72 Hour Kits, First Aid Kits, and Zombies

I grew up in the LDS church where things like food storage, emergency preparedness, and even basic first aid training were natural parts of life and topics of conversation.  I make a point of having food (and water) storage and can feed 12 people with a half hour's notice at all times.  I live in an area where, in a 365 day period, we can receive any kind of extreme weather warning from baseball-sized hail to flash floods to blizzards to tornado warnings to wildfires.  So you'd think I would have something as simple as a basic first aid kit and a basic 72 hour kit.

You would be wrong.

Back in July, this became painfully obvious to me.  I went and watched World War Z (yes, that's right, a zombie movie), and found myself horrified by 1.) the part of the movie where Brad Pitt and his family are fighting for supplies in a grocery store and nearly get murdered in the face over things like medication and water bottles, and 2.) the prospect of having to do something similar if I were ever in a disaster situation (likely, it will not be a zombie apocalypses, but that doesn't make the scenario of me getting murdered in the face in a grocery store any less likely).  So, thanks to a zombie movie, I started the project of getting together my 72 hour kit.

I consulted a lot of sources (listed below) and complied a list that makes sense for my situation (single, in Idaho, female, no serious medications or health conditions, with a vehicle and at least half a tank of gas and with at least two separate "rendezvous with apocalyps survival group" options).  I got several items on Amazon, others from Walmart and walmart.com, and a few I already had lying around the house.  For anyone who does something similar, I highly suggest the Prepared LDS Family blog (for well-rounded 72 hour kit advice) and the Self Reliant Sisters blog (for good discussions about food, especially); Mormons know their stuff when it comes for planning for disasters beyond guns and MREs.

http://www.ready.gov/basic-disaster-supplies-kit

http://www.ready.gov/publications

http://lds.about.com/od/preparednessfoodstorage/a/72hour_kit.htm

http://www.nationalterroralert.com/72hourkit/

http://www.costco.com/Shelf-Reliance%C2%AE-72-hour,-2-person-Emergency-Pack.product.11500240.html

http://www.emd.wa.gov/preparedness/documents/piy_72_hour.pdf

http://selfreliantsisters.blogspot.com/search/label/72%20Hour%20Kits

http://preparedldsfamily.blogspot.com/2013/01/make-72-hour-kit-in-12-steps-step-1.html

http://preparedldsfamily.blogspot.com/2009/04/additional-emergency-supplies-for.html

One thing that I was concerned about was getting food that would cover basic nutrition needs in terms of calories, nutrients, variety, and portability.  I decided the best thing to do was to get foods that I would also be likely to eat during finals week.  There are three basic reasons for this: 1.) they're easy to eat and don't require water to cook, 2.) I KNOW they keep me both full and not bored, and 3.) I can easily rotate them twice per year.

Another thing I had to be aware of is that, as a single person, I only have me to carry stuff.  I can't divide things among the packs of several people.  Which means I have to take less of some stuff, or different kinds of stuff, than I might if I could divvy up stuff that didn't need to be duplicated for each person (like a first aid kit, a tent, a radio, etc.).  This SUCKS.  Even splitting the survival basics with one other person would significantly lighten the load.  But I'd hate to get to a survival camp and not have any of this stuff.

Anyway, here are the links to the spreadsheets for my 72 Hour Kit.  THIS ONE is the list I came up with for the actual kit, and THIS ONE is a detailed list of my First Aid kit.  There are several theories on how to pack stuff, but I just ended up using a duffle bag.  I totally encourage you to get at least some kind of emergency plan together, even if it's not as extensive as this one.  Good luck!

Going Veggie

Alright guys, so here it is: I'm going vegetarian (or possibly flexiterian).  There are a lot of reasons why and a lot of conversations and moments and thoughts that have influenced the decision, but there are essentially two main things going on.

