One Experience With Coupons

This list is just a fraction of one trip to my local Harris Teeter. I am posting this to show that coupon-clipping (a.k.a. couponing) is NOT a waste of time. I am also going to clue you in on some new rules for couponing at Harris Teeter that I found out from my cashier and another coupon buddy at the register.

This is only a partial list because I picked up some other things too, so my savings kind of disappeared with the purchase of those extra items. These are the best deals from my trip to Harris Teeter that I just got back from not an hour ago (the groceries are still sitting on my kitchen counter).

Harris Teeter is running a Triple Coupon Special this week only!*
*according to their add
They will double all coupons up to .99 cents. (In other words, if you have a coupon for .99 cents off, you end up getting 2.97 off)
You are limited to 20 Tripled coupons per day. You can use other coupons too (like ones over .99 cents, and they don't count towards your 20) You can stack a store coupon with a manufacture's or printed coupon.

Okay, now on to the Best Deals of the Day. I got these items using the list at Southern Savers. I will be making another trip either Friday Night or Saturday using my list from The Grocery Game. I will post the results from that trip as well. (posted on the Facebook page)

On to the Deals

1) 1 small bottle Franks RedHot Sauce regular price - $1.25 Final Price - FREE with 25 cents overage*
*this was the only bottle left on the shelf in this size. I am definitely NOT the only coupon clipper in my town!

2) 2 large bottles Franks RedHot& Sweet Sauce reg. price for 2 $5.78 Final Price $1.39 each ($2.78/2)

3) 1 small container McCormick Whole Cloves reg. price 6.19 sale price $2.99 Final Price .74 cents

4) 1 small container McCormick Ground Mustard reg. price $2.95 Final Price .7o cents

5) 1 small container McCormick Paprika reg. price $2.19 Final Price FREE with .06 cents overage

6) 1 regular size container McCormick Ground Cinnamon reg. price $2.95 sale price $1.47 Final Price FREE with .78 cents overage

7) McCormick Garlic Powder reg price $2.99 Final Price .74 cents

8) 4 Crest 6.4 oz Toothpaste reg. price $2.99 Final Price .74 cents each ($2.96 for 4)

9) 3 Oral-B Advantage Plus Adult Toothbrushes reg. price for 3 $9.57 sale price for 3 $8.07 Final Price for 3 $1.32 (.44 cents each)

10) Zantac 75, 10 Tablet package. reg price $5.49 clearance markdown price - $1.87 Final Price .37 cents!!**
** I did not have a coupon for this on me, but there was a $1.50 off coupon stuck to the front of the package! Talk about luck! (the really funny part...I NEVER use to get heartburn, until my DH got me hooked on Monster Energy Drinks. I love the original ones, but they double me over with heart-burn. Not anymore!)

I bought more items than this, but these were the best deals. The true idea behind stockpiling is to only buy what's on sale for rock-bottom prices and wait for the other stuff, but when you need something, you need something.
If you are new to couponing and/or stockpiling , I urge you to check out the following websites:
www.southernsavers.com
www.stockpilingmoms.com
www.thegrocerygame.com

These are just a few. There are many many good ones out there. There are a few listed in my favorites on the Facebook page. For those of you who think coupons is a waste of time here's the breakdown on the purchases listed above.
Total Price - $51.32 (without tax)
Final Price - $ 8.52 (without tax)

Total Savings is $42.80, which translates to 83%. I will get better at this. You will too if you are just getting started. Once you have a stockpile built up, you won't have to buy those extra items because you will have gotten them in large amounts when they were at their cheapest (or pretty darn close).


*New rules at Harris Teeter - per my cashier and a highlighted note taped to the checkout counter
The coupon must match the item EXACTLY!
Example: I was buying Crest Toothpaste. I had 5 of them, but only 4 of 1 kind of coupon, and 1 of another. The 1 that was different had a picture on it of Crest Pro-Health. The coupon specifically said "Good for 75 cents off ANY ONE Crest Toothpaste 4.0 oz or larger. But because it had the picture on their of Crest Pro-Health, and I was buying Crest Tarter Control/Whitening, they would not let me use it. I told her just to take it off. Keep this in mind when shopping here.

