Elenin - Comet, Dwarf Star, Blue Star, Black Hole... whatever it is, sounds like 2012 is coming early?

I was just made aware of the multitudes of recent research done on Comet Elenin.  Some think it is not a comet at all, but is a Brown Dwarf Star, or a Black Hole.  If it is a Comet, there is a fear that the tail of the comet contains Hydrogen Cyanide and we might all be exposed to this poisonous gas.  It might create an unusual gravitational pull, bringing on volcanic eruptions and seismic activity causing massive earthquakes.  Or, it might bring an electromagnetic event - an EMP event, maybe? Others think it may be the dreaded Blue Star the Hopi Native Americans had warned about; or the return of Nibiru, Hercolubus, Planet X or part of the 9th Wave in the Mayan prophecies, or playing a role in the Book of Revelations in the Holy Bible.  It is very interesting and disturbing when also paired with all of the prophecies most of us are already aware of surrounding the 2012 doomsday, rapture, reawakening, pole shift, enlightenment or whatever you believe December 21, 2012 will bring.

After researching the subject, the dates they give are mid-to-late September; more specifically, September 26th - 28th for when we will feel the effects of Elenin.

It is just another reason to prepare... even if nothing happens at all.  Like I've said before: if nothing happens, my 20-year shelf life food will bring me great comfort knowing that I am ready for anything; may that be job-loss, economic downturn, inflation, disaster, riot, or anything else that might prevent me from buying food from the grocery store.  Then, in 20 years, if I have not used my long term food storage, I will have the most awesome camping party where all of my friends and family will share with me the most gourmet camping feast anyone has ever tasted!  Click HERE to view some of the ready-made, long-term food supply options we sell on our website.

Do your own research using your preferred search engine and some videos on youtube.  It is important to look at research from many different outlets because some are biased and some might provide other pertinent information others have either missed or purposely ignored.  You could listen to some You Tube videos or podcasts while doing housework or as you are laying in bed to go to sleep.

Virgina Earthquake - Are you prepared for a disaster?

Although today's earthquake in Virgina produced little damage (thank goodness!), it reminded me that I feel [as] secure [as one can be] in the fact that if and when a strong earthquake were to strike here (predictions say that we are due for "the big one" here in the Pacific Northwest), I have survival gear prepared for my family to grab and go if we have to leave our home in a hurry.  I also have Long Term Food Storage so that my family will have an emergency food supply to fall back on if we are unable to get to the store, or if the store was destroyed!  Since I just started this blog, I haven't yet put together a post on emergency survival kits, but we do sell some pre-assembled kits on our website www.survivalproductsdirect.com , HERE and HERE that you might find helpful either for ideas for your own kit or to purchase to save yourself some time and money.  I pray that no one was injured today in the earthquake in Virgina, and I hope that there are not significant aftershocks.

See my blog post HERE about grab and go emergency survival kits.
See my blog post HERE about starting an emergency food supply.

I don't have room for Long Term Food Storage... or, do I?!

Earthquake, tornado, pandemic, hurricane, tsunami, terrorist attack - oh my!
When I first decided to start putting together an emergency supply of food, I did a little research and found that most people suggest to work up to having a year's worth.  YIKES!  Just thinking about having a month, a three-month, let alone a year's supply of food stocked up on the shelves conjured images of canned food taking over my kitchen cabinets and spilling out onto the counters... or images of spending countless hours preserving foods in jars, sticky everywhere (preserving food is actually really fun, but I shutter to think about making enough to feed our family for 3 months straight, or even buying and making space for that many glass jars).  I don't really buy canned food because of the studies done on the harmful effects that BPA has on your body, and most canned food can liners contain BPA.  After doing more research on the subject of long term food storage and emergency food supply, I came to realize that it doesn't have to be canned or preserved jar foods, and it doesn't have to be in my kitchen AT ALL!  I could store dehydrated and freeze-dried food in the garage, under my bed and even in the coat closet!

Some of the most compact food solutions we found are made by Wise brand in a square-shaped bucket so they are more efficient with space than a round one, and are easily stacked in the coat closet, with plenty of room left for our coats. Each freeze-dried or dehydrated meal is individually packaged and safely stored within the bucket. They are also more compact than stacks and stacks of #10 cans like the Thrive brand (which we also own, and are good but I like the efficient storage Wise brand provides). So, the Wise food buckets are the ones we decided to sell in our store.

Having a stockpile of food is a really good idea so that you wont be left with bare shelves and an empty refrigerator if disaster were to strike, or if you get laid off from work and you have to change your budget drastically and suddenly. A "run on the stores" is another concern, wiping the store clean due to looters or genuine buyers of the food during a crisis.

In addition to our long shelf life food supply, we have a garden and just bought a greenhouse this summer so we can try our hand at growing over the winter! So far, we have 6 months of "Long Term Food Storage" food stored up; I'm working towards a years worth as our budget allows.

p.s. These food packets don't have to be reserved for an emergency, they are GREAT for busy moms or bachelors needing a quick dinner solution!  Just pour the package contents into a pan, add water, stir and cook... in about 12 minutes, dinner is ready on the table!  Or, if you have a last-minute potluck to attend!

MONSANTO'S GENETICALLY MODIFIED CORN COMING TO A PLATE NEAR YOU!

MONSANTO'S GENETICALLY MODIFIED CORN COMING TO A PLATE NEAR YOU!
This is the title of a horror film to give you nightmares for weeks... but this is a true story about Zombie Frankenfood that will come to life this Fall, find its way to your home, and you might unknowingly invite it in for dinner.

