Health or Being Physcially Prepared

Our health is important and being physically prepared or as fit as possible is extremely important.  Others rely on us and we need to do everything we can to not only be there for them, but to not be a burden.  I realize that there comes a time in ones life when despite all they do, they are just not as fit as they once were and rely on others.  There's no shame in that.  However, I am not as physically fit as I could be and I plan to change that.

I have struggled with health issues recently, and one of them being diabetes.  Diabetes is not easily controlled and the medications can be expensive.  While I have stocked up on my necessary medicines (always a prepper), I know that there may come a time when I can't get it.  Insulin is very expensive, not to mention you need a syringe to inject it.  So, I need to decrease my dependence on insulin, and hopefully remove it all together.  I don't know if it is possible, but I am going to try. 

So hubby and I decided to start walking every day and for the last three days we have walked approximately a mile.

My blood glucose was 368 (normal is 70-100) at 9:00 a.m. this morning.  I took my meds, ate breakfast and we began our walk around 10:00 a.m.  It took us two hours and we had a great time.  We made videos and worked around in the yard.  I started feeling like my blood glucose levels were dropping, so around 1:00 I checked it again.  It was 86!  Exercise can do wonders for your glucose levels!   

Since, I hate to waste time and I get bored so easily, we decided to multi-task on our walks. Make a game out of it.   Watch this video for details:

So, we are going to walk daily, pick up aluminum cans and scrap metal to make a few pennies, while we clean up the environment a little. Also, we are learning the native plants that grow beside the road. Can you identify these plants?

Believe it or not, while walking and keeping yourself entertained, you can find useful objects like reels, coal and golf balls.  LOL.  See the video below. 

So get out there and make a little bit of money, have fun and exercise.  Hubby says we are losing a few pounds while we find a few pounds (of cans and metal that is.)  Enjoy yourself and happy prepping!

New Years Resolution Versus Goals

I don't like making New Years Resolutions. They are by their very nature made to be broken. I want to set goals. Goals can be achieved! I have many goals this year and I make mini goals to achieve those larger goals.

Photo courtesy of integracore.com

So, what are my goals you may ask? I want to live a more self-sufficient life on this planet. I don't want to be dependent on anyone for my next meal or my next breath for that matter.

So the steps:

1. Become healthy and strong;
2. Garden;
3. Use less electricity;
a. grow accustom to cooler temps in winter and warmer temps in summer;
b. line dry clothes
c. weatherize and use various strategies to help keep home warm in winter and cooler in summer
4. Use less. Period.
5. Make my own
a. Pizza dough, foods, detergent, furniture, clothes, quilts, soap, cream of chicken soup, soup base, butter, etc.
6. Perfect a bartering system locally.
7. Soooooo much more!

Are all these goals attainable right now? No, but some of them are. I can’t make butter, I don’t have a cow or goats. But I might be able to trade for some. I am sure there are many things I can learn to do. But I need someone to teach me.

So, our path to self-sufficiency has been a struggle and we have been on this journey for nearly three years now. We have had some successes and some miserable fails! But we have learned lessons. I know that there are those out there that have learned lessons too and we can learn from each other.

So whether your goal is total self-sufficiency, a homestead or just getting prepared for life’s storms this is the place to be. I believe that being prepared involves self sufficiency. For years, our fore fathers were self-sufficient and supplied their own needs. Granted, I can’t grow a pineapple here, but there will be sacrifices and we all know it. I believe we are headed toward disaster and we better prepare ourselves for it now.

Since we are all on different levels of preparedness and we are all in different financial situations, I hope to cover things that are affordable to everyone. I love to learn how to do things for myself, but I am often discouraged when people talk about things that above my means. I want to include everyone I can.
Share your tricks:
1. How you save money to buy preps or other things you need?
2. What are your short cuts?
3. Where do you get items cheap?

Don’t be shy! Share! If you want to share something, but don’t want to post it yourself, let me know and I will post it without your information attached. This is how we learn, from each other.

Happy Prepping!