10 million miles

So my blog posts have been less frequent lately for many reasons, one of which is that we have been in the process of selling our house. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity coming up that I’m excited to tell you about! BUT, that’s for another post on another day.

Today, I just want to gush over HOUSE STAGING. Oh, the de-cluttering! The simplifying! The choosing “just the right” decoration! I’ve gotta tell ya, I caught the bug. (‘Need your house staged??)

We tried the whole FSBO thing and are so glad that we did. After a couple of last minute projects (okay, so we redid the basement), a yard sale, and a furious last-minute shoving-of-everything-stinky/ bulky/ personal into the van, we had a perfect offer and a sale! I know it’s not typically that easy in today’s market, but for us, the whole process was blown forward by the wind of God. The daffodils opened up just in time, our local mallard duck couple moseyed on over during a showing or two, and people just seemed to love our little home.

Of course, if you watch TLC, this is probably old news to you, but this non-cable-watcher found all kinds of house-staging tips online that inspired her socks off. Amongst my favorites:

* turn on all the lights in your house ahead of time and open all of the curtains and blinds (even on a sunny day, this brightened our already-bright house so that it looked like it was pleased-as-punch with itself)

* bake cookies (I really did this! Refrigerated cookie dough plopped into the oven 10 minutes before the next showing: yum!)

* remove everything personal: family photos, toothbrushes, etc. (help the buyers to imagine that the house is their own)

* right before the showing, get yourself a laundry basket, fill it with as much clutter and bulk as possible and stash it in your car. (Okay, so maybe I went overboard, but in the end I was glad that I totally cleared the bathroom of absolutely everything except for a bottle of hand soap. It looked amazing! Roomy! Like you could do the Rumba in there! I also was glad that I removed our laundry basket, diaper pail, and space-hogging toys.)

Though your car will be jam-packed to the ceiling, your house will look mighty fine. Of course, this car-cramming practice also helps a person to think twice before judging the station wagon parked next to them at McDonald’s: you know, the one that is packed floor-to-ceiling with just stuff? Well, now you’ll just imagine how immaculate that driver’s house might be because of it.

* open the windows, be warm and friendly, and let the good Lord decide who lives where

Needless to say, I was pretty high strung about the whole thing, and after I scoured the whole house, I banished all children from the premises. Viv asked if they would have to live outside for days. Good thing for her, the house sold in one.

Hallelujah! And what fun!

While I was  researching some ideas to compliment our tornado-watching-Wizard-of-Oz-reading, I came across FEMA’s site for Kids. It’s not the most impressive site in the world, but it provides a handful of helpful resources, like this downloadable coloring book and a page of games.

Through this site, I discovered Ready Kids and Sesame Street’s “Let’s Get Ready” episodes and downloads. Fantastic! I love the positive, upbeat way these resources help kids  – and parents – think about preparation.

Of course, along the same lines, Viv loved listening to this precious 911 call from a 5-year old girl who saved her father’s life by remaining calm and obedient. A great way to brush up on that important 3-digit number. You’ll love it, too!

The check is in the mail!

I have signed up to become certified in First Aid + CPR/AED – Adult + CPR – Infant/Child by the end of the month. I’m happy to say that it’s a lot easier than I thought!

It technically just requires one block of time: for example, you could receive your certification in all of the above skills on one Saturday from 9 – 5 p.m.!  I selected a “Blended” course, so that I can complete the online course work at home at my own pace (Viv will probably watch some of it with me) and attend a 3-hour evening class that covers the hands-on instruction. I selected this option over the all-day-Saturday course so that we could access the information for a year and I wouldn’t have to sacrifice an entire Saturday. I must admit, though, completing the entire certification in one fell swoop was awfully tempting.

Make this the month you brush up on some life-saving skills, too!

Go to the American Red Cross homepage, which will direct you to your local Red Cross web site.

So, add this to January’s list of skills to tackle: find the main water valve to your house. And you can check this off in a jiffy.

A few days ago, Ryan showed me that ours is in the basement by the water softener. He asked why I wanted to know. Sure enough, a few days later, a very close friend (ahem, you know who you are!) told us about waking up to burst bathroom pipes that spewed water all over the floor and required all of her towels to clean it up. Now that’s a good “why” if I ever heard one! If you live in an apartment or rented home, pester your landlord until you know what you should do in case of an emergency.

Read more about finding your water and gas valves here and here.