Monsanto co. plans to launch a Sweet Corn Fall 2011 that is intended for our grocery stores and you wont be able to tell the difference between natural corn and this FrankenCorn.  In addition to the corn in the fresh produce section, Monsanto is also in talks with companies who will can or freeze their corn - contaminating your long-term food storage options too!  You may already be familiar with the Monsanto's genetically modified, Round-Up Ready corn they developed for the feed and fuel industries, but this corn is intended for human consumption.  The corn is genetically modified to be resistant to RoundUp herbicide being sprayed directly on it, killing everything around it BUT the corn.  ICK!
Being genetically-altered is creepy enough of an idea by itself, but to make things worse, independent laboratory studies have found that these gmo corns causes organ failure, sterilization and other serious problems in rats.  DOUBLE ICK!
Now is a better time than any to start budgeting so you can afford to spend a little bit more at the grocery store to choose Organic over generic foods. 
If your budget is tight, the best solution would be to grow your own garden using seeds that are Non-GMO, Non-hybrid.  You can grow an entire garden that will provide vegetables for months for the price of only a few vegetables from the grocery store!  You control how your garden is grown, and which chemicals (or lack thereof!) you have (or have not!) used.  Plus, with your own garden, you can be ready for whatever the future may bring... job loss, inflation, disaster or emergency that causes a run at the stores, etc.

Here is a whole can full of seeds for your garden that are non-hybrid, non-gmo from Survival Products Direct - click HERE - this is great because each of the cans contain several pouches of seeds.  Instead of the paper pouches you see in the stores that can rip open or get wet, these are in resealable mylar pouches... resealable so you can plant a few seeds now, then reseal the pouch and then plant more a couple weeks after, so you can stagger your harvests (so you don't have 30 squash all ripe in the same week, you can plant them so you'd have 10 ripe per week for example).  The can has a lid, so you can keep all of your pouches handy and tidy all in one place instead of open and spilling all over the garage!


P.S. Here are some links about this recent development about Monsanto's Sweet Corn, so you can do the research yourself:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-04/monsanto-to-introduce-engineered-sweet-corn-in-u-s-this-year.html?cmpid=yhoo

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/08/monsanto-biotech-sweet-corn-human-consumption.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/12/monsantos-gmo-corn-linked_n_420365.html

Some documentaries worth watching on the subject of Genetically Modified corn and other foods and our government's roll in assisting it's advancement:
The World According to Monsanto
King Corn
The Future of Food
Food, Inc.

Grab and Go Kit - what is it, why do I need it?

 In an emergency situation, you might need to leave home in a hurry!  You'll want to have at least a 72 hour survival kit in a compact, light-weight pack or portable bin so you can, well, "Grab 'n' Go"!  You don’t want to be scrambling around at the last minute, gathering items from around the house in an emergency... you need to get out of the house before you get hurt!

We are a family of 4, so I packed the "essentials" for 2 adults and 2 kids into a rolling plastic bin that has a lockable lid and wheels and a handle... like a rolling suitcase but more waterproof!  I am the type to over pack on vacation, so I got something large but in hind sight, I realize I don't need as large of a bin that I have; a hikers backpack or duffel bag would work awesome and would probably be easier to carry if you have to go a long distance with the kit, or if you need to hold your child's hand with one hand and roll the kit in the other, the bin might not work as well.

The basic/essential items I have in my family's Grab 'n' Go kit are:

• FOOD & WATER: Be sure to have enough servings or calories for each member in your family of food and water - don’t forget your pets! Water filtration is also advisable.  I have water purification tablets as well as boxes of drinking water.  I have Wise brand freeze-dried/dehydrated food packets - both the kind that you can prepare in it's own bag, and also some that you would heat up in a pan.  I also have 18 400-calorie emergency food bars - 2 per adult per day and 1 per child per day.
• FIRST AID: A basic, pre-assembled first aid kit has pretty much everything you need.  A small bottle of hand sanitizer or wet naps are a good addition too. 
• LIGHTING: Flashlight (plus batteries for the flashlight if it’s not solar or wind-up) & emergency candle - the emergency candle I have has a roll-up wick so you can increase the flame to cook with - you could also get one of those mini camp cookers.  The flashlight I have is a wind-up radio/flashlight combo, plus 2 compact squeeze-to-charge flashlights for the kids, where they only have to squeeze them to power them up - no batteries required!  Shake-lights are cool where you simply shake it to create the power to turn it on!
• WARMTH: Emergency warming blankets (the shiny silver kind that is lightweight and compact), waterproof matches, hand warmers and a poncho for each family member
• OTHER: Pocket knife, glow sticks, emergency whistle (has a compass on it too!), a small notepad, a pencil and a deck of cards is nice to help pass the time.
• DOCUMENTS: You might also want to keep a small folder that includes a photocopy of your insurance cards or numbers and company contact info (medical, home, life, auto, etc.), your bank account numbers, birth certificates, passports, social security cards, and any other pertinent information you might need if you will be away from your home for a period of time, or to prove who you are.
• DIGITAL FAMILY PHOTOS: In case of fire or total destruction of your home, you might also keep a collection of family photos on a memory device, card or disc in your grab and go kit so you wont loose any precious memories.
• PET ITEMS: Don't leave Fluffy and Fido behind!  If you have pets, you'll want to also include food and water for them, plus an extra leash and an extra glow stick or two that you can tie onto their collar so they will easily be spotted in the dark should they break free from the leash out of fear.

I have other items in my kit too that are considered bonus "extras" that I will do further posts on later.  The items listed above the the things I think are most necessary to survive.

If you have any other ideas to add to a basic grab-n-go kit, leave a comment and share with me!