Lately I’ve been on a “72 Hour Kit” and “Food Storage” kick.  What am I talking about?  A 72 hour kit is something you can grab if you have to leave your house in a hurry in the event of some sort of disaster- a flood, an earthquake, you get the idea.  Hopefully, it never EVER needs to be used, but just in case, it’s a grand idea to have a portable bag/wagon/backpack stocked with enough food, water, toilet paper, diapers, flashlights etc. to last you for 3 or so days.

Food storage is something the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have encouraged families to store.  Ideally, a family should keep a year’s supply of food- enough to feed every member of the family in the event of an emergency.  I have heard many stories of people who have lost jobs but, thankfully, had a food supply they were able to rely on when funds were low or gone.

A year’s supply is MASSIVE, people.  It’s hard to fathom how much food is necessary, which often leads people (ok, ME) to get discouraged and not do much of anything to build up the food storage.

I recently heard about a food storage analyzer where you can input everything you currently have in stock and it will spit out how many days you could survive and how many nutrients you have in supply.

So I went to www.foodstorageanalyzer.com and input my info.  It’s not pretty, friends.  Apparently, tons of peanut butter, spaghetti and applesauce are NOT going to be enough for our family to survive.  If something awful happened and our family could not purchase food, we would have enough to eat for only nine and a half days.

That’s NOT very encouraging.  But it is, however, quite motivating.  Thanks to the website, I now have a clear cut goal.  I know how much more food I need and I know where I am lacking in nutrients.  We have almost no calcium, Vitamin A or Vitamin C in our storage.

So I am on a mission: to get just a ONE MONTH supply of food by the end of October.  Can I triple the amount of food I currently have in just a little over a month’s time?  Can I?  Wish me luck!

Sorry for the lack of posting lately.  A few weeks ago, I was having bursts of creative thoughts at all times of the day and night.  My mind was on overload and I spent a good part of every day searching for paper on which to write my amazing ideas.

So then I bought a cute little idea journal- a place where I could write and store and keep all these ideas.

I was oh-so excited to start filling it.  But then my good friend irony paid a visit (or at least I think it’s irony.  I always thought I understood the definition of irony, but on the TV show Castle, the character Castle frequently bemoans the general public’s lack of understanding when it comes to the definition of irony.) and my idea notebook has sat empty for weeks.

But here’s an idea:  Don’t you love this shirt?

My uber creative sister in law, Raquel, concocted it from her brain and scraps of material.  I should take a closer picture so you can really see how cute it is.  (But I probably won’t.  Along with my lack of ideas, I’m kind of lazy these days.)  Would you pay for a shirt like this?  Cuz I would.  And I think Raquel should be selling these.

I have managed to get a few things written, if you’re interested.  This week, on www.alwayssomethingtotalkabout.com, we’re talking about working moms, work at home moms and stay at home moms.  I shared my frustrating experiences of being a work at home mom and tried to find some positives.

Also, check out my take on the Chase Home Museum at Visit Salt Lake.  You can read my post here.  It’s a delightful museum that more people should know about.  Plus, they do free outdoor concerts every Monday during the summer.  Next Monday is a Scottish group.  We’ll be there, for sure, being the crazy bagpipe lovers that we are.  (Once, in a student apartment, a guy was out practicing his bagpipe on his balcony.  I now realize that was probably a little bit strange for him to do, but I was like a bug to light, I tell you.  I ran over to watch and very nearly went up to his apartment to ask him out on a date.  I am a tidge shy, though, so the date never materialized.  No regrets.  I have the man I want and need- even if he completely lacks any form of bagpipe ability.)

When you were little, did you believe in fairies or even WISH to believe in fairies?

The creative woman of www.fawndear.blogspot.com actually MADE a tiny fairy door in a tree at a park.  Then, she told her friends about it and promised that if any children left notes to the fairy, they would be answered. 

So then she ANSWERED what looks like at least a dozen notes, refurbished the fairy house and left delightful, illustrated responses for little, believing fingers to retrieve.

Can I please live in her neighborhood?

Go see the pictures here.  The little fairy house is so ridiculously delightful I’m tempted to pack my bags and go leave a note myself.

Youth Making a Difference, YMAD, sounds like the sort of thing I want my daughter involved in when she is a teenager.  For a year, teens learn about leadership skills and then they apply those skills on a 2 week humanitarian expedition to a developing country.

Emily’s sister is trying to raise money so she can go as an adult leader to travel with YMAD to West Bengal, India to teach English and other educational workshops, bring hope, conduct basic medical exams, paint murals in the schools and deliver humanitarian kits and educational supplies.  (I basically copied and pasted that paragraph from Emily’s post.  Plagiarism is ok, right?)

Donations to the cause can go a long way. 

This next part is also copied straight from her blog.

On Saturday, July 17, Emily’s sister will be doing a “fun”draiser benefiting children and schools in West Bengal in the form of a 5K Fun Run and 1 mile Walk/Kids Run in Riverton, Utah.  Registration is $15 for the 5K, $10 for the 1 mile or $40 for families. 

Go here for more information.  This sounds like a great thing to support!

I’m boycotting responsibilities.

Not all of them.  It’s just that lately I have been way too overwhelmed with jobs and home life.  I can’t really boycot jobs if I want to make money, so I’ve been boycotting home life.

