I have found three websites that are very beneficial: on nutrition data, conversions (the how-many-inches-in-a-mile conversion and not religious), and one with scads of random information.  Check it out on our Ready or Not #183: Conversion of This and That.

And,  have you got your water stored?

I love books for a variety of reasons — the biggest one being that I don’t have to remember everything.  I can just check the information in a book.  Read our Ready or Not #182: Emergency Preparedness Books to get a great list of helpful books that you should include in your home library.

Being prepared encompasses more than just having food to eat and shelter from the elements.  Mental and emotional preparedness is also part of it.  How prepared are you in those areas?

Read our Ready or Not #181: Finding Strength for some thoughts and insights.

(NOTE from Nina: And for all of you who personally know Dawn and know what she is going through, reach out to her. Give her words of support and encouragement. Give her a long hug. Tell her she does have the strength for all that life is throwing at her. And, give her a plate of chocolate chop cookies or some chocolate candy!)

Today we’re giving you a quiz.  It’s a simple, one question quiz.  Here’s the question:

When times get tough and you need to eat from your food storage, which of the following would you rather eat?

A. a bowl of steamed wheat with a glass of warm powdered milk
B. a cardboard tasting, reconstituted something-or-other (that you think was labeled beef stroganoff but you can’t read the label because it has faded) that you bought in a #10 can back in 1978
C. pork chops, grilled asparagus, warm brownies with creamy chocolate frosting

The correct answer is (drum roll, please) — C!

If perchance you answered either A or B, you definitely need to read our Ready or Not #59: Eat Wheat and Real Meat — and do a make-over on your mindset on what food storage is all about!

I saw the cutest idea the other day.  There was a company that was selling sunflower playhouses.  The idea was simple enough – they sold you enough sunflower seeds to plant sunflowers in a row in order to make three-four foot walls with the fourth wall that had a door opening.  How fun is that, privacy with style.

While it’s too late to plant your sunflower playhouse this season, you can plan now and get ready for next year.  Read our Ready or Not #58: Sunflower Playhouse to learn more.

Trying a new recipe — especially one that uses items from your food storage — is always fun.  Read our Ready or Not #57 Chicken Parmigiana for a new, easy, and tasty chicken dish.

It’s back to school time!  Do those words make your checkbook shudder?  I hope not.  And how do you deal with the issue of getting your kids up in the morning so they can get to school on time.

Read our Ready or Not #180:Back to School and Alarm Clocks for a tip on saving money on school clothes and for sage advice on kids and alarm clocks.

So how do you handle stress?  Not the everyday stress of regular life (chocolate takes care of that), but the out-of-the-ordinary stress?  The type of stress that doesn’t go away at the end of the day, but instead can last days, weeks, months and sometimes years.  Read some thoughts about it on our Ready or Not #179: Stress and All That Bother.