A Bird In The Hand?

I used to buy 3 dozen eggs a week from a local farm stand where the birds were free ranged. One day, the seller asked Hubby, "What does she do with all those eggs?" Hubby replied, "She eats them."

So, yeah, I love eggs.

I've wanted to have a few chickens in my backyard long before it was the trendy, hipster thing to do. For years and years I've dreamed about a few little hens in my lawn, laying me little white treasures every day. But I never really had the right piece of property to do it.

Now, it looks like I'll get my wish.

I've made it very clear to Hubby that the only thing I want for my birthday is a chicken coop and chickens. I've noticed him researching them online, so things are lookin' good!

If we're ever in a shit+fan situation, I know I'm going to appreciate the chickens in my backyard. Aside from the benefit of fresh eggs, we'll also be able to use them for meat. And my cousin (just a stone's throw away) has roosters. So if I must, I can always breed chickens and sell them for income/barter.

I can't wait to get some happy hens!

Too Much Trash!

My family's kitchen trash is located in a drawer in our center island. This drawer holds two trashcans, each of which uses the standard 13-gallon kitchen trashbag.

And we fill up BOTH of these trashcans in a day or two. Consistently. Over and over again. Without fail.

By the end of the week when trash pickup is due, our huge-ass outdoor garbage can is overflowing with stuffed white trashbags (as well as the assorted cardboard box). It's totally crazy.

My family consists of 2 adults, 1 toddler (who subsists mainly on grilled cheese and cheddar crackers), and an infant (who nurses exclusively). So who the hell is making all this trash?!?

I admit that we don't recycle (our trash company doesn't offer this service). I also admit that I drink a lot of water that's bottled in individual sized bottles. But damn... it's still a ton of trash.

So that's my next mission: to reduce the amount of trash my family produces. My goal is to reduce our trash to the point that we can at least close the lid on our outdoor trashcan at the end of the week. I plan to reach this goal by:

• Drinking less bottled water. It's free out of the tap.

• Ordering fewer things online. Shipping boxes are huge. Packing peanuts are annoying.

• Looking for items with less packaging. Like a lipstick that's just a tube of lipstick, instead of presented in a plastic and cardboard package.

Hopefully, that will help.

Photo Of My EDC

So, a picture's worth a thousand words, right?

Here's a photo of my basic EDC. This is what I carry with me when I leave the house with only my purse. The one thing missing from the picture is my Ken Onion Mini Mojito knife, which is my pocket folder knife. I carry it always if I'm wearing pants with pockets, but leave it behind if I'm wearing a dress or skirt.

(Also missing from the photo is my cell phone, which I carry everywhere.)


Contents:

• Keychain with keys, small Spyderco folder knife, small Swiss Army knife, Nano Streamlight flashlight, St. Christopher medal (the patron saint of travelers)
  
• Paracord bracelet
• Wallet with small Winchester folder knife and LED mini flashlight
• Black pouch contains hairbrush/mirror compact, Epi-Pen, mini moleskin notebook, pen, chapstick, lipstick, folding nail file, large Swiss Army knife, mini BIC lighter, tube of hand cream and mini Mag lite

My wallet and the black pouch usually go into my purse, which also contains a very basic first aid kit (band-aids, some Benadryl, couple of aspirin, etc.).

You'll notice some redundancy, but here's why: I rarely have everything on me at all times. If Hubby is with me, he usually drives, so I leave my keys at home. If I run into a store and leave him in the car, I often grab just my wallet (not my entire purse). If I am running a really quick errand, I might take just my keys and a credit card. Thus, I carry a knife and flashlight on my keys, in my wallet, AND in my purse so all my bases are covered.

Birthday Present Wish List

Ok, so my birthday is less than a month away. And, aside from the fact that I'll be a year older, I'm kind of looking forward to it. Well, at least I'm looking forward to the presents. Should anyone ask, I'd most like an Amazon gift card. Here are a few things currently on my Amazon wish list:

• Cooking with Sunshine: The Complete Guide to Solar Cuisine with 150 Easy Sun-Cooked Recipes. Since I don't store propane, I don't have a lot of cooking choices in a shit + fan situation. I thought learning about solar cooking through this book might open the door to another cooking option, at least during the summer.

• Yum-Yum Bento Box. This cute little book showcases lots of bento ideas. I hope it will help me add a little more pizazz to Hubby's lunches, as well as design some creations that encourage my picky toddler to experiment with more foods.

• TruMark Wrist Rocket Slingshot. No, I'm not a 10-year-old boy. But I kinda thought becoming proficient with a slingshot could be a useful skill someday.

• Reliance Products Aqua-Tainer 7 Gallon Rigid Water Container. Water storage is definitely an area where my preps are lacking.

