My Preparedness Calling

Brian and I have a new shared calling in our church. We have been wanting to do this ever since we were first married, but I guess the Lord had different plans for us then. We have been given the preparedness calling of the church. We can have an open curriculum. My husband and I are gearing up for teaching classes, disseminating helpful information, and planning ways to get our ward members more involved in the community to get people more prepared in case of any emergency that comes our way.

My church, The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter Day Saints (LDS/Mormon Church), have been very vocal about how being prepared is so very important. We as members of the LDS church have been counseled to have a year's supply of food supply and life's necessities for every family member, just in case. On May 21st of this year, before we were called to this calling, there was a Preparedness Fair at our church. I attended, but didn't demo anything because I wanted to see what would be offered and be a student instead. We were taught about Canning Beans & Potatoes, Smoking Meats, Food Storage, Preserving/Sprouting Foods; Water Filtering, Storing, & Alternative Sources; Ham Radio, Alternative Heating Sources, Sanitation, Fires & Alternative Ways to Start Them, Alternative Methods and Sources for Cooking, Sources and Storage for Fuel. They also had displays for a 72-Hour and Basic First Aid Kit. I hoped that we would have had more come from the community, non-members and members alike, but we still had a good turnout. I brought home a packet of information and some notes I wrote. These were helpful demonstrations for the novice beginner and even I learned some things while I was there.

Our background: 
Brian and I are both Master Gardeners. We have been to Soil School taught by Oregon State University (OSU) and other mini courses taught by the local extension service. I have also taken a course in Permaculture, sustainable landscape design also taught by OSU. I am currently in study about wilderness foraging, organic gardening, cool season gardening, gardening year round, companion crops, herbal/natural medicine, etc. I have been volunteering at the Rainier Oregon Community Garden, Hope Gardens, to give food back to those that are in need of it. Brian is learning about aquaponics, a system where you raise fish or other aquaculture (aquatic animals) and the waste produced by them supplies nutrients for plants grown hydroponically (in water) that in turn purify the water. We are placing a aquaponics system at our farm. We are also preparing our farm to be more self-sufficient as well so we can showcase ways of doing so. I will be posting more about preparedness and updates on our farm as well. In the meantime, please see my post on Planting a Fruit/Nut Orchard and Edible Garden with Food Stamps (SNAP EBT).

Some other helpful links:

• Provident Living - Self-Reliance and Welfare Resources
• Prepared LDS Family - A blog on Practical Food Storage and Preparedness Ideas (not just for LDS/Mormon)
• Emergency Preparedness - LDS page about how you can prepare both spiritually and temporally for an emergency.
• 32 Preparedness Quotes from LDS Church Leaders - from the Purpose Driven Motherhood blog
• Emergency Preparedness Family Home Evening Lesson - from LDS Daily
• If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear - October 2005 Talk by Gordon B. Hinkley
• LDS Preparedness Manual - a collection of information from different authors compiled by Another Voice of Warning

7 Ways to Keep Your Family Safe this Season Guest Post and First My Family ZPAK Review

 I received the First My Family "ZPAK" free to facilitate this review.

Guest Post by First My Family:

7 Ways to Keep Your Family Safe this Season

O-M-G the holidays are already here! That’s what everyone says as the decorations go up and the festivities begin. What they don’t talk about are the serious dangers millions of families face during the holiday season.

 FACT: AAA projects that nearly 50 million people will travel this Thanksgiving and another 100 million will likely travel during the December holidays.

 Increased travel during unsafe weather is a recipe for disaster, and as we’ve seen in the past - disasters happen when we least expect. Andrew Torres, CEO and Founder of First My Family, a disaster preparedness company knows that planning ahead can literally save lives. First My Family is most famous for being the official licensee and creator of the AMC The Walking Dead Survival Kit and most recently the AMC The Walking Dead Zombie Preparedness Apocalypse Kit (ZPAK). Andrew has also been in the emergency management and crisis management fields for the last 18 years and knows a thing or two about how to be prepared.

While no one can predict the weather or when catastrophe will occur, by following First My Family’s “Seven Steps to Stay Safe this Season,” families can mitigate their risk and hopefully stay safe and sound this holiday season.

