Grocery bills rising

Well we made my son's stepping stone. Will post a pic with this. I always love how when you remove them from the mold they dry they are shiny like glass. Very pretty. 
Anyway I have to share this from Preparedness Pro  Now as I've said I take any news story with some caution (attention to news sources and such) and research. This one hits home as I've been watching this myself for awhile. The woman who writes this was on one of the preppers shows (though now they seem to be losing interest in showing the actual stories and are asking people to do some crazy stuff for the camera...I guess they don't think preppers are as crazy as they thought they'd be for the most part and needed more of an entertainment factor....) anyway. She is very good about doing her own research and following up on her own sources before she posts things. Very down to earth. A lot of the things she posts are very resourceful whether you prep or not. Anyway I don't even need her report (though it is very well done and thought out) to tell me that we are headed downhill economy wise and the cost of groceries are going to skyrocket. This is mainly because there are a plethora of things coming together to make this happen. First off the drought that took out so much of our nations crop as well as other weather disasters. It isn't just in the US either it has been worldwide. I believe I posted a global drought impact map awhile back. Global drought monitor. Now again, this is just the drought this is not even taking into consideration the other weather that has come into play and been more widespread and stronger than it has in a long time. Tornadoes, floods, hail storms, wind storms, etc.... just to name a few. This loss of crops means not just a loss of those types of foods. This affects the cost of gasoline (Ethanol/corn), feed for livestock, loss of livestock as farmers cull their herds and flocks, in turn this hits the grocery stores and restaurants hard. People are all ready having trouble finding jobs (mainly other than low paying jobs that can't maintain a family income even though they are trying). More and more people are having to rely on help to make it. It is a domino effect we are looking at. Even the economists are saying we are in a downward spiral. 

Catalog review 3

Falling a bit behind on this but things have been so busy haven't had time. Also had this typed out once and comp. crashed I think.

1. Walter Drake Interesting. Has a few things I seriously might order. (like some of the bowls on the front) Lots of low cost gift type items. Lots of variety and lots of those as seen on tv type of items. Worth it for some gift shopping ideas or those finding things that make life easier items. 

2. The Lighter Side This one has a lot of fun unique gift items and is generally just fun to look through. Lots of fun, collector type, or joke type items as well. T-shirts and such are not bad priced either. 

3. Destination XL or DXL Mens big and tall clothing store. Definitely has some of the harder to find clothing sizes (like 6 and 7xl) BUT the clothes are really pretty costly. Worth a look though for the harder to find clothing sizes for men. Unsure of quality.

4. Discount School Supply Active and Discount School Supply Infants and toddlers  I put these two together cause it is the same link for both. Full of very interesting ideas for the young crowd. A a bit on the expensive side for the average household but if you are running a home daycare or for say educating larger groups etc this would be excellent. 

5. Easy Comforts personal care and health care needs items. This would be great for the elderly or disabled especially. Cost does not seem too bad for the items. I plan on sharing this one with my elderly mother. Some unique or hard to find items as well.     

6. Gardener's Supply Company The on sale items are not bad. This has some great garden supplies in it just some of them can be pretty costly.

Will continue later... LOL Got a little one that it is about time for bed for her. 

My daughters artwork :)  

Well today went really really well. We had our meeting and that went even better than I ever expected. Don't want to say too much til after court date but lets just say things definitely seem to be falling in our favor. Got a hold of the missing code and lets just say that one may turn out to be key. I think they are used to dealing with people who just take things at face value and don't research or ask questions. I learned a long time ago always check things out on your own. I got screwed over a few times for not doing so as thoroughly as I do now. 
In any case waiting to see if this one person calls me back but we'll see what happens. In any case our court date is approaching and I all ready know what plea I shall enter and then we'll see how this all goes after that. ;) 

On another note I finally got my daughter to turn in her art assignment which was 3 drawings showing line (suggested line), texture, etc so they could see what kind of skills she has and they were very impressed with her work. Hoping this keeps her motivated as neither of the two doing schooling right now seem to have as much of that as they need but trying to get them back on track again.