*Another new rule - Maybe. I was told that Harris Teeter is now only allowing 3 coupons for a like product. That being said, I bought 4 of the same kind of toothpaste today, and was able to use all 4 coupons to go with them. (I was going to buy 5, but, well, see above.) **This is, in fact, a new rule. Limit to 3 like items with coupons, and 2 for internet coupons**

Do You Suffer from SFMS?

SFMS is hard to deal with it, for everyone involved. It is irritating and heartbreaking all at the same time. It can ruin a trip, disrupt a dinner, kill a romantic evening like the smallest tiniest bug. So what is SFMS?

Screaming For Mommy Syndrome.

There, I've got it out. Acceptance is the first step. We are suffering, in our house, from a bad case of Screaming For Mommy Syndrome. I can't go to the grocery store, the mailbox, even the kitchen for coffee without my son throwing a fit. Sometimes to the point of turning blue**. I feel bad leaving him (even to get coffee, which is only 10 ft away). The look on his cute little face says "why are your leaving me?" and I just melt.

But I have to get stuff done (and I have to have my coffee in the morning, or I am not able to muster up my usual cheerful disposition). So what's a mom to do? Sometime I break down and just pick him up. I carry him while making coffee (YES, I am careful). I have taken him shopping with me and left the girls to take care of Ryan, I mean, left the girls with Ryan...

All of my kids have gone through this stage, and the length of it has always been different. I don't really remember our oldest having a hard time with this. Maybe for a month or two. Our middle child was like this from the time she was born almost until she turned 2. She's still very much a Mommy and Daddy's Girl (they both are, actually).

I should have expected this. I know that. This is my third round in this rodeo, after all. But it doesn't matter how many times you've done it. It's still a new experience because every child is different.

If you are going through this same thing, know that you are not alone. There are many mothers (and fathers, grandparents, etc) around the world who themselves are also trying to cook dinner, find crayons, drink coffee, feed the dogs, check the laundry, and soothe a baby all at the same time. That is the only consolation I can offer.


**a child screaming until they turn funny shades of pink, purple, and yes sometimes a tinge of blue, is perfectly normally. the worst thing that can happen is they pass out and then wake back up. this is a quote from my children's doctor.

Overcoming the Black Thumb

That time of year has rolled around again. Time to dust off the shovels, sharpen the spades, dig the gloves out from the bottom of whatever drawer they got tossed into. Spring is finally here and I am ready. I know what some of you are thinking. Spring?!? It's still snowing! Well, not where I live. It was in the 70's today, but for the last few nights, we've had frost on the ground. Go figure. That's SC weather for you.
This will be our third summer in this house. We have done a garden every year since we moved in. Not very successfully, but we have tried.

The first summer we went all out. Spending hour upon hour out in the back yard digging beds and planting seeds. Spreading compost, kelp, bone meal, blood meal, just about anything we could get our hands on that we knew would help the plants. Even with all that work, we still didn't get a lot of return. We have had a few crops that do well here (or that we do well with, I guess I should say). Garlic, rosemary, mint, and chives. Not saying we didn't harvest anything from our previous ventures, but it wasn't near enough to compensate for all the money we spent and time we put in.

This year we are doing things a little differently. First of all, I am in charge of the garden this year. In the past, it has been a joint effort, but this year it is up to me. I do the seed ordering, read the books, work the beds; hubby and the kids help out (sometimes it more like hubby is helping out with the kids while I work on the garden).

We finally got the first seeds in the ground today. I have been wanting to do this for a while. I got the itch the day I opened the mailbox to find my yearly catalog from Baker Creek Seed Co. I absolutely love their catalogs, and their seeds are excellent quality (plus they always throw in at least 1 free pack). If you are looking for rare and/or heirloom seeds, they are the people to go to. There are other companies you could order from, some are good, some are not. For reviews of garden suppliers, check out Dave's Garden.

As I was saying, we got some seeds in the ground today. But I am getting ahead of myself. I started thinking about the garden when I was ordering my seeds. The first thing I did was go through and see what seeds I had left from previous years. Boy that was a surprise. I could not believe how many packets of seeds we had left. I felt good and guilty at the same time. Good because I knew we hadn't wasted all the money from previous years because we had seed left over, and guilty because we had spent all that money on seeds/supplies and not used them. So I thinned out my order from Baker Creek (actually managed to cut it in half, just by deleting duplicates of stuff I already had), and I waited. Then the seeds arrived...followed by what seemed like an eternity of rain. Our front yard was one giant mud hole for weeks. But, like the movie said, it can't rain all the time.

