Mystery package revealed!

Theotherryan guessed it correctly. It is an AR kit. I was hoping to have hubby help me put it together but I turned around to stir dinner and he had already put everything together that we could. We are going to go next week to get the lower reciever and then I will post pics of the finished product. (sorry about the pic, the one that I took of the barrel unwrapped didn't work on the com)

Mystery package part 3

This is a pretty good hint. Someone should be able to figure this one out.

mystery package part 2

Here is what the contents of the box look like when unpacked. Any guesses yet?

mystery package

So guys, as promised, a post more to your liking. I got a package in the mail a few days ago. Can you guess what's in it? I will post a clue a day untill someone guesses right. For a reference, those tiles are 15"x15".

The act of charity.

So recently I was able to witness a wonderful act of charity. Through the facebook grapevine I heard of a man who was diagnosed with a form of male breast cancer. He had spent many years of his life as a bishop in the LDS church and was always one to give to someone else. He was never to busy to help out. I saw letters from people whose life he had touched. His daughter-in-law took to her blog to talk about how this reputedly awesome man did not have insurance or the finances needed to procure life saving treatment. Below is an excerpt of her initial blog.

Asking for help is never an easy thing. I'm not good at it, but some things are worth leaving my comfort zone for, and this is one of them.

My father-in-law, Garth Abbott, was recently diagnosed with a very aggressive form of breast cancer called IBC (inflammatory breast cancer). This is a time sensitive matter, and he needs chemotherapy asap. He is uninsured and does not have the necessary money to pay for his treatment. In my ignorance I never realized that someone in his situation would be refused life saving treatment because he could not pay, but that is how the system works, no payment, no treatment.

Garth Abbott is no ordinary man. He has spent his life serving other people. I have watched time after time, knock on the door after knock on the door, phone call after phone call, as this man leaves what he is doing to render help. Sometimes as simple as listening to some one's problems and offering advice, picking up a stranded motorist, offering a night's stay to someone in need (often turning into multiple nights). Countless hours have been spent in service with his church and community as he has worked with the youth loving, teaching, and helping them. He and his wife are the parents of five children, and 18 grandchildren. They are also the caretakers of his 95 year old mother and his down syndrome sister. In my husband's words, "He's the best man I know, and I know a lot of great men!"

I took this story to heart after loosing so many loved ones to cancer, watching other loved ones battle it and survive, and having my own recent scare. The daughter-in-law decided to hold an auction. People donated everything from home cooked meals, legal services, pest control and baby hair bows to jewelry, pest control services, and baby quilts. I donated an item and bid on another to offer my support. There were almost 200 items up for bid and it made my heart swell. The outpouring of support was amazing. The bidding ended last night and the total raised hit almost $20,000. AMAZING. It really renewed my confidence and faith in humanity. Even in these hard times people can still join together to help someone else.

Another post about female stuff

Sorry guys, if you don't feel comfortable reading about those certain female Dr visits skip this one. (I have another post coming up that will be more to your preferences, I promise)



So I had to go to the Dr to have an IUD removed. It was supposed to be removed 2 years ago and I was really worried about it. I fretted and stewed and finally made the appointment. Three weeks I watched the calender and tried not to think about it. The day before the appointment, 5 minutes before closing time, they called and left a garbled message on my machine about being canceled. They asked me to call them back with any questions. So first thing next morning, I called and asked them why my appointment had been cancelled. I was told it was because I had requested a transfer to another Dr. Ummmm, no I really didn't. What happened was, I needed an appointment last year and my Dr was on vacation, so I went to another Dr that one time. Apparently my Dr's office has a policy that if you ever go see another Dr for any reason, they refuse to ever see you as a patient again. PISSED ME OFF! I go to this Dr because she is the only female gyn in the area. I really, really, really don't feel comfortable going to a male gyn.

I picked up the phone book and called another gyn (the one I had gone to last year when I couldn't get in with the other one) I got an appointment for the next day. Now I am a bundle of nerves, pissed off nerves and scared to death nerves lol.

Anyway there really is a survivalist message here and I will get to that now. I don't want anything unnatural and foreign in me anymore. I have no choice about the hardware in my leg, but the only other way to make sure I don't have any more children is to have a small spring inserted into my fallopian tubes. It basically tears them up until they scar shut. Sounds pleasant, huh? So Hubby is going in to get snipped. He is giving me tons of grief and working every angle to get out of it. Trust me, if I could find a Dr who would do a tubal ligation, I would go in and have it done. None of them will do it right now, they are all using the spring. I would just worry about something happening with that spring if the world as we know it were to end. Where would I go, what would I do? I would be totally screwed if anything were to go wrong with it.

Just my 2 cents, it's something that has been on my mind for quite a while.

Goodbye 2009, Friday Funny

pogonip

So we got some pogonip last night. I had to look it up though to see what exactly it was. Apparently it is when there is a heavy fog and the temp suddenly fall below 0 and it freezes in the air and settles onto every available surface.

Another name for it is white death because if you breath it, it can cause lung damage. Anyway, it is pretty and so I thought I would share some pics.

The first pic is obviously of a pine tree. I love how the frost is on every needle of the tree. It reminds me of the flocking everyone used to spray on their Christmas trees.

This second pic is of the dead stalks of a poppy plant I never cleaned out of my flower beds. It is probably the most extreme case of pogonip in the yard. I like how delicate and feathery it looks.

