While guns are defintiely the great equalizer, a survival dagger also has its advantages. As a mom to two small boys, and without a gun safe, I don’t feel comfortable having guns in the house right now. I also worry that my youngest would figure out how to crack the safe, but that’s a story for a different day.

The night my sarcastic husband made me realize I wanted a survival dagger

A few weeks ago, the boys and I had been out, returning to our home around 8:30 PM, to a ringing phone. It was the sheriff’s office, a recording, telling us that they were ‘searching for a man about 6 foot tall, with blond hair, carrying a black bag,’ on a street that’s only 2 blocks from our house. I’ve never had a call that they were looking for someone before so suffice it to say, I was a bit ‘concerned.’ I called my husband at work and told him about the call.

I married a sarcastic man…

He told me, “Well, grab one of the swords and lock the front door.”

“What am I going to do with a sword?” I asked.

“The pointy end goes in the man,’ was his answer.

Why I decided on a survival dagger!

Now here’s the thing, I can’t lift or wield a sword! (And if I can’t, I know my kids can’t either.) That’s when I realized I wanted a survival dagger, or survival knife as it might be called. It’s not the best choice due to how close you have to get to a person to use one, unless you’re some kind of expert knife thrower, which I certainly am not, but it’s better than nothing. And I certainly wouldn’t want to ruin one of my good kitchen knives!

So I went on the hunt for a survival dagger. And of course, I went to Amazon. Sure I could have gone to a ‘store’ but I wasn’t about to do that with the two kids in tow, and I love Amazon’s customer service, plus, I could read reviews on the various survival daggers available.

Having handled my share of guns, I know how important a ‘good fit to the hand’ is for effectively using any weapon. And having had to buy kids diving gloves because I have small hands, I could hope to find some reviews from women, who also have small hands and could tell me about the ‘fit.’

United Cutlery GH201 Gil Hibben III Survival Knife with Sheath

This extremely impressive knife is designed by master knife maker, Gil Hibben. It measures 16-Inch long, with a blade length of 11-Inch, and comes with a top-grain leather sheath. The first-class weapon features a laminated wood handle, stainless steel guard, and 420-grade stainless steel blade.

Ontario 6141 MK 3 Navy Knife (Black)

The Ontario Knife MK3 Navy knife is the current military issue knife to the U.S. Navy. Situated in New York State’s scenic Southern Tier, Ontario Knife Company produces one of the most comprehensive, wide-ranging product lines in the cutlery industry today. While being a worldwide supplier, the Ontario Knife Company is also a major supplier to the U.S. Government and its military. Ontario has built its reputation on a heritage of uncompromising craftsmanship, quality materials and components, and a steadfast commitment to its workforce. Black oxide finished stainless steel blade. Molded high impact black plastic handle. Includes molded plastic sheath. Blade has a hardness of 49-54 HRC. Sheath is equipped with a brass belt hanger and loop.

MK 3 Navy Knife – Ontario Knives

The Ontario Knife MK3 Navy knife is the current military issue knife to the U.S. Navy. Situated in New York State’s scenic Southern Tier, Ontario Knife Company produces one of the most comprehensive, wide-ranging product lines in the cutlery industry today. While being a worldwide supplier, the Ontario Knife Company is also a major supplier to the U.S. Government and its military. Ontario has built its reputation on a heritage of uncompromising craftsmanship, quality materials and components, and a steadfast commitment to its workforce. Black oxide finished stainless steel blade. Molded high impact black plastic handle. Includes molded plastic sheath. Blade has a hardness of 49-54 HRC. Sheath is equipped with a brass belt hanger and loop. Made in the USA Features: – 440A stainless steel blade , black oxide finish – 10.75″ overall length, 6.5″ blade, .165″ thickness – Molded high impact plastic handle and sheath – Sheath equipped with brass belt – hanger and loop Specifications: – Edge Type: Plain – Lock Type: Fixed – Hardness: 49-54 HRC – Overall Length: 10.75″ – Weight: 10.0 oz – Blade Length: 6″ – Blade Material: 440A Stainless Steel – Blade Grind: Flat – Blade Thickness: 0.17″ – Blade Color: Black – Blade Finish: Oxide – Handle Color: Black – Handle Material: Molded Plastic – Handle Thickness: 1.1″ – Sheath Type: Belt Clip – Sheath Color: Black – Sheath Material: Molded Plastic

United Cutlery GH201 Gil Hibben III Survival Knife with Sheath
	Price : $66.21

Ontario 6141 MK 3 Navy Knife (Black)
	Price : $74.00

MK 3 Navy Knife – Ontario Knives
	Price : $128.77

Amazon Jungle Survival Knife with Sh Price : $15.13 Gerber 31-000752 Bear Grylls Surviva Price : $18.49

I’m no climatologist, and I know that correlation does not equal causation, but I’m not taking any chances of being unprepared for a storm.  Back in those storms of 04, friends our family went without power for 6 months over in Polk County.  So, that being said, let’s make our list and get prepped, or double check our preps if we’re already stocked (and locked and loaded.)

Water- first and foremost… water, water, water.  Did I mention water?
Tip: If you are facing an oncoming storm, fill your bathtubs with water. If you have a pool, even better. If you have rain barrels, better still.