• The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook: 101 Asian Recipes Simple Enough for Tonight's Dinner. I really want to start eating healthier, and I thought this cookbook might help. Also, I am kind of on an Asian food kick.

And I also want a full length mirror! I don't have one in this house, so I never really know what I look like from head to toe.

Hubby's Lunch

I used to make an effort to pack Hubby's lunch every day. Then I had two kids. And now I'm lucky to slap together a sandwich for my own lunch, much less pack a fancy schmancy mid-day meal for my spouse.

However, Hubby's birthday was last week, so I decided to go all out for his packed lunch that day. Here was the result:



The bottom left is a heart pressed from sticky rice. Above that is a mini-wheel of Babybel cheese with a heart cut out of the wax covering. Also on that side of the box are two little containers of soy sauce and two dark chocolate candies. On the right of the box are two hotdog octopuses (octopi??) resting on a bed of green peas.

I found it absolutely adorable, but he didn't seem to appreciate my culinary efforts. Nor did he appreciate it when, the day before his birthday, I packed him two hardboiled eggs shaped like farm animals:



That's a cow and a pig, in case you can't tell.

He used to love it when I packed him cutesy lunches, but my efforts are definitely not being met with enthusiasm these days. So you know what? He's getting a plain ol' PB&J for lunch tomorrow.

Review: Farm Rich Quesadillas

Hubby's birthday was last week, so this past Saturday I had a little party for him. It was small--just ourselves and 3 other couples. In holding with a tradition from previous years, I made Mexican food. Fortuitously, as I was planning my menu, I was emailed with an opportunity to review a Farm Rich product on my blog.

Farm Rich products are frozen appetizers and snacks, such as cheese sticks, meatballs and mozzarella bites. Since Hubby's party had a Mexican theme, I opted for the Farm Rich Quesadillas.

The bag of quesadillas stated that it would contain approximately 9-12 wedges, but the two bags I purchased (with the provided "Free Product" coupons) actually contained 14 wedges. The instructions for serving were simple: heat in the oven for about 12 minutes.

These quesadillas are described as containing both cheese and chicken. My party guests agreed that the cheese was quite tasty and abundant, although the chicken was a bit sparse. One guest stated that the tortilla seemed different than the ones he typically received in a Mexican restaurant, although another guest said the Farm Rich appetizers tasted "just like a restaurant quesadilla."

Most of the quesadillas were gone by the end of the party, with only a few stragglers remaining on the serving platter. So in terms of taste, they seemed to be a success.

I found the ease of prep to be a BIG bonus. Although I like to make some homemade food when I entertain, I also don't like spending the whole evening in the kitchen! The Farm Rich products make it pretty easy to provide guests with tasty snacks and appetizers without much culinary effort on my part, so they're the perfect supplement to a homecooked main dish.

One downside to these products is the cost, however. My store retailed the bags I purchased for $5.99. That's basically $6 for 14 wedges, which equals a total of almost 43 cents per quesadilla wedge. And these wedges weren't exactly huge. They were just standard size. So I'd definitely call these snacks a frozen convenience food with a matching inflated price for the convenience.

Would I purchase these frozen products again? Definitely, simply because they're so easy. In fact, I plan to keep a bag or two in my freezer at all times so I always have a hot snack for guests that can be ready in less than 15 minutes.

Next On My Stockpile List: Aluminum Foil

I tend to stock up on things like canned food (because, well, you can eat it) and toilet paper (because I hope I never have to wipe my ass with a stick). But I rarely have more than one extra box of things like ziptop baggies or plastic wrap. I guess I've always kind of figured that those things were nice to have, but they weren't necessary.

Then I read the cookbook Fix It In Foil. Now, I've done a little foil cooking on the grill in my time. Hubby and I have made the usual hobo packs (hamburger, potatoes, onions and carrots in foil), and potatoes & onions in a foil pack are a standard summer side dish for us. Every once in a while I make fish in parchment paper in the oven, which is in the same family as foil meals.

But this cookbook has some surprisingly unique ideas, including breakfast foods (sausage, eggs and hashbrowns in foil), ethnic foods (bean burritos in foil), and side dishes (broccoli casserole in foil). And these meals can be cooked in an oven or over coals.

And it got me thinking: if the fecal matter ever hits the fan, how will I be cooking food for my family? Most likely, I'll make meals in my woodstove fireplace (in the winter) or on a charcoal grill (in the summer). So foil cooking could be a really ideal way to prepare meals. Moreover, because no pots need to be cleaned, it's an especially useful cooking method when water is scarce.

The downside, of course, is that you need to have an abundance of aluminum foil. Which isn't cheap. But I'm going to keep my eye on sales, and hopefully I can score a nice stockpile without spending a lot of scratch.

