Of Regrets and Resolutions

Resolutions are a strange thing.  The new year feels full of promise and hope, but for me it seems like most things are left undone, hanging, incomplete.  

I realize it is a process, but most of the time my resolutions are way too grand in scale for me to accomplish, like the losing 10 pounds in 6 weeks of 2012 failure.  

Or a procrastination so long that I didn't even set any goals.  There's one way to not fail; just don't try at all!  Win-win, right?  

And I titled 2010's post "A goal without a daily plan of action is just a wish."  A great thought, and my goals were mighty small that year, so could be an accomplishment.  We were really struggling with some decisions and issues, and I'm pretty sure that I didn't want to be too specific.  Way too scary for me.

2009 saw me working on the same goals as 2008.  What's the definition of insanity?  Oh, yeah, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  It's the story of my life.  I go back 4 years and I'm seeing a definite pattern of un-greatness and lack of motivation.  Especially this quote from that post:  I rarely tell others my dreams, goals, and wishes. Then I feel the pressure to be accountable for working towards or achieving those things. Who wants to be accountable? Not I!

And finally, back to 2008, I was really ambitious and broke down my goals by category.  Ack!  I do like the last quote, though, "I will appreciate what little progress I make despite my shortcomings."
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One of my favorite talks from this past conference was President Uchtdorf's talk "Of Regrets and Resolutions".  A few of my favorite quotes:

No matter our circumstances, no matter our challenges or trials, there is something in each day to embrace and cherish. There is something in each day that can bring gratitude and joy if only we will see and appreciate it.

One day we will take that unavoidable step and cross from this mortal sphere into the next estate. One day we will look back at our lives and wonder if we could have been better, made better decisions, or used our time more wisely.

To avoid some of the deepest regrets of life, it would be wise to make some resolutions today. Therefore, let us: 

• • Resolve to spend more time with those we love.

• • Resolve to strive more earnestly to become the person God wants us to be.

• • Resolve to find happiness, regardless of our circumstances.

I think those last three resolutions are perfect to focus on.  I will continue working on other goals, including finding a job, building food storage, being a better mom, and everything else I'm continuously working on! 

And when you ask how my resolutions are going, please excuse the snort of laughter!

I see crafting and sewing in my near future...

Pinterest is so useful when trying to put together ideas for a project.  Like a total-DIY-bedroom-makeover-on-a-budget for the newly turned 15-year-old girl in the family.

She's been needing a comprehensive re-do.

The plan is:

1. keep the furniture and paint all of it, each piece a different color!
2. find a nightstand at a local thrift store or garage sale
3. look for some fabric or sheets to make curtains and quilt from
4. diy art
5. bulletin board above desk
6. grouping of frames
7. full length mirror
8. T-shirt rug

And the breakdown:

#1 This painted bookshelf is adorable.  Walls will stay white in the bedroom.

Could not find a source for this photo : (

#2 Nightstand with drawer is on the list of things to look for.

#3 She's thinking an Indian type print would be fun.  Something like this from PBTeen.

Source

#4 Love the look of this canvas, and it would be easy to do on our own.

Eclectic Kids design by Dallas Interior Designer Canon & Company         Source 

#5 We'll probably get a bulletin board then spray paint it to add some more color to the wall.

#6  This cluster of frames would be a cute addition above the dresser.

Orignally pinned from nurseryproject.com but not there anymore.

#7 And we'll add an inexpensive full length mirror and jazz it up a bit.

#8 A time-consuming project will be this t-shirt rug.  But the look is awesome!.

We've got a little bit of work to look forward to, but I think it will really come together!

We'll keep you posted!

Sharing here:  Tidy Mom

Day 18 - Storing Bulk Foods and Grains

***This is a continuation of my 31 Days of Preparing Properly series***

When I was just a young, newly-married bride with stars in my eyes, I went on a grocery shopping trip, which included buying a 5 pound bag of flour.  After coming home to put my groceries away, I noticed some teeny tine little bugs around the flap of the bag.  I carefully opened the bag up to find the flour inside was infested with the little buggers.  Yuck!  I learned my lesson; every time I pick up a bag of flour, sugar, cornmeal, etc.  I check the whole bag for signs of bugs.  Especially since i buy these things in bulk most of the time.

