Time to panic?

NO! Don't panic about what is happening in the world. Yes there is much to be concerned about, but no need to panic and spend your life savings on food storage and emergency items. If you are doing what the prophets have told us to do, you will be fine. The LDS Home Storage Centers are seeing many of their items being sold so quickly that they can't keep up with the demand. This is because so many people are panicing. Get your food storage slowly, a little at a time as your financial means allow you to do. Don't go into debt and don't panic. If you are working on getting your food storage and being prepared, you need not fear. The Lord will take care of those of us who are doing our best to follow his counsel. So, just do it as you are able. If you are able, you can use some of your economic stimulous check to build up your reserves.

ICE your cell phone

ICE stands for in case of emergency. If you add a new contact to your cell phone that goes like this:

*ICE Mom

It will be listed first in the contacts on your phone. This will make is easier for emergency personal to contact who you would want them to in an emergency. I have two of them in my cell phone so I put them like this:

*ICE 1 Mom
*ICE 2 Sister

Keep yourself safe and make it easier on the ones who are helping you!

72-hour kits

Are you prepared to suddenly have to leave your house in an emergency? Start getting your 72-hour kits together. Have them by the front door, the garage or by each persons bed. Work on getting things your family would like to have slowly. Rushing out and buying it at once can drain your wallet! Decide first what you will put them in. Our family has backpacks that I bought for .19 each on a clearance sale right after the back school sales. Make sure you put plenty of water and food in each pack. As for clothing, this can be difficult to decide what to do. For an idea, our family each has underwear, socks and a pair of sweats. The sweats can easily be converted to shortsleaves and shorts, but can be warm during cold weather. Also, make sure that everyone leaves shoes and a pair of socks by their bed each night. This will help searching for in the middle of the night. When deciding on food, pack things that don't have to be cooked or are easy to fix. Don't pack chocolate! It melts easily and goes bad quickly. I suggest canned meats, soups, cereals, hard candy, etc. Also pack flashlights, pocket knives, blankets, poncho, whistle and anything else your family might need. Another great thing to do is make copies of all your insurance papers, vehicle information, medical information, birth certificates, etc and put them in a ziplock baggie in your pack. You never know if you will need this! Also, pack money in small denominations. Don't pack a $100 bill! You never know you will be able to use it! Pack 1's, 5's, 10's and 20's.

Easy Bread Recipe

White or Wheat Bread Recipe

5-6 cups of flour (bread flour or wheat flour)
2 1/2 cups of warm water
1/8 cup vegetable oil
3/8 cup honey (I use powdered honey)
1/2 Tbsp dough enhancer
1/2 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp SAF instant yeast

Mix water, oil, honey, dough enhancer, salt and 2 1/2 cups of flour together in your mixer. Add yeast and another 2 1/2 cups of flour. Mix well. Add additional flour as needed so that the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl but is still slightly sticky. Let it knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Cover your bowl and let it rise for 15 minutes. Grease a cutting board and your hands with oil. Also grease two bread pans with cooking spray. Divide dough in half and flatten each half with your hands, roll it up and tuck under the ends. Place your dough in the bread pans. Cover and let them rise for another 30 minutes. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Brush the tops of the bread with butter while still hot and then remove from pans onto a cooling rack. Enjoy!