Play by Play at the Dentist

I went to Dr. Kimberly Olsen today for a filling. I give her a thumbs up. I am not really someone who gets anxious at the dentist since my cousin always took care of me or Garth's dad (both dentists). But I will tell you what, if you want to feel relaxed, she is for you. I loved how she explained everything as she went along. She would frequently ask me if I was doing okay and warned me when something was going to taste bad, pull a little, give me pressure or make a noise. Sweet as can be. I really loved how she remembered me from my cleaning a few weeks ago and even mentioned meeting my sweet hubby Garth last week. My standards have been set unfairly high with my past dentists, but Dr. Olsen, you were right up there! Thanks!

Warning Others

I don't make speeding a priority but sometimes I might find myself going a bit fast every once in a while. We have this little cut through street that the local Haymarket police like to camp out on to try and "get" innocent folks that aren't "bad" people. I think it is simply people that are zoned out rocking to a good song or something that unknowingly tap the gas a bit heavy.

I love when in my "zoned" stage and singing a bit too carefree, that a loving, oncoming car, flashes their lights, warning me of what's ahead...a cop (I love saying cop)! I snap out of my personal concert and check my speed...I usually hit the brakes just in case (okay, I always have to hit my brakes...come on, the speed limit is only 25 mph, impossible speed to maintain). As I pass the policeman, going 24, I am thankful I was warned...and feel like a good citizen.

Today I passed such a situation and was able to use my lights to warn a few people. They waved in appreciation as I passed. It didn't look like any of them were speeding or even rocking out to Pink, but they had been warned.

Just a random thought...don't go speeding in the first place, okay?! Consider yourself warned!

Be Prepared!

I like to be prepared. I have this fear that something tragic might happen and there will be a mad rush to Costco. Huge lines would be streaming out the door and people would come out telling the latecomers that the essentials were all gone. Pushing and shoving, worry and guilt would then ensue as thoughts such as, "why didn't I just do all of this yesterday, or last week, or even last year when there was no frenzy," would flood all of our minds.

Those of us who have lived in Northern VA long enough know what a predicted snow storm will cause...a mad rush for milk, bread and eggs. Shelves are bare within hours. You cannot find a snow shovel, snow boots for the kids, anything snow related for miles. I hate that panic feeling. Even when I have all of these things already, I feel like I need to get more since everyone else seems to be stock piling.

I have a 72 hour kit for each family member. Problem is the last time I updated it was 3 years ago. Today I decided it was time to go through all of it. I found that all of the food had expired (I need to rotate the blasted food every 6 months but I forget), so we would have starved. Calvin and Ethan had no Ziploc of clothing and Ashton and Tate would have been wearing baby clothes. Garth would have to go naked and I would be blind once my contacts withered away (I have disposable ones). All of the flashlights had been stolen by my kids playing "spy." I will be going to Target and Costco tomorrow for new supplies.

Earlier today I was chatting with my dear friend Maleen. She happens to be her ward's emergency specialist. Her husband works for Senator Bennett on the hill. They know everything politics. As we were chatting about food storage (our church encourages us to have a one year supply of food and 14 day supply of water for each member of our family, as well as 72 hour kits), she mentioned that after the past three presidential elections we have had some sort of terrorist attack. She asked about my water supply. I told her I had 3 huge 60 gallon barrels and some smaller ones as well. She asked me if I had used a garden hose to fill those up. I told her I had a few years ago but I was planning on emptying them this weekend and giving them a fresh batch. She told me that garden hoses can collect mold on the inside thus contaminating the water. I had never heard that before. I ran over to Lowe's today and bought a cheap new hose to use only for water refilling. THIS WILL HAPPEN ON SATURDAY (I am telling myself). I have put it off for 2 years. I think water needs to be rotated as well. What is the point of storing it if 1. The water is undrinkable or 2. You have empty containers with no water.

My storage area in the basement is full of canned food. I am not good at rotating it. I have decided that the cans will remain as is and in the event we are in true need, I will cross my fingers that the wheat, oats, sugar, and whatever other surprises I canned 7 years ago will still be edible.

Next week I am going to stock up on the things I know we eat regularly and can rotate easily. Items such as mac-n-cheese, peanut butter, canned corn, canned beans, pasta sauce, soups, etc will be purchased in larger quantities.

If any of you ever want to talk food storage, let me know. Years ago we had a group that met once a month to share ideas and I loved it. I am not perfect at it, but I know a little something. And I know people that know even more.

Our church has an amazing website if you want to take a look: click here. And our local ward in Gainesville has a great blog: http://gainesvillepreparedness.blogspot.com/ if you want to take a look at we have been doing throughout the year. Each month, we have some great ladies who give us a small goal to tackle in hopes of having it all done within the year.

I love the talk given by our former beloved prophet, Gorden B. Hinckley, "If Ye Are Prepared, Ye Shall Not Fear."

Spit Happens

This is the cutest boy ever. He has such an easy going personality. If he gets hurt, he tries to shake it off and says something like, "Ah, I'm okay. Don't worry." He is the clown of the family. He isn't scared of anything (except scary stories that Ethan forces him to watch and then I usually find him in bed with me later on that evening). He is helpful. He rides his scooter for hours every day after school. He is such a great kid.

But if you push him too far...he might spit. And he did just that a few days ago at school. I guess the story goes something like this: Another boy was teasing him in the P.E. line at school. Tate couldn't take it anymore so he simply spit on him. The boy of course wasn't too happy about that so the teacher was summoned. Later Tate is sent home with a note explaining his inappropriate behavior.

Garth and I got a chuckle out of it.

This time last year...Garth's Grey Hair

I remember last year when Garth had grey hair (this was part of his old man costume for the play "The Crucible"). He is back to his natural brown this fall. And although he is a handsome man with any color of hair, we prefer to know where Calvin got his "dark" hair (he is our only kid with it).

Facebook...look at this face.

I am kind of digging facebook. I don't do much with it in regards to my own postings. But man I love reconnecting with all of my old BYU buddies and Alaskans. I was pleased today to receive a lovely picture that my friend from High School scanned and sent me via Facebook from like 9 grade (but now that I think about it, I don't know how old I am!). I have some rockin' HUGE specs. So cool in fact, that Sarah Palin's popular style of glasses don't even compare! You had better stock up LensCrafters on these babies!

Love MY Cousins...

I haven't had the opportunity to know many of my relatives very well. I grew up in Alaska and now I live on the east coast. Those extremes, definitely have made it difficult to be around the family! And I am not happy about it.

So lucky me this weekend! My cousin Amy was in VA on business and we were thrilled to have her back for few days. She stayed with us a few months about four years ago when she first moved to the area. We would have taken her in longer, but she was quick to make tons of new friends and was off. Now she is back in Arizona, married to a super guy and as happy as ever. But I still miss her. And there was more family fun too...spending time with our other cousin, Jerri. This is really great because they have recently moved to Northern VA from Utah. Jerri is so much fun and if she is not careful, she might find me hanging around her place all of the time!
Let's do this again soon ladies!