It finally started to dry out this weekend, so outside we went. The previous years garden spot is so overgrown there are plants taller than me, the blueberries are being choked out by grass, and the old bed by the fence was nothing but bare spots and some random weeds. The latter is where I decided to start. It would be easy (I thought) to just turn over that bed, turn in some compost, and get things a'growin'. Well, it wasn't as easy as I remembered.

I haven't picked up a shovel since last summer, and the ground was still technically too wet to be worked. But, that's not going to stop me. I have so much stubborn in my blood I could win an argument with a hurricane. So I spent WAY more time that would have been necessary prepping that bed. Had I waited a couple more days, I probably could have gotten it done in half the time, but who wants to wait (and besides, I could use the exercise). First things first. Turn over the bed. I started with removing the big pieces of sod and patches of weeds. That stuff got tossed into the "in use" compost bin. Next, turning the bed. This is the part that would have been much easier had I waited a few days. Wet dirt is heavy dirt, hence it requires more energy to move it (or flip it over). I spent about an hour working the bed. It was low 60's outside, and by the time I was done I was sweating.

Day 2, go back out. The ground is a little dryer than before, so another round of turning is in order. Also, it's time to add the amendments. We live in swamp land, so the soil here is a (bad) combination of sand, heavy clay, and gumbo. My choice this year, since this bed has been used in the past and has had multiple applications of natural amendments already added to it, was to do something simple. The only 2 things I added were bio-char and compost. Bio-char is partially burned organic matter. This adds carbon to the soil, helping to keep things in balance. We made this by partially burning some small pieces of seasoned wood and a huge wheel-barrow load of brush from the old garden. The compost came from the "finished" bin. (we have 2 compost bins, 1 "in use' bin and 1 "cooking/finished" bin). I added about a wheel-barrow full of that as well. These were turned into the bed and left to sit (and dry) for another night.

Day 3, finally time to plant! I get so excited when it's time to plant. So much work goes into prepping the beds, this is one of my favorite steps (my most favorite is the harvesting part). I decided to try peas, which we have never grown before. Those went along the fence all the way down. I think I counted 35 plants. In front of the peas, in perpendicular rows went lettuce, radishes, carrots, and beets. I will sow successive plantings of the peas, lettuce, radishes, and carrots. Not sure on the beets, because I have never grown them before and I have no idea how long they take to mature or really what kind of weather they need. This is a beginner's mistake, but you can't always get everything right. :)

That's about it for now. I will keep everyone posted on this little project. Hopefully the third time will be the charm. Also to come, some posts on gardening with children. The girls and I are going to start our (my) medicinal herb garden in pots on the porch, so I will definitely make note of how that turns out.
Happy gardening everyone.

Wonders From Wal-Mart

I braved the cold today and took all 3 kids to Wal-Mart with me. I normally avoid this at all costs, but we needed stuff and I had coupons that were going to expire, so I went for it. First I got lucky and found a cart with the 2 seats for the girls, so I could put Archer in the buggy (or shopping cart, I know, depending on where you live, buggy has a whole different meaning).
Then the first wonder happened. I was standing in the back of the make-up section, trying not to block half the aisle, and this woman walks up to me. As a mom, I am used to this. Old ladies come up and ooh and ahh over the baby and "such pretty little girls". This woman, however, was not one of those ladies. She came up and asked me, with a rather haughy tone, if all three of "those kids" were mine. I said "yes ma'am they are" and...here's the kicker...she said "and you're pregnant again, good lord". Here's where the Wonder comes in. I actually said "no ma'am, we're not having anymore" instead of what I really wanted to say, and you can use your imaginations on that one.
The second Wonder is one of a different sort. Over the last few years I have experienced this a few times. At first I found it rather awkward, but now, I just go with it.
As I was walking towards the cleaning section, this woman came up behind me and asked me to stop. She said she had been trying to catch me since I left the medicine section. I thought maybe she was going to say something about what had just happened. Instead, she pulled out 3 gold dollars. She apologized that they weren't the new shiny ones. Then she gave me the gold dollars and told me, and the kids, that they were for their piggy bank, and that they needed to save their money. She then told me how she had grown up in the depression and how her mother had lost everything by putting her money in the bank. I have heard this story almost every time this has happened. Other times it was just that whoever it was grew up poor. They know the value of saving, and they want to teach to the younger generation.
I think it is great when knowledge and traditions are passed down. I, and my children especially, are very grateful for this generosity. These people, out of nowhere, for no reason other than their own will, have trusted their hard earned money into the hands of children. This puts into the hearts of the parents the will to teach their children well, in hopes of doing the deed justice. That's my theory anyway. And that's what I plan to do with it. In the past, I have let the kids get candy or whatever with their gift. But from this day forward, those dollars (or quarters, or whatever) will go straight into a piggy bank, so when it gets full the kids can decide what to do with it (with a little help from mom and dad).

