Revamping Blog and a Long Overdue Post

I'll jump right into the update starting with the youngest family member to the oldest. The Doctor, soon to be three year old, is in full terrible twos mode. He is constantly testing limits, telling us No, and generally being a two year old. He is still our sweet boy that is willing to dish out hugs and kisses at any random moment, and frequently wanting to share a sweet treat.

Beach picture (2016) run through Prisma application

Red Ant, our eight year old, has been accepted into the Gifted and Talented program within our district. This means that while in elementary school he gets "dragged out" of classes for enrichment programs three times per week. They are working with  3D printers, reverse engineering household items, and doing a business model for a candy store. He is still enrolled in Marshal's Art, and I'm really impressed with his progress and natural ability to learn the basics of martial arts.

Row, our eleven year old, is growing like a weed and excelling academically as well. He scored a 99 percentile on the ACT Aspire, which got Duke's Talent Search Department attention, and they are tracking his academic performance. A potential full ride scholarship to a well known university! We have also filled out the necessary paperwork for him to be tested for the Talented and Gifted program. All of his teachers have selected him for AP classes for his sixth grade year. He continues to draw, and has been dying to get a YouTube channel to post his own videos with his brother.

Sweetheart is still running and completed her second full Little Rock marathon this spring, and training for other various races throughout the state.

Sweetheart's Dad at our house for his birthday. (Prisma app)

Both of her parents are having health issues, and we have told my parents that they are not allowed to have any issues at this time. Her mom is having heart issues, while her father has a slew of problems mainly due to non-compliance. We are still teaching financial classes at church, and ready for our summer break.

My life has been hard to describe. After officially taking my last test, it seems surreal, that after six years, I no longer have another test or any more schooling on my schedule. I have been toying with taking the HAM radio license, and delving into iOS application programming to build an application of when to buy pantry items at their low price points.  I have already created a spreadsheet for statistical tracking of our state scratch off using limited information and extrapolating the data. Let me know if anyone is interested and I'll put a post together....

My bipolar coworker has gotten on a kick out of calling me a prepper. Either he has been looking over my shoulder which is very real considering his paranoid states or found my blog. Typically, I agree with him and try to blow him off. Yesterday, he asked if he could come bring a cot and stay with my family in the event of an emergency. "Hell no" was my first thought, but politely ran the numbers game that he would reduce our family's resources. Instead of one year's food we would only have about eight months worth. I truly wish I was able to discuss his failure as an adult to take care of himself in the event of an emergency, but that wouldn't be conducive to a good work relationship.

The future of the blog is going to revamped, edited, and trimmed of fat. There will be less frequent posting, but more content if you follow my point. The ways of Monsoon Matriarch, Pioneer Preppy, and Harry Flashman to name a few bloggers.

K and Row

Future Posts:
I still have a review of .223 ammo from Ammo To Go that needs to trip taken to our local National Forest to finish the write up.
I've also been working on roasting my own green coffee beans, and will have a post about that as well.
A small series on building your own medical kit, on the frugal, for the most common medical occurrences for an EMP event.

Clean Up

Today, I cleaned the refrigerator, inside and out. Couldn't be happier to throw away some clutter...

I'm glad the magnet is gone like last week's sweet potatoes, both need to be taken to the dump. I hope President Trump will clean up the stink in Washington DC like I cleaned my refrigerator.  

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Inflation and The Pantry

A few days ago at my local store, I found that they had my toothpaste on sale for 10 for $10. I bought five to kinda restock my reserves, but was mildly surprised when I rotated my stock. The older toothpaste, that I had bought at $1.00/tube was 6.4 ounces and the new stock was a 4 ounce tube for the same price. Talk about inflation!

We also found a great sale on closeout canned pumpkin (expires Dec 2019) from the holiday season.

At 32 cents a can, I bought 24 cans for the pantry to supplement our 16 cans left over from last year's sale.
What do we do with all this pumpkin? Sweetheart makes these honey pumpkin muffins that the boys love.


Honey Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes about 12, adapted from Whole Foods
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or white bread flour)
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp sugar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/3 cup almond milk
• 1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, wheat germ, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In a second large bowl, combine sugar, oil, honey, milk, pumpkin, egg, and vanilla.  Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
3. Pour batter into prepared muffin tins, filling 3/4 full.  Bake until cooked through and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.  Cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack, then remove from pan to set aside and cool completely.

Recipe from Eats Well with Others [LINK]

Keep Right On Prepping  - K 

Combination Locks

I like to use combination locks for our gates for a few reasons. The big one is no key to lose and common codes. Also, if another group/family member needs to access the gates without you being there, a quick call can solve the situation. No key to hide nor to be found....

I also reset the lock to zero-zero-zero-zero after I lock it up. That way is someone has tried a few combinations, chances are the no-gooder won't reset it to my code. While locks only keep honest people out, I try to make my house more difficult than the neighbors. Thieves are lazy like that....

Keep Right On Prepping - K

2016 Wrapup

Hello! It's been a long while since my last post, but I have been very busy and accomplished my major task on December 29th, 2016. I passed my national registry exam for MRI with an 85. This means that I'll be able to work anywhere in the United States as an MRI technologist. My end goal is to work at the VA providing veterans with first class care and compassion. This last test is by no means the last step in my education, as my field requires continuing education. I have jokingly told Sweetheart that I would like to get a degree in history, and add another piece of paper to my office wall. A good friend and I will be taking our  HAM radio license this year. Now, I can study for fun stuff!

