Three Month Picture

So here is a picture of what I ended up getting for the week. The cereal at Albertsons was only $1.49 so I couldn't resist stocking up. 5 more boxes are in my kitchen cupboard. Notice all my 50 cent seasonings: Lemon Pepper, Ground Sage, Seasoned Meat Tenderizer, Chopped Onions, Crushed Red Pepper, and Italian Seasoning. They also had a few more that I didn't get like Chili Powder and a few more I don't remember. Now I won't have bland food storage! Also notice the 2 pounds of yeast! Good luck everyone! My investment this week was about $13 which is more than I normally do, but still not going to break the bank. It really does add up fast!

Three Month Thursday

So this is a partial post for my weekly food storage posting. As you can read in my other posting, we went skiing today!! This week though I wanted to buy a couple items that are used for cooking and baking. I already bought a 2 lb bag of yeast at Costco for $3.59 (or close to that) which is a really great deal! I also want to get some chicken boullion, salt, and some spices. Walmart has some spices for 50 cents. I can't remember what kinds were that cheap exactly, but I am remembering garlic salt and possibly cinnamon and oregano and more I can't remember. I am going to pick up a few of those. That will help to season my rice and sauces. Anyway so far I have yeast so I haven't taken a pic yet, but I did want to post on time.
By the way, here is a teaser: I am having a Food Storage Contest. Details to come in a few days.

Skiing Fun!!

So Darrell had an idea that would either be super fun or a total disaster: Take Collin skiing. It was a risk we were willing to take and I am so glad that we did. Collin is an AMAZING skier, which really isn't a huge surprise to me because the kid is extremely coordinated. We had so much fun! We went down the practice bunny hill about 3 times and then headed for the big lift. He did so great and after a few runs he was only falling once or twice per run. At the end of the day he had two big crashes where skis went flying. I think it was because he was a little too confident and was going too fast. Overall though he kept his balance and pretty much went faster than I wanted to. I am a big wimp! I haven't been skiing in years. (Not that I was ever an expert skiier though.) It was really fun to watch Collin go flying by the ski school with kids his age and older. :) My little superstar!
Getting all geared up for the first time -


Look at me!! Darrell got this picture as Collin went flying past him. Lucky shot too because our camera is really slow.


My little man -

The Boys -

Fog schmog, let's go! -

Ahhh....we wore him out! Notice the headband. He thought it was so cool that I was wearing that so he asked to wear it after I was done. :) Funny little man.

-

Banana Bread Muffins

So I have made several batches of these over the winter months. Suzanne even teased me about it. That's ok though because once you try these yummy treats then you will understand. They really are not much to look at, but they are delicious. Here is the recipe:

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
4 cups flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp soda
6 small bananas (mashed)
1/2 to 3/4 bag chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs. Combine dry ingredients and stir into butter mixture alternately with bananas. Fold in chocolate chips.
Bake on 350 for 20-25 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen muffins.

I prefer to use muffin papers, but you can grease the pan if you like. Put in as many chocolate chips as you feel like. I find that I overdo it sometimes and it's not a good thing. We eat these as snacks and even for breakfast. So good! You gotta try them!

Food Storage Shelving

As promised I am finally getting around to take a picture of ALL my 3 month supply that I have moved to 2 new shelves. The larger shelf is in my closet. I have a huge walk in closet, but the washer and dryer is in there too. Kinda weird. So the shelf that is above the washer and dryer is not really easily accessed so it's a good place to put my storage that I am not going to be using on a daily basis. And my other shelf is in my closet too. I bought a cheap ($30) plastic shelving set up. It has 4 shelves and it fits perfectly in my closet, out of the way. As you can see both of these shelves are filling up fast!!

I also wanted to post the pictures of my kitchen cabinets. (The two pics below.) Don't mind the disorganization! My pantry shelves are full too! This has not always been the case. When we were in Hawaii food was so expensive that we only bought enough for one week (our pay period) at a time. If something serious happened there we would have been in big trouble! So my kitchen cabinets are overflowing too and I am really excited about it! Just wanted to keep everyone updated as well as motivated. If someone like me can do it then you can do it too!!

Three Month Thursday

Like I planned last week, I bought some non food items. I just bought a couple extra of what I was buying anyway: 2 handsoaps, 2 floss, and 1 pack of wipes. Nothing big, but little by little these weekly purchases are really adding up! I need to get some pictures on here of my newly cleared off shelves. My two shelves are now full of food! It's amazing! I challenge everyone who hasn't started their food storage to get started today! And for all of you who have their food storage or are working on building it to keep at it! It's easier than you would think to get started. Just like my example for this week I was buying these products anyway (that way I know they are things I would use) so I just bought a couple extra. Doing it this way doesn't burst the budget. Good luck!

Maybe It's Maybelline....actually I think it was Brody

Ah, the joys of having a two year old. Brody completely ruined all my makeup the other day. Here is a sampling of his work:

More Collin Chatter

Brody was playing in our blinds in the frontroom. This is what I overheard from the kitchen:

Collin: "If you want to play with that, fine, but watch out for the scary mom."

Feeding the Geese/Ducks

We went to a park to feed the ducks today. The boys thought it was pretty great, but Brody got nervous when the ducks got a little too close. It was lots of fun. Brody kept saying "Bread...ducks....bread....ducks" all the way home. He is FINALLY taking off with his speech. We can understand him better and he is putting 2 words together to make little sentences. Hooray!

