I’m sooooo sorry. I’ve really had some bloggy blues lately. I haven’t written about the promised love story or the zoo trip, I haven’t been visiting your blogs diligently, and I’ve hardly had anything interesting to write about here on this blog. I’ve been hoping for a few months that I’d get back into this blogging thing, but I haven’t. I think the warm, beautiful weather is to blame! But isn’t it so much fun to spend these warmer months having fun rather than typing away on a computer? Forgive me for my inconsistency…

We’ve just planned our first family vacation since we went to NC/SC when Noah was a couple of months old. I’m so excited about it! We’re heading to Florida at the end of September. I bought our tickets recently which makes it sooooo real! My best friend, Stacey, really hooked us up. Her father owns a private hotel on a small island outside of Tampa, and we get to stay there for free. So now I’m just saving up for our Disney tickets, spending money, food cash. What’s more is that Stacey and Justin are going to be there too! Jeremy and Justin are going deep sea fishing too; which Jeremy is so stoked about!

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I’m still preggers, though I’m still not feeling like it. I have no nausea, tiredness, etc. I have my last blood test tomorrow to see if those numbers are going to indicate anything. The doctor won’t say it, but I’m pretty sure he just ordered this last test to see if the numbers are finally dropping since they aren’t rising at the rate they should be. I’ll probably know more by the end of the week…

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We’re having another yard sale this weekend. One of my neighbors organized the neighborhood yard sale this year. I don’t have too much to sell, but I need to make some room because we’re finally going to start that emergency closet. Everything I’m reading in the news, behind the scenes, etc. says that we’re headed towards another Depression. I’d rather just be safe than sorry. I have too many mouths to feed to ignore my responsibility to be prepared. I’ve found the LDS Church’s information to be very helpful for planning for emergency situations. A blog I found that belongs to a mormon mother says that she lives by the, “Eat what you store; store what you eat” philosophy. It makes too much sense! Your food won’t go bad from not using it if nothing goes awry (depression, emergencies, etc.), but if it does (go awry), you’ll always have a nice fresh stash to grab from. We’re going to aim for storing a year’s worth, ultimately. And quickly. I want to have our emergency closet filled by winter. I’m going to make a huge head start this week– grabbing 20+pounds each of beans, rice, grains and a huge stash of sugar, flour, powdered milk, etc. You can click here if you are interested in using a calculator that determines how much to store for your family’s size. It’s unbelievable how much you need. And since it is heavily predicted that money won’t be doing you any good real soon (wheelbarrow of cash=1 loaf of bread), you might invest that money now into stocking up on the necessities. Some might think it paranoia. I consider it being the smart Little Red Mommy Hen.

I’ve also considered the problem of losing our home if things got bad. I mean, what good is a truck load of supplies if you have no where to live and no gas to drive the truck to greener pastures? But then I read a quote from the Depression era: “You better come take my guns before you try to come take my house.” Can the banks take all of our homes? If it got bad enough that we’re all losing our homes, can the banks really come and foreclose on you and all of your neighbors too? Yeesh. America is the most heavily armed nation in the world. I’m hatin’ it for those repo guys. I’m a real Priss Pot as you know, but I’d get down right GI Jane on some mofos trying to kick my babies onto the street. No!

So, while I’m excited about the potential changes with the upcoming elections, I’m also a bit skeptical of the times we’re in. What a mess we’ve made!

Use your economic stimulus checks to visit Disney World one more time. Buy beans with what’s left over. Be good to your friends.  And, lastly, don’t be afraid. Be prepared. Going back to nature is going to be a good thing. Mother Earth said so.

Here’s some more links for you to ponder:

X Waves

Countdown to Crisis

Economic Outlook

Emergency Stash Info

Emergency Preparedness Blog (I really like this one!)

Meal Recipes

3 day food supply 

Soooo, tell me. I’m interested… Are you totally rolling your eyes at me? Or are you a Little Red Mommy Hen too?

I heard someone say how this whole economy thing is going to start hurting different people at different times, depending on where you live, your income bracket, and your standards of living. It has definitely just started to wrap its fingers around our neck here in the Stepherz abode. And I’m trying to stay optimistic.