Collect as much water as you can,  and invest in the Life Straw to make that water drinkable.

LifeStraw Personal Water Filter
	Price : $19.95

Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup – 36/3oz
	Price : $16.99

Chicken of the Sea Chunk Light Tuna in Water, 3-Ounce Easy Open Cans (Pack of 24)
	Price : $29.20

Swanson White Premium Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, 4.5-Ounce Cans (Pack of 24)
	Price : $48.70

Bush’s Boston Recipe Baked Beans, 28 oz, 12 pk
	Price : $35.00

12 Cans (full case) Yoders Canned Bacon 9 Oz Each
	Price : $157.99

Bumble Bee Foods Wild Pink Salmon Skinless Boneless, 5-Ounce Cans (Pack of 24)
	Price : $54.88

Crown Prince Natural Skinless & Bone Price : $30.46 King Oscar Mediterranean Sardines, Price : $30.36

1 Case-Canned Meat (BEEF) Long Term Food Storage -Survival Cave
	Price : $125.00

Candles, Flashlights & Rechargeable batteries

Richland Tealight Candles White Unscented Set of 125
	Price : $14.99

MagLite ST3D016 3-D Cell LED Flashlight, Black
	Price : $26.40

eneloop NEW 800 mAh Typical, 750 mAh Price : $15.99 Combo: 12 Pcs of Tenergy Premium AAA Price : $13.99

AmazonBasics AA NiMH Precharged Rechargeable Batteries-8-Pack, 2000 mAh
	Price : $18.17

Tenergy 8 pcs C Size 5000 mAh high capacity high rate NiMH Rechargeable batteries
	Price : $32.99

8 pcs of Tenergy D Size 10,000mAh High Capacity High Rate NiMH Rechargeable Batteries
	Price : $52.99

Energizer CHP4WB4 Recharge Smart AA/ Price : $16.20 Tenergy Advanced Universal Charger T Price : $29.99 Schumacher SE-5212A Automatic Handhe Price : $52.91 T-1199B AA/AAA/C/D/9V Battery Charge Price : $15.95

Finally, you’ll want an inverter that you can use to charge your electronics, (and for your battery rechargers) from a source such as your car.

BESTEK 75w power inverter car dc 12v to 110v ac inverter dc adapter laptop charger notebook adapter dc charger ac adapter usb charger Dual USB 2.1A 711C
	Price : $16.63

And just in case you do need to camp out-

Tents

Coleman Montana 8 Tent Price : $148.26 Wenzel Klondike 16 X 11-Feet Eight-P Price : $163.44 Coleman 6-Person Instant Tent Price : $154.86

Sleeping Bags

Coleman Trinidad Warm-Weather Sleepi Price : $28.07 Coleman Green Valley Cool-Weather Sl Price : $35.51 Coleman Palmetto Cool-Weather Sleepi Price : $29.90

Well, it seems now that summer is here, spring has arrived. Yes, I know it’s not technically summer until the third week of June, but this is Florida and summer here usually starts in February or March. It’s not that it’s been a ‘bad’ winter, in fact it was fairly mild, but it was long. Even yesterday, March 7, 201s, it was only about 67 degrees Farenheit.

Now I know for most people, that’s a beautiful day. I am not one of those people. I don’t even want to leave the house if it’s not at least 84 degrees F outside. So I was a bit late on getting the planting started this year, but here we go.

Today we planted pumpkin, cantaloupe and watermelon! YUM!

Here’s a picture of youngest boy planting the pumpkin seeds

And here is a video of how I’m keeping track of what got planted when and where, and when I expect it to sprout and harvest.

And here is the cool little website I found that lets me figure out the date that is ‘x number of days from today”

http://www.convertunits.com/dates/daysfromnow/100

A portable aquaponics system with watercress (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

How to Teach Your Kids about Fish Farming and Sustainable Seafood

You already know how important it is to source sustainably harvested seafood and to avoid purchasing fish that has been farmed using unhealthy and unethical practices. However, these concepts can be a bit tough to teach to young children as they require an understanding of the complex interplay of ecological factors, as well as an understanding of complex health issues.

Though it may be hard to explain all of these concepts to children, it is important to start a dialogue so they can begin to learn early how important it is to get the right sources of fish and seafood. Here are a few tips for how you can teach your kids about fish farming and sustainable seafood:

Learn about the Different Kinds of Fish

Some species of fish are better to purchase because they proliferate quickly and their sources are not impacted as harshly by fishing. Examples of fish that proliferate quickly include mahi mahi, tilapia, and barramundi. Species that are higher on the food chain like tuna and swordfish also require more resources to grow, which makes them less sustainable as food sources.

You can slowly start to teach your children these concepts by simply learning about all the different types of fish. Have fun learning about the different species, what their life cycle is like and what their ecosystem in like. When your children become comfortable with this information, you can slowly add to it with discussion about the role those fish play in our food supply.

