Firestarters and Other Camping Tips

Here's a riddle: What do old candles, empty egg cartons, used popsicle sticks and dryer lint have in common? Hint, the answer is not that they're garbage.

The answer: they're ingredients to make great fire starters!

I learned how to make these several months ago at an emergency preparedness class, and was reminded of them by a few people who suggested bringing lint for a fire starter as a camping tip under the August giveaway. (Because dryer lint is the cheapest, quickest fire starter.) Whether you use just the lint or make my weird little craft, you're finding a purpose for something that would just be thrown away otherwise.

Instructions: 1 Cut lid and latch flap off egg carton 2. Fill egg cups with dryer lint. 3. Break Popsicle sticks into little pieces. (I used a pair of pliers, some leverage and my concrete steps for this. The ones that they showed in the class were made with wood pellets, which they said you can get a large bag of for $3, but then what would I do with the rest of the bag of wood pellets?) 4. Pack broken Popsicle sticks into dryer lint. (I used about 2 dozen sticks.) 5. Pour enough hot wax over the whole thing to hold it together. (I melted my candles with a candle warmer.) 6. Cut into individual egg cups once wax has hardened. Each fire starter will burn for approximately 12 minutes. (Every one will vary depending on how much wax, lint, etc was used.)

Pretty much the weirdest, ugliest craft ever.

We tested them over Labor Day weekend. They worked pretty effectively.

Here are some other great tips that were mentioned.

1. Bring your dutch oven
2. When it rains do not push on the tent as you are laying inside because it will leak even if it is water resistant!
3. Bring tweezers. The ticks will always find you!
4. Have a really great Swiss Army Knife on hand.
5. Always have WAY more matches and kindling than you think you're going to need. 
6. Bring a clothesline to hang wet towels.
7. Cook your first meal at home and bring with when camping.
8. Always pack toilet paper and bug spray.
9. Pack everything in individual bags or lidded containers and then pack those in a large lidded bin. No more rummaging, plus everything stays clean and dry. 
10. A Frisbee will add support to paper plates when the plate is placed inside the Frisbee.
11. Take along some of your old extracts and use as a fire starter-sprinkle some on the firewood and it will help get it started and smells great too.
12. Save all the sample shampoos that you get from the mail and use those while camping.
13. You can never have too many socks. a couple extra pair can be a lifesaver.
14. Try out the bug repellent candles, they work amazing!
15. Bring extra trash or grocery bags with you that you can carry when you go hiking or to the lake. You might end up saving an animal or to by removing trash. 
16. Check the weather before you go so you can pack the appropriate clothing.
17. Make sure that you bring appropriate shoes.
18. An old rolled-up memory foam mattress topper makes a great sleeping pad. Just cut to size.
19. Always take lots of paper towels. You never know when you are going to need them!
20. Pack a bottle of dish soap in a zipper bag- you'll always find a use for the soap, but will not be happy if it explodes on all your camping stuff & it's not contained in a bag.
21. Take baby wipes. They work great to clean up any thing or any one!
22. Use an old towel as a door mat for wiping off feet before entering the tent.
23. Put up a tent back away from the wooded area and lake beds if possible be cause when night falls--in come the bugs and mosquitos--learned that the hard way :) 
24. One from a friend- wrap your tin-foil dinners in cabbage leaves before wrapping in foil, this will prevent the potatoes from burning to the foil.
25. And I'll add, make sure you have an EXTRA flash light. It may come in handy when you need to run to the loo in the middle of the night. 

Thanks to everyone who contributed tips.

My Family in the Family Proclamation

The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. 

We declare that God's commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force.

Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. 

Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness,

to provide for their physical and spiritual needs,

to teach them to love 

and serve one another, 

and to observe the commandments of God

Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, 

prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, 

 work, 

and wholesome recreational activities. 

Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.  

Food Storage Friday: Taco Salad

The point of eating your food storage is not self-deprivation. You should incorporate food storage in your diet on a regular basis, so if you do have to live off your food storage, you are familiar enough with it that it's not a shock. And I'm not just talking about bowel upset. If you use food storage on a regular basis you will feel comfortable experimenting with it and making adjustments so you can make it work for you and your family. For example, today's recipe is Taco Salad. If I were in a pinch I could forgo the fresh meat and veggies, add some canned tomatoes and meat and some more rice and have Mexican Haystacks. Yes, I'd rather have the lettuce, but if we had to I feel confident that we could make do.