The cost of groceries is insane. We’ve had to change the way we eat in the last few months. Now that the gas prices are rising, I imagine the food prices will follow soon behind. I haven’t been meal planning because I honestly have to just shop for what’s marked down. I work with whatever that weeks specials bring me. This week, I found pork chops on sale. So, we’ll probably be eating them at least 3 of the next 7 nights. Hopefully 4.
It just got me to thinking about how wasteful and unappreciative we’ve been here in America. How much food, gas, money have we wasted? We indulge in frivolous things with no thought towards the future. I don’t mean you, because maybe you aren’t wasteful at all. I just mean most of us spoiled Americans. And what are we doing to plan for the future? What are we doing to prepare ourselves if our economy falls again? And that’s a question for all of you– from France, to Japan, to Australia, to Canada. Because if America falls, all governments, countries, people… All the world will feel some of our pain.

I’m not trying to sound like the voice of doom. No, I have lots of hope. I especially have hope knowing that perhaps… maybe… we have a chance at change with a new President who won’t wave a magic wand but who will instead help us to help ourselves. Sometimes I think he or she is getting handed too big a problem.

I do think about how America would be, ya know, if we were to have another depression. It’s bigger and crazier here now than it was in the 30’s. And that’s scary to me. It could happen, y’all. And if it did, it might even happen really fast. All of the comforts we know now would be gone. The luxuries. The simple things like having cans of food in your pantry or a doctor to take your kids to, might not be so easy to come by. And when the lower class falls, then the middle class, and finally the upper class… Who is ready for that? Can you imagine having to fight for food? Because you know you would fight! Your children would depend on you to.

I guess this all comes from some dreams I’ve been having. The night before 9/11 I had this horrible night. I couldn’t sleep, my skin was crawling, I wanted to get out of bed and let go of this weird anxious feeling I had that I couldn’t explain– run, dance, write, paint, something. I thought it was a full moon (I can feel those). I wiggled and tossed in bed all night. I woke from a weird dream around 3 am and sat up in bed. My window was open and I suddenly heard some movement outside my window. There was a daddy bear trying to get into my dumpster a few feet from my window. He was angry and restless too. He was unusually agitated and seemed to share my emotion.  A few hours later I got out of bed finally. I made some coffee, showered, got ready for work. I was driving to work when I heard about the first plane. I then understood why my night had been so weird. We’re all connected. We’re all sharing energy.

Last night I had a dream. I dreamed that I had been fast forwarded who knows how long. I was searching for something (I have a lot of dreams where I’m trying to find my family). I came across a highway and there was an 18 wheeler being raided by a group of people with guns. Every store I could see had been looted and people just didn’t even seem human anymore. And it’s weird because, you know, if things got too bad, we would all be out there trying to get our own, and take care of our own. Can you prepare for that? Can you imagine that? We try not to, don’t we?

We want to live in our happy little bubbles and pretend that another depression couldn’t happen. We forget that great civilizations have fallen. Are we so optimistic, or prideful, or maybe even nieve to think it couldn’t happen to us? Don’t you think that it’s possible that you are being distracted with your Dancing with the Stars episodes, or your economy stimulus checks from what might, could, be happening?

And this all seems quite random but I think I’m getting to something… I know I’m a conspiracy theorist and I try not to be too paranoid. But I’ve decided to start preparing. I’m stocking my pantry, I’m researching water purifiers. I’m reading about how to treat runoff water, how to build cellars. I’m filling extra prescriptions and buying first aid kits. I’m reading about survival and natural healing. And if I’m just being a weirdo and overly paranoid, what did it hurt? We’ll have some supplies, no biggie. With the price of food rising, some extra cans of food in the pantry won’t go to waste. But if I’m not suffering from paranoid delusions? We’ll have enough to keep us going for awhile. We’ll have some skills and supplies that others might not and that we wouldn’t have had otherwise. And that’s not a bad thing. Even Jack the Jackass might find himself needing to learn something from us. Like how to make a water purifier. Or how to build an underground cellar.

So if you’re also a conspiracy theorist, or maybe just want to be more informed, here are some links I’ve found quite interesting. I’ve printed them off and I’m making a notebook of useful info like the stuff I found here:

Make it yourself Root Cellar 

Garbage Can Root Cellar 

Water Purification and Storage

Emergency Preparedness Plan

Drying meat

Preparing Meat for Storage 

And lastly… This was an interesting prediction. Sounds like a really smart guy.

And that is all. If I find some more valuable links, I’ll be sharing them.