A Change of Pace

You'll notice one of those (change of pace) here in the future. I've discovered in the past month that surviving and prepping entails more than just food, clothing and bullets. It's been a welcome discovery btw...interesting too.

Seems as if the spouse is actually going to pull through with his end of the bargain (aka lose weight and re-enlist). Don't start, it's what works for us. The past proves it and if anything I learn from the past where most don't. While I'm still prepped for several months of chaos in the food and clothing department, I've taken a turn toward not stressing about adding more. After all there is the distinct possibility that in five months we won't be in the same place (financial, home, country). It's been liberating in a way.

The screamers are excited about the idea too. Yes, I am a bad mother using my children's excitement and desire to be someplace new to my advantage. It prods the spouse to continue on with his pursuit of the end goal. Evil, I admit it. Add that to the Bad Mother's Handbook, I'll sign the page for you.

The change of pace will come in the form of how to prep and survive while being pretty much nomadic. We all know how often our military men and women move about. It's a challenge I look forward too, figuring out how to prep but still be mobile enough to change locations at the drop of an order. It does happen ya know. That means streamlining the household to bare minimum. Should be fun, right? Just agree with me and let me be delusional for a little while longer, okay. I don't HAVE to start the mental process just yet.

So there you have it...I'll add some of my experience over the past month a bit later on. I didn't know how close to crazy I really was/am. It's been one heck of a ride (no, not the political and world crap either).

Oh and wish me a Happy Birthday...I turned 32 today...woot...hey, this might just be a mid-life or something like that crisis. I'm enjoying it at least!

Just think...(today's quick aside)

If the voting folks had read THIS post I made back in October, they wouldn't have been surprised with THESE results.

See all the money and time they could have saved? But then, I AM just another crazy person with a blog, right?

Dream a little Dream

Dreams...ah yeah...the kind you have at night and the kind you hold in your heart. One real, one not...but which is which?

From the time we could understand speech we were fed the "American dream"...I must have been wire wrong or something because it didn't really appeal to me completely. Now as those things that were preached to us begin to fold, where do you stand? Still implicitly believe in that "American dream"? The world's biggest lie.

My dream has always been a bit different, it evolved to include the screamers as they began to grace me with their presence and has further evolved to cover both the spouse being here and him not being here. Flexibility in achievement, that's what it's all about right? Naturally, the fact that I haven't a consistent job makes the planning a bit more difficult and , to me at least, a little more fun in the creativity department. I'm sure that I will and can find a way regardless to get close to my version of the "American dream". It will probably look more like the "medieval dream" by the time things finish crashing, but I'll take it.

Now onto other type of dreams...the ones you have while sleeping. I didn't realize until yesterday morning that I either hadn't been dreaming or hadn't been able to remember my dreams in weeks. Very odd for me as I often have vivid dreams that usually result in a deja vu moment in my waking times or give me an idea of things to come in the future (usually months to years) that directly impact me and mine. I didn't miss them because I was stressed out of course, but once I had one it made a huge impression.

I'm still chewing it over but suffice it to say that since the spouse's "plan" (snort, hehehe) is to re-enlist, this one stuck with me pretty well. Let's just say more chaos on our soil provided from your not-so friendly "we hate America" countries to the East and West (you do realize that technically they have us surrounded?). It reminded me of a Pearl Harbor style attack, out of nowhere. It felt soon and in the dream I was alone, don't know exactly WHERE spouse was but knew the screamers were with my folks...could it be this year while I am out trekking in May or in one of the subsequent years when I take off on my lonesome to do the same? Dunno, just thought I would share. Take from it what you will.

Okay, okay...

so I couldn't just go quietly into the night on this one...Yellowstone. If you don't know what's been going on, just google it.

I will share two of my favorite googlized results though, you can read them for yourself but the gist of them both are "nothing new to see here, move along, nothing happening".

One
Two

Now, does anyone HONESTLY think that any one of the quoted scientists is going to come out and say "Yellowstone is going to errupt, we are toast, stick your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye"? Yeah, me neither.

Too Much...

when does it get to be too much? Too much news, too much food, too much time spent?

I've pondered this a lot the past few weeks, especially since I found it so nice to turn off for a few days around Xmas. No news, no net, no plethora of information. It gave my brain time to recharge (and resulted in an overload of sorts, lol). After some relaxation and such, I found myself analyzing the situation of too much.

I had for a while there become so obsessed with world events and prepping that I forgot to live a little. It was easier than you think it would be. To patrol the net and TV looking for things to be ready for. It didn't much matter what I was looking for, I always found something. It became too much and too easy. It became a band aid to my personal issues and a substitute to living.

I now make it a point to check the news twice a day...once in the morning to see what happened a world away whilst I slumbered and once in the late evening to see what buzz there was whilst I played at being mommy. For the past week it has worked. I still have the blogs I read off and on throughout the day, but the news doesn't rule me as it once did.

Does this mean that I don't prep anymore? Of course not, but being as there is 6 months (at least) worth of goodies here, I don't feel that super huge urgency I once felt. Toss in the fact that according to our agreement, the spouse only has 1 year to get over his issues and get himself back on track to being a man (I was feeling generous, btw) and you have it that I don't particularly feel like packing up a half ton of foodstuffs when I leave (you can see the faith just oozing can't you). Sidenote: The same conditions apply to me...I am way out in front however as I have recognized most of my own issues and begun doing something about it instead of sitting in the recliner in front of the TV. I continue to buy food, of course, but not in the excessive amounts I was. There will always be that supply of extra, I am just prudently deciding not to expand it further at the moment.

Since I won't be focusing on actual storage and purchase, I'll be focusing on using those preps. Now we don't have hard wheat or any of the like (don't have room or equipment to deal with it) so no recipes or ideas for that, but I will share my experiences with making a variety of meals from limited sources. Plus, you will be the first to learn the results of any food experiments...fun, eh?

So when does it get to be too much? When you lose yourself to it or when you use it as an escape from issues that most sincerely need to be dealt with in your own life. We aren't all Heros...we can't all save the world...especially if we haven't figured out how to save ourselves. Breathe, prep and live folks.

Since it's about survival...

here, I've decided to set up a different blog for my backpacking adventures and nonsense HERE.

Now, admittedly there will be lessons from one blog that translate to the other, so be prepared for a bit of cross-posting or redirecting via linkage should that happen. After all, even a packer needs to survive!

Prepping of a different kind (for me at least)...

yet another part of the "get myself back" plan...I'm taking up backpacking again! I've not been on a serious trek since before the oldest screamer was born but darn it...I'm gonna do it this spring!

So, I prep. All new equipment being researched (since I have nothing of my old stuff anymore) and added to the list. New boots, new pack, new 1 person tent (to discourage the spouse from assuming he can go with me on my retreats...sorry, this is mine)....new everything!

"Well, where are you going in such an all fired hurry?" you ask. Olympic National Forest. Hoh River to Third Beach trail, with a few others being eyed as day hikes. I have until May to get myself back into prime packing physique. That means dropping roughly 30lbs (was 40 but I dropped 10 from stress this week, lol) and regaining the ability to carry a 30+lb pack on my back. A fair trade off for a week plus alone in the wild.

Oh the blissful peace and solitude, hours and hours of walking with the waves crashing on the beach and the sounds of the forest all around...sigh...is there any better piece of heaven on Earth?

I've never done a real solo trek before, so it should be highly interesting to say the least. Plus I've picked a place leagues away from home...even more interesting, eh?

At any rate, if there are any serious packers around (or even the not so serious), give me links to some of your favorite gear...I am swamped here!