lumabean

Thanks, Midnightmom I am going to try that out.

Thanks I am going to give it a try, my son and I love ginger ale, and this has to be a far better way to have it than the store-bought.

I think it's wonky because it appears as though it was intended to be printed on both sides of the paper -- I have no clue how to do that, so what I did was took the sheet with page numbers 16 and 13, folded it in half print on print, and then took the sheet with 14 and 15 and folded it in half blank to blank, and put it blank side to the blank side of the sheet with 16 and 13. Hope that makes sense how I am explaining it. Continued on doing it that way and it did work to make it booklet-ish and with the numbers all in order.

I was wondering ... how do you do the ginger ale?

Thanks bookmarking to print it off, lots of good uses for the mix in the booklet, it looks as though I will get a lot of use out of it

You are not useless, I am so sorry that the situations have you feeling this way, and pray that the financial and medical issues are resolved for you and those burdens lifted. :pray:

Since we're leaving in a few days, I figured I should try to dehydrate some of the fresh stuff that we won't have time to use up. I have a tray and a half of lemons going, as well as a tray and a half of bell peppers, and a handful of jalapenos. I also have russet potatoes chilling in the fridge so I can do those tomorrow (or later tonight should the stuff in the dehydrator are done sooner than I expect). Here's what I have done so far (vacuum sealed in mason jars) : russet potatoes, corn (from 2 lbs frozen), carrots (from 2 lbs frozen), strawberries (from frozen), broccoli (from 1 lb frozen), peas (from 1lb frozen), and green beans (3 lbs frozen). --- do you think there would be a problem if I keep adding to the partially jars, re-vacuum sealing after each addition? I read they will last longer double bagged, but since I forgot to add oxygen absorbers to my last LDS order, I am waiting on transferring them to bags. edited to add the picture I forgot to include before...

The thought I had is that since the existing fence can be seen over due to the park not being flat, maybe you could try to conceal the things you have in the yard and on your porch. If for example you have a rubbermade sort of container with stuff inside, they won't see exactly what's inside. Or maybe you can try to keep some things tight along the fence so at least from some perspectives it won't be in clear view to those seeing over the fence. Another thought is that if you have something that needs to be along the trailer itself, maybe you could put a piece of plywood propped on the outside of what it is near the home, maybe even put some sort of sketch on the outside of it to make it look as though you were going to work on a project and just put it off a bit. Is there anything that can be placed under the trailer and hidden by the skirting? Maybe that would work for seasonal things or items you don't use that often. If you put it there early in the morning or when it's dark not as many people would notice. Under the deck may work too, esp. if you plant something around to conceal it, or even put potted plants (even without the plants) around the lower part of the deck so no one can directly see what you have under there. It's creepy and rude how someone would make a comment like that, and knowing that you're being watched by them. I'd probably try to stick with the weather or something simple like that the next time they try to engage you in conversation.

I am going to have to try this, my husband drinks Coke day and night. he doesn't drink coffee or tea, just Coke (well sometimes he will add in some of the single serve kool-aid packets in to some slushy water). I never knew you could use water and baking soda and vitamin C added to water to make it fizz - I am going to jot that down too, seems a lot less expensive than seltzer (it's about $1.89 for a small bottle last time I bought it).

Today's venture has been frozen vegetables, I've got one tray of broccoli, two of corn, two of carrots, one of peas, and three of green beans. I am really enjoying dehydrating

Today I am dehydrating potatoes. they seem to be coming along well so far, pretty dry and it's only been a few hours so far. Thanks

I ended up with 6 trays of strawberries that dried down to a quart jar and about a third of another quart jar. I was a little nervous with them, but they snap in half when bent so I figured they were done. I also did two trays of frozen pineapple chunks (that I ended up slicing each piece in half or thirds depending on the size) ... those I was iffy on. They looked pretty shriveled up, but they were still a smidge tacky to the touch. I dried longer but they stayed tacky. I wasn't sure if they were safe to store like that ... so I ate them, yes, all of them. On Sunday I am going to see if any of the local stores have specials on frozen vegetables to give them a whirl as well. Oh Philbe, i love the dehydrate2store site, i've been watching her videos and reading on the site. I am a visual learner, so they've been a help. There are still things I question (like with my pineapple adventure) but it's been a huge primer!