Raise Your Own Fish

Obviously, you can’t raise tuna in your backyard. What you can do is raise koi or goldfish in an outdoor pond, or raise any number of variety of fish in an aquarium. By raising fish — even the kind that you will never eat — children see first-hand the factors that can influence an eco-system. They understand the sources of food used for fish — and maybe even how fish become food for other animals. They learn how the different influences in the environment can impact the health of the fish.

Once children see these lessons up close and personal, it will be easier for them to understand how they apply on a larger scale when you talk about what factors influence the supply of fish that we eat.

Buy Local

When you buy your fish from local fishermen or local fish farmers, you teach your children how to understand the source of the fish they eat. Meeting the fishermen that catch or grow the fish they eat make it more concrete for them, whereas buying from the grocery store can make it hard for them to understand the source of the food beyond “the shelf.” Shopping with local fishermen also helps children understand how to build relationships with the people who supply their food.

Be a Model

You teach your children best by your own behavior. When you shop responsibly, they learn to do the same. Shop with local fishermen and with grocers that provide ethically sourced seafood. Check the labels and tell your children what you are looking for there. Ask a lot of questions of the vendor, and then explain to your children why you are doing so. Over time, your children will learn to do the same, and they will learn how to be responsible shoppers, as well.

Teaching your children about sustainable fishing doesn’t have to be difficult. These simple tips can help you illustrate the concepts easily so that they can learn the value of ethically sourced fish and seafood, both for their own diets and for the environment.

About the Author:

Bridget Sandorford is a freelance food and culinary writer, where recently she’s been researching pastry schools in Ontario. In her spare time, she enjoys biking, painting and working on her first cookbook.

Aquaponic Gardening: A Step-By-Step Price : $20.27 Tilapia Farming Guide Price : Sustainable Freshwater Aquacultures: Price : $35.15 How to Build and Take Care of an Aqu Price : How To Setup A Small Scale Fish Farm Price : Aquaculture: Farming Aquatic Animals Price : $109.18 Small Scale Aquaculture Price : $22.95 Intensive Fish Farming Price : $89.25 How to Start & Manage a Fish Farming Price : $20.85

Kids and Money Large (Photo credit: Brad_Chaffee)

Although my biological father had a good job, my mother grew up poor, and divorced my father by the time I was three, so my earliest memories and connections to ‘money’ were negative and centered on worry and fear. I suppose that’s why by the age of 8, I had developed the ‘entrepreneur’ personality.

I wouldn’t normally review a book like this on this blog, but I started a new Arise class today, and as is the norm with the ‘first day’ of ‘most classes,’ we had ‘introductions,’ and a fellow classmate had recommended this book, and said she and her ‘children’ were reading it.

I don’t even know if this book is even appropriate for children. I tried reading the reviews, and most people seem to really like it, so I decided to see if it was available at my public library, which is closed today, and for whatever reason, their search database is down too, so I guess it will have to wait until tomorrow.

“I’ve always been against teaching kids the wrong mindset (I can’t afford it) about money, and preferred to instead ‘challenge’ them to think, “how can I get/afford that?”

Both of my boys have their own blogs, and my boys are 7 years old, and 5 years old (next month) and started their blogs when they were only 6 and 4, respectively.

Since I was already on Amazon, I decided to have a look around to see what other books might be available for teaching kids about money and check out some reviews to possibly find some new books to read to the kids on this topic.

Here are the books I found:

First, the book the girl in my class spoke of… “The Energy of Money”

The Energy of Money: A Spiritual Guide to Financial and Personal Fulfillment
	Price : $12.97

The reviews of these book are favorable.  One particular review that stuck out in my mind was that the book doesn’t present itself as some ‘rich person, sharing their ‘secrets’ to wealth with the reader.’  There is another review that has an ‘excerpt,’ which is an ‘exercise’ from the book, where the author asks you to think about certain financial scenarios, and take note of your physical reactions and feelings to what you’re thinking.  The scenarios described, are not something I think my very young children would be capable of understanding, nonetheless, there’s no harm in some “Mommy (or Daddy) ONLY reading.”

Here is a list of books I found on Amazon, that look good, for teaching kids about money… I’m going to take this ‘list’ with me to the library tomorrow, and then to Books A Million, and start reading them to my own kids…

Little Kids Big Money: Tools for Tea Price : Raising Financially Confident Kids Price : $11.51 Money Doesn’t Grow On Trees: A Paren Price : $12.23 The MoneySmart Family System: Teachi Price : $11.77 Millionaire Babies or Bankrupt Brats Price : $16.52 Banking on Our Future: A Program for Price : $16.00 Financial Peace Jr.: Teaching Kids A Price : $19.95 The First National Bank of Dad: The Price : $31.80 Money Sense for Kids Price : $12.81 Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Tea Price : $7.19

Catastrophes always strike without warning. When they do, they hinder the services of local government agencies and community emergency crews. Their equipment, communications, buildings, and personnel will all be affected, making them basically immobile. If this happens, there will be no one to respond to your emergency calls in a timely fashion. This could be a very overwhelming situation for you, unless you’re prepared.