First,I'm doing it for health reasons.  While I realize it's not unhealthy to eat meat (never mind what all the crazies say), I personally feel better when my diet consists of primarily plant-based food sources.  Additionally, I'm becoming more and more aware of the dangers of eating processed foods, primarily because of the added sugars that go into all kinds of foods (according to National Geographic's August 2013 issue, about 1.77 tsp of sugar per 3 tbsp of ketchup, for instance), and I'd like to cut as much of that as possible out of my diet.

Second, I'm doing it for sustainability reasons.  Meat-based diets require more land, water, and fossil fuel resources than lacto-ovo-vegetarian diets, and it's something that I find I can't do anymore.  I've been striving to be more "green" in my everyday life already (from turning off lights to putting a water bottle in the toilet tank to seeking out local sources for milk, eggs, and cheese), and cutting out meat consumption is just another logical step in that process.  It might be a small impact, but so are most of the things I've done.  Consider it a starfish thing.

So here's the deal, friends.  My goal is to be meatless by August 25 (the day before school starts) and, like any long-term friend, I feel like I need to make a few good memories with meat before we go our separate ways.  Which means, naturally, getting all my favorite meat-based meals one last time.  If you're interested, I'd love some company.  Just let me know which restaurant seems appealing (by blog comment, fb message, text, etc.) and we'll go!

• Red Lobster - because lobster, duh
• Texas Roadhouse - goodbye steak
• The Portneuf Brewery - Canadian Dreaming pizza, I will miss you
• Pizza Hut - one last Meat Lovers
• Goody's - Western pizza bombs, you will be missed
• 5 Guys - because burgers, duh
• Jimmy John's - the Italian Nightlife is where it's at
• Sumisu's or Blue Hashi - unagi, you have been good to me
• your place, if you have a grill - because I make better pork chops than a restaurant

I'll cross these off the list as people volunteer to by my dining companion or as I go by myself.  You don't have to eat what I'm having (obviously), and you don't have to agree with my choice, but I'd love the support!

New Bedding!! (I Know It's Silly, But I'm Excited!)

tl;dr - I got a new duvet and cover, and I'm pretty excited.  Scroll for pictures.

So anyone who knows my sleeping habits well (roommates, family, etc.) knows that I HATE top sheets.  I'm the kind of person who untucks the sheets at hotels (because sleeping without them, just under the unwashed hotel comforter, is icky), and I haven't used a top sheet on my bed in at least half a decade.  But what that means is that the I end up with a comforter covered all the things normally absorbed by the top sheet.  And that's just gross.  But washing comforters makes them all kinds of sad...

What's a girl to do?

Oh, right.  She takes a page out of the rest of the world's bedding solutions.  Enter duvets.

I liked them a ton in England, because I could wash the cover like a sheet, but the selection in the US wasn't great when I got home and the duvets (the main comforters) were really expensive.  However... Ikea isn't a US company.  And Ikea sells duvets and duvet covers for really reasonable prices.  Which means that, not only is it nearly as economical to buy a duvet and cover as it is to buy a regular American-style comforter, but now I can switch up the cover for cheap when I start to get that "need a change of bedroom style" itch.

So on my trip to Utah last week, we stopped at the Ikea in Draper and I played around with the bedding until I found both a duvet and cover that I liked.  When I got home, I washed the cover (new sheet smell is gross), made my bed, and slept in it.  I'm in love.  The duvet is the perfect warmth, making the bed is simple, and everything looks super cute.  And in the winter it'll be easy to add a heated blanket in the mix.  I'm SUPER pleased with how this all turned out.

And now for some pictures.

Just the bed.  Cover is reversible to match the white pillows.

Room view.  Hoping the white/black color scheme means the
floral and zebra prints won't clash too badly.  I like it anyway.

The red pillows (both the ones at the back and the accent
pillows) are some I had from the last set of bedding.  I also
had king sized pillows, so I bought some cheap black cases
to match the rest of the pillows.  The koala is my heating pad.

I'm pretty stoked.

Oil Cleansing Method

OIL CLEANSING.  SRSLY YOU GUYZ!

Ok, so the short story of this post is that I've been doing the Oil Cleansing Method for about 2 weeks now, and my skin has never been happier.  Huzzah!