 Seven Steps to Stay Safe this Season

1. Water your holiday tree every day and keep it away from heat sources. According to FEMA,  heat sources cause 1 out of every 6 Christmas tree fires each year. Make sure your tree is well-watered to prevent dryness and position the tree at least three feet away from any heat source. 
2. Prepare for #winter storms by checking your emergency kit! A basic kit should include, food, water, first aid, lighting, warmth and supplies to help start a fire.
3. Pets get cold too. Bring your furry friends inside! If they are outside, make sure they have plenty of non-frozen water and are able to stay warm. Remember, pets are family too!
4. Traveling during the holidays? Make sure you are prepared to get home safe. Every car should have a full tank of gas, charged cell phone, food, water, flashlight with batteries, first aid kit, jumper cables, warm clothes, blanket, shovel and work gloves.
5. Be extra cautious about possible fire hazards. Turn all lights and candles off before going to bed.
6. The holidays can be a lonely time. If you have family members with special needs or aging parents, make sure they can pay their bills, have a warm place to stay during the winter holidays, and know who to call for help.
7. Kids love to play during the winter.  Make sure they are safe by dressing them in multiple layers of clothing. To prevent hypothermia, bring kids indoors if they are shivering and have them come inside often on very cold days.  Don’t let babies sleep in a cold room.

My Review:

The Official AMC The Walking Dead Zombie Preparedness Apocalypse Kit (ZPAK) comes in a custom branded Nalgene Sport Water bottle that is 32oz and BPA Free. It has a custom carabiner and The Walking Dead ZPAK artwork in it. Perfect for everyday use to stay prepared in an emergency or in case of zombie attacks. Included in this handy kit are emergency and survival items that are a great compliment to any survival kit or bug out bag.

First My Family ZPAK Contents

ZPAK Contains:

• (1) 32oz Custom Nalgene BPA Free Wide Mouth Sport water bottle. Made in the U.S.A.
• (1) Custom Carabiner - Not designed for professional climbing
• (1) 5-1 Emergency Whistle with Compass, Flint, Signal Mirror and Carrying Case
• (1) Emergency Mylar Space Blanket to keep you warm during harsh conditions
• (1) Emergency Poncho to keep you dry
• (1) 12-Hour Glow Stick to light up the darkness
• (10) Medical Grade bandages
• *From the creators of The Walking Dead Survival Kit
• Items inside the bottle may fluctuate due to unexpected limitations on supply and can be altered for similar items at the discretion of First My Family

Use the ZPAK container as a water bottle for water or other cold drinks.

I love this small one person survival kit because it is perfect for gifting! It is compact enough to fit in a Christmas stocking or under the tree and perfect for packing in a larger pack. Once you take the contents out of the bottle they come in you can use it as well for a drinking container. The carabiner is great to attach the whole kit to a belt loop or backpack. The contents of this kit are a great start to helping in an emergency. I am probably going to add a healthy protein bar to this kit as well because there is a little room in the water bottle for one. This is great for hiking, climbing, camping, hunting, fishing, or a car ride...just in case.

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Get the ZPAK for $29.95 $ 34.95! Get one for everyone in your family this holiday season!

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

LifeStraw Go Filtered Water Bottle Review and Giveaway

This review and giveaway is sponsored by Vestergaard through Coyne PR. This post contains affiliate links which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and make a purchase. Thank you for supporting my blog!

LifeStraw Go in Packaging

Water, we all need it to survive. It is said we can live without food for about 3 weeks, but water is a different story. Water makes up about 60% of the adult human body. It is essential to keep our bodies functioning. The estimate of how long a person could live without water seems to be a week (less in hotter conditions), but this is a generous estimate...three to four days is more likely. The dangers of dehydration are very real and could cause death in severe cases. Whether you are exploring the nearby nature trail or camping in the mountains, having access to clean drinking water is always a priority.

The LifeStraw Go by Vestergaard is a filtered water bottle that uses an advanced hollow fiber membrane technology to convert micro-biologically contaminated water into safe drinking water. The Lifestraw filters and removes 99.9999% of bacteria (E. coli, Salmonella, etc.) and 99.9% of protozoa (Giardia, Cryptosporidium, etc.), and some viruses. It will filter a total of 1,000 liters / 264 gallons to 0.2 microns over the filter's lifetime capacity. When the filter has reached its lifetime capacity it will stop taking in water. Since the water filter is detachable, you can simply purchase a replacement filter when the filter has reached capacity. The bottle can be reused indefinitely, saving waste from disposable plastic water bottles.

LifeStraw Go is durable, convenient, lightweight, safe and portable. It requires no: electricity, pumping, batteries, iodine, or chemicals to use. This filtered water bottle meets US EPA drinking water standards and is made of BPA free Tritan plastic. It has a handy carabiner to hook it to a backpack or belt loop so you always have it ready and accessible. LifeStraw Go holds 23 ounces of water and doesn't leak.

The LifeStraw Go is great to take with you different places where you might not have access to clean drinking water. Take the LifeStraw Go with you and rest assured that you will have clean drinking water on-the-go. It is ideal for:

• hiking
• biking
• camping
• travel
• boating
• fishing
• running
• trekking
• survival
• gift giving

The LifeStraw Go filtered water bottle is so easy-to-use. Just fill container with dirty or unfiltered water. Stop at any lake, river, pond, stream, or even a puddle to fill up the bottle. You can even drink directly from the LifeStraw by placing the end directly in the water. After filling screw on the lid and sip filtered water through the mouthpiece and straw. After each drinking session, unscrew the lid and blow through the LifeStraw to expel dirty water. The food-grade silicone mouthpiece is flexible which prevents it from chipping or cracking, and is also removable for easy cleaning.