Not my family.  Just the chores and the grocery shopping and anything else unpleasant.  Boycotted.  Not doing them.  You can’t make me.

Instead, I’ve been spending my time as if I am the nanny of a wealthy New York socialite (something I became an expert on after reading AND watching Nanny Diaries.  See?  And you questioned my authority).  I’ve been taking my daughter to fun places without worrying about what is waiting for me at home.  I haven’t allowed an ounce of guilt to creep in for spending time only in the pursuit of fun while the floors remain a patchwork quilt of last night’s (ok, last WEEK’S) dinner.  And the toilets?  While I am at the zoo, I can imagine that the maid will take care of those.  And when I get home and actually see them, I can get really angry that the maid isn’t doing a good job. 

Remember?  Boycotted.

While ignoring the dishes, I saw a post by Emily of Is This Really My Life? with a picture of her children at Thanksgiving Point’s Children’s Gardens.  That looks fun, I thought, and swooped over to my daughter to announce we would be visiting a garden.

She was ecstatic, so we went.  And we had a blast.  The Children’s Gardens are set up for imagination.  If you know me, you know I lost my imagination over 15 years ago.  Vanessa of www.inevergrewup.net is the queen of imagination and I study her faithfully to understand how to play pretend with my daughter.  Creepy?  Maybe a little.

But let me tell you, even I could imagine in this place.  I imagined fairies in the lighthouse (they forgot their shoes when they left, according to Lydia) and a symphony conducted by my daughter (she stood on a box and waved a stick while I ‘played’ the piano).  I imagined we were African animals and we took turns being the elephant. 

We imagined a dance performance on the stage.

My imagination only took me so far since  I could only last for about a minute or two.  But then Lydia took over.  And we had so much fun.

She even imagined she could fit her whole body into this crate.

Why is it so easy to imagine here?  They have it set up so perfectly.  In the midst of beautiful shade trees and flowers, there are areas sectioned off with wooden blocks, fun rocks and tree stumps to climb, sand pits, play houses, caves, instruments and stages.

And the best part, according to Lydia?  The water area.  I told her not to sit in it because I didn’t bring a change of clothes.  She obeyed for a few minutes, but what was I thinking?  That’s like asking her not to touch a cookie in a room filled floor to ceiling with cookies.

She sat in the water.  And I didn’t care.  Because the maid at home will do her laundry.

I did not receive any sort of payment for blogging about this.  I wish I did.

Are you still looking for a fun 4th of July craft?  Check out Marie’s blog:  www.makeandtakes.com.  There are a gazillion.  And they’re good ones too.  Good for people like me who don’t know how to craft and good for people like my 2 year old daughter who gets so fantastically excited any time I mention an art project but is sadly dependent on me who doesn’t know how to craft.  I planned to do this one with my daughter but time got away from me.  Who cares?  I’m still going to do it after the 4th.  It’s cool to be patriotic any day of the year, right? 

Also, check out www.alwayssomethingtotalkabout.com.  We’re talking about our fathers and their good qualities.  (I know that Father’s Day was a while ago.  But it’s still timely since we’re celebrating the ‘fathers’ of our country this weekend!  Stretch much?)  We would love to hear what you love about your dad or other dads you know.  It’s so fun to see the important things that stick out to each person.  We’re all so different.

Here’s my daddy 27 years ago.  I was a much cuter baby than this picture portrays.

Right before bed the other night, my daughter found her Halloween costume from 2 years ago and begged to wear it.  Ryan said she could wear it “tomorrow,” and satisfied with the promise, she went to bed.  But you know how promises to 2 year-olds go.  We forgot about it.  And so did she.

Then a few days later, she found the costume moments before we were about to leave the house to go to an arts festival. 

“Oh!  My wings!” she exclaimed with glee (‘glee’ the emotion, not the TV show).  “Remember Daddy say?  I wear it?”

So I let her wear it.  I was surprised (and quite happy) that it still fit. 

Because she was an adorable ladybug in the middle of June.

If you would like to read about the arts festival, you can check out my post for Visit Salt Lake here.  If you live in Utah, you should definitely try to go to the festival next year.  Also, if you live in Utah, click the link above and then be sure to stick around at Visit Salt Lake’s blog for a minute.  Local bloggers share their insider tips on restaurants, family friendly attractions, outdoor recreation, arts and culture (moi!), shopping and more.  It’s a great place to go if you’re planning a visit OR if you live here and want to find something fun to do!

And most events are ladybug friendly.

Have you had a baby?  Did you do it naturally or with medication?  This week, we’re sharing our stories at Always Something to Talk About.  Just click the button below to read.  One of us gave birth naturally out of peer pressure, one is choosing to give birth naturally and one wouldn’t give birth naturally unless she was forced!  Can you guess which one is me?

Also, what are your plans for this weekend? If you live in Utah, you should really check out the Chalk Art Festival. It is one of my favorite things to attend every year. You will love it. Read my post about it on Visit Salt Lake’s blog here.

Have you visited Always Something to Talk About lately?  This week we’re talking about teaching children how to be tolerant.  We would love your input!

Just click the button! And thanks for reading!

This week at Always Something to Talk About, we’re discussing guilt. If you don’t read the posts this week, you will feel guilty.