I got a large amount of catalogs some of which are really interesting that I will do reviews on later. Haven't had a chance yet. Did watch a movie the other night...Humans vs. Zombies it was very B-grade but at the same time not bad. 

I am in a super good mood right now. Wanting to draw or sing or something (dance...dancing would be good) anyway I've also started playing a game on the PS2 called frequency. It is a DJ mix type game and it is kinda hard at first but I am hooked. 

Stepping stone

Yesterday was really too busy for me to blog any...despite the fact that we canceled pretty much everything we'd had scheduled. No one was feeling good and I could hardly stay awake. I think my lupus flare up has decided to stick around for awhile. :/ All the stuff we had for yesterday was moved to tomorrow. Tomorrow is also Chance's birthday. Our youngest son who had trisomy 18 and passed at birth. (For more information on Trisomy 18 Trisomy18.org I plan on putting more information about it on facebook as my ex friend was trying to tell my oldest daughter a bunch of untrue things about this condition and calling me a liar about it even though they could have looked it up herself and saw the facts for them self. He would have been 5 this year. Every year we buy and create a stepping stone for him. This year we went with a solar light in the center of it and glow in the dark stones. I hope eventually to have a rock garden especially for these stones with some aloe and cactus and such in it. We also usually make a cake which I need to see if I have one to make. We will have to probably do it in the evening tomorrow and let it set up for the next day or so since the weather is wet for a change. Today my oldest finally gets to go to the gastro and hopefully get started figuring out what has made her so sick for so long. Unfortunately Crohn's runs in our family and so this is a possibility but hoping that it is something fixable or something that she can bring under control to have a much more comfortable life rather than dealing with this all the time. On the front of the fight with the city I found out a few things yesterday that actually help some and then tomorrow I should know more and have a more definitive look on how we want to do things. Well just got a phone call and looks like one of those things will be taken care of today....

What do I want???

 Just some artwork...I need to take more photos for my blogs :P

Today was kind of tiring but the week isn't over. As I said in my previous blog we spent 2 hours at least at the dentist office. My youngest had to have a spacer put in and it was her first time doing this with out one of us back there. *Sniff* My son is going to have to see an orthodontist before we figure out what comes next for him. He is like me. Baby teeth don't want to come out and some teeth never formed. Poor kid. Just waiting mostly to see what insurance tells them they can do. 
It was really hot today and I am wishing for some decent fall weather to come in and cool things off so I can get some serious yard work done providing I can get the kids to actually help with Abby. Hubby tries but hadn't been home much though he has been this week but we've been trying to get stuff done. 
I am hopefully going to find out more on what to do with our situation regarding the city tomorrow. Today we found out that the city basically wants us to go to court and plead our case and probably pay court costs but not the fine (though from the sounds of it court costs will likely be MORE than the fine) They claim they will leave us alone after this and that they are going to look into the violations I mentioned in the paper that are all around at neighbors houses including a HUGE wood pile with concrete chunks in it and poles and such, several other wood piles, tall grass etc. They kept talking about our yard and the only thing we can deduce is they are talking about the parts I hadn't weed eated since they last had seen it yet...again. My weedeater sucks by the way. I want to get one like what I saw in fingerhut that I can pay out that weed eats and also can mow some. Hubby has mowed when he is home (Our mower is really touchy or I'd be doing it I'd like to get the other one fixed so I can) anyway.... We have it all picked up. Just a small spot or so in the carport but otherwise that looks good. We were told we could likely keep our wood shed after I explained about it having the metal braces and such in it. (I photographed EVERYTHING that I could think of by the way I just need to print the photos) I also paid for the article out of the news star showing that the ordinance was changed in 2009 to allow chickens in town. I just wish I could find the other papers I need. I did print off all the ordinance stuff they gave me. I get the impression they are used to dealing with people that take things at face value. I learned not to do that a long time ago. ALWAYS do your own research. Anyway we'll see how this plays out. Got a little longer to go. I still want to move when this place is paid off. I want to live somewhere that I can have a garden that I can expand on... a greenhouse even. I want to have my chickens maybe some quail and doves. I want to have maybe a few goats and learn to process goat cheese and milk. I want to be at least semi self sufficient. I want that feeling of peace that living in the country always brought me no matter what I was going through and I've been through some rough sh*t in my lifetime. I want trees. I would love it even more if I had woods to escape in or a canyon or creek. I want to have access to an out of the way road or something to ride a bike on or go for walks. (too much?) I want most of all to not have other people up my arse to tell me how to live or have to worry constantly about who is going to jump in line to screw with me next. Yeah I want some other things I know I can never/will never have but I can still daydream about those LOL There are things though that are accessible that I can try for. I plan to reach for the stars. I think where I am now I am not in a place that allows for growth or for forward movement in life. In several different ways.

