Emergency Kits: a quick overview

Emergency Kits: a quick overview

Why should you think about putting together an emergency kit?
*Being prepared in the event of an emergency (i.e. water main break, extended power outage due to tornado, ice storm, etc.) lowers the stress associated with the emergency.
*Having a kit lessens your dependence on others for help.
*It feels good helping to look out for your family.

Some categories to consider including in an emergency kit:
*Sanitation: toilet paper, facial tissue, disinfecting wipes, garbage bags, bleach
* Survival: rope, flashlight w/batteries, matches, candles, blankets, water, canned food, can opener (not electric)
* Medical: family prescriptions, bandages, over the counter medicines
* Personal Hygiene: toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, deodorant, feminine hygiene products, hand sanitizer
*Stress Relief: deck of cards, silly putty, crayons, notebook, pencils, pens, reading materials, inspirational materials
* Miscellaneous: reading glasses, first aid book

Talk to your family about gathering items for an emergency kit. Each family’s needs are different. What would your family need? When you’ve gathered your items, inventory them, including expiration dates of any medications, then store in a waterproof container. Keep your inventory in an envelope taped to the container. Every Jan. 1, rotate your “expiration dated” emergency kit items, by placing them into your regular home use and refilling kit with fresh supplies. (Our kit took our family several weeks to collect. If your family chooses to put a kit together, it’s easiest to do it a little at a time. Have fun!)

(This is what I'm mailing tomorrow to Mr. Obama, Ms. Pelosi, and Senators Feingold and Kohl.)

April 14, 2009

Dear Mr. President,
Please accept this empty tea envelope as a symbol of my disgust in the state of affairs in our nation’s capitol. I am attending a TEA party tomorrow, April 15th, tax day. In this case, TEA stands for Taxed Enough Already. Have our legislators forgotten that they work FOR US? My tax dollars are being used for immoral purposes, such as funding embryonic stem cell research, and abortion subsidies in this country AND IN MEXICO. I am also tired of being told it is my duty as an American to pay MORE taxes to rescue people that purchased larger houses than they could afford. It is absolutely unconscionable that my tax dollars are being given to ILLEGAL aliens. My family came from a different country LEGALLY. However, we are responsible citizens. We all have jobs. We pay our taxes. We live on budgets and don’t ask others to remediate the consequences of any poor decisions we make.

The Stimulus Package recently passed has much “pork” shoved into it. I am very concerned for the future of the United States of America. The little bits of legislation stuck inside that massive stimulus package add up to a huge tax hike for responsible citizens to cover the backsides of irresponsible ones!

Tomorrow, I am “dumping” my tea, along with millions of other American citizens who have had enough of this ridiculous tax situation. I love my country but fear my government.

Respectfully,

Me (actual letters signed with my real name and address)

My philosophy of education

Recently, I was nominated for an award. I had to write several essays about education to include with my materials to be considered by the selection committee. These essays may interest some of you. The following is my philosophy of education.

Like a pebble thrown into a pond, every choice we make causes ripples of change to reach where we cannot imagine. My educational philosophy is, “Go forth and make ripples.” This is a concept I discuss with my students at the start of each school year. We talk about how some choices bring about unfavorable outcomes, so we need to make our choices carefully. Naturally, if we make good choices, the good ripples spread incredibly far. I believe in this concept so deeply that I put “RIPPLES” on my license plate. Yes, strangers stop me at gas stations and ask me about it. I’m always happy to give them the main idea. When my students see me driving around town, they explain my license plate to their parents and the ripples continue.
In my classroom, at the end of each lesson, I ask the class how friendly, helpful and responsible they were. Students rate themselves on a scale of one to five. The scores they mentally give themselves are private. The numbers are guides to help them improve in any way needed during our next class. Using this self-evaluation tool to end each class period allows my students to keep the concept of making responsible ripples fresh in their minds. Students often stop me in the hallway to tell me about other good ripples they made at home or in their other classes. Like the threads of a spider web, we are all connected. The actions we choose to take affect all those around us. The earlier children learn the idea of being responsible for their choices and the outcomes they bring, the more successful I believe they can be.

Are you a pencil?

Not long ago, as I was driving home from work, I was listening to Relevant Radio. A man was talking about having met Mother Theresa. He said that she considered herself "a pencil in the hand of God." Hmmm...let me think about that a minute.

