We put up 25 pounds of white sugar .
If you'll notice, we are stockpiling a lot of sugar for a few reasons. Sugar, if properly stored, has a very long shelf life. My future grand kids will be able to eat the sugar that we have stored this month. Sugar would be in very high demand if the economy went south, or other disruption(s) took place. Sugar and salt are both excellent preservatives that are used in large quantities in home canning. Sugar is sucrose, which is what the body needs for energy. White sugar is hard to process, but currently cheap to purchase. The long shelf life of sugar makes it an excellent investment in your food storage program.
One Tablespoon of white sugar has 45 calories, and a pound of sugar has 1,733 calories. A twenty five pound bag of sugar has enough calories (rationing at 1200 calories) for 36.1 days for one person.
We also have several bags of rice and legumes that need to be sealed. I'll be able to add some more totals to the quart canning jar amounts when we are done with the beans. We also have another 60 pounds of rice to set back into mylar bags.
*Get into better physical shape - diet and exercise.
Jan 1st : 182.2 lbs.
Feb 1st: 179.4 lbs
Mar 1st: 184.2 (Too much birthday cake!)
Apr 1st:
May 1st:
Jun 1st:
Jul 1st:
Aug 1st:
Sep 1st:
Oct 1st:
Nov 1st:
Dec 1st:
*Get better organized in the home.
We are basically trying to maintain the current level of organization. The added time taken for studying has eaten into the free time for these projects. Sweetheart was able to go through some of the clothes bags downstairs, and made some good progress towards normalcy.
*Complete some long standing projects - Kitchen and downstairs bathroom.
It looks like time is still the issue, but in all honesty, I could get off my computer more and make some headway in this category.
I found out last night that the sewer is backing up when a lot of water ( 2 baths for the boys ) is put through the system. I'll be busy this weekend. Yipee.UPDATE: I spent this morning and some of last evening taking care of the sewer line. It's fixed and without having to spend any money!
*Reorganize our food storage into a better logical format.
The canned goods area is fully stocked and still in a good order. The long term storage items could use a good cleaning and inspection. It's going on the to do list.
*Get better grades in school ( 3 A's 3 B's last semester ).
The Radiological Procedures II class is requiring a lot of time, anywhere between 15 to 20 hours per week. The exams are every Friday, which makes it hard to get ahead, but the amount of information to be digested is quite large. The professor is an older lady with 40+ years radiological experience, and she sets the standards very high for the class' performance. Her class is hard, very hard, but I think that in retrospect, that I will walk away from her classes with an above average understanding.
I scored 88% on 2/1, 104% on the 2/8, 98% on 2/15, and 93% on 2/22 exams which raises my class average from an 83% to a 90% with today's test being at half the test taken.
I scored 97% on my Radiation Exposures exam, so currently an A.
I have an A average in Radiation Exposure Lab.
I have an low A (93%) in Procedures II Lab.
I also have an A in Imaging class, with today's test not included.
*Go to the range more often with Sweetheart.
We've bought 3 boxes of 9mm ammunition, but have been unable to get out on a Sunday to the wilderness to practice shooting.
*Teach the kids new practical survival skills : outdoors skills, common sense camping
Need to teach the boys how to respond when someone knocks on the door. Security being the prime concern.
*Learn to bake better bread.
Sweetheart made some awesome homemade soft pretzels that got the thumbs up from everyone, and it has been copied into the metal recipe box for food storage recipes. I also baked 3 artisan bread loaves for homemade spaghetti night at our friend's house. The baking has slowed down, but I have really enjoyed the better tasting bread. I just wish the kids felt the same way about it.
*Pick three skills to work on with wife.
1. Shooting
2.
3.
*Be more consistent with the MRE Monday reviews.
I made 3 out of 4 reviews this Monday. So 8 for 9 total this year.
*Improve our family's water plan.
We have rotated out 3 cases of bottled water this month. The seven gallon containers also need to be rinsed and refilled.
*Do a monthly review of each for the blog to hold myself accountable.
Inspiring challenge list.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it feels like two steps forward and one step back. I guess you could call it my digital to-do list. Glad to hear from you again.
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