5 Essentials Every Prepper’s 72 Hour Kit Must Have

Experts on emergency preparedness warn that everyone should be prepared for self-sufficient survival for no less than three days after a catastrophe. That means that you need to have the emergency supplies you need to survive for 72 hours. Many recommend that you keep a 72 hour kit in your home, your office and your car. Here are five basic essentials that every prepper should have in a 72 hour survival kit:

1) 3-Day Supply of Water

• A 1-day supply is 1 gallon of water, per day = 3 gallons for one person for 3 days
• The human body can only go only so many days without water before suffering from dehydration. During major emergencies, local water services may become contaminated, or simply may not be working at all. It’s vital to your survival that you have enough clean drinking water to last until these local services are restored.
• Experts recommend such a large amount of water per day because you’ll also need clean water for more than just drinking. Your water supply will be there when you need to bathes, wash dishes or clothes, brush your teeth, and other hygienic purposes.

2) Food Storage Supply for 3 Days

• Should contain at least 9 meals per person (3 meals per day)
• Being prepared with emergency food storage will really help to ease your stress during a crisis situation. Remember that your local stores will have suffered the crisis with you. So, they will probably be closed, along with all your other local businesses. Also, credit card processors and ATM machines may also be down. That means you’ll have no way of going out to buy food during your emergency situation. Be sure you have enough food stored to feed yourself until things get back to normal.
• Your food storage should be made up of mostly non-perishable foods. These types of products have longer shelf lives than fresh or frozen foods. That way, when you it’s time to eat your emergency food, they’re still good for consumption. For good ideas for your 72 hour food storage plan, look into buying canned food, dehydrated food and/or freeze-dried food.

3) Basic First Aid Kit

The following items are recommended by the US Department of Health and Human Services to be included in your basic first aid kit:

• Antibiotic Ointment
• Hydrogen Peroxide
• Antiseptic Wipes
• Gauze and Adhesive Tape
• Safety Pins
• Tweezers
• Instant-activating cold packs (disposable)
• Sharp Scissors – should have rounded tips
• Bandages – assorted shapes and sizes

4) Battery-Powered Flashlight

Electrical services will probably be non-operational. So, be sure that your flashlight is battery-operated and pack extra batteries.

5) Battery-Operated Radio

• There will probably be no power in your local area after the disaster strikes. Make sure your radio is battery-powered and be sure you have extra batteries for your radio.
• During a man-made or natural disaster, television services may be out. The radio will be your only form of communication with the outside world. You’ll need your radio to stay tuned for important emergency updates like more upcoming disasters, emergency shelters, evacuations, etc…

Author Bio

This content was prepared by Dirk Puckett. Daily Bread is an industry leader in long-term food storage plans. Ready to begin putting your food storage plan together? Start here and place your order today.

American Red Cross Disaster & Emergency Kit by First Aid Only
	Price : $49.99

Hybrid Solar Powered Flashlight with Emergency Battery Backup – Black (2 pack)
	Price : $25.90

Ambient Weather WR-111B Emergency Solar Hand Crank AM/FM/NOAA Digital Radio, Flashlight, Cell Phone Charger with NOAA Certified Weather Alert & Cables
	Price : $39.99

The Cotee River

It has to have been over 15 years since the first time I ever attended the Chasco Fiesta boat parade, and ever since, I’ve never missed this 9 day festival, and only once missed the boat parade.

The festivities kick off on a Friday, which until this year, was second to last one of March and the event is centered in downtown New Port Richey, FL and at Sims Park.  On Friday, there is usually some kind of big event, this year it was a lighthouse ball, and the carnival opens up.  The next day, the first Saturday, is a street parade.  We did go yesterday, but I forgot to charge my phone, so no pictures.

In the park you can buy all kinds of Native American artifacts, from bow and arrows, to bone knives, lots of jewelry, and so much more.  I promise to take more pictures throughout this week.  We only had time for one ride today.  Hubby took his vacation to coincide with this year’s event (because our anniversary is April 12, and the boat parade, which I live for, is on the 13th) so starting Thursday, we’ll probably be there every day.  There’s also FOOD… soooo much good food.  I wanted to eat there tonight, but there was nothing there that my fussy kids were going to eat and they were hungry so I wasn’t going to eat in front of them, but come Thursday night, all bets are off, they either decided to try some of the amazing food there, or they’ll get a sandwich that I’ll bring from home.

The first thing we did was walk through Sim’s Park to look at all booths and tents of stuff we could buy… (I saw some stuff there that hubby just might like for his anniversary too. I’m planning to try and ‘feel him out’ and sneak buying something Thursday night while he’s not looking.)

And we happened upon an ‘exhibition’ (these go on all week too) showing a “King Cobra.”  I couldn’t get in close enough for pictures or videos of that one, but up next was the

GATOR WRESTLING…

Once that was over, we started making our way over to the carnival.  I thought I was taking a ‘still shot’ of the food’ but I had ‘video’ set, and the boys decided to put on a show…

We finally made our way over to the carnival area, and I managed to snap this pic of them on the ‘dragon’(?) ride

Engineers in schools (Photo credit: OregonDOT)

We have a guest post today, on “A Guide To Teaching Children The Basics of Engineering.”  Many people don’t know this, but I went to college, initially, to be an architect. My inability to draw is the reason I am not an architect, but learning about things like ‘structural integrity,” have proven to be most useful, especially for survival skills.  I know that I want my kids to know how to build a safe shelter, so I thought this post would be perfect for getting that message out there to parents.