The kids are growing fast. The Doctor had his first real haircut after Christmas, and lost his curls. He is two and a half, and his vocabulary is exploding. He knows most of his colors and shapes, and figures things out rather too quickly like moving the chair to reach things that he wants. We are hoping that this is an indication of his intelligence.

Red Ant with Pincers, our eight year old, has enrolled in martial arts, or Marshal's Art if you have Red Ant tell ya. He has show an interest for over a year through his after school program, and it was time to officially find him a Dojo to advance his skills. The Sensei is very good with kids, and doesn't nickle and dime the parents like ATA. Red Ant is currently being tested for the Talented and Gifted program for his school district for scoring in the 95th percentile on an abstract intelligence test given to all 2nd graders.

Row has been growing by leaps and bounds and stands at my shoulders now. He is still making all A's and made the Principal's List (again!) by the first semester. Only a few students make the list each quarter. He still shows a natural adapt at art, and encourage him to explore new formats.

Sweetheart and I will continue to co-lead our church's Dave Ramsey program to help people get out of debt and handle their finances. Sweetheart stills runs marathon and half marathons, and I'll be adding more movement to my lifestyle for a healthier me. The future of this blog will be less frequent, as I direct my energy towards more substance. I've got a series of posts in the think tank about long term hoarding, as Pioneer Preppy calls it. I'll also be doing another review for Ammo To Go on a battle pack of ammunition.

The dynamics of prepping haven't changed since a new President will be taking the reins this month, so now is not the time to become complacent. The fundamentals of our economy aren't any better, and the world seems to be spiraling into continued madness.

Keep Right On Prepping - K and Family

Go Vote

Get out and vote. We will be staying up late at our house to watch the returns and praying for our Nation.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

357 Magnum Ammo from Ammo To Go Review

The good people at Ammo To Go sent us some samples to try out and review for them.  They sent a battle pack of PMC .223 and four Federal Premium Low Recoil 357 Magnum Personal Defense (20 ct). Links are provided at the bottom of the page for your convenience.

DELIVERY:

In preparation for our review, I ordered a Plano case of 9mm before they had my contact information. This way I could get a raw assessment of their shipping and packaging department. I did opt for the additional discrete packaging for an additional 79 cents, and was impressed with the way the package concealed it's true contents. The Plano case of 9mm  was professionally packaged and delivery in great condition (just like you'd expect).

The package for review did have a cracked case on one of the boxes of the 357 magnum, but the cracked case didn't affect the ammunition in the slightest. Just rough handling on the Brown Truck. I might suggest some bubble wrap, or positioning the bottom of the box towards the outside of the box, but otherwise a flawless delivery. They also provided email updates on the status of your order and this does include a link to the shipping provider for estimated delivery date and time. For standard delivery, it took two days for both packages to arrive at my doorstop.

The Range Trip:

We were only able to review the 357 Magnum during this trip, since baby sitters only aligned with pistol cartridge day at our favorite range, Arkansas Armory. Hey! We get to go shooting again, and that makes us happy. We just might bring our two oldest boys. 

We brought several different kinds of 357 Magnum and 38 Special to compare with the Federal Premium Low Recoil 357 Magnum Personal Defense rounds. Our Smith and Wesson Pro Series Model 60 is our standard concealed carry, and these Hydra-Shok rounds are meant to be carried.

We started with standard Gold Dot 357 Magnum rounds, then switched to a 38 Special cartridge. We each ran a couple of wheels down range to get a good baseline for our comparisons, then switched to the Low Recoil test ammunition. We were hoping that the recoil from the 357 Magnum would be on par with the 38 special rounds, but were disappointed. The recoil from our Smith and Wesson (Weight: 21.4 oz / 606.7g) was more than we were expecting and perhaps a heavy revolver would help subdue, or dampen the recoil to within comfortable levels. On the flip side, you want stopping power, and these Federal Premium Low Recoil Personal Defense rounds are the bullets that you want in your gun when it's needed. The lower recoil does help get back on target a little quicker, but I'm positive that one hit and your target will be out of the fight. 

Final Thoughts:

These rounds are for things that go bump in the night. Stopping power, flawless, and the ability to get back on target for empty cylinders. 

Additional Notes:

California is trying to pass legislation to require permits for ammunition purchases to the tune of $50 for a four year permit, a background check, and a 30 day waiting period.

This election has the possibility of having another anti-gun President, so stock up on your ammo needs.

A special thanks to Maggie H. at Ammo To Go for being so gracious and allowing us to review their products. We look forward to shooting the .223 in our local national forest for another review.

LINKS:

Ammo To Go

PMC FMJ Battle Pack .223 (200 ct)

357 Federal Hydra-Shok HP Ammo - Low Recoil (20ct)

Plano Case of Blazer Brass 9mm (350ct) 

Smith and Wesson Model 60 Pro Series 357 Magnum review

Arkansas Armory 

California Infringement on Personal Defense - Ammo Legislation

Testing, Future Review, and Bulk Food Site

Just a quick note to keep my readers up to date on my adventures in life, and to drop a few tidbits. I've found a new supplier for bulk foods. I haven't ordered but the prices look really good, and thought I'd pass it along for my food storage proponents. It is called IFS Bulk, click here for a link.

I've also completed my 16 hours of continuing education to sit for the national MRI registry, and paid my $200 for the honor, over the course of seven or eight weeks. It usually takes a person 6 months to complete. I'll set my official date for testing after I jump through a few more hoops.

I've been contacted by Ammo To Go to do a review for some ammunition, and of course I accepted.

I'm shooting to get it posted before the election. Press all of your prepping budget towards the bullets side of the three Bs.

Keep Right On Prepping - K