Recommended Reading
Rather than spending hours typing out instructions and suggestions and whatever, I'm going to instead point you all in the direction of the posts that got me to where I'm at, and then we'll reconvene after you've read them and have a discussion.

• THIS POST from Crunchy Betty is all about how to get started, including a "how to do it" and "why you should do it" and is a great jumping off point.  (Crunchy Betty is the source I've been using most often for OCM help; there's a great OCM community discussion happening on her page, and I find her posts to be easy to understand and pretty frank while still tactful.)
  
• THIS POST from Crunchy Betty addresses some of the problems people were having (including using olive oil; I stayed away from olive oil because it's rarely as pure as packages claim it is, though pure olive oil is supposed to have a nearly identical PH level as skin).
  
• THIS POST from Crunchy Betty is about essential oils add ins (if that's your thing; I personally left my oils as-is, though I'm not opposed to experimenting in the future).  I personally don't mind the smell of the sunflower oil I'm using and haven't don the research to justify adding in any extras.
  
• THIS POST gives you an idea of how comedogenic (acne causing/pore clogging) different oils are supposed to be.  DEFINITELY give this a glance before deciding which oils to use; I'd recommend those with a 1 or a 0 rating.

The Backstory
So now that you have an idea about oil cleansing, let's get down to business.  I've struggled with a variety of skin problems for most of my life.  My cuts and scrapes heal slowly.  I've had dandruff problems for years that is really only kept at by thanks to Head and Shoulders.  I still have acne at 26, and it doesn't confine itself to my face.  I have really bad reactions to most facial cleansers; I'd finally resorted to a $50/bottle cleanser that can only be purchased at a limited number of spas (they used to carry it at the spa my mom worked at in IF, but it closed a few years ago; thank goodness they carried it in Las Vegas because it meant that I could still have access to it) and even then my skin was still upset at times.  Buying moisturizer is a total nightmare (looking back, I should have realized much earlier that my skin responds to oil well; the only moisturizer I've liked has a mineral oil base).

I know, I know #FirstWorldProblems

After exhausting the chemically formulated skin care options, and after being occasionally "enlightened" on my fb wall by vegan friends about natural alternatives in skin care, I finally decided to start looking in to natural alternatives.  I immediately skipped anything that looked like it belonged in a "make your own face goop from your kitchen" article in a teen magazine.  No egg yolk or toothpaste on my face, please and thank you.  Some alternatives seemed to complicated, and with my lifestyle I needed something I don't have to keep refrigerated.  It was at this point that three or so separate people mentioned oil cleansing to me (or everyone on their Facebook wall, I guess) seemingly at random.  One person even linked the Crunchy Betty original Oil Cleansing Method post.  So I decided to give it a try. (Side note: asking the universe for an answer to a problem and then keeping your mind open and ears alert really DOES work).

Explaining the "Science"
As already addressed in your reading assignment, the idea of PUTTING OIL ON YOUR FACE seems pretty darn foreign at first.  I mean, that's precisely what you want to get rid of, right?  And, after all, it's oil that clogs pores and creates zits and makes the whole world a less awesome place, right?  Wrong.  There are a lot of reasons your pores get clogged (dead skin cells, dirt, and (yes) oil), and lots more that might cause acne (internal problems like hormones or skin infections, for instance).

Assuming you've addressed medical considerations, though, it might just be that your "super duper oil-removing zit-treating cleanser-of-awesome is causing the problem.  Or that you live in a dry climate. Or both.  (One thing I noticed while I was recently in Hawaii (oh, hey, I went to Hawaii and haven't blogged about it yet) was that most of the people who actually lived there seemed to have pretty clear skin, regardless of their racial ancestry/age/gender.  And while I was there I just used water and a washcloth and my skin was healthier than ever and stopped producing tons of its own oil after about 5 days.)