Tips on Living with Children

Some of you know me, and know that my husband and I have 3 kids, ages 4, 3, and almost 8 months. Things are chaotic around our house at best. Very seldom is there a quiet moment when nobody needs or wants anything.
If you are lucky enough to have (or smart enough to have planned) a generous age gap between your kids, then things may go a little more smoothly than they do for us.
With all the kids so close in age, things are constantly in motion at our house. There are always clothes on the laundry room floor to be washed, always clothes on the bed (or bedroom floor) to be folded. If the dishes are clean in the dishwasher, that's just as good as being clean in the cabinet.
Some of you may think this slack. That's fine. We all have different visions of what we want our homes to be like. I'm less concerned with how our home looks as I am with the Happiness content. As long as everyone is happy (within reason...ie: "no, you can't put applesauce on the dog, no you can't have ice cream while you're taking a bath, no you can't put mud on your baby brother...") then I'm happy. Even if we are never actually caught up, close enough is good enough for me.

Other things that have helped save our sanity these last 5 years are:

~never buying new furniture - it's gonna get drawn on, stuff spilled on it, possibly broken by someone jumping on it...don't waste your money and wait til the kids get older before you invest in this. in the mean time, hit the thrift stores,yard sales, freecycle, and craigslist; you'll save money and your sanity when you kids are eating their popsicles on the couch you just brought home.

~making the kids eat breakfast - trust me, if you want to find out exactly how long and how loud a toddler can scream, get up late for an appointment and have them "eat" in the car. (a pop tart is not breakfast, I don't care what the commercials say, and yes I am guilty of passing these awful sugar coated sugar pastries off as breakfast) kids need to sit at the table in the morning and eat a well balanced breakfast. They need protein to start the day. I have done little experiments with this and have noticed that my kids behavior greatly improves when they eat something like yogurt or oatmeal and fruit for breakfast as opposed to cold sugary cereal or poptarts.

~setting a routine/finding your current routine (I hate this one) - this is, quite possibly, the worst one for me. I am random. I can admit this. It is really hard for me to go by a written routine. I just can't bring myself to do it. I always get distracted and sidetracked. But then I thought about it. We do have a routine. We get up, eat breakfast, watch some cartoons, run errands, we have meals at roughly the same time every day, we have play time, we have "daddy days" when my husband is off (those days are normally spent outside). We don't have a set bedtime for the kids. They go to bed when they are tired. I have yet to see forcing them to their rooms make them go to sleep any faster. Find your routine and try to stick to it as much as possible. If your kids are comfortable in their everyday, then they'll be less likely to pitch a fit when things are a little off.

~(almost) never buying new clothes - I'm not saying you can't go shopping, I'm saying, change where you shop. Get up early on a Saturday morning and grab a paper. Go to every yard sale advertising children's products (and a couple for yourself). If you take $75 with you, you could theoretically stock up on clothes for the next year or two (I will buy stuff that is 2-4 sizes too big if the price is right. It doesn't take up much space at the top of the closet). Kids grow up fast. Some stuff you buy, they will never wear. Other stuff (usually the nice stuff) they will decide is the best play outfit in the world and will ruin with marker/mud/crayon/soap/food coloring. Do your wallet and your mind a favor and buy some gently loved clothing for your gently loved bundle of joy (no matter how old they are).

