Preparedness Seminar Saturday. Are You Car Sick Yet?

Preparedness Seminars are always hard to make people come out and attend. The individuals have to be really interested and sometimes it has to be a disaster that scares them into being interested. Sad, it could be too late. It's a subject we all don't want to think about and all say to ourselves, "That scary stuff won't happen to me." There's the Scarlett O'Hara personality, from the movie "Gone With The Wind," Scarlett always says when there's something important or sad to figure out... she's says, "I'll think about that tomorrow." I've actually done that, when circumstances were overwhelming, like impending childbirth.

I brought for my display tables my 72 hour pack (that is way huge and hard to set-up) We keep buying stuff for it! We found that a dolly with two or three rectangular Rubbermaid boxes are the best to keep the stuff in. I had a big trash can with wheels and took it to a "Preparedness Idea Day" a city preparedness event, and I couldn't get the 72 hour stuff out of the car without help. It rolled and kept turning over to each side and then it took "three men and a boy" to get it back in my pick-up. New packaging was required. It's good to take it out for a trial run. One can never know if the pack is just right and a person can handle your packing job, including your children.



My other display was the children's fun activities, organization (hahahahaha), chore charts from when my kids were little, and some other wonderful things I pulled together with the help of my computer friends.

Marnie was in charge of the event with Sally. Marnie is my daughter. Soooo Steve and I really tried hard to have a lot prepared.

The activity directors got an excellent speaker on fiances! Everyone talked about how great he was.

There was the "Smoke House" playhouse to teach children about fires and fire-safety, and even a window ladder to climb down.



Lots of firetrucks for the kids to climb on and a fire extinguisher training spot for everyone to learn to use a fire extinguisher with real fire. Yikes!

Marnie and Sally had an expert cook at the activity to show us Dutch Oven Cooking and how amazing and easy that can be done with a little bit of knowledge.

Our great friends, the "Colvard Family" that owns
"The Painted Pony Farm"

in Santa Paula came down to show us all how to make the grow boxes using the "Square-Foot Gardening Method. Steve Colvard has even improved on whole system and it was wonderful to see his boxes and how he makes them. Pam and Steve also brought clippings to show everyone how to grow landscape plants on a budget. I loved that so much! It's amazing how easy it is and we all didn't know how many beautiful plants can be started that way.

Grow Boxes Miniature for Apartments and Easier To Show How They Are Made
They Have Feet and Cage Under To Keep Out Critters

My Husband Some Hotshot (he just got hurt on a recent Strike Team)

My husband did a short presentation on CERT and taking care of you and your family when a small or large disaster happens. Even... when a disaster happens far-away and then we're all needed to take care of those that need us or help if they arrive here. Many people have ways and are able to go and help them. A person just needs to find the right agency to work through.

There are wonderful inexpensive ideas that came from "Daytrippin' Mom" and it's all written by Aracely Worley from Southern California.

My Young Women's President, Lisa Morgan, also prepared a display and had great ideas. She's a foster mother with tons of energy and two little ones at home. (She already raised her huge family) I loved her table!

I found my old book, "You Could Use A Little Help" by Darlene Merill. Actually, I bought two more used books through Amazon for my own grown children and the charts were not included. I got so ripped-off! But...just by chance... I found another blog that had the charts and the book to download. Bless this guy's heart for posting it on his blog. He's a single dad and also had lots of fun things to do with kids that ideas that don't take loads of money & full of memory-making ideas. His blog is great and he's just about 60 miles south of us. The blog is "Musings... no..."Rantings of a Hollywood Newbie." I've already bought the book three times, so I felt it was absolutely okay that I downloaded the charts for my grandchildren.

The charts were a big hit. Everyone that was LDS and went by my table, picked them up and said. I remember these! Some even said, "Did you have a black bean and white bean jar when you were a kid?" Me..."No, I had the beans for my own children." "I just got spanked." My children all say when they are cleaning their house now, the charts they used as kids, always come to mind on how to clean and the order--it really does make it faster and easier to get done. They love the charts!

I also have a book from Dr. Dobson, who did the radio show. Focus on the Family. I think his wife wrote the book with his help and it's huge with tons of ideas for great memories. It's packed with information for grandmothers and grandfathers, too. Yes, I love that.

A big card fell out of the book when I picked it up. It was my homemade "Car Bingo Card" I couldn't afford all the ones at Bennett's School Supply store so I made my own. We didn't have dry erase markers then, I wouldn't use them in the car anyway! We used purple crayons that never seemed to get worn-out. They did wear-out in the car on a hot day and it was not fun to try and remove from the car seat or floor.

Showing The Bingo Card hahaha

It really cracked-me-up to see what I drew for them. Hahahahaha I 'crack myself up' Nevermind.

All my kids love these cards. Bree even was going to ask me to look for them to use on the way out to see us from Arkansas. Okay, Okay...one is road-kill spat, roller skates?, banana bike?, telephone booth, a police badge. (That was okay to look for an officer, because they knew my mom was a police woman with a badge) Oh, and I had a roll-off bin and a trash truck because my husband owned a trash hauling business. Storage containers are everywhere now, but back then it was hard to find them. The Heil Trash Truck rear-loader... doesn't even resemble the trash trucks of today and the VWs....the kids knew the VW, even though I couldn't draw it right. They knew because it was "Beetle Bop" and could hit the person next to you. The card was really a fun find. I tried to discourage the "Beetle Bop Game"...yeah, it leads to black-eyes... Huh Marnie? "Zits" weren't on the bingo card, just horses. Zits were special white horses and you got money for finding a "Zit."

I always thought "Zits" and "Beetles" were important to look for because some kids (and adults) get really car-sick looking down. Actually, one of my greatest fears as a kid was going on a long ride. I ALWAYS got sick! My mom has the same problem so she had empathy for me and we'd stop as I needed and she'd help me, even though it made her sick to be right there. Quote from Time CNN said, "People who do not get seasick, find seasickness uproariously funny. People who do get seasick want to die. Wit is no longer witty, companionship no longer desirable. They want to be alone. Then they want something to hang on to while they go through the misery of turning themselves inside out." It's not in your head and know that it's really misery. I grew to hate 7-up and Pepto-Bismo. I did learn salty lime chips or a real lime and some soda crackers do help me with baby chewable Tylenol. I don't know why that works. Actually, a small amount of Dramamine is okay for me, but I know it can have terrible side-effects...I don't really care when I'm so sick. So watch it. BTW if you do take that medicine the trip is over and a nap will take its place.

I took that Dramamine stuff on a patch when I went deep sea fishing and was so sick anyway! My eyes got really weird. One pupil opened up all the way and the other when to a pin-prick, everyone thought I looked posessed! The captain knew I was in so much misery, he came down to console me and gave me a fishy-smelling trash can. He went on to say that a lady that was on board his boat this month, and had that patch, got so crazy she took off all her clothes "down-below" and came on deck and ran around naked. I asked my husband to tie my hands to the cover post. Finally, it ended and the Captain said, "You made it and hope to see you better next time!" I said, "The next time I come here is when H*%$ freezes over." My newly called missionary son covered his ears.

Daramine, crackers, lime powder candy (who thought of this great invention), Baby chewable Tylenol, and even Pepto Bismo are in MY 72 HOUR and they are always in my purse and in my car.

"Kids don't look down!" "Hey, did you see that??!!" "I think that was "Big Foot" !!!!