Are you prepared for the worst case scenario?

If you read my last few blog posts then you will see that I am working toward becoming the person that I want to be and on being a better wife, mother and all around better person. I am working on changing several aspects of my life right now. My main goals are on becoming healthier, (i.e. more active, eat healthier and in the long run a thinner, more toned body) and becoming more organized and prepared for what life throws at me. I have found that I am more cranky and ill with my family  when I am feeling the pressure, on a deadline and/or feeling overwhelmed and like I have no control over my life. I also become very emotional when I am over tired and/or haven't gotten a good night's sleep.  I tend to lash out at those around me and I don't like who I am during those times.  Therefore I know that I will be much happier if I can get my house organized and get myself on a great routine so that I don't feel overwhelmed by small schedule changes.

The next change that I want to make is to become better prepared for emergencies (all kinds from natural disasters to health issues and financial hardships) so that I know my family is taken care of no matter what. I am not a doomsday prepper.  I didn't freak out with Y2K and certainly didn't think the world was going to end in 2012. However, I have mentioned in past blog posts that I think most of us are too reliant on stores and the current availability of supplies and we take for granted things that only a generation ago they had to do themselves.

In a way I started working on these skills at a very young age. My parents taught me to be a problem solver and find creative solutions to problems we ran across. My Father taught us to use power tools and build and fix things.  I can use a drill press, a table saw, and other power tools better then some men I know. Right after I got married and had our first child, I decided that I wanted to be able to sew her clothes and used the basic skills my Mother taught me. I expanded my knowledge and was able to teach myself enough to teach others to sew and to create pretty much anything from fabric including curtains, clothes, costumes and even bridal and special occasion wear.

As I have gotten older I have realized that I don't JUST want to learn how to do something. I like to understand why it works, other ways to do the same thing, and any other uses. I love to learn new things and expand on my knowledge.  I have now made candles, made my own paper, grew many a garden, started plants from cuttings, made home made bread, canned my own jelly, built small pieces of furniture like shoe shelves, refinished second-hand furniture and much much more.

I am starting a whole new direction now. I am leaning more and more toward the self-reliant area of homesteading and survivalism.  I want to be prepared. My family experienced Hurricane Hugo in 1989 first hand and we had no power for at least 10 days. In the last decade I have seen major hurricanes hit New Orleans and New York, tsunamis and major earth quakes hit other countries, and snow storms and ice have shut down many a city over the years. There are forest fires, flooding, terrorism, that displace people every day from their normal lives. I don't want to over react or go overboard. I won't have a huge warehouse or storage full of supplies and weapons, but I want to be able to take care of my own family in the event of a catastrophe.  I want to pass on skills to my children and grandchildren that they can use to prepare for themselves in the future.

So with that being said, my blog will have many more posts of that nature coming up.  Stay tuned and come back often if you want to learn new things of the survival nature as well.