Food Storage Challenge update

I should have chosen a shorter month not to shop for food... like February. I never, ever thought I would crave salad. Last week, my neighbor, who knew about my challenge, was so sweet and brought over a head of lettuce and a tomato. I ate them w/o dressing! Tasted so yummy. That satisifed me for a few days.

Saturday we went to the temple and drove with our neighbors and the wife asked my husband, "So Troy, how are you liking Food Storage Month?" He didn't even know what she was talking about. I explained what I had been doing and he said he hadn't even noticed! Wa-ha-ha. Of course, he goes out to eat for lunch every day and honestly, he's not so good at noticing changes. Still love him though. :)

Then today I started CRAVING salad again. That and crunchy cucumbers, carrots (which we had just run out of) and what I wouldn't give for a fresh crisp gala apple... Guess it didn't help that I was watching Twilight. So I thought, "why am I doing this again?" I KNOW I have enough to survive but do I have to deprive myself? No. So I decided to jump into April early. Too bad I don't have an indoor garden. I bought some fruit trees and plan to start another square foot garden this summer. I think I'll try the challenge again in the middle of the summer. It was making me nervous having a fridge that was only 1/4 full. I learned I have a bit of OCD when it comes to having things stocked.

I love Costco... *sigh* So what food do you think you wouldn't be able to live without?

Good Goal

Recently our Relief Society Presidency gave out personalized letters that invited every sister to come closer to Christ by reading the Book of Mormon in just six short weeks. I've never read the Book of Mormon that fast before and I have to say that this first week has been a challenge. Things come up and I'm sure Satan is trying very hard to discourage us from finishing together. Don't worry - I won't let him do that to me, I'm too stubborn. LOL I know that only good can come from this.

I'm up for the challenge, are YOU? You can choose to read a certain number of pages or a certain number of chapters each day. There are many sites online that offer calculators and on http://www.hinckleychallenge.com/ you can get a little blog tracker for fun.

Only good can come from reading the Book of Mormon. You can do it! If you're hesitant, ask yourself "why?" Sure you might have to give up watching your favorite show every night. But what good is that TV show in your life... seriously. It's always good to evaluate your priorities every now and then. LMK if you're up for a good challenge and we can have a cyber party when we finish! :)

"Don't you wonder what would happen if we treated our Book of Mormon like we treat our cell phones?
What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we flipped through it several times a day?
What if we spent an hour or more using it every day?
What if we used it to receive messages from the "text"?
What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
What if we used it as we traveled?
What if we used it in case of an emergency?
Oh, and a few more things- Unlike our cell phones, one Plan fits all.
Unlimited usage.
No roaming charges.
You always have reception.
No weak signals AND we dont ever have to worry about our Book of Mormon being disconnected, because our Savior already paid the bill!" --Author Unknown

72 hour kits

N's excited because it's that's time of year again! I love listening to General Conference. That weekend we break open our 72 hour kits and gobble them up. We also assemble our new ones. I've been doing this for several years now and found that I like to put in things that require NO cooking and NO preparation. My kids won't eat MREs and the lemon butter squares would get boring after one day. Here's what we plan on putting in our kits:

6 people in our family times 3 days = 18 of everything except 32 granola bars and 180 candy

Breakfasts we have a breakfast bar and OJ packet.
Lunches we have beef jerky, 2 granola bars and fruit punch packet.
Snacks we have fruit leather or fruit snacks.
Dinners we have a small V8, protein bar (don't worry, I know the Twisted bars in my picture were recalled. We won't eat them) and grape juice packet. You could do a hot cocoa but then you'd need hot water. We have buddy burners in our backpacks but prefer not to use them.
Treats we have hard candy and gum wrapped in foil so the minty fresh smell doesn't spread to all your food. AND it keeps your gum fresh and soft. We kept ours a year one time and it was still soft


When shopping remember to check expiration dates!!!! It only needs to last 6 months (till the next General Conference). It would be a good idea to put in a prepaid phone card as well as some quarters. This all fits in a gallon size freezer bag. Don't forget to include a meal plan paper in there so they know when to eat what.

Breakfast: Breakfast bar, orange juice packet
Lunch: Beef Jerky, fruit punch packet, 2 granola bars
Snacks: Fruit leather/snacks
Dinner: V8, protein bar, juice or hot cocoa packet
Treats: 3 hard candy and 1 stick of gum

Put any leftover food in your car. This is great if you're stuck in traffic or the kids say "But I'm starving Mom!" We also keep a 2 liter bottle of water in our car as well as TP and trash bags. Extra outfit, diapers and wipes are under our baby's seat. Just in case...

Future Craft Ideas

I'm just posting this so I remember what I want to do. And it's always fun to share...
Here are my crafts/projects that I would like to complete this year, in no particular order:

Quiet Books – 6x6 sheet protectors tied really well with double colorful ribbons thru the hole punches
-My Favorite Colors – use that background color then take pictures of them wearing/ surrounded by that color.
-Temples of the World – include at the end picture of our family in front of the temple saying FCBTF or lyrics to I Love to See the Temple.
-Follow the Prophet – pictures of each prophet and what their focus was during their time.
-My Gospel Standards – Mormon Ads on patterned colored paper with Primary Gospel Standards at the end.
-Articles of Faith – Print of each AoF on clear paper w/ picture of what it’s talking about framed in background.
Jewelry - Make green button bracelet, earrings and headband for E for St. Patrick’s Day.
Pillowcases for E – I'm missing July, School and Halloween. http://www.mormonchic.com/ has the pattern under their Crafty section.
Glass Etching my name on the bottoms of my glass casserole dishes.
Neating/Cleaning Apron with pockets and handtowel sewn on.
Vellum picture and quote on glass block. Saw these at Quilted Bear and LOVE them.
Flannel Rice Bags can be used for hot/cold packs. Year-round versatility. Need the quote that goes with it if gifting it.
B&W Memory Plates to hang in my scrapbook room
Capri Sun beach bags, purses, wallets, sunglass cases, etc. http://www.mormonchic.com/ has the pattern for the purse. This makes a great recycled gift and it's waterproof!
Rag Rug – braid strips of old cotton fabric rolled like double sided bias tape, then whipstitch together thru braids.
Twin Size Denim Quilts for my boys
Flannel Rag Quilt for E
Quilted comforter OR duvet cover & tall bedskirt to cover food storage for Master bed.
4th of July themed picnic quilt
Modge Podge fridge magnets and more for the growth chart. Get the big round magnets.
FHE vinyl board
Use the 15 3x4 cards from Greg Olsen's “Beautiful Savior” at Deseretbook to make "The Living Christ" paper with Savior Pictures on the matting.
Twin size basic tied quilts to donate to Humanitarian Services. Check out their Current Needs list on http://www.providentliving.org/
And...Finish the denim tiered skirt I started many months ago... lol

I'm seriously thinking of making one of those old-time quilt frames that you used to see at Quilting Bees. I found a pattern online and have a jigsaw so I think I can do it. Right now I have a small PVC type one and it's OK but I have to move it often.

What are some things YOU want to make this year?

Clarification

I meant "no shopping for food" in my last post. Not shopping at all might push me over the edge. LOL

Especially since I got Robert's 50% off coupons in my email box. Hooray!