Hope these tips/thoughts helped you. If you have any you would like to add, leave them in a comment or on the Facebook page.

Book Review - Poems for the Short-Term Memory

I know I promised this review last week, but that's how life goes with kids.
Poems for the Short-Term Memory is a book of poetry by Robert Fraser. It is a good read, if not always an easy one. But I don't like easy reads. If that was what I wanted, I have a hundred kids books in the playroom I could go to. This book is deeper than that. And I am glad of it.
Works like "Antique Pocket Watch, Part 2" , "Rhyme of Reason", and "Poem in Blues Major" are wake-up calls and reflections on the world around us. The whole book is like that.
If you have done anything in your life more exciting than pumping gas, then you will find something in this book to relate to. It is an interesting read, even more so after a couple Kahlua snow cones. I'll admit, I had to read some of them through a few times before they sank in, but that's what good poetry is about. It makes you think. Brings you out of your shell to, if not experience, then at least notice the world around you. Robert has done just that.
I am looking forward to reading his second book, "Mountains the Size of my Fist".

If you would like to purchase a copy of "Poems for the Short-Term Memory", just click the title, it will take you to amazon. Please purchase this product new, so Mr. Fraser will receive the royalties he deserves.

Thoughts and Prayers

This is sort of a forward from a friend. She lost her father recently, so I am asking all of you to send some prayers her way. She posted this collection of quotes, and I was so moved by the ones she chose, I had to share them with you.

When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced.
Live your life so that when you die,
the world cries and you rejoice.

-Cherokee Expression


"I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time."

-Jack London


Love the earth and sun and animals,
Despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks,
Stand up for the stupid and crazy,
Devote your income and labor to others...
And your very flesh shall be a great poem.

-Walt Whitman


"This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind...let it be something good."

-Unknown


You must be the change that you wish to see in the world.

-Mahatma Gandhi


Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.

-Mother Teresa

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

I don't normally do these kinds of posts, but I thought today it fit.

"WHY WE SHOULD ALWAYS PRACTICE PROPER TOOL SAFETY"

(2 days later)

Vinegar. Don't Cheap Out!!

Okay, I have noticed this recently, and it is starting to bug me. The grocery stores in my area are getting pretty slack in stocking brand name vinegar. I know, they want to sell their store brand, to make a little more money, but is that little bit of extra money really worth forgoing the slotting fees companies pay to have their products on the shelves, and cost to our environment?
How does this affect our environment? Simple, most (if not all) store brand vinegars are made from petroleum. Yep, the same stuff they use to make gas for your car, Vaseline, plastics, and many additives in the food you eat and the medicine you take. Pretty gross, huh?
When buying vinegar (or anything, for that matter) check to make sure it's a natural product. Natural vinegar is made from grains (or apples, in the case of apple cider vinegar). This is the stuff you want. Yes, it can be a little more expensive, especially when all the grocery store will carry are the super small bottles of the natural stuff (for $3.98) and then the gallon size in the store brand only (for $2.00).
I know times are hard, people are out of work, and money is tight all around. But think about what you are really paying for. When you buy synthetic products, you are saving money, but the Earth suffers in return.
Do you want the planet to still be habitable when your grandkids are growing up? If you do, then buy vinegar made from grains (or apples) and when buying ANYTHING, check the label. Do your part (even if it's a small one) and buy natural products!

Peace and love,
from the swamps of the PeeDee

Canned Peaches, 5 months later...