The last pic is of my windchimes. I don't know why, but I just really like this pic.

So I got to wondering what would happen in a survival situation if pogonip were to occur. Other than the obvious (stay indoors and warm), what would something like this mean for me and my family?
I don't have an answer yet, but it gives me something to think about.

My New Years Resolutions

Personal:
1. Spend more time with the Boy having fun, and less time yelling.
2. Get back in some sort of decent shape.

3. Quit smoking (again).

Personal Stuff:
4. I would really like to get a hand grinder, but considering the price of the ones I like, this is more of a hope then a resolution.

5. Also, I want to co-op with a friend's family this year for a garden. The Boy is old enough to help out, they have the land, and then have school-age kids who are willing to help out. I love fresh fruits and veggies, we just don't have the space. Also start a small herb garden at the house.

Financial:
6. Start an emergency home-stash of cash.
7. Rebuild saving to 3 months of expenses.
8. Continue using Mint.com to better track/save expenses.
9. Continue to not make stupid choices.

Skills:
10. Go shooting at least once a month.
11. Take knitting or quilting class.

12. Enroll the Boy in Swimming classes.

Preparedness Stuff :
13. Add a stock of various Batteries.
14. Purchase some lighting setups. I.e.: various lanterns and flashlights.
15. Stock up on firewood this winter, perhaps get DNR permit.

Gun Stuff:
16. Save some money each month for a handgun. I know this sounds small, but seeing as my gun knowledge is extremely limited, I'm working with what I've got now.

Food Rotation:
17. This year, be much more realistic about what I'm canning and what amounts. Having lots of fruits and jams is nice, but realistically I should have canned much more veggies. I'm much more likely to use 10 quarts of spaghetti sauce then I am to use 10 quarts of pickles.

18. Purchase a small dehydrator to use for drying own herbs and veggies.

The joys and fails of my holiday week!

I had a roller coaster week. Christmas eve we let the girls each open a present and then we got them to bed. Santa came that night and we woke to gifts galore. Bug was in heaven but poor Squeak was overwhelmed. I think she opened two things before she just sat and stared at all the packages, lol. Hubby bought me my shelf-reliance system which rocked the world, lol. We spent most of the weekend letting the girls play and watching tv or playing games, it was great.

Then Monday happened. I went to the store for groceries and to spend the rest of my Christmas money. When we got home I pulled Squeak from her car seat and took her and a couple bags of groceries into the house from my Durango parked in the garage. When I came back out for more stuff there was an entire gallon of milk on the ground spreading it's liquid goodness. Knowing the stench that would follow if I didn't clean it up I hopped into my SUV to move it and pulled forward. Guess who forgot to close the rear hatch and pulled her garage door apart while ripping the rear wiper off? ME!!! Yeah, it was great. I called a garage repair dude and proceeded to wash/sweep the milk out of the garage. I called the hubs to warn him so he could get the mad out before he saw me and decided to bury me in our back yard. The garage guy came and said we were screwed and needed a completely new door. There went $1200. Hubs just thinks it is funny as hell and ribs me all the time.

The next day I got to see one of my brothers for the first time in months. He and I are very close so I was excited to see him. He lovingly filled me in on his life and mutual friends and all the family gossip I hadn't heard. We hung out, played games, and took the girls to the park. It was nice.

NYE was approaching and knowing how my father loves to see Bug and at the Brother's prodding I arraigned for Bug to spend NYE with my brother, father, and step-mother. I think that was pretty big of me seeing as how my father has nothing but critisism on how we are raising the girls. He hates the LDS chirch and feels we are doing a bad thing by raising the girls LDS. He also has huge issues with me staying home with the girls and seems to assume I do nothing but sit on my butt and expect the Hubs to make money and then come home and take care of the house and girls too. I swear it has to be a miracle neither girls is dead since I do nothing for them or our little family. I also invited everyone to our house to celebrate Squeak turning 1. His first comment after the invitation was, "Who's going to be there?" See if my adoptive mother (his former wife) and my siblings from her or my LDS in-laws were going to be here then he would avoid it at all costs because he doesn't want to catch the evily contagious Mormon bug. I said "No one but us." meaning my little foursome, my brother, and my father and step-mother. He agreed to a breakfast for Squeak. So he came. I planned it as a breakfast so we could all hang out, play games, do whatever. It was the first time he had my brother and I (his only children) in the same place in about a year. HA. Shame on me for hoping. He ran out of here faster than I could blink. I don't think he was even here two hours. He throws a fit about how I don't make an effort, about how the girls are raised, about my laziness, about how he wants a relationship with me but I put up a wall. So I do make an extra effort and he throws it in my face. I guess the effort is only acceptable if it is his way and his terms. Uggg..... WHATEVER.

Then the good! My Mom came in that evening with her amazing guy. We played games and ate dinner and talked. It was exactly what I had hoped for with the earlier get together. The next morning Squeak opened her presents from Grandma and had a ton of fun. My Mom left for home and we watched movies, played, and I read some of my new book stash.

So overall there were some awesome highs, some crappy lows, and a bunch of moments in-between. Overall the week was amazing. In a 10 day period Hubs was home for 7. We laughed and enjoyed our rare time as a family. I cried a bit but I am a crier so it was all good.