Catalog review part 2

Well I got a good sized stack of them today and we had a dental appt for two of the kids and actually sat there long enough to look through them all. (at least two hours with only one kid back there at a time and at least one of them driving us batty) so here they are....

1. Growers Supply  This one really impressed me. Huge catalog and I think just about anything you might need for greenhouses, gardening, and even poultry, small farm needs, etc. They even sent a free pair of gardening gloves and this was all inside a sample of their foil insulation product. (What I used to carry my catalogs today) Very nice. Good prices really for everything as well. I might even order our replacement pump for our water cooler from it. Not sure yet. If we ever get moved out to the country where we can have a greenhouse I know where to get some of my materials from. Very nice and worth a look.

2. Terry's Village  I saw lots of Christmas ideas in here for good prices. (Shipping doesn't look too bad either) Lots of homey type crafts and such. Really not much to say other than a good place for gift ideas within budget. 

3. Design Toscano Something for everyone I think. Varying price range from affordable to a bit on the expensive (but worth it) side. Lots of art and statues for varying tastes. I told hubby after our problems with the city I want this Bwahahahahahah in our yard. (Hercules and Diomedes....Hey it is Greek art)  Anyway this one just has some absolutely awesome stuff in it. Steampunk Skull Plenty of things I'd love to have all over my house and yard. Can't say enough about it. 

4. S&S Worldwide This one has pretty widely varying price ranges as well. Think of it as a bit more extensive Oriental Trading Company catalog and with maybe a bit more quality items. It has tons of crafts supplies that you can buy in bulk for classrooms or whatever and then it also has therapy type items like for people with arthritis or learning disabilities. It is definitely worth a look. Saw a bunch of stuff that I would possibly want to get later on. I would love to kind of have a store where people come in and buy the art kit and there is a table set up for them to work on them with their kids and such. Just something fun to do. 

5. The Land of Nod  (Computer crashed half way through my reviews but thankfully it saved for me) anyway this one while a bit expensive is pretty awesome. Besides having very unique whimsical items they also have ideas for creating a personalized space for your little one as well. Such as putting those boards you can build lego cities on...on the wall. Really cute decorating ideas. Also one bedding piece caught my attention. It was a princess and the pea bed set and had CUTE the pea was adorable. They have something for pretty much any taste and it looks to me like the catalog itself is just a small sampling of their wares. Definitely worth a look for anyone with kids of any age.

6. Soft Surroundings  This one is for clothing and I will say I like the style and the clothes look to be uber comfortable. However this one is pretty out of my price range though it might be fitting for others. 

7. Sur La Table This one while some things can be a bit pricey still seemed pretty reasonable for the most part. It would be a great place to find gifts for serious cooks and people who enjoy their time in the kitchen. Has some pretty unique items I think as well. Have a good variety of aprons too which is something I don't see a lot of. (Usually see a variety of plain ole barbeque type) This one had some stuff for halloween that was kind of cute. Halloween fun 

8. Personal Creations This one is as the name says. Personalized gift items and the prices are pretty good. I saw a few things I wouldn't mind getting for friends or family. Definitely worth a look for the holidays ;) 

Looks like that concludes my catalog adventures for today. Definitely helps with the gift ideas too.  