Propane Camping Supplies?

So, I know a lot of preppers have a stockpile of propane camping supplies like a Coleman stove and a propane lantern. Obviously, these items make a lot of sense. For one thing, they're readily available and fairly inexpensive right now. Those little propane bottles are cheap. They are clean and easy to use, especially during a disaster when no one wants to deal with building a freakin' fire, or during a snowstorm when no one wants to screw with a charcoal grill.

I don't have any, however. Here's why:

• I think they're unsafe. Storing a bunch of little propane tanks sounds like a recipe for a giant-ass fire or explosion someday. And though I know plenty of people store propane without any disasters occurring, it's just a risk I don't want to take.

• They aren't a renewable resource. Though they're great for short-term or even medium-term usage, eventually you're gonna run out of propane.

Instead, if the zombies came now, I would have to rely on my charcoal grill for short-term use, and my woodstove and/or outdoor fire pit for long-term use. This is not, I know, the best solution, since the smell of burning wood or charcoal could easily attract the masses (either hungry people or hungry zombies). I've been thinking about getting a solar charger that I can use for a small electric burner or hotpot inside the house. What do you think?

The Japanese Way

Although I am of Asian ethnicity, I am pretty much your basic whitebread American. I was adopted into a Caucasian family and grew up in a very small (white) farming community. In fact, I was the ONLY minority in my elementary and junior high school. (And lemme tell ya, it wasn't exactly the best experience of my life). As a result, all of my values and cultural beliefs are firmly embedded in smalltown America tradition.

Nonetheless, I've always been fascinated by Japanese tradition. (And, for the record, I am not Japanese). Mostly the food fascinates me, but the overall culture is pretty damn cool, too.

So, in light of all that's happening in Japan right now, I've decided to add a little Japanese culture into my life. I'm going to try my hand at some Japanese cooking, and I'm going to learn a few key phrases in the language (just about anything is possible with the apps on my cell phone).

My heart goes out to all the people in Japan who suffer right now. But their culture is long, their lives are serene, and the people must be strong to have lived these thousands of years. I am sure they will move forth from this disaster and continue to be a nation of strong people.

Birthday Gifts

I have a birthday coming up in April, and I've been thinking about what presents I would like. Most of them are intangible and impossible. But here's a list, in case anyone is curious:

• I'd like my mother back. She died in April 2008, and I miss her every day.

• I'd like our government to get their act together and start taking steps to fix our economy, stop offering handouts to every beggar on the street, and start promoting the traditions of hard work and values that made this country great at the beginning.

• I'd like health and happiness for my family and all the people I love.

• I'd like a babysitter for 2 hours a day on weekdays so I can get some exercise.

• I'd like to change some of my past mistakes and relive some of my past joys.

Mostly, though, I hope I've learned a few things from this past year of my life. And I hope I remember those lessons in my future.

My Husband Laughs At Me

Not in a cruel way... but definitely in an indulgent Isn't-Her-Paranoia-So-Cute way.

Since the day I got married, I've always kept a plastic tote of "emergency" canned food in our basement. It was just a few extra things, and would maybe have fed me and Hubby for a week. Hubby was always resistant about it, because every two years or so the food would come close to expiring, and we'd have to haul it to the food bank for donation. He considered it a pain in the ass.

A little more than a year ago, Hubby heard Glenn Beck discuss food storage and the possibility of a future crisis. So he (in sheeple fashion, except in this case the shepherd was Beck), purchased some freeze-dried food from the company Beck was promoting. It wasn't much... not even enough to feed our whole family for a month. But it did open the floodgates for me to bring my thoughts about prepping to the forefront of our marriage.

Since then, I've been a lot more worried about the direction this country (and our economy) is headed. (Although I'm still pretty sure a virus that turns everyone into zombies will be the end of us all.) So I buy some extra cans of SPAM when it's on sale, and an extra can of chicken broth or kidney beans, and I constantly tell Hubby that we need to divert more of our money into preparing for a potential crisis.

And he laughs at me.

I admit that this is one time when I'd like to be proven wrong. But I still don't like my concerns being pushed aside like some type of paranoid hysteria.

Anyone else dealing with a spouse who thinks prepping is ridiculous?

Saving Money

I've been thinking a lot about potential future situations. Although I often think 'worst case scenario' (strange flu pandemic turns everyone into brain-eating zombies, thus requiring remaining survivors to stay behind locked doors), it's more likely that this economy will sink into a depression that lasts for years... or even decades.