Taco Salad
Food Storage Ingredients
2 cups cooked rice
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (kidney also work)
1 can corn, drained
salsa
ranch dressing
taco seasoning

Fresh Ingredients
iceberg lettuce
fresh tomatoes
1 lb ground turkey, cooked and drained (or meat of your choice)
tortilla chips
dash of lime juice
shredded cheese

Optional Ingredients
canned olives, drained and sliced
avocados
cilantro
guacamole
sour cream

1. Prepare meat according to taco seasoning instructions. 2. Assemble as desired.
A head of lettuce, a few tomatoes, 2 cups of rice and the other listed ingredients makes approximately 6 servings.

After I started eating this I realized I forgot the cheese. Oops!

myezdeal: IHOP- All Labor Day Weekend

Here's a heads up on a great deal for IHOP gift certificates in Utah. You can get a $25 gift certificate to IHOP for $15. That's a 40% savings, plus 10% of every purchase goes to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Normally myezdeals last only a day, but you can purchase this one anytime this Labor Day weekend. (And you can purchase multiples if you please.) Certificates are good at 19 Utah locations and expire December 1, 2010. See myezdeal.com for more details.

Celebrating Family

 I believe in families. I believe that the Lord placed us here on this earth in families to help us learn and grow. The family is a unit that you can rely on to protect the weak and give reprieve to the strong. Everyone needs a family. As my mom always said "Family are the ones who love you even when you are being stupid." Everyone has their moments where they are less than brilliant. Even dysfunctional families can provide love and support.  As a mother it is my greatest responsibility and blessing to provide that love and support to my family.

This month marks 15 years since The Family: A Proclamation to the World was announced. Now I'm not sure what percentage of my blog readers are LDS, but even if you are not, if you follow my blog you probably believe in families too. If you've never read the Family Proclamation before, I encourage you to do so.  And if you have read it, read it again. It contains so much truth. Here are a few of my favorite lines:

• Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. 
• Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.  
• Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

In celebration of the anniversary of the Family Proclamation mi amiga Jocelyn, of We Talk of Christ, We Rejoice In Christ is having a blog party. (Every time I hear that phrase I think of the last few pages of this book. That's just the stage of life I'm in. :D ) Every day she will feature a different blogger talking about families. And Cocoa of Chocolate on My Cranium is getting in on the party too. (In addition to great insights and encouragement, there are prizes for commenting on these two blogs.) As part of the celebration, I thought I would join in by writing a post about family each week. Come join the Celebration of Family. Hope to see you there.

Family Fun in Vegas Part 1: The Las Vegas Museum of Natural History

Last weekend we took the kids to Vegas. Our first stop was the Las Vegas Museum of Natural History. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for students $5 for children 3-11. Hours are from 9 am to 4pm. There is a BOGO coupon in the Las Vegas Entertainment Book, or you can print one here. Bank of America cardholders can get free admission on the first full weekend of the month.
Yes, it is not as spectacular as the Field Museum in Chicago, but it has several points on the Field for me: 1.It does not take 3 days to drive there 2.There are no tollways between home and the destination. 3. Parking is free (not $19). 4. I can get my entire family in for the less than the cost of one admission to the Field. 5. Even on a Saturday afternoon, the LVMNH was not crowded. I love this! We can take as much or as little time as my kids please, learning about science and natural history.

The first room (not listed on their website) has a few prehistoric oddities. My son (2) thought it was awesome. My daughter (4) found it to be a little scary.

Spiral tooth prehistoric shark

My daughter was certain that if this thing were alive it would eat her, and it just might have.

Next is the Marine Life Gallery. In addition to few interactive science displays there are several live fish, sharks and rays.

I will always check out anything remotely resembling an aquarium.

Frogfish, Do you see it?

My kids liked the Wildlife Gallery. It's full of animals that are native to the area and facts about how they live. And they were surprisingly fascinated by the Geology Gallery (but then they did have glow-in-the-dark rocks). There is also an Egyptian Gallery, with a replica of the tomb of Tutankamen. My daughter found it kind of creepy, but then I always found Ancient Egypt to be somewhat creepy (yet still fascinating) too. (FYI, in Ancient Egypt children didn't wear clothing until the age of 6. My kids would be all for that.)

Learning to grind wheat in Egypt

 Now for the main attraction...The Dinosaurs. And not just any dinosaurs, but dinosaurs that roar and move.

And behind the Prehistoric Life Gallery is the Young Scientist Center. It has several activities and games and on Saturday afternoons they pull out the animals and let the kids touch them.

Giveaway Winner

The winner of the August Giveaway is April.  Congratulations! You will receive an email with your gift certificate code. Thank you to everyone who entered and especially to those who shared tips and recipes.