Catalogs Reviews: Part 1.

 one of my drawings 

For some reason I've always enjoyed perusing catalogs. I guess I'm a bit of a daydreamer. I recently decided to send off for a bunch of free ones and see what they were like. The site I used is Catalog Monster. I thought it might be kind of fun to review them. I didn't order every single catalog by the way though it may seem like it LOL. Just the ones I thought I would find interesting to look through and see if they are places I might eventually be interested in ordering from. The first ones I received contained some really pricey items. Anyway here goes...*and I will include the links to the sites if possible in case anyone is interested in these for themselves...

Magic Kitchen  This one is a prepared meal site. It proclaims to be good for senior citizens which is what had caught my attention and I wanted to see what they had to offer and about the cost as it may have been something my Mom might have been interested in but to be honest it seems a bit pricey. Not sure of the quality of the meals...they may be quite good but to me seemed to resemble tv dinners. Though you do have the option of choosing a selection based on like if you are watching your salt intake or cholesterol then you can choose a "set" of meals that keep that in mind. One "set" for example is the One serving meals selection number 1...
Chicken marsala, Mashed potatoes
Spinach Mushroom lasagna
Beef with Bordelaise sauce, Rice with mixed vegetables
Shrimp fettucini alfredo, Verdura flatbread
(then this repeats so apparently 2 of each) 
then for dessert 
Tiramasu
Chocolate Ganache cake

This in single servings is $135.99 (plus shipping) and again these to me resemble the type of meals you would find in your freezer section at the grocery store....so really if it is something you are interested in and in your price range check it out but I believe in our situation this is just not something that would save any of us any money or really be anything my Mom would be interested in. 

Catalog 2.
Mark T. Wendell Tea Company  Now this one is more my style. I enjoy tea and I enjoy different flavors. One of my favorites is Orange spice though I like some variety. This one, while a bit above my price range for the most part, seems more reasonable in what they ask. This looks to me like some high quality tea though I've not had a chance to try any and they also offer supplies such as diffusers and tea pots. Some examples of prices are 2" Snap Mesh Tea Ball spoon $3.25 Finum Tea Control Teapots: $25.00-$27.00
Pheonix and dragon teapot with 2 cups $52.00 and I saw teas ranging anywhere from $5 something for some fruit varieties to $36.00 for some of the loose teas. A bit of something for everyone I think.

Catalog 3. 
Cabela's Garden Harvest
Now this one is for the named catalog specifically though the link leads to where pretty much all of Cabela's catalogs are. I have ordered a few different ones from there. This one really was pretty reasonable while still above my price range I could see spending the amounts asked for on the items. This one in particular was mostly based around meat processing, drying, and seasonings. I swear I think you could open your own meat processing/sausage/jerky type set up with this stuff. :P 
Anyway check it out. I might hang on to this one.

Catalog 4. 
Pioneer Linens 
Okay this one...I have to admit the first page really makes me wonder about some people. Yes I can see spending money on things that mean a lot to you, things that are of good quality, etc....But why..WHY would you spend $965 on your bathroom wastebasket? WTF. Why would you have a wastebasket (one of those itty bitty things) designed in lead crystal with gold leaves etched in and spend that much on it. It is a wastebasket....to hold waste....trash...   I so don't understand. Sheets....maybe but they'd better be some several hundred thread nice ass sheet but a frigging trash can? Their sheets were actually cheaper. Like $600 or so for some of them. More than anything I'd ever spend but something I can sort of understand. The toilet paper holder I saw in there was $60.00  Their laundry soaps and sprays were actually a decent price. Anyway I didn't really find anything that suited my taste in there. Someone else might though...not me LOL :) 

Anyway I have a ton more coming and I am oddly enough finding that kinda fun. There are a few really interesting ones I am really excited about but haven't gotten those yet. Guess it is like a form of window shopping plus sometimes you can get ideas for things that you can do for way cheaper without sacrificing all the quality.