Unfortunately, bugs or larva or eggs in our grains that we store is a fact of life.  Now that I'm an adult I can accept that fact much easier than when I was a kid!  The thought of anything that might be living in my food would have grossed me out!

But how do we store our grains without giving these critters the perfect environment to hatch and eat their little hearts out?

In my research on the best ways to keep critters out of the pantry and food storage, I've found several different techniques.

Bulk food at our local Winco grocery store.

The first and easiest way to protect your food from bugs is to put it in your freezer for a minimum of 3 days.   Make sure it is in a spot that it won't get exposed to excess ice or moisture; you don't want wet grains.  3 days is long enough to kill any larva that may already be in your flour, rain, or cornmeal.  And gross as it sounds, there is more than likely larva already in the bags.  

Gamma lids make it easier to get into your buckets
if you are rotating your food storage.

I use these 5 gallon buckets to hold my longer term bulk food storage.

After the 3 days you can transfer it to your canisters, plastic containers, or 5 gallon buckets. It can be left there longer if you have the extra space for it.  We have an extra freezer that I keep space for a 25 pound bag of flour or oatmeal until I need it or package it for long term storage.   

I store my everyday dry foods in these Tupperware containers.

Another way to keep grains pest free is to use oxygen absorbers for long term storage.  This can be done in addition to freezing the dry foods.  The only problem with oxygen absorbers is that you have to use what you have right away.  They don't keep since they start absorbing oxygen as soon as the package is opened.  Oxygen absorbers work best in non-porous containers like mylar bags or plastic food-grade buckets, or even large canning jars.  I've also seen them used in large PETE recyclable containers. 

Rice that I buy at for less than 50 cents per pound.

These next two options are for whole grain and 

Diatomaceous earth is can be used to protect whole grains (but not milled grains!), and is what my parents used when storing wheat berries for long term in 5 gallon buckets.  There is a good breakdown of food storage tips here that includes diatomaceous earth.  This is not an ideal way to protect foods, though, because the fine silica dust can be inhaled and damage lungs.

A small amount of dry ice can be used to kill insects before storing whole grain.   Dry ice is frozen CO₂. Treatment with dry ice may improve storage life of the grain, but it is not the most effective fumigant for controlling pests in stored grain.  Basically, it will kill anything that is living in there already, except for eggs.  A single treatment with dry ice will be fine, you will not have to treat it again unless you notice little buggers in it down the road.

I hope this makes sense!  If you have any questions or anything to add, please leave a comment!

And if you'd like to read more about buying in bulk you can read my posts here and here.

And start reading from day one here!

This post may contain affiliate links.

My One Little Word for 2013

The last couple of years I have had a "one little word" that I wanted to focus on for the year.  I think about a new one periodically, and Ali Edwards has a blogpost with a list of suggestions,  but the way I seem to choose my word is by evaluating where I am and where I want to be.  

Last year's word was THRIVE.  Love it, and even though I don't feel like I "thrived" last year, it did help me focus on the positive instead of getting stuck on the negative.    I thought of a few words along the way:  one of my favorites is "Hope";  even saying the word sounds hopeful!   The word I thought I was going to use was "Move", meaning move out of my comfort zone, or move forward, and even move my body!  And even though I really like that word, this year's word is one I've considered been thinking about a lot.  And this morning I got one of those forwarded, positive message e-mails from a friend that reinforced the word even more.  My word for 2013 is:

UP!  It's a short little word!  But there are so many ways in which it can be used!

And the e-mail I opened this morning reads like this:

If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner.  The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet.  Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top.

The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a  level place.  If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air.  Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.

A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out.  It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom.  It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself. 

In many ways we are like the buzzard, the bat and the bumblebee.  We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we have to do is look up!  