January Jump: Make Preparedness Notebook; Build Fire; Create a Home-Escape Plan (hopefully not needed directly upon building fire)

Completed: Build Fire

For months, I’ve been happy to load the wood into our stove, but I refused to learn how to light it myself. Until this weekend, that is. On Saturday, I built a fire in our chiminea and wood stove.

* Crumpled the comics up real small (they’ll burn longer that way)

* Piled on a good amount of small, dry twigs in the classic tee pee formation.

* Lit the bottom of the newspaper balls with a lighter, and whoosh: fire!

* Ryan taught me how to build up some nice hot coals by adding wood that is successively bigger in size.

* Left the flu open until the stove was burning nice and hot.

* My chiminea fire even crisped the edges of some delicious marshmallows. If that’s not success, I don’t know what is.

* (And due to Ryan’s thorough lesson plans, I even learned how to rake the ashes through the grate in the morning and start a fire with last night’s coals. Bonus material.)

Here’s an article with more details about building a fire in all kinds of circumstances. This information is going straight into my Preparedness Notebook (that post is coming soon!).

While reading Kathy Harrison’s book, Just in Case; How to Be Self-Sufficient When the Unexpected Happens, I stumbled upon a paragraph that alarmed me:

“Take stock of the skills and knowledge you may need in a crisis. A working knowledge in areas such as gardening, food preparation, first aid, sewing, home repair, and auto maintenance will never be wasted. Acquiring those skills will help you confront adversity without panic.”

Why did I frantically underline that paragraph, burst into tears, and bang my head on the table??

Because, of the skills listed here, I have 0.25 of them.

Yup. Basically, I can thread a needle, replace a flashlight battery, apply a band-aid, and follow a simple recipe. Otherwise, I’m toast. That’s how I came up with a grand total of zero-point-two-five skills out of six. Not to mention survival skills like fishing, hunting, trapping, purifying water, and building fires – important skills that aren’t even on Harrison’s list, which makes it 0.25 out of 11. (Sorry, Mom! It wasn’t for lack of trying on your part. It’s just that the only thing I remember from my 4-H experience is a story about some girl falling off of the monkey bars and biting her tongue off. That story was told at the table as we stitched our lavender laundry bags. Believe me, I, too, wish I would have remembered something about making a draw-string instead.)

No use bemoaning lost opportunities.

I’ve decided to take myself to Practical Skills School. Effective immediately. Because if there’s one skill I do have, it’s the love of learning (that’s one thing I did retain, Mom!).

So, learn I will.

I’ve drafted a year’s worth of curriculum that will help me to tackle one or two areas each month, at least mastering the basics. I happen to be married to an Eagle Scout/ Mechanic/ Plumber/ Genius, so I usually snuggle up on the couch while he attractively fixes, mixes, and mends. But I’ve decided to jump right in next to him and learn a thing or two. Ryan’s a fantastic teacher, so I know I’m in good hands. Of course, we’re fully intending on bringing the girls along with us for the fun – when it’s safe and all! So hey, get out your notebooks and join us if you’d like. Of course, I’ll keep you updated on my progress like any good Julie and Julia fan would.

January Jump: Make Preparedness Notebook; Build Fire; Create a Home-Escape Plan (hopefully not needed directly upon building fire)

February First Aid: Attend Red Cross CPR/ First Aid class; update home and car first aid kits

March Maintenance: Check and put spare tires on both cars; master automobile emergency procedures; update car emergency kits (hopefully not needed directly after fiddling around in the engine)

April Angling: Catch, fillet, and fry a fish (the same fish for all three steps); Organize home paperwork (i.e. update passports, etc.); sprout seeds

May Flowers: Plant flowers and vegetables; Get the whole family out on bikes, pump up the tires, and conquer some hills

June Jumpers: Overcome ridiculous fear of sewing machines; make one summer dress for each daughter

July Try: Go on an over-night camping trip, complete with tent, campfire, trusty husband, sharpened utility knife, and foil babies; Vivienne takes swimming lessons

August Assessment: Assess food storage and supplies; make menu plans for stored foods; can something!

September Sewing: Return to the machine. Make three decorative pillows.

October Automobiles: Return to the cars. Replace tires again; check oil; practice emergency procedures

Nutty November: Trap something furry (do not eat it); *try* to (hunt) Thanksgiving dinner (trapped-furry-thing doesn’t count)

December Delight: Evaluate all of the ways in which the girls and I have grown in womanliness, confidence, and preparation.