Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Christmas Eve

Well, looks like we've made it to another birthday for Jesus (not the Mexican one), and the world hasn't slipped into a total mess. Granted, half the world is at war, barely surviving, oppressed and enslaved, and/or starving.


Let's be thankful for the handful of people that we can call friends, you know, the ones that will help you move into a house. Let's be thankful that we are in the United States. Let's be thankful for Christ's birthday, and His selflessness on the cross. Let's be thankful for our children, and their tender hearts, their joy, their laughs, and their love. Let's be thankful for our internet bloggers, and friends. Let's be thankful for food on our table, and friends to share it with. Let's be thankful for the things we have, and the things we don't have.



Merry Christmas and we hope your day is one to remember,
-K, Sweetheart, Row, Red Ant with Pincers, and The Doctor

And Keep Prepping!!!

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

My Thoughts To A Tee

 In case you missed it, this was on survivalblog a few days ago, and it expresses my sentiment for prepping. When we acquire the land, we'll move into the sustainer category of preparedness.

 

The Case For Being A Prepper, by Quilliam Franklin

"My Responsibility: In the end, I feel that it is my responsibility to take care of my family. I hope and pray for continued peace and prosperity. My hope is that I never need the skills and supplies that go along with being a Prepper, but it would be naïve of me to ignore and do nothing to prepare for some of the uncertainties that I have listed in this article (and ones I did not list). Let me share some of my worst fears with you that really drove me all the way into being a Prepper. The first is that all or part of my family is killed (or worse) during a disaster scenario. The second thing that scares me is what I might be willing to do for my family. 

Here is a hypothetical situation I thought of at the very beginning of my Prepper journey. Imagine I am the normal suburban guy who loves his family but is not very prepared for a disaster. Then, some sort of disaster strikes. Imagine my family and I start to go hungry. I am generally a good, Christian guy, and I tried to find food for my family in a fair way, but since food is scarce for everyone I do not have enough to get by for me and my family. Would I be willing to look my wife and kids in the eye and tell them that they have to starve because I did not prepare when I had the chance? Would I be willing to turn to robbery, or to murder, to stop my family from dying of starvation? What if this also meant ruining my own chance of salvation? Honestly, in this hypothetical situation, I am not sure what I would do. My gut tells me that I would do almost anything before I let my family die.
This scenario made me realize that if a good, Christian person would be willing to do extreme things to help his/her family, what would others with less moral convictions be willing to do? I decided that I should prepare now, while I have the chance, so that this hypothetical situation would never have the possibility of being acted out."

Keep Right On Prepping -K

Monday, December 22, 2014

Food For Thought...



Which leads to this meme....




Happy Holidays - K. I gotta put gas in the car...

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

In The Home Stretch

I've finished my Interventional Radiology I course with an....






Iosua and I are studying the flashcards that I made from the quizzes. We both need about 90 something points to get a B. After dinner, we studied in the dining room and expressed the same sentiment, we're okay with a C in Geriatric Imaging because it'll still weigh out to a 3.0 GPA.


Santa was able to find the Nerf LongStrike gun for Red Ant. He'll be so excited. He has talked about this gun for over a year, and Ant is absolutely sure that Santa is gonna bring it for him. He's right.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Infamy

December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy --
 


Granddad,

For serving America during it's time of need, without reservation, without remorse, without fear, You were "The Greatest Generation".

Thursday, December 4, 2014

This Year's Christmas Tree


This year's Christmas tree is up, and Yoda is this year's tree topper. Sweetheart got outvoted this year, and it reluctantly went on top. Our house is getting geared towards the holidays, and it got me to thinking. What gifts can you give this year to the non-prepper, that unbeknownst to them is actually a prepping item? I'm thinking ammo, books on hobbies that they enjoy (woodworking, gardening, etc...), backpacking items, or offering to video tape their house contents in case of a fire/burglary/tornado with the flashdrive staying at your house.

What are your ideas for your non-prepper family members?

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

What's Happening In my Woods

School - I'm buckling down for finals next week. I'll have a stack of Geriatric Imaging flashcards higher than a tallboy by the time I'm done on Sunday evening. I usually do pretty well on her tests, considering I only have to memorize about 700 quiz questions, of which she'll ask 100 or more. I need a 91% or higher to claim a B in her class. I'm happy with that, considering that listening to her lectures is like running over broken glass and the amount of time that I invested.


What's the correct answer? Answer at bottom of post.

My other class, Intervascular Radiology I, is going well. I have a 95%, and hope to keep it after the final exam. I want to graduate with High Honors for my Bachelor of Science in Radiography.  The eleven page study guide has been complete for a few days, and shared with my study mate.

Silver - I went to my local coin shop on Saturday when silver was at $15.50/ounce and asked for 4 Silver Eagles. "How about $100?" I mentioned to him that we had an agreed upon price of $5.00 over spot, that he had agreed to about four months ago. He kind of chuckled and said that he wouldn't be able to cover what he bought it for. "With the money that I'm paying you today, you can reorder at today's prices to replenish your stock and still make a profit." Then out of nowhere, a co-worker told me that they "don't make sales based on spot prices." I told them that it was their choice, collected my cash, and walked out the door. It looks like I'll be hitting the pawn shops for the junk silver now.

Work - I am officially out of the probation phase at work. The senior tech has been very good about teaching me, and helping with my technique. We'll sit down about once a week, and go over my scans, and assess them for quality control. The only down side to the job is that the senior tech is on medication for bipolar disorder. While he handles it pretty well, and we get along, I can see why it is hard for them to keep an evening MRI tech. The office manager has been very pleased, and has told me that this is the best situation that they have had in a long time. My review was glowing: "K came with little MRI experience. He learned so much and will continue to improve. He is an asset...K is a very quick learner." 

Kids - The Doctor is starting to sleep longer at night. The last two nights he has gone from 9pm until 5am, and the long period of sleep is a welcome to both Sweetheart and Myself. We alternate getting up to feed the Doctor, and it has worked out rather well.

Row is doing great in school, and making new friends :-)


Red Ant is making great strides in learning to read, and is making all A's in school. He has his heart set on a discontinued Nerf gun (that is selling for about $300 on Amazon) from Santa. He might get something pretty close.
Nerf Longstrike

We are also picking an ornament from the school Christmas tree, to buy a gift for a less fortunate student. Our church also does a secret Santa program for parents that need a little help buying presents for their kids. Sweetheart and I both agree that this is a great cause to invest our money into.

Prepping - We haven't done much in the way of continuing our preps. Little by little, I charged about $4000 on a credit card when I wasn't fully employed. We have gotten serious about eliminating that monthly bill, hence the prepping money has been on the back burner. I am still looking out for good deals at the grocery store though. We found our favorite coffee on sale for $3.99 (usually $6.99) and bought 8 bags. It won't go to waste.

Ammo - I am officially declaring the ammo shortage over. After two years, I found 22LR at the local Chinamart.

Limit 3 boxes. I bought 3
The answer to the quiz is e. All except d

Keep Right On Prepping - K