Go visit http://clairhartmann.blogspot.com/

The idea behind oil cleansing is twofold, and pretty simple.  First, like attracts like (hello science!  and psychology!  and... well, the universe!), so it makes sense that oils are attracted to other oils.  Using oils (like castor oil) that have antibacterial properties and are also cleansing is a great idea because the bad oils are attracted to the good oils and then everything gets washed off.  Viola!  Second, the drier your skin is, the more natural (clogging) oil it produces.  And the more you strip off that oil, the more your skin over-produces it.  Want to stop the whole nasty cycle?  Stop stripping off bad oils and leaving nothing in it's place (chemically-based moisturizers don't count, no matter how "natural" the ingredient list is).  Enter oil cleansing.

How It Went for Me

I decided in late May to try oil cleansing, but that I wanted to wait until I got back from being in Hawaii because traveling with oil in my carry on just sounded messy.  I intended to use my mom's cleanser (we use the same spa stuff) and call it a day.  But my skin responded so well to the heat and humidity (and 3+ times per day of washing the sweat off with a damp washcloth) that I didn't need to use cleanser.  So, luckily for me I got to skip the "hang on while your skin adjusts to this" step.  I might not have survived otherwise.

Product Link

The day after I got home, I started oil cleansing.  I'm currently using about 2/3 sunflower oil (with a comedogenic rating of 0) and 1/3 castor oil (rating of 1).  I need a little more castor oil though I think because my face is a touch more oily than I'd like after I'm done.  Of course, it might also be that I haven't gotten the whole "how to wash it off properly" thing down yet.  It's only been a couple of weeks, after all.  What I've found is that my skin LOVES oil cleansing, but that I still have a need for some kind of spot treatment on my forehead (which comes from having bangs and therefore hair product on my forehead all the time).  I thought about doing something like apple cider vinegar (which is, apparently, all the rage in some circles), but it just seems so harsh and I'm not sure I want to smell like it all the time.  I couldn't find any other suggestion for a natural toner that I particularly liked either.  So instead I went and got the Burt's Bees Garden Tomato Toner today; we'll see if that helps at all (and, if it does, I'll do a quick review on it in a later post).

Pros and Cons So Far

I've only been at this for a week or so, so there's more to come I'm sure, but this is what I know so far.

Pros

• It's SO CHEAP compared to what I was using before.  Like, I seriously walked into a grocery store and got both oils for under $15 (the sunflower oil is in a large bottle, so that was kind of my only option) and they'll last me for a long time.  And since it's cheap, I don't feel like I have to ration myself to little tiny pumps, I can just go crazy with it.
• My skin is so much softer and less greasy already.  I feel like I have the kind of skin other people wish they had.
• My cheeks, which have been red and irritated for as long as I can remember (thanks Idaho dry, windy, bad-for-your-skin conditions!), are getting to be SO SOFT and happy and non-irritated.  Even with my pricey spa cleanser this problem never went away.
• It's pretty adaptable.  Right now, I'm using a 3 oz. bottle left over from Hawaii to store my premixed oil in, so it's easy to just dump into my hand.  But if I feel like I need some extra grease-cutting help, I just add a little more castor oil to my palm before washing.  If my face feels a little drier or more irritated, the just a little extra sunflower oil.  And, as the seasons change and therefore my skin's needs change, I can adjust the base mix accordingly.  This is WAY more cost efficient and instantly responsive than owing multiple products. because making changes is literally in my own hands.
• Even though I still have some acne on my forehead, the rest of my skin really is clearing up.  It's like a miracle.  If you switch to the Oil Cleansing Method, DON'T GIVE UP for at least a month.  Your skin takes some time to adjust from over-producing oil to compensate for your old cleansing method. I believe in you!  It's not the OCM that's causing the breakouts (probably; be sure you use hot enough water to wipe the oil off or it WILL stick to your skin more than it's supposed to), it's your own skin adjusting to a new regimen.  Remember how your skin did this the last time you switched face products?  OCM is no exception to that.
• I don't feel like I have to oil cleanse every day.  I use it when I'm wearing full face make up (not just concealer and eyeshadow, my normal fair) obviously, and on nights when my face feels extra gunky (I'm hoping the toner will help cut back forehead grease).  I use it every time I shower though, which is about every other day.