Some of you may have seen my post on my first canning experience. I canned peaches and okra. The okra was an epic fail. I ended up having to call my cousin and tell him to toss the jar I gave him, because I didn't think I did it right, and didn't want him (or his little girl) to get sick. This was so embarrassing. And that got me wondering...did I do the peaches right?
Fruit, and tomatoes, are easier to can, because they are high acid produce. Low acid fruits and veggie's require a little more work. If you are just starting out, I would suggest starting easy, do tomatoes, or fruit. Be careful with these too, though. Some of the newer, hybrid tomatoes do not have the acid content that the older varieties have, so you may need to add vinegar to the mix to bring the acidity up. (Please check you books on this, because I am no expert, and these are not intended to be exact directions.)
Now, on to the peaches. I was a little concerned about it, so they sat in our pantry. Until this past week. Money was a little short, so we were eating from the pantry instead to going to the store once a week for fresh stuff. My girls are fruit addicts. So they kept bugging me about fruit, fruit, and more fruit. So, out came the peaches.
My husband was the guinea pig for this experiment. He knew I was a little concerned, so he did the first test taste. And he didn't get sick! I DID IT RIGHT!! Yay!
One thing I noticed with the peaches is that the ones at the top of the jar started to discolor a little. Not sure if it's because I didn't use a heavy syrup, or maybe I just didn't put enough syrup in the jars. But, discolored or not, the peaches have been a life saver (by reducing tantrums, and saving us some money) and a welcome comfort. Warm spiced peaches on warm bread (either warmed up, or homemade) is a wonderful treat on a cold winter day (which we have had many of this year).
So, my canning advice for beginners is: start with something easy. Do your homework before you begin. And, if you suspect a problem, just toss the stuff. It may seem like a big loss, what with all the produce and the time involved, but it would be a much bigger loss if you or someone you loved got sick from something you canned.
Here is a link explaining the main risk in canned foods. canningpantry.com/botulism
One of the most powerful natural toxins is botulism. This is the bacteria that can grow in honey (hence, not giving honey to kids under the age 1, a rule we have broken and never had problems with, but we use local honey from a trusted supplier) and in improperly canned food. Read up on it. Educate yourself. And then, start getting your equipment together, because canning season isn't that far away!
Happy Gardening!

I got an award! :) Paying it Forward Feels So Good!

**The Splash Award!**

First, I must apologize, because I received this award a few days ago, and have not said anything about it. Want to say a BIG thank you to I am NOT a VOLCANO for this award.
I am a new recipient of the Splash Award! Go me!
I am so grateful to receive this, to know that my blog is being noticed, and more so to be able to pass it on to other blogger's out there.

The Rules:
Put the logo on your blog/post.
-Nominate up to 9 blogs which allure, amuse, bewitch, impress or inspire you.
-Let them know that they have been splashed by commenting on their blog.
-Remember to link to the person from whom you received your Splash Award.

This took some work, because there are some great blogs out there. It was hard to pick, but here it is.

My nominees for the Splash Award are:

Modern Mom of How to Survive Life in the Suburbs

Tamara of The (UN)Experienced Mom

Shelley of Shelley's Swag

StockpilingMom and Stockpiling4US of Stockpiling Moms

Neva of Mostly Flummoxed

These women have put together some great blogs. I am a stay at home mom, I love coffee, and I love to save money, so that is why I chose the ones I did.
When you get a chance, check out their blogs, and you'll see why I love reading them.

Knives for Women...Suggestions Please!

Ok, so I used a BK7 today for the first time. Can't say I liked it. It worked fine, but the handle is huge! Way to big for my hands. Used a RAT3 too, and it is great! I love it! But don't think it would be my tool of choice for chopping. Looking for a good machete type knife, long heavy blade, full tang, but with a small handle. Any suggestions?? Maybe a RAT5 or 6. Anybody got experience with these? How big are the handles? Are there any bushcrafting women reading this? Would love to hear from you!
Thanks in advance.

Favorite Quotations

Since my facebook favorite quotes is getting kind of long, I decided to do a blog post on it. I will be doing these occasionally. Feel free to add your own favorites on my Facebook page. :)
**note - I cannot guarantee the authors on all of these. Some are status updates from friends on Facebook, others, just stuff I like**

There Are Eyes That See But Say Nothing At All..There Are Ears That Hear But They Don't Recall..In This City Of Ours. So We Followed Your Man Back To Your Front Door And We're Waiting For You Outside, 'cos Not Everybody Here Is Scared Of You. Not Everybody Passes On The Other Side. No Police, No Summons, No Courts Of Law.. And We Could Spent Our Whole Lives Waiting For Some Justice To Be Done.Unless We Make Our Own. - via Jeff G.

talk is cheap because supply exceeds demand - Jen G.

“Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach" - Tom Robbins (via - Jen G.)