A Guide to Teaching Children the Basics of Engineering

Engineering and children are often words not heard together in the same phrase. In fact, this subject is generally reserved for individuals who are at least of college age. However, this does not mean that your children must avoid engineering all together. What are some ways you can teach them about the basics? Read on to find out!

Building Projects
You don’t necessarily have to say that you’re going to work on engineering when you want to teach children some of the basics. For example, perhaps the two of you like to build with blocks together a lot. When you are building, explain the ways in which certain shapes or structures are more likely to hold up or why you need to use a certain position or method to make the building of your child’s choice. These early projects can help lay the foundations of engineering.

Encourage Electives
Once your children are in high school, or perhaps even middle school in some districts, they often have the choice of a variety of electives. They might initially desire to participate in only the most popular ones or the ones their friends are in, but you should encourage them to pursue their own interests and to try something new. Read through the course descriptions with them to find some courses that are based on engineering.

Summer Programs
In many communities, local colleges and universities offer summer programs for students. In some ways, these programs are like traditional summer camps, but they often have a bit more structure to them. For example, children may spend part of the day learning about the skills of soccer and another part of the day working on some engineering fundamentals. At younger ages, the courses might not be called “engineering,” but they will relate to the components of this discipline. Therefore, it is important to read the descriptions of the programs and to call the administration of the summer camp if you have any questions about it.

Books
Of course, many engineering books are going to be much too dense for children. However, you could page through books on machines and how they are built together. You could also look at books that talk about the ways in which buildings are constructed. Speak to your local librarian to find out if the facility recommends any books that are appropriate for children on the subject of engineering. You could also talk to high school teachers who instruct on this subject. As your children grow older, the material in these types of books will become more appropriate and understandable to them, so it is an excellent idea to start with the basics and foundations early on.

Teaching children the basics of engineering is certainly no simple task. Engineering is a complex field that involves years of study in order to perfect. Still, by following the aforementioned tips, you can be on your way to teaching your child about the basics of this important, fascinating and lucrative subject.

Victoria Gregory writes about parenting, education and science. A biomedical engineer, she uses her experiences to write about her journeys helping her children find the Best Medical Degrees.

As I write this, eldest boy will turn 7 in 11 days and though I wish I had the convictions needed for home schooling, I am admittedly, ill-equipped to complete such a task.  I am a product of the public school system and I haven’t turned into a brainwashed lemming.   In fact, the amount of ‘conflict’ that I felt between what I was ‘told,’ and what I felt was ‘true,’ was so much to bear, that my teen years were an emotional roller coaster.

I have no doubts that this ‘conflict’ is a major, if not primary contributor to the increase we’ve seen in ‘mental illness’ in the past 20-50 years.

Certainly my own parents told me that I could ‘do anything I set my mind to,’ and then conflicted on that conviction when they insisted I needed to go to college and ‘get a job.’  But my ability to learn was never impeded for one simple reason… my mother was extremely hands-on active in my education.  With few exceptions, the best schools in the world won’t turn out a ‘successful student,’ if the student does not have involved parents.  So I stay diligent in that, but I need my kid to go to school.

Of course I would love it if I had the abilities need to home school my child so I could devote his entire ‘education’ to teaching him ‘how’ to think, critically, instead of ‘what’ to think, as the misguided children of the Industrial Revolution era were taught.  The ‘productive member of society’ is the ‘Grand Illusion’ that for 80 years, Americans only believed, because they wanted to believe it.  Scientifically, mathematically, the ideals of the era would not bear up under scrutiny.  But Americans did not scrutinize… because they didn’t want to.  They wanted to believe that the illusion was real, so they bought in, hook, line and sinker.

But I am, again, ill-equipped. I am hoping that by 3rd grade, he will have matured, I will have more time to devote to him, and the fundamentals will be there, which is what I was most concerned with trying to teach to a hyper child, as an impatient mother. In the meantime, all I can do is try to balance the scales, by teaching at home, what is important to learn from school, and what is more important to learn from Mom & Dad.

Do I worry?

Sure.  I worry that despite my efforts, he’s still going to be indoctrinated into being a good little hive bee.  I worry that he will be a social outcast if he expresses the values I teach him.  I worry that the teachers, and the school resource officer, and the principal, will interrogate my son, without my knowledge or consent, or not question and just ‘decide’ to call CPS, as part of the government’s plan to ‘bring people in line,’ to come and threaten to take my kids if  don’t fall in.

I don’t worry about the possibility of a troubled human being entering his school and engaging in a mass shootout. In fact, I worry more about the school suspending him for making a finger gun while playing Cowboys & Indians or Cops & Robbers.

Bipolar has been a ‘buzz word,’ for anyone suffering any mental illness for the past ten years, and while the ‘buzz’ word drives me bonkers,  I can’t help feeling like the whole country has ‘gone bipolar.’  Emotions are high and when emotions are high, logic and reason give way to knee-jerk reactions.  Knee jerk reactions that trigger even more emotional responses.