Cons

• More laundry.  Probably the biggest con there is for me.  Thank goodness I already had a set of six washcloths so I didn't have to buy more.  Once you've used a washcloth once with oil cleansing, it's time to move onto another.  Crunchy Betty suggested using laundry soap additives to combat the problem of getting oil out of cloth, but probably I'll just use Dawn dish detergent.  If it works on my dishes and on penguins, it'll be just fine on my face, I'm sure.
• I don't have that nice "skin and nothing else" feeling that comes from totally stripping the oil off my face.  I'm a little OCD, and it was hard for me to get used to having my face still feel like it had oil on it AFTER washing it.  I just have to remind myself that I'm combining the washing and moisturizing steps that are normally separated out, and that usually helps.
• It can be a little messy around the sink.  I mean, it's oil.  But it usually wipes off with the washcloth I just used, so it's not a huge deal as much as something to be aware of.

Final Thoughts

I really don't know if it's more "green" to oil cleanse or to use regular cleansers.  What's the carbon footprint for oil processing as opposed to chemical processing?  But as I'm striving to get "closer to source" when at all possible, I really feel like oil cleansing is WAY more in line with that than traditional store- or spa-brand cleansers.  And really, my cheeks are the biggest indicator of success.  

I'm still trying to figure everything out, but I feel like I'm making some serious progress towards happier skin.  My next goal is to get some vitamin E oil in there and start healing acne scars, but not until I've done some more research.  Wish me luck!

Life as a Single Girl

Recently, a friend of mine posted on Facebook an article that asked a very interesting question:

Why are Americans still so obsessed with single people—and so scared by them?

This question seems incredibly appropriate to my current life.  In some ways, I can answer this question in relation my culture.  LDS single adults are bombarded with messages, both doctrine and personal opinion, about the importance of "eternal marriage," "eternal companions," and the like.  And though I respect their right to their own world view, the underlying urgency to get married to someone, sometimes anyone, who can at least keep up appearances at church and around extended family of being an eternally happy family can be overwhelming.  Not to mention that the older you get, the slimmer the pickings get.  And since there is also the sense of "divorced = used/damaged goods" and "you want someone who doesn't have a nasty past" and "returned missionaries are the only men worth marrying, regardless of why they didn't go or their commitment level while they were out" and "there's usually a reason you're not married by 25" and a dozen other misguided, judgmental, un-Christlike messages, being single becomes even more frowned upon.

Now, before I get a bunch of "I've never judged someone like that" or "I've never seen this in my ward" or I've never felt judged" comments, let me just say that while this may be true for >1% of the LDS singles population, it probably isn't true for you.  I respect your right to pretend to be indignant about a sweeping generalization about your religion, and even tolerate your (judgmental) assessment that my feelings stem from being bitter and having left the Church and therefore somehow twisting the beauty of the gospel and culture to fit my own perceptions (or some variation of that), but at the end of the day I honestly don't take your "righteous" defensive comments seriously because, as I said before, you are not part of the >1%, because they don't feel the need to comment like that.  End of story.

So anyway, back, to the point of this post.  So LDS singles are terrified of remaining so in small part because of the religious implications and in large part because of the cultural judgments associated with singlehood.  And since I was a practicing member up until sometime in January, it makes sense that I still have some leftover feelings along this line.  But that doesn't explain the American (or maybe human) drive to be in a relationship for non-religious reasons.  I mean, people do all kinds of crazy things to avoid being alone, from dating people who are toxic or abusive or simply wrong for them, to staying in relationships that are clearly dysfunctional or which impede progression of the individual, to settling for the illusion of being in a relationship by participating in one night stands, booty calls, "friends with benefits", affairs, and a host of other pseudo-commitments.  Why do we do these things to ourselves?