Luck favors the prepared. - The Incredibles

“Cleaning and scrubbing can wait for tomorrow,
For babies grow up, I’ve learned, to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust, go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby, and babies don’t keep.”
Author Unknown (via Tabitha D.)

its not a cry that you hear at night, its not somebody who's seen the light. its a cold and its a broken hallelujah. - Leonard Cohen

more to come. hope you enjoyed these. leave your favorite quotes on my facebook page! I would love to hear from you.

Peace and Love,
from and swamps of the PeeDee

Got Gear?

I've been doing the happy dance all afternoon. A good friend dropped off a couple presents for me and my husband today. We each got a misch metal ferro rod with antler handle and a key chain pill case with cotton balls saturated with Vaseline already inside.
Some of you are not familiar with bushcraft. I know I mentioned gear in "Me and My Multitool". Well, as it turns out, women (at least, this one) like gear too. I love the art of bushcraft, but I am not very good at it, yet. I can build a shelter, I know a few wild edibles where I live, and can start a fire with a Bic, but that's about it.
Not anymore. I have now started my gear collection, and will continue to put together my kits.
Kits, you say. Why do you need more than one? Well, most bushcrafter's have their EDC (every day carry) kit, and then a bigger kit for when they go out into the woods (or into the bush, hence the name, bushcraft). This is not just camping. You don't carry a cooler, you (most of the time) don't carry a tent. You definitely aren't sleeping in an RV. Bushcraft is more along the lines of "tribal knowledge". Old ways of doing things. This is not ultralight backpacking, it's not normal camping.
So far, the only gear I have is a small multi-tool, my new ferro rod, and my vaseline/cotton ball filled pill case. I do not, as of yet, have a pack or a decent knife. I will continue to post as my gear collection and my knowledge base grows. When I learn something new, I will share it (failures and all).
I'm know some of you are wondering why I made this post. Honestly, I just wanted to brag a little. I'm so happy to finally have some gear to call my own, and will be much happier when I have mastered it...though, I'm sure, that is a long time coming.
I plan on getting my pack at the flea market. Just going to start with a used alice pack. Got my eye on a couple different knives. One I am definitely getting for my EDC is the Blind Horse Knives Patch Knife. Got to find an ankle sheath for it. If any of you out there know where I might find one of these, please let me know. Also, looking for suggestions on a good knife for my pack (I am looking to get a big chopper, and a smaller fixed blade utility knife {think RAT3 - the old style, before it was RC-3}). I like the RAT3 because the handle is short, and fits my hand well, and it is good quality. I would like to find a chopper with a smaller handle, but still good quality, full tang, carbon steel, etc.
Please share your comments/suggestions here or on my Facebook page.
Peace and Love!
from the swamps of the PeeDee

PS - I would not know any of this information if my husband had not become obsessed with Mr. Dave Canterbury 2 years ago, when he started watching the Pathfinder videos on YouTube. So, a big thanks go out to my husband, Ryan, and to Mr. Dave, for sharing his knowledge, and helping us all learn together. Also, a big thank you goes out to Ken for my new gear, and to all the other Pathfinders who have become friends and have shared their knowledge with us all.
*Two is one, one is none.* -Dave Canterbury.

Midwives for Haiti

Had to share this. Found it on Facebook. Here's a quote from the Facebook page:

Haiti has the worst maternal mortality rate in the Western Hemisphere. Midwives for Haiti is a non-profit that is changing that by training skilled birth attendants in Haiti to save the lives of mothers and babies.

Company Overview:

American nurse-midwives and other health professionals donate time in Haiti (and fund-raise in the US) to support the program. We train Haitian midwives in basic skills in 6-12 months. M4H now has Haitian staff, textbooks in Creole, and collaborates with other Haitian organizations. We are a baby non-profit, but we are growing!
Board members include Terrie Glass, Stephen Eads, Ken Heatwole, Jessica Jordan, Brenda Burgess, Stephanie Shareck Werner

Mission:

Reduce maternal mortality and improve the health of women and infants in Haiti by training skilled birth attendants.

Products:

Our vision: All Haitian women will have access to prenatal care and deliver with the assistance of a skilled birth attendant.

If you are able to donate, please do so. With the recent tragedies in Haiti, this is needed more than ever. Click the link above for more information, and/or to donate.