I worry that our ‘leaders,’ are exhibiting these emotional, knee jerk reactions.  I worry more, that their emotional responses aren’t emotional at all… that they are for ‘display,’ because this was the agenda all along.  I worry that at best, my sons will be growing up in a world where this kind of ‘weakness’ is what they can expect from their leaders, and at worst, that these kind of leaders aren’t weak at all and have turned our home into a police state where we all live in fear.

I don’t want to send my kids to school ‘under armed guard.’  On vacation, in the tourist coastal town of Costa Maya Mexico, to get to the beach, you have to pass a checkpoint with Federali agents carrying M-16′s.

If we start this in our schools, it ends up on our beaches… the thought of putting armed guards at schools, without the extended thoughts of ‘where do we put them next?…’ (playgrounds, parks, skating rinks, bowling alleys, the mall, the grocery store, the beach)…. is short-sighted at best.  It’s an emotional, knee jerk response to a problem that isn’t really the problem to begin with.

One does not need to be an expert in history or sociology to know that power does corrupt, and that just because the person holding the gun is approved to hold it by any governing body, that the person is not corrupted and capable of doing atrocious things, with all the power of that mighty weapon… and so now everyone becomes afraid.  This is not speculation, conjecture, or hyperbole.  This is the law of nature, the absolute ruler of everything, and history has proven it time and time again.  And each time it happened, the people said, “that won’t happen here.”  Every ‘great civilization’ has experienced the natural cycles of life, and as man is an arrogant creature, it’s citizens have proclaimed…’but that will never happen here,’ when the history tried to warn them…

This is not the life I want for my children

I would rather arm my children themselves then begin an indoctrination that within 3 decades is sure to have their homeland living, acceptingly, in a police state, in fear. If we even last that long before facing an all out civil war or occupation. And when either of those things happen, self-defense, armed self-defense, will be necessary for survival.

Our local firing range gives shooting classes to kids 12 and up, and we’re trying to find out the ages for our local archery range.  Our kids are the eldest, almost 7, and the youngest, 4.  We’ve tried to teach them to ‘fish,’ but the lose interest pretty fast and just want to play in the water.  Teaching them to trap is on our list, but we haven’t gotten that far yet.  For Christmas we did invest in an Xbox so that we could get martial arts training games and videos, but it seems we might still have a few years to go before we can teach them anything about firearms.

In the meantime, we can only do as much as we can do.  Strategic relocation plans, prepping, saving, and training as much as we can, as often as we can. While we had always entertained the idea of leaving the U.S. altogether, we had to make at least one strategic move before we could do that, and we would have to stay at our next location for anywhere from 12 months to 3 years before we could leave the United States. We had hoped to have 5 years to complete the move from here to there, and the time needed there to get our affairs in order… at which point, if things got better, we could re-evaluate a decision to leave the U.S. at all.

And go live somewhere where the kids can play with a bubble gun, without fear of tyrannical retribution from the indoctrinators…

When the tragedy at Sandy Hook happened in December of 2012, I made sure that my son did not hear about it at home.  I did not want him to fear going to school, and I certainly do not want to demonstrate emotional knee-jerks reactions about anything to him.  We did not tell him about the shooting, we did not turn on the news, and we did not discuss the situation with him at all.

Two days after it happened, the school did one of their mass recorded voicemail calls to all parents, with a message from the principal, about the shooting.  I confess, I did not listen to it.  As soon as I heard it mentioned, my gut reaction was to worry that they would tell my kids about it, or adopt some drastic security measure overnight that would scare the kids.

I still was not prepared to discuss this situation with my son.  I had not had the time to construct a conversation that would not invoke ‘fear.’  I needed to think about what to say… and I needed to think about some other things too.

Immediately after it happened, the media was there, reporting on the rantings of the emotionally driven demands to outlaw guns, and the emotionally driven responses by the opposition to keep them.  Talk of armed teachers, (I don’t want MY kid’s teacher having a gun at the ready, because my kid could drive a sane man mad), and armed guards well… we already covered that.

To say that we have already been living in a police state for at least three decades, to anyone who is awake, is in understatement.  To anyone who isn’t awake, it’s just conspiracy theorist paranoia.  Having witnessed firsthand, the corruption of the CPS agency, under the guise of “to protect the children,” I am wide awake.

 The more shouting I heard, the more caution I needed to take about how to broach this subject with my child.

When my son came home from school that Monday, I asked if anything interesting happened at school that day.  He said no, and I was relieved to have more time to thin about how I was going to discuss this with him without instilling fear.  Fortunately, that was also the last week of school before the two week Christmas break, which would not see him returning until the 7th of January, 10 days before the announcements of what was to come.

Because of the shouting going on, and the proposals of legislations and executive orders without Congressional approval, as long as nothing was being told to my son, I was waiting to see how any new laws would have to play into the conversation…

• Would I have to explain to him why those men with those big rifle guns were standing at the entrance of his school as he made his way to class?
• Would I have to bite the bullet and finally home school him, to spare him that atrocity?
• Would I have to explain why my little boy could no longer go to school, because I felt that under armed guards he was no longer safe there?