I've had reoccurring dreams a lot of times, usually when I am stressed about something. When the stress eases up, the reoccurring dreams usually do as well. When I have one, I usually visit the dreammoods.com website to see if any of the "meanings" they have posted fit what's going on in my life. If nothing more it gets me distracted

I am going to try to dehydrate some frozen strawberries -- very excited to try out the new dehydrator that arrived today

From what (little) I have seen regarding blogs, it appears as though they are filled with some insight or knowledge or are otherwise of some use to others -- this blog doubtfully will ever fit in to those categories. Mine is likely to simply be a holding tank for the things that I need to get out. I don't have many 'real life' friends ... or internet based friends for that matter ( I tend to be more solitary in nature, more of the observer as opposed to the jump on in and be part of the action) so I see this blog as being a way of getting the things that build up over time, or that I simply need to flesh out. Regardless ... presenting my blogging adventure...

$1,145 a month - that is (imo) craziness! I am shocked how high insurance prices are, I am sure there are ways the industry justifies it all, but yikes, I cannot wrap my mind around the fees being justifiable. I was just complaining the other day about how much is taken out of my husband's pay each week, and the amount of our copays - I now have a new appreciation for what we have! There are 3 of us covered, and at almost 1/4 of what you are paying for one person. At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, that sounds borderline criminal.

pm-ed you I like the sound of the essays I know my son wouldn't be thrilled with it either, but I think it sounds like a benefit for the participants.

I just didnt' want you to be thinking "who is this weirdo pm-ing me out of nowwhere" LOL.

I have not used that program - but my son loves photography too, and takes a course through an online co-op for free (the woman who runs the site does it as her ministry, and it's all free). There are two photography teachers this year - they are both professional photographers and they have a class each week per teacher. I am not sure if there are more seats - but it can't hurt to check if you feel your daughter would enjoy it, I do know that the lady who runs it does maintain a waiting list for classes that are filled. This will be my son's second year in the photography class - the teacher gives assignments, teaches terms and techniques, offers critiques, etc. There are also other classes offered. For example, the first class my son took there was an Apologia biology course - the same sort of class is offered by another site for over $500, so the free co-op is a blessing being free. Then after that we saw the other classes offered, and it has been a continued blessing for my family - my son loves the classes. I hope you don't mind, but I will pm you the director's contact info in case you're interested in finding out more.

My unnecessary product (I have four lol) are those little molds to shape hard-boiled eggs -- I bought bunnies and bears. Why I thought this was an item I couldn't live without is beyond me .. hard boil the egg, take the shell off while still hot, place in the mold, close it up, pop it in to cold water til chilled, and voila, a hard cooked egg in the shape of a bunny or bear head. May be cute for little kids, but my almost 50 husband and teenage son just looked at me with a 'what were you thinking' stare. My love of all things 'bunny' may have reached a natural stopping point LOL

: I couldn't sleep, and this thread piqued my interest -- oh my, I am not sure which is funnier, some of the things posted, or the reality that I have purchased most of these things. A lot of the pre-packaged food, esp. - I come from a long line of people who can't cook (well, can't is probably not the best word - more like never learned) ... so that stuff may not make a lot of sense to those who can cook or who weren't raised on pre-packaged. *shrug* that stuff was just a way of life. It wasn't until I was married before I realized that Gee, I can make this stuff much cheaper myself. Sad, but all too true, I never knew you could make pudding without one of those little boxes of powder. Most will find that bizarre, but at least I am honest about it lol. I've been told that if you can read, you can cook (just follow recipe) - I am living proof that's not true :hangs head in shame: Still trying my best though Exercise equipment is something I don't see me ever not having - we live along a major highway, trying to bike (or even walk!) would be like asking to be run over by a semi. The tweezers scared me though, they are one thing I have not even thought of trying out ... regular ole ones hurt enough, plus, I'd be afraid I'd lose an eye with the others. Love this thread

Hi I am so happy that I found the site, it was exactly what I needed I am very interested in learning how to be prepared - it's overwhelming, but I am determined to start taking small steps. Storage is a huge obstacle - we rent and have very, very limited room, so that's going to take some creativity. Ideally we would be able to move to a lovely little place with land and a lot of storage, but short of a miracle, I think I just need to focus on making due with what I have now. Lots of info here to read and apply