That’s the answer, the escape route and the solution to any problem…

Just look up!
Sorrow looks back, Worry looks around, But faith looks up! Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly, And trust in our Creator who loves us.

Unfortunately, I see so many things I have in common with the lowly buzzard, bat, and even the bumblebee.  (Although if I were as industrious as the bumblebee I might be a little bit more ahead of where I am!)

I'm excited about my word for this year, and I'm hoping to go "Onward and Upward!!!"

A new year, and the old revisited...

Once again we are at the bittersweet time of year, when the yearly odometer flips its number and 2012 becomes 2013.  

I like to have a theme for my new year.  I'm nerdy like that.  My word for last year was THRIVE.  I love that word.  It makes me think of growing and fulfilling my destiny, and other such amazing things.  I'm not sure if I "thrived" this year {maybe it was more like "survived" the year} but I'm still planning on keeping the idea of thriving near and dear.

I'll talk more about my word for 2013 later.  I've got big plans! 

I, for one, am happy to see the end of 2012.  Not that it was a terrible year, but it was slightly unpredictable, starting with January and knowing that we needed to find a new house to live in.  And not knowing how we were going to find anything that was as conveniently located and large enough to fit our odd configuration of children; two teenagers, boy and girl, who each needed their own rooms, and another bedroom for the two younger boys to share.  4 bedrooms when rent is at a premium and gas prices were rising.  Again, prayers were answered (just like finding our last house!) and we found a great home in the country that is just big enough and close enough to town.  Whew!  I was feeling the stress!  We moved in at the end of March, and we love being out where the fruit trees and the garden flourish.

In January my baby Monkey turned 8 years old and was baptized on his birthday.  What an awesome day for him.

February brought my oldest son closer to being an adult than I am ready for!  He turned 17, now almost 18, and I am sad.  I'm not one of those moms who can't wait for her kids to grow up; I wish they could stay little forever!  I shared some new scrapbook pages with old, imperfect pictures of my girl with her girl cousins from both sides of the family.  I could just kiss all of those sweet faces!  Her closest cousin from Missouri is visiting us right now, and we're having fun with her!

In March we moved!  I spent most of my time unpacking and getting used to having to drive the kids to school and back for everything since we didn't live in walking distance anymore!  But here is the view from our front door, so I guess I can't complain.

April was spent getting settled, ramping up for the end of the school year, and in softball practices with the girl.

The girl promoted from 8th grade in May.  Where did the time go!!!

And the little boys are not so little anymore.

June was a lot of gardening and canning and some more softball.  The season went into July!  I also spent more time organizing the house, and started using my china hutch for scrapbooking supply storage.  The oldest two went on a three day Pioneer Trek in the mountains.

We camped in July, and spent some time in the emergency room when the eldest crashed a bike.  

And I spent a week at girl's camp with the girls...

And then school started before we knew it, and I wrote about being hopeful and scared for them.

September was boy #2's 11th birthday, and in October I got even more serious about emergency preparedness and started my 31 Days of Preparing Properly:

Including this post about my shopping trip to buy enough shelf stable food for meals for 1 week for under $60.

I promise I will finish up the 31 days this month.  Unfortunately (or fortunately!) life got in the way!

November was a school dance, spending time with family, including a QUICK visit with my Grandpa and his wife Fern, and family who came up from San Francisco and Southern CA for Thanksgiving.  

My mom came out to visit in the beginning of December, then was sick for most of her visit.  She did manage to get some shopping done, and even put curtains up in the dining area.  I was so happy to see her; everything's better with the Mama around.

We've had a fun Christmas celebration, including having my niece here from Missouri for 3 weeks and our nephew home from the Army for a couple of weeks, too.  

I'd add some more pictures, but the camera went with the older kids who are doing a Polar Bear Plunge at the local park this afternoon.  BRRRrrrr!  

We have been blessed so much this year!  Where do I even begin?  Our family, near and far, especially our kids.  Good job, callings in church, and everything else that goes with them.  Thanks for hanging in there with us through all of it!