (In case you're wondering - I'm not out to make money - I'm just a mom who want's to share with other moms)

On the right side of my blog is 'PAGES'. I have posted information on water there. You can open it up and click on each page to print.

The best thing to do is print it up and put it in a notebook (like I posted about in February 25th post)

if you have to take baby steps like I do, at least print up the pages you think you would like to have, and use them later when you have more time.  Just don't put it off too long!!!


March 25, 2012

Katniss and Peeta are about to go out to the arena where they will fight for their very lives.
"Any final words of advice?" asks Peeta (to Haymitch)
"When the gong sounds, get the blank out of there. You're neither of you up to the blood bath at the Cornicopia. Just clear out. Put as much distance as you can between yourselves and the others, and find a source of WATER," he says. "Got it?"
"And after that?" Katniss asks.
"Stay alive."

Haymitch knows that without water, they will die!