Some people may believe that the armed guards make him safer than not having the armed guards.  To that I say, maybe his body is safer, but his mind is grave jeopardy of ‘accepting’ a life in a society such as that of the Federali, M-16 guarded beaches of Mexico.  A live body means nothing when the mind is enslaved.  For an enslaved mind, is an enslaved body.

I will not speculate on an ‘illuminati’ controlled, globalist banking system bearing responsibility for the brainwashing of American or global citizens. 

Whether they exist or not, they could never have sold us the house of cards, unless we wanted to believe it, and we did want to believe it, and so we bought it. 

I don’t believe that will change either.  The indoctrination by our educational system has been engineered by the ‘elites’ needs for and since, The Industrial Revolution.  That indoctrination was to ‘work’ for those engineers, for their profits, in return for a promise of economic security, a steady paycheck, a retirement plan, medical coverage.

The Industrial Age has ended and The Information Age has now begun, and like any change in nature, there will be chaos as the new order of nature get it’s footing… but the engineers are still the ‘elite,’ and now they’ll be selling a new house cards, complete with all the effects of the smoke and mirrors once again.

And once again, is it is our nature… we will believe it, because it is what we want to believe.  Eventually, the dust will settle, and we will have a prosperous time, until the next revolution, when the cycle will start again.

Schools, societies, are slow in adapting to a new cycle of nature.  Evolution is a slow process.  It will take approximately three generations for schools to fully develop an indoctrination program that focuses on teaching our children that ‘productive members of society,’ now hold jobs that make profits for the engineers of the New Information Age.  Teaching children to make profit for the elite, in the name of being a ‘productive member of society,’ will forever be the school’s mission, because the ‘education’ is provided for by those who engineer the society, and those who want to believe that the engineer’s illusions are real.

There are few who do not want to be the engineers or their workers.  For we know that the eventually, the house of cards, will collapse, under it’s own weight, and we would rather keep control over our own lives and financial security.

I don’t like the idea that our schools teach children this draconian ideal of what a ‘productive member of society’ is.  I would prefer that schools only teach reading, writing, math, science, and how to think critically by teaching them how to use resources such as books and libraries.  But I realize who gets to tell the schools what to teach, and so I will let the school teach the things I want the school to teach my children, and I will teach them how to ‘think for themselves.’

At least, that was the plan…

As long as nothing was being said to my child about what was happening, I was holding out to see just how much I was going to have to explain…  and on that fateful Wednesday in January of 2013, it was clear that I was not just going to have to explain about anything, involving any guns, I was also going to have to explain that we were planning major moves, first to another state, and then eventually, even to another country, as soon as possible, far away from the friends and family we have here.  I was going to have to explain even more than that, how he is now to be ‘suspicious,’ of everyone who is not friend or family, and how to respond to questions, about things like guns,  to their own doctors.

We had already had a run-in with CPS a couple of years ago, when a DCF dependent decided that we were ‘abusing and neglecting our kids,’ because we let them watch Sponge Bob, let the almost 5 year old make toast in a regular toaster, (while we were 3 ft from him,) and weren’t forcing him to ‘try new foods,’ when he was going through a ‘fussy eater stage.’  This woman made an ‘anonymous phone call,’ which is not even enough ‘probable cause,’ for a police officer to GET a warrant to search if the nature of the call were reporting ANY ‘crime,’ and from there on out, we witnessed the grossest, attempted, violation of Constitutional Rights that anyone could ever imagine.  This corrupt agency attempted to bully, blackmail and terrorize our family. The worker who called me on the phone, informed me that they had made a medical appointment for my children to be examined and then told me that neither my ‘boyfriend’ (husband, but this woman did not even have her facts) nor I could take them, that we had to arrange for someone else to do it while we went to be interrogated by CPS that they had ‘set’ for us.

We were fortunate enough to have found an attorney who put a stop to the nonsense.  As soon as he called them to state that he was now representing us and that our children would not be attending any medical examination without our presence, he was put on hold and when reconnected, told that the case had been handed over to another staff member, who didn’t make contact with us for another 30 days or so.  During that time, we had been expecting a call back, so we started doing some research… this is CPS’s modus operandi, and they target the ‘poor,’ who can’t afford an attorney and as is the nature of poverty are often not well educated, especially where the Constitutional Rights are concerned.

It was only because we were not the uneducated poor that CPS was used to being able to abuse, we were able to get legal representation which bought us time to learn how to deal with this situation.  We had put up a sign on our front door that announced, ‘This Home Is Under Video And Audio Surveillance.  Be aware, you are being recorded.”  This saved us from any possible confrontation about us recording any meeting.  We also, upon discovering that an officer had visited our child’s daycare before we even knew there was an investigation, and interrogated our child.  Ever since that day, we have taught our children that if any authority figure, police officer, or anyone they don’t know, starts asking them questions about our family, that their only response is to be ‘call my lawyer.’  My kids know this drill well.