I think, in part, because the alternative is terrifying.  Not necessarily the idea of being alone (though that is terrifying for some people), but the idea of having to justify your decision to remain single and deal with the ridiculous comments from people who have no business being interested in your relationship status anyway.  When I announced on my birthday that I was going to stop actively looking for my other half, I had all kinds of people who, when they heard, found it necessary to tell me exactly what they thought of my decision.  And though some of those comments were kind, I wasn't looking for support in the decision I made.  I was merely announcing a change of behavior.  I can't imagine what it would be like to decide on and announce a permanent change in lifestyle.  I'd hate to have to defend my happiness simply because it wasn't necessarily a mainstream choice (although choosing to not be in a committed, monogamous, heterosexual relationship is becoming more and more mainstream than the outwardly conservative outspoken members of our culture would care to admit).

When I posted a link on Facebook to the article I read, a friend of mine made this comment: I spent most of my teens/early adulthood single and loved it. But loving it was exhausting -- I'd turn down offers to set me up, avoid guys who were interested, and constantly announce that I was VERY HAPPY ALONE, because I genuinely didn't want a boyfriend... and it was practically a full-time job convincing people that a) I was serious and b) I was straight.  This kind of situation is exactly what I'm talking about and what worries me the most about any kind of "radical" announcement.

But fears aside, here is a semi-announcement: I'm going to try out the single life.  Not the "waiting around for a boyfriend" life, or the "between relationships" life, but the truly single life.  I was telling someone that some of most dissatisfying times in my existence have been when I was pursuing a relationship that didn't pan out.  And rather than find myself in yet another situation like that, I'm going to focus on developing myself as a person.  I'm not going to be dishonest about things: if a relationship shows up on my front door I'm not going to turn it down.  However, I'm not going to do anything to encourage it.  AND, I'm going to blog it.  Because that's what I do (or pretend to do, anyway).

Slate article: Singled Out

Fresh Look, Fresh Writing

What is it about blogging that is so inherently difficult for me to get a handle on?  I never really take the time to do it, which might be part of the problem, but I think there's something interesting to be said about the fact that I have more draft posts than published ones hanging out on my dashboard.  It's like a written identity crisis.  In order to identify why I can't seem to keep up on posting to save my life, I've complied a list of reasons that I think I have a hard time blogging.

1.  I find most bloggers obnoxious at best.
There is nothing more annoying to me than people who post thinking that other people care about their mindless crappy drivel that they think passes as "real blogging."  They aren't funny, they aren't posting anything of interest, and most of the time they can't even be bothered with proper punctuation or spelling.  For fear of being numbered among their masses, I keep not posting.

2.  Humor niche bloggers are often not as funny as they think they are.  Some are downright pretentious.
Case in point:  Allie from Hyperbole and a Half
Pretentious case in point:  the "pirate" named Maddox
I don't need to say anything else here.

3.  Mommy bloggers, food bloggers, fashion bloggers, etc. are boring.
I don't care about your kids or the "hilarious" things they do.  Unless you're creating your own recipes or writing actually helpful hints and not "lol, I made this, and I messed it up like this so next time I'll try this" garbage, your blog is lame and only your mother reads it.  Because she has to.  As for your "truly insightful" comments about the world of fashion... go die in a fire; no one will notice.

4.  Developing a voice is hard and I'm not all that inclined to do it.
I will say that the two examples are cited because their biggest flaw is that they're not really that funny; they have, however, developed their blogging voices to be really quite good in other ways.  I realize that part of blogging is about developing one's own voice, but I'm not sure that I'm ready to commit to one specific way of writing, even for the extent of an entire post.  My writing style suffers from multiple personality disorder, and I'm not really sure that I want to force it to pick a single voice.

5.  Who actually reads this garbage anyway?
I can't say that I think there will be all that may people reading what I'm writing.  That being said, I don't see a reason to post regularly.  I suppose it's a good exercise in writing or whatever, but I'm not sure that "blog-style writing" will really be of any help as far as eventually getting published.

6.  I'm lazy.
There, I said it.  I don't like to finish posts because it takes more time than I feel like devoting to it.

So that's the list.  And you know what?  Screw it.  I'll probably fall into one of these categories more than once.  I'm ok with it.  Blogging is good for me.