I will be taking the LifeStraw Go filtered water bottle with me hiking, backpacking, horseback riding, camping, canoeing, kayaking, etc. Everywhere I go the water will taste amazing with LifeStraw Go and I don't have to worry about the water making me sick. It will be so wonderful to have a water bottle I can always rely on to have clean good tasting water any where I go.

LifeStraw Go is wonderful for trips overseas and cross country. This water bottle is also great for storing in a bug out bag or emergency preparedness kit. It makes a great stocking stuffer for anyone young, old, or in between.

LifeStraw Go and I.

Not only does LifeStraw Go provide clean drinking water to the user, but LifeStraw's 'Follow the Liters' campaign provides one school child in Africa with safe drinking water for an entire school year with the purchase of any LifeStraw water filter!

BUY IT:


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Prize:  LifeStraw Go

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate this review and the opportunity to give away one for free. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. This post contains affiliate links which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and make a purchase. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Planting a Fruit/Nut Orchard and Edible Garden with Food Stamps (SNAP EBT)

My daughters and our homemade raised beds.

A while back we made 2 raised beds for a garden (the third in this picture never got finished) out of used lumber we had lying around. Back then we didn't know how we were going to furnish the soil or plants because we didn't have the means or the money to that we knew of. We just knew we wanted a garden and that we loved the idea of a raised bed garden to tide us over until our greenhouse was built and the aquaponics system was put in.

Then we got on Food Stamps (SNAP EBT) because my husband, Brian, has been out of work because of a disability (an orthostatic intolerance). We, like many other people on food stamps, did not know at first that we could buy food bearing/producing plants and seeds with our food stamps at the stores that accept them. We found out through a friend, that bought a salsa garden for himself with food stamps, that it was possible.

Our fruit orchard is taking shape.

We decided to test the system out and see if we could get larger food bearing/producing plants like trees and large bushes. We came home from Fred Meyer with three gorgeous Earliblue High Bush Blueberry Bushes, their last ones in stock. We also went to both local Walmarts subsequent days afterward and picked up 8 Heritage Red Raspberry plants, 4 thorn-less Sawtooth Blackberry plants, 3 Sweet Cherry trees, 1 Profusion Flowering Crab Apple tree, 2 Granny Smith Apple trees, 1 Honey Crisp Apple tree, and 1 Bartlett Pear tree all with our food stamps! My neighbor also gave us 2 Desert King Fig trees that are going in the ground soon.

Thorn-less Sawtooth Blackberry plants: we planted these in the kids area where the large trampoline is.

Blueberry bushes and raspberries.

We have ran into a few snags when using food stamps, unfortunately though. Some of the plants had been marked down and were in the discounted section. The tags showing the discount didn't ring up the plants as a food producer and so the checkout person had to find the original tag to the plant and then take the discount off manually. We also tried to buy two beautiful Semi-Dwarf Eureka Lemon trees (the common supermarket lemon variety) from Fred Meyer, but even though it is without a shadow of a doubt edible and was even growing fruit on both trees when we showed it to them we couldn't get them because the tag didn't indicate anywhere on it that it was an edible. Instead, it called the tree a "patio plant", indicating ornamental. We are still fighting this one. We also found that at the time we found out about this program it was a bit late in the season and a lot of the Spring stock of plants were picked over and already taken. Very few places that take food stamps also carry food bearing/producing plants. We wish more gardens with nurseries and farms that sell their plants would take EBT. We did find one in the area that wasn't a large chain store, called Pikku Farm in Woodland Washington, but we haven't been able to get a hold of them by phone yet.

The cashier at Fred Meyer cut the tops off large paper sacks and stuck the folded top into the bottom of the sack for transport.

We also picked up some Sage (Common, 2 Pineapple, and Blue), 2 plants of Basil, 6 Brussels Sprout plants, 6 Broccoli plants, 6 Rainbow Swiss Chard plants. These we planted in our raised beds full of aged manure and soil. Our friend gave us some beets from her garden to eat and some she pulled out with the large ones were too small and so we put them back into the ground in our raised beds along with a bunch of scallions that had the roots on them still. We already had a cherry tomato plant in the corner growing.

Raised bed gardens with the blueberries and raspberries in the background.

My daughters with the raised beds and the compost pile in the background.

I love that all this planting and growing our own food will help us never go hungry. We also are teaching our kids where food comes from and how to grow and harvest it. Soon we will have a sustainable orchard and garden all thanks to the SNAP Gardens: Food Stamps Grow Gardens program.