September 2011

The Gourmet Food Experiment

Last week I had the occasion to prepare an elaborate dinner for over 30 women. That doesn’t seem like a big deal on the surface; after all, I’ve created dinner for several wedding receptions, Christmas parties, and I actually love the occasion to spoil folks with yummy food. But this event was indeed different as I didn’t have all day to prepare, I was already exhausted from a previous day of 16 hours of non-stop filming and a day that already had more activity than I typically have to do in one week. All of the dishes had to be made without the luxury of refrigeration or electricity on demand, be worthy of the label of “gourmet”, and oh, yeah…the dishes had to be “camera ready” and tasty so that the cameras didn’t catch anyone spitting it out in disgust.

By Preparedness Pro, ago

Finally, Affordable Quality Shelf-Stable Foods

Last summer I had an encounter with one of the many freeze-dried food companies here in Utah. As you can imagine, there are lots and lots of them. Unfortunately the encounter did not go well. I found them to be dishonest, deceitful, and far too pushy. The deal is that they offer a “free sample” of their product–which frankly I think is a wise move that any freeze-dried or dehydrated manufacturer should do–and I think that they should provide samples for this purpose for any of their distributors. The thing is, though

By Preparedness Pro, ago

Introduction to the Importance of Self-Defense for Women

The fact of the matter is, I won’t be doing much of anything until Monday because I’m just plain worn out! While the filming for National Geographic’s “Doomsday Preppers” was an amazing experience (Nothing negative to say about that) it was grueling and it absorbed much more than just a couple days of my life as there was much to get ready. Suddenly I’m actually grateful for the experience I had with TLC’s “Extreme Couponing” even if I wasn’t a fan of their show and didn’t want to be a part of it. Why? Because doing their show made me get my supplies totally organized and cleaned up AND it helped me to be so much cooler with the camera and even able to anticipate what National Geographic would need for their shoot. (Apparently that’s an unheard of benefit to the field producer, so he was pretty pleased.)

By Preparedness Pro, ago

The Constituents of Essential Oils

 

Yes, I’ve been a bit absent lately. But I have a really good reason and perhaps you might even be happy with the fruits of what I’ve been working on. If you haven’t heard, I’m a big proponent of using essential oils for a myriad of health care and wellness needs. They are the oldest known forms of medicinal aid we have on record and they are still being used regularly by medical professionals in Europe and parts of Asia.  My problem though, while researching them for over a decade, was that I kept trying them and they didn’t work for me. Frankly, I had thought that I was just the exception to the rule and still foolishly purchased thousands of dollars of what I thought were the best quality oils at the time in hopes that they would help someone else, someday, when traditional medical care would not be available.

By Preparedness Pro, ago
armenia

The Armenian Woman of Valor

armeniaYesterday I was profoundly affected by a conversation I had with an amazing woman who was only 12 years old during the big earthquake in Armenia. She generously shared so much of her 13 year experience without running water or electricity, and how she survived in a community that was nothing more than rubble during that time. Though she’s alive and well and happily married now living here in the U.S., it was obviously very emotional for her to discuss this extremely challenging part of her life. I’d like to share with you today a few tidbits about her story.

By Preparedness Pro, ago
gloves

Just Gloves

We’ve been told to remember our hat, our coat, and sometimes even a clean pair of underwear, but in my opinion, no preparedness glovesefforts are complete without the proper gloves. Yup, gloves—and I’m not talking about the obvious ones needed to protect our hands from freezing weather. I’m talking about the other gloves that you’ll wish you had if you get thrown any of the potential curve balls of more widespread and challenging times.

By Preparedness Pro, ago