Obviously, food storage (and ammo storage) could be useful in an economic depression, since they could help stretch a paycheck, provide security during a time when government resources are limited, and give us the freedom of self-reliance to a certain degree. Hubby's job (medical) may still have some demand, but that doesn't make him immune to layoffs (even medical people will be scooping up whatever work they can). And if he can't work for some reason, we're shit-out-of-luck, since my profession is writing/editing. Not exactly a high-demand job during a time of economic hardship, you know?

So though food storage is useful, I've also been thinking more and more about building up a cash reserve. I suppose, if the dollar isn't worth shit, my money in the bank won't be worth shit either. But just in case it turns into a matter of skyrocketing unemployment and high (but not astronomical) food prices, I'd like to have a little nest egg stashed away.

Unfortunately, I am the "spender" in my family. I do a lot of it online (hence, my Lenten sacrifice), and the UPS guy knows me by name. I recently took over all the bill paying in my household. It used to be Hubby's job, but I thought that I might resist spending a bit if I was in charge of the household budget.

For the next few months, I'm going to try to spend less, save more, and possibly earn more (although magazines haven't been beating down my doors with writing assignments lately). I want to get a handle on our budget (especially now that Hubby's salary has decreased) and figure out where our spending leaks really are.

Sacrifice

Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday, which means this Wednesday is the beginning of Lent. The Lenten season is the 40 days (not counting Sundays) before Easter, and it is a time of sacrifice as Christians prepare to commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

As a Catholic, I typically give up meat on Fridays, as well as make some type of personal sacrifice during Lent. I was struggling to find something to give up this season that would be a true sacrifice, when Hubby suggested that I take a 40-day break from "online shopping."

Ouch.

I resisted this idea--a lot--at first. But then I realized my resistance was really a sign that giving up online shopping would, indeed, be a sacrifice.

So, that's what I'm giving up for Lent. It'll be interesting to see if it ends up saving us money, too.

Must Pantry Cooking Use Cream of Crap Soup?

So I had planned to make some recipes from the book 100-day Pantry: 100 Quick and Easy Gourmet Meals. Then I actually read the book. And let me say, "gourmet meals" is definitely an... exaggeration. The recipes rely heavily on cans of cream soups and jars of processed cheese. Now, I like processed cheese as much as the next girl. Microwave a jar of this orange delight and hand me a bag of tortilla chips, and I'll happily munch through an entire episode of Two and a Half Men. But as much as I enjoy the occasional snack of chemicals and preservatives, I don't want to make them part of my regular menus.

I suppose I was looking for more creative meals that used healthy pantry foods, like diced tomatoes, canned beans, canned salmon, and brown rice. And though there are certainly some recipes in this book that utilize these ingredients, none of them really appealed to me. And while I love a good ol' tuna noodle casserole with cream of mushroom soup, I can't see myself eating a variation of it (chicken noodle casserole with cream of chicken soup, tuna rice casserole with cream of celery soup, salmon noodle casserole with cream of broccoli soup, ad infinitum) on an every day basis.

I need to rotate my pantry foods, but I'll be damned if I'm going to eat cream of crap soup every week. So I've decided to ditch the book and instead make my own pantry meals, even though some may require the addition of fresh ingredients.

Book Review: Run!

The moon was out and we saw some sheep.
We saw some sheep take a walk in their sleep.
By the light of the moon, by the light of a star;
They walked all night from near to far.
I would never walk. I would take a car.

- Dr. Seuss poem quoted in Run! that neatly sums up my attitude toward exercise

I loved Dean Karnazes first book Ultramarathon Man. In fact, I read it once a year. I love it partly because he's so inspirational, and partly because I spend the whole book thinking "This is has got to be the craziest mother ever." One of my favorite scenes in the book is after his first big ultramarathon, when he finishes the race. He climbs into his fancy company-car Lexus, and every single muscle in his body seizes. He can't move a finger. He can only open his mouth and scream. No passerby can hear him (thanks to the great soundproofing of the fancy Lexus), and he then proceeds to projectile vomit chunks of fruit all over the car's fancy leather interior. When he finally gets his body out of the car, for a while he can only lay on the ground.

What inspires a man to continue ultramarathoning after an experience like that? Insanity, I think. Which is why his books are so much fun to read.

So I anxiously awaited the release of his latest book Run!: 26.2 Stories of Blisters and Bliss. (In case you didn't know, a marathon is 26.2 miles long). As soon as it was available in stores, I downloaded it to the Kindle app on my phone and started reading.

Overall, I'd say the book is pretty good. It doesn't have the "Wow! This dude is insane!" type feel of Ultramarathon Man, but it's still a decent read. Check it out of you like to get into the head of people who inspire others with their extreme craziness.

And, I admit: it did kind of make me want to attempt a marathon. Of course, I hate even driving my car for 26.2 miles. So covering that kind of distance on foot is insane, right?