Three Month Thursday (On Saturday)

I know, I know, I am always late with my post. I did buy some food this week. I thought my storage needed some fruit so I bought two can each of peaches and pineapple. Next week I am probably going to buy some non food items like wipes, tp, or some soap. Always remember to buy these non food items. I find them easy to forget, but really they are easy to buy and store. Toilet paper really doesn't need to be rotated so buy a pack and store it away. No problem!

I found a really great blog post about planning for your 3 month supply. I have talked with some of you guys about food storage and I have found that you are having a hard time of knowing what to buy and how much to buy. Click on that link and it will take you to an article about how to plan meals for 90 days. You would be really surprised to find out how much you really need for 3 months! Safely Gathered In is the name of the blog and the link is on my blog down there. They are a great tool for beginners in food storage. They also have recipes that use your food storage items, especially wheat. Check them out! Good luck with your storage!

Fool Proof Diet

You may be one of millions of people who have made a New Years Resolution to lose weight. The diet plan I have is simple. My food trouble area is lunch time. I like to eat fast food. I hate eating home made sandwiches. Yuck! Breakfast and Dinner are relatively healthy meals so I figured if I could curb my lunch time calorie crisis then I could lose some weight. I bought some Lean Cuisine frozen dinners, because I like hot food for lunch, but I don't want to pay a lot. (They were on sale for $2 each!) So hopefully I can get some healthy low calorie meals in me.
You are probably thinking um, yeah, heard that one before. Lean Cuisines are no secret! But I have found a way to take it a step further: Cook yourself a Lean Cuisine while your 2 year old garbage disposal is awake. They will eat half of it for you! Talk about low calorie diet! Too bad I supplemented my dinner with a couple of banana bread muffins. :)

January Fitness Jump Start

So December has come and gone, but the few pounds I have gained have only come and not gone. It's a new year and I really don't like New Year's Resolutions, but it is a good time to start over. I want to jump start my fitness. My fitness goal for January is to go to the gym 6 days a week. Huge, I know, but this doesn't mean 2 hours there. I can go walk for 30 minutes if I don't feel up to anything more, BUT I have to go. I haven't decided what my reward will be other than my health. Ha! I think that I am going to get some new work out pants for myself though. There you have it: If I keep my goal of 6 days a week of exercise then I get a new pair of exercise pants!! I find that if I tell people my goals that it puts pressure on myself to keep those goals. That's all. :)

Three Month Thursday

So how is everybody's new year going? Have you made resolutions? I hope food storage is one of them. I am going to be really devoted to food storage this year. I even hope to get a few extra things like a wheat grinder and other fun toys. This week there was a case lot sale going on at a store here, but I was kind of on a tight budget this week. I really really really want to buy like 10 cases of things, but I restrained myself. The sale is going on for 3 weeks so I just bought about 15-20 cans of things, most of which I am going to use this week in my meals. I did save a few out though for my 3 Month Supply. Also the Life cereal was 5 for $5 and we love that stuff. Find the deals and stock up. Make sure that it's food that you actually eat! Last year I bought a case of peanut butter. There were 12 in a case and I think we ate maybe 3 before they were almost ready to expire. I ended up giving some to my parents and eating pb&j for like 3 weeks straight! Buy wisely! Buy the things that you can easily cycle into your normal diet. Don't overdo it either. You will burn yourself out or bust your budget or both! A little at a time and it will add up very quickly. On that note I have a new shelf going in my closet in my bedroom. The other shelf was stuffed!!! How awesome is that!?! Also I forgot to add the 4 pk toilet paper in my picture. Don't forget about the tp, diapers, girl supplies, vitamins, medicines, etc. Good luck!


Oh and one more thing: I bought a case of white wheat yesterday. My parents went to the cannery with their ward and picked one up for me. Don't forget long term storage too!

Copycat

Sorry, Amber! I just couldn't resist making a collage too. They are so fun! Enjoy!

High Heels

Collin is freaking hilarious! I bought some patent leather heels to wear to Darrell's fancy company Christmas party.
Collin found them the other day and asked me if they were the shoes that I got married in. Of course they are not, because everyone knows I wore white canvas shoes to my wedding. ;) He decided to put them on. He is a crack up! Just goes to show you that you can wear heels with jeans! He really pulls it off!

Christmas Pics

Not much to say about these pics. Just wanted to post some of our Christmas pics. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Three Month Thursday - On Time!!

So last week I was going to skip doing my Thursday post. Then on Friday when Darrell and I were going to shop he asked what I was going to get for my blog posting food storage. I realized then and there that I have faithful blog followers, even if they live in the same house as me!! Yay me! I can't let you guy(s) down!
I also found this really awesome quote from President Hinckley: We can begin ever so modestly. We can begin with one week’s food supply and gradually build it to a month and then to three months. I am speaking now of food to cover basic needs. As all of you recognize, this counsel is not new. But 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. Begin in a small way, my brethren, and gradually build toward a reasonable objective.
Does this not describe what I am trying to do here or what?!? Little by little it really adds up. I need to clear out some more space for my storage. There is hardly anymore room on my one little shelf. I keep cramming stuff up there and it's getting a little out of control.
It's a new year. Make food storage one of your resolutions. It's important and it's a lot easier than you think. It has really helped me to be accountable to my loyal reader(s) on my blog. Now it's a habit! If it helps, post a reply to my blog about what you do every week. You will feel like someone is hearing and noticing your efforts. Good luck everyone! I wish you all a Happy New Year!!!