And since no one really gives a dam about the poor, and most people look upon the poor with contempt and disdain, most people ‘assume’ that these poor people ‘must have done something wrong,’ and they ‘deserve it,’ and worse, “shouldn’t even have any Constitutional rights,” because, “they live off my tax dollars.”  So CPS has continued to get away with thwarting the Constitution, and when no one spoke up, because they were doing it to the poor, so who cares… and now we are standing on the doorstep of the precedent we’ve set by allowing our ‘law enforcement community,’ to ignore the Constitution for some, to now allow them to ignore it for the rest of us…

Over the past few days, as I’ve read this legislation and listened to all of the arguments from all of the sides, the one thing that keeps nagging at me is the executive order that doctors, who under Obamacare will become employees of the government, are now to interrogate children and ask them if there are any guns in the home, that under Obamacare, doctors are to report any ‘mental illness’ to the government to put on a ‘no buy’ list of any gun… of course the government that your doctor reports to will be local police, who will then turn the information over to CPS… who HAS REPEATEDLY DEMONSTRATED UTTER DISREGARD AND CONTEMPT FOR THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION…  and under ‘threat’ of taking your children from you, will force you, without probable cause, to submit to their interrogation which in conjunction with your doctors will declare you mentally ill, and you can forget about your shotgun, your rifle and your .22 goodbye.

And you’ll also be in a database of ‘mentally ill people,’ so now, the criminals who would rob, rape and murder you and yours, can discover that you are unarmed.

They said they were only going after the assault rifles, right?  HAHAHAHAH

You fell for that?

This legislation is squarely constructed to have no way out, of being banned from owning ANY gun…

In light of this event, we have made the decision to make our strategic moves now.  Tying this legislation to the medical profession that has been drugging us since the Beatles sang about “running for the shelter of our mother’s little helper,” to reporting to a corrupt organization that uses and threatens people’s children to force them into surrendering of their Constitutional Rights, to disarm the population… and a ‘majority’ of educated yet ignorant citizens who have once again fallen for, ‘it’s to protect the children.’

The only illusion I want to see, is the one that entertains me for a short time and is known to me to be an illusion.  I do not want to see an ‘illusion’ of ‘life.’

I have not yet told my kids much… last night, I was forced to reveal some information when my oldest confessed to me, out of nowhere, that he was afraid of guns.  Obviously my first concern was that he school was teaching him that a gun was something to be afraid of.  I asked why he was afraid, if someone told him to be afraid, but his answers did not suggest that he was getting this from his school.

Nonetheless, I will not allow my child to fear an inanimate object.  A gun without a person holding it, is no more dangerous than a car sitting parked, without a person driving it. And so we did our best to explain that…

And now we had to tell him not to answer doctors, teacher, or anyone  who asks them if there are any guns in his house, along with explaining why he can’t make ‘finger guns’ at school, or have a bubble gun anywhere that Mom and Dad haven’t scoped out to ensure that no unreasonable were around to ‘outrage’ at the sight of a PINK BUBBLE GUN.

We did not give him the ‘specifics,’ we didn’t even tell him it happened at a school.  We told him that a man who was sick had a reaction to his medication that made him do some very bad things with a gun, and people died.  And that people were upset and when people are upset, they don’t always make the best decisions, and we went so far as to tell him that even the President makes mistakes, and just like the rest of us, he’s making them because he’s upset, which is never a good time to make decisions.

We told him that a gun without a person is as harmless as a car without a driver.

The first was ‘zones.’  I searched for ‘Gardening zones’ and came up with a few excellent results, and several articles that had done their job in ‘details,’ but details weren’t doing me a whole lot of good when I didn’t know which zone I was even in yet.

That’s when I clicked on a Google Image result, and discovered that I am in Zone 9.  Now those ‘detailed average thaw dates,’ and ‘eleveation factors’ were a lot more useful.  Click here for a map of U.S. Gardening Zones.

WeekendGardener.com also has a map that includes zones in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Hawiia and Alaska.  Click here to visit.

Now, we have never intended to stay at this location for any extended period of time, so I don’t want to invest too much into a set-up here, so I do as much as I possibly can in raised bed gardens, but after a year of serious prepping, we’ve started to think about investing in some land for a bug out location… and I happened to have run across this video which gives some phenomenal tips on finding cheap land and building a small, off-grid shelter on it…

It’s been our intention to form a ‘co-op’ of like minded folks who all pitch in to buy or even ‘lease to own’ as much as possible and cooperatively farm it.  We’ll all have our own sections to work, and each of us will take turns watching over the land.  This means a massive organizational effort and is likely to take some time, so in the meantime, we personally are just looking for that small amount of land that we can work ourselves.

We are also giving a lot of serious thought to moving to Mississippi, for various reasons, so we have to keep an ‘exit strategy’ in mind with any decisions we make.  Luckily, with advances in hydroponics and aquaponics, we don’t need a whole lot of land to grow enough food to feed a family of four.

Today, tomorrow and Friday, I will be scouring Craigslist, flea markets, yard sales, and maybe even the county dump, in search of materials I can recycle to make raised bed gardens for the crops, a new coop so I can get more laying hens, and possibly rabbit cages so we can start raising rabbits.  We still want our tilapia farm as well, but that might have to wait a few more months, or possibly even wait until we find enough land that will provide us with the land we need to not only grow our own food, but income opportunity as well, so that the land pays for itself and we never will be at risk of ‘losing’ it to foreclosure or taxes.