• Pencils are simple, but pretty useful tools. Anybody can use one, but if someone is skilled, they can create artistic, musical or literary masterpieces with a mere pencil.

• How would it work if a pencil exerted its own intellect and tried to take over while the master artist was at work? A mess, right? So, if we are simple but pretty useful tools in the hands of God, what will it take for us to release our will to that of the Father's? What artistry will God perform with us and through us if we do?

• Pencils are of no use unless they're sharpened. What sharpens us? All those little annoyances and big crises do. Each one knocks a little off of our edges until we're sharp enough to use. How do we look at the hindrances and stumbling blocks in our lives? If we reframe them, we can appreciate (sometimes MUCH later) how they helped us to be of more use to God's work.

• Do pencils have to be perfect to do their jobs? Some are chewed, their paint chipping off. Yet, inside each of those pencils is still the graphite necessary to do its work. We all have our issues. God can and does use us, in spite of our faults...and sometimes because of them.

• Pencils have erasers. We get do-overs because of God's infinite grace and MERCY. It's that simple.

Being a pencil doesn't sound too bad! Are you a pencil?

On temperature

It's been a while since I've posted an entry, but last night in bed I decided this essay needed to be written. I am always cold. When anyone else is comfortable in a room, I am cold. My hands and even my nose get icy. Nobody understands it, not even my doctor. There are VERY few times in the summer that I am what I would consider "hot." Through most of the year, this coldness is merely an annoyance. However, when the snow flies, I get desperate. I drink hot teas, even before bed...and yes, I DO have to get up in the middle of the night. I wear layers during the day. I even wear fingerless mittens so my hands are a little warmer, yet I can still play the piano in my classroom. I have snuggly blankets on the couch. I have a snuggly zippered outfit I wear UNDER the snuggly blankets. I wear wool socks to bed. I even put a t-shirt over my head as I'm climbing into bed to keep my body heat in. ( I should really knit a Victorian night cap for myself!) Luckily, my husband is used to my methods of retaining body heat. He wants me to be comfortable. I may not look like a Victoria's Secret model at bedtime. At least I'm not an icicle when interest rises. You know what they say. Cold hands, warm heart.

The greater good

My parents taught me to think of the greater good. So, I'm the type of person that moves all the way down as far as possible in all the shows at Disney World. The people that stop in the middle of a row are...well...SELFISH! "What's in it for me if I move all the way down?" "I want the best seat." That type of person thinks only of themselves and doesn't care that their actions make it harder for others to enjoy the same show. This time of year, similar things happen on hayrides sometimes. People pick the "best" seat and let others crawl over them to squish onto the wagon. Drives me nuts.

Does this tie into the election? Sure. I'm voting Republican for the greater good. I am completely, 100% pro-life. I want every baby to have a chance at life. Hmmm...some of you out there want to know "What's in it for me to have all these babies live?" Well, if you want to talk financially, eventually all those babies will be taxpayers. If you want to talk health care, those babies could be adopted and parents desiring to have a child wouldn't have to pay for all those extreme fertility treatments. (I do believe insurance companies should pay, though. Most will pay for abortions, but many will not pay for even the least treatment for infertility. Talk about unfair!)

Growing government is not in the best interest of "the greater good." What ever happened to America's independent spirit? People used to "do for themselves" and not wait for some government agency to bail them out. Don't get me wrong. I do donate money and food and clothing to those with financial difficulties. To those working poor that just can't make ends meet. I have no problem paying taxes to help those who are truly disabled, either. However, this welfare system we have needs more oversight. Too many out there are just milking the system for everything they can get, knowing that they could, and should, get and keep a job instead. My family escaped a communist regime to MAKE a life for themselves here. Never did they expect anything to be handed to them. We are proud to be productive, tax-paying citizens of this nation. We just want our taxes used wisely, and truly for the greater good.

Spreading the wealth

Senator Obama feels that he should take the money that I earned and share it with those that didn't earn my money. I have two thoughts about that.

1. Isn't it my right to decide to whom I wish to donate money? (By the way, I DO donate money to various charities.)

2. Will Senator Obama's daughters be sharing their Halloween candy with